And The Newest Charley Is...

Samara Aspen Dior Mittman, born Saturday, 18 January 2014 at 8:34pm. She bears a striking resemblance to her big sister, and she is absolutely perfect.

First day home, snuggled up and cozy.

Cheeks!!!

Just born, meeting Dad for the first time.

In my arms, posing in her sleep for the relatives.

Wonderful big sis giving Samara cuddles.

First hour home, cuddled and sleeping with Mama.

Meeting Cousin Alex for the first time...

Mama's sweet baby.

Away We Go

Woke up this morning to contractions every 10 minutes or so, but soon after getting out of bed, my mucous plug emerged.  Contractions sped up to every 5-7 minutes. Called the birth center and spoke to my midwife, who encouraged me to get there sooner rather than later.  Called my sister to ask her to pick up B sooner rather than later.  Called Adam at work to ask him to come home sooner rather than later.

B is off to my sister's house now, the dogsitter has been notified, Adam should be home in less than an hour, and the birth center is preparing a room for us.  Everything about this labor feels different than B's did 4 1/2 years ago, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good turnout, nonetheless. 

I was hoping for an orgasmic birth this time, and even got my head into that mindset last night before bed.  Each contractions came and I threw my head back trying to feel the utter pleasure of it all.  That lasted awhile, but now that the morning has come and the contractions are much more intense, it's harder to find orgasmic pleasure.  Rather, I'm finding solace in other ways...I'm thinking of every single power ballad I know the words to and belting it out during contractions (which helps A LOT!).  The sweetest thing was having B, who felt really protective of and worried about me as she watched me muscle through the contractions, hold on tight and cuddle with me through them.  That was awesome.  That little girl has so much internal strength and compassion.  She could be a doula or midwife herself one day :-)

I feel strong and brave and powerful and unafraid.  I don't know where these emotions are coming from--instinct, perhaps?--but I'm ready for this.  Baby and I are both ready.  Bring it.

Pre...something

I decided not to announce my due date or any other pregnancy progression on Facebook this go-round.  Five years ago, when I was pregnant with Bryony, I announced my due date, my prelabor pains and just about every other sign that baby was forthcoming...and after four days in labor, I had an inbox full of e-mails, a flurry of text messages and voicemails and missed phone calls.  I realized that a) when people see a "due date" they think that means an expiration date, so if you're coming even close to it, they start to ask ridiculous questions like, "Isn't that baby out of you yet?", and b) the last thing (this) woman in labor needs is a bunch of anxious, curious, and sometimes-demanding inquiries into why the baby hasn't arrived yet.  So, this time, I've just decided to stay mum.  I just told people the baby is due in January, but I didn't say when.

Well, here, dear blog, I'll confess that I am currently in prelabor (yay!).  I've been having contractions since yesterday evening.  They were coming every 3-4 minutes, so I figured they were Braxton-Hicks, especially since they weren't painful, just very strong.  After drinking a very large glass of water, the contractions begged off after about 45 minutes.  I slept fitfully last night, but woke up this morning to a hard-as-rock belly and painful contractions every 10-11 minutes.  Those lasted a good hour, even after drinking water, so I started to think I was in for the real thing.  But after getting up to walk around a bit, eating a bit of food and drinking more water, the contractions subsided to every 30 minutes or so, but still painful. 

And that's where I am now.  I spent the first half of the day in bed, just letting myself rest.  Around 1pm, I started looking around the house, growing nervous that I could bring our new baby home to all the floating dog fur, cat hair and dust bunnies that have run amok in the last week.  So I got up and started doing a deep clean of the bathroom, bedroom and floors.  Good idea in terms of housecleaning...bad idea in terms of my physical state.  The contractions are still irregular, but they hurt a bit more when they come.  I'll probably start timing them in the next half hour or so to make sure I'm not going into active labor.

So that's it, dear blog.  I confess this only to you, and my faithful readers :-)  More news when it arrives.

And Then I Saw This

This link to an interview with Bill Nye (The Science Guy) just came across my Facebook feed (thank goodness I still log in from time to time for little gems like this one).  Remember Bill Nye from our elementary and junior high school years?  His show had the corny song, and he looked even cornier with his big bow tie?  But remember how much we LEARNED about the world around us because he made it so easy and fun for us to understand?  At what point did people decide to forget that science is not only cool, interesting and factual (not to mention, makes sense) and stick their heads in the sand instead???

This link is to a 3-minute interview with Bill Nye...a scientist who has helped change the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXLdcqIj-SA

Snippets...on science

On the cover of this week's Parade magazine is world-renowned (and much beloved) astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson.  I LOVE this guy.  Not only does he make science fun and accessible to folks who might normally not think of themselves as particularly interested or "science-savvy", but he also happens to be hilarious.

As I was reading the article about the so-called "Master of the Universe", I was struck by one particular paragraph in the article:
"...Tyson sees himself as a citizen of the entire universe, and he believes knowledge about science can help protect what [Carl] Sagan called 'the pale blue dot' of Earth.  '[The science documentary] Cosmos is not only about updating you on what science is but also conveying why it matters--especially in the 21st century, when issues related to science are fundamental to political issues,' Tyson says. 'These are political hot potatoes that could be settled or informed if we became more scientifically literate.'"

Issues such as climate change, vaccinations, GMO's, amongst others could become non-issues (or at least, seen simply as partisan talking points rather than true scientific unknowns) if a greater contingent of the public understood science, even on a base level.  The fact that many people who self-identify as "climate change deniers" don't understand the scientific process, don't understand how scientific theories and laws are developed, and don't understand what a preponderance of empirical evidence is...well it's frustrating, considering all of these things are taught in junior high.  We have 12-year olds who have a better handle on how science works and why it matters than their parents do.

I remember listening to an episode of The Diane Rehm Show on NPR several years ago, where the subject being discussed was climate change.  Her panel of expert guests were scientists representing various agencies and organizations, and they all extolled the fact that climate change is, indeed, happening.  At one point in the discussion, when Diane opened the phone lines, a caller admonished her for not inviting a panel member "from the other side" to represent the opinion that climate change is not occurring.  Diane (very correctly, in my opinion) answered that it is not her practice to have a contrasting opinion represented during a scientific discussion, when the overwhelming evidence (and overwhelming consensus of the scientific community) is contrary to that dissenting opinion.  That would be like having a serious intellectual discussion about gravity, and bringing someone onto the discussion panel who claims that gravity does not exist on Earth. 

I sometimes wonder about people who are anti-science.  Science is what has propelled medicine, air travel, electronics, agriculture, food safety, energy, amongst many other things we take for granted.  Why people would trust politicians to feed them information on climate change when they would never trust one to fly a plane, perform surgery, inspect their food, or develop reliable energy sources...I don't understand.  Why do folks doubt science so much?  Especially in a time where scientists don't tend to be rich (and yet the average member of Congress is a millionaire) or bow to special interest groups, I can't quite put my finger on how scientists have ended up as the "bad guys" in so many people's minds.

I think many people in this country are intimidated by intellect and education.  Heck, I can admit that I am!  I love science, and I understand it to a large extent, but I am nowhere near the level of being an elite scientist.  But, rather than feel alienated or defensive by this fact, I tend to embrace the fact that there are people like Neil DeGrasse Tyson who DO understand many things about the world far better than I ever will.  I look to them to explain this subject matter in a way that I CAN understand, so that I can make more informed decisions about how my elected officials should create policy.  I don't look to politicians for the answers.

Carl Sagan's widow, Ann Druyan, states in the Parade article that after years of "hostility toward science", we "are beginning to look up at the stars and dream again."

If putting Neil DeGrasse Tyson on the cover of the magazine is any sign, then I sure do hope so.

I Almost Included a Picture, But Decided Against It

With temperatures here having dropped to below freezing due to the so-called "polar vortex," we've stayed inside the last few days to keep warm.  The forecast for the rest of the week, however, suggests that we'll be getting a significant thaw out soon, with temps hitting the 40s and perhaps 50s by the weekend. 

That little bit of news reminded me that I had some work to do in the backyard.  Without going into too much graphic detail, let's just say that we have two decent-sized (50-lbs-ish) dogs, and that I haven't been in the backyard since before our last snowfall (approximately 1 week ago).  This was put-my-big-girl-boots-on type of work.  B asked if she could join me, but the idea of her stepping in the "wrong" place was just too much to have to think about, so I banished her to the dining table to draw while I set about my work.

So glad I doubled up on my plastic bags.  So glad I wore my boots.  So glad I'm not color-blind like the hubby and am able to differentiate leaves from "other things."  So glad my thigh muscles are strong enough still to deal with the constant crouching so I didn't have to try to bend over this pregnant belly.  So (especially) glad I don't have an ultra-sensitive gag reflex.

I filled (to the top) a nice, doubled-up, heaving-under-the-weight bag of the stuff that's really good to pick up when temps are still keeping things frozen.  This post would've gone a whole different way if I'd waited until the big thaw tomorrow. 

I almost included a picture.  Aren't you glad I decided against it?

Taking a Bit of a Hiatus

From Facebook, that is.  I've realized that whenever I'm away from my computer for an extended period of time, I don't miss checking Facebook, but I DO miss writing here on my blog. There are other reasons for leaving Facebook for awhile, including

-increasingly troubling security issues
-a need to rid my friend list of people I haven't seen or known in 15+ years that have unrestricted access to my photos, thoughts, groups, etc
-it's time-sucking/wasting, and I could be a lot more productive without it
-it's self-indulgent and self-promoting, and encourages me to broadcast to the masses many photos/stories that I would typically have shared with only family and a handful of friends
-I spend too much time checking to see who has "liked" or commented on the aforementioned stories/photos I posted; it's like I'm vying for top prize in an online popularity contest
-I miss the time I once devoted to this blog

I won't be deleting my account, or even stop checking Facebook.  But I do plan to substantially lessen the amount of time I spend on the site.  I'm hoping my next post will really only be about the birth of this next baby.  For all its faults, Facebook is a great way to stay in touch with many people I do love and care about, but wouldn't normally be able to communicate with so frequently.  I don't mean to demonize the site; I just want to better the way I use it.