Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Solid Foods in the future...

Luca is 6 months old now and lately he's been pretty interested in the food on our plates! It was my goal to get him to 6 months on exclusively breastmilk and we're here! Part of me doesn't want to start solids because feeding is so convenient right now. It's always there and ready! Plus I don't want him to nurse any less than what he is now...but never-the-less, he will still be nursing...for a while or as long as he's interested. Even though I love nursing, I do look forward to feeding him=)

I've been reading this great book that Mom Franken got me called "Feeding Baby Green" and it's great! Feeding Baby Green 

Turns out, Guava is a power food, and one that I never really get my hands on here in Indiana-until now On one of my many jogs up to the neighborhood Whole Foods I got to talking with the produce guy...he ordered me just a few guava's and the rest is history. We have Guava for Luca until he goes to college. I'm also going to be making some other delicious meals for baby from the recipes in the book! Thanks Ellen!

So i think in the next month or so my little man will be introduced to a array of healthy foods. They say that by age 1, the child should have been introduced to as many tastes as possible...we'll see how many fruits, veggies, and whole grains I can get my hands on=)   Below are some pics of Luca's first taste of banana! (he's not eating regularly yet, but maybe by 7 months)...

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

from June...

Here are some pictures from Fathers day weekend when the Lee-Kingsley clan came to visit. We had a great time...at the pool, and the wine fest, eating fathers day cake and cooking at home...I'm still dreaming about that delicious meal babe! Thanks for introducing me to Swiss chard! Hopefully it won't be long until we see you all again! And we've already starting saving for Brazil 2014!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Luca's birth story...

I'm so so glad that Alex and I had Rachelle, our doula, with us during pregnancy and labor/delivery! Her help and guidance was SO valuable, words cannot describe (that's a whole other post). She doesn't say it below but SHE was the reason that I was able to get out of bed and deal with the contractions and progress labor. She got me in the shower, in the tub, and was such a great support. I think Alex was just as happy to have her because I think he was in shock most of the day. Shock that I was in so much pain, shock that we were going to have a baby, etc. And apparently I was in shock all day too because the birth story that I wrote skips half of what Rachelle recorded! I also exaggerated the length of labor just a little maybe=) I remember it being more like 5 hours when it looks like I was only having contractions (without the epidural) for about 3hrs! Wow! But you know, I would do it all over in a heartbeat. I have no regrets, just a few things that I would watch out for next time. I hope that I will be more aware next time...when you're in labor, you feel like the world is spinning around you and you have no idea what is going on. I was so focused on myself and being in the moment that I truly didn't remember half of what REALLY went on! I'm so glad for all that Rachelle has done for us and it's just like icing on the cake that she was able to write us such a great birth story for Luca. I've had the story for a while but chose to wait to read it until now. What a nice surprise! Thanks Rachelle!

Birth Story of Luca Franken:

I had the immense privilege of assisting Brittany and Alex throughout their entire pregnancy and attending them during their labor and birth of their baby. We talked a lot about the natural labor process and going past the due date, and Brittany not wanting to be induced. All of those ideas changed however, when at 35 weeks Brittany had a complication of pregnancy. She was diagnosed with Cholestasis, and had to make the choice of whether to continue with the pregnancy or be induced for the baby’s safety. After many blood tests and NSTs and biophysical profiles, weighing the benefits and risks, and many nights of worry, Brittany and Alex decided to go ahead with an induction on January 23rd. Britt was already dilated one centimeter which worked in her favor of the induction being successful.

I joined them at the hospital the night before just to check up on them- made sure they had all their questions answered, made sure they were emotionally ready for their birth journey the next day. I left and awaited their phone call for when to join them again. When at 8am I discovered I still hadn’t received a call, I talked to Brittany and she said that Dr. Soper hadn’t arrived yet, but that they were going to start pitocin at 9am. She also reported that she had hyperstimulated through the night and was given terbutiline to relax her uterus. When I arrived just after 9am, Dr. Soper had already been in and checked her. Brittany was 2cm and Dr. Soper broke her water without much conversation regarding it. When I entered the room, I could tell Brittany was already having contractions that were getting hard to work through. Alex arrived shortly after I did, returning from walking the dogs that morning.

After being in bed trying to cope with the contractions so they could get a good tracing on the baby and contraction pattern, Brittany decided to get up and try the shower for more relief. While she was in the shower, I ran the tub so that she would have it filled for her when the shower wasn’t working for her as well. Brittany was working really hard through her contractions, and they were right on top of each other – no breaks in between. The tub helped bring her to a more relaxed state, and she was coping as well as she could. Labor was hard work on pitocin. And even harder was the fact that she didn’t have a restful night, so she was tired too. She was shaking and showing signs of being further into labor, and was starting to consider an epidural. I suggested that she get out and get checked before she made any decisions so that she and Alex would have the best information available before making a choice. It took a long time to get from tub to bed- every time she would start to walk, another contraction would come.


When she finally was able to get to the bed to be checked at 11:45, the nurse (Anne-Mette) said that she was 4-5cm, 80% effaced, and the baby was at a 0 station. That was amazing work that Brittany did, and was a great predictor of a vaginal birth. The baby had come down really low, and at this point an epidural would probably not slow down her labor. The epidural was placed at 12pm and Brittany was able to finally relax. Dr. Soper inserted the pressure catheter to better gauge the contraction pattern she was having so they would know whether to up the pitocin or not. Brittany’s blood pressure got very low from the epidural, and the baby’s heart rate dropped in response. The anesthesiologist came in to give her something to bring her blood pressure and baby’s heart rate up. Brittany felt like her heart was beating hard, from the medication. But it worked, and her blood pressure went up and so did the baby’s heart rate.

At 2:30, Brittany was having some pressure so she was checked and her cervix was found to be at 8cm and the baby had come down to a +1 position. Great progress! More pressure continued, and she was checked again at 3:20 and she just had a “lip” left. Ten minutes later the lip resolved (she was fully dilated) and Brittany started pushing. She got the hang of pushing right off the bat and worked really hard at it. Just under an hour later, at 4:27, a little baby entered the world and they could finally see for themselves that they had a boy! He was 6lbs10oz and Brittany had no tearing. It was an awesome moment to see Brittany and Alex’s faces when they looked at their son for the first time.

Congratulations Brittany and Alex on your amazing journey to your firstborn. May you be blessed with many more!

Much love to all three of you!

Rachelle, your doula

Thursday, July 15, 2010

having a 6 month old...

First of all, I can't believe Luca is almost 6 months! I know I get sick of people talking about how fast time goes, but in the end, it's true.

This month has been great. We have seen family and friends and have enjoyed some vacation time at the lake and of course, the world cup. I've been reading some, and I really enjoyed "Operating Instructions" by Anne Lamott. She writes about her life during her son's first year and it is laugh out loud funny. Not to mention that there are so many things that I can relate to...I loved it. Luca and I read while relaxing in the hammock at the lake. Anne seems to have had a lot more to deal with in her first year of raising her son (and somehow that makes me feel good about myself), but then I look at Luca and realize that, yes, maybe he doesn't cry much, maybe he sleeps for 10hrs straight but no matter what...everyone has their own battles. We all have our worries and little issues...my whole thing this week is Luca and rolling over...see, he's not doing that at all. Part of me says who cares, we shouldn't compare him to other babies (ave age for rolling over is 4 months) but then the other part of me thinks to myself..what if I'm doing something wrong. Am I giving him enough tummy time? Is he really behind in the whole scheme of things? I think he's going to go straight to walking...that sounds good, but then again, I've heard that's BAD too! They miss crucial developmental milestones that could apparently scar him for life! Don't ask me...this is all trial and error I guess=)

Franken Men Photo Shoot

Grandpa, uncle Paul and Dad Franken were in town this weekend and we were able to get all the Franken men in the camera frame. There are four generations of Frederick Frankens! Our Luca Frederick being the newest edition. We also enjoyed watching the world cup and I think Luca especially liked all the attention...I love these pictures!

Monday, July 5, 2010

So excited! Vote for me please!

I am so excited to be one of three finalists with a chance to win a mentoring session with a great photographer! Her name is Jessica Feely and I would be so honored if I were the one to have the opportunity to go visit her in Seattle!

I do have to say that even if I don't win, I'm totally honored to be one of the finalists, and that itself has been a great thing~so thank you! That said, I would still like to win if possible:) Below, I've attached the note I wrote (as my entry) on why I think I deserve this mentoring session. I want to win so bad!!! Please vote for me!
You can vote by going to the Maternal Lens Blog site on this page or here: http://thematernallens.blogspot.com/2010/07/3-finalists-announced-vote-now.html
Votes have to be made by July 9th midnight.

MY ENTRY to the Maternal Lens:
Name: Britt Franken
Email: Britt.Franken@gmail.com
Portfolio: www.brittfrankenphotoblog.blogspot.com
also here: http://www.flickr.com/people/brittfranken/

I've always been a lover of photography. Just recently I've become a mom and therefore have taken a huge leap of faith and resigned from my full-time job to follow my passions: my family and photography. Even though financially, I knew that switching careers would be difficult, with my husbands support, I'm going for it! I dream that one day I can help support my family through photography while remaining present and flexible for my family. At this point I have never had a paid photography job. I've taken pictures of many children and families while trying to put together a portfolio but ultimately have found it hard to jump into the business. I've been studying and practicing my photography in between pregnancy naps and diapers changes for over a year now and I finally feel ready to gather up my confidence and my camera and take this leap of faith.

The opportunity to spend this time with you as a mentor would be a dream. There are SO many questions I have from composition and posing to work flow and pricing. I've tried to contact other photographers both locally and out of state but not one has responded or taken any interest in mentoring. I truly believe that having a mentor is one of the best ways to improve and grow in any aspect of life. Hopefully one day I'll have the skills to "pay it forward". Please consider me for this opportunity, it would be a life changing experience for me! Thank you!