A Baby Blog: Post Bump Products

A little less than three months before the baby was born I did a post called "A Baby Blog." I discussed various suggestions we had while preparing for the baby, some of the pre-baby celebrations, and some hopes I had for the future. We had, overall, a really great birth experience, which I documented in the "Birth Story" post, so I won't revisit that here. Instead, now that our son is over three months old, I want to document some of the specific items that have been most helpful to us in these first months of his life and our adjustment to all things parenthood. This will serve to remind me of these things later on, but I'd also like to be able to offer these suggestions to others who may be looking for suggestions in the future for themselves or for gifts. We are planning to do a bit of a remodel on Cohen's room, so I'll do a post about that and the items we have in there once we have that done! I've sourced all of these items from Amazon* because it's so convenient to ship it to the door or add it to an online registry.

1) Twelve Hours' Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old by Suzy Giordano

Our number one concern/prayer/planning focus before the baby was born was in regard to SLEEP. We both like to sleep (me even more than Wade), and we both know how important it is to our well-being to get as much sleep as possible. So, we asked, we read, and we talked about sleep a lot before our baby made his debut. The very best resource we found was this book by Suzy Giordano. It's short, well laid out, and it gives an overview not just for sleeping but for eating and awake time activity as well, for the first three months. Now, in real life there are always small adaptations or concessions, but by consistently following this guide, we have found that we have been able to be better attuned to our sons wants and needs regarding schedule, sleep, and eating. It's really worked for us, and I recommend it as a must read to all new parents.

2) Fisher-Price Baby's Bouncer

Our next favorite item was a recommendation from a colleague when I asked what "must haves" I should put on my baby list. Her first suggestion was this geo meadow baby bouncer, and she wasn't wrong. Our baby has loved this thing since his first days at home, though, he needed some neck support to sit in it for awhile. Like all baby products it needs to be used according to the instructions, under supervision, etc., but it's a really great place to put the baby down. I think he likes it because he can see the world, be entertained (now) by the toy bar, and even drift off in it before we move him for a nap. We don't use the vibrating feature because it is not recommended in Giordano's book, but I'm not sure he would have liked that much anyway. We have also affectionally nicknamed it his "pooping chair," because as his pediatrician explained, it is hard to poop laying down! So this chair really helps things get moving through him after some yummy milk.

3) RaZbaby JollyPop Baby Pacifier

These pacifiers are really wonderful for appeasement, particularly before feeding or bedtime. We were given one of these in the hospital with the recommendation to wait until the baby was about two or three weeks old to give it to him to insure a good nursing latch. We did wait a couple weeks, but once we gave him this pacifier, he loved it. He hasn't been a fan of any other kinds, but he's always taken well to these. He never had any latching issues, either, so I think they are good to use once the latch is established. He had been using our fingers as soothers before this, so we were all glad that he took to the pacifier so well! He uses it primarily during the day now as he seems much more interested in sucking his thumb before bedtime.

4) Boppy Original Nursing Pillow

Before I even had a thought about having a baby I knew of Boppy pillows. They seemed all the rage at baby showers and in every nursery. I was a bit on the fence about requesting one because I don't like a lot of clutter, so I thought it might just sit around taking up space. I did get one, though, and I love it. As I alluded to, breastfeeding came pretty easy to the little, which was so helpful to me. That being said, I've used this Boppy pillow in the hospital and everyday (multiple times) since. I've brought it with me in the car and to Chicago. I can nurse him without it, but it just makes everything so much easier (and nicer on my back and neck), so why stop using it? I am nervous about him getting too long to be comfortable on it, but we'll address that as it happens. The covers are easy to switch and wash, which I also like. I do also like the Boppy lounger that we were given. Babies shouldn't sleep in it, but it is a comfy, safe place to set them down.

5) Moby Wrap & Ergo Carrier 

For baby carriers, we were gifted a couple. We were given the Moby Wrap and an Ergo Carrier. Now, we really liked both carriers for the first couple months, but we seem to have hit kind of an in-between spot in using them. I used the Moby in restaurants and at church quite a bit when the baby was really little-- like one to two months. We also used the Ergo for walks and soothing up until about that point as well; however, he seems to have outgrown the infant holds (he's a long boy!), but since he can't hold his head up yet, we haven't been able to transition to the other holds. As is, he just gets cranky or uncomfortable because he doesn't quite fit in the carriers right now. That being said, we did really like using them for him as an infant, and I think we will like them again soon, as soon as he is able to hold is head up and be stable in the alternate holds. We also have a Milk Snob Nursing Cover that I've used both on his carseat in the warmer weather and to nurse him.

6) Infantino Go Gaga Infant to Toddler Play Gym

As another option for a fun and safe place to set the baby while we are doing laundry, cooking, eating, etc., we have really liked this baby play teepee. Again, I was a bit hesitant to have something set up that takes up so much space, but it is a very fun little area for the baby to kick and explore. For this teepee in particular, there is a mirror where he can see himself, as well as some fun music from the hanging owl. Otherwise, he can watch the animals swirl around and will eventually be able to touch and tug on them. Like our Summer Infant Clean Baby Bather, it's hard to know what item is right from the myriad of options available. We chose the teepee (and bather) from suggestions from friends, and I think that is often the best way to go! Our friends have the teepee for their baby girl, and they called it "the best babysitter!" and I think they were right!


7) Halo & Zen Sack Sleepers 

For having done quite a bit of research and reading about sleep before the baby came, we didn't have much of a plan for what the baby would sleep in. We knew we couldn't do blankets and would definitely follow the "back is best" campaign, but I guess we figured we would just figure out what to put him in once we came, and we did! The first night in the hospital we tried swaddling him, but we couldn't get the blankets tight enough without a nurse helping us. But then I saw the Halo Sleepsack Swaddle in a drawer and thought we should try that, and it worked like a charm! So easy to use and take a part and do back up when we needed to change him. Before we left the hospital we asked the nurse if we could have another one, so she snuck it into our going away bag. We ordered a size up once he started to grow, but soon he found his thumb, so we didn't want to swaddle both arms so that he could self soothe. Once we had transitioned to having two arms out of the swaddle we switched over the to Nested Bean Zen Sack, and that has also been awesome. I think the weighted beans are very soothing and comforting throughout the night, and it seems to provide the right amount of warmth with a full onesie underneath. I anticipate us using the Zen Sack for a good while. We use Dreft baby detergent to launder all of his clothes, and I really like it. He has had baby eczema on his face for a few months, so we've started using Eucerin cream for that, but he hasn't had any problems on his body, and I think the Dreft helps with that.

8) Comotomo Baby Bottles 

Like the pacifier, Cohen has done well taking a bottle from the beginning. Like most of these items, someone recommended the Comotomo Baby Bottles to us, and they are great! The nipples are soft and they are easy to use and then run through the dishwasher. Again, we were told to wait on introducing a bottle to avoid nipple confusion, so we didn't give Cohen a bottle until he was about four weeks old. When we did, I left the house, as some online articles had warned that even being in the house could confuse him a bit, as he could smell the real milk. So, I took Lacy for a walk while Wade heated up the milk and gave him his first bottle! He took it great and drank the whole thing. We only use a bottle intermittently, as I work from home, but it has never been a problem having him take one or switching between them. I do think these bottles helped that transition! We use this Munchkin High Capacity Drying Rack to dry out the bottles, as well as pacifiers, pump equipment, etc.

9) SmartNoggin Rattle 

One of the more random things that the baby really loves is this SmartNoggin Rattle. I believe that I first saw the rattle listed on some kind of list of developmental toys for infants, but I cannot find that list anywhere. That being said, I added this rattle to our registry, and it is the toy that the baby is by far the most interested in so far. It rattles, it lights up, and it has a good counter weight that he can hold it in his little hand. It's great for helping him develop eyesight tracking, and he is often mesmerized by the changing lights. There is also a little mirror on the bottom, but he hasn't been as interested in that yet. We use this toy to encourage him to roll over, and it's a great way to entertain him if he's getting a little fussy. We've also gotten out his Sophie the Giraffe toy, but he's much more interested in the rattle at this point... although, Sophie is very cute.

10) Evenflo Carseat & Stroller 

One of the only required baby items that you need to have leaving the hospital is a good carseat. It obviously makes sense, and we also wanted to make sure the carseat was not only safe for the baby but worked well for us. We did some online and in person looking and researching, and we eventually decided upon this Evenflo car seat and stroller combo. Now, I really don't know if this is the very best out there because it is the only set we've tried, but we have liked it, and it has already given us flexibility as the baby has grown. We have two bases-- one in each car-- and then we keep the stroller ready to go. Both the stroller and the car seat took a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to work, but we have figured them out. The one struggle I was having was trying to figure out how to keep the baby warm enough in the carseat while not creating any extra layers. A friend suggested this JJ Cole car seat cover, and it is so great. So much easier to keep the baby warm getting in and out of the car.

It's hard to imagine that such a tiny person needs so much stuff before they are even walking or eating solid foods! Of course, this is also all in addition to the myriads of clothes, books, blankets, toys, and decor. We're even storing several items like, a snowsuit, high chair, activity center, and pack-n-play that we haven't even used yet! It's all worth it to have such a sweet little person in our home, but it does make me consider the moms of one or two hundred years ago who had a rocking chair and a blanket for their baby. Ah, well, here we are. Happy baby shopping!

*All opinions are my own and come from personal use. Some affiliate links are included.

A Very Full Fall

And here we are, just like that, at the end of another semester. This semester has required more discipline and focus than in years past because with a little baby around every moment is precious! I want to be sure to not waste time that I could be spending with him, but I also want to do my work well and be totally focused on that when I'm working. This balance is tricky to strike and some days are better than others. I am glad to have made it to the end of the semester! I have about three more days worth of grading to do, and I plan to have my students' final grades submitted by the end of the week.

Baby Cohen Matthew was born on September 27th, 2019, but he was due on September 18th. I had things ready to go for my online classes until week eight of the semester by the 18th, but when he took his time making his appearance, I used that last week to work ahead and get my classes fully set up until week twelve of the semester. I took my maternity leave from Monday, September 23rd to Wednesday, October 23rd. During that time I answered some emails and calls, but I primarily let my wonderful TA and colleagues take the majority of the questions, student help, and grading responsibilities. I'm so grateful to them for doing so and to my students for understanding the circumstances. I'm also very grateful to my mom who watches the baby for four hours every morning so that I can have uninterrupted work time, and I'm grateful for a baby who likes to take naps in the afternoon... except right now, apparently. We have had some fun this fall including Wade running a half-marathon for World Vision in the Madison Marathon, hosting visiting friends and then family for Thanksgiving, and taking Cohen on his first mini road trip down to Chicago to see my family who were visiting from Colorado and New Mexico. 

I think things have really gone as smoothly as possible this semester. I've communicated with my students via email, phone, Canvas chat, Canvas announcements, and video announcements, and I've joined department meetings vis Skype. I haven't made it down to Olivet this semester with the baby arriving about a fourth of the way into the semester and then not getting his first immunization shots until the last full week. I have already planned three visits down to Olivet in the spring, and I'm looking forward to connecting to my colleagues and students in person. 

I taught two sections of College Writing II this semester and one section of Advanced Writing. In both courses the students work toward one major written composition for the majority of the semester. They all turned in their work just before Thanksgiving break, and I was honestly so impressed. Overall, the students were creative in their topics, articulate in their expression, thorough in their secondary research, creative in their primary research, and expressive in their investment in the ideas. I think that large composition projects can be overwhelming no matter when they begin, but I was glad to see that the students tried their best to use the time given to them to compose strong, original academic texts. My Advanced Writing students were expected to submit their work for consideration for publication, and I would be so excited to see some of these thoughtful, well-researched compositions be published and read by a wider audience.


In addition to my teaching work, I have also been a part of proposing a writing major for the English department. Based on input and feedback from my department chair and colleagues, I composed a rationale for the importance of implementing a writing major. That, along with a proposal drafted by our department last spring, was presented and distributed to various stakeholders, and the proposal was accepted in October! The Department of English at Olivet will now having a writing major offered starting in the fall of 2020. I'm so excited about the possibilities and opportunities that this major will offer to current and future Olivet students.

I also participated in an online course development module in the student role, alongside teaching online classes, this semester. I had the opportunity to develop two online course modules for the department, and this six-week course development training helped me in my preparation for creating ENGL 329: Writing Fiction and Poetry, which I will be teaching starting in January. I'm looking forward to working with upper division creative writing students again this spring, and I am curious as to how the online setup will affect the course experience. I will be teaching two more sections of College Writing II in the spring, as well as continuing to develop course descriptions and outcomes for our writing major.

I wasn't able to attend Feminisms & Rhetorics 2019 in Harrisonburg, VA this year, nor the Bloom Women's Retreat in Green Lake, WI. Those are two fall staples that I am disappointed to have missed out on, but I look forward to future attendance. I did get to attend our Bloom move night closer to home, and I was glad to get some time with that community of women. I am looking forward to attending the Conference on College Composition and Communication 2020 in Milwaukee, WI this spring, as well as for my article manuscript, "Food Memoir: Agency in Public and Private Rhetorical Domains" to be published in Peitho this fall. That article has been through several iterations over the past few years, and I am very glad to have it finally be finished and published.

In addition to my scholarly work, I was proud to have completed my reading goal of reading 19 books in 2019. In line with the year itself, there is quite a bit of variety represented here. I really enjoyed most of the books, and I have recommended several of them to others. My favorite fiction book of the year was The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan. It had just the right amount of intrigue, romance, whimsy, and literary references to be so satisfying. My favorite nonfiction book was Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman, which I listened to on Audible. I included an overview of that book in my "Baby Blog" post. All but two of the books that I read this year were written by women, and I think overall it was a great year of reading. Looking forward to reading 20 books in 2020.

I started this year with a trip to Thailand over my 30th birthday and am ending it at home with a three month old baby. There was lots of questioning, excitement, work, and planning in between, but we've made it! I realized the other day that this decade has been my first one as an adult, and it really has been one for the books! In this decade, I've: taught English at the college level for nine years at five different institutions, gotten six tattoos, traveled to four continents, lost three close family members, earned three post-secondary degrees, lived in three different states, bought two houses, owned two dogs, gotten married, and had a baby boy. I'm ready, though, for what the next decade will bring.

A Baby Blog

The spring semester at Olivet wrapped up about a month and a half ago. It is always a transition out of a semester and into a new schedule, but I've particularly enjoyed not having to travel down to IL during the week. My online summer class started two days before the official end of the semester, and we've been moving steadily forward since! My students' final projects were due Wednesday, and then I had the rest of the week to get their final grades submitted. I had three students in this class, and they did well. I will plan to talk about that class in more detail, as well as the other work I've been and will be doing this summer in my August blog post. 

In this post, though, I thought I would do a baby blog with updates on how things have been going the past 20 weeks or so. I am 29 weeks pregnant, which means that I am within both my seventh month and the third trimester of pregnancy. It has been a journey, and I would say so far, it has been a positive one! If you're not interested in all this baby stuff, though, please come back in July, and I will catch you up on all my summer work. I do think that part of my feminist praxis is to share not only the academic work I am participating in but the embodied physical work that is also happening, and a lot of the time, takes over my daily energy.

I found out that I was pregnant while I was eight weeks along. I have been taking a photo every week since to document the transition, so I thought I'd share the thumbnails of the past twenty weeks or so of photos of Baby Bruce growing away! It is still very surreal to me how these pregnancy changes just happen. I have very little to do with the very literal growing and changing happening inside of me. I don't know that it will/would ever stop feeling strange. Here is Baby B, weeks eight to 29!

There is a lot to do when getting ready for a baby! Our list has included the following items: track the pregnancy on an app, read about birth, sleep, and child training, meet regularly with our midwives, find a pediatrician, tour the hospital birthing suit, take a birth class, make a swim lesson plan, enjoy our shower, take a babymoon, find a birth photographer, practice prenatal yoga, get the nursery ready, make a birth preference plan, clean the car, install the carseat, clean the house, bedding, and baby clothes, and pack a hospital bag. I'd say we are about 70% done with the list, which I feel good about with a little less than three months to go. I'll share the details of what we've done so far, in case it's helpful to anyone to know!

PREGNANCY APP
When I first got pregnant I wanted to find a good app to tack my pregnancy and to help me understand what the heck was happening to my body. Now, as is true in a lot of these categories, there are so many options to choose from. As I talked to people and looked at the app store, The Bump app kept coming up. I downloaded that app, and it has been really helpful. It gives me daily updates on the size of the baby, but even more helpfully, it tells me each week what to expect both for myself and the baby. It is pretty accurate, and it helps me to know that what I'm experiencing is normal. There are also good articles linked everyday to help me learn more.

BOOKS
We got lots of recommendations for books that we needed to read before the baby comes. Unfortunately, there is only so much time and so much attention span that we have for all things pregnancy related. Some of that is used up with podcasts, and we particularly loved Dax Shepard's interview with Dr. John Gottman on the February 28th episode of Armchair Expert. We made our book reading choices primarily based on the recommendations that we kept hearing over and over. I'd say at least three people recommended each of the two books that we decided on reading. The first was to help us have a good kid, the second was to help us sleep well. The fact that the books were recommended by people with good kids who sleep well didn't hurt! I gave some other books a shot including The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, What to Expect When You're Expecting, and another one from our hospital, but I found them too dense to continue. Here are the two we read/ are reading together with their Amazon synopsis:

Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman

"When American journalist Pamela Druckerman had a baby in Paris, she didn't aspire to become a "French parent." But she noticed that French children slept through the night by two or three months old. They ate braised leeks. They played by themselves while their parents sipped coffee. And yet French kids were still boisterous, curious, and creative. Why? How?
   

With a notebook stashed in her diaper bag, Druckerman set out to investigate—and wound up sparking a national debate on parenting. Researched over three years and written in her warm, funny voice, Bringing Up Bébé is deeply wise, charmingly told, and destined to become a classic resource for American parents."

On Becoming Babywise by Robert Bucknam & Gary Ezzo

"For over 25 years, On Becoming Babywise has been the de facto newborn parenting manual for naturally synchronizing your baby's feeding time, waketime and nighttime sleep cycles, so the whole family can sleep through the night.

In his 29th year as a licensed Pediatrician, Dr. Robert Bucknam, M.D. along with co-author Gary Ezzo, demonstrate how order and stability are mutual allies of every newborn's metabolism and how parents can take advantage of these biological propensities."

We really liked Bringing Up Bebe; we even had my mom read it. We are working our way through BabyWise, and we're determined to get through in order to have a sleep plan. On the recommendation of a couple other friends, I also read (pre-crazy) Jenny McCarthy's book Belly Laughs, which was light, funny, and honest, if not a bit outdated. I'd recommend any of the three!

MEDICAL CARE

Baby Boy: 20 Weeks

The very first decision we had to make (prior to even knowing 100% if I was pregnant) was what kind of maternity care we wanted. We had the choice between a traditional OBGYN doctor and team of midwives through our local care clinic/ insurance. Very quickly we came to the conclusion that the midwives sounded like the best plan of care for us. Three of the reasons that we initially decided to go with the midwives (and have really enjoyed working with them so far) are as follows:

1) There is a team of care. We don't see the same midwife every time, but we see one of the nine midwives of the team every time. It also means that when we deliver, we will have one of the nine midwives in the delivery. In opposition to the OBGYN, who might not be available for delivery, we will have one of a team of people who has been monitoring our care throughout the pregnancy. This is also true of after hour care, as whenever I've called, I've always talked to a midwife directly.

2) They take their time in the appointments. Never having worked with an OBGYN through pregnancy I don't know how different this would be, but we have never once felt rushed by our midwives in our monthly (soon to be more) appointments. They come in, and very literally, make themselves comfortable. We chat, they answer questions, they ask questions, and they take their time. I've never left feeling frustrated or unheard by a midwife after an appointment, and I've appreciated their attentive care. We've done three ultrasounds so far, and I don't think we'll do anymore. We do get to hear the baby's heartbeat via the doppler at every appointment, and they measure the baby.

3) There are very few options off limits to us. I feel very blessed to have had a healthy pregnancy thus far, and we are praying and hoping that continues. If it does, and there are no complications, our midwives are very open to any type of delivery we want to engage in. We will deliver at our hospital, but they are open to medication or not, self-soothing through music, yoga, or essential oils or not, and even multiple types of positions for delivery. They say that they are there to support me in my birth, and that is very empowering. Our birth class instructor has told us how important that is, and I've already so appreciated their attitude toward delivery. They emphasized this through our birthing center tour at the hospital as well, which we appreciated.

The one exception to delivering with the midwives would be if we need a c-section, but I'm hoping that won't be the case. We've also found a pediatrician that we like a lot. She followed the same model of care, where she came in, answered questions, asked us questions, and spent time with us. We're glad to have to have that set and ready to go prior to the birth.

First Birth Class

BIRTH & SWIM CLASSES
Again, the choices in Madison for birth class are slightly overwhelming in terms of what direction to go. So, we relied on suggestions from friends. Friends with a three year old fondly remembered their birth class experience and recommended the same. They suggested taking the Embracing Birth Classes with Jodi Bubenzer on the west side of Madison. We've completed four of five birth classes with this teacher, and we've learned a lot from mindfulness to breastfeeding to types of medication to massage exercises to postpartum solutions to breathing techniques. We have one more class to go, but both Wade and I have enjoyed our time in the class learning from the teacher and getting to hear from the three other expecting couples in the class.

The same friend who recommended the birth class also gave me a suggestion for swim lessons! I've been reading about the importance of getting children comfortable in water and teaching them, as early as possible, how to flip in the water in order to be able to breathe in any type of emergency. The friend said they took their daughter to Little Strokes Swim Academy in Waunakee; she said her daughter loved it and is a really strong swimmer now. We'd like to get our little guy in this coming March to learn those same crucial skills. I'm glad to know of a quality place that provides this kind of instruction.

SHOWER & BABYMOON
The month of June was very fun; I got a facial, manicure, hair cut, color, and style, prenatal massage, and pedicure all in one month! We definitely felt spoiled by so much love, attention, and opportunity to enjoy this time this month, as well. The weekend of June 22nd, my sister and some of my best friends threw us our third and final shower, and it was a lovely baby shower. My friend hosted at her house, our moms helped out, and so many women attended and showered us with love, attention, and gifts. We know that we are lucky to be part of such a strong, supportive community, and we don't take it for granted. Wade attended for about half the shower, and I'm so glad he was there to also feel all the love! The theme of the shower was High Tea for Baby B, and everything was done so beautifully. We had tea, scones, clotted cream, jam and lemon curd, tea sandwiches, macarons, lace decor, baby's breath, and decorated tea pots. So classy. So special. We used Baby List for our registry site, and I think it worked really well. I feel so lucky to have so many wonderful friends who would go above and beyond to make a day like this so special. Sharing this journey with my friends has been one of the highlights of the pregnancy for sure. Over 30 women attended the shower, and it will be such a wonderful memory for us.

Lovely Shower Hosts

First Family Photo

Amazing Display

Sweet Guests

The very next weekend, Wade and I got to enjoy some time away on our self-declared "babymoon" in Lake Geneva, WI. We spent three days and three nights in this idyllic lakeside town. We stayed at The Abbey Resort, and we really enjoyed the resort's amenities. We spent one day getting massages (my first prenatal!) and lounging at the Avani Spa, which was very relaxing. We spent time in downtown Lake Geneva, eating twice at both Tuscan Tavern & Grill and Egg Harbor Cafe. We also took a fun afternoon ice cream social boat tour through the Lake Geneva Cruise Line and learned about the history (mostly old, rich, and white) of the people and homes surrounding the lake. We spent some time reflecting on common goals, getting coffee and tea at Boxed and Burlap, Avant Cycle Cafe, and the resort's Cafe Latte, and just enjoying time together. I always say, too, that one of the best parts about going away is getting to come home-- especially to dogs as cute as ours!

Enjoying Our Spa Day

Downtown Lake Geneva

Lovely Vine Wall 

Hey Baby Bump!

BIRTH PHOTOGRAPHER
Another decision that Wade and I thought about early on was who we wanted at our birth and delivery. Once again, there are so many options. Did we want family there? Did we want a doula? Did we want any other kind of assistance? One thing I have learned through this pregnancy is never say never, as we just cannot plan what our future will hold, as much as we (especially as enneagram ones) want to do that! That being said, we are not planning on having any future children via birth, so one thing that stood out to me that I wanted was a birth photographer. I thought: if we photograph other momentous occasions in our lives like weddings and anniversaries, why would birth be different? I talked to Wade about it, and we decided to hire the wonderful birth photographer Nicole Streeter, who owns Nicole Streeter Photography, to do our maternity and birth photography. Every time I visit her blog or social media page, I am always swept away in the stories she tells through her photos. I'm excited to have her be a part of documenting our birth experience.

PRENATAL YOGA
In 2013 I was preparing to run the Color Run in Indianapolis with my sister and my cousins, and I would experience extreme hip pain following the training runs. I eventually saw a chiropractor, and he diagnosed me with overextended ligaments, where my ligaments would stretch well but then not properly retract back into place after the stretching. This is both a genetic ailment, as well as one that was probably exacerbated by my 13 years as a dancer. The diagnosis has since been confirmed through both a medical doctor testing for carpal tunnel and a physical therapist who has helped me work on strengthening my wrists and hips, the primary areas affected. When I first received that diagnosis, the chiropractor suggested taking up yoga as a way to strengthen my core muscles and also gently stretch my ligaments. Following the Color Run, I did just that, stumbling upon a yoga instructor named Erin Motz on YouTube.

Fast forward six years (probably almost exactly), and I still practice yoga with Erin Motz regularly. So much so that we pay for a monthly subscription to her Bad Yogi Studio, and I practice yoga in our new home yoga area four to five times a week. Erin is an American who lives in Nice, France, and she is one year older than me (again, almost exactly). I appreciate her mindset, teaching style, and general outlook on yoga and life. What I could not have anticipated is that she would get pregnant about two months before me. What this has blessedly resulted in is a whole slew of prenatal yoga classes available through her studio, which I already have a subscription to, that I can practice again and again. This coincidence has been one of the biggest blessings of my pregnancy. I've literally cried some mornings getting out of bed with back pain (more on that below) to open my email and find a new class from Erin labeled "Second Trimester Back Pain." I never could have known how this would work out, but more than probably anything else listed above, this has helped me move through the last five months of this pregnancy more easily and comfortably.

LOWS & HIGHS

Well, this is turning into a very long pregnancy post. If you've made it all the way thus far, congratulations to you! As I'm writing, I'm realizing that this may be more for me than anyone else-- a way to remember this unique time in our lives before s*** gets real and we have a new, live human baby boy in our house. There are more things on our to-do list that I mentioned above, but we haven't quite gotten there yet, and I think that's OK. I anticipate the next couple weeks being about building nursery furniture, cleaning cars, making birth plans, and packing hospital bags. To wrap up, I'd like to touch on some of the lows and some of the highs of this pregnancy journey. I know everyone's path is different, and I know that the last fourth of this pregnancy may be different than it has been so far, but here's where I'm at:



LOWS 
As can be expected, this pregnancy has not been a total walk in the park. Weeks before I even knew I was pregnant, my nose started running and it has.not.stopped. Seriously. Seven plus months of a runny nose. Thanks to my Bump app, I know why. The condition is called pregnancy rhinitis, and I guess it happens to about a third of pregnant women. I've gone through more tissue boxes than I can count, and it is especially bothersome at night, which is fun since sleep is so easy anyway. Ha. Speaking of sleep, other bothersome elements of the pregnancy include having to pee a lot of the night, my hands falling asleep if they are ever above my head (like under my pillow), and consistent lower back pain. A midwife said it's sciatic inflammation, and it's not very fun.

I dealt with some pretty nasty headaches my second trimester, but my mom suggested sugar-free Gatorade to help replenish electrolytes, and that has helped, as has moving into another trimester, as hormones and blood (never knew I could hold so much blood) shift around. Brings me to my swollen ankles, which at one point prompted a friend to say: "What is happening to your ankles??" Makes me think a third trimester through July and August will be a joy. I feel grateful to have only ever thrown up once, which prompted me to take a pregnancy test in the first place, and to have had very minimal heartburn.

HIGHS
Some really good things have come out of the pregnancy, as well. Overall, my skin has been clearer, and my moods have been fairly normal. I feel healthier in moving to more natural ways of living, which I touched on in my May blog. I also have had no problems with these prenatal vitamins or probiotics, and I also take one magnesium pill everyday and try to supplement my iron intake due to pregnancy induced anemia. I tested negative for zika and gestational diabetes, and a midwife also confirmed that due to the successful pregnancy I also no longer have polycystic ovarian syndrome, which I was diagnosed with in 2012 and was the main reason we thought birthing a child would not be an option for us.

Probably the best, best part of the pregnancy has been feeling Baby Bruce's little kicks, wiggles, and hiccups from inside. Our plan to grow our family was always to adopt, and that is how we would like to add at least one more person to our family in the future. That being said, this journey of pregnancy and carrying this baby inside of me has been special and unique. It wasn't what we had planned, but the feeling of carrying this person has been both difficult and very rewarding. I don't know what the last few months of this pregnancy will bring, and even less about what life will look like after the baby is here, but I feel like these last seven months I have been given a gift of carrying this person.

As I've said before, our friends and family have been so happy, so supportive, and so wonderful during this time. They know me well enough to know that I don't do great with unexpected change, and yet their joy and consistent encouragement has been such a support to carry us through the pregnancy thus far. I also feel lucky to also have friends who are currently doing this baby thing right along with me or have been in the trenches for the past year or more. As this blog post is witness to, they are an invaluable resource to us. Here's a shoutout to some of the best:

Awesome Baby Mamas

Our Crew

Lovely Ladies

Double Knowledge

Five Cousins: Two Adults, One Toddler, Two Babies

#cuzsisfrands

Baby's Four Grandparents

We've learned, we've grown, we've laughed, we've cried. 

I'll be sure to update when we've reached the other side! 

Another May

Here we are again, at the end of another school year. One of my very favorite parts about working in academia is the constant refresh of energy and focus that comes with the shifting of the seasons. One season does not fade into the next. Instead, all four are pronounced, either with a new beginning or another ending, and that rhythm is really lovely.

We concluded Olivet's semester with a baccalaureate service and graduation commencement ceremony this past weekend. It was a really beautiful spring weekend on campus, and I got my doctorate gown out and was happy to march with my department, other faculty members, and administrators. We were also glad to celebrate the English and English Education seniors with a celebratory lunch and a photo after the graduation ceremony. This year was especially special to me, as it is the year that one of my most influential college professors, Dr. Belcher-Rankin, is retiring. She served as my advisor, then trip leader to Burkina Faso, Africa, then unofficial mentor through graduate school. I felt so honored to spend a year-- my first and her last-- as colleagues in the same department.

As I said, the end of the school year is marked by the end of my first year as a full time faculty member. After graduating from ASU in May of 2017, I worked as an adjunct for a year while going on the job market, and then started at Olivet in August of 2018. In addition to teaching the four classes, which I discussed in my previous post, I'm very happy with what I was able to accomplish this year, as I think some really productive measures were initiated, like the two following items:

1. Even as a new faculty member, I served on two committees this school year. The first was the Department of English Composition Committee, and we worked on reviewing the composition classroom curriculum. With the committee's support, I piloted using a new textbook in the ENGL 109: College Writing I classroom. The department had previously been using an MLA handbook, but I didn't feel I was able to engage the students in my classroom with it very well. I drew on teaching experience from Madison College and brought the textbook Habits of the Creative Mind into the classroom. I used it throughout the spring semester, and the students responded well. In a survey at the end of the semester, 95% of the students suggested using the text again. As a committee, we decided we are going to do just that, and we will use it in every section of 109 that will run in the fall. I've been working on setting up options for how to teach the text, and I'm excited to see what other professors will do with it. 
2. The second committee I served on was the Department of English Writing Committee, and we took a look at our programatic offerings for writing in general. From this overview and research we conducted in the fall, we brought a new proposal forward to our department. The department members responded positively, so as a group, we spent a good portion of the spring semester ironing out details of our proposal before we will bring the complete idea to deans and administrators. It was exciting to be part of this work, and we are hoping for a positive outcome. 

My position as a faculty member is shifting. This past year I served as a full time faculty member under the title Assistant Professor in the Department of English, with expectations of service on campus. As the commute got to be too tiring and we realized our family would grow this fall, my department chair kindly offered to shift my position in the department. Starting this fall, I will be an Affiliate Professor in the Department of English. I will still be working full time for Olivet; however, my service obligations will be lightened, so I will be able to do the majority of my work from home. I am excited about this opportunity and so appreciative to my department chair and the administrators who opened up this position for me. 

As part of the shift between roles, I am creating a new online course for the university this summer, which I will teach in the fall. This is an online version of the ENGL 306: Advanced Writing course that I taught last fall. I really enjoyed teaching that course and diving into writing and rhetorical histories and theories with my students. The shift to an online format will be different, but I am hoping it is still very rewarding and productive for the students.

In addition to creating this course, I am also teaching an online section of ENGL 311: Business Communication & Technical Writing this summer. I taught B&T both semesters at Olivet. This is an eight week, online, much smaller version of those classes, but again, I still want to make sure the class is beneficial to the students who are enrolled. Between those two endeavors, and starting department work again in just under two months, I think the summer will go by quickly. 

Personally, I've been very blessed with wonderful support and time with friends these past few weeks. At the end of April, my family threw Wade and I a lovely shower over the Easter weekend when my uncle, aunt, cousins, and their families were all in Madison. We had elephant decor, a guessing game, and a delicious Mexican taco brunch. About a week later, my colleagues in the English department were so kind to throw us another shower on the Monday during the last week of school when I know that everyone had so much to do. 

My cousin Candace made a red velvet gluten free cake with cream cheese frosting for the first shower, and my colleague Ann made a chocolate cake with vanilla cream and mirror glaze chocolate ganache for our second shower. They were both beautiful and delicious! So far, these cakes have been two of the best parts about being pregnant. Just in between the two showers we also found out that Baby Bruce is a BOY, so it was fun to let our family and friends know about that! 

May also started off on a lovely note, as I attended the annual Original Women's Conference in Rockford, IL hosted by City First Church. I went with most of the members of our Bloom Women's Ministry leadership team and several other ladies from Ridgeway Church. This is my second year attending, and I had a really wonderful, refreshing time. The conference was held fresh on the heels of the last week of school, but I'm glad that I got to go and be a part of the conference and the time with the ladies. 

On top of the work that I'll be doing this summer, I do think the nesting instinct will kick in as we prepare for the baby this September. This morning I already got caught down a rabbit hole of learning about toxicity in scented candles, nail polishes, and non-standard essential oils, and I feel like I need to do a clean sweep of my house! I've switched to all natural facial products and hair products over the past nine months, and I'm thinking brands like Pure Hive, Palate Polish, and Young Living will become my standards for cleaner, more natural products in these other areas, as well. 

I am currently loving the summer break (as of yesterday) and time hanging out at home with the worlds cutest doggos. I am looking forward to what's to come, both personally and professionally as the seasons shift once again!