 Jul. 24, 2008 - Newborn Photos
I just wanted to share some photos of Gabriel that are new and exciting. Amie, a photographer in Pittsburgh, took some photos of him. We don't have the pictures back yet but she did put some on her blog that is on her website. They came out perfect! So natural and peaceful looking, just like his birth! To see them ::CLICK HERE::
Having someone come and take photos of your child is a completely different experience than going to some photo place at Walmart, Sear's, Penny's or even Olan Mills... It is so nice watching someone take their time to get just the right shot and having it so personalized. If you have ever thought getting a photographer to take photos of your family I would say to go for it because it is worth it... and if you live in the greater Pittsburgh area I know just the lady to do it! |
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Jul. 21, 2008 - Speech Know It All Needed
This is my mother in law, aka Grandma Gina. She can't say some words right which always causes me to giggle when I hear her say them. When I first met her she could not say "chimney" and always pronounced it "chimley"... now she is able say it correctly for the most part though! While she was visiting the other day we were discussing this speech issue and are wondering if anyone knows what makes some people not be able to pronounce words no matter how hard they try? Here is a video she let me take of her with my cell phone. She is trying to say "aluminum".
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Jul. 17, 2008 - Infant Potty Training
We are going to do it!!!!
If you don't know what infant potty training is ::click here:: to listen to an audio interview about it.
I just keep laughing because we are already having success with it! I started putting him on the toilet last night but I have been telling him he "pooped" every single time he has had a bowel movement since he was born so he learns the name for it. Since last night I have seen him pee about a half a dozen times on the toilet!!!!! That is why I keep laughing! It is to funny! My husband, Rick, saw him go for the first time this afternoon and seems to be amazed... he just keeps smiling.
I sent him a text on his phone last night telling him of my beginning successes. He said he just started laughing. The guys at the lunch table looked at him wondering why he was laughing and he had to explain that his wife was potty training his 9 day old baby... lol!
There is one problem I have noticed though. To get him to go I set him between my legs, in front of me, on the toilet. Well, if he was a girl his pee would go down and hit the water but he is a boy so his pee goes straight ahead. I haven't decided how I am going to change our position/stradegy to get the pee IN the toilet. I am considering holding a plastic pee pot from a potty chair in between my legs and then setting him ON my lap so I have more room to be able to push his little ***** down when he goes. I don't have enough room to push it down when he is between my legs on the toilet so by lifting him UP ONTO my lap that should give me more room. Older boys do great on the toilet if you have them sit backwards but they have to be old enough to support themselves to do this. The pee pot would also protect my legs from his urine but then I have to keep the thing clean... and as things are without the plastic pot at least his poop goes straight down into the toilet... no clean up. Some people have their baby go in the sink but we don't really like that idea. We need to work out this one minor problem. Any suggestions?
Maybe someday I will post a photo or try to figure out a way that I could post a "modest video" that makes it clear he is really peeing on the potty without showing his ***** to the world. Seeing is believing for all the doubting Thomas' out there.
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Jul. 14, 2008 - Gabriel Hayden Powell
| Thanks to everyone who voted! Today, seven days later, we finally have a name! My DH decided. He said "so, what did your online poll say?" and I checked. It had the name Gabriel (which he was leaning toward) as the number one name. After hearing that he declared the baby to be named Gabriel.
So, now I thought I should put my birth story on here... some ladies like to read them as much as some of us like to tell them!
I was not due until the 13th and I always go over. It is always about two weeks over and then I take Castor oil to induce labor. (I used to get pitocin when we did hospital births before I knew better) Sometime after midnight on the 8th I started feeling almost pains and tightening of the stomach. I thought for sure it was fake labor because they were not strong and the timing was inconsistent. Besides, I never go into labor on my own even though I want to! So, I laid there in bed but could not sleep. I got up to take a shower after 2 and that got my DH out of bed also (he just got home from work). He got in the shower and I had to confess I was feeling something that MIGHT be labor. After the shower back to bed.
Within an hour I decided this must be real because they were getting stronger (still inconsistent) and I moved to the basement into the clawfoot bathtub that my hubby JUST finished installing the day before so I could labor in it. We only had a standing shower in this house! How could I be in labor?!?!?! I began to realize my nesting list is NOT done! No, pads, not enough cloth diapers, the area where the tub was installed needed to be painted, no dinner meals frozen in the freezer, baby stuff not ready, yard not mowed, house a wreck from the home improvement we just did, and on and on! I always wanted to go into labor on my own so this was a blessing but very unexpected. I should have two to three more weeks!!!! Oh wells!
My husband moved the couch from the other side of the basement over by the tub so there was someplace for him to sit and relax. He is very tired at this point because it has been a long time since he slept. He was a dear and got me things I needed. He also called the midwife about 5 to tell her we were in labor. We did not need her yet though so she stayed at home until about an hour later.
Our last baby was an unassisted birth. This one I had a midwife. I figured it would be better to make everyone else relax. People seem to think having a baby is a medical procedure and think we are crazy for doing it at home. At least this way they will only think we are half crazy. LOL
So, she gets there and soon I am almost there... I let her break my water. She was a dear, sweet lady. So nice. It is great to have a midwife like her because she would never do anything if I did not want it. No pressure. And my hubby was the nicest and most helpful he has ever been in labor. Getting me drinks, holding my hand, quiet and loving. Extra special! I remember saying "what in the world would possess me to do this six times?!" when the labor pains were really bad.
Soon I feel the urge to push. The baby will not come though. My hips are hurting so bad... unusual. I never have had this problem before. Normally when I feel the urge to push it only takes a few pushes and the baby is out. This time I do not even feel the baby coming. So, I switch positions. Nothing. I switched a couple times and once or twice I felt the baby get lower. The midwife suggests resting through a few contractions without pushing. I did this but it was very hard because my body was saying to push. She also has me "blowing raspberries" to make the rest of my body relax during a contraction. Still the baby is not moving down. Then I switch positions again. I ended up on my knees at the edge of the tub. My husband was sitting on a stool outside the tub facing me. I put my arms around his neck and leaned on his shoulder. I feel bad, in a funny laughing sort of way, looking back because it must of been really painful for him. Every time I pushed I would squeeze around his shoulders and neck as hard as I could until the contraction stopped. Finally, I felt the baby move so low I thought it would just pop out. It took a little longer. I felt a burning sensation I had not ever felt before. Finally the baby came out. Sploosh, baby hitting water... push... baby shoulders... baby out!!!!! Fat baby out!!
The cord was kind of short so it was a little harder to turn around and hold him. We wait for the baby to get all the blood from the placenta before we cut it. This is very important. Later on I got to cut the cord. The first cord of six babies that I cut. This was also the first baby with a head of hair. I guess you have to have a half dozen to get a few firsts! LOL!
My midwife showed us what to look for in a placenta which was very interesting! I should of taken pictures! My DH fell asleep on the couch at this point. The midwife cleaned up and she weighed the baby. She said "I bet this baby is at least nine pounds." I said "really?" All of my children have ranged between 7.6 and 8.15 before. Then she said "10 pounds" and we just started laughing. She checked her scale to make sure it was right... it was. Now I know why he was harder to push out than the others. I know why my hips hurt.
We have a beautiful baby boy. The odd thing is he really was early for me. He was covered in a thick layer of cheesy vernix. Something not normal for me. There was also a few other signs to say he was early for me. I wonder why this one was so big so fast... I guess I will never know. I am sure that God had a purpose in it though. I also thank God for a home birth. I wonder if I would have been at a hospital if I would have had him ******lly. He could NOT of come laying on my back and most hospitals do not exactly encourage switching positions to deliver. I also did not tear. He eats like a moose and is healthy and vibrant. He watches everything. Gabriel is wonderful and I am so thankful we did not stop at two or three children or I would not be holding him here on my lap. I would never know him... Seeing him makes me think I would not want to be without him. |
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Jul. 11, 2008 - Help Us Name Our New Baby!
If you have any name suggestions or thoughts make sure you leave a comment!
And if it makes a difference to anyone to help choose a name he is a very relaxed, content baby. Very observant and quiet. The sixth child and a home birth.
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