Teatopia

Just today, I was reading about planting herbs to keep bugs away from your flowers. But it didn't say what to do about keeping bugs away from your herbs ;)
We usually use our bath towels for a week or so. I figure since we're clean when we're using them, I don't need to wash them every day. Hand towels and kitchen towels are washed after a couple of days, usually, since they get more use. Do you wash bath towels after each use? That's a lot of laundry!
Have fun seeing your little guy!

Oh how exciting~another chance to see your little guy :) Isn't it wonderful to be able to see them like that while they're still in utero~you feel like you already know them & their little personality :) Can't wait to see the pics of the little guy :) I bet he'll look like Olivia~all my boys all looked alike :) As far as the hair issue, you wouldn't know it now that Olivia didn't have much hair~her hair is absolutely beautiful!!!! She has better hair than I do ;)

Answers to your questions~~

* I don't plant herbs so I'm not sure what to tell you about those

* We ALWAYS re-use bath towels. I ahte thinking how much more often I'd be doing laundry if we didn't re-use!

* The only child I had drug-free was Spencer & I just used my lamaze breathing techniques. W/Justin & Kendall, I was given pain meds thru my IV (I can't have epidurals because I have scholiosis) but they stopped those 5-6 hours before birthing Justin & 2 hours before Kendall (I had a 4-hour labor w/Kendall). You're going to be fine though~you're a strong woman :)

Can't wait to see pics of your little guy :)

I must be wanting you to have twins or something~EVERY time I typed "guy" in this post, I added an "s" & had to remove it ;)

I use my bath towels 2-3 times. I used to wash them after every use, until I realized I would be doing towel laundry every few days. This way gets us through several weeks.

I didn't have a drug-free birth, but I had 18ish hours of painful contractions, so I'll chime in. ;) I just used the breathing techniques our childbirth nurse taught us - I don't think they specifically follow lamaze or bradley, but they might stem from one or the other. More than anything, they just gave me something to DO and focus on during the contrax. :)

I had a drug-free birth and for me it wasn't about using a method so much as going with whatever felt right at the time. For some reason, it was somewhat soothing to close my eyes and have my head pressing against something--a wall, a kitchen cupboard, the birth ball, my husband's or doula's chest--whenever the contractions got bad. As for breathing, sometimes it felt right to slow down and breathe deeply, and sometimes I would take quick shallow breaths. I also did a lot of moaning, which maybe freaked out the people in the hallway of the hospital, but I can't say I really cared what they thought. Just remember, your body knows how to do this, there's nothing you need to "learn" unless having more info helps make you feel more calm and confident.

As for towels, do people *seriously* wash them after every use? That is a *lot of water! I do a big round of laundry once a week, and that includes the towels. If you're washing towels after every use, then cutting back to once a week or even once every fews days would be a huge savings in water and energy. Another simple way to cut back: Make sure your dishwasher is completely full before running it. I am a real stickler for this one; I make sure every nook and cranny is occupied before turning the thing on. It drives my husband nuts.

YES! WE definitely re-use our towels, lol. I can't even imagine the laundry if we didn't.

To answer the towel question, my husband reuses his. I don't ~ I throw them into the laundry hamper each time. But I have to say ... you've inspired me to cut down on water and reuse towels. Thanks, Hannah! :)

About the contractions question ... my contractions felt like intense waves of pressure. No pain, so I felt *so* very lucky! With Lucas, what helped me was having something to push against with my feet when I had a contraction (I think that I pushed against the footboard of the bed). Also, I remember squeezing Jeff's hand a LOT, REALLY hard. Sometimes it helped to focus on my breathing and just breathe however it felt best. Other times I tried to focus on something else (just random thoughts, really ~ I vaguely remember thinking about something red during one of my contractions).

With Meredith, she seriously came out SO quickly that I didn't have time! LOL! :) I only had two MAJOR contractions, really, so I felt so lucky. I seriously couldn't have asked for a BETTER experience with both of our deliveries, but Meredith's was SO quick and just awesome. Loved it. Oh, and I do remember feeling pretty warm when I was in labor, and I squeezed this funny squishy ball thingy and also put it up against my face. It felt cool and nice, and squeezing something felt good.

You will be FINE ... and you'll just do whatever comes naturally for you and what feels good/what you need to do at the time.

I have no clue about the herbs.

My husband and I re-use our towels but my children refuse. Maybe they should do more of the laundry!

I had drug free deliveries with all three of my kids and the only part I really found difficult was when it was time to push. At that point I never thought they would come out! But I have to say I think it was the positive thinking that got me through. When I started getting really stressed because of how difficult it was I started thinking positive thoughts and it really helped. So ...think positive and breathe!!

Um, can't help you out with labour stuff, but hell yes we re-use our towels. Hubby has a habit of leaving them on the bathroom floor - grrr, and unless I spot them right away, I wash them immediately. Otherwise I hang them up and make him use them again at least twice before washing them. I mean we're drying ourselves after a bath or shower - so theoretically we're clean - as is the water - save for a bit of soap or bubble bath that probably comes with.

I have *no* idea how to keep herbs organic...maybe a garlic based spray? We used to use a garlic and citronella based spray to keep our horses fly/bug free - so not sure if that goes for herbs as well??? :)

I can help you with the first two questions, but I have no experience for the third.

With the herbs (what kind?), you can spray them with a homemade solution of either garlic, cayenne pepper, or soap (whatever you use to wash your hands). The last is especially good for aphids. You can also release helpful bugs like ladybugs into your garden (also great for aphids). I never have problems with bugs on my rosemary plant, so you may want to plant one of those or a garlic plant. If you have slugs, put out small, shallow containers (like jar lids) full of beer around the plants they are attacking...the slugs will drown in the beer! If all else fails, good garden stores carry organic spray pesticides.

As for bath towels, we use them 2 times at least. Had to reform my husband on that. I got tired of doing so much laundry.

Good luck finding the right solution to all of your questions. Can't wait to see the u/s pics of your little boy!

I think that marigolds might have some sort of best fighting scent to them...I'd check it out. I usually don't use pesticides or anything in my garden and I don't really have a lot of problems, so you can play it by ear.

As for towels, we use them about 5 or 6 days (when they start to get that weird smell).

I didn't have a drug free birth, but while I was laboring pretty hard at home, I would sit in a chair and my husband would stand behind me and put pressure on my shoulders on pressure points. It helped a lot!

I saw an organic gardening book at the store the other day... check the bookstore because that would be a good book to have for years to come...

We don't take showers every day... so we reuse our bathtowels- I use one for my hair all week because it is hair only... the others replaced after 2 or 3 showers depending on how dirty we were lol... handtowels get replaced about once a week depending on use... we only have them in the powder bath... kitchen towels once a week...

We just started an organic veggie garden. Someone suggested ladybugs to eat bugs...? I know they eat some types, but probably not all. Just a thought!

The thought of washing my towel after one use has never occurred to me, lol. We definitely reuse ours several times. If they are only touching you when you're clean, I figure no big deal!