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Feb. 13, 2009
The purpose of the Tomorrow's Leader's series has been to highlight student-athletes who have accepted the challenges of their academics and their sport while also finding additional time to make a difference to greater the Rice community. Claire Shorall, a senior on the two-time C-USA Champion Rice Owls' Women's Track and Field team, truly defines the term.
Shorall is a leader in a variety of important groups around campus.
She is the President of Sid Richardson college - one of the nine residential colleges at Rice University. She is the only student-athlete to currently serve as the president of a college. Additionally, Shorall is the Director of the Student Admission Council and serves as the Head Senior Interviewer.
With classes in the mornings followed by practices in the afternoon, the obvious question to ask Shorall is where does she find the time for her additional duties?
"I tend to have meetings at night after practices and classes are over," Shorall said. "One of my roles is to serve as a liaison to the Rice administration and Student Association. Also, each college has its own government - it's my job to run this system effectively."
One thing is clear - Shorall is very active in the Rice community, helping to make Rice University a better campus as a whole.
"I like being active on both sides of campus - the athletic and academic sides," she said. "I've been incredibly fortunate to interact with some of the amazing students here along with the great student-athletes at Rice.
"I like to think of myself as a strong liaison between the Rice student-athletes and the students who do not participate in intercollegiate athletics. Unifying the two cultures of students is important for the growth of the university," she stated.
The senior has a strong say in what sort of students attend Rice University. As the head interviewer for the Student Admission Council, Shorall interacts with a good number of students from many different backgrounds as part of the process to determine who will comprise the newest additions to the Rice community..
As if her multiple commitments were not enough, Shorall has also thrown herself into an aggressive academic program, that has her on track to pick up both a BS in biochemistry and a BA in religious studies on graduation day.
With two new residential colleges coming in the fall of 2009 to the Rice community, someone was needed to help develop a personality for the new colleges while showing the new students part of Rice's culture. Shorall could not pass up the opportunity.
"I really love the residential college system. I want to see it succeed, which is a big reason why I am coordinating Orientation Week at Duncan [college] in August."
What will Shorall do with her leadership experience and her attitude towards bettering the community?
"After next year, I will be entering the Teach for America program. For two years I will teach high school biology to underprivileged students in the Bay Area in California. I am really looking forward to making a tangible difference and helping people succeed."
Shorall's leadership and devotion to the Rice community help shape what is ideal of a student-athlete and make her one of Tomorrow's Leaders.
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Hi! I just added you to the list and I noticed you are past 36 weeks. Welcome to your lodge! Tell us all about yourself!
~*Umpqua (Laura)'s Birth Lodge*~
:DHello! Welcome to your lodge ~! They are a wonderful way for all of us to hear all about you!
Welcome to your lodge! I'm looking forward to getting to know you.
welcome to your lodge!
I wasn't expecting a lodge - I guess that means I'm really going to have this baby, and soon! Thanks for the warm welcome here ladies. I'm really hoping for a natural VBAC birth for my second child and it's wonderful to be in such a supportive environment for these important last few weeks.
My name is Laura and my husband is John. We have a 17-month-old son named Jacob and the sex of this new LO will be a surprise. Although I have a strong feeling it's a girl. We'll see, I was pretty sure Jake was a boy, but I have lots of people telling me this one is going to be a boy too. More than anything, I would love to hold my baby after the birth and check on the sex myself, rather than have DH announce it across a crowded operating room.
A little background on me: I just turned 36 yesterday (never dreamed I'd be having a child at this age). I met John 14 years ago when I was home from college over the summer. He was the roommate of some high school friends and we dated casually over the summer. He stayed in CT for school while I headed to Albany, NY for an internship at a newspaper for the final semester of my journalism program. John made the trek up to my apartment on weekends while I was up there and we stayed together despite the distance, then I moved back to CT, where we eventually moved in together.
I worked at reporting and editorial jobs for a few years and we got engaged on Valentine's Day in 1997. That summer we moved to southern Oregon to be near my parents and try out living on the west coast. We stayed there for a year and worked, camping, skiing and hiking to hot springs during our down time. It was wonderful, but we opted to move back to CT in 98 to be near most of our family and friends. We were married in September of 99 and now live in northern CT bordering MA in a semi-rural area (rural for CT anyway). I worked in publishing up until my DS was born, and am now a stay at home mom, doing occasional freelance work from home. I'm hoping to pick up more work when the kids are a little older and maybe move to part time in a few years.
We were on the fence about having children for a long time, preferring to travel, go to see lots of concerts (DH is a drummer) and just generally do whatever we felt like. That all changed abruptly when John's older brother was killed in a major car accident almost 3 years ago. He left behind his wife and 5 young daughters and our lives pretty much came to a crashing halt. We started spending a lot of time with the girls and we slowly came to realize that we wanted children of our own. And also that life is short and circumstances can change instantly, and neither one of us was getting any younger.
I got pregnant with Jake on the first month of really trying, and had a relatively easy, complication-free pregnancy. I took Bradley childbirth classes and educated myself as much as possible on natural, intervention-free birth. My actual birthing experience ended up being anything but that, and now I think I can look back at it objectively and identify some of the problems and things I could have done differently. I'm going to make a separate post with my birth story because this introduction is already getting really long!
I feel MUCH more confident and positive about my upcoming birth. I have been able to visualize a peaceful natural birth throughout this pregnancy, something I could never fully do last time around. This has also been an easy pregnancy with no complications, and I just found out yesterday that my GBS test is negative, so that was pretty much the last hurdle. Yahoo! Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and I'll include a few pictures as well.
I'm really looking forward to documenting the final weeks of this pregnancy here and getting to know you ladies better!
I'm about 1 month pregnant with Jake here:
Me and DH (almost 37 weeks this pregnancy):
One of Jake's new fave foods:
Great intro, Laura! Congrats!
I don't live too far from you.
I'm eager to hear your birth story and what your plans are this time around.
Welcome to your lodge!
Welcome to your lodge
Yay on the neg test!!
Welcome to your lodge!!!:D
Welcome to your lodge Laura!
Welcome to your lodge! It is nice to read your story!
Welcome to your lodge!
Welcome to your lodge. I hope you get the birth you are preparing for!
Thanks again for all the support ladies. I'm feeling pretty good today and have been slowly crossing things off my very long to-do list of tasks to complete before the new baby arrives. My mother-in-law is staying with us for a few days and helping out with DS, so that gives me some free time to tackle projects, and of course spend more time on preg.org My own mother is arriving Thursday morning and staying with us for about a month to help out. She lives in Oregon (3,000 miles away) and I don't see her that often so it will be great to have her here.
I'm going to post my son's birth story in the next entry. It's horribly long and I really don't expect anyone to read it. It's more to just get it out there as a reminder of some of the things I'd like to do differently with this birth. Highlights include: I should have gone to the hospital much later, I shouldn't have let them break my water - that's when my son's heart rate decelerations really started to get funky. I should have insisted on mobility and help in trying to get DS into a better position to descend, I honestly think his positioning was the issue with me not dialating and his heart rate decels.
As a postscript to the birth story: I ended up with a C/S, which my OB at the time said was ultimately due to my son not being able to descend past a fibroid in my uterus. Turns out my former OB flat out lied to me - my current OB read me the post op report and there is no mention of the fibroid being in the way. Offical reason for C/S: failure to progress. This information has just fueled my desire to have an intervention-free vaginal birth this time around. And my fibroid has hardly registered on the ultrasounds this pregnancy, so my current OB says it's a non-issue.
Also, while my blood factor is still APL positive, they're not really treating me as "high risk" for that this time around since I've had 2 healthy pregnancies and no miscarriages. I guess I'm somewhat of an anomaly on this front, but I'm just happy it hasn't been a complicating factor.
Warning: insanely long. Not especially uplifting (although it does have a happy ending). C/S mentioned.
Some History
To really understand what happened the day Jake was born, I'll have to provide a brief medical history. A few years ago, I started having some aches and pains and felt sluggish in general. After seeing a number of doctors, my mother suggested I visit her rheumatologist from when she lived in CT, as she has lupus and she thought perhaps what I was experiencing could be related to that. After several blood tests it was determined that I did not have lupus, but that I did have APL Syndrome (anti-phospholipid syndrome) – a subset of it. I have a minor case of it, meaning my blood levels are low, and I'm not really in danger of developing full-blown lupus. The syndrome can cause blood clots and similar complications. I have a minor case of rheumatoid arthritis from it, but that's about the extent of it, luckily. I take a small dose of aspirin every day to thin the blood and have had no other problems. APL has been a leading cause of miscarriages in the first trimester of pregnancy, and a lot of women don't know they have it until they experience several miscarriages. It can also cause complications toward the end of pregnancy, with the placenta becoming "overripe" and having blood clots.
I knew these risks well beforehand, but my rheumatologist encouraged me to get pregnant as I was healthy in every other way and he thought I would do well. John and I finally decided to go for it, and I had a normal, healthy pregnancy throughout the nine months.
From the beginning, the baby measured slightly ahead of his estimated gestational age. I never thought anything of it since his Daddy is 6 foot 4 inches tall! Daddy had been an average sized baby at around 7 ½ pounds, and I had weighed 6 ½ pounds at birth, so I always assumed I wouldn't have an enormous baby. I'm a small person and I believed my body would not create a baby who was too big for me to birth. My last Level 2 ultrasound, at almost 40 weeks, had put the baby's weight at over 9 pounds! At the time, John told the technician that we had read ultrasounds can be off by as much as 2 pounds in either direction. But the technician said no – maybe 1 pound, but he thought based on what he was seeing that the baby was large. I think his exact words were "This isn't a small baby." Even after that, I didn't think I'd be having a huge baby, I just trusted my maternal instincts and what my body had told me all along.
We asked our obstetricians tons of questions and I wasn't the perfect patient. I declined most of the tests typically done in the first trimester to determine abnormalities because of all the false positives they produce. And then there was the gestational diabetes debacle. I ended up gaining 55 pounds total with the pregnancy and had gained "more than average" by the second trimester. This led my OB to give me an early glucose tolerance test, which I passed. Then he did another at the normal time and I was just over the limit. This typically leads to the 3-hour tolerance test, but I declined it. I had been eating well, had no history of diabetes in the family, and had read about the problems of the test as well as false positive rates. I didn't want to be coined a "gestational diabetic," which I knew would up my chances of intervention even further. In the end I compromised and took two fasting blood sugar tests, both of which I passed with flying colors, scoring lower than most non-pregnant people do. My OB was satisfied that all was well, or at least that's what he told me at the time.
We took Bradley natural childbirth classes and I spent the entire pregnancy immersing myself in research on pregnancy and childbirth, as well as newborn/infant care. I wanted to make the best decisions possible for the baby, and to stick to nature's plan as much as possible and with as little intervention as possible. I envisioned a calm vaginal birth and hoped to avoid painkillers, followed by quiet bonding time with my baby. My actual labor and delivery experience strayed about as far from that plan as possible (which I always knew could happen with my medical status). The doctors had tagged me as a "high risk" and I should have realized that this status, along with giving birth at Yale, a hugely technological hospital, would most likely set off the chain of interventions I had so hoped to avoid.
My Labor & Delivery Story
My labor story begins nearly a week before Jacob was born. I had prodromal labor (early labor with mild contractions that didn't pick up) from that Wednesday through Monday night. The contractions would begin to get regular, then diminish. They never got strong enough to be considered "hard labor" and I was always able to sleep through them. In fact, I got some of the best nights of sleep of my final stage of pregnancy during that last week. I went for my prenatal visit the following Monday, as my official due date was Tuesday. The specialists had told me all along that they recommended induction on my due date, but the OBs had seemed a little more flexible, saying they would probably let me go until the end of the week. I got my first dose of the power of the medical community at that visit, when the OBs said they were completely deferring to the specialists, and that I should schedule an induction for the next day. Of course, I could have refused, but John and I agonized and decided it was best for the baby. After all, what did we know? It had been a healthy, normal pregnancy, but we didn't want to put the Bean at risk at that critical point, when things could start to go wrong. Looking back, I realize now that my high-risk status really put a crimp in my natural childbirth plans from the very beginning and ultimately influenced my entire labor and delivery experience, despite the ultimate outcome.
I asked the OB if there was ANYTHING I could do to help kick in labor naturally, since it looked like I would be going to the hospital first thing Tuesday morning for an induction. We had tried sex, nipple stimulation and walking, and two membrane strips but the contractions had never picked up or become regular for any length of time. She said the only thing we could try (at our own risk) was castor oil. It would get my intestines in an uproar, which was supposed to create "sympathy" contractions in my uterus. I had read about this and had hoped to avoid it, but at this point decided I was willing to do whatever it took to avoid the dreaded induction. John and I went out to lunch after the appointment and were both pretty sad. We picked up the castor oil, then went home and had some quiet meditation time in the bedroom in which I bounced on the birth ball and John focused on the baby and did some acupressure. After a few hours of this we were both calm and I took 2 tablespoons of castor oil mixed with orange juice – aack. I believe this was around 4 p.m. I had my first bout of diarrhea around 7 or 8 p.m., but it didn't do anything to my contractions. I had trouble falling asleep that night, and had another massive bout of diarrhea around 11 p.m. That did it. The contractions got very strong and John and I hung out and timed them for about 2 hours. They remained strong and steady, coming anywhere from 2-4 minutes apart. I had to breathe through them and they became too painful to walk or talk through. I noticed they'd developed a bit of an odd pattern of one strong contraction followed right away by a milder one, which we came to call the "aftershock." We were both convinced this was it, so we called the doctor and she told us to come on in to the hospital.
We got our bag together, alerted my parents and went to the hospital. I was happy it's only a few minutes away, as contractions in the car are no fun. John called his Mom on the way there and soon we were pulled up at the emergency entrance of the children's hospital at Yale. We had to wait a few minutes and I had to sign a few things in the reception area, which was no fun while contracting. I chose the wheelchair for getting up to labor and delivery since I knew the walk would take a long time with all the contractions I was getting.
They hooked me up to the fetal heart rate monitor upon arrival and I stayed on that for a while. They confirmed I was having real, strong contractions so that was good news. Then they did an internal exam and I was still only 2 cm dilated. I was pretty unhappy about this, and thought I'd either be sent home or left to walk around the hospital to try to get the contractions to pick up. They put me back on the fetal monitor and they noticed the baby was having heart rate dips after my contractions. Apparently, dips during contractions are normal, but after contractions are a cause for concern, so that – combined with my high-risk status, was enough to get me admitted.
By now it was 3 a.m. and we got settled into our labor and delivery room. I was in pain, but using my Bradley methods to deal with contractions and I really felt like everything was under control and going smoothly at this point. We put on our recording of ocean waves but were told we couldn't light our banana nut candle due to oxygen concerns so we took the top off so I could at least smell it a bit. I was calm and wanted to walk around a bit and also asked for a birthing ball. We met Brenda, our L&D nurse at this point, who basically stayed with us through most of the labor. She was great, even though she made me do things I didn't want to do and that were painful. She was understanding of our birth plan and I believe she really tried her best to work with it despite all the complicating circumstances.
At this point they decided an IV was needed to hydrate me and the baby because of the heart rate dips. I had been chugging on a bottle of water since the hard labor began at home, but apparently this was not enough. I wasn't happy about this – it was the first intervention I hadn't wanted, but what did I know about heart rate dips? Actually, the continuous fetal monitoring was the first intervention I didn't want and it limited my mobility greatly as I was hooked up to that damn machine throughout my entire labor. But again, they said the heart rate dips were abnormal so who was I to contradict or question that? I wanted what was best for the baby. They didn't like the idea of a heplock (despite what my OB had previously said about that being OK) and so they put in the IV and I was now tethered to that and the fetal monitor. Before connecting me they made me put on their hospital gown, despite being told on the hospital tour that I could wear my own clothes. I had purchased two cheap nightgowns at Walmart for the occasion just so I would be more comfortable. But Brenda said the hospital gown was easier for the nurses because it gave them better access for all the interventions they would need to do (OK, that's not how she put it but that's exactly why they made me wear it). It's too bad I was in a lot of pain and didn't stand up to each of these interventions. Neither did John, we just kind of looked at each other and shrugged because we both wanted to do what was best for the baby and I guess we were choosing our battles carefully as we realized this wasn't going to be a typical labor at this point. I think the word "pitocin" had already been thrown around at this point too – I'm a little fuzzy on that. Our doctor hadn't even arrived yet!
At 4 a.m. the birth ball arrived and it was a huge pain to get all the wires and stuff moved so I could sit on it, but I labored SO much better on it. The pain was almost half what it was when they had me laying on my side in bed. At about 4:30, Dr. Knudson arrived and did an internal check – I'd made it to 4 cm dilated and 100 % effaced on my own! I was ecstatic. Everything seemed so much better at that point. She went ahead and broke my water at that point, which wasn't painful at all. I felt the warm gush and they put the huge diaper and mesh underwear on me. This was starting to resemble a real labor now and I was getting excited. The baby's head was still at -1 station, but now that my water was broken it looked like the Bean should start coming down.
At 6 a.m. or so the contractions were coming harder and the pattern was more constant. I had been laboring for 7 hours now and I really felt optimistic that I'd start to dilate more and things would kick into high gear. I labored in bed and on the birth ball until 8 a.m. and they checked my blood pressure. It was on the high side, and that combined with the baby's heart rate decelerations required Brenda to make me labor on my side, in bed. OW. Let me repeat, this was an absolutely excruciating position for me. I felt SO much better laboring upright on the birth ball or standing and leaning over something. By 8:30 my blood pressure was back down, so I was able to stand, walk and use the birth ball again. It was a pain to make Brenda keep moving the wires and I didn't care. Dealing with my pain level was all that mattered to me. This went on, alternating with laying on my side, until 11 a.m.
At that point Dr. Fox arrived and did an exam, and I was still at 4 cm. I was bummed yet again because the pain was getting worse and I had nothing to show for it. He said he thought the baby's heart rate decelerations were from the Bean pushing against the umbilical cord. He said he'd give me another hour or so to progress on my own and then he wanted to start pitocin. I was not happy about this but I was also in a lot of pain and not progressing. They assured me they would start at the lowest level of pitocin possible and I figured I could deal with it if I just concentrated and breathed.
At noon they started the pitocin through my IV. At this point John left to get some food and to update my parents and his Mom and sister, who were all in the family waiting room at this point. They cranked the pitocin up a notch every half an hour and the contractions immediately became more painful. Also, they made me lay on my side the entire time I was on the pitocin. This double whammy of pain really hit me, and I started to see white after a while. I breathed, I tried to focus and meditate, but it was almost like I could feel that stuff yanking at me and it was without a doubt the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. At about 1:30 they checked me again, and no progress. I had been telling John all along that I couldn't take the pain, I was really ready to give in and get an epidural. He was really supportive and tried to remind me of my birth plan and to just talk me through the contractions. But I was really not feeling like myself at that point. I was strapped to the bed, connected to the IV and fetal monitor and forced to labor painfully on my side with no movement. I felt like a prisoner undergoing torture, honestly, and I couldn't see beyond the pain. I briefly thought about a shot of narcotic pain relief, but I had read enough about those to know they would make me feel "drunk" and possibly knock me out for a little while, but wouldn't really take away the pain of the contractions. And at that point I clung to some hope that the epidural would give me rest and enable the contractions to do their job. Dr. Fox had mentioned c-section already (I'm not sure at what point, but he was having doubts about the baby's head descending, which was necessary to dilate me further). Also, and again I'm not sure when, they gave me a uterine catheter at some point during all this. It didn't hurt, but it involved placing yet another tube inside my uterus which dangled out of me. This was to monitor the intensity of the contractions, which were "very intense" according to the doctor. All this and I was still managing to get to the bathroom and pee on my own, somehow!
The hospital gets points for speed, because I told the nurse I wanted the epidural just after the 1:30 check and it arrived at 1:45. I managed one more unmanned bathroom visit and then it was show time. The anesthesiologist numbed my back (that needle hardly hurt – nothing from this point on really hurt when compared to those contractions from hell). Then she put the epidural in. I was told it would take effect within 10-15 minutes and would be a "walking epidural" – meaning it wouldn't completely numb me, although they wouldn't allow me to walk with it per hospital policy. HA! As if I had been allowed to walk for the last few hours anyway! After about 10 minutes my right side numbed up. I could only feel the pressure of the contractions but the pain went away, and my leg was tingly but I still had feeling in it. Unfortunately, my left side was still in pain and it felt like the epidural was hardly working on that side at all. Normally, they would have me lay on my left side to try to distribute it more evenly, but that was causing the baby's heart rate to decelerate even more, so I was now confined only to my right side. After about a half an hour (and me still breathing through these intense half contractions on my left side), the epidural lady was called back in. She tried to adjust the catheter and I think she even upped the level of the epidural, and the pain to my left side decreased. But I still had feeling there and could definitely still feel the contractions, although it was manageable.
I labored on the epidural for maybe 2 hours total, when the doctor returned and checked me. He said I was still stuck at 4 – maybe 5, but didn't seem to be going anywhere. He was now strongly recommending a c-section. The baby's heart rate decelerations were bothering him, and his theory was that this was a large baby with a large head and that he was just not going to make it through my narrow pelvis. I was really upset. John and I took a few minutes to confer, but we decided that after 17 hours of labor that hadn't dilated me much, the last few of which had been torturous for me, something needed to be done. The nurse also took this opportunity to chastise me for not taking the three-hour glucose test. Apparently, because I hadn't followed protocol, the hospital considered me a "gestational diabetic" by default – exactly what I was hoping to avoid! This automatically upped my chances for cesarean and further fed the whole large baby theory.
The doctor probably would have let me labor some more like that, but I felt pretty weak at that point, and I think we both thought that my high-risk status should take precedence, so we agreed to the c-section. Things moved pretty quickly at this point. Two anesthesiologists came in and adjusted my epidural, basically cranking it up so I was definitely numb. They prepped me quickly and then John had to get into scrubs with a lovely hair net. I was whisked away to the operating room, and after everything was tested and it was determined I wasn't going to feel anything from the waist down, John was allowed in. They had placed a curtain at my midsection so neither of us could see anything (thankfully) and John sat up by my head and held my hand.
We basically made ridiculous small talk with the anesthesiologist for the next 20 minutes to a half an hour so we wouldn't have to overhear the doctors as they worked on me, and then suddenly the doctor told me I'd feel a lot of pressure. It didn't hurt, but I did feel a tug and all of a sudden a crying baby entered the room. "Oh yeah, this is a big baby," the doctor said as he pulled him out. I started to cry – it was the first time I cried during the whole labor and delivery process! I couldn't believe the baby was here. The doctor remembered that we didn't know the sex so he had John peep across the room (he was careful to avert his eyes from my abdomen) and he declared that we'd had a boy! "I knew it all along!" I exclaimed, and my mother's intuition had been right about that at least. I'd later find out I was right about the baby's size as well – he was born at 7 lbs and ½ an ounce and was 19 5/8 inches long – with an average head circumference. On the small side of average overall, go figure.
After a few minutes they brought him over to us while they were still working on me, and John was able to hold him. His apgar scores were 8 and 9 and he appeared to be the picture of health. Once he got near us and heard our voices he quieted down instantly and looked at us intently. John held him while I strained my arm and got to touch his cheek. I was bawling at this point and really wanted to hold him, but they wouldn't let me do it while they were still operating. It was just amazing to see his little eyes turn in the direction of our voices – he was alert right from the beginning, thankfully, despite the epidural.
When I was just about stitched up, Dr. Fox told me that my fibroids had been a complicating factor in the labor. One of them in particular was very large and he thinks it had prevented the baby from descending into the birth canal. All through the pregnancy I had been told that the fibroid was out of the way and wasn't competing with the baby for the placenta's nutrients, so I had though it was the least of my problems. Who would have guessed?
John was asked to leave the room and they finished working on me and transferred me to a rolling bed. Then they placed Jacob in my arms for the first time, and I got to carry him to the recovery room with me. It was awesome, and he was so quiet and just looked up at me as I stroked his little head.
Post Partum Fun
Once I got to the recovery room they were busy trying to hook me up to a morphine drip before the epidural wore off. They also said they had to take Jacob to the nursery within an hour of his birth to test his blood sugar, because of my gestational diabetic status. John wasn't there (he had gone to the waiting room to make the announcement to our families) and I didn't want Jacob going anywhere unaccompanied. I asked the nurse if I could please have some skin on skin contact with him and try to get him to nurse. It had already been probably 45 minutes since his birth and I did not want him going to the nursery before I had a chance to do this. At first she said no, then she said she'd have to unwrap 3 layers of swaddling blankets, and gave a few other excuses. Then John came in and joined me in the argument and the nurse gave in and her disposition changed. She helped him to latch on and he did it almost immediately! He must have been hungry. I can't believe how easy that first latching was and again, I was so emotional. He nursed for a good 10 minutes and then she said she had to get him up to the nursery for the tests. John went with him and I was left alone in the recovery room for a while. I couldn't sleep, I was horribly excited and extremely thirsty. I had never felt so thirsty before, and the nurse brought me a tiny glass of water. Apparently I got a little dehydrated despite the IV fluids, and I would go on to drink gallons and gallons of water over the next 24 hours or so. I ended up with horrible edema (water retention and massive swelling) from the waist down. It's been 17 days since the birth and I still have a little left in my pelvis and ankles, amazingly.
We had won the first battle and had gotten him to nurse before the interventions began on him. At this point I wasn't thinking at all about what had happened to me, but I did realize we'd have a battle ahead of us during our LONG hospital stay (only 4 days but it seemed like forever) to prevent unwanted interventions from happening to our son. And I was determined to protect him from this, since I hadn't been able to protect myself during the labor and delivery.
John accompanied Jacob to the nursery, where he received the first of many heel pricks to test his blood sugar. An extremely pushy nurse there told John Jacob would be having a bottle of formula. John informed her that he would not be having formula, and he really had to fight it out with her. She claimed his blood sugar was on the low side, then admitted it was 54, and that the cutoff for low sugar was actually 40, so his level was perfectly normal! I was moved to my post-partum room and soon Daddy and Jake joined me there, and I got in a good long feeding with the help of a very militant nurse. Each nurse seemed to have different ideas about how long and how frequent his feedings should be, and some of them were very pushy with us. We were respectful and listened to what each had to say, and then consulted with each other and consulted our library of books (one aide asked if I was a student because I had so many books scattered around the room) and then did what we felt was best.
John was a total trooper through the next couple of days, completely taking care of Jake's diapers and playing with him while I slowly made my way out of bed after the section. We had our next mini trauma on the second evening at the hospital. The nurses came in at all hours of the day and night to check my vital signs as well as Jake's. Apparently it was also "hospital procedure" to have him go to the nursery every night around midnight for certain tests. John had said he wanted to accompany Jake at all times, but when the nurse came in to get him that second night I didn't have the heart to wake John, who was snoring loudly on the uncomfortable couch in the room. The nurse said they were just going to give him a bath and test his blood sugar, so I told her to go ahead. She clarified with me that if the blood sugar was low they would want to give him a bottle of formula. I told her I didn't want that (as indicated by the huge sign in his bassinette that said we were breastfeeding, please don't give bottles – placed there by the HOSPITAL per our birth plan) and asked if he could have sugar water in a dropper. She said no problem. Then they left, and were gone for close to an hour.
Panic began to set in as I lay awake without my baby. I began to realize it was a bad idea to send him off without John, and through my raging hormones and the pain of recovery I realized he should be in the room with me, not off getting pricked in the heel and being fed who knows what. I started crying uncontrollably (I did this a lot in the hospital as the hormones peaked after delivery, plus the nurses and pediatrician gave me a few extra reasons to turn on the waterworks) and woke John up. I told him what happened and he immediately ran out to the nursery. When he came back with the baby, a nurse accompanied them and she reluctantly fessed up that they had given him a bottle of formula. John and I were livid (even though it wasn't this particular nurse's fault) and asked why this had happened? She said his blood sugar had been 44 and they needed to give it to him. She tried to backpedal, but it was clear they had either given him formula for convenience, or because they thought he should have it to supplement the breastfeeding, not because of a low blood sugar problem. We got him latched on without a problem after that though, and John watched all the nurses like a hawk from then on.
We didn't have any other major incidents during our stay (except for constant interruptions as we tried to breastfeed our son and get him onto something resembling a sleep schedule) until the last day. A nurse had noticed the day before he looked a little jaundiced, and research confirmed that more than 50% of newborns experience this, especially when breastfeeding. On the last day the pediatrician checked him out and said he wanted to do a blood test to make sure his levels were OK. I accompanied him to the nursery for this one and got to see firsthand the horror of him getting pricked in the heel for the third or fourth time. I got so emotional I had to leave him and John there. After the test was done, I was discharged and we began packing up the room and getting ready to leave. We just had to wait for the test results, but we were SO ready to leave the hospital after 4 days there. The doctor called back and told us he had tested at 17.5, and that he strongly recommended Jacob be put under special lights for a few hours and given formula. I ended up losing it yet again (damn hormones) and crying uncontrollably. Once I calmed down we did a little research and decided that we could most likely handle any levels under 25 (per the La Leche League and a few other sources) without this type of intervention. I was convinced (mother's instinct kicking in once again) that all he needed was a couple of quiet days at home breastfeeding and some exposure to sunshine and he would be fine. John told the doctor we were declining the treatment and he was unhappy, but we were firm. We compromised and decided to test him again the next day, and if the levels had gone up then we would consider treatment.
Sure enough, after less than 12 hours at home with us his levels had gone down. By the time he went for his 2-week pediatrician's visit there was no sign of jaundice, and he had gained up to his birth weight – plus an additional 7 ½ ounces. The pediatrician said he was perfectly healthy and was actually surprised at how quickly he had flushed out the jaundice and gained weight without medical intervention.
I'm really glad we followed our instincts when it came to caring for our son during those crucial first few postpartum days. While I couldn't have the medication-free, vaginal childbirth I had dreamed of, at least I was able to manage my son's care and get him started off on the right track. Our Bradley classes, as well as the extensive reading and research we did throughout my pregnancy, really paid off for us and we were able to stand up to the nurses and doctors and make informed, healthy choices for our child. He is the absolute picture of health now, and his Mom isn't doing so bad either. The whole experience has really affirmed my belief in letting nature take it's course, as well as the power of a Mother's instincts.
Welcome to your lodge! I hope this birth is everything you want it to be
I had a great appointment today and my OB is very optimistic about my VBAC at this point. The baby is measuring right on target, and I had an ultrasound and my fluid levels are good. Baby is "pretty much engaged" - whatever that means. The head is pretty low and baby is facing back (anterior? I always forget which way is which), so seems to be in a good position for birth. He did check my cervix and I'm soft but not dilated. I'll go back in a week.
The receptionist made a few comments as I was leaving that really angered me though. I was making next week's appointment and she said, "Oh, I bet you were wishing this would be the last appointment and he'd just schedule an induction." I replied, "Uh no, I'm a VBAC so we won't be doing an induction." To which she said, "Oh, that's even better. Maybe he'll just schedule a section next week!" I just looked at her in horror and said, "That's exactly what I DON'T want to happen." She just looked confused. I'm sure she's basing her comments on the attitudes of most of their patients, but I was truly livid that she would assume I'm ready to evacuate this baby at 37 weeks pregnant!
In happier news, I picked up my Mom at the airport this morning and she'll be staying with us for a little over a month to help around the house and take care of DS. It's already a huge relief to have a bit of help!
welcome to your lodge!!!
I'm 38 weeks today and everything is pretty much status quo. I've been having lots of cramping both in front and back and feeling all kinds of cervical twinges. I get some uncomfortable contrax at night, but nothing timeable or really noteworthy at this point.
I've upped my evening primrose oil intake to 3g a day, am eating a lot of fresh pineapple, and am still having red raspberry tea regularly. Also bouncing on the birth ball and getting DH to help out now so I'm hoping my cervix is gearing up for the big event.
I'm really excited and feel ready for this baby to come, but I know it could be at least a couple of more weeks so I'm trying not to get too worked up about it. Overall I'm feeling good though!
"Umpqua" wrote:
I'm 38 weeks today and everything is pretty much status quo. I've been having lots of cramping both in front and back and feeling all kinds of cervical twinges. I get some uncomfortable contrax at night, but nothing timeable or really noteworthy at this point.
I've upped my evening primrose oil intake to 3g a day, am eating a lot of fresh pineapple, and am still having red raspberry tea regularly. Also bouncing on the birth ball and getting DH to help out now so I'm hoping my cervix is gearing up for the big event.
I'm really excited and feel ready for this baby to come, but I know it could be at least a couple of more weeks so I'm trying not to get too worked up about it. Overall I'm feeling good though!
Wow I could have almost written the same post myself... except I'm at 40 weeks and allergic to pineapple! We do have a lot in common right now.
Loved reading your intro and birth story! Cant wait to follow your last weeks of pregnancy and I hope that you get the VBAC of your dreams. You can do it!!!
Thanks for the support all! Maria, that's great that you're 2 weeks ahead of me and feel the same way. I can only hope to feel this good at post dates. But at least I'll be given the opportunity to go post dates this time if necessary!
I started losing my plug this morning which has given me a lot of encouragement. Again, I know this can happen weeks before labor kicks in, but it's a good sign anyway.
It also occurred to me that I was having so many more interventions by this point in my last pregnancy, and I really didn't think much of them. I was getting NSTs already, lots of internal exams, and I think I had my membranes stripped by this point. That caused me to lose some of my plug, but it certainly didn't send me into labor.
I really feel like my body is doing this on my own this time and progressing at its own pace. I've gotten zero pressure from the doctors and they've been nothing but positive so far. That goes a long way toward boosting my own confidence in this whole process!
Glad to hear things are going well.
Welcome to your lodge (I'm a bit late) and great job staying positive. Your body is doing great!
I wasn't going to write anything about this, but I guess that is what lodges are for I've been losing pieces of plug since Tuesday and started having some uncomfortable contractions yesterday afternoon. By last night they were coming about every 8 minutes, but then I decided to stop timing them. I knew they weren't strong enough to be the real deal, and yet they were the strongest contrax I've had so far this pregnancy. Very frustrating!
I was in prodromal labor for days before my son arrived, so I know better than to get my hopes up this time. The contrax continued overnight, but I was able to sleep a couple of hours at a stretch. They're continuing sporadically this morning too. I have a bunch of errands planned with Mom and DS, so I'm just going to go about my business and see if walking around gets them to pick up at all. But there's a voice in the back of my head that says I may be in for a week of prodromal labor again, ugh. No fun, but at least I'm better prepared for it this time.
I hope the prodromal labor doesn't stick around for a week or more. That really sucks!
On a side note, I just noticed you have a Jacob, too. Though, yours is almost a year younger.
Woohoo for starting to lose your MP!
As for the prodromal labor, I feel ya there. Not so much yet, this time, but have been there with each of my other three. It can get so tiring and discouraging- but everything that happens now, is less that has to happen later, when "real" labor kicks in!!!
I had my 38-week appointment this morning and it was a good one. Blood pressure is normal, I lost 2 pounds, and baby's heartbeat was good. I had an internal check (I knew I wouldn't be able to resist with the sporadic contractions and other stuff I've had going on). I'm glad I did since I'm now 1-2 cm dilated, 50% effaced and my plug is gone. The doctor said he could feel baby's head!
This was encouraging to me, even though I know I can walk around like this for weeks. So far, the end of this pregnancy seems to be following my last one, except everything seems to be sped up just a wee bit. It would be great to go into labor over the next few days, but I'm really not getting my hopes up. I'm just going to continue to be active and bounce on the birth ball and do all the other things I've been doing.
The other encouraging thing that happened was the doctor said something about "we'll only let you go 10 days past due date as a VBAC." I know they had said 1 week initially, so that buys me 3 more days! I know I can refuse a C/S at that point (and I'm hoping it won't come to that), but it's nice to know they won't be pushing for one for a few more weeks.
It's nice to have some good news going into the long holiday weekend. We'll be taking DS to a parade and DH and I may even go to see Prince Caspian one night. I'm looking forward to having some fun before things get crazy around here!
Wow, that's an exciting appointment!!!
YAY for progress! I'm so excited for you! Sounds like things could happen at any time!
Great appt! I'm so excited for you!
Still pregnant, just checking in. I had a fun weekend with lots of activity, but it was also frustrating. Had lots of contractions, to the point where I couldn't sleep Saturday night and I was up timing them at every 8 minutes for about an hour and a half, then they fizzled out. But - that's how things went with my son's labor so I knew to expect it this time. It doesn't make things any easier though!
I at least got in lots of walking and birth ball bouncing. Yesterday we watched a road race (my SIL and some friends ran in it) and went to a huge family BBQ afterwards. I even went on a bumpy hay ride with DS! It would appear that this LO is quite comfortable at the moment though and not keen on going anywhere.
I have a prenatal appointment tomorrow and I expect everything to be status quo. I've had quite a bit of discharge this morning so maybe my cervix is making more progress. I'm also going to try to schedule a chiropractor visit for tomorrow to make sure everything is lined up properly and to help my sciatic pain, which is on and off depending on which way LO is lying. The babe moved down even further over the weekend - the top of my belly is all jiggly now so I know baby is lodged in the lower half. I'm really trying my best to treasure these final days of pregnancy
Sorry about the trial run on Saturday. I've had a few of those. Congrats on baby moving farther down, though. Maybe the hay ride helped that.
Good luck at your appt tomorrow!
I totally feel your pain! Hang in there and try to stay positive, that's what I'm trying to do anyway! These babies WILL come out!! Hehe. :bigarmhug:
I had my prenatal and chiropractic appointments today. I have to say, my overall frame of mind has really changed after the OB appointment, and for the better. I've been generally crampy and cranky with on and off contractions that don't lead anywhere. I was hoping to hear I'd had some type of cervical change from last week, but I'm exactly the same. I should just be content with that - my body is gearing up for labor and the state of my cervix at this moment has no bearing on when I'll go into labor. I KNOW that, but it's still hard to get out of the head space that I should be making some progress with all the pangs and twinges I've been having.
Anyway, I asked the OB about a membrane sweep and he said I'm not progressed enough to do one. The baby and I are doing great, so he basically said all is well and we'll see you next Wednesday for a regular appointment and NST (I'll be 2 days post dates at that point). I then asked him about the possibility of a foley catheter if things haven't progressed. He basically said I'd have to be a lot more dilated for that to be effective. Then he said, "Don't worry, we're not going to push another C/S on you. We really support this VBAC and we're going to work with you. As long as you and the baby are doing well, that's all that matters. Back in the day, women would go several weeks post dates. So if we need to stretch it out to 42 weeks, that's an option."
I was absolutely shocked. Here I am, asking about membrane sweeps and all these other things to get labor going and my OB is telling me to calm down and wait things out. For a VBAC. I can't believe how fortunate I am to have found this OB practice! I know they may not be as liberal as some birth center or homebirth midwives, but they're pretty darn hands off for a medical group.
Anyway, after processing all this information I went to my chiropractic appointment and got a nice adjustment. I feel great and I feel so much more positive about taking my time and letting this birth progress on its own timetable, as it should. I hope I can keep this feeling with me for as long as it takes.
Then he said, "Don't worry, we're not going to push another C/S on you. We really support this VBAC and we're going to work with you. As long as you and the baby are doing well, that's all that matters. Back in the day, women would go several weeks post dates. So if we need to stretch it out to 42 weeks, that's an option."
I was absolutely shocked. Here I am, asking about membrane sweeps and all these other things to get labor going and my OB is telling me to calm down and wait things out. For a VBAC. I can't believe how fortunate I am to have found this OB practice! I know they may not be as liberal as some birth center or homebirth midwives, but they're pretty darn hands off for a medical group.
That's really great news, Laura! I'm so happy that your OB is rooting your VBAC on. GL!
Sounds like you have some great docs!! Any updates? How are you doing?
I've been having a different type of cramping today. Much more uncomfortable than the BH and pressure waves I've been dealing with. I also woke up (after an amazingly long night of sleep) thinking "today would be a good day to go into labor!"
That said, I'm really trying not to make much out of this since I've been having on and off contrax for so long now. I'm beginning to feel like the pregnant lady who cried wolf, even if it's all only in my head. Oh well, at the very least this is good prep work for what lies ahead.
Sounds promising, at least! IKWYM though about not getting too excited, that is for sure!
Great that you got such a good night of sleep, just in case!
Tomorrow is your due date, right?
I'm thinking of you!
After all the "pre-labor" "prodromal labor" or whatever you want to call it that I've been having over the last couple of weeks, I think I expected to feel miserable and frustrated today. But I'm actually pretty happy. I made it to my "due date" this pregnancy without any induction threats or negativity looming over my head. It feels pretty damn good!
I've been reliving the last few days of my pregnancy with DS these past few days and this is such a different pregnancy. I'm not afraid, that's probably the biggest factor. I know all this cramping and the odd contractions are just gearing me up for real labor, and I'm confident my body is going to work with me this time.
I've been trying to stay busy these last couple of days so that I don't obsess over when the birth will be happening. I went for a long walk with my Mom yesterday and then DH and I went to see Prince Caspian at the drive-in theatre last night. That was fun! It's a beautiful day here today so I plan to get more walking and some gardening in. I have a prenatal appointment and NST on Wednesday so I will plan to update again after that.
Here is a belly pic of me with my nieces on Memorial Day. My belly is lower and looks a little smaller now - I think I've lost some water weight and it's also just hanging pretty low at this point. I'll have to try to get another pic this week.
Awww, what a great belly, and happy due date! The same thing sort of happened with me when I went past dates with Ella. I felt at peace with it and knew she would come when ready (everyone else around me was a jittery wreck though... heehee). It's kind of fun to go out in public and when people say, "when are you due?" and you can say x number of days ago. They get a look like you might delivery on the floor in front of them.
Happy due date!!! I am glad to hear that you are feeling well- that is the best! And great belly pic, looks ripe for the birthing, lol.
Happy due date~! Glad you feel good!
Yay for reaching your due date! Sounds like you are doing well and it a great place mentally. You're definitely at the home stretch now!
I love the picture! You definately look low. Your time is soon I suspect.
How are you doing today?
I love the photo.


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Front-end Web DeveloperTerm:. Relo assistance negotiable, H1B transfers welcomeWe are looking for a Front-end Web Developer with an eye for clean design to join...
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BATON ROUGE, La. – Top-ranked LSU erupted for a 10-run first inning en route to defeating Yale, 19-0, Friday night at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
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12 For just as ithe body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, jso it is with Christ. 13 For kin one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—lJews or Greeks, slaves1 or free—and mall were made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
[1] 12:13 Or servants; Greek bondservants


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Join the 'Vytorin' group to help and get support from people like you.
Vytorin Questions
We found 38 questions associated with the 'Vytorin' topic.
Question on Effexor, Welbutrin, Primidone, Vytorin 10/20?
I noticed a "Red Flag" on Effexor and Wellbutrin. I take 75mg Effexor in morning, 300 mg Wellbutrin in evening, 1 Vytorin 10/20 in afternoon, 50mg Primidone 4/day. I cannot sleep more than ...
Posted 29 Sep 2014 • 4 answers
When does Vytorin go generic?
When is Vytorin expected to have a generic equivalent?
Posted 27 Nov 2013 • 1 answer
What generic meds are there available today that are similar to Vytorin?
Posted 9 Jun 2015 • 1 answer
Vytorin is very expensive! Is there a generic version?
Posted 5 Jun 2013 • 1 answer
What is the danger with grapfruit and vytorin?
Posted 24 Jun 2014 • 1 answer
Took Vytorin for several years with little or no side affects, Started taking Zetia and Simvastatin?
Having stomach pains that appeared about 2-3 weeks after starting the two drugs separately. Is Zetia or Simvastatin the reason? Don't understand how I could take Vytorin for 3 years with no ...
Posted 1 Jan 2014 • 1 answer
My legs and knees ache since taking Exforge. I also have arthritis and taking Meloxicam, Synthroid?
... Vytorin, and Estradial. Could all these together be working against me? Some days my head feels like I am in high altitude and need to swallow to pop my ears
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Cana daily dose of Vytorin 10/40 mg cause erectile dysfunction?
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What is a safe level for combining amylodipine and simvastatin?
I have high cholesterol. I am sensitive to Crestor and Vytorin. I take Simvastatin 20mg. I take Lisinopril 20mg i x day plus Amlodipine 5mg. X 2 daily for high blood pressure. I was taking 40mg. ...
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Vytorin - what's the best way to stop, my numbers are good, but dr wants me to stay on?
I have been taking Vytorin for about 6 years. My numbers were never over 200 combined. Now they are about 130 combined. Is there a procedure to weaning off this drug. My doc says stay on but I think ...
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Does Lisinopril or Vytorin cause nightmares?
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Why is Vytorin so expensive?
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Is there a replacement drug for vytorin?
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Can long term use of Vytorin cause dry skin?
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Skin Rash - I have had an itchy rash with burning skin since July, why won't it go away?
I was taken off vitorin and sertraline but these meds were not the problem. A urinalysis showed bacteria in my urine and took bactrim the the rash, burning and itching persists
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Going by the findings of a new study, led by Dr. Katherine DeLellis Henderson of the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, despite the fact that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is associated with serious health risks, menopausal women who use the hormones can have lower chances of colon cancer risk.
The findings of the study, published in the online edition of American Journal of Epidemiology, January 11, were based on the observation of almost nearly 57,000 teachers in California.
The researchers found that women who used HRT had a 36 percent less likelihood of developing colon cancer in the next ten years as compared to those women who had never used HRT.
Statistically speaking, during the study period, 193 out of the 34,433 HRT users, and 151 out of the 13,778 non-HRT users were reportedly diagnosed of colon cancer.
The study, which corroborates the earlier theory that estrogen can help prevent colon cancer to some extent, also noted that HRT - either with estrogen alone or an estrogen-progestin combination – helps reduce colon cancer risk, irrespective of factors like age, weight, race and exercise levels of women.
However, HRT use is not recommended as a preventive measure against colon cancer, largely because it is linked to a greater risk of heart attack, stroke, breast cancer and blood clots in postmenopausal women.
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kyle knobel
This is part 2 of a series of projects completed on my lunch breaks. I wanted to do some projects that were experiment based, that could be made quickly, and could work out some ideas that had been floating around in my head for a while. This piece was made using a simple point-and-shoot still camera.
Another vehicle in the neighborhood that I work. This van is referred to by my fiance as the 'bike van.' One time we saw the owners roll up the back door to reveal it packed inside with bicycles. For some reason it really shocked me. Maybe cause I'd assumed they were stolen bikes, or possibly just because the whole idea of a rolling storage facility had never entered my head before. Anyhow, the owner of the van was later identified as the proprietor of a local bike shop.
Music by Wu Tang.


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|Reviews for Some Days
| nayin17 chapter 1 . 2/21/2015
Beautifully written
| ink and blue jays chapter 1 . 4/29/2014
Heart-wrenching. I can feel goosebumps all over.
| The North Wyn chapter 1 . 10/22/2013
*cries* So sad! Very well written, though, and a great look at some real emotions Ginny might have had.
| keeptheotherone chapter 1 . 3/2/2013
This is amazing, and you should absolutely be sure of it! Ginny is honest and raw here, but believable, and the shock of "her big brother's dead, but he's not Harry Potter, oh no, and he doesn't get to come back from it, won't ever come back from it"-it's like being punched in the gut. This is emotional and real and unflinching and fabulous; most especially that last line, because we know that Ginny does love Harry and wouldn't wish him dead. Great job evoking emotion! You don't read much about Ginny's grief, and this is a great take on it.
| The Fantasy Spinner chapter 1 . 8/24/2012
Angst-y, but good angst, so it's all right. Ginny seems a bit...vicious in this, though I can certainly imagine her feelings. Still worth a favorite, though, so good job :)
| Linkmarth chapter 1 . 8/6/2012
| theredrobin chapter 1 . 4/13/2011
That was friggin heart-wrenching.
Beautiful writing. Beautiful.
| Cassandra30 chapter 1 . 12/26/2010
Because he never had anything else but the dead to care about the real Harry anyway not TBWL.
| choir-freak chapter 1 . 9/19/2010
So I'm sitting in mcdonalds reading this story on my phone and there is this sad song playing and it just adds to the story so much. It's already sad but then you throw in heartwrenching music and it just makes the story ten times sadder. You are a very good one-shot angst writer. I read this after Need. I very much like your writing. You go deeper with their thoughts without rambling too much which a lot of people have a hard time with. very nicely done.
| Musafreen chapter 1 . 6/24/2010
Yeah, forgetting someone. It's scary. Whtever Ginny's thinking makes sense.
| J-Kid chapter 1 . 4/5/2010
You have to wonder what this Ginny thinks of her children's names in the Epilogue of book Seven. :-/ If that's not having to be around the dead all the time I don't know what is- rather morbid, really...
| over-rehearsed chapter 1 . 2/16/2010
Aw, I love that. I can actually imagine Ginny feeling that way, so sad and dejected. I love it.
| Blouta chapter 1 . 12/6/2009
Wow. I went from your funny stories to this sad mess. Don't get me wrong, I loved it! Made perfect sense. It was just super sad.
| verity candor chapter 1 . 7/24/2009
Augh! It's so brilliant and poignant! SO perfectly in character and so Ginny! Excellent job!
| excessivelyperky chapter 1 . 6/19/2009
Of course she's furious with Fred for dying and not coming back. It's perfectly reasonable. And let's face it, all through canon Harry was Special; the one time that Ginny was Special, she wasn't allowed to remember any of it, because Tom had all the fun. Being the victim is never as much fun as being the rescuer, after all, and it's hard to always be the Sidekick or the True Love. Just ask Ron, or Hermione.
And once she's out of Hogwarts, she'll have to take responsibility for when she beats up on people, so that outlet is gone, too. Ginny never recovered in some respects from what Tom did to her; but she's not Harry, so it doesn't matter.
She still loves Harry, too, and that is what hurts so much as well.


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Contact Us
In less than two months, there have been five murders in Newton County.
It's not that kind of rodeo. There are no bulls, horses or lassos.
There may be a traffic light coming to the intersection of Highway 212 and Bethany/Butler Bridge Road in the near future.
The truth is blood cannot be manufactured.
At just five years old, Sadie Ozburn wanted to help. She also wanted to have a little fun, and combined both on Monday, July 4.
The Washington Street Community Center is looking for instructors to teach afterschool homework instruction beginning Aug. 15.
The National Action Network (NAN) gave out dozens of backpacks filled with school supplies Thursday evening. Cathlete Perry, NAN Youth Director, oversaw the backpack drive ...
A box of crayons. A package of number two pencils. Blank notebook paper. A new backpack.
Newton County settled a lawsuit with owners of 54.5 acres on Gum Creek road for damages due to the county's storm water infrastructure ...
Brandon Shawn Smith entered a guilty plea in front of Judge W. Kendall Wynne, Jr. on Wednesday in the Newton County Judicial Court.
The Newton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) came to a consensus on balancing the 2017 fiscal year budget Thursday night.
Locals are familiar with creatures calling Newton County home. We do, after all, play hosts to Vampires and Zombies. But this week new creatures moved ...
In wake of the recent tragedies of the past week, the Newton County Sheriff's Office (NCSO) has received an outpouring of support from local ...
The temperature has reached above 90 degrees 22 out of the 30 days of June, and all but two days so far in July. In ...
This week, alone, two murders occurred in Newton County, and another person was killed in the city of Covington. Since April there has been two ...
Page 2 of 8
DING! "Basement floor."
Shane Millwood will celebrate the release of his official debut album, "The Other Way" at Cowboys Hotspot in Rutledge at 8 p.m. Saturday April 28.
Son of local country legend Tommy Millwood, Shane's music is recognizable for its distinctive country style and relevant, powerful lyrics and has been featured on local well-known radio stations such as 94.9 The Bull and 92.5 The Bear.
Nothing says spring like the annual American Legion fair. And while the weather may be a little cooler than usual this time of year, the fair is still going full steam ahead.
God's Concerned Citizens will sponsor its first voter registration drive for 2012 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 28, at the Porter Memorial Library, on Ga. Highway 212 next to Oak Hill Elementary Schools.
"Persons who haven't registered to vote should do so. I encourage each person to come out and register to vote and not to wait until 30 days before the primaries," said Deputy Registrar and Minister Elizabeth Partridge-Godfrey.
Average retail gasoline prices in Atlanta have fallen 8.4 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.73/gal yesterday. This compares with the national average that has fallen 4.2 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.85/gal, according to gasoline price website AtlantaGasPrices.com.
Including the change in gas prices in Atlanta during the past week, prices yesterday were 1.2 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 4.8 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 0.7 cents per ...
First Jean-Joseph, 61, and Angelica Kalonji, 57, were held at gunpoint by their new neighbors for 10 minutes. Then the couple was confronted by six deputies from the Newton County Sheriff's Office, who in spite of the couple's protests that they had just purchased the home, arrested them and locked them in the Newton County Detention Center.
Nearly a week later and all charges have been dismissed against the Kalonjis, but the ordeal is far from over. The neighbors, who brandished semi-automatic weapons because they thought the couple was robbing the house, remain in the Newton County Detention ...
While Australians can provide different views on many aspects of life, Covington's Rotarians were most interested Tuesday in the country's government-funded health care.
The Community Food Pantry is celebrating its 25th anniversary while its director Rosalee Thompson is celebrating her 25 years at the helm of the project.
Thompson became involved with the project when it was in its beginning stages. In 1987, several local churches like the First Presbyterian Church and Bethlehem Baptist Church created the food pantry to serve as a centralized pantry for the community.
Financial advisors are warning their clients of a new mail scam that notifies recipients that they have won the lottery.
The scam was brought to the attention of David Allred of Advanced Retirement Planning when a woman in her 80s requested him to look at a check she'd received in mail.
KABUL, Afghanistan - Covington resident Ju Bobby Xiong was promoted from specialist to sergeant April 5 at Camp Phoenix during his deployment to Afghanistan with the 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, "Task Force Hydra," an Army National Guard unit out of Columbus.
Army National Guard Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Burch promoted Xiong while visiting Camp Phoenix.
Officers responded to a call from a mother about a fight between her daughter and her daughter's husband.
The mother stated that when she arrived at the apartment, her daughter came out of the door holding the left side of her face and saying that she had gotten into a fight with her husband.
When officers arrived at The Depot after receiving a call in reference to an intoxicated man attempting to leave on his motorcycle, they observed a man fighting with one of The Depot's security guards.
The responding officers told the man to stop fighting, turn around and put his hands behind his back.
Officers responded to a report of copper theft at the Hebron World Church.
Pastor Mark Barratt stated that when he went to the rear of the church building, he noticed that three of the air conditioning units had been tampered with.
An officer responded to the Walmart on Industrial Blvd in reference to shoplifting.
The loss prevention representative along with two other associates, observed three males shoplift $7.47 worth of condoms.
Officers responded to a domestic dispute that resulted from a daughter making a comment about her father's girlfriend's backside.
When the officer arrived, the daughter stated that her younger sister had told her father's girlfriend that she had a "big booty." However, the girlfriend stated that the daughter made a comment about one of the kids "wanting her booty."
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In my Ubuntu Touch app I need to be able to change the language of the app without rebooting the app or the device. Is there a way to do it?
Unfortunately there is currently no way to do this using gettext (the internationalization technology the Ubuntu SDK uses).
You might be able to do it using the native Qt internationalization framework.


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Apple iPhone 5C: Everything you need to know
Judgment day has arrived, well at least for the budget version of Apple's iPhone, the iPhone 5C.
Following on from all the rumours, 10 September has arrived and Apple has announced the launch of its iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S and new operating software iOS 7.
There has always been a rumour of a cheaper iPhone model - mostly to combat the high price point of the regular iPhone - but there's never really been the flood of excitement that we've seen in all the speculation during 2013.
Now it has finally come, read on for a round-up of what you can expect from the budget version, the iPhone 5C.
Release date and price
Following in the realms of tradition, you won't be waiting long for the iPhone 5C, with Apple making the handset available alongside the iPhone 5S.
You can expect to see both models available in stores across the UK, US, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, China, Japan and Singapore on 20 September, giving you just 10 days of waiting time. The iPhone 5C will be available to pre-order from 13 September.
READ: Apple iPhone 5C: Release date and where can I get it?
As far as pricing is concerned, there were rumours hitting the walls left, right and centre from $99 to off-contract $300. The iPhone 5C 16GB will be available for £470 SIM-free, while the 32GB model will go for £550.
Multiple colours
As a number of sources predicted, the "C" seems to stand for colours. The iPhone 5C will be available in multiple colours including yellow, red, green, blue and white, following the iOS 7 colour scheme. No black model with this version.
The colours certainly bring a welcome change from the predictable black and white versions of the previous iPhone models, as well as give this model a little extra to compete with the likes of the HTC Mini and Samsung S4 Mini, both of which are available in different colour options.
Bringing back a plastic design
The body of the iPhone 5C is made from hard-coated polycarbonate plastic with a reinforced steel frame installed into it. Plastic was to be expected to differentiate it from the premium model.
READ:Apple iPhone 5C pictures and hands on
It was also suggested the iPhone 5C would come with a 4-inch display in-line with the iPhone 5, along with the Lightning connector for the power source, which have both become a reality. The display features integrated touch and widescreen video capability.
It comes in at slightly bigger by a couple of millimetres than the iPhone 5, measuring 124.4mm in height, 59.2mm in width and 8.97mm in depth compared to the iPhone 5 which came in at 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm. The iPhone 5C is also a fraction heavier, hitting the scales at 132g, compared to the 112g of the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S.
iPhone 5C features
The new iOS 7 will be the software shipping with the iPhone 5C. Following its launch the WWDC conference in June, iOS 7 is said to be the most simplified iOS since its first launch, with Jonathan Ive, Apple's new senior vice-president of industrial design, describing it as "black, white and flat all over."
The iPhone 5C will be replacing the iPhone 5, bringing with it a range of its features including Siri and an A6 processor.
READ: Apple iPhone 5 review
You will also get an 8-megapixel rear iSight camera, along with a f/2.4 aperture and LED flash which is the same as the iPhone 5. Upgrading slightly from the iPhone 5 however is the new Facetime HD camera that is said to work better in low light. The 1.2-megapiel camera is capable of 720p HD video recording and features a new backside illumination sensor.
When it comes to connectivity, the iPhone 5C sports LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. But unlike the iPhone 5, Apple has said the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C will both support all forms of 4G LTE.
The iPhone 5C comes with a standby battery life of 250 hours, which is a slight improvement on the 225-hour iPhone 5 standby battery. The up to 10-hour video playback and up to 8-hour 3G browsing time remains the same as it did on the iPhone 5.
The budget iPhone has finally arrived and comes in a few different colours, along with very similar specs to the iPhone 5. We suspect it will be a welcomed addition for those who don't want to pay for the premium device, but still want an Apple product in the palm of their hand.
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PRICE: $5 per bed in addition to registration fee
There are seven cabins available for rent by troops. Four of these cabins sleep 16 people, which is held for mother/daughters attending without a troop. There are three cabins that sleep 20 people. Cabin units share a nearby bathhouse with hot water and flushing toilets. Include your troop number and name of person organizing the troop cabin in the buddy section.
October 7 – 9, 2016
October 14 – 16, 2016
October 21 – 23, 2016
October 28 - 30, 2016
Price: $30 per person (Female Adult & Daughter(s)
Registration Fees Include
Event fees include patch, canoeing/kayaking, archery*, arts and crafts supplies, insurance and staff to assist in activities, fun and games. Additional activities are available for a small charge including equestrian and adventure* activities as listed below.
*grade restrictions will apply for these activities.


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A NATION CHALLENGED: THE RESPONSE; Planning for Terror but Failing to Act
Published: December 30, 2001
(Page 4 of 8)
Mr. Clinton declined repeated requests for an interview, but a spokeswoman, Julia Payne, said: ''Terrorism was always a top priority in the Clinton administration. The president chose to get his foreign policy advice from the likes of Sandy Berger and Madeleine Albright and not Dick Morris.''
On July 25, Mr. Clinton announced that he had put Vice President Al Gore at the head of a commission on aviation safety and security. Within weeks, the panel had drafted more than two dozen recommendations. Its final report, in February 1997, added dozens more.
Among the most important, commission members said, was a proposal that the F.B.I. and C.I.A. share information about suspected terrorists for the databases maintained by each airline. If a suspected terrorist bought a ticket, both the airline and the government would find out.
Progress was slow, particularly after federal investigators determined that the crash of T.W.A. Flight 800 resulted from a mechanical flaw, not terrorism. The commission's recommendation languished -- until Sept. 11, when two people already identified by the government as suspected terrorists boarded separate American Airlines flights from Boston using their own names.
That morning, no alarms went off. The system proposed by the Gore commission was still not in place. The government is now moving to share more information with the airlines about suspected terrorists.
''Unfortunately, it takes a dramatic event to focus the government's and public's attention, especially on an issue as amorphous as terrorism,'' said Gerry Kauvar, staff director of the commission and now a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation.
Focusing on Al Qaeda
A Clearer Picture, A Disjointed Fight
As Mr. Clinton began his second term, American intelligence agencies were assembling a clearer picture of the threat posed by Mr. bin Laden and Al Qaeda, which was making substantial headway in Afghanistan.
A few months earlier, the first significant defector from Al Qaeda had walked into an American Embassy in Africa and provided a detailed account of the organization's operations and ultimate objectives.
The defector, Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl, told American officials that Mr. bin Laden had taken aim at the United States and other Western governments, broadening his initial goal of overthrowing Saudi Arabia and other ''infidel'' Middle Eastern governments.
He said that Al Qaeda was trying to buy a nuclear bomb and other unconventional weapons. Mr. bin Laden was also trying to form an anti-American terrorist front that would unite radical groups. But Mr. Fadl's statements were not widely circulated within the government. A senior official said their significance was not fully understood by Mr. Clinton's top advisers until his public testimony in 2000.
The war against Al Qaeda remained disjointed. While the State Department listed Mr. bin Laden as a financier of terror in its 1996 survey of terrorism, Al Qaeda was not included on the list of terrorist organizations subject to various sanctions released by the United States in 1997.
The F.B.I.'s counterterrorism experts, who were privy to Mr. Fadl's debriefings, were growing increasingly concerned about Islamic terrorism. ''Almost all of the groups today, if they chose, have the ability to strike us in the United States,'' John P. O'Neill, a senior F.B.I. official involved in counterterrorism, warned in a June 1997 speech.
The task, Mr. O'Neill said, was to ''nick away'' at terrorists' ability to operate in the United States. (Mr. O'Neill left the F.B.I. this year for a job as chief of security at the World Trade Center, where he died on Sept. 11.)
As Mr. O'Neill spoke in Chicago, the F.B.I. and C.I.A. was homing in on a Qaeda cell in Nairobi, Kenya.
The National Security Agency began eavesdropping on telephone lines used by Al Qaeda members in the country. On several occasions, calls to Mr. bin Laden's satellite phone in Afghanistan were overheard. The F.B.I. and C.I.A. searched a house in Kenya, seizing a computer and questioning Wadih El-Hage, an American citizen working as Mr. bin Laden's personal secretary.
American officials counted the operations as a success and believed they had disrupted a potentially dangerous terrorist cell. They were proved wrong on Aug. 7, 1998, when truck bombs were detonated outside the United States embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people, including 12 Americans, and injuring more than 5,000.
Stunned by the plot's ambition and precision, Mr. Clinton vowed to punish the perpetrators, who were quickly identified as Al Qaeda adherents. ''No matter how long it takes or where it takes us,'' the president said, ''we will pursue terrorists until the cases are solved and justice is done.''
The political calculus, however, had changed markedly since the president's triumph in the fall of 1996, and Mr. Clinton was in no position to mount a sustained war against terrorism.
His administration was weighed down by a scandal over his relationship with a White House intern. Mr. Clinton was about to acknowledge to a grand jury that his public and private denials of the affair had been misleading. Republicans depicted every foreign policy decision as an attempt to distract voters.