I'm Not Dead!... (but I do have different ideas)

Ok so I've been away for some time. From my blog that is and I've been very present in my own life which is good because if i wasn't living my life than who is? Yeah, wouldn't be me I'll tell you that.

Couple of funny things I've noticed in my absence.
1. My audience seems to primarily be france and china... I don't know what i have to offer either of you but thanks for visiting.

2. The last few posts both published and unpublished are about me wanting to change the focus of my blog to make it more relevant to things I actually do and know about than things I really do.  Problem, I'm really not an expert in being a mom so much as its what I suddenly am and now I need to learn how to be not only a mom but the very best mom I can be... Because I want my son to have the best mom and so the choice is mine.  The one I havn't published yet and might not now was that I was going to do a blog overhaul and gear it to my already just above crash and burned business venture in the tie dye onesie making world.  What killed that was getting a job. A good job but a job that took me away from any free time I had to do art or devote to hand dyeing, i hardly have time to spend with my kiddo and keep the clutter at home to a dull roar.  So that was a bummer because I invested in a lot of materials to get that up and running.  I still play with the idea of getting that going and I do have requests for those now and then despite not getting blogs etsy, or business cards together but not really enough time to experiment with branching out into women's ware... sigh. 

So I've pretty much disbanded my audience (for good reason) and my blog is trying to find itself while I'm trying to make my life both fit me and where I'm at. 

I have little time for art sadly but that dosn't mean there aren't topics that are important to me that I couldn't apply creative thinking to.  More specifically I have taken a very intense interest in health.  I almost want to describe it as eating according to a code of ethics.  Let me elaborate. I wish to be free of GMOs and consume as little pesticides as possible.  I want to not look for food with the least bad but the most good.  I want naturally occurring nutrients. I want to know where my food comes from and eat as organically and locally as I can.  The less packaging the better, the less processed, even better still. I'm aware that this sounds like a lot.  To my husband this sounds like I'm going to spend all our money on 3 bags of groceries and then after we eat a few weird hippyish meals we'll starve until the next paycheck. He says he'd love to eat organically and buy from the butcher and farmers markets but hes pretty convinced that it's not in the cards for us.  I am determined to prove that thinking wrong.  I know we are horrible at handling our money (I like to think I'm a little better than he is, but I do have my binges) and when it comes to buying groceries that's no exception.  I think if we were to stratagize better we could eat delicious, nutricious, meals that rely less on huge corporations and more on my home town.  and I think we can afford it.

I've been drawing a lot of inspiration from this lady here http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/100-days-on-a-budget/

This entry has gotten too long for today but I do have lots of ideas for future posts on this subject.  some things I've done some homework on and already incorporated in our meal plans with varying levels of success.  More on that soon.  Till then thanks for reading and my God bless you and keep you :)

Baby Talk: What's Wrong With Our Birthing Plan.

Hello and welcome,
I'm Laura, I'm an artist, this is an art blog but I'm taking a break from art to talk about becoming a mom.  Thank you for understanding.
So the significant other of someone I know and love posted what follows:

Fact of the day: The United States has the highest infant mortality rate of a developed country.

 It also has one of the highest maternal mortality rates.

 I am inclined to believe that.   Here's why.  You go to the hospital they hook you up to monitors and if you're having contractions close enough together and you're dilated 4 cm they keep you.   And they keep you there hooked up to those monitors. Some times they make you go walk for 20 min if your contractions slow down but you just sit. Gravity helps babies out in the labor process but only if your standing, squatting or walking. When laying down your biggest assets are gone and gravity doesn't help your 8 lb chub of love whose never crawled before worm his way out a very tight space. 

No pain management yet and I'm still determined to smile all the way through despite the IVs burning my arm.  Bonus: i never cussed or got mad, at least I followed through on that goal.

In the name of medicine we have to lay or sit in a very reclined position so we can be constantly monitored by a machine instead of a nurse or midwife. They check in every 15 or 30 look at the paper make sure your alive and leave. Then when they see your contractions are going away because your laying down like a dumb bunny they put you on pitocen which is synthetic oxytocin which is the hormone your body should be releasing since your supposed to be pacing the floor to cope with the pain. So you have this pain inducing pitocen making you cry and curl in a ball ( because your not aloud to stand very long, they have to time your contractions and the baby's heart rate.) then you need something to manage your pain like an epidural. the anesthesiologist comes in and tells you all the things they legally have to tell you "i'm threading the iv in your spine you wont be able to walk or feel your legs temporarily how ever it could paralyze you permanently, you and a witness need to sign these papers here) so you have your drugs and your monitors and your pain has dulled down some, now you feel the need to push that's good, your dilated and ready to do the real labor. problem, you can't stand, walk, squat or do anything. your not in control from mid chest down enough to trust your legs worth anything. you may as well be paralyzed and you're trying to give birth. All of this is extremely frustrating and counter productive. 

on pitocen, wrestling with myself to get an epidural

mmm epidural...ok maybe i hammed it up for the pic

Did you know the female body can stop and reverse the birthing process if its scared or stressed? fantastic right? one of those cute little survival instincts no one tells you about until its happening. so after hours and hours of all this they decide that the baby is experiencing fetal stress and must be removed from the womb right now ( why didn't they think of this 20 hours ago when this was inevitable all along no one knows probably because your dumb self thought you'd get a natural birth like you planned) but your babies heart rate drops every time you push and at this point your like i don't care about anything except the babies safety and at this point it really is safest for baby to be cut out via c section. so but in 90% of births this could have been prevented at the beginning.

I'm checking out my BC probably forgot the nurse had my camera.  Like the curtain so i didn't watch the surgery?

This is my birth story. BC's healthy as a horse, thank God, I almost died twice in the following 3 weeks... I just started gushing blood like some horror scene. First I was diagnosed with an infection which is the most common reason for that, not that they checked. So I go home happily with more drugs and less blood. It happens again they do an ultrasound they find bits of placenta that are flapping around and preventing healing so the vacuum all that out. I'm lucky that only happened twice. A friend of a friend went back 6 times in the following 3-4 months from her second c section. She had 6 opportunities to bleed to death. I got 4 or 5 doses of blood in one day how many did she get? Apparently this kind of thing is pretty common with c sections. Of the 4 at the hospital that gave birth in 12 hours all 4 of us ended in emergency c section. The doc on call specializes in natural labor but because of the way they have to do things its futile.  She had me push on the operating table, she wanted me to give birth but my body decided to collapse around BC, his heart rate kept dropping and his cord was probably getting squished. 

Holding my chattering jaw shut.  I was in loads of pain and didn't know it the general anastesia is about to put me to sleep for two hours but its slow enough to at least let me meet BC face to face.  Isn't that a handsome lil pudge?

Why do so many babies die in the US when we could do so  much better? Maybe we put too much emphasis on monitoring the lazy way, (a nurse could check with a stethoscope every 15 min and be just as accurate) which then requires speeding things up which then requires masking pain all to have surgery when the body needs to experience labor to allow all the functions to kick in that are supposed to. Many c section babies can't nurse because the hormones weren't released by the detaching placenta and never made it to the brain and back to the breast. Our technology focuses on convenience rather than health, birth is a pretty good example of that. I don't know why infants die. I could blame the insurance that the hospitals are required to have that ties their hands from doing anything that wont look good on court papers ( if a dr is sued for mal practice they don't believe they did everything within their power if they didn't resort to c section, dr's may go to medical school and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that natural birth is way better yet their hands are tied by what they think the judge and jury will think if they are accused of medical mal practice). The hospital 7 min from my house wont take "at risk pregnancies" if i developed gestational diabetes during my pregnancy I'd have to switch doctors and drive an hour away to the nearest hospital qualifies, and only pas 3 or 4 others to get there to have a C section because my doctor's medical group wasn't insured for at risk pregnancies. I could blame medicine, depression meds in particular cause unwanted abortions. We have the highest population treated for depression. That could be a factor for sure. I could blame birth control, does it make sense to prevent children then when you get them any to expect them to arrive safe?  Its kinda conflicting but good grief I only want to take a birth control that can promise wont harm a my baby if it doesn't work.  I don't want to potentially harm my next child if I don't get them spaced apart like I want.  That's not right. I'm glad to know that they are teaching in collage that laboring on your back isn't good for mom or baby.  Apparently that's the reason behind our high infant mortality rates: a counter productive birthing environment. The student was accurate when he said "they put mother and baby through unnecessary measures which end up hurting more than helping" I agree.  Next time I give birth I want 2 things.  If I have to be monitored I want a cordless monitor otherwise I'd rather be without one and have the nurse keep an eye on me.  and 2 I want to ditch all the IVs Pitocen AND penicillin. Apparently I have group B strep which is some bacteria that 25% of women have and its potentially harmful to baby.  Could weaken their immune system before they hardly build one. Bye the way group b strep is not an STD, don't treat me like its my fault, the doctors don't know what cause it.  I do intend to find out more about it and see what the hard core birthing hippy camp has to say about it.  I kinda want to go to a Birthing Center honestly.    I want to be encouraged to do what is healthy and not sit so I can get drugs shoved in my arm and spine and watch the monitor show what my contractions are doing... I like watching BCs heart rate but that was about it.  Granted it did give my hubby something to do, he told me when I was going to have another contraction... haha love him any ways.

Ok I'm way too tiard to expect to sound intelligent.

 

Baby Talk: Things I Want Every Pregnant Girl to Know

Hey You,
I know I'm deviating from the topic, ok when don't I? But this is a subject that I feel is relevant for me to talk about.  I may combine art and children or move these posts to a separate blog. We'll just play it by ear as I usually do.

Ok so I don't know about you but my Christmas was full with an engagement, 3 pregnancy announcements and 3 births.  Holy cow. Currently I've gotten back in touch with an old friend whose 8 months pregnant and she seems to think I'm some great wealth of knowledge so I've been encouraging her as best as I can and now that both a very good friend of mine and my sister in law are pregnant as well... I feel like I should write my experience down that way I can have it for reference.

Congratulations! you have begun your motherhood journey. Fortunately or unfortunately there's this really rugged initiation process called pregnancy [or adoption but that's not my arena... maybe some day] and while there's a lot of advice everyone and their mother are willing to give you and some will conflict here is what I found to be important.

Vitamins.  But not just any prenatal vitamin, you want the kind with the DHA omega 3s and omega 6s.  Its good for baby's brain and helps prevent postpartum depression in mommy... I should probably take fish oil.  While were on the subject of omegas olive oil contains omegas and its recommended you have fish twice a week.  No shark or sword fish or any large fish like that ( mercury is bad) but salmon, cod and red snapper are all fine once a week if its wild caught ( there's GMO SALMON?! what the---) if you're a tuna person you should probably do your homework on which ones are safe and which aren't. This is a really good resource http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/fishmercury.htm  Shrimp are perfectly fine :)  Tempura sushi any one?

Spontaneous hunger and nausea stink.  Have like 5 mini meals in your day and keep snacks on you when you go out.  Your goal is not to become a taco-bell junkie. Taco-bell should have a sign that says official food of the half crazed pregnant mommies. Mmmmm cheesy potato burritos.... can you believe they closed the taco-bell by my house? the nerve.

Get an ob/ gyn or a midwife lined up.  Talk to medical professionals.  I recommend figuring this out as soon as possible since most gyns want to see you starting at 3 months.  You'll have to get oodels of blood work done but if they find infections or (God forbid) STDs you want to know about and treat that ASAP.

Coffee. You CAN  have coffee. Just limit it to 2 8oz drinks at the most.  (my dr's advice) My first trimester I quit out of trying to err on the side of caution. One week I ground half real beans and half decaf beans together so when I did decaf the following it wasn't as big a shock.  Two days in to my decaf week I decided I didn't like the taste of decaf and I quit for about 3 months.  [unless it was peets decaf] In my second trimester I would allow myself one a day as a treat.

Exercise. If you want natural child birth, EXERCISE. Walk, get a prenatal yoga dvd, something and do it soon.  The bigger you get the less interested you will be in taking it on. Obviously it needs to be mindful of the baby there's rules about laying on your back (does it really cut off oxygen to baby? ask your dr.  )

Keggels. Every one sings the praises of keggels.  Find out what they are and do them.

Calcium. You need lots of it.  That particular nutrient the baby gets first dibs and he will draw it out of your bones if he has to.  (which in a way I wish they could get first dibs on all of the nutrients but I guess mommy still needs to function if there's any hope of getting more nutrients. Knowing this I had cereal with milk every morning and I became a cheeseaholic.  I kept string cheese for snack, made quesodillas often and in a moment of snobbishness I went to a local gourmet cheese shop and sampled a few hard cheeses and decided I needed to purchase a wedge of sheep gouda.... pretty much just so I could cut off pieces and eat it as is.  You cant have soft cheeses but I hit the hard cheese hard o.o (sorry no feta, brix or bleu... but I like hard cheese better any ways......mmmm parm, gouda, monteray jack, cheddar, Colby jack, mozzarella, pepper jack... I don't think I ever had all those in my fridge at the same time but 5 or so was pretty common.  I'm not gonna lie we got into a few fights about how come I kept buying so much cheese, but I think the man appreciated having a few quick cheese sticks to snack on. 

Migraines.  You'll have them.  I had em before I knew I was expecting.  Read the fine print before you take anything! Take tylonal extra strength as prescribed and that's about the best you can do.  Ibuprofen is ok the first trimester but after that don't push it!! It has been linked to serious problems with delivery. I'm sorry everything smells so bad and I'm sorry the neighbors two streets over use their chain saw and leaf blower so much.  You will like music again, you will be able to look at bright screens again. Your car will stop smelling like carls jr that you bought last week and you drove home with the windows down just to be safe.  It will happen. I don't think I have to tell you this but stress makes headache way worse.  People I knew and loved were splitting up, my work schedule got super weird and there were medical issues none of it was my business but everything came crashing down for them, I spent the next 3 days in bed. That was before I knew you could have tylonal.  What I did try was tiger balm.  Put that below the hair line... I don't know how but that seriously helped. Then my nurse called back and told me tylonal and that fixed it for good. I could eat and walk again, it was awesome.

Ginger ginger gin gin gin gin ginger... sorry.  Helps with nausea... some people like ginger candies, Altoids makes some. I liked Ginger ale had it for brakefast some days so I could get something in my system and then get down real food.  I also enjoyed getting the vegetarian sushi and eating the little pickled gingers that come with that :)  Ginger tea was alright but I really don't recommend leaving the tea bag in once its reached its desired strength. The ginger and citrus blends were way yummier, made good iced tea :)

Rosemary.   I don't want to scare you but did you know there are abortive herbs?  Rosemary's the big one. Its mainly the essential oil you want to avoid.  and I finally found a list of other essential oils to avoid: basil, cedarwood, clary sage, clove, cypress, fennel, hyssop, jasmine, juniper, lemon grass, myrrh, parsley, pennyroyal, peppermint, sweet marjoram and thyme.  Again were talking about whats in essential oils not whats in spaghetti sauce. Please read more here if you're getting a massage or a facial.   http://www.naturalbloom.com/articles/aromatherapy-47/ There's also info on beneficial oils and I wish I found that when I was looking for it the first time.

Pampering, Some people swear by prenatal massage.  I never had that luxury really though some days I realy realy wanted one.  Fortunately my man has a hand held massager and that helped my poor lower back a lot.  There were days though that he was impatient with my constant everything aching and I can see why you would want to pay $50 for a pro to be required to spend a half an hour on you.  Ummm... You need to be careful not to elevate your body temp too much, jacuzzis are a no, saunas are out,  any qualified masseuse will know to turn the heated mat off for an expectant mommie.  Here's a fun little wives tale.  Apparently if you're having a boy he will become really active during your massage session, if your having a girl she will calm down.

Hair dye. Avoid bleaching all three trimesters but using vegetable dyes such as some henna dyes ( read them, not all are truly vegetable dyes) and Manic Panic are fine during your second and third. :)

Juniper

Lemongrass

Myrrh

Parsley

Pennyroyal

Peppermint

Rosemary

Sweet marjoram

Thyme

- See more at: http://www.naturalbloom.com/articles/aromatherapy-47/#sthash.zj0CDh1G.dpuf

Basil

Cedarwood

Cinnamon

Clary sage (OK during labour)

Clove

Cypress (OK after 5 months)

Fennel

Hyssop

Jasmine (OK during labour)

Juniper

Lemongrass

Myrrh

Parsley

Pennyroyal

Peppermint

Rosemary

Sweet marjoram

Thyme

- See more at: http://www.naturalbloom.com/articles/aromatherapy-47/#sthash.zj0CDh1G.dpuf

Basil

Cedarwood

Cinnamon

Clary sage (OK during labour)

Clove

Cypress (OK after 5 months)

Fennel

Hyssop

Jasmine (OK during labour)

Juniper

Lemongrass

Myrrh

Parsley

Pennyroyal

Peppermint

Rosemary

Sweet marjoram

Thyme

- See more at: http://www.naturalbloom.com/articles/aromatherapy-47/#sthash.zj0CDh1G.dpuf

Yeast infections.  Gross.  I had a few.  Monostat is nasty and expensive. Eating yogurt every day over half a year cuts your chances of getting it in half,  but garlic is good for combating infections you already got. I recently got into cultured butter, wonder if that's preventative? moving right along.

Floss like you've never flossed before! Your sudden increase in hormones isn't so good for your gums and you're way prone to gingivitis, gingivitis can cause birth complications.  No one wants that. Its advisable to see a dentist but tell them your pregnant and they'll skip the x-rays.

Fruit... fresh fruits were my cravings (other than cheese, chocolate and raspberry greek yogurt) especially pineapple which is kinda interesting because though I liked it it never stood out to me and I avoided buying it because I didn't know how to pick a fresh one... until I was pregnant... some how I magically knew I could go by sense of smell... My man's also good a picking nice pineapple :)  Now that I'm un pregnant hes probably better than me, last time I got an over ripe one and it molded in 2 days :(  but yeah, eat your colours! Colours are indicative of different nutrients as I'm sure you know, and as a bonus constipation wont be a big deal for you.  If you are blocked up never fear, that's what kiwis are good for! Those things are crazy loaded with fiber :)

Clothes.  those things that fit worse and worse unless it was made by omar the tent maker, and then it appalls me that it fits better and better.  Most bumpies that I've talked to recently agree that leggings and flowy dresses are the way to go. I also highly recommend the ribbed tanks you can get at old navy for $8. They have a maternity section! who knew? Most things looked like they got hit with the ugly stick but I looooooooooved my ribbed tank I wore it with everything even in the third trimester I think next time I'm prego I'm going to just get two more in different colours and call it good.  Prego pants are super ugly right... really comfy once you really get there but until you really need them they offend your senses greatly.  or at least that was my thing.  I didn't understand the magic of belly bands. Some people in the baby mamas group were saying that took the pants they loved, left the button undone, looped a hairband from the hole to the button and put a belly band over it. the idea of a belly band is that it looks like an undershirt but is snug enough to stay in place... thats my understanding anyways.

The first trimester will end.  The second trimester is generally a lot better than the first. I had some lower back pain and trouble with clothes fitting but other than that, that's when I was getting really excited! I started showing and It was nice looking pregnant rather than chunky. It was fun.  I loved my belly, I couldn't stop holding it about 18 weeks I would lie very still and close my eyes and feel him kicking... heaven!!  At 22 weeks if you have a GYN they'll tell you what the sex is if you want to know but we found out at 16ish weeks through a abnormality/ defect screaming ( It didn't occur to me that I should opt out since the condition of the baby had no effect on weather or not I was going to give birth... but the genetic counseling was good and it was fun seeing all of his organs and know that they were all healthy.)

I think this is where I will stop.  My recommended reading is what to expect while you're expecting ( I loved the weekly breakdown of how baby was growing! worth it for that! also told you what symptoms were normal and what symptoms you should call your dr about)  and what to eat while you're expecting (It was really helpful not only with delicious recipes but it told you about all the vitamins and minerals, what they do, how you digest and store them, and where they come from in your diet.  Very cool.  I love that reference. Its especially helpful if you have an aversion and you're wondering how to get those crucial nutrients with out it. )

enjoy your bump! comment If you want another post on the third trimester, my birth experience or the first month after... I just thought this was overwhelmingly large and figured I should stop here.

<3 br="" laura="">

A New Direction

Hey every one :)

I just wanted to let you know that I'm embarking on something new!  I'm still painting but I feel that my artistic passion is being heavily directed by the two foot tall heart breaker takeing all his clothes out of his tubs on the floor next to me.

So some friends and family have new little blessings on the way and I was wondering what I could make for their babies... Then I got an idea.  That idea turned into a half baked business plan... that half baked business plan turned into a massive (to me) charge on my credit card... that charge on my card turned into (anxiety, hyperventilation and border line buyers remorse... just kidding... mostly) a hefty box on my front porch.


What was in it you ask?

Stuff :)

 And wonderful stuff.

Well and more stuff.... I got a lot of studying to do because frankly there's a lot of chemistry involved.  I also need to finish a post I've been working on since January... I think its safe to say my blog has an identity crisis but that probably reflects on the blogger more than anything.
 But yeah... here's to starting things and committing to finish them!
Here's to ignoring doubts and plodding along in the face of almost certain failure or mediocre success.
Ok that kinda sounded depressing but think about it. But put it this way: Say BC's in my shoes.  He's 23 he's trying to find his niche in the world.  He has an idea, a faulty one but its an idea and hes excited about it.  Would I want him to try it or would I tell him not to bother and collect ideas and explain why none of them would have worked at the end of the day. I would want him to try! So there for I'd be a hypocrite to not do the same.  If I would want my son to be brave and try bold and silly ideas until something clicks, I better be prepared to do the same.

<3 p="">us

Art update! abstraction and peacocks

Hey You dear art fans!

It's been along time since I got serious on here.  I have a bunch of new work from the past 2ish weeks!

There's about 5,000 layers of paint on here it was roses and checkers. I painted it out to do wings, didn't like it then I wrote "to have and to hold, to love and to cherish" around the time of my first anniversary... that is still a raised texture in here... now its becoming a family portrait of sorts... we'll see what happens.

The back two are abstracts I've been working up... the one to the left is what became of "holy Joe" and now I might call it "Exploding Dandy Lions" the one to the right was inspired by the one on the left and I crackle textured it in a similar fashion... I'm not quite happy with it but it's almost there.  the one in the middle is BC's which you can see him painting it in my last post  http://lauracarpenterart.blogspot.com/2013/01/painting-with-bc.html

BC's Authentic signature ;)

I've enjoyed a huge burst of creative energy today (finally) the lighting dosn't do justice but I'm so excited!  I took this one start to finish... i may want to fine tune later but it's pretty good considering I thought I lost my ability to do faces :P

the last two panels I did today.  I don't have a name yet.  Worked em out in record time! I love where my head's at!  This is  slight deviation from my other interactive art but its welcome. i have far more ideas where this came from anyways.

So that's it for my art update today... I could have split them up but I got over eager.

I love you all, may God bless you and keep you and your loved ones safe bye for now!

or feel free to catch up with me in the comments :)

Laura Carpenter

Painting With BC

 Hey you!

 

So mommy decided it was warm enough to play outside yesterday.  Now in a normal family that would involve a kickball or something.  While I look forward to the day when my man takes BC to get his first kickball. I also like him where he's at right now. All cute and chubby and exploring his hands and feet and feels like standing up is a magic trick. I love that. I want to share my world with this little explored and everything in it that I think is amazing.

  Which means playing with colorful paint.

 and play we did.

with love,

Laura and BC

Hunky Shirtless Fireman!

 hey you! Little BC here! happy new year!

 Sorry Mommy and I went on an abrupt Christmas hiatus.

 We were really busy... and had a hard time conjuring up good content when we weren't busy.

 But fear not, we are alive and well and eating plenty of blue berries. (and bananas, I've eaten a whole banana more often than not this week! I don't know about mom and dad but I'm getting my 5 a day in!)

We love you and we'll be back on with mommie's new painting if she ever quits painting over it! Take good care of yourselves and feel free to comment below about your Christmas holiday :)
love little bc

ps: what do you think of the new blog look? its a work in progress but feel free to let us know your thoughts.