Dec. 11, 2007 - She's Here!

Our baby girl is here.  :-)  She was born on Friday, December 7th at 10:47 a.m., weighing in at 8 lbs. 14 oz., 20 3/4 inches.  I would love to post a picture for you to see, but we got a new camera and I have no clue how to use it.  My husband has taken all the pictures so far and the pictures are on his computer.  I hope to get some of them from him tomorrow night so I can post them for you to see!  She is beautiful.  :-)

The reason I can't get any pictures from my Husband is that he has been working major overtime since Second Daughter (Sophia) was born.  This is the perfect example of how our year has gone.  ;-)  But our hope is that within the next two days, this project that he has to finish ASAP will be done and he will be able to take off for the rest of the year.  The big blessing in all of this is my parents.  If they weren't here right now, we have no clue how we would survive this time.

This birth was by far the easiest I have ever experienced.  If you're a fan of epidurals, you'll totally enjoy this story.  If not, you might shake your head and sigh over me.  LoL 

On the Tuesday before the induction, at my OB appointment, my doctor told me I was 3 cm dilated.  When I showed up at the hospital on Friday to be induced, the nurse checked me first thing, and I was dilated to between a 4 1/2 and 5!!!  I couldn't believe it.  My first thought was that an epidural is usually given once a mom is 4 cm.  So I asked my nurse if I could go ahead and get the epidural right then and there so I wouldn't have to go through the trauma of getting it while in the middle of agonzing contractions.  Made sense to me, made sense to my nurse, and it obviously made sense to my OB because she gave the go-ahead.  So my nurse started the pitocin, gave the anesthesiologist a ring, and he showed up before the contractions became anything more than annoying.  This was between 8:30 and 9 a.m.  After that, I spent my time watching the intensity of my contractions on the monitor and First and Only Husband, who was getting a cold!, got a little work done on his laptop.  It was the most surreal experience of my life.  It was so calm - almost boring!  Finally around 10:30 my OB came in and let me try a few pushes which brought Second Daughter down into position.  She and our nurse broke down the table for delivery, I pushed through three or four contractions, and there she was!  And OH MY GOODNESS she is so beautiful.  And we are tickled because she looks a lot like First Daughter.  I can't wait to see them all grown up together.  What a blessing God has given us in our girls. 

I stayed in the hospital until Sunday morning.  I was really ready to go home on Saturday but everyone kinda wigs out over the mother with five kids and insisted I stay one more day so I could "get some rest."  If God chooses to bless us again, I think I'll just come home next time, although I did enjoy the time alone with Second Daughter.  My windows overlooked the busy interstate and other roads and it felt so cozy to look out at all the traffic going here and there, realizing that Second Daughter and I were snug in our room on the top floor with just a few people going in and out, making sure we were both healthy and happy.

Hopefully I'll have pictures tomorrow!  :-)

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Dec. 4, 2007 - Friday!

The whole "when should the baby come" issue is really cracking me up.  Yesterday at my OB appointment, I mentioned that my husband wanted me to wait until the 12th, if possible.  My doctor said, "No, not that day.  That's my day off!"  LOL!  If I could just get my parents, husband and OB in the same room, maybe they could work something out among themselves and then let me know.  ;-)

After this conversation, my OB was checking me out, and she kept saying, "I don't know.....maybe 9 lbs."  Eeeeeek!  With my skill in math, I was able to quickly add 1 more week, which equals 1 more pound.  When she mentioned inducing me my immediate response was that I would check with my Husband as soon as I got home and give her a call.  I have given birth to a 10 lb. 2 oz. baby before, and really, once was enough.  ;-)

So after consulting with First and Only Husband, this Friday has been agreed upon.  That will give us the weekend to get back home from the hospital and get settled in so he can get back to work on Monday and finish things up before being blessed with the rest of the month off!  I can't wait!  I LOVE having him here.

So pray for us on Friday!  We have to show up at the hospital at 4:45 a.m.  Oyve.  My Husband and I are both night owls.  It is still DARK outside at 4:45 a.m. and no one should even be considering getting out of bed at that time, but off to the hospital we will go!  We will post pictures ASAP.   

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Dec. 3, 2007 - Next Wednesday'ish

OH
MY
GOODNESS.

Today, I can say that TOMORROW my parents will be here!  Since our scare with the contractions last week, our mantra around here as been, "next Wednesday is not that far from now."  The hope was that I could make it without going into full-blown labor until my parents got here.  So far so good!  Tomorrow is....well, TOMORROW!  ;-) 

But my Husband has thrown a wrench into my back patting.  He says that now I have to hold off until the 12th (I am due the 14th).  Beginning the 12th, he will be able to take off from work for the rest of the year.  Before the 12th, he has a million deadlines to meet, so having the baby before then, would mess all that up.  Reminds me of the time when I was pregnant with First Daughter during the Stanley Cup Finals, back in 1998.  I was on bedrest with her because I kept going into early labor.  First and Only Husband told me that I could not have the baby until after the Stanley Cup Finals were over.  She was born the day after they were over.  How's that for cooperation? 

Guess what day the 12th is???  Wednesday!  So now we can again say, "next Wednesday is not that far from now."  We'll see.  ;-)

I am going to miss being pregnant.  Here are some of the things I will miss:
1)  I will miss the smiles that light up in the eyes of most women when they ask me about my pregancy and in turn, go down memory lane with me about their own pregnancies and children.  Children bring joy, and there's something about a pregnancy that brings such hope to so many people.  I love to see that reflected in a person's face and conversation.

2)  I will miss having the baby so close to me.  That may sound a little odd, but as I think about it, I think that there will never be another time in this baby's life when we are closer.  As soon as she is born, we will begin the clash of wills as she becomes her own little person, bound up in all that original sin business,  that will make her own choices for better or for worse.  Not that I want to control her, but man, do I want to see her succeed.  I know that there will be days where it is painful to watch her try to buck the system and get away with it, while my Husband and I will have to apply the appropriate consequences. 

3)  Here's one for the books.  I have been called "cute" three times during this pregnancy.  Hey, I'm 39....I'll take whatever I can get.

4)  I will miss talking with my kids about what their little sister will possibly look and act like.  It has been so much fun to imagine her.  It has also brought out a lot of fun conversation about when they were each babies.  Funny stories about them, how they looked when they were firstborn, the discomfort they caused while I was carrying them....LOL!  I had to make them feel a little guilty for beating up poor mom!

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Nov. 27, 2007 - Pregnancy Update

Well.  Last night I started having mild contractions.  It wasn't anything to keep me awake all night.  In fact, they became a dream.  Of course in the dream things went too fast, and I ended up having the baby at home.  In the dream my Husband kept saying, "I don't know what to do!"  HA!  Me neither!  You know, there's something comforting about showing up at the hospital and having everyone tell me what's next - as much as that can be done during the delivery of a baby.  ;-)

Anyway....I already had an OB appointment scheduled for this morning.  Last week I was ZERO cm dialated.  This week I am THREE cm dialated!  Wow.  I usually have to fight for every centimeter, but it seems my body is cutting me a break this time around. 

Of course we cannot have the baby now.  My parents are planning to travel from TN to be here for the birth so they can hang out with the kids.  They can't come until the 5th of December.  That's just next week, and I hope that I can hang on until then.

In the meantime, I'm a little stressed, but too worn out from the contractions to care.  I had them until mid-afternoon, and they are picking back up now.  Nothing regular, but they are a bit stronger than they were earlier.  I'm stressed because I went grocery shopping on Sunday, but First and Only Husband and First Son put away the groceries.  I had my shopping list/menu for the week in one of the bags of groceries, and someone threw it away.  So if I end up in the hospital tomorrow, whoever is around to fix dinner will have to come up with their own concoctions out of what we have.  I can barely remember what was on the menu or I would rewrite it!  ;-) 

The fun never ends.  :-)  This week during our Bible study, the kids and I have been reading in Lamentations, and I have taken 3:24-26 to heart for this season of my life so I don't totally wig out on everyone around me:
“ The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, 
“ Therefore I hope in Him!” 
   The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, 
   To the soul who seeks Him. 
    It is good that one should hope and wait quietly 
    For the salvation of the LORD.  

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Nov. 19, 2007 - Baby Shower

On Saturday afternoon my sister-in-law hosted a Baby Shower for me.  It was so nice!  I honestly never expected to get a shower since this is our 5th baby, so it was a nice surprise when she asked if she could host one for me.  She has also been good enough to give me all her little-girl-baby-clothes (my niece was born in December of last year) and since Third Son is only 19 months old, we still have all our baby gear, so I kind of felt guilty having a shower and asking everyone to buy stuff we didn't need, so we decided to make it a Book Shower. 

I am a HUGE book fiend.  I love books, always have.  I can't stand to check something out from the library and give it back if it was a good one.  I want to have ALL the good books.  ;-)  We've certainly accumulated a great little library of our own in our years of homeschooling, but of course we don't have everything!  We asked everyone to bring their favorite children's book and these are the ones I received: 

Horton Hatches the Egg
The Poky Little Puppy
Guess How Much I Love You
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?
Goodnight Moon
My First Read and Learn Bible
Barnyard Dance
Gossie
Old MacDonald's Farm (can't find this one on Amazon.)

We also got some diapers!, precious, PRECIOUS outfits, and a handmade blanket from Nana.  I wish I could post pictures from the shower, but our digital camera is broken!  And I'm here thinking, "how can we give birth without a camera????????"  LoL

More than anything, it was so nice to get together with friends and family to celebrate the arrival of our new daughter.  We are so excited to have her on the way and it was fun to share that excitement with others.  God is good to bring her to us, and to give us loved ones with which to share the fun!  It's hard to believe that we are just a few weeks away from meeting her!

 

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Oct. 22, 2007 - Random Pregnancy Thoughts

Have you ever found yourself in a conversation with a friend and wondered to yourself if they had only one shaved armpit?  No, I haven't either.  But then I've never been one to have only one shaved armpit before, have you? 

I've noticed in the last week that I am entering that ADD'ish stage of pregnancy.  I think it started last week when I only shaved one armpit while in the shower.  I felt so lopsided all day!  I mentioned to my Husband on Sunday that I was feeling that lack of sharp mental focus that only a Mom of four hard heads possesses and he asked, "What causes that?"  God bless him.  He was very sincere.  He wanted to know, scientifically, I guess, why pregnant women get scattered in the last trimester.  It was all I could do to not come across dripping with sarcasm when I told him I honestly didn't know - just something about a 4 - 5 lb. wee one taking over my body causes that.  ;-)

Since my Husband has been working on finishing up our bathroom remodel, we have been without any bathroom mirror.  Because of that, I have hardly seen myself for the last few weeks.  So on Sunday I strolled on over to the mirror on our dresser and took a peek.  Wow.  I am HUGE!  And even though this is my 5th pregnancy, I can't imagine how I could get any bigger than I am now.  Is it REALLY physically possible?  First and Only Husband picked up on my amazement and started cracking jokes about the Hindenburg.  HA HA.  All I can say is "MOOOOOOOOO!"

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Oct. 12, 2007 - Pregnancy Update

Well, I'm finally in the 30-something weeks.  It hit me like a ton of bricks that I need to get this new baby girl some clothes to wear once she arrives!  And nursing bras, and how about a pediatrician?  We've been in between doctors for a few months.  I've been in no hurry to find a new one, but now feel the pressure!  Things have been so busy around here with school, and really, just life in general, that these little details escaped me until now.  Guess I better get busy......

Can I say that I am the most blessed Mama there ever was?  My husband is nesting FOR me.  In the past, my nesting has manifested itself through tons and tons of toilet paper stashed all over the house.  With Third Son, it was dryer sheets.  I didn't have to buy dryer sheets for over a year after he was born.  With this pregnancy, there are some things around the house that have been bugging me and my Husband has picked up these projects and is feverishly (well, I don't know about feverishly, but he is consistent.  ;-) working on getting them done. 

Back in 2004, First and Only Husband was taking a shower in our master bath when the tile in the shower fell in on him.  Oops!  We ended up having to replace everything because the people who installed the tile did not do their best work.  So my Husband replaced everything, and did more in our shower/tub area. It's beautiful.  At the same time, we also ripped down wallpaper and began texturing the walls.  We got as far as the wall where our bathroom sinks are and stopped.  This year we finally were able to buy new countertop and cabinets, but they've been sitting in the garage since February.  Well, they're finally upstairs in our bathroom and my Husband is working on getting them installed and the wall textured and painted.  It's going to look so good! 

We bought a 7' tall bookshelf with my Husband's last bonus.  He had First Son work on staining it, and as soon as my Husband finishes working on the kitchen bench we bought at the same time, we will start work on transferring the bookcase from the garage to the house and organizing books and rooms and games and all the other junk that has accumulated on the tops of our other, smaller bookcases. 

Is my life a pregnant woman's dream right now or what??????

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Sep. 22, 2007 - Pregnancy Update

I had an OB appointment on Friday.  It was kinda funny.......I spend a good portion of the day in the bathroom, but when asked to provide my sample at the OB's office, I had nothing to give.  Who could ever accuse a pregnant woman of that?????  Oh, well.  All is well.  I'm healthy and Second Daughter is healthy and we are officially in the Third Trimester.  Man, I can't wait to see this girl!

When my doctor asked how I was feeling, I told her (jokingly!) that the pregnancy is easy.  It's keeping up with my 18 month old that is the challenge.  HAHA!  Right?  No, she didn't think that was funny and spent a good five minutes grilling me on our homeschooling set-up, the ages of the kids, and all that stuff.  God bless her.  She's a very nice person, and I TOTALLY understand her concern for our family.  I mean, *I* have moments when I wonder what it will be like to be a mother of five.  But then I had those same thoughts when I was going to be a mother of one, two, three and four.  Of course life is a bit more intense with the three eldest in full-time school, and the youngest in full-time overdrive.  The kid is into everything!  But I know we'll all survive.  I have friends who have seven or eight kids and those friends all SEEM to be perfectly sane.  So I have every reason to believe that I will also remain sane and with-it.

There is one bit of bad news, though.  It's been difficult for me to come to terms with it being September, knowing that the juicy red, amazingly sweet and tender watermelon we've had since early summer will be a thing of the past.  It's especially hard because it is still 90 degrees here.  If it's still hot, shouldn't we still have watermelon????  I mean, come on, what's a pregnant gal supposed to do with cravings?  Just set them aside as if they are nothing?  Oh, no.  You and I both know that these cravings are nothing to be laughed at, but indulged in.  And is craving a strong enough word?  How about DEEP NEED or URGENT DESIRE?  I tried to think of things I could do to supply my URGENT DESIRE for watermelon through December, but the only things I could think of just wouldn't work.  Stocking up (another pregnancy issue I struggle with - how much toilet paper does a family REALLY need?) wouldn't do since the watermelon would rot, and growing one on my windowsill with the mint just doesn't seem possible.  THIS is the issue that my OB should have been more concerned about!  ;-)

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Sep. 5, 2007 - My Girl

Last night I went to a Mom's Night Out at Starbucks.  As usual, a thousand different topics came up.  All of us there had daughters, and we started talking about them.  Specifically their seeming quest to fit in more than their fair share of words each day.  ;-)  God bless 'em.

One of the Moms started talking about how her daughter is sometimes very difficult.  Stubborn, opinionated, & etc.  It hit me like a tidal wave that OH MY GOODNESS, Second Daughter, due in December might very well be just like that! 

Big pregnancy DUH moment.

First Daughter is definitely strong-willed, but at heart, is as soft as they come.  She is SO SWEET.  She has a real desire to serve those around her - especially her Mom and Dad.  She has never been one to throw herself on the floor to throw a fit.  She gets over her issues with my Husband and me quickly.  When she gets a spanking, all she can think of is making things right with us.  On and on.  She is really a blessing.  I guess during this pregnancy, I only thought of Second Daughter in the same light as First Daughter.  First Daughter has been around for a good nine years.  I'm used to her ways. 

So just who IS this Little Petunia who is going to come along in December and interupt our groove?  I can't even begin to imagine her personality at this point, but she is already a blessing to our family and really, I am truly thankful for her future arrival and the opportunity to be her Mom.....as long as she doesn't rock the boat TOO much. 

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Aug. 27, 2007 - Pregnancy Update

Since this is my fifth pregnancy, you would think that I am a little more savvy in all things related to pregnancy, but the other night, after spending a good two minutes grunting my way to a comfortable spot in bed, I said to my husband, "I don't think I can get any bigger."  My husband told me that yes, I will get bigger, and I said, "No, I don't think I can get any bigger."  So there.

I think Third Son agrees.  Yesterday he wanted me to read him a book, so he plopped down on my lap and kept trying to scoot back!  I finally had to say, "There's no where else for you to go!" 

I am 24 weeks along.  It seems as if it has taken forever (you know, about 24 weeks) to get to this point, but on the other hand, it seems as if I was blogging a pregnancy announcement just yesterday!  At my OB appointment today, I had to face the dreaded Glucose Tolerance Test and it really wasn't that bad.  I was definitely ready to eat by the time I got home, but I wasn't freaking out as I have in the past.  I know that the difference is Cod Liver Oil.  I used to have low blood sugar issues, but ever since we started taking Cod Liver Oil every day, it has never been a problem and things like the Glucose Tolerance Test is a very little deal.

Another great thing about this pregnancy is that sugar is replusive to me.  Never in my life have I been repulsed by sugar.  Love it!  Crave it!  :-)  So with the nausea of the first trimester and my new hatred of sweets, I lost ten pounds the first trimester.  The nausea is over, but the sweet thing continues, and I have never gained back all of the ten pounds yet.  There is a real possibility that I may end up weighing less after this pregnancy than when I started!  No, don't worry about me, the good Lord knows I have it to spare.  ;-)  But I have never lost weight during a pregnancy.  I'm one of those gals that gains 50 pounds and looks as if she's about to give birth any day even though she has eight weeks to go.  HA!  I tell ya, there is NO SUCH THING as a "normal" pregnancy.  Just like the kids, they are all different.

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