September 26, 2006 by veronica.

How do I get a picture posted?

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

September 26, 2006 by veronica.

Well, it’s been hard for this to sink in, but I recevied a letter Saturday from OMC stating I will not be interviewed for the Perinatal Educator Postion. Yes, that’s right. It took them a week to send it to me. I’m OK with the whole rejection letter part, I was just very stunned by how quickly I was rejected. That and it’s been a very long time since I applied for a job and didn’t even get an interview. So I’m a little sad. I gues that’s what I get for being too excited about it.
I’ll start working on certification anyway after Christmas, I think. I’m now looking at Lamaze, only because I know there aren’t any certified Lamaze teachers who do teach in Rochester. I know because I tried to find one last year. However, most classes are in CA or MA (which, I wouldn’t mind, but I’m hoping on going next summer for my reunion, and I don’t think I could swing 2 trips!) or Chicago. I’ll just have to try to keep myself focused on the doula part.

Not much else is going on. We have a wedding this weekend, which should be good as long as it doesn’t rain. Chris is very much enjoying his job. He came home at lunch today and told me that he actually loves his job. He’s never been able to say that. Oh, and I have been getting questions about what to get Lily for her birthday, and I was thinking of posting a list of suggestions, but please just email me or let me know in the comments section and I will email you some ideas. I’m veronica@thejacobsens.us.

Posted in The doula journey, Life, Raising baby | No Comments »

September 21, 2006 by veronica.

I knew I wasn’t making her up.

Almost a year ago, right before I had Lily, I really, really wanted to hire a doula.  I’m not sure if I wrote about that before.  Doulas aren’t terribly expensive, but since I wasn’t getting paid while on maternity leave, it just was not possible to hire one.  It turns out I really needed one.  Labor was really slow to start, and once I finally was in labor (after 3 false starts and hello! once your water breaks it’s a done deal), it was a long labor.  It was that less than 5% labor that I wasn’t prepared for.  It was very frustrating.  Despite all of my best intentions, I had the labor I really wasn’t prepared for.  There was Pitocin.  There was an epidural.  There were threats of a C-section.  It was my nightmare.  I am the poster child of the nasty domino effect that so often happens once you have any interventions. 

One of the few things that kept me going was my nurse.  She told me she was trained as a doula.  I could swear her name was Mary.  Chris didn’t remember her name.  She got me through it.  So while I still hate what the Mayo doctors put me through, I at least know that my nurse was amazing.  She’s why I want to become a doula.  I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I had a paid doula to coach me. 

And yes, today I found out she’s real.  She’s not listed on the DONA website anywhere I could find.  However, while looking into the group that’s putting in the certification in November I will be attending, I found her.  She teaches their doula classes when they hold them in Rochester.  Mary is real.  And her name really is Mary.  So Mary, I really hope I get to see you again someday.  I hope you are still working as a doula.  You inspired me.  Thank-you for everything.

Posted in The doula journey | No Comments »

September 20, 2006 by veronica.

Well, last night I went to my very first Childbirth Education class.  It was pretty cool.  I have to admit, it’s a very different experience going through classes when you aren’t pregnant.  It’s hard to go through the classes with open ears when you’re worried about your own labor.  Well, that and OMC has a very different focus from the Mayo Clinic.  The Mayo class focused a lot on the actual physical elements of labor.  A LOT.  We also did very little last year on comfort meaures.  They were mentioned, but only in passing.  OMC had mats out, birth balls for everyone, and actually used the pillows people brought.  I’m not saying that OMC’s class was better, just very different.  I’m very glad I’m going through it.

I’m posting at work, otherwise I meant to post a picture from Gooseberry Falls.  It’s on our home computer.  I’ll have to go tonight and get it up.  I’ve been to the falls at least 3 times, but this time when we went it was just a trickle.  I’m not kidding.  Over half of the lower falls was dry.  Chris took a picture of the “rushing” water that I really like.  If it’s not up today, then tomorrow.

Oh, Lily Bean started walking on Friday.  Full-blown walking around the house, not just walking when we are availiable to hold her hand.  I spent most of my day yesterday chasing her around the house.  She takes much delight in toddling down the hallway to her bedroom and walking in circles when she gets there.  I was so worn out by the afternoon that I took a nap with her.

Not much else is happening.  Chris is still trying to get used to his new job.  Lily hasn’t been sleeping much lately.  We have a few ideas of why this may be, but nothing has been confirmed.  Maybe molars?  Maybe being cold?  I have no idea.  We had a quiet weekend last weekend, thank God.  The next 3 weekends will be a little crazy.  3 birthdays and one wedding.  No Hugh Grant. 

I’m feeling a rant bubbling to the surface.  Maybe this weekend.  I’m starting to get a little sick to my stomach when I listen to NPR every day.  Not because of NPR, but because of what I hear.  Maybe we are stupid Americans…

I’ll stop there.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

September 15, 2006 by veronica.

My life now is starting to look different than it did at the begining of the week.

I’m moving forward through the doula certification. I begin the childbirth class observation next Tuesday night. OMC has a rule about only allowing one observer per class, though, so I was initially told that since the 2nd week already had an observer, I had to find another time to catch that class. This is where things get interesting.

Tuesday I met with a doula who lives in Pine Island to talk to her about being a doula. I wanted to know how it went, how she got clients, what she thought about it, etc. She’s also a Childbirth Educator at OMC and the teacher of the class I will be auditing. Also, she has a 14 month old daughter, so the girls played while we talked. (That was really fun–Lily does not get to play with girls her age!) Jennifer and I had been talking via email for a couple of weeks. I had asked her how she got into all of it, including teaching at OMC, and she told me about becoming a childbirth educator. She then told me I should look into it, and, as a matter of fact, OMC was hiring and they would help me become certified and I should apply. Interesting idea.

Jennifer talked to her supervisor about allowing me to observe the 2nd class, and her email Tuesday night said I would get a call to let me know either way on Wednesay. I did get a call to say I could observe all 4 classes, no problem. I was also asked if I was going to apply of the open educator position. After talking to the supervisor about it, I decided that I would apply. As a matter of fact, since Wednesday, I’ve really gotten attached to the idea of becoming a certified childbirth educator. Yes, it means more training and a very, very long test, but I really want to do this. So hopefully that will work out.

Jennifer was also wonderful to talk to because she knows about all of these wonderful programs that will help me out on the road to becoming a certified doula. She suggested that I go the doula training at Woodwinds hospital in Woodbury in November. I had been planning to go to the training in LaCrossse, but only because the DONA website described the November training location as Minneapolis/St. Paul, and I really am not keep on driving in the Cities by myself. So I’ll go to the Woodbury training.

Also, Jennifer told me that Woodwinds has a volunteer Doula program. It requires that I make a committment to one day per month for a year. I would be on call for 24 hours. It would be a very easy way for me to get the births I need, plus the hospital is ranked as the best in the country for positive birth experiences– just the place for me to get started. I figure that, if nothing else, I can hang out in Red Wing for a day every month and wait for any calls. Or go shopping. Or hang out in Cottage Grove with family. Or Woodbury with family friends. It’s almost too perfect.

So now I have all these things and tools and wonderful opportunities. It’s so not where I thought things would be on Monday, but I am so excited now for all of this to happen. Jennifer was my fairy godmother and cheerleader Tuesday, and I really am glad I have her to help me through all of this.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Life | 2 Comments »

September 12, 2006 by veronica.

Lately, I have been reading a lot. In addition to my doula reading, I have been reading new-ish books, mostly of the chick lit genre. I keep meaning to post reviews, but I have to admit that most of the books tend to be, well, crap. It’s bound to happen when you use the color and text on a spine to select books to being home from the library. The only book that was even close to being good was The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Banks. It was OK. It was fairly well written, but it did have it’s not-so-great parts. I would recommend reading it, if for no other reason that the library has at least 4 copies, so if nothing else, they should have at least one copy availiable.

Last week was different. I didn’t need to get any doula books at the library, so I could focus solely on getting fun books to read. I hit pay dirt. First of all, I found and read Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding. She’s the author of the Bridget Jones books. I like her pace, and I was expecting another chick lit book. I have to say it’s more of a straight novel than another fluffy girly book. It’s set during a famine in Africa and was far more…umm…gruesome than I expected. The book does have flashback to the protagonist’s life in England, and it does have some elements of a love story in it, but it deals more with the changes one goes through in life and the total absurdity of the celebrity world. It was great. While it does have its rough patches, I would say that it’s a very good and somewhat easy read.

The second book I scored was Hardboiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto. I have been read Yoshimoto’s book since 10th grade, when we read an excerpt of Kitchen in English class. Her books come out in a very slow trickle, am I always have to keep my eye out for new books. I own Sleep and Goodbye Tsugimi, which are both wonderful, so I knew exactly what I was getting into when I found her latest book. Hardboiled & Hard Luck is wonderful. Yoshimoto’s writing is eloquent and sparse, yet so descriptive it takes you right into her stories immediately, even though it deals with a culture so different from our own. I would highly recommend any of her books; our library has most of them.

On a complete whim, I grabbed Gatsby’s Girl by Caroline Preston. I picked this book based off of the cover art, I have to admit. This, however, was even better than the cover suggests. The story is very loosely based on the life of a woman named Generva King, a woman who had a mostly letter-based romance with F. Scott Fitzgerald before he became famous. The book goes through Ginerva’s life, bringing us through her courtship and rejection of F. Scott Fitzgerald, her dull marriage to a man she meets while at a party with Fitzgerald, and the dissolution of her marriage and family. Throughout the book, she is astonished to find that the man she once went out with is now a famous author and has written much of their relationship into his books. She does talk to him a few times once he is famous, and he always claims that she was his only real love. It’s a very well-written book, and even if you haven’t read anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald, you’d like it.
The fourth book I picked up was Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I have never read The Great Gatsby and I really wanted to read that, but all of the library’s copies were checked out. So I got Tender Is the Night instead. (I know, I know…I was an English major and he’s from MN, but I never wated to read anything by Fitzgerald before.) I’m still reading it. I don’t really like it. I’m not even sure I want to finish it. Maybe Nina or Stephanie can help me out, but from what I’ve read in the introduction, Fitzgerald barely was able to finish writing it before he died. Can anyone tell me if I should even bother finishing it?

I’m taking back all of these books in the next 15 minutes, so they should be back on the shelves soon. If anyone has any books to suggest, I’d love to hear about them!

Posted in Reviews | 4 Comments »

September 5, 2006 by veronica.

This morning, while watching The View, featuring Rosie O’Donnell, it struck me that this was a new day for a lot of people I know.  New Jobs, new desks, new classes…it’s all very exciting!  So, I’d like to wish Scott and Stephanie a good day at their first day teaching in their new schools and classrooms!  I hope the kids go easy on you.  Tony, I hope your first day back at work goes well.  I’m sure they saved your old desk for you.  Nina and Carol, good luck this semester!  Keep me updated on classes!

And, finally, Kim and Chris– Congratulations on the new jobs!  I don’t think Kim starts today, but if you do, good luck!  And yes, Chris, you just put in your 2 week notice, but I am so proud of you!  You’ll be great!

If I missed anyone,  I am sorry.  And if any of you could check in and let me know how your day is going, I would love that!  Have a WONDERFUL day!  I’m thinking about ALL of you!!!!

Posted in Life, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

September 4, 2006 by veronica.

Please humor me.  I’ve wanted to write about this for awhile.

3 weeks ago, we purchased the Wolfgang Puck Cookware set from Sam’s Club.   Our old pots and pans were non-stick, which meant they were covered in cancer-causing material.  To make matters worse, this horrific coating had started to flake off.  For this reason, Chris and I made to decision to buy new cookware.  Not only did I want new pans, but I was adamant that they be stainless steel.  Chris and I looked EVERYWHERE for new pans.  It’s very easy to spend a large sum of money on new pans; I, however, was on a budget.  After looking at every store in town, we finally settled on the Wolfgang Puck set.  Now, I had seen these bad boys in action on HSN.  Of course, when Mr. Puck himself is using them, they work wonderfully.  So I was a little afraid that they would not work quite as well in real life.  Well you know what?  THEY WORK GREAT!

We’ve cooked lots of things in the pans, from hash bowns to eggs to pasta.  Everything has turned out beautifully.  I made scrambled eggs last week; I usually have a hard time getting the eggs to cook all the way and not have some still raw while burning the rest.  This did not happen.  The eggs came out light, fluffy, perfectly done, and the pan needed no scrubbing when I was done.  I was also able to make the most beautiful grilled cheese sandwiches without having to watch them much at all.

If you are looking for a nice set of pans that should last you a very long time, I would highly recommend these.  A 19 piece set is only $100.  The handles are fastened securely, the lids are solid, and the pans are very heavy.  It’s very comparable to a $300 set in quality, but it’s very hard to beat the value.

Posted in Reviews | 3 Comments »

September 3, 2006 by veronica.

Yesterday we had a wondeful day. It has been my plan for a very long time to take Lily to the Minnesota State Fair. I love the fair, and I knew Lily would have fun taking in all the sights and sounds (and foods!) while we were there. We had orginally planned to go today. We were going to stay oversight Saturday night in Red Wing at Chris’s parent’s house and then leave bright and early this morning for the fair. However, the weather forecast on Friday made it clear that Saturday was going to be the MUCH nicer day out of the two, so we threw everything together and left for Red Wing right after Chris got home Friday night.

Saturday was a very nice day. It wasn’t too hot, but I did pack and have us all dressed for 70 degree temps; it turned out to be almost 78 degrees. I did get pretty uncomfortable, but Chris won me a Thrivent Builds t-shirt to change into. (YAY Thrivent!) After that, I felt much better.

We ate the usual food. Chris had his cheese curds; we ate the turkey sandwiches and fed bits to Lily, the whole family shared a sno-cone, and we finished off the day with a big bowl of caramel apples. I brought bottles of water, so we didn’t need to get anything to drink. The only thing that I missed was a funnel cake. Well, and we didn’t eat anything on a stick.

We don’t have must-sees at the fair; we just wander in circles until we decide to go home. We did take Lily to see the horses and the goats. She did not like the horses too much; I think she was scared. She LOVED the goats. I liked the goats, too. We stayed in the barn as long as we could stand the smell. On our way out, we passed by one pen with teeny-tiny goats the size of Roxie. They were SO CUTE…I wanted to take one home! We also walked through the Fine Arts and 4-H buildings, the place under the grandstand where people are selling everything, and we visited the DFL booth. I scored a DFL coffee mug there. It was also nice to see how busy it was and how many people were excited to talk to the different campaigns. There was this wall FILLED with post-its notes of why people are voting for DFL candidates. It was nice to see. I did sign up for an Amy Klobuchar lawn sign. I hope it shows up!!! I also got some buttons and window clings from the MPR booth and some temporary tattoos from the pro-choice booth. It was a good day to be a Minnesotan. Lily had fun, we had fun, and we left at 2pm utterly (or udderly?) wiped out!

On our way back to Red Wing, we passed by a store right around the corner from where Chris used to live up in St. Paul. Well, actually, we passed it, I asked Chris if we could go to it 5 minutes after we passed it, and we had to circle back around to it. It’s was this store called Peapods that Nina told me about. They sell natural baby care produsts, clothes, toys, books, etc. It was the best little store! They had WONDERFUL little shoes, cute clothes, a bunch of nursing products, a wall devoted to baby slings, and the largest supply of cloth diapers I have ever seen! I was most intrigued by the books. Lily absolutely loves to read; I’m on a constant search for really good, engaging books that we can read to her for years to come. I found a new book to get her. It’s an illustrated version of “Hush Little Baby”, and the pictures are so cute and it’ll be great for bed time. I was also very excited to find not one, not two, but three of the books on my Doula reading list, so I bought one that I knew I would not be able to find on the shelves of B&N. That was pretty cool. Oh, and the shop has two very large cats. Lily proceeded to point at them the entire time I was waiting to pay and actually paying and say ,”kitty.” So yes, she is talking; today her word was “doggy.”

We did make it back to Red Wing and met friends for dinner. We had a wonderful time. Lily enjoyed eating the Chicken Parmesean I shared with her. In fact, she enjoyed it so much that we had to stop at Target on the way back to Pat and Len’s and get soap and a bath mat to give her a bath before we headed home. Lily fell asleep before we made it out of Red Wing. We were all exhausted. Our feet and backs were sore, we were a little road-weary, but it was a wonderful day.

Posted in Life, Raising baby | 15 Comments »