Birth Story for V

I started this blog almost two years ago to share a birth story. Then my target audience was a unique and creative group of friends that we lived by while T was in college.  Since then my understanding of blogs and readership has expanded.  So I've been mulling the right way to share this birth story.  I still want to share it.  I understand that this might not be the most interesting subject for some people.  So if that's you, just skip to the next blog.  I have learned so much and been inspired by birth stories shared by other women.  I hope that by sharing this story I can pass that on and inspire others.

To preface this birth story I will say that V was the most active baby I've ever carried.  J was pretty active.  We called him the bubbling pot.  He was always practicing bicycle kicks.  But V had a lot more tricks than that.  She was like those videos you see on YouTube where the belly does a wave.  During prenatal checkups she would often kick at the fetal monitor.  Once she kicked it off!  And she is the only child that has awaken me from a dead sleep because she was so active.

I mostly enjoyed all her activity.  It made her seem so much more present even though we couldn't see her yet.  I often said we need to name this baby, she is so active.  I began to get a little worried though when I went in for a checkup at 38 weeks and she was transverse.  Her back was up with her head at my right side.  ( I didn't feel so good that day.)  She moved head down again on my way out to the parking lot after the appointment.  Still, that is a lot of movement so late in the pregnancy.   My understanding of childbirth is this:  It is the mothers job to dilate and it is the baby's job to rotate (into position for birth).  How was she ever going to rotate?  She was too busy playing!

I started having contractions at 39 weeks, light "stage one" contractions.  They continued for a whole day then stopped for a whole day, then started again the next day.  By the second afternoon they were starting to get uncomfortable and pretty regular.  I called T at work, put our support people on alert for a possible night time trip to the hospital and started packing the hospital bag.  By the time I finished all that I realized that the contractions had stopped again.  False alarm.  :(

I was sort of down the next day.  I felt like the boy who cried wolf.  After all this is my fifth pregnancy.  I ought to know if it was real labor or not.  I threw myself into a storm of cooking.  It cheered me up a lot.  I love cooking!  And we had some really yummy things to take to the church social that night.

At 40 weeks I was still waiting for more contractions.   At my appointment I was at a three but closed.  An ultrasound confirmed that her head was down.  We could even see her wiggling her fingers up by her face.  The next evening I started having contractions again.  They were fairly strong, but figured we could wait till morning to alert people.  By the next morning contractions were strong and about 15 minutes apart.  I keep T home from work and we called our support people again.  After I got up and started moving contractions slowed down.  They were still strong, but only coming once or twice an hour. 

Many books I've read about birth say that if you are up and moving gravity is on your side and you labor will be shorter.  So we went out to run errands to see if we could get things going.  We even stopped at the puppy store in the mall for the first time.  Puppies are so cute!  Soon it was evening and I still wasn't feeling ready to go into the hospital. 

My doctor called to see how things were going.  I was pretty confused at this point.  I knew all those long, strong contractions had to be doing something.  I was worried that I might go from hour apart contractions to transition and not have enough time to get to the hospital, a 30 minute journey.

It was the eve of the big New Moon primer.  My friends were having a big party and then going to the movie.  I had planned on going to the party if I was still pregnant.  But contractions were pretty strong, so I opted to get some rest instead.

By 4 AM I started to feel a little bit pushy.  I wanted to take a warm bath, but decided we'd better get the kids dropped off and head to the hospital.  At 5:30 AM charity never faileth.  Our neighbor, who went to the New Moon primer, got home at 3 AM and was up with her own kids after that, opened her door to my four children.  Thanks Trish!!!!

We got to the hospital at 6 AM.  Once again as I got up and moving, my contractions slowed.  (I didn't really connect that fact until afterward.  Up and moving = slowed contractions.)  The hospital was all ready for a rapid birth.  I had two children within minutes of arrival.  But this time my contractions weren't racing, I once again felt a little sheepish.  The doctor checked me at a 5 with the head right there.  Definately progress from the last check.  I've delivered within minutes of a 7.  I knew that if my water broke this would all be over very soon.  One or two big contractions would be enough. 

They strapped on the monitors, put in an IV and let me go walk the halls. . . not much.  I tried the birthing ball. . . no result.  I was having contractions all along, just not the ones I was looking for.  At some point the doctor came to see how things were progressing - 6.  Finally I decided I'd take a warm shower.  I went in, but I was just too tired to shower.  I climbed in the bed and rested.   I realized that I was fighting contractions a little.  I tried visualization and relaxation.  I just let the contractions wash over me.  It was pretty easy to do because I was completely spent.  I decided it might be a good idea to break my water and get this over with.  There was just no energy left.  I asked for some broth.  It was wonderful! 

Around lunchtime the doctor came to check my progress again.  I tried to sit up so we could get a progress report.  When I did I had three very strong contractions right together and I started pushing.  She was coming out.  I struggled to get into position and my water broke - myconium.  Not so good.   I could feel her coming .  I still wasn't in the C position, but I was so ready to be done I pushed anyway.  She was born at 12:39 PM.  She weighed 8 lbs, 5.5 oz and was 20.4 inches long.  The nurses said she was a ham because she was so strong and wiggly.

The doctor said there was a slight bit of shoulder distocia.  Her hand was crossed over by her face, so her shoulder got caught a little bit.  Still she was healthy and happy.  Yet I think the asymmetrical presentation could explain a lot of the slow labor.

I tore as usual.  I also retained membranes which is sort of rare.  So the doctor cleaned those out.  With all of that I lost a lot of blood.  The doctors were very deliberate in explaining that I had lost a lot of blood and needed to take good care of myself.  But overall, my recovery has been much quicker than usual.  I've had basically no back pain and much *much* less postpartum bleeding.  It makes me wonder if perhaps I had retained membranes in the past that weren't noticed, especially after #3.  #3 was like a 7 month recovery.  I still cringe.

Thanks to my husband!  This was the first birth I didn't have anyone come but him.  He did a great job! And he said I didn't make him feel like I was mad at him. Yay!  He is also doing *so* much to support me so I can recover.

Thanks to my doctor.  He's a great guy we go to church with.  I'll post a picture in case any of you know him.  I hope he doesn't mind.   His wife is an awesome nursery leader so we get to see them at church often.  She told me early on that he is in the field because he wants to help friends and family.  She also told me he's a really good doctor.  They almost got moved halfway through my pregnancy, but I'm glad they didn't.  The Tech told I was lucky because I got a *really* good doctor.   I completely agree, he is a really good doctor!  Lucky, lucky me.

Thanks to my mother-in-law who is hosting my husband and four oldest kids right now.  And thanks to my mom who agreed to come out next week and help out.  We really appreciate you guys.  It's truly a blessing to have so much support!

New Baby

Little V was born November 20th.  For more details check my facebook page.  Here's a few pictures.  More details later.

Pictures of e

I should post these more often.  She has grown up so much over the summer.

For Grandpa

Yes, I still try to blog at least once a month.  I don't know if I'll get my Halloween pictures up in a timely manner or not, so I thought I'd post this.  It's also sort of for Grandpa.  I hope you enjoy.



Earlier this month we went to the Gourds and Ghouls Festival.  The kids wore their costumes and we got a picture with a giant pumpkin. e is a pink poodle, j is Transformer Bumblebee, t is Buzz Lightyear, a is a butterfly.  For the Trunk or Treat j was a "superman" (soccer star) and t was Transformer Bumblebee.  We'll see what they choose for Beggar's Night.  e wanted butterfly wings at the Trunk or Treat.  We have a little pair of pink wings for dress up, so she may end up as a pink poodle-butterfly.

Last week my parents came to visit. We wanted to get a family photo earlier this summer, but it didn't happen. So Grandma and Grandpa help us take this picture in our backyard. It was a lot of work to get everyone happy and looking in the same direction, but I think we got a few good shots. You may see this picture again at Christmas.  :)

7th Year Slideshow

I decided not to procrastinate Little a's slide show. Enjoy!

Look Who's 7

One of my indulgences is birthday parties.  I use it for an excuse to get crafty.  This year we found some cute cupcake stuff on clearance at the local craft store so we went with a baking theme.  Little a loved it.

The invitations.  I made these from a card template I found online and odds and ends from scrapbook projects.

The cake.  We used the same template as for the card.  We cut it out of homemade toosie rolls.  They made toosie rolls at the party.  We tried the recipe the week before just to see how it would work.  Then I decided to use the leftover as an alternative to fondant.  It looked great, tasted great, but was a little hard to cut.  The lone green sprinkle was Little j's contribution to the cake.

The birthday girl.  She lost the second of her front teeth at school the day before the party.  Her teacher put it in a cute little tooth shaped box and made a necklace from dental floss.   She's happy that she can still talk with no lisp.

The party guests.

More party fun.

“Layin’-by time”

A wonderful lady we go to church with writes a weekly gardening letter. In her latest edition she said that this time of the year is layin'-by time." All the crops are planted and weeded and you have a bit of time before harvest starts. This is the time people plan projects like white washing the chicken coop or go fishing or go to the fair or plan weddings.

The concept has never hit my radar before, but I think a little "layin'-by time" is just what we had last week. T took off some time to help me mend from poison ivy. We had planned to take some sort of summer vacation this year, but never really figured out what. With the kids starting school next Thursday we realized this was pretty much it for summer vacation time.

The first half of the week we finally painted the girls room and put up some new trim. We got inspired when we found some classy jungle themed bedding at a neighbor's yard sale. Little A now has her jungle room. It looks pretty good for attempt at home improvement.

On Friday we took the kids camping. We took the easy route and opted for the "primitive" campsite at a nearby KOA. It was ideal because they had a swimming pool and playground and a bounce pillow. . . the sorts of things kids can do while mom sits nearby and rests. We ate a lot of camping junk food. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and had a good time.

On the way to the campground Little E dumped a whole sippy cup of water. She and her car seat were soaked when we got there. Then we realized we forgot to pack her clothes. I packed her swimming suit and a swim suit cover. So we changed her into the swim dress and she wore that the whole trip. It was pretty cute, but it had a zipper down the front and she kept unzipping it! One thing we were glad to have plenty of was bug spray. Little A got a few bites on her feet, but most of us avoided trouble with mosquitoes.

When we got back from our trip, our neighbor boys (ages 11 and 12) offered to mow our lawn for $15. That was really great! T isn't really all that fond of mowing the lawn, and I'm not quite up to it yet. They are really great boys. They come over to play with our kids at least a couple of times a week. They like to play ball or goof around and try to make the kids laugh. Sometimes they play hid and seek or keep away. I'm glad we have good neighbors.

Lessons Learned - Poison Ivy

Next time I decide to take out all the weeds along the backyard fence line I will be sure to check for noxious weeds. But three weeks ago, when I decided after mowing the lawn that it was time to remove all the shrub like weeds that had grown up through the fence, the thought never crossed my mind. I first notice something was odd when I came in and there were brown patches of something on my arm. I thought it was probably sap from one of the shrubs, but it wouldn't wash off. So I figured it might be tar. T had recently done some work on the roof and some of the tools I'd used may have had a bit of residual tar on them. I got out the vasoline, aka all purpose tar remover, but nothing.

I soon realized that it was probably poison ivy. By the weekend the brown patches had bubbled and peeled off taking the skin with them. It was terrible, but I figured I was over the worst of it. WRONG!

9 days after I first cut down the plants I started getting red bumps on my legs and arms. At first I thought they were mosquito bites, but then I notices they were unusually shaped and seemed to be in clumps and streaks. The rash grew and spread rapidly. I'll spare you the details, but byTuesday, day 14 swelling had become so intense on my left arm and feet that I could barely touch my fingers to my thumbs and it was difficult to walk. I went into the ER and they recommended Benadryl. The medication seemed to help control the swelling, but it made me drowsy and I had difficulty focusing. My hand was so swollen still I couldn't change a diaper. I called in the reinforcements. My mom was packed and ready to come within three hours, but then T was able to take a week and a half off work.

The kids favorite game right now is Batman Lego on the Wii. I have issues with the game because it is somewhat violent. The kids really like solving the puzzles and beating the bad guys. Little T plays and everyone else watches, even E. She calls the game "bad guys." One of the super villians is named Poison Ivy. J calls her Toys 'n Ivy. It sounds like the name of a gift store.

Now I'm at 21 days since I cut down the plants. I'm over the worst of it. (I'm pretty sure this time.), but still have a lot of swelling in my feet and of course itching. I am humbled and I have a lot of respect for people who have been through worse or lived before modern medicine.

Two things: 1. I definitely made an impression at the hospital. They will remember me now. In it's own little way that is a blessing. 2. I thought if we were thinking of using family names for the baby we could eliminate Ivy. Though, T thought naming the baby Ivy would be great. I guess it is sort of poetic.

Virtues of a Large Family

My friends The Sapps made a post recently about odd comments they got as their family grew. I’ve been thinking about it. We recently went to a work picnic where we had the largest family there. We got a few odd comments. Mostly I get really supportive comments when I go out with my children, but some people seem to think I’m crazy.

Who values large families these days? I once heard a nurse say that if they have a large family they are either Mormon or Catholic. Then once a lady at the store was telling me she came from a large family. I think she had 12 brothers and sisters. Without really thinking, I asked her if she was Mormon or Catholic. She was Catholic.

I’ve been thinking about collecting testimonies on the virtues of large families. I thought about e-mailing friends with great attitudes that I admire, but then I came up with a bigger idea. I decided to start a new tag. Did you grow up in a large family? Do you have a large family of your own? What virtues do you most value? This tag could be for anyone, but I really hope it brings out the things people like about their families.

Virtues of a Large Family Tag

1. How many brothers and sisters did you grow up with? 5, 1 sister and three brothers

2. How many children do you currently have? 4 2/3, two girls, two boys and one girl on the way

3. Do you have aspirations for more children? Yes

4. Name 5 virtues you see in having a big family.

1. There are a lot of laughs.
2. You don’t have to go far to find someone who cares.
3. You get to use your nurturing skills a lot. So hopefully your kids will learn a thing or two and when your old they will care for you and you won’t have to live in a nursing home.
4. You get used to working a lot of different types of personalities. This can be a valuable skill when you get to the work place.
5. As a parent, I find it keeps me focused on important parenting issues. It’s a big job, so it demands your attention. Your kids have to learn how to share, help with chores and love each other. Otherwise, life would be unhappy chaos.

To start off I tag you! Leave me a comment if you take my challenge, I'd love to read what you write. Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Our New Look

Little J sporting his cool new head gear. He looks like some sort of guy from Star Wars.

Here's my little belly. This picture was taken the beginning of June. Today Little E called me a basketball.
Little A lost a front tooth. She took about twenty pictures of herself. I liked this one.

Little T declined a photo,but he shaved his head for summer again. It was pretty cute.

T hasn't finished his new look yet, but he's getting Lasic eye surgery on Wednesday. Then he will be without glasses for the first time since I've known him.

I guess it's time for a new family photo. :)

Time for an Update

So I guess it's time to post some news. I've been keeping up with the birthday posts and pictures, but no real stuff about our day to day life. It's sort of late, so I'm just going to make a list of things that are new:

1. Ty started a Master's degree in Innovative Leadership. (That is why I am awake right now. He is taking his online class and it only has like five minutes left. So since I already checked all of your blogs I decided to add to my own.)
2. We're expecting a baby! Yeah! number five will be a girl and is due Nov 17th. (I've actually tried to post this before, but the ultrasound pictures wouldn't upload, so. . .)
3. Little A started dance. She loves it, and her teachers say she is doing really well. Little E loves to dance too. She asks to dance at least a couple times a day. It has been fun and good exercise.
4. I actually taught a dance class last Tuesday. I was a sub. for the 2.5 to 3.5 age group. The class is only 30 minutes long, but wow it was a work out! It was a lot of fun too. I get to sub again next week and I'm already planning for some more fun things to do.
5. Little T is getting ready for kindergarten. Both kids were accepted to the charter school, but I've had a very difficult time trying to figure out if it's the right situation for our family. I'm sure the pregnancy hormones don't help. But, the charter school bus leaves at 7:10 AM right in front of the the elementary school that is three doors away from our house. That elementary school starts at 9:15 AM. The kids would arrive home from the charter school about 10 minutes earlier than the local school. I think the education is better at the charter school, but is it worth 10 extra hours a week? Plus the charter school is known for having a lot of homework every night. Maybe it will teach them to be hard workers. I'm a little concerned that the more likely outcome is I will have a couple of sleep deprived children on hand. What to do, what to do. . .

Little t's 5th year

I'm playing catch up tonight. Here's the long awaited video of Little t.

Tagged

Senior Year Tag



Fill this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be! At the end, choose 10 people (or more) to be tagged. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

IN YOUR SENIOR YEAR DID YOU...
1. Did you date someone from your school? No, unless you count going to dances.
2. Did you marry someone from your high school? No!!!
3. Did you car pool to school? Yes, with my sister and my German sister Silke.
4. What kind of car did you have? 1970 (?) Chevy Luv. It was black with orange and yellow stripes. I thought it was great because it matched the school. Too bad I wrecked it the summer before my senior year.
5. What kind of car do you have now? Silver Honda Odyssey
6. Its Saturday night...where are you now? Getting my primary lesson ready, and trying to finish up those last few batches of laundry.
7. It is Saturday night...where were you then? Senior year? Probably doing homework or maybe hanging out with friends. Most of my best high school friends graduated before me. Senior year wasn't really my favorite.
8. What kind of job did you have in high school? I worked at scout camps during the summer. I kept pretty busy during the school year so it never occurred to me to get a job then.
9. What kind of job do you do now? Mom. I'm also helping my friends start a dance studio at my house. I see this more as community service though.
10. Were you a party animal? No
11. Were you considered a flirt? No
12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? No. I was a drama junkie. I was a stage manager.
13. Were you a nerd? I'm sure I was a huge nerd. I was in lots of AP classes, I was Chemistry Club President, wore braces, never "dressed up", but I think most people liked me anyway. I went to lunch with the senior class president and the student body president a bunch of times and even joined their group for senior prom.
14. Did you get suspended or expelled? No
15. Can you sing the fight song? ???? Most girls joined pep club sophomore year and learned that sort of thing, but I didn't.
16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)? Mrs. W . . . I can't even remember her name, but she was my AP Chemistry teacher. She was a wonderful mentor.
17. Where did you sit during lunch? Somewhere in the middle.
18. What was your school's full name? Woods Cross High School
19. When did you graduate? 1995 (I sometimes forget this.)
20. What was your school mascot? Wildcats
21. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Yeah, I probably would go back. It was a lot of fun. I was blessed with so many wonderful opportunities in High School. It would be great to do it again.
22. Did you have fun at Prom? It was very stressful for me, but everyone was really nice.
23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? No, I pretty much lost contact with everyone I went to High School with by the time I started college in the fall.
24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? Why?
25. Do you still talk to people from school? Not unless you count people I'm related to. It would be cool if I ran into someone I knew in high school. We moved a few months after I graduated and I haven't really seen many of them since then.
26. School Colors? Blue, Red and White (It was built in 1976, so everyone was feeling patriotic. The rival high school was red, gray and white, so most uniforms etc came out blue.)


I tag Abby, Camille and Doreen.

Catch Up

First: Little j's birthday cake. One is a basketball the other is a rather surprised-looking bowling ball. Happy Birthday Little j.

Second: T's birthday cake. This one is from the Dairy Queen at his request. I was a little disappointed because I had picked out a cake recipe I thought he would really like. The ice cream cake was really yummy though, so the disappointment didn't last long. We made the other cake last week when T's dad came to visit. It was pretty good too.

Happy Birthday T!

He's 5!!!

Yes, Little t turned 5 yesterday. He is ready to start kindergarten now. He registered a few weeks ago. He got his doctor's appointment last week. Now he's turned 5 and he thinks kindergarten should start tomorrow.

We had a fun day with a party and transformer stuff. More later.

Bucket List

I don't really have a formal bucket list (things you want to do before you kick the bucket.) I guess it's because I was fortunate to do a lot of really cool things when I was young. But one thing I've had in the back of my mind on and off is donating hair to Locks of Love. I always thought it was sort of cool and something I would like to do someday. Then recently my husband asked if I would cut my hair short. I thought if I'm going to cut my hair, then I want to donate it.

If you want to donate hair it has to be at least 10 inches, not bleached or highlighted and preferably not gray. I figured now was a good time. I'm not getting less gray and it's more likely that I will highlight going forward. I was blessed to be referred to an excellent stylist and here are the results.


Before


Barely 10 inches (My hair doesn't grow long well.)



Cut


Styled by Jennifer (she's so talented!)


Wearing it curly. (Yeah, the curls came back!)

Branched

I started the dance blog tonight. We're going to call the school Enlighten School of Dance. Check us out at http://enlightendance.blogspot.com/.

I Saw a Real Super Hero

I have just a minute to blog. I have so many ideas, but I really wanted to tell the fantastic story of when we saw a real super hero. It was just last Friday. We went to the library to return some books and stock up for Spring Break. It was a . . . well, it was a blustery day. It was rainy and windy and rainy some more. Little j had left his new umbrella in the car. He picked out the umbrella himself, yellow with red fire trucks. When I told him he needed to wear a jacket because it was rainy he grab his umbrella too.

The little umbrellas didn't do well in the wind. About half way across the street to the library I saw that he was trying to hold the umbrella over his shoulder against the wind. I showed him how to hold it into the wind so it wouldn't invert. But the second I left his side he put it back up on his shoulder. Instantly a large gust of wind ripped the umbrella inside out and tore off the yellow cover. I watched stunned for an instant as the yellow with red fire trucks slidded across the ground then danced through the air. I sprang into action and scurried after it. I ran as quickly as I could carrying Little e and a heavy bag of library book returns.

After about 15 yards I realized the chase must be abandoned. The wind was moving much faster than I. And my children 3 small children were still in the middle of the street behind me.

Little j was frantic. We entered the library and lingered in the space between the two sets of doors for a moment hoping he would regain some composure. If nothing else I was determined to return the books. He calmed down a little, but once inside the library he started again. I wasn't sure what to do.

That's when it happened. We were in a sad little blur of space and it was penetrated by a super hero. The super hero was a boy not more than 8 or 9. He approached, held out yellow fabric with red fire trucks. "Is this yours?" he asked and handed the umbrella cover to me.
"Thank you!!!" I replied.
Then he was gone as quickly as he appeared.

You may think that perhaps a young boy could catch an umbrella cover more easily than a mom with a baby and a large bag of library books. But when I abandoned the chase the cover was easily 50 yards or more away from the library and the wind was still gusting strongly. A super hero saved the day!!!

So now you know there are real super heros out there. Be on the watch. You may find one too. It may be a grandmother who offers to hold your baby in the check outline line of the grocery store. It may be a young boy who offers to retrieve a frisbee from the roof of the garage. No matter who it is our world is a safer, happier place because of the super heros.

Branching Out

I'm probably going to be starting another blog. I thought about doing it tonight, but instead I'm just going to blog about it. We're planning to open a dance studio in my home. It was suggested that a blog would be a good way to advertise. I thought it was a great idea, but I think I'd like to keep the traffic to the dance blog separate from this blog.

Do I dance? Is that what I can hear you asking? Well, maybe a little. I probably can't dance any better than I can speak Spanish. But it my talented friends are going to be doing the teaching. They needed a space for a studio and that's what I have. I also have ambition to do something more. I think this is a really good cause. We need good wholesome recreation for our community. This dance studio will be COMMITTED to providing that. Dance can be wholesome and fun and a good way to learn grace and strength. We're planning to open in April. I know that's going out on a limb a little, but that's branching out, right?!!

Little j's Birth Story

Since I started this blog with e's birth story I thought it would be nice to add all the birth stories. (Thanks for the good idea Doreen.) I almost posted it with his birthday post, but I decided it might have a slightly different audience. I wrote up a version of what I remembered, but I decided to go with an edited version (names and places mostly) of my journal entry. SO. . . if you're not big on birth stories, beware.



Week 39 I was so sure I would have the baby before my doctor’s appointment this week. I had contractions last Saturday, I felt crampy all day on Sunday, then I started feeling great again and had a pretty good week. Then this Saturday I started having contractions again. Oddly enough contractions stopped last Saturday at about 3 A.M. and they started about 3:30 A.M. this Saturday. Then they stopped again around 5. Sunday morning I expelled a lot of mucus. (note: I’ve had basically no leucorrhea with this baby.) I felt pretty good most of the day and had some contractions Sunday night and they continued through Monday morning , about once an hour or so. I went to my doctor’s appointment at 8:15 A.M. The doctor said I was 3 cm dilated, 70% effaced and the babies head was at -1 position. The baby’s back was rotated to the right (my left) just pasted the centerline and his heartbeat was detected low (in the bottom quarter) at about 140 bpm. And fundus height was about 37 or 38 cm. I lost a pound this week to round out my weight at 168 lbs (I’ve gained 38 lbs).
Grandpa W came to visit this evening. I was having contractions about twice an hour by then. He had a load in Boise and was headed back home Friday. I told him to come back by on his way. By about 7 PM Tyler was convinced that we are having the baby tonight. He called all our support people to put them on alert. I guess he got me going too because I finally got the hospital bag together.
There’s a girl I visit teach that was due a month after me and she had her baby yesterday. We went by to visit her tonight and took her some diapers as a gift. She was asleep and her baby doesn’t come home until tomorrow. But I felt like if I didn’t go right away that I might not get to go at all.
One other note: A few weeks ago the baby was right down on my pelvic bone. It was weird. It sort of hurt and made it hard to walk and move my legs up and down (like getting into bed or climbing stairs). I was thinking this poor baby will have a huge ridge because he’ll ride on the bone for weeks before he is born. Fortunately he moved off my bone and I’ve felt better and enjoyed more free movement the last few weeks.

***

Little j was born 2:31 A.M on the 7th of March 2006. He was 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 21 inches long. Even thought he was born one day before his due date he had many symptoms of a post-term baby including a calcified placenta, no vernix, his skin was starting to peel and his fingernails were so long many of them we breaking off. He also had a suck blister on his wrist. Yes, j likes to suck on things. He is our first child that takes a pacifier. He really likes it and even moves his hands up to hold it in his mouth.
Labor: I had labor start and stop three times. Saturday, Feb 25th, Saturday March 4th, and Sunday, March 5th. T's dad, Grandpa W, came to visit the evening of Monday, March 6th. I was having contractions again, mild, pre-labor type contractions. I didn’t think much of it because of all the other episodes, some of which were real breath-through-it contractions. He took us to dinner at a Chinese buffet. They had gyozas and I ate at least half a dozen. (That’s significant because we went to a Gyozas party with our friends the night before t was born. Maybe it’s the gyozas that put me at easy and help me go into active labor.) Grandpa left after dinner, around 6 P.M. I started telling T every time I had a contraction.. . I just realized I’m repeating myself. We called our angel-sitter (our beloved cousin-in-law) at about 11:00. She came over to stay with our kids for the night. I talked with her for a while, at least an hour. Then we decided we both should try to get some sleep. I layed down for a while. It seemed like only a few minutes. I felt a huge dilation, like a flower opening. Then I started trembling. It was 1:11 A.M. I figured I might be starting into transition so we should go to the hospital. T called our wonderful and talented birth assistant, D, and off we went. They put us in a birthing room and gave me a gown to put on. It seemed like a long time before they came back to us after that. They had me lay down and put a fetal monitor on. Then the nurse brought in the I.V. T and D both said no, ask the doctor first. The doctor said she’s GBS+, put in an I.V. and antibiotics. I was okay with that. I thought I might actually get an hours worth of antibiotics before I delivered. Anyhow, I remember D asking me if I could feel the baby move down during contractions. I thought: no, not really. Then it seemed like the next contraction I really felt him move down. T and D were watching the monitor. It must have registered really big because they made a lot of encouraging comments. After that they let me stand by the bed. Within a few minutes I had the urge to push. I did a little and my water broke in a big swoosh clear, slightly foamy fluid all over the floor. I’m glad it wasn’t the bed. The doctor appeared they were getting me onto the bed. The nurse didn’t seem to understand I was crowning. She kept waiting for the baby’s heart rate to change so she could take the monitor off. The doctor finally told the nurse what was going on. He said she’s complete and plus three or four. I went hands and knees and the doctor told the nurse it’s okay, we talked about it. After that it was all pushing and sounding. D kept reminding me to use low tones, which I finally found a voice for..


There are more details I still remember. I remember when I felt my stomach was about to make a violent upheaval shortly before my water broke. The nurse offered a banana-shaped bed pan, but D saved me by grabbing the 15 gallon garbage can just in time. I remember how baby j hummed through the night that first night. At first I was surprised by the noise then I realized it was coming from the baby. And how he would lay on his back and kick, good naturedly, with both feet. (That's just what he always did in the womb.) He continued to kick like that until he was about two years old. I remember when our angel-sitters brought the two younger kids to meet j they had made him cards and Little a wanted to name him Paper and was so upset that we wouldn't consider it. I remember how Uncle D and Aunt S were so sweet to watch as they held him on his blessing day. They had hoped to have a baby of their own that spring. Their Little M came two years later.

Thank you again everyone who helped with the birth. Also thank you to those who provided moral support from far away places. As I look back I am touched by how we were truly blessed by the support of good friends and family. I don't know if I can really truly express the gratitude I feel. And a special note: Thanks mom for always being there, every time. You have given me so much. I hope I can pass on your good example to my children.

Happy Birthday j

Happy Birthday "Little j". I can't believe you are 3. You seem to know so much more. You are the first one up and the first one dressed almost everyday. You have so much zest for life and sports. You don't ever want to miss a single minute. You are eager follow the example of your older siblings. You have a strong preference for sports, especially baseball and bowling and football and basketball and swimming. Your favorite song is "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Your favorite color is yellow which matches your sunny disposition.

We took you bowling today and you loved it. We took the camera to the bowling alley and forgot to use it. We also forgot to bring it home. We took pictures of your cake and celebration on dad's cell phone camera. He promised to download them the same day, but it didn't happen. It could be a while before they make it to the blog.

Random Cuteness

I found this paper made by Little "a" the other day when I was cleaning up. At first glance I would have just thrown it away with all the other doodles and random things I find at the end of any given day. Then I decided to read what it said. It was really cute and made me laugh. I thought you might enjoy it too.



Translation: There might be a chance of snow. Tonight will be 65 degrees. There will be a storm in the three coming days. Mars and Pluto will be crashing today. There are always exciting events and offers at your local IKEA store. 49 off (a couch) 56 off (a coffee table).

Slide Show

I posted e's slide show. T says it's too long. But this blog is partly because I don't send my mom enough pictures. So if it's too long, just click View All Images and you can brows the pictures quickly. If you have any problems let me know.

Peanut Butter Jelly Time

We've had a birthday! Little e turned one Jan 3rd. I finally downloaded pictures today. We started two traditions for first birthdays in our family. One is is to go to the zoo. It was a bit cold though. I think we'll reschdule for a warm day. The other is a shaped birthday cake.

Little "a" had a frog. It was supposed to be a butterfly made with four heart-shaped cakes. After I baked the cakes I realized that would be *way* to big, so we made one heart into a frog. A frog was sort of the theme of my young adult life. And I had received several frog themed baby gifts. It worked.

(Apparently I have no digital photo of the cake.)

Little "t" had a smiley face. In his first year of life we called him "Mr. Smiles." Besides we had just moved four months earlier. We had all been sick a lot and it was a simple cake.


Little "j" had a "Lightning McQueen" cake. It was really chosen by his siblings. If I had been going by what he liked it would have been an Elmo cake. The race car was really cool though. I designed it myself based on Little t's slippers. Little t still thinks the cake was for him. (Shh, don't tell.)


Little "e" had a Dancing Banana on an I-pod. You know, the one that sings "It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time." Haven't heard of it? I hadn't either. It was one of the funny things "T" brought home from OTS. Apparently it is really popular in some circles (Family Guy). He downloaded an app of the funny banana and e loved it. ( I wish I could link it, but I'm not that talented. You'll just have to google it if you want to see it.) She would dance and be silly every time we played it. Soon we renamed the song after her. It was really no question what her cake would be.


Another tradition is, every birthday the kids get to pick a birthday balloon as one of their presents. That has been fun. She also got a dress up skirt. We started calling her the peanut butter princess.


My last tradition is I've been making a slide show for my blog. I've started it, but it's way to late to finish now. I'm going to put it here. Check back. I'll post a note when it's available.