Play Center and Cone Pizza!

It's been long week. Olivia has been sick since before we left for Spain. I've had an upset stomach for days now because I'm constantly cleaning up messy stools. I finally put her on probiotics. I noticed immediate improvement, however, she has not fully recovered. No one else has come down with it (thank goodness), however, both girls have been sleeping poorly for over a week. I'm so tired! I've had so much coffee today, I'm surprised I don't have heart palpitations!
Matt won't be home until late tonight. So, the girls and I got out of the house today (Olivia wanted to stay home and I had to get her into the car kicking and screaming) and explored without him. There is so much to see and do here and we've seen little in comparison to how long we've lived here. A friend mentioned a drop-off play center a while back that she really liked. I'm not a huge fan of those places. They are usually run by high-school students and dirty. So, when I walked in, I was shocked. The place is immaculate and Olivia rushed to the arts and crafts table. Crafts, and a slide shooting into a ball pit. What more could a three-year-old want? The woman running the place spoke decent English and is probably my age with a college degree. Olivia barely said goodbye as I walked out to explore the neighborhood with Lila on my back.

We shopped for eggs and fruit. Then, I had a coffee at the shop next door to the play center. Lila met a little girl her age and wandered around on the cafes outdoor patio quietly. I could have brought a book to read! Olivia will soon be a regular at the play center and Lila and I will be regulars at the cafe! What a find!

After I picked up Olivia (who had to be bribed to leave by an offer of pizza), we scooted around the corner to Kone Pizza. That's right folks, pizza in a cone! Has that caught on in the States yet? If not, someone open up a shop! Jeez, I could have let my kids eat these in the car - they were that mess-free (and tasted great)!
With nap-time approaching, I made a stupid move and decided to drive around some more. I found two really beautiful-looking parks that we just have to hit sometime soon! I forgot to mark them on my GPS, so Matt and I will have the pleasure of driving around the quaint streets to find them.

Lila took a 7 min, 5 second nap in the car and I had a heck of a time getting her back down once we got home. Once Olivia was down, she quickly messed her pants. Finally, by 3:00, I had them down. I'll have to limit their nap so they go to bed at a decent time.

Matt wants to take them to the zoo tomorrow. I want to go to Ladra Alternativa (Alternative 'Ladra" Market) in Lisbon. It ends tomorrow and there I can find jewellery, ceramics, etc., with the guarantee that I will buy original and unique items. Maybe we can go to the zoo in the morning and, after naps, hit the market and then go to dinner at a Nepalese restaurant in Lisbon that gets great reviews. The weekend is just too short to cram in everything I want to do!

The Business of Being Born - Follow-Up

Yesterday, I received a copy of the film through NetFlix. I've taken some time to think about the film and thought a post update would be appropriate.

Upon viewing the trailer, one would think that the film is primarily focused on bashing c-sections. It is not. While the film mentions the disturbing rise of "designer birth" (c-section+tummy tuck), it focuses more on the abuse of pitocin and the customary position of laying down to push that OBs in America use (in most other countries, it is not commonly used). It also touches on the rise of scheduled inductions, OBs extreme fear of lawsuits which often guide their decisions, and how patients need to be reminded that hospitals are businesses.

The film makes clear that midwives are not delivering babies at home without a plan and proper back-up. They come to a home with pitocin in case a mother begins to bleed out, resuscitation devices, transfer plans including back-up OBs on-call. It highlights how most midwives are better trained at laboring with mothers and delivering babies than most OBs (who are well-trained surgeons, not necessarily well-trained at delivering babies).

Pitocin labors, no matter how a mother ended up with one, are tough and often cause the baby great stress (i.e. irregular heartbeat - one complication, among many). Pitocin may be given when a women fails to progress at one centimeter an hour and OBs decide to "help" out. It is very commonly given when a woman receives an epidural.

Not mentioned in the film, but recently written about at Mothering.com, is how pit is also given when a mother's water breaks and she surpasses the 12-hour policy most hospitals have in allowing a mother to go into labor on her own (It can take up to 48-hours for a woman to go into labor after her water breaks. Most American women do not know this). If a woman's body isn't truly ready to go into labor, pit may do little more than stress and tire baby and mom out. Women have had agonizing, long labors before a decision is made to do a c-section because baby never came down and mom didn't dilate well. OBs are infamous for diagnosing "failure to descend and/or progress" often telling mothers they could never have a vaginal birth, when in fact, it was the steps taken by the OB and hospital staff that led to the complication. OBs are very good at convincing parents that their diagnosis is the absolute fact.

Laying down to labor and push can cause failure to descend or slow descent. Since laying down isn't the optimal position for helping baby come down, pushing can take much longer than usual or lead to a c-section. Often baby will be of poor presentation (a woman laboring naturally instinctively moves her body in such a way and uses gravity to move baby down and into proper position) which can lead to several complications during final delivery. Forceps and suction are commonly used when a woman lays down to push (also used because a woman cannot feel to push the way she can when she is laboring without drugs).

The film highlights unrealistic expectations hospitals and OBs tend to have. It highlights successful midwives and their more gentle birth choices for patients and their unborn babies. Gentle choices such as quiet homebirths and waterbirths - which provides a gentle, warm birth for baby, pain relief and drastically reduced peritoneal tearing for mom.

The film brings to light that modern interventions can cause a domino effect that has help lead to America's c-section rate of 1 in 3. This film was meant to bring this to the attention of American parents.

The two flaws I felt this film had were 1. Not mentioning when a c-section and modern interventions would be most appropriate. Parents watching the film are left to do their own research in that area. 2. I also wished they spoke about doulas a bit more. I, and anyone I know who had one, feel they are mandatory in achieving a drug-free birth (dads will appreciate them, despite initial apprehension), especially in a hospital when the lure of drugs is so enticing.

On the other hand, I found it very interesting that many hospitals c-sections are done at 4pm and 10pm. I'll leave it up to you to figure out why those hours are popular. Talk about pressuring a laboring mother!

I also sobbed with joy when witnessing the natural births and hearing mothers talk about the rush they felt and how the event empowered them and change their life forever. I realize, and respect, that some women don't wish to feel the pain it takes to get to feel that rush of natural oxytocin (something not typically felt with an epidural birth), but am still saddened that so many women miss out on it. I enjoyed feeling validated during the film and hearing women describe the exact feelings I felt after my waterbirth with Lila!

All in all, it gives expectant parents "food for thought," an awareness that there are other choices out their in regards to birth and awareness of what is going on in American obstetrics. Expectant parents can use this film as one of their many tools in their research during pregnancy.

Cabo da Roca and Suckling Pig

Well, we infected our guests with our colds and fevers. So, Matt and I decided it would be a good idea to get out of the house and let our guests get some much deserved zzz's.

We headed to Cabo da Roca. It is the westernmost point in continental Europe.

"Where the land ends and the sea begins, and where the spirit of Faith and Adventure which took the Portuguese caravels in search of new worlds for the world still reigns."

The drive there is stunning. We started out with the Atlantic and sand dunes on our left and entered into small, picturesque towns (pressed for time, we didn't walk around the towns and take pictures...this time).

Later, hungry, we headed to Negrais for lunch. Jonathan Reynolds, of Travel and Leisure, described Negrais' suckling roasted pig best when he wrote, "Once we made it onto the town’s dirt roads, past the underfed stray dogs and squawking poultry hopping outside dilapidated one-story houses, we found the juiciest, most intensely flavored roast pork in the country, probably the continent, possibly the world."

While we didn't search the town as well as Mr. Reynolds and his wife did, we found a small mom and pop run restaurant with the best tasting roasted pork that I've ever had. Matt picked on me for being such a tourist and taking the above picture. But, I couldn't resist. It was so good. We hope to bring family and friends back there and try this delicious pork out at some of the other restaurants to compare.

Seville, Spain

We are crazy. Olivia came down with a fever and stomach ache on Thursday night. Most, sane, parents would have canceled a weekend trip if their child came down with a fever of 103.8. Not us. We discussed canceling. However, Motrin and Tylenol masked her fever well enough that we decided to chance it. It turned out to be our best trip in a very long time. We absolutely loved Seville. It is such a beautiful, clean city. The weather was perfect for walking around: Sunny, breezy and cool. Most of all, our kids were very well behaved.



Despite Olivia pooping (read: diarrhea) her pants during dinner at a restaurant, and running out into the restaurant (with me chasing right behind) with her bare bottom for all to view (great story for the future, ruined my appetite at the time), we had a great time. Her fever broke by Saturday morning and despite being a bit tired and still having a crampy stomach, she was a trooper. Lila was too, as she is getting over a cold. We were able to walk around Seville with our kids on our backs (both slept on our backs during naps) with hardly a whine or complaint the whole weekend. They even slept fairly well at night.

We enjoyed a carriage ride around the city, great food with family, beautiful sites and wonderful smells! The flowers were in full-bloom and the whole city smelled wonderful! The National Palace was stunning. I especially liked the two painted and tiled bridges. I was able to pick up a locally made sangria pitcher and a couple of other pieces of local pottery.

We bought Olivia a Flamenco dress and matching shoes. She is so excited about this outfit. We allowed her to wear her shoes while riding around on Matt's back. We got a lot of smirks out of passersby.

I have to say that I enjoyed Seville even more than I did Madrid (on a trip many years ago)! We live four hours away from the Spain border and had such a wonderful time, that we hope to spend more time getting to know the country.