pregnancy tonic

I have a confession to make.  I didn't give up coffee this time.  With a baby that wakes me up between five and six each morning (update:  she has been sleeping until 7:30!  Don't know what happened, but it's awesome), I just couldn't bear to give away my caffeine.  I'm aware that coffee consumption has been linked to early miscarriage.  I'm aware that when I get that jolt, my baby does too.  So rather than my usual two or three cups, I'm down to one.  Sometimes it's a big one.

Before my coffee, though, I have my special drink.  I wake up unbearably thirsty, regardless of how much liquid I drank before going to bed.  I also still haven't caved to getting up in the night to pee - and when I wake up, I have to go.  So, I guess I'm in fluids overdrive in the night.  I crave something hydrating and fresh when I awaken.

Last pregnancy, when I did give up coffee entirely, I switched to hot water with honey and lemon each morning.  It was delicious and really got my digestion moving.  It became my ritual.  I also drank a lot of ginger tea throughout the day.  I find ginger really tasty, and it has stomach soothing properties.  The thing about that ginger tea, though, was the cost!  Six or seven dollars for a box of ground ginger in bags, basically.

So this time, I'm making my own ginger and lemon tonic.  Lemon is something our bodies just love, especially in the morning.  Its acidity helps your liver pump out bile, which we need for healthy digestion, especially of fats.  

It's not much of a recipe.  Take some ginger, peel it and grate it up, put it in a glass.  Slice some lemon wedges, and squeeze one or two into the glass.  Add either hot water, if you want a warm drink, or cold water if you want a cold one.  I think you could probably make a big batch in a mason jar or pitcher and just keep it in the fridge.


This will hydrate you and help keep morning sickness at bay.  Try it!

it takes two when it used to take only one . . .

Naturally, I've been apprehensive about this whole two kids thing.  How will it work?  Will I ever become sane again?  Obviously people do this all the time (have multiple children, that is!), but as my mother loved to tell me, "Emily, you're not everyone."

Last night, our young friend Glancy came over for supper, along with his Aunt Becky.  His mother, aunt, and uncle are old friends of ours from camp.  Glancy was actually named for one of the camps that we all worked at - when I say "camp," it's really a network of, at one time, 6 or 8 different camps in different communities in Middle/Southeast Tennessee.  He is a delightful young man who has obviously been raised (you Southern people will know what this means).

Becky and Glancy.

I will admit that I was tired and it was a bit late and having people over always makes me nervous, so I was dreading Glancy and Becky's visit a bit.  But all my worries subsided as I saw Vicki and Glancy playing together with glee the entire time they were over.  They chased and ran, hugged and kissed, giggled and generally entertained each other.

And I was like, This is it.  This is what siblings are about.  

All I had been thinking about was the work (of which there will be plenty, I'm sure!), the laundry, the cleaning, the discipline, the cost.

I hadn't given a second thought to the joy, the shared life, and the memories they will only be able to share with one another.  How much I value being able to call my brother and sister and mention Mom's obsession with only using one square of toilet paper and they know exactly what I mean.  Or how Mark will call and leave a voicemail so long that it will cut him off, and then he will call back and leave another one.  Or about how Grandma Iris kept her house at 80 degrees in the summer in Denver.

This little happening last night has given me a lot of peace.  It's a good feeling.