Happy Thanksgiving

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”


Oprah Winfrey

Thankful Thursday: Holiday Annoucements

First of all I want to say a quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the better part of Laborlooks: my sister ASHLEY! I hope you have a wonderful birthday and year to come.


Wouldn't this be a cute shirt to have at your Thanksgiving dinner?
Maybe next year for my family, but what about your family?

I found this shirt on etsy.com HERE
The shop is called SiblingSpecialtees

How cute is that??
I love personalized gifts. So fabulous.

Thankful Thursday: Rock Paper Scissors

image via amazon.com and HERE

There are a lot of unpleasant chores around the house. Take for example last night. Last night we needed to get the kitchen floor mopped and the girls bathed. Sometimes bath time is hard and exhausting, but so is mopping the floor.

In order to make these tough decisions: trash or laundry? teeth brushed or feed the fish? diaper change or make lunches? make dinner or clean up dinner? etc. my husband and I have tried a lot of different tricks.

First of all we tried this little spinner game from a book we got at our baby shower some 5 years ago. It is hilarious and wonderful but I swear it is rigged. Obviously after it landed on mom 3 times in a row I threw it out of the room and we switched to good old fashion "rock, paper, scissors."

What do you do? Flip a coin? Predetermined chores? Switch back and forth? 1,2,3 not it?

Thankful Thursday: Fake Rings for Swollen Fingers

At what point in your pregnancy did you ditch your wedding/engagement/promise ring for a fake one?

What? You didn't ditch your rings during pregnancy because of swollen fingers or weight gain or water weight? Ugh. seriously, super model prego lady alert. :)

Okay, so it is very common at any time during your pregnancy for your rings to get a little "snug" so when was it? Did you buy a ring to replace them? Did you get a fake one? Where did you find it?

I was just checking out some of the fabulous selections and here is what I found:

The traditional "I am going to pretend it is real" ring from Target HERE

The "I know it is not real, but I am pregnant so get over it" ring from Etsy:

Faux ring from etsy HERE

And the "there are no words to describe this ring" ring

HAHAH! HERE

Thankful Thursday: Pictures!

I am so thankful when Mama's send us beautiful pictures of them and their sweet babies!This Mama is Liz from Pojo Fitness. Ever heard of it? Well, you have now. PLEASE check out her BLOG, and WEBSITE

This mom is awesome. I love her fitness blog and when talking with her I even found a connection! Her bestest friend from college is the photographer who took our very first photos for our beginning of Laborlooks back in 2008!

I love how moms are supporting moms who are supporting moms! A big thank you to all of you who support mom businesses!

Thankful Thursday: We Made It

This will be short, but basically I am thankful that we made it safely to Kentucky for the ABC children's expo.

Our booth is set up and we are getting ready for our auditions tomorrow!

Wish us luck.

Come visit us if you are here.... booth #1930

Thankful Thursday: Work -out of the home- Mom

WOOTHM

"Work Out Of The Home Mom"

I am a "working mom." I don't know many moms, stay at home or work outside the home, who aren't working moms. However, I am one of those moms who leaves for work almost every day. I make my 45min commute after I drop my girls off at daycare.

If I didn't LOVE my job, it would be a lot harder to leave my girls every day.

If I didn't NEED my job, it would be a lot harder to leave my girls every day.

If the women I serve didn't hold a special place in my heart, it would be a lot harder to leave my girls for work.

Thankfully I want my job, love my job, and while I financially need a job, I am so grateful that I get to interact with women of all ages and walks of life who come to me.

With that being said, I love the days when I can sit at home all day with my sweet girls.

No real agenda, just have fun and be silly and get to know them a little more and more each day. It will be a lot nicer when this 115 degree weather in Arizona cools off and we can go outside.

Daddy snapped this shot on his phone- Ryann was inspecting my eyeballs (I got scolded a lot for closing them when her finger got dangerously close to my eye) and Cara kept making me "stick out your tongue and say 'AH.'"

Thankful Thursday: WINNERS

This cute Mama... along with another soon-to-be laborlooks Mama won our 1000 fans giveaway on facebook!

So fun to have a tie... better luck next time to the rest of you!

Maybe a 1500 give away??

Thankful Thursday: 1000 FANS!

We hit a milestone with our company today! What could that be??

We hit 1000 fans on facebook :)

I know, we get excited over the little things.

Guess what the best part is?

We are having a facebook only giveaway!

First.... Like us on facebook, then

Second... leave a comment on our page telling us one thing that you LOVE about Laborlooks (anything from your favorite gown to a specific tweet or blog post).

Third... You can only enter one time.

The comment with the most likes at 6PM on Thursday August 18th, 2011 is the winner of a $50 Babies R Us gift card. All of the fans that liked the winning entry will be entered into a drawing for a $10 Starbucks gift card.

We hope you get creative and we hope you enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/laborlooks

Thankful Thursday: Government News

Guess who has finally decided that breast pumps, supplies, and counseling should be covered by health insurance??!!

Thank You. Thank You.

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 1, 2011

Contact: HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343

Afford

able Care Act Ensures Women Receive Preventive Services at No Addition
al Cost

Historic new guidelines that will ensure women receive preventive health services at no additional cost were announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Developed by the independent Institute of Medicine, the new guidelines require new health insurance plans to cover women’s preventive services such as well-woman visits, breastfeeding support, domestic violence screening, and contraception without charging a co-payment, co-insurance or a deductible.

The Affordable Care Act helps stop health problems before they start,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “These historic guidelines are based on science and existing literature and will help ensure women get the preventive health benefits they need.”

Before health reform, too many Americans didn’t get the preventive health care they need to stay healthy, avoid or delay the onset of disease, lead productive lives, and reduce health care costs. Often because of cost, Americans used preventive services at about half the recommended rate.

Last summer, HHS released new insurance market rules under the Affordable Care Act requiring all new private health plans to cover several evidence-based preventive services like mammograms, colonoscopies, blood pressure checks, and childhood immunizations without charging a copayment, deductible or coinsurance. The Affordable Care Act also made recommended preventive services free for people on Medicare.

Today's announcement builds on that progress by making sure women have access to a full range of recommended preventive services without cost sharing, including:

• well-woman visits;
• screening for gestational diabetes;
• human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing for women 30 years and older;
• sexually-transmitted infection counseling;
• human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and counseling;
• FDA-approved contraception methods and contraceptive counseling;
• breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling; and
• domestic violence screening and counseling.

New health plans will need to include these services without cost sharing for insurance policies with plan years beginning on or after August 1, 2012. The rules governing coverage of preventive services which allow plans to use reasonable medical management to help define the nature of the covered service apply to women’s preventive services. Plans will retain the flexibility to control costs and promote efficient delivery of care by, for example, continuing to charge cost-sharing for branded drugs if a generic version is available and is just as effective and safe for the patient to use.

The administration also released an amendment to the prevention regulation that allows religious institutions that offer insurance to their employees the choice of whether or not to cover contraception services. This regulation is modeled on the most common accommodation for churches available in the majority of the 28 states that already require insurance companies to cover contraception. HHS welcomes comment on this policy.

Previously, preventive services for women had been recommended one-by-one or as part of guidelines targeted at men as well.
As such, the HHS directed the independent Institute of Medicine to, for the first time ever, conduct a scientific review and provide recommendations on specific preventive measures that meet women’s unique health needs and help keep women healthy. HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) used the IOM report issued July 19, when developing the guidelines that are being issued today. The IOM’s report relied on independent physicians, nurses, scientists, and other experts to make these determinations based on scientific evidence.Today’s announcement is another part of the Obama Administration’s broader effort to address the health and well-being of our communities through initiatives such as the President’s Childhood Obesity Task Force, the First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign, the National Quality Strategy, and the National Prevention Strategy.

For more information on the HHS guidelines for expanding women’s preventive services, please visit:http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/womensprevention08012011a.html. The guidelines can be found at:www.hrsa.gov/womensguidelines/.

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, please visit www.healthcare.gov.

Thankful Thursday: Rising Hospital Costs

Let me just tell you how happy and thankful I am for insurance. No joke, this week I just paid off the last of my hospital bill for when I gave birth to my 2 year old daughter.

(does this mean I can't return her??)

Here is my state at a glance

California- Here

Find the Article HERE

AVERAGE CHARGES FOR GIVING BIRTH: STATE CHARTS

The following charts present data about average facility charges for labor and birth in individual states. Average charges are provided for four birth outcomes: uncomplicated vaginal birth, complicated vaginal birth, uncomplicated cesarean, and complicated cesarean. Data are only available for states that participate in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, a voluntary program administered by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Where available, data on birth center charges for uncomplicated vaginal birth are also presented. These charts demonstrate significant variation across sites, birth methods, and states, summarized in the companion:Quick Facts.

Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Florida • Hawaii • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas •Kentucky • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Missouri •Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • Oklahoma • Oregon • Rhode Island • South Carolina • Tennessee • Texas •Utah • Vermont • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

View national average charges for the United States.

View a compendium of all states as a PDF or in Slideshare.

QUICK FACTS

Compared with other states in this group:

• Maryland hospitals consistently charged the lowest amount for all methods of delivery except uncomplicated vaginal birth, and in all years. Even for uncomplicated vaginal birth, charges in Maryland were $3000 below the national average from 2007-2009. Other states with consistently low charges are West Virginia, Utah, Vermont, and Maine.
• New Jersey hospitals consistently charged the highest amount for all methods of delivery, and in all years except for complicated cesarean birth in 2009. Even then, New Jersey hospitals charged more than $14,000 above the national average. Other states with consistently high charges are California,Florida, Rhode Island and Nevada.

Charges for uncomplicated vaginal births grew by 7% from 2007 to 2008, with an average increase of $503, and by 8% from 2008 to 2009 with and average increase of $623. For all years, Kansas, West Virginia, and Vermont experienced the largest percentage increases.

Charges for complicated vaginal births grew by 7% from 2007 to 2008, with an average increase of $715, and by 8% from 2008 to 2009 with an average increase of $835. Charges in Rhode Island demonstrated the largest percentage increase from 2007 to 2008, growing by 23%. Charges in Vermont showed the largest percentage increase from 2008-2009, growing by 19%.

Charges for uncomplicated cesarean births grew by 2% from 2007 to 2008, with an average increase of $250, and by 8% from 2008 to 2009, with an average increase of $1,100. From 2007 to 2008 Kentucky showed the largest percentage growth with charges increasing by 13%. From 2008-2009, Wyoming by far showed the largest percentage growth, with charges increasing by 38%.

Charges for complicated cesarean births showed the largest increases from year to year in both percentage and absolute terms, growing by 8% from 2007 to 2008 with an average increase of $1,356, and by 9% from 2008 to 2009 with an average increase of $1538. From 2007 to 2008 Kentucky and Tennessee showed the largest percentage increases, growing by 16% and 15% respectively. From 2008 to 2008Wyoming and Vermont showed the largest percentage increases, growing by 33% and 20% respectively.

Data Source: U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HCUPnet, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Rockville, MD: AHRQ. Available at:http://hcupnet.ahrq.gov/

*Note: This sheet contains information for 33 states. Fifteen states do not share information with HCUP and two states, Illinois and New Mexico, only provide information for 2009.

http://transform.childbirthconnection.org/resources/datacenter/chargeschart/statecharges/

Thankful Thursday: The Real Stuff

I am so thankful for the bloggers out there who post "real stuff." And when I say real stuff I mean it is where they sat down and thought about something. Then thought some more. Then wrote and rewrote and saved it and then posted it a few days later when they were sure about it.

I have often thought about trying to be a "real stuff" blogger. But I am not. I am not a writer, and I often feel that there aren't enough things I can write about. Oh sure I can write about midwifery... but when I write about midwifery it borders on the edge of medical advice or hipaa violations. Those are two things I cannot blog about. I don't give out medical advice over the internet, I don't give it out over text messages, I don't give it to my friends. I give medical or midwifery advice :) to my patients. So I can't tell you what I would do in my own situation, but I can't advise someone else in a different situation because I don't know all the facts.

I can tell you about procedures and pregnancy and childbirth... but people want to hear birth stories. I don't often get permission from my patients to share their birth stories, not because I ask and they say no, but because I want birth stories to come from the mother herself. Her birth story is much different than the birth story I would tell.

I would like to become a "real stuff" blogger one day. Maybe just for one post. But until then I will be thankful for the bloggers who do post real stuff- like this post I ran across today about a woman who struggles daily with infertility but now has adopted children.

http://suaviloquy.blogspot.com/2011/06/for-record.html

Henry Wyatt 10 weeks old

I've been thinking about infertility. Not sure why.

I don't have any grand bit of wisdom to impart. I don't understand the complex emotions involved. I can't tell you how to deal with it.

But I know I made it through something like twelve years of wanting a child. I know I am now standing on the other side of that trial and au revoir to thatthankyouverymuch.

As I sit here on my sofa typing this, with slobber spots on my pants and little finger prints all over the furniture, these are the things that come to my mind. It's not wisdom. It's just what I know.

The joy we experienced when our children finally arrived was equal to, and may have even exceeded, the sorrow we felt at our darkest moments.

Unlike childbirth, you never forget the pain of not being able to have a child.

Just because you wanted children for much longer than most people doesn't mean your kids won't drive you up the wall. Just because you went through hell to get them here doesn't mean they will appreciate it. At the end of the day, you are just a parent like any other.

Refraining from buying baby things until you are pregnant is just a silly way of trying to insulate your feelings. Go ahead and buy stuff. It will put you ahead of the game when it finally happens. Wanting those little baby things means you still have hope.

Feeling bitter and nasty towards others who are having babies is completely normal. It doesn't make you a bad person. However, if you behave badly in these circumstances, down the road the bitterness you feel will be of regret.

When you have infertility you must think of it as a war. You will loose battles. It will be expensive. Plans will be made and then cast aside for new plans. If you want to win, you will not retreat. You will regroup and press forward.

And you will need a good mate for the fox hole. If this relationship isn't right, you might want to lay low and reconsider.

Here's the last thing I know. It took me years to realize this. In fact, it only dawned on me a few months ago. I could never figure out why I had to go through infertility. What was I supposed to learn? Why was that part of my life path?

Here's what I know today. I had to experience infertility to lead me to adoption. I had to wait for my adopted children because at the time I started wanting them their birth mother was only fourteen. My children were to be born by this girl and only this girl. That was the plan. Sometimes the Lord has to work with logistics.

I'm not at all sure why I am writing this today. Maybe there is someone out there that needs to hear this? I don't know.

But I'm writing it down. For the record.

Now that is "real stuff." Well said and thank you.

Thankful Thursday: Target Dollar Spot

Who else loves the $1 Target spot? I am such a huge fan. The first thing I do when I go into target is browse their $1 bins.

My most recent purchase: 4 pairs of sunglasses for each of my 2 girls. They had to be matching of course.
Sorry for the blurry picture- someone needs a new camera that isn't handled by toddlers who smudge their fingers all over the lens.

Thankful Thursday: Happy Mama Birth Story

Here is a sweet birth story of a happy Laborlooks mama! We are so excited for her and for her wonderful journey!

*** Don't forget to enter our giveaway!***

The Birth Story

Our little Ann has been here for just over three weeks now (that flew by really quickly!), and I know there are people out there who would be interested in hearing "the birth story", so here it goes... (this is definitely the long version of the story)

I was getting really close to my due date (May 10th), and was starting to get impatient waiting for this baby to get here. For the past few weeks when I'd go in to my doctor appointments, both the doctors and nurses would make comments like "you're still here? Why haven't we seen you at the hospital yet?" I'd been slowly dilating and was already 80% effaced. After each appointment, it was always, "hopefully we won't see you back here next week!"

My plan was to work up until the baby came, but I finally decided to start my maternity leave on the 9th whether or not I had a baby (and it turned out to be perfect timing!). So I woke up on the morning of the 9th and noticed I felt a little wet, something that hadn't happened before. I started wondering if by chance my water was starting to break (and then my next thought was "seriously, baby? Today is the one day we told you that you couldn't come." - for those who don't know or don't remember, May 9th is Tom's and my wedding anniversary, and we didn't want to share the day :) Oh well, what can you do?). I went back to sleep for a bit longer before getting up to have breakfast. When I got up I wasn't feeling wet anymore, so I just sat down to eat. After the baby wiggled around some, I started to feel wet again. I wasn't totally sure if this was my water breaking, so I called my doctor's office and explained what I was experiencing to the nurse. She said it sounded like I could be leaking amniotic fluid, and recommended we go to the hospital to get it checked out.

Tom and I showered and finished getting everything packed up in case we would be staying at the hospital. I was having some contractions, but nothing more than what I'd been experiencing the past few weeks. I commented that I felt really silly going to the hospital since I didn't feel like I was in labor at all (just walking normally into the hospital and to our room was definitely not how I'd imagined going to the hospital...). It was about 12:15-12:30pm and we got all checked in. Soon a nurse was in to do some tests to determine whether or not I was actually leaking amniotic fluid. The first test was a kind of litmus paper test, where a little strip of yellow gold paper will turn blue if it comes in contact with amniotic fluid. The strip was sort of turning blue, so they decided to do a second test just to make sure. This test is called the "fern test". Here they take a sample (it felt kind of like a pap smear test) and look at it under a microscope. If the cells look like fern leaves, it is amniotic fluid. As they did the fern test, they did the litmus paper test again. The litmus paper definitely turned blue this time, however the fern test came out negative (way to be ambiguous, huh?). So they decided to do a third test (that they almost never have to use) to see for sure whether or not I was leaking amniotic fluid. This test was basically using a long q-tip to collect a sample and then they'd run some test on it to see whether or not there was amniotic fluid present. This test came back positive. So we were going to be staying at the hospital until we had a baby! Since I was still wasn't having regular contractions, they hooked me up to an IV and gave me the lowest dose of pitocin to start things moving along more regularly (it was about 2:15 pm at this point). The pitocin definitely made my contractions more regular, but I still couldn't feel the the contractions very well.

(Here I am after my IV started going but wasn't having hard contractions at all. One of my visiting teachers, Devyn, gave me this gown to wear. Her sister sells these online at laborlooks.com - it was fun to wear something cuter than the hospital gowns (and didn't say "Central Laundry" across it)).

After being on the low dose of pitocin for an hour, my doctor decided to come and fully break my water. They also increased the level of pitocin I was receiving. Well that certainly made my contractions increase! It wasn't long after that when we called my nurse down to let her know that I was ready to have an epidural. The anesthesiologist was there in minutes and put things in place. After a while, I could tell my left side was going numb, but I could still feel everything on my right. They gave me an extra dose of the medicine to see if that would help, and it numbed my right leg, but I could still feel the contractions in my right side. The anesthesiologist came back in and took out my epidural and put another one in a little higher up on my back (he had put it in the lowest spot possible and when we told him I still had pain in my ribs, he realized that it needed to be placed higher). That took away the pain, but since I had so much of the medicine in me, my legs were both completely numb and I couldn't move them at all.

After the whole epidural thing was taken care of, I just laid in bed while eating ice chips and listening to Radio Lab on the computer with Tom. Eventually I was fully dilated and it was time to start pushing (around 9:15pm). At this point my epidural was wearing off enough so I had enough feeling to be able to push. I pushed for about an hour before the doctor came in. I was exhausted and throwing up by this point. So with a little help with forceps and a bit more pushing, Ann was born at 10:30pm, weighing 7lb 8oz, and 20.5 inches long. Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary to me and Tom! I know I'm still adjusting to being a mommy, but we both love her so much and we're so glad to have her be a part of our family!

Thankful Thursday: Cell Phone Cameras

I am thankful today for many things. I am thankful for this sweet mama who requested me to be by her side during her labor and birth (not as her midwife, but as her doula and friend). It was incredible and intense and a little unexpected considering she was 6 weeks early.

I am thankful for cell phone cameras when you realize too late that this picture can make an amazing blog post and you have already forgotten your camera.

Keep watching and waiting for me to get her birth story approved by her and get it posted!

Thankful Thursday: Private Practice

"I took having kids for granted because a 13-year-old girl can do it, because a 75-year-old man can do it. You know who can't do it? ... An overeducated, talented, strong, powerful woman in her 40s. How ridiculous is that?"

I <3 Private Practice (and Gray's Anatomy)... and I really loved Addison's quote from last weeks episode.

It's hard to wrap my head around the thought that some people, for so many different reasons, are not able to have children. I'm thankful today that I have two beautiful children.

Thankful Thursday: International Midwives Day

Want to know more? Check out:

http://mana.org/IntMidDay.html

Did you know that May 5th is International Midwives Day? Yes yes yes, in America it is also Cinco De Mayo, but I am thankful for a day that recognizes midwives and all the services that they provide for women throughout the world. I am a midwife. I love being a midwife. I am busy and life is crazy but I LOVE the women that I serve. It is a calling, sometimes a hard one, and sometimes my family misses me. But I am a midwife and I love what I do.

One of the reasons we celebrate International Midwives Day is because that we need to recognize all the good that trained midwives can do for women around the world. There are many countries where they cannot deliver their babies at a hospital. They don't have access to the healthcare that many of us have. A trained midwife can save thousands of lives. Knowing these life saving measures and using them as needed is what saves women and children in childbirth.

Some day I hope to help train foreign midwives. I think my first trip will be to Haiti. I want to also spend time in other areas. I have been blessed with such a great passion for knowledge and I need to share what I know. And that is why I posted a picture of myself for you today (sorry- it was when I was getting ready for work this morning!), so that you can say you saw a midwife on International Midwives Day and you celebrated with her!

Thank you.

Thankful Thursday: Bubbles

All I can say is that I am thankful for bubbles. I am thankful when you PLAN to use bubbles to keep your kids entertained. I am NOT thankful when they find the bubbles and spill them all over the carpet.

I am thankful for bubble baths that come after the kids have played in the bubbles- because being sticky and gross is not a fun thing for moms.

Post some pictures on Facebook with your kids and their bubbles.

Thankful Thursday: Fan Photos

******DON'T FORGET! TODAY IS YOUR LAST DAY TO ENTER OUR $25 BABIES R US GIVEAWAY***************

HERE

One of the many rewarding things about running this company is being able to see happy moms wearing our gowns. We recently sent out an email to say THANK YOU and to ask for feedback and photos ~ we had a wonderful response. Here is just a glimpse of the feedback and photos we received.

Micaela in our Devyn Rocker gown



Cara in our Cara gown



"I LOVED MY LABOR GOWN! At first when I asked to use my own gown the nurse was skeptical and said I had to use the hospital's gown but after looking at the gown and seeing it was just like the hospitals except pretty she was happy to let me put it on and loved the idea! I will be purchasing a new one when we are expecting another baby. I have recommended them to my friends who are pregnant. LOVE your product!" Krisha

Thankful Thursday: GIVEAWAY!!

I am thankful for Giveaways!

They are always so fun and when a blog is small and just growing (like ours!!) you have such great chances of winning.

So Laborlooks would like to announce our very first giveaway. It will be going on for 1 week and it will end on Wednesday night at midnight pacific time. We will announce the winner next Thursday.

There are multiple ways you can win.

1. Post a comment here on the blog.

2. Like us on facebook (then post a comment saying you liked us!)

3. Share our on your blog or facebook about our giveaway (then comment saying you did so)

4. Blog about us and your favorite post of ours (comment with the link so we can link to your blog as well!)

5. Become a follower (then post a comment saying you follow us!)

Pretty awesome, pretty easy. I don't know many people out there who couldn't/wouldn't use a $25 gift card to Babies R Us. Even if you don't have a baby- try to win this for a friend! You all know someone who is having a baby.