Swensen Sentral

The story of her birth (if you're interested): I went in Monday morning to be induced one week early, hoping to have a smaller baby. By 8:15am I had my IV and pitocin started, but my stats weren't very good (1+ cm dialated, 40% effaced, -3 head position). I opted to get an epidural this time around just to put my mind at ease about the birth. I talked to the Anesthesiologist about my bad experience with Chase and what I was hoping for this time around, and he was great about it. Around 10:00, he gave me what I consider "the perfect epidural". I could still move and feel everything, but the pain of my contractions was dulled enough that I couldn't feel them. It was great. My midwife broke my water right after that to help get things going since I wasn't progressing very quickly, especially for a 4th time baby. By 1:00 I was still only 3cm dialated. I attribute my slow progress to the fact that I was induced one week early (my body is always ready at 40...

Born June 6th, 6:53pm, 7 lbs 15 oz, 20" long, healthy and beautiful! All went well.

So...I've never been one to schedule an induction. I always like to wait until I go into labor on my own (which is always 3 days after my due date), but this time I decided to try something different. Mostly because Rick was supposed to be out of town and I wanted to have the date set in stone so he knew when to fly home for the birth, and the other reason is because I always have big babies (9lb 7oz was my biggest) and I just didn't want that again. So I scheduled an induction one week earlier than my due date, and tomorrow is the day. I'm a little nervous about being induced early, and hoping that my body will remember what to do, and that all will go well and the baby will be healthy. Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it goes!

Jesus suffered, bled and died That the law would be satisfied Lifting the burden of my sins If only I would remember him He only asks for a willing heart That we sincerely do our part There's only one condition for us Forgiveness to everyone is a must

Here's all about milk according to Nina Planck, author of Real Food: What to Eat and Why Whole Milk - Why it's good for you Butter fat helps the body digest protein in milk (something lactose intolerant people need help with) Bones require saturated fats to lay down calcium Cream contains vitamin A & D which increases calcium absorption, which is why skim, 1% and 2% must be fortified Contains special fat that protects against gastrointestinal infection Powdered Milk Powder is created by a process called spray-drying which damages the milk cholesterol, which increases the risk of atherosclerosis (plaque build-up) Dried milk is added to lots of milk products including skim, 1% and 2% milk. In fact some skim milk is made entirely from milk powder and water. A study was done by a Dr. Pottenger who treated patients with raw milk, cream, and eggs and didn't find one case of high blood cholesterol or plaque. His conclusion: cholesterol is not the problem, the problem is what...

Up until now I haven't been much of a proponent for flu shots, but boy have I changed my mind. Chase caught the flu last weekend and ended up in the hospital again because he was having trouble breathing. It turns out he has asthma, which we didn't know until now. So he is at high risk for flu complications in the future. The rest of us have all caught the bug, and I tell you I was sicker than sick yesterday and in bed. I don't ever remember feeling so awful! I had every symptom in the book: body aches, fever, nasal congestion and runny nose, watery eyes, ear pressure, extremely sore throat, cough (which didn't help the sore throat), mucus in my lungs, yep everything except a stomach ache. YOU DO NOT WANT TO CATCH THIS! And to top it off both Amelie and Sawyer now have it so I can't even have anyone watch them so I can stay in bed. And Rick is at the hospital with Chase. My sweet sisters have subjected themselves to getting sick in order to help me out. I ...

More from Real Food: What to Eat and Why... The Cholesterol Theory . The myth is: eating cholesterol and saturated fat raises blood cholesterol and clogs arteries. Milk is rich in cholesterol and saturated fat, so it must not be very good for us. That's why we buy 1% or skim. With this new information, and a conscientious effort to eliminate these from our diet, why has cholesterol and heart disease risen in Americans? Real Food quotes studies done of Masai shepherd communities and Swiss dairy communities where people eat whole milk, cream and butter, and are in excellent health. Interestingly, when Americans began the transition from saturated fats to unsaturated fats in the early 1900s, that's when heart disease and cholesterol began to rise. At that time we began creating our own "better" kinds of fats like margarine, shortening, and refined vegetable oils (what the book calls "industrial" fats ) instead of butter, cream, beef fat and lard ( ...