Needling a Jump Start
BROTHER UPDATE -We were up early this morning and heading around the Beltway to visit Dr. Lee, the acupuncturist, who we've been assured can get labor started. Neither Susan nor Paul had ever visited an acupuncturist before, so this was a totally new experience. We found Dr. Lee's townhouse, and as per his instructions, went through the back fence gate, then down the stairs to his unmarked basement door. Susan rang the bell and we waited, wondering if we were even in the right place. But then Dr. Lee opened the door and eased our minds - he had a nice little office and waiting area.
Paul and Lux went shopping for cell phones and Susan settled down for a needling. It was actually quite a relaxing experience. Dr. Lee inserted two or three very tiny needles in each ankle and Susan lay down on the table with some comfortable pillows. Then Dr. Lee attached little clamps to the needles and started a pulsating electrical current. This didn't hurt, but felt more like a cell phone set on vibrate was resting on Susan's ankle. Relaxing and deep breathing followed, with Dr. Lee checking in every 15 minutes or so to see if Susan was having any contractions or cramps.
This went on for about 45 minutes. While there weren't any cramps, there was definitely an increase in Braxton-Hicks contractions and a general feeling of pelvic heaviness. This was all mild and not particularly uncomfortable. In an effort to ensure that the acupuncture treatment really did get things started Dr. Lee opted to insert needles in a second location, one in each wrist. The electric treatment was applied there as well, and 15 minutes later, we were done.
Dr. Lee predicted that Susan would go into labor Sunday afternoon. He offered valuable advice for postpartum healing and gave her some parting gifts - ginseng tea to boost her energy in preparation for labor, tiny metal acupressure balls taped on to her upper ears to keep things active and four itsy bitsy thumbtack-like needles in her ankles so that Paul can give her acupressure.
The spots where Dr. Lee placed his needles are the same ones that everyone in the yoga studio used trying to send Susan into labor with acupressure when we were pregnant with Lux, so we were comforted by that. In addition, the deep breathing was just as we use in yoga - so although this was a new experience it was also familiar. Also, the insertion of the needles was absolutely totally painless, and once they were in they really couldn't be felt. All in all, it was an interesting experience, all for about the cost of a decent massage ($90).
REGULAR PROGRAMMING
Lux is doing great and seems to understand that we are expecting brother soon. She often pats Susan's belly then grunts as her way of urging Susan to push the baby out. She says she wants to feed him bottles and knows that he will cry and sleep a lot.
She has begun saying Uh-oh dozens of times a day. That and "Wow". She learned the word door. She loves rushing to the door to great her father when he comes home from work, and likes to hide under the covers in our bed and "surprise" him when he gets out of the shower. Lux also has taken to identify objects around that house as belonging to either Dada or Mama. The Lakeshore Catalog is still her favorite book. In spite of the fact that we bought her a toy broom, she prefers the one that goes with the fireplace set. She calls her pacifier Bubba. One of her favorite toys is styrofoam packing peanuts, which she likes to rip into small pieces and throw on the ground. She has also taken to carrying around the recharger to some kind of electronic device that she found in Paul's office. She claims to need her nose blown several times a day, and almost always when being put to bed. She loves her new easel, but isn't too fond of getting ink from her marker pens on her hands. Luckily she can't see her face or mouth, which are generally covered with ink as well.
We bought Lux some dishes and utensils when we went to Ikea last weekend and she loves them. She opens up the cabinet and pulls out a plastic bowl or plate and hands it to us when she is ready for a snack or meal. She particularly likes the forks, because although they are plastic they are not so blunted as the toddler forks which are normally sold. This means she can more easily spear food herself. Even if given finger foods she often requests a fork.
Some mornings Lux eats more than Paul does for breakfast. She likes a fruit and cereal bar, a cup of milk, a fried egg over hard, a little toast and bites of cold cereal with milk or oatmeal. Then there is the more typical scenario when she begs for a certain food then refuses to even touch it once it is given to her.
We are still having some problems with Lux sleeping through the night. In fact, she wakes up more now than she did when she was 6 weeks old, so we are a bit concerned about how this will play out once brother arrives. At least we have grown accustomed to waking up every few hours all night long.
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