Lisa Leonard Designs Jewelry GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Lisa Leonard Designs Jewelry GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Check this out - I guess I'm in "win" mode today...these are just so cute!

Bloom where you're planted

So...this blog post is really for me :) but I hope it serves as an encouragement to you, too. This is a portion of what I've been processing and pondering that has left my blog a little desolate save a few photos here and there!

'Bloom where you're planted' isn't a new phrase. For me, and for many of my friends, it's a new experience. I've bloomed where I've been watered, repotted, showcased and lovingly protected at times. To be honest I kind of prefer that :) - which probably speaks to a level of immaturity in me but as for today that is the truth of my emotion. Yet in my heart I know that to grow where I am, bring life where I am, be a blessing wherever I find myself, is the ultimate thing of beauty.

Anything can grow in the right temperature, with the right soil, a little miracle grow and constant tending but finding a thing of beauty in an unlikely place...now that is something to behold.

There is solace in knowing that I am digging roots in a place that never changes and will never go away either this side of eternity or the other.

And now...back to homework :) Thanks for taking a moment with me to pause and reflect!! More to come!!

Welcome Autumn!

I am a non-blogger lately...this usually happens when I'm pensive and unable to "bloggingly share" my thoughts. :)

So, I'm sharing some simple pleasures that come with the current season...I looove fall and the older I get the more I welcome its coming. The season so full or orange - pumpkins, pumpkin spice lattes, orange candles that smell like "home", hearths covered in leaves and berries and wreaths on front doors... there's something about warm lighting that fills houses during the season when it gets dark early and the snow limits sunlight that makes it feel warmer and more inviting...in a different way from the fun and carefree outdoors enjoyment of summer.


Welcome fall!! It's so nice to greet you! :)

My baby girl is 3!!! WOW!

Happy Birthday sweet Olivia :) Here are pics from her birthday weekend which included the beach, presents, yummy french toast breakfast prepared by Daddy, cake, singing and lots of love.

Precious baby boy

Here are pics from our most recent ultrasound :)

I always feel like I need to explain every nuance of an ultrasound so everyone can see what's truly there but I'm refraining this time - enjoy!

A year makes a huge difference....

July 4th, 2008....Liv was still 1 but counting the weeks until her 2nd birthday, Evelyn was 3 months old and we hadn't even thought about the little man we are expecting!!

And this year....my how they change!! Olivia will be 3 next month and Evelyn is almost 1 1/2!! Next year this time we will have an almost 4 year old, a 2 1/2 year old and a 9 month old...the adventure never stops!!! I'm so glad :)

Olivia and Abby

Liv and her Grand-Nan (Eric's maternal grandmother)

All ready for the beach!

Sharing with daddy

Are you kidding me? "Pit to distress"???

I was made aware of this through a post on facebook and then another blog...after doing a little research of my own I have to say I'm shocked, apalled and just continue to have more reasons to be stressed about our medical system...its trustworthiness and the questionable practices of doctors.

All excerpts taken from this blog

“Pit to distress.” How have I not heard about this? Apparently it’s quite en vogue in many hospitals these days. Googling the term brings up a number of pages discussing the practice, which entails administering the highest possible dosage of Pitocin in order to deliberately distress the fetus, so a C-section can be performed.

Yes folks, you read that right. All that Pit is not to coerce mom’s body into birthing ASAP so they can turn that moneymaking bed over, but to purposefully squeeze all the oxygen out of her baby so they can put on a concerned face and say, “Oh dear, looks like we’re heading to the OR!”

The term is found in this 2006 article in this Wall Street Journal article:

Oxytocin is a hormone released during labor that causes contractions of the uterus. The most common brand name is Pitocin, which is a synthetic version. It’s often used to speed or jump-start labor, but if the contractions become too strong and frequent, the uterus becomes “hyperstimulated,” which may cause tearing and slow the supply of blood and oxygen to the baby. Though there are no precise statistics on its use, IHI says reviews of medical-malpractice claims show oxytocin is involved in more than 50 percent of situations leading to birth trauma.

“Pitocin is used like candy in the OB world, and that’s one of the reasons for medical and legal risk,” says Carla Provost, assistant vice president at Baystate, who notes that in many hospitals it is common practice to “pit to distress” — or use the maximum dose of Pitocin to stimulate contractions.

It’s also used on this AllNurses forum:
I agree, and call aggressive pit protocols the “pit to distress, then cut” routine. Docs who have high c/s rates and like doing them, are the same ones that like the rapid fire knock em down/drag em out pit routines.

“Pit to distress” appears on page 182 of the textbook Labor and Delivery Nursing by Michelle Murray and Gayle Huelsmann. In this example, the onus is on the nurse to defend the patient from the doctor if he or she sees the order “pit to distress” by immediately notifying the supervisor or charge nurse.

I'm a little bit not sure how to wrap this up exactly...but quite disgusted...go figure the midwives here dont' take VBAC patients...nice.