Sarah's Blog

Eliza’s birth story actually begins months before Eliza’s birthday. When Thad and I found out we were having a baby, we were thrilled – of course! – and checked our calendars to see what was going on around the due date, March 5. I had already signed my opera contract to perform in Don Pasquale, and the last performance of ‘Pasquale was on Sunday, March 7. I considered breaking my contract, since I had no idea how I would feel, how the pregnancy would go, and whether I’d be able to perform in any of the shows, much less make it to the end of the run. After talking with the musician’s union representative, however, I decided not to quit Pasquale. I would just sing as much as I could, and fulfill my contract to the best of my ability! As the months went on, and my pregnancy progressed, I was pleased to feel really healthy and relatively energetic. Whenever anyone would ask my due date, I’d say, “early March – we’re shooting for March 8!” When we got into 2010, Thad’s job responsibilities increased, and a very important meeting with the CEO was scheduled for March 4. That gave me all the more incentive to shoot for a birthday after the due date. Early in the pregnancy we decided to have a homebirth. I interviewed a few midwives and found one I really felt “connected” with – Sarah Jones. I started chiropractic care in the second trimester, went to prenatal yoga classes, and was diligent about my vitamins and diet. I had looked forward to being pregnant for years, and I wasn’t going to take it lightly! Thad and I read many books about pregnancy and birth, and we followed the midwife’s instructions and advice nearly to a “T.” I found a wonderful doula, Delilah Ray, to assist me with the birth. I went to all of my appointments religiously, tried belly mapping to make sure the baby was in position, and sat on the birth ball every day to encourage proper positioning. The chiropractor assured me that the baby was head-down, and two midwives confirmed it. I practiced my relaxation techniques, ordered the birth supplies and readied the apartment. I was ready! March 5 came and went. On March 7, I sang through the final Don Pasquale show. An opera colleague brought me cupcakes, which he jokingly “guaranteed” would start labor. (He had brought cupcakes for another colleague, whose wife then went into labor that evening.) I ate half of a chocolate and half of a vanilla cupcake after the show, while Thad played hockey. Thad came home, and we had one of those married couple “discussions” about how helpful he would actually be during labor. I think I was starting to get a little nervous, and was just letting off some steam. We kissed and made up, and went to bed around 1 a.m. At 2:16 a.m. I woke up with pains in my thighs. Frustrated, I got up to go to the bathroom (why not, since I was awake anyway?). I tried to go back to sleep, but couldn’t get comfortable. My legs just hurt too much! About an hour later I conceded that I could be in labor, and made up the guest bed as I’d been instructed. Contractions got intense pretty quickly, and I had to stop moving to lean over or get on my hands and knees to breathe through them. I tried to time them, but they were sporadic and didn’t always seem to have a start and end. And was it possible that they were lasting over a minute? I didn’t want to bother Thad, since I knew he would need his sleep, but I thought I would text message Sarah and Delilah to give them some warning and to ask about the bloody show (which was more show-y than I had expected). Delilah asked if I would need her before she was able to get the kids to school, and I said no. I finally woke up Thad around 5 a.m. and he started timing the contractions and taking notes and pictures. The photo of me lumbering around like a gorilla in his ESPN t-shirt and boxers (not much else fit!) is one for the family album. I called my mom to tell her that this was the real deal, but had to hang up as another contraction started. Thad took over texting Delilah and Sarah, and somehow our lines got crossed (or I miscommunicated) and Thad told Delilah that I was ready for her after all. Once she arrived (at 7:20 a.m.), I felt really badly, because I knew she’d had to rush her kids to school and I didn’t want to be “that client,” who got her there too early and then sent her home again. Delilah began right away applying pressure to my legs, which immediately helped the leg pain, although they continued to hurt through the entire labor. And almost as soon as she arrived, my water broke! I had completely forgotten about that aspect of labor. We checked the fluid, and it was clear. There was another gush of water, and I felt a “kerchunk,” as though the baby had just moved down an inch or so. When Sarah arrived shortly after, she wanted to check my cervix. But when we prepared to do that, we saw lots of thick meconium! Poor Delilah told Sarah at least twice, “If that had been there when we looked I would have told you! That wasn’t there before!” Sarah checked me. FULLY DILATED and +2 station! At 8:40! And…that wasn’t a head that Sarah felt. It was the baby’s little bum – hence the meconium. By this point I was concentrating too intently to process what a breech baby would mean for our homebirth plans. I knew that Sarah would send us to the hospital if it was necessary, but I also knew that as long as the baby was bum-down, a vaginal birth was possible. I also knew that if we went to the hospital, a cesarean was a certainty. Sarah told me that she wanted me to get in the tub to slow down contractions. “We’re going to breathe this baby down, rather than push it,” she said. With every contraction there was more meconium. I joked that the baby’s nickname was going to be Little Turd. Sarah called another midwife with a lot of experience with breech births to come assist. Donna arrived around 9:30, and the other assistant midwife, Angela, arrived a little later. To me, the next four hours or so were all the same. I was mostly in the tub, with Delilah always at my side or pressing on my legs during a contraction. She must have been extremely worn out by the end of the day! Thad sat with me for most of the time as well, only leaving to get more juice or water, or to confer with the midwives. (I didn’t know it until after the birth, but Thad had to sign paperwork acknowledging the risks of a breech homebirth.) I moaned and groaned, sometimes feeling pukey, sometimes falling asleep between contractions, but doing my best just to breathe and not push. I complained, we all prayed, and the hours passed slowly. I had no idea whether it was morning still or night yet. Around 1 p.m., Sarah instructed me to bear down a little with the next contractions. Finally, some action! I continued to try to bear down for the next couple of hours, without actually “pushing.” We moved from the tub to the bed, since I was really sick of the tub and nothing was happening in there anyway. Delilah started spooning yogurt into my mouth between contractions. I was not in the mood for yogurt at all, but my opinion wasn’t the most important thing. I was getting pretty tired (remember, only an hour of sleep the night before!) and she knew that I needed the energy. Finally sometime around 3:30(?) someone said they could see the baby’s bottom and now I could start pushing in earnest. I was nervous, and I still didn’t have that urge to push that I had expected, but I gave it my best. It took a few contractions and instructions before I got the hang of it, but pretty soon I looked down and saw the strangest sight I could have imagined. I knew there was a baby’s bottom, but I had no idea if what I was looking at was butt-crack or girly parts or boy parts! I had never seen a breech birth, so I had no idea that the body comes out at a very odd-looking angle. At some point people started referring to the baby as “her.” (Side note: I am still slightly disappointed that I never got the climactic “IT’S A GIRL!” that I expected. Maybe I did and I was too out of it.) The Little Turd-ette was STILL pooping with contractions and at one point even peed! With Thad at my head and the midwives and Delilah down south, I was hoisted to the edge of the bed for better positioning as Sarah guided the baby out. Moving while you have half a baby hanging out of you is really uncomfortable and awkward. Sarah instructed me to stop pushing while she pulled the legs free (another very weird sight). Time to push again. At this point I was saying, “Just pull her out! Pull her out of me!” Someone told me (probably Delilah) that this was MY baby and I was going to have to do the work! So, with some very unladylike grunts and screams (while I thought about how sore my voice was going to be and how I hoped I wasn’t doing any permanent damage), and with Sarah’s maneuvering, we got the baby’s arms and shoulders out. At this point I was pretty worn out and wanted to take a break. Donna, one of Sarah’s assisting midwives, got right in my face and said, very seriously, something like, “If you were ever going to push, now is the time to do it. Push this baby out NOW.” So I did, with Sarah maneuvering the baby’s head in the right position. At 4:20 pm, Eliza Lorraine was born! She was placed on my stomach, but she wasn’t breathing yet. I later found out that this is common with breech births, and that Sarah was prepared for it, but I was terrified and numb all at once. The umbilical cord was still pumping and Eliza’s heart rate was normal, so Sarah did mouth-to-mouth and suctioned Eliza’s lungs, and we all prayed and prayed. I remember praying, “God, you know this little girl better than I do and you love her even more than I do. Help her breathe now!” After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only seconds, she started breathing. And then she seemed to realize that her world had changed, and she started crying. Sweet, sweet music to our ears! I don’t remember much about the next few hours. People cleaned up, I nursed Eliza, Thad and I stared at her in awe and at each other in disbelief. Eliza and I shared an herbal bath, which she loved, and she had her newborn exam. Thad put on her first diaper and dressed her, we nursed some more, and the midwives and Delilah left after making sure that our new family was settled and as prepared as we could be for the days ahead. Thad and I stayed up for a couple more hours watching our wonderful daughter, and at last we all fell asleep. We really couldn’t have asked for a better birth. We feel truly blessed to have been able to have the homebirth we wanted. It was a beautiful day. Testimony for Sarah When I met Sarah, I knew I had found the midwife I wanted. She is a truly special woman – warm, caring, energetic, and with a certain “glow” about her that comes from her confidence in herself and from her trust in God. Choosing a midwife can be a daunting task, especially for a first-time mom. A midwife is someone who will ask you intimate questions, and will want to know minute details about your life: your diet, your exercise, your emotional well-being, etc. I was looking for someone I could imagine sharing my life with for the next nine months or so, and Sarah was definitely that person. I felt that Sarah was nearly as excited about my baby as I was, and she always had time to listen to my concerns and answer my husband’s many questions. When our baby was a surprise breech, she didn’t hesitate – she knew what she was doing and we proceeded safely with the home birth. I am so grateful that God placed Sarah in my life for the birth of my daughter!

Nausea is a common pregnancy complaint and a topic often talked about in the first trimester.  Today, I would like to give pregnant moms some helpful tips on how to lesson their nausea.

When discussing nausea in pregnancy there are two causes I like to address. The first one is nausea and how it can be related to low blood sugar.  Secondly, we want to make sure it is not an issue with an over congested liver who is trying to deal with the over load of pregnancy hormones on top of everything else we pollute it with.

How do you know if you have the first one or the second?  When are you feeling most nauseous?  Is it only before meals, and does eating relieve it?  If food releives the symptoms then it is probably just because of low blood sugar and the best way to deal with that is eating throughout the day.  Small meals and snacking throughout the day on proteins and fresh fruits and veggetables will alleiviate the problem if is it just low blood sugar.  It is important to cut out carbohydrates such as cakes, breads, pastas, white rice, potatoes, sugars, sodas, caffine, and anything that can cause spikes in the blood sugars.  Avoid fast foods and eating things from cans or boxes as well.  The more fresh you eat the better you will feel in the long run.  Many women make the mistake of eating junk food and sodas and such becuase it is the only thing that sounds good at the time and though it may help you initially to feel better, you will feel worse later on.

If  you have ruled out nausea caused by low blood sugar and eating does not help it or maybe it is an all day event for you, then it could be that your liver is overly congested. The liver has so much to process in a day.  Everything you eat, drink, breath, all your hormones, cleaning products, skin and hair products,  pesticides, medications, alchohol, herbicides, and so on has to go through the liver.  That is a lot for the liver to process all in a day.  If you don’t have a healthy clean liver to start with, which most of us don’t, you will feel very sick in the first trimester when your body is trying to process all the new hormones on top of all the toxins it normally has to.

Lets start with a healthy diet and some ways to gently detoxify the liver.  In pregnancy you have to becareful with detoxifying the liver.  You never want to do a full detox while pregnant.  Talk to your midwife before attemping any detox programs.  We will go over some safe and gentle ways to keep a clean liver and prevent further congestion in pregnancy.

Fresh squeezed lemon in your water

Fresh veggies and fruits

Cut out synthetic vitamins and change to food based ones

Fresh Jucing which I will give you some tips on later on

Cut out sugars and carbohydrates, which increase those insulin spikes which make is tough on the liver

Cut out caffine and sodas

Stick to more organic foods

Avoid using heavy and toxic cleaning products

Switch to natural body washes, tooth paste, deodarants, organic coconut oil as a lutricant, sunscreen or, moisturizer

Don’t put anything on the skin that you wouldn’t put in your mouth

Stay away from things like paint fumes, hair sprays, other chemcial toxins that can be inhaled

Vitamin B6 helps the liver detox

Bentonite Clay absorbs toxins in the gut and helps to prevent neausea and vomiting as well as diarreah

Homeopathics such as Nux Vomica are also helpful

Always talk to your midwife too for more helpful tips when you are having persisitant nausea and vomiting

Fresh Jucing in Pregnancy

This is an excerpt from the book: Pregnancy Childbirth and Chldren’s Diets by Joel robbins DC, MD

“Morning sickness results when the body, realizing that it is pregnant,
undergoes some extra-ordinary house-cleaning in an effort to make as
healthy a situation for the growing fetus as possible. While the mother
is sleeping, her body is actively removing posisons and delivering them
to the liver and kidneys for elimination. If these avenues of exit are
already overloaded, nausea results as teh liver is forced to dump toxin
directly into the intestine prior to neutralizing them.

The best thing to do for mornign sickness is to drink only juice— as
little or as much as you want— and don’t eat solids for about three
days. This gives the liver a break from digesting food and thus it can
focus more fully on catching up on toxic elimination. Follow this
practice whenever morning sickness occurs.

The concern that most women have when hearing that they must only drink
fresh juice for two to three days for morning sickness, is that the baby
will be deprived of nutrition. What must be kept in mind is that the
embryo is extremely small at this time, and does not require much
nutrition. In fact, it requires little if any outside nutrition. The
placenta is loaded with all kinds of nutrients especially to feed the new
embryo during the first few weeks of life. if there is a need for outside
nutrition at this time, the morning sickness will subside and a normal
appetite will return.

Some experience extreme morning sickness, to te point that the only thing
that will quell the severe nausea is toast, bread, crackers, etc. These
are acceptable at this time, eating minimal amounts to keep the nausea at
bay. Some additional things to consider with morning sickness is to take
the following:
Chromium, sometimes known as GTF (Glucose Tolerance Factor)
Vitamin B6
Both of these can be found in health food stores. Take double the
recommended dose listed on the lables.

There are also those new mothers who find that with or sometimes without
morning sickness, their tastes and cravings change to the point that some
or all raw fruites and vegetables are repulsive. to these i recommend
that they listen to their body and avoid these foods, eating steamed
vegetables, whole grains, white meat, attempting now and then to consume
some fresh and raw. Usually at the end of the first trimester, the
appetite for fresh and raw fruits and vegetables returns, and these
should then be added back into te diet. Again, there is no need for
concern that the mother and baby are being deprived of nutrition for not
eating the fresh and raw during this time. The whole grains, steamed
vegetables, etc., do contain viable nutrition. pages 20-21

As far as juicing another book by Dr. Robbins called Health Through
Nutrition talks about juicing.
Commercially produced juices are pasteurized which means dead no living
enzymes and full of sugar, food colorings, perservatives. Useless! Health
food store brands are better.
Sip juice slowly is allows for better digestion
Drink juice alone not with solid food. It is like a meal itself
Do not combine fruits and vegetables as these require different digestive
processes, fruits need to be separated from vegatables thus: All fruits
may be mixed together. All vegetables may be mixed together. All melons
may be mixed together. Except Lettuce and celery can be combined with
either fruit or vegetalbe juice and apples will mix with vegetable
juices. When making vegetable juice make it predomiinately 80% either
carrot juice or tomato juice and mix with celery, cucumbers, greeen
peppers, etc. While vegetalbe generally do not contain as high amounts of
glucose as fruits, carrot juice and tomato juice are both relatively
sweet, and will carry the tast of other nutritious vegetable if mixed in.
Be sure to put celery and/or lettuce in every glass fruit or vegetable.
This increase the calcium and B-vitamins input that is so important
during pregnancy and nursing. Pg 49-51″

I recommend for nausea 80% carrot, 2-3 stocks of celery and a wedge of
beat the size of an orange segment. The carrot gives the base and live
enzymes, the celery has the calcium and B vitamins, and the beat is good
for liver support and detock so important in helping with morning
sickness.

Child Sex trafficking has not only become a problem in countries around Asia and Africa, but is rapidly growing in our own back yards here in the United States. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it means children are being taken from their families and sold into prostitution against their will.  We as a people need to bring awareness to not only our own children, but also our close friends, neighbors, co workers and the people we want to protect.

Children are being taken from their very own bedrooms, schools, betrayed by “family friends” and much more.  How can it be?  The missing person’s report goes up every day for young teen girls, many are said to be run-aways.  The truth of the matter is many of these girls are finding themselves in the hands of evil men who will abuse and sell them in the sex trade.

Why is this not being talked about more?  These are our children we are talking about.  Lets not turn a blind eye to this people!  My heart is breaking for your children.  It is our responsibility to protect these kids and put a stop to this madness.

You may ask your self, how can I make a difference, I am only one person?  The start of it is bringing awareness!  Informing yourself and your own children of this problem and reporting suspicious men with underage girls.  Be approachable to your children, so that they can tell you anything without fearing your response.  Not putting your kids in situations that can lead to them becoming captives to it.  These pimps will take girls from malls, streets, pose as friends from school, boyfriends and so much more.  Be-careful who you allow your kids to be friends with and who they are allowed to spend the night with.  Sometimes the enemy is someone you trust!

This problem has exploded since the start of the internet and websites such as craig’s list and My Space where many of these girls are being exploited.

Check out this website:

http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/child_sex_trafficking_in_america_pimp_control

Thank you for listening to me rant on this.  I am just realizing my eyes are really being opened to this for the first time and I am ready to make a difference.

We finally hit that time of year where everyone wants to know if they should get the flu shot.  It seems like many of the people who receive the flu shot end up with the flu any way.  Though you may hear much controversy about getting the vaccine, don’t forget it is still a vaccine and you should always do your research before getting any like that.  Pregnant and breast feeding women should stay clear of it all together.  

I strongly recommend getting proactive and getting your immune system up and running so that you can fight these things off when they come around.  One of the reason the flu is associated with the fall and winter months is due to the lack of Sunlight.  The sun provides us with a very important immune support through Vitamin D.  Our bodies use Vitamin D to help strengthen the lungs and respiratory system.  We really do ourselves a huge disfavor by staying out of the sun altogether.  Many American put sunscreen on to prevent the UV rays from the sun.  It is hard to know if it is the sun or the lotions that are causing all the problem with skin cancer. (That is for another topic someday)  Everything in moderation I guess.  In the winter months we wear clothes that cover our skin preventing our exposure to adequate absorption of D.

One article I read  says, “Vitamin D has a profound beneficial effect on your immune system. For one thing, it dramatically stimulates potent anti-microbial molecules found in your white blood cells and in the lining of your respiratory tract.”

 ”Ultraviolet radiation (either from artificial sources or from sunlight) reduces the incidence of viral respiratory infections, as does cod liver oil (which contains vitamin D).

There are many other ways one can support their immune response when it comes to flu season. 

Going back to the basics

A healthy diet and life style counts for something.  

1.  Lets start with sleep, with out adequate sleep one is bound to lower their immune system. The average person needs a full 8 hours a night.  Living in a busy fast past world makes this very difficult to do now days.  

2. Nutrition is key!  Increasing daily fruits and vegetables is a good start.  Remembering to take your supplements daily.  Staying away from the holiday treats is difficult, but too much sugar will weaken the adrenals and immune response.  Water intake is another consideration.  Each person should be getting about 1/2 their body weight in ounces to stay well hydrated.  Keep flushing those toxins out, the longer they sit there the great chance of coming down with something. 

3. Exercise  We all know how important this one is, but…there are no buts about it!  Exercise will keep you feeling healthy and energized.  Keep doing it, or start if you haven’t already.  

This brings us to the final list of supplements you can take to build a healthier immune system.  I am only going to mention the top five I recommend patients. 

Thymex by Standard Process 

Congaplex by Standard Process

Colloidal Silver

Echinacea

Grapefruit Seed Extract

Homeopathics are another way to go if you begin to feel flu like symptoms.  Check out these two websites Borion or Homeopathics

There are many more to choose from if you are needing more suggestion

Here is some information on Tamiflu which is the standard of care most people get from their medical doctor.  http://search.mercola.com/Results.aspx?k=tamiflu

It is common practice for pregnant women to receive this drug even though it is a class C drug in pregnancy. 

I hope this helps to lesson the fears people are having about the flu.  Feel free to leave your suggestions and comments below.

Salad Dressing without preservatives

I am going to start blogging my new recipes I get that are all natural and healthy

Italian Dressing By Sarah Jones

Balsamic Vinaigrette 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups

Organic Garlic powder or fresh 2 pinches

Organic onion powder 2 pinches

Sea salt one pinch

Italian seasoning 3 pinches

Mustard seeds, crushed 3 pinches

Organic Dijon mustard 2 tsp

Organic Honey 1 to 2 table spoons

Olive oil 1/2 cup

Shake well before use.  Add Fresh avocado, Tomatoes, Green peppers, cucumbers.  Cut into small pieces and soak in dressing for an hour in the refrigerator.   It is to dye for.  I love this salad.