Just wanted to pop in and let y'all know I haven't had the baby yet. Looks like getting to 37 weeks will be no problem afterall. We've had lots of excitement and I almost went in on Sunday, but then it stopped. They always tell me to lie down to stop the contractions, but it seems getting up often helps more. That may change when the real thing comes along. This weekend is a long weekend break from school here, so many people are going out of town, including my doctor. He's arranged for a very good doctor (more his senior from the sounds of it) to take his place if I need him, but I hope to carry on through as I suspect the hospitals and everything may be understaffed a bit. From all indications, I've carried through the last few days with no further progression of labor, so I'm optimistic.

My eye doctor is running a bunch of glaucoma tests on me early next week (if I'm able to be there). Apparently I have a couple risk factors. Looking at family history, I have risk factors for other eye problems as well. So I'll start looking into strategies to keep my eyes as healthy as possible for the long run.

What else...oh, 'tis the season to be un-jolly, as my seasonal affective disorder kicks in mid-October. Not the best time to plan on a feat such as delivering a baby, and certainly not the best time of year to be sedentary as I've had to be for about a month. Early October worked out well with my first child, I was so out of it after his birth that I didn't notice any seasonal changes...I guess postpartum and SAD cancelled each other out, but mid to late october isn't great. So I'm upping my sources of omega-3s and DHA. Not only could that benefit my moods, but it's also great for the baby.

Wanted to thank Linda for passing on how she opens up a pomegranate...under water! That's a great idea. She cuts it in fourths on one end then submerges it in water with a colander, from there you can open it up without flying seeds, and easily separate the floating membranes from the sinking seeds. It probably minimizes the mess from broken seeds as well. Can't wait to try it on my next pomegranate.

We made it to full term, 36 weeks. Hooray! I think it will happen soon, but my husband is still set on the due date. He's trying to get me to visualize and plan for that, but I'm having a hard time believing it, there's just too much going on in my body right now; it's getting ready, so I am too!

I think I've found my approach to a pomegranate. I used to try to cut through the peel in fourths, then tear it open, but it tended to explode. Now I cut through just the peel of smaller segments, the first one looking much like a round disc, about 1-2 centimeters thick in the middle, then I pull this off. Then I go around making similar cuts and segments until all that's left is kind of the core under the blossom. Then I pick out the seeds from all the segments, and have fewer flying seeds, because each segment is small enough to bend without breaking. I used to not know that you could eat the whole seed, I'd chew on it to get the juice out, then spit out the rest. Now I eat the seeds whole, and I like them that way as long as I only eat a few at a time, rather than a big handful. Some are still on the sour side, but that doesn't slow me down!

Added Note for Ripe Pomegranates:

I just tried the method on a pomegranate that was perfectly ripe, and found it a bit more challenging. I made the cuts through the peel, but then all that would pull off was the peel itself, not the bigger sections. So I ended up with most of the flesh still attached to the core. From there I gave the core a twist, holding the stem end in one hand and the blossom end in the other hand. This worked well, a few seeds fell out but none flew through the air, and I was soon able to break it into more managable sections.

Well, my doctor was right. I was sure I'd go into labor once I went of the medications, but very little changed. I feel much better without the prescription, it had caused me low blood pressure, headaches, fuzzy-headedness, and red circles under my eyes. It was worth it to keep the labor at bay, but I'm glad we're out of the woods. In 3 more days we'll be out of preemie territory, and I'm grateful for that. It's common practice to give any baby born more than 4 weeks early a boatload of antibiotics and such, so it will be nice if we can spare him and his immune system that experience.

I'm not ordered to be on bedrest anymore, but I'm trying to be down as much as possible, while still soaking up a little fall sunshine. I've met most of my work deadlines, had some help with Halloween decorations, my hospital bag is mostly-assembled, and I'm ready for anything...the nature of my personality makes it hard for me to wait around and see what happens, yet also I can't quite figure out how we could make it all the way to 40 weeks. So, I'm waiting...

Pomegranates hit the stores here this week, and I'm trying to eat as many as I can before the baby is born and I'm no longer able to spend the time it takes to properly enjoy one. Studies show that if a pregnant woman drinks pomegranate juice, her baby is less likely to suffer any damage if he has any oxygen deprivation during labor. They're neutral for As and Os, beneficial for O non-secretors. B's and AB's could try other juices (cherry, blueberry, cranberry, any deeply pigmented berry should be good), which probably have the same benefits, just not the corporate backing for the studies to find it out.

I don't think I've ever posted these recipes in my blog, so it's about time I get around to it. The waffles are a real hit...

Things are going fine here, I'm at 34 weeks now and haven't had any more labor. Anyway, here's the recipes:

Yeasted rice bread: Gluten-free, Dairy-free, corn-free,

soy-free, nut-free, etc. Doesn't require kneading, just mix, rise once,

and bake. Version 2.0, edited on 5-16-06

1 1/4 cup water, bring to a boil, then add

3 T flax meal

-simmer for 10 minutes then cool for 10 minutes

2 eggs

3 T olive oil

2 tsp lemon juice

-combine, then add the cooled flaxmeal water

3/4 Cup rice flour

3/4 Cup sweet rice flour

1/2 C arrowroot flour

3 T Sugar

2 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp yeast

2 tsp baking powder

-mix, then add liquid ingredients

Let rise for 20-30 minutes or more until almost double, bake at 350 F

until just starting to brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean. It has

a rather large crumb, is a bit chewy, but holds together well and tastes

good. (the original recipe called for vinegar, lemon juice makes it taste

much better) keep refrigerated after cooling. It sticks to the pan with

just oil, so oil and flour the pan with rice flour.

---------------------------------------------------------------------



Here's the waffle recipe, from Fall 2004 Living Without...

Millet & Sweet Rice Waffles



Be sure to soak the flour and milk overnight in the refrigerator



1 C millet flour

3/4 C sweet brown rice flour (white sweet rice flour works fine, it can be found at health food stores and asian markets)

1/4 C water

1 1/4 C milk of choice (soy, almond, rice or macadamia, buttermilk or kefir) additional 1/4 cup as needed

----------

1 egg

2 egg whites

2 tablespoons melted butter or ghee

2 teaspoons baking powder (replace 1/2 tsp of baking powder with baking soda if using kefir or buttermilk)

1/4 tsp finely ground sea salt

1 teaspoon dried seasoning like pumpkin pie spice (I like it better without this)

2 teaspoons citrus zest (I like it without this too, but frontier lemon extract is good)



1. Combine flours, water and milk in a medium bowl, whisk to combine. Cover bowl or pour mixture into a wide-mouth quart jar and refrigerate for 12 to 48 hours. If using buttermilk or kefir, soak uncovered or topped with a bamboo mat at room temp for 8-12 hours.

2. Preheat a non-stick waffle iron.

Scrape soaked flour mixture into a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk egg, egg whites and butter. Pour into flour mixture. Add baking powder, sea salt, optional flavorings. Whish briefly, just to combine.

3. Mist both sides of the waffle iron with olive oil or other compliant oil, pour 1/2 cup of batter onto the hot griddle (or right amount for model) cook to desired borwnness and waffle stops steaming, 3 to 5 minutes. Do not lift the cover for the first 2 minutes.

4. Remove with a fork and repeat. Use up all the batter, as the waffles keep better.

Serve plain or with jam, honey, maple syrup or almond butter, etc.



May refrigerate extra waffles in baggies for up to 4 days or freeze for up to four months (just toast from a frozen state)

I had a week of meals all planned out and groceries bought on Monday, but my newfound organization was about to be sidetracked, as usual, though this time by outside forces...or should I say inside forces... Tuesday afternoon lo and behold I started having contractions every 5...4...3 minutes. I was resting but they were gaining momentum, so my husband drove me off to the hospital as fast as the traffic would allow.

They tried hydrating me, like last time, while running the tests, but that didn't help. I'd been drinking plenty of water and taking it easy all day, so that didn't surprise me. I had just started to dialate a tiny bit, so on with the drugs. I can't tell you how happy I am to not have asthma, because the asthma drug they gave me was awful, but it worked after 2 shots. I tell you, I had my finger on the nurse button the whole time, afraid the side-effects would keep getting worse, but I survived.

So, they stopped the labor and sent me home with another Rx to keep it calm. This one is a blood pressure med, but not strong enough to lower my always-low-enough bp. I've checked it a couple times to be sure. At least I know the symptoms of low bp from experience. I feel like I'm now deeply entrenched in conventional medicine once again, I was quite comfortable sitting on the fence.

The drawback is that labor may not start up again when it's time, which isn't the birth experience I was hoping for. I'll hit the raspberry tea big time, in a few weeks. In the meantime I'll keep worrying about the baby coming too early. That's when you're glad for modern medicine. My husband's grandma called me yesterday to say hello, and told me about her brother who was born at 7 months. They didn't even have incubators, they had to take him home and try to keep him warm...of course he didn't have a chance. Now they have much better odds, though 8 weeks early is still frightening. I'm on bedrest, but getting very good at asking for help.