Cold and Flu season is here!

(Above is my mom meticulously measuring out her tinctures to make herbal medicine. I learned what I know from her and always noticed how happy she was when she was putting her concoctions together.)

Here we go! We are already in the thick of it, germs that is! Silas was born just about three weeks ago and this week poor little Serafin came down with Croup! Ugh. Not fun. Fingers crossed the little one doesn't get it.

Anyway, this unlucky turn of events has inspired me to write a blog entry, perhaps just to vent a bit or remind myself that there is stuff that I can do! In this house we do our best to stick with old school remedies that promote good immune health and healing. I have so many herbs in my kitchen, but these are our staples and the easier things to find for those that don't really want to go looking to hard, . . .

Tinctures:

Echinacea Tincture (both children's and adult): Helps boost immune system

Elderberry Tincture, (or dried Elderberry Berries which make a nice tea if you add honey) another immune booster and is filled with Vitamin C

Meadowsweet Tincture: For headaches

Teas:

Chamomile: Great for settling the stomach as well as helping you sleep

Cat Nip: Not just for your cats! An excellent stress reliever as well as sleep aid

Lemon Balm: Another stress reliever, this one doesn't make you sleepy though.

Mullen: lines the bronchial tubes during a dry cough

Nettles: A nourishing source of iron and calcium, also a diuretic.

Oils:

Olbas Oil: Helps loosen cough

Arnica Oil: Great for bruises

Lavender Oil: Helps relax, reduce stress and relieves headaches

St. John's Wort: Wonderful for releasing tight muscles or reducing nerve pain.

Tea Tree Oil: Good for disinfecting nasty cuts, also treats vaginal infections, such as yeast or BV

Other:

Lemons: good for Vitamin C, mixed with Manuka honey

Manuka Honey: Used to treat many ailments and is a very high quality raw honey

Homeopathic Meds for cold and flu: various, mostly for the little ones

Book Recommendation, . . .

I also have to plug a book of which I consider a natural parenting bible, Naturally Healthy Babies and Children written by herbalist and midwife Aviva Jill Romm. It has a wide variety of suggestions for many common childhood ailments. Of course I wouldn't trust just anybody, but my Mom was an avid follower of this woman and her books, she would always rave about her and at one point even met her in the herbalist community. So if my mom gave her the thumbs up, I do to.

You can check out her other books here. Her book on pregnancy got me through my nine months of gestation with both kids and I do recommend her her book on Vaccinations; her thoughts are honest, always backed up with clinical research, and resinate with my inclination to be aware and cautious when deciding to administer vaccinations.

Silas' Birth in all it's glory!

Silas Mikel Dorrington: Born October 30th, 11:19 AM, 7 lbs, 11 oz

I woke up around midnight on my due date. I had gone to bed early that night, I knew labor was coming soon. My body was tired of being pregnant and I had aches and pains everywhere. The surges woke me up, they were not the practice surges that I had been experiencing for the last few weeks, they were a stronger, lower wave that made my body sing.

I looked at the clock, I watched them come and go for about an hour. "Give it an hour" my midwife had said, "then call me". Yup, it was definitely labor. I went upstairs to tell Gary, I was excited. "Are you sure?" he said. During the next surge, the upright position I was in made it a stronger one. "Uh huh!"

I called our midwife, Ellen, it was a little after one in the morning. "Good morning!" I said to her, "It's starting, and I just wanted to keep you updated." She advised me to try and get some rest, start filling the tub and that she would see me soon. Gary and I went downstairs, he made the birthing bed and started filling up the tub. We both laid in bed while the tub was filling up. I was breathing through the surges. They weren't that strong yet, but I did remember thinking, "How the heck am I going to do this again! Here we go!"

I was listening to the water filling up the tub, then Gary started snoring, I was obsessing over every little sound, I needed to be alone and get into the zone. I took a candle with me up to our spare bedroom. I called my friend Mel who was going to be at the birth, told her it was going to be soon. I was emotional, I was missing my mom.

When I got off the phone with her I closed my eyes and drifted in and out of sleep, my surges building in strength and my body getting ready to birth. I remember letting go and just thinking of them as energy. It helped me relax and let the surge move through my body. Gary buzzed up at some point to let me know the tub was ready, I felt better knowing that everything was in place. I breathed through the surges. I moaned through some. I just laid in bed on my side and let my body do what it was mean tot do. It was amazing.

Around 7:00 I went back to our bedroom. The surges were getting stronger. I had been drinking a ton of fluid so I was going to the bathroom a lot. Every time I would stand up, Silas' head would push down and my surges would get stronger. I called Ellen again around 8. "Their getting stronger, but I just don't know when it will be. I will keep you posted." She asked me what I was doing. I told her just laying on my side. She asked me if I had tried the tub and I told her I really didn't feel like moving much. She said a good indicator would be when I felt like getting up and moving around or getting in the tub. She was right. An hour later I was ready to move.

I called my friend Mel, I still thought the birth was going to be a while, I told her to bring a book and we could hang out, she was on her way over. I got into the tub. Labor intensified. The tub really got things moving. The water felt wonderful, the weightlessness. I had Gary call Ellen again, she was going to head over. Before Ellen and the other midwives, Jamie and Hannah, arrived I told Gary I wanted some family time. He went and got Serafin and brought her into our bedroom. Of course she wanted to get into the water. He stripped off her clothes and plopped her in. I continued to labor and she played around me. Gary showed her how to poor water on my back while I had surges. I felt so close to my family.

Out of nowhere, something in me unleashed, I began to wail for my mom. I heard my voice, it felt like an ancient wail, such a primitive sound coming from inside me, not a cry, not a sob, a wail. I had never wailed like that. I had been holding it in, afraid to let it out, afraid to feel it. I missed my mom so much. I knew I had to feel it, I knew that feeling it would allow me to open up and release into birth. I don't know how long I wailed for, but I knew that at some point I started to come out of it. I was back to being with my surges and family again.

I started to get too hot, so I got out and layed on my side. Ellen arrived. "I think this is it." I said to her. "I hope he comes soon". I added as I moaned through a surge. "You look like a woman in labor to me!" said Ellen. "I hope it's today" I added. "Oh, I think it's going to be today." Replied Ellen. It was 10:00ish. Hannah arrived. They were bringing in equipment. From then on it becomes a bit of a blur.

I got back into the tub. I began moaning. I remember sensations. I was so in my body. They had put a cold wash cloth on the edge of the tub which I couldn't pull my head away from, it felt so good. I remember them checking the babies heart rate. I remember them prompting me and telling me how good I was doing. At this point Gary was upstairs with Serafin, he was coming down and checking on me on and off. I could hear Serafin jumping around on the floor above us. I moaned. I was in laborland.

I remember Jamie arriving and then Mel. I remember feeling Mel's hands on my head, massaging my scalp. I remember Hannah saying "breath him down". Then I felt the bodies natural urge to push. "Let your body do the work, go with your body" Ellen told me. My body was doing it. The next surge was here, I was toning, I remember hearing Jamie toning with me. A deep, loud "Om" is what it sounded like. Jamie's voice was music to my ears. Somehow, her toning with me made me feel like I was not alone. Like she was right there with me, laboring along side with me. I felt like I had angels around me.

I remember Ellen saying, "I think it might be time to get your Dad here". He was supposed to take care of Serafin. I actually had to think about it for a minute, I still thought it was going to be a while (don't ask me why!), then I agreed. Gary came downstairs, I could hear him on the phone with my Dad, a surge was coming, "ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" I heard my voice say, I felt my body bare down and then suddenly felt Silas' head crowning. "Get off the phone!" I shouted to Gary. "His head is coming!" More moaning.

My clit felt like it was going to tear in half. I felt myself tensing. My midwives suggested either I or they put pressure on the area. I reached down and literally pushed down on my sons head, away from my clitoris. Relief. Another surge. His head came out. More relief. He was here! I couldn't believe it. Jamie reached down and got him from the water. Silas was born in the caul, which means he was born in his water sac. This is said to be good luck. Jamie pulled the membrane off his head. "I'm glad that's over!" I remember saying.

Somehow we got situated in the water and they gave me Silas, he was crying that beautiful newborn cry. Gary brought Serafin in and I felt surrounded by so much love. My Dad arrived a few minutes later and came in to meet his grandson. It was an amazing birth. After a little resting time in the water, Dad took Serafin upstairs again so that I could birth the placenta. I was eager for it to be over and done with and a bit impatient with that part. Jamie assured me that sometimes it takes a while. She gave me some herbs to help with the surges and then after a good push, I felt it gush out. More relief.

I was then helped into bed and looked over; my vitals, my yoni, everything. Silas then had his turn. He was born at 11:19, weighing 7 pounds 11 ounces. Ellen made me an omelette, I devoured it. I was then ready to rest.

It's funny, when I read over the events, it all seems so simple. In fact, it was simple. Leading up to the birth was so complex for me, I kept playing mind games with myself. Preparing, dealing with my grief, letting go of expectation. Once I was actually in the birth, I just let go. What an amazing feeling. I am still glowing from my birth experience. I feel blessed to have been able to feel and experience such a wonderful life changing moment. For me, both times that I have birthed have been an empowering and amazing experience. I have never felt more in my body and more letting go into whatever the universe is offering me. Thank you to the people that surrounded me with so much love and light. My family, my friends, my beloved midwives. I truly felt that I was surrounded by angels. I am one lucky mama.

Giving Way To Birth, . . .Before Silas Was Born

Before Silas was born, . . . .

It's hard for me to think of where to begin with this story. To just go into the details of his birth or just describing the events the day Silas was born feels like to little. There is so much more behind the story and leading up to the birthing process. From the moment I found out I was pregnant again, I began preparing for birth. A lot of this pregnancy was about facing my own mortality, looking at death and really letting go and accepting what life has to offer.

After my mom died a year and a half ago, life turned a different color for me. Everything became sharper and more vivid, I realized what was important in my life and I learned to let go of a lot of things that didn't matter. I grew up in a way that I needed. I felt pain I had never felt before. It was the hardest experience I ever went through, and I still grieve for her. At the same time, my mom's passing opened up an opportunity for me to learn about myself and grow in a way that I couldn't have done without experiencing her loss. I am grateful for that.

When I found out I was pregnant again in Febuary, the close experience I had with losing a loved one sent me into my own tunnel of fears and insecurities. Two years earlier, when my daughter was born, I had an innate trust in my body, I "knew" I could birth her. I wasn't afraid. This time was a completely different experience. Looking at death so closely, seeing my mom's body after her death really hit home to me how we are literally here one moment and gone the next. I was afraid of dying.

In the last months of pregnancy, as I got closer and closer to the birth of Silas, the fear of dying during or immediately after labor became stronger and stronger. I actually remember at one point saying to myself, "If I make it through this birth, all bets are off, life will continually surprise me with it's own path and I have no control over it." In some way, I needed to experience this birth to firmly remind me that I am powerless over life and death. That I don't get to make that decision. That life will take me where I am meant to go.

The days before Silas arrived, there was a letting go. I remember feeling more at peace. Whatever was to be would be, and by then I was feeling so uncomfortable in my body, that I was ready to face the challenges of labor. I had an amazing team in place, each of whom I loved and trusted. There was a part of me that was worried that any fear that I had left over would hinder my birthing process and make it more difficult. When in fact, I learned, that it was only during the process of birthing, that I was actually able to really let go into my fear, feel it fully and release it.

My daughter's birth was about being present and not having expectations. My son's birth was more about accepting "what is", making room for "it" in the present and not judging myself for whatever I was feeling. I am incredibly grateful to have had such wonderful birth experiences, each with their own challenges and most of all moments of pure bliss. Birth can be that as well as hard work and painful. Giving birth was transformational to me. I am incredibly blessed to have been able to experience it fully not only once, but twice in my life.

39 weeks and the tub is ready to go!

Yes! I hope to give birth in that! So exciting! For those of you that may have read Serafin's birth story, you all know she was birthed at home, sans water (an experience I've always hoped to have). We had planned for a water birth, but didn't manage to quite make it in there on time. As a matter a fact we didn't even get around to rolling it into the room to start filling it up!

We'll see what happens this time around! So far so good! I'm feeling ready as well as the gamut of other emotions that come and go, excitement, anxiousness, curiosity, all of it, . . .

Please wish us your love and light!

xoxo

Love to you all!

Fun at the Little Farm

For those of you that don't know, Tilden Park has a lot of great attractions, the Berkeley Botanical Gardens, the steam trains, amazing trails and even a little farm. Here kids can learn about the different types of farm animals and even get a chance to feed them. Serafin loves going to it. She particularly has an affinity towards the pigs, how could you not, they're so cute, "snort snort".

Unfortunately for the munchkin, the last time we went it was a bit late in the day and the "piggies had gone to bed" already. We still had fun walking around and feeding the goats and cows. If you catch them during the week on a good day, apparently you can even get fresh eggs. They have so many chickens that they are always on the lookout for a willing taker (Me! Me! Me! Nothing like fresh eggs.). Below is a video of Serafin feeding the cows, . . . MOOOOOOOOO!

What to do with left-over phyllo dough???

Make some Spanakopita!

Remember the Baklava I made just a few weeks ago?? Well, I bought extra phyllo dough just incase I might need it and it has been sitting in my freezer since. Because I know I'm not going to be cooking for a little while after this baby is born (any day now!) I decided to make some Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie) to have for now and to freeze for later. It has been a regular Greek fest in this house in the past couple of months. I don't know what it is, but this pregnancy has me salivating over all the Greek goodies of my past.

I followed this recipe. The only tweaks I would make is to add some extra feta cheese, and use fresh spinach (no questions, the taste is so much better). And, . . . of course, I used whole wheat phyllo dough which I prefer. I like my Spanakopita to have a nice think layer of spinach, so I found that this recipe only made one large 9x12 dish and a smaller 8x8 portion--not two 9x12 dishes.

The Greek in me gave this recipe a thumbs up, with the extra cheese it would have been even more finger licking good! Enjoy!

Rainy day crafting, . . . Halloween decorations!

I had fun making these little Halloween candle decorations with the munchkin this afternoon! It was a rainy day so it was perfect for staying in and pulling out crafts. Serafin mostly had fun sticking tissue paper to the jars and getting messy. It was fun to see her reaction once I lit them up, her entire face smiled.

This was my first time working with Mod Podge, loved it, a glue, sealer and gloss all in one, definitely a new staple in our house! I have to give credit to the website where I found the idea, they have lots of other fun ideas I might try too! This one was fun, quick and easy!