Tuesday, August 25, 2009

right around the corner...

Our Vegan Baby @ 6 Weeks 1 Day Old


Our Vegan Baby @ 9 Weeks 3 Days Old


So our second trimester is right around the corner! We are in week 10! On Friday we will be in week 11, only 3 more days. Our due date is now around March 19th 2010. We had our second ultrasound last week at 9 weeks and 3 days. We saw the baby moving his/her arms around, dancing around just for mommy and daddy! It totally melted our hearts. I was so relieved everything was going well with the baby and pregnancy. Reading all the mommy boards can stir up a lot of anxiety, getting to see the baby and heartbeat always offers inner peace. Our next appointment is on the 31st and I can not wait. I'm hoping that in the second trimester I get my energy back and I can be somewhat normal again!!!


I'm still having morning sickness aka all day sickness, Lucas bought me those seasickness bands and they work (sometime). I've still been sleeping in almost all of my spare time. I have a better appetite, but still have to force myself to eat at times. I had to cancel my 5 day beach-trip with friends this week. I just couldn't imagine being away from Lucas for that long, he is my saving grace!!!


I've been way too tired to post recently, so I just wanted to write a quickie to let everyone know we are doing well! As always happy, healthy and vegan...


This is what our baby looked like at week 8!
This is what our baby looked like at week 9!
This is what our baby looks like right about now!




Sunday, August 9, 2009

a daddy post...



So I'm going to be a father! A vegan father at that! I have thought about the idea for some time but wasn't sure if I was ready to become a parent. Kenya, on the other hand, has been ready for some time but agreed that we'd wait until the time was right to try.

Before trying to conceive I started thinking about the state of the world today. I don't want our child to believe in fairy tales. I don't want our child to be brought up on lies that soften her or his critical thinking skills. I don't want our child to be ridiculed for being “different”. I don't want our child to ridicule others for being “different”. I don't want our child to be brainwashed by the mainstream media. I don't want our child to be targeted by very intelligent psychologists working for corporations that simply want her or him to mindlessly consume, consume, consume. I don't want our child to face resource shortages, or toxic pollution, or the effects of environmental degradation, each of which are a result of mindless consumption practices and, even more so, the predatory nature of capitalism.

I currently live in a world in which compassion and respect for others beings is stunted from an early age and the exploitation of humans, other animals, and the Earth is condoned and encouraged if one can derive mere pleasure and perceived benefit from it. I live in a world in which wars are accepted as a natural way to peace. I live in a world in which violence is considered to be an acceptable problem-solving tactic. I live in a world where people don't think about the consequences of their actions. I live in a world where people will do just about anything to “belong” and uphold the status quo. I live in a world in which racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ableism, and speciesism run rampant. I live in a world in which the majority of people do not have the basic necessities to survive while only a small minority live comfortably as a result of the labor of those who are struggling. I live in a world where all this is seen as “normal” and/or “natural”.

I don't want our child to be taught (or brainwashed), as I was, to believe that some people just aren't as good, or efficient, or capable, or smart, or worthy, etc. as we in the West are and therefore are doomed to live in the horrendous conditions that they live in. I don't want our child to ever deem anyone inferior to her or him, human or nonhuman. Yet, I live in a world in which humans create hierarchies of who is most deserving of our consideration and who is least deserving of our consideration. Every other being on this planet is susceptible to being dominated by us humans, including other humans, simply because we feel “we can” dominate them. In the U.S. Some 12 BILLION land animals (not including aquatic animals) are killed just so that humans can eat them. Around 50 BILLION is the worldwide estimate. Our best justification for this is that we like the taste. We proudly display our domination over other animals in the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the products we apply to our bodies. Their lives aren't even worth our consideration because they have been deemed so inferior to us simply because they are “not like us”.

I don't want our child to be brought up in THIS kind of world where this mentality is the norm!

But then I got to thinking. How are things ever going to change for the better if there aren't more children being raised and taught to reject the exploitation and oppression of other beings? For me it's clear that the notion that we can exploit “others” for our own perceived gain is at the root of many problems we face today. Therefore, a rejection of the mentality that we humans can do whatever we like to those who are vulnerable simply for our pleasure or perceived benefit is the solution. Veganism is a rejection of that mentality. Veganism, at it's core, means showing compassion and respect to all, especially to the most vulnerable among us.

I want to live in a peaceful world. I don't want to see any war. I would love to see vital resources freed to benefit those in need. I would love to see more people taking a stand against injustices rather than sitting idly by as many struggle to survive. I would love to see more people waking up to the way we are conditioned to over consume, and to the problems our consumption practices cause. I would love to see more people waking up to the way we are conditioned to treat each other and other beings. I desperately want to see a world where humans recognize that other animals have an interest in their own lives and realize that enslaving, torturing, and murdering them is against our moral principles. Unfortunately, it's highly unlikely that I will ever see this kind of world. But maybe, just maybe, through the right, compassionate education, our vegan child will be able to, at very least, catch a glimpse. Our vegan child will be brought up to challenge to do something considered impossible. Our vegan child will defy standards and reject traditions and societal norms based on exploitation and exclusion. That's the kind of change we wish to see. That's the kind of change we, as a family, will be.





moving right along...

A Cute Informative Pregnancy Book A Friend From CA Sent


My respect for mothers has grown tremendously in my 8 short weeks of pregnancy. The power and determination of women has always amazed me and made me proud to be a woman. I keep imagining the unwavering strength of single pregnant mothers, pregnant mothers with other small children, teen pregnant mothers, mature age pregnant mothers, pregnant mothers of the "global south" and of course all the non-human animal mothers, though the list goes on. I have always viewed myself as a strong woman that could handle anything thrown her way. I've made it through so much and I've accomplished so much, but honestly none of it even compares to what I am doing right now. Growing this baby is the absolute greatest accomplishment of my life and it is also the hardest thing I've ever done.


I am grateful for a healthy pregnancy so far and I am grateful that my symptoms aren't as severe as they could be. Though at times, I feel so outside of myself. It is definitely the most interesting time of my life. I am fully aware of every change my body is making and while I cherish every moment of this monumental time I absolutely can't wait until the second trimester. I find comfort in books, articles, blogs and mommy boards where women express these same feelings. The March 2010 mommy board has made me feel normal instead of weak.


Week 7 was pretty much like the weeks I described before. I didn't gain any new symptoms, though I have been able to eat more, which is great (even though it is still less than normal). We've also added yummy smoothies into the mix in week 7, which helps a lot when I can't eat an actual meal.


I was too exhausted (buzz word of the trimester) to post last week. Hopefully that won't happen again, but realistically it probably will.


I am officially in week 8 now and I'm excited to see what this week brings! Our next appointment with the OB is on the 17th and we can not wait to see how the baby is progressing!



7 WEEKS (AGAIN...)


SYMPTOMS:

nausea/vomiting (i can't even brush my teeth without getting sick)

loss of appetite

heavy food aversions

heightened sense of smell

moody ( a little irrational at times, thankfully luke knows how to diffuse this)

fatigue (frequent naps after work)

extreme happiness (doctor says that i will go up and down due to hormones…but i doubt it)

sore breasts