"A woman is like a teabag, you never know how strong she is until she's in hot water." -Eleanor Roosevelt http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Wed, 4 Mar 2009 00:46:00 -0600 Wed, 4 Mar 2009 00:46:00 -0600 Our newest addition, Micah, has finally arrived. He was 7 lbs. 7 oz. and 20 ½ inches long. He was born at 12:30 a.m. on February 25th and, yes, my husband did make it in time for the birth! I went in to have my cervix softened on Tuesday (the 24th) at 7 p.m. and the waiting room was FULL of people. They told me there wasn’t a bed for me at the moment, but they’d get to me as soon as they could (not encouraging when you’ve just been dropped off at the hospital and no one is with you!). I was already having some contractions, but I’d been having them off and on for over a week so I wasn’t sure if this was the real thing or not. Just in case, though, I’d called Rick to let him know and tell him he might want to fly in that night instead of the next day. All I knew was I didn’t want to get sent home from the hospital because of lack of bed space. As I sat there, the contractions started getting stronger and closer together and more people kept coming into the waiting room/small admittance lobby. I begin to panic because there were at least three other ladies standing there with very swollen bellies and the admitting person was saying something about two ambulance brought in that had priority. Just so you know, this room is specifically for women going into labor, not general admittance. Finally, I knew I needed to say something and I told them they could take me off the “waiting to be induced” list and put me on the “definitely in labor” list. Then I started to cry (how embarrassing!). Within 10 to 15 minutes I was admitted to the back and prepped. When the nurse checked me, I was already dilated between a 6 and a 7 and definitely wasn't going to need my cervix softened or the baby induced. Then the challenge became, “Is Rick on his way?!” He had been debating on taking the next morning flight and someone pick him up which would put him at the hospital around noon the next day. Wouldn’t work! I called Rick hoping I wouldn’t get a hold of him (because that would mean, most likely, that he was on a plane). Then I called my mom to tell her I was in labor. She called her sister who came over to my house to watch the kids so my mom could come be with me. After that I called our friend, Heather, to find out if her older children were on the way to airport to pick up Rick. Thankfully they were! Rick had decided to come that night and would be at the hospital by 11 p.m. or so. My mom showed up, and then Heather and my other friend, Lisa (has eight children of her own and would like to be a midwife), came to the hospital to be with me during my labor and delivery. It’s silly, but I really didn’t want to have the baby until after midnight because I wanted him to be born on the 25th. All my kids have been born on a date that’s divisible by 5 (5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, and 20th). I figured I was so close, I could wait ‘til after midnight. Heather thought I was crazy and kept telling me I’d have it before midnight (especially after my wonderful midwife, Shawna, told me I was at an eight). I told her I was stubborn and I could wait.  Rick got there around 11 p.m. and as soon as he started to talk to me, my contractions started changing from really uncomfortable to downright painful! It was like my body was waiting for him to get there. Soon after that my dad arrived (he always comes for the births). At 11:50 a.m. I finally let the midwife break my water knowing that the birth would happen soon after. When she did, the water was thick with meconium and very little water which was a little scary. The baby’s heart rate (when they first started monitoring me when I was admitted) kept dipping way down when I was having contractions like he was under stress so this might have had something do with the meconium. Anyway, I probably pushed for 20 minutes or so and then he arrived covered in the meconium. He was whisked quickly away where the NICU team worked with him in the room to make sure he was okay. He was so late, that the placenta had become calcified. His nails were very long, hair a little longer than the other kids, and he didn’t have that coating on him. All signs that he was DEFINITELY overdue. Because of his low abgar score 3 (not 5); respiratory issues (the poop was in his lungs and he kept gagging and spitting it up); and his temperature kept dropping below normal, they ended up keeping Micah and I for an extra day. He wasn’t peeing or pooping and they wanted to see that happen before they released him. So, even though he was born early on the 25th, it was the afternoon of the 27th before we got to leave. He finally peed before we left the hospital (with the help of a little baby formula) and he’s been pretty regular since. They really stressed how important this was for his bodily functions to work right. Saturday he finally had a healthy bowel movement and my kids and I all cheered. It was very funny to see 6 people get that excited over poop. We’d been praying for him. Now he's doing really well. We went to the doctor today for a check up and he's already back up to his birth weight and has grown 1 1/2 inches. The doctor said he looks and sounds great too. He's been eating well, found his lungs, and his now peeing and pooping like a pro! God really answered our prayers! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/665011/ Wed, 4 Mar 2009 00:46:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/665011/ Just a quick update on Baby. After going almost two weeks over the due date that the midwife gave me - February 12 - I had a AFI (checks amniotic fluid), an NST (non-stress test), and another OB appointment yesterday. The baby looks and sounds fine and the AFI was fine too. All this in mind, and considering the fact that my husband has been working 5 hours from here and we're only seeing him once a week usually, we've decided to go ahead with an induction. It will be easier for Rick to be here as opposed to hoping that he can drive or fly up here on time when I go into labor, plus there may just be a reason the baby hasn't been able to come out yet. Thankfully, the ultrasound showed that the baby's head is in the right position (praise God!) so I won't have to have a c-section unless there are other complications. My husband is already figuring out his trip up here and will probably be here tonight, my dad will be here, and my other children will be watched over by my mom while I'm in the hospital. The Lord is good! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/662020/ Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:09:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/662020/ No baby yet, in case you are checking, but he's not in the right position at the moment either. My midwife has guessed at February 12 to be the due date and, as of last week, he was in breech position and yesterday he was transverse. Fun! I've been to the chiropractor twice now to try a method called Webster's method to turn the baby, and I've done some of the other things mentioned on various websites for turning babies. Hopefully he moves on his own. I really don't want to do the external version or have a C-section. Oh, and the really fun thing is, because my husband's job ended (the company went bankrupt - thanks to our fantastic economy) the insurance we had is now expired. We were under the impression that Cobra would send paperwork and we would be able to just continue our insurance through them. It didn't happen. Our fault for not checking, but now we're trying to get some kind of coverage. Not what I expected to do during the 40th week of pregnancy. The worse case scenario would be we would have to pay privately (yikes!) and have a C-section (more expensive). The blessing is he found another job quickly, so he is employed, but it doesn't offer insurance. So, if you think about us, we'd appreciate any prayers in this regard. Thanks! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/657112/ Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:59:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/657112/ I just thought I'd update anyone who is interested... I am still pregnant and expect to be until sometime between the 5th and the 10th. My midwife is guesstimating the 12th, but will see.  It always seems like the last month drags. For another fun twist in the whole scheme of things, my husband just got a job with a liquidation company and has been in Long Beach, CA (except for two very brief trips back overnight) since then. He is closing down two major computer / electronics stores and will have to be there until, at least, the end of March. He was hoping to get home more, but it's keeping busy so far. He planned on coming home today (via plane) for the day and leaving tomorrow morning, but one of the kids started throwing up on Friday night and my mom (we share a house with her) was sick also and he didn't want to risk getting the virus. Can't blame him! So our plan is for him to drive or fly home to Central California as soon as I go into labor. It would be easier having a better idea about the due date, but we don't so we're just playing it by ear. The plan is to stay with him after the baby is born in a hotel or an apartment - the blessing of homeschooling - but its kind of hard to plan. If you think about it, please pray that all the details would be work out and that we'd be able to find an "affordable" place to stay and that all the things that need to be resolved would be. The hotel where he's staying would be the cheapest, but with six kids, really cramped. If we get an apartment, will have more space, but no furniture, and additional bills (electricity, etc.). I don't want to accumulate or take too many items because we'll just be moving on again in just a few weeks. So... it just makes it interesting. Also pray for my husband and I as we're apart during this time. It's not always easy. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/653151/ Sun, 1 Feb 2009 09:47:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/653151/ Okay, I'm finding Homeschool Blogger annoying. Some of the things it had previously (like a tool bar when you are doing a new entry) are no longer here! You can tell I haven't been on here in awhile. All that I want to do is just make some text BOLD and add a link and I don't have that option. Grrrrr! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/629360/ Mon, 8 Dec 2008 07:26:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/629360/ Today we went to the midwife's office for our first ultrasound! When I went in last week, I was thinking that my due date was February 20 - my calculation since that was my first visit during this pregnancy. I was quickly corrected by the nurse who told me according to my last period, I was due on January 20! Yikes! It was a little surprising because I'm usually right on, but this time I got mixed up. Anyway, at the ultrasound today the tech said I was measuring 30 to 31 weeks, not 33 weeks (which would change the due date from Jan. 20 to anywhere between Feb. 4 and 11. I'm so far along that its hard to get an accurate "reading". But, no matter what, I'm glad that I don't have to wait until Feb. 20. What a blessing! By the way, it's a BOY! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/628138/ Thu, 4 Dec 2008 17:54:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/628138/ I was reading Grace4Gayle's blog and she mentioned something about Obama that reminded me of a conservation my children and I had in our van the day before the election. My oldest two wanted to know why my husband and I were voting for McCain/Palin so as much as possible I explained it to them saying we really didn't want Obama in office because of his view on abortion. We then talked a little about McCain's views, etc. but Obama's name, of course, kept coming up. A few minutes into the conversation my four year old DD piped up, "OBAMA? He's supposed to be dead!" which sent the rest of us into hysterics. She, obviously thought we were saying "A LLAMA" and was quoting "Emperor's New Groove", but we sure found it funny. Later on that night we were making pudding and I told my oldest daughter, age 10, to get out the metal measuring cup to measure the milk. I mentioned that when I was little, I liked to drink milk out of that same cup because it always tasted so much colder. She asked if she could have some milk in the cup to drink when we were done measuring and I told her yes. My 7 year old DS then begged to have some milk, but missed the whole metal cup conversation and poured his into a plastic cup. My 10 year old poured herself some milk in the cup and said, "Yum, this makes me feel like a Prairie Girl!" My son (who doesn't always have great hearing) said, "Yeah, this milk makes me feel like a Fairy Boy!" Once again, for the second time that day, I found myself in hysterics. Fairy Boy! I hope not!!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/617856/ Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:53:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/617856/ Did I mention I was pregnant? This newest one is due on his/her "big" brother's birthday - February 20. Our youngest, at the moment, will be two on that day so we shall see when this newest one will make its appearance on that day or be late like Josiah was. My husband's birthday is March 3 so that would be nice also. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/617563/ Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:55:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/617563/ I'm using a charter school this year to homeschool. I know, I know. There are many out there who would disagree with me using the public school system, but after praying about it and my need for more accountability in homeschooling my children, this was what seemed to be the answer. It's not a permanent solution - there are so many things I don't like about using it such as: teaching to California Standards; the push to make sure certain subjects are done and how that causes the children and I to lose the joy of homeschooling; and how often it just seems like we're doing school at home instead of homeschooling. There is little spontaneity and delight-driven learning. On the flip side, I'm doing school a whole lot more than i was. Knowing that I have to sign a piece a paper at the end of each month saying my children did school on certain days is a definite motivator. We have gone off a bit from the trail were supposed to be following, though, the last week or so. We are supposed to be doing California History this year (for all three of the kids) and I decided to do a sideline of Pilgrim History. The church we attend does a Reformation Day each year instead of a Harvest Party celebrating key figures in Reformation history. This year they decided to do the Puritans/Pilgrims/Separatists. In light of that, I started reading "The Mayflower Secret" by Dave and Neta Jackson to them - a fictionalized version of the Mayflower story through 13-year-old Elizabeth Tilley's eyes. I have had my children (at least the 8 and 10 year olds) drawing pictures as I read and I decided that a notebook would be a great way for them to keep the pictures. Of course, I'll have them do other things also in the notebook for history, science, writing, and reading. So far I plan for them to: copy the Mayflower Charter, write about the Mayflower's journey and the settlement of Plymouth, choose some of the herbs that the Indians taught the Pilgrims about and do some research on them, include their art, write poems, possibly draw a map of the location of Plymouth, do a timeline, as well as other possibilities. Today I had them make their notebook covers to spark their interest and have a place to put their research and work. For my younger two (ages 7 and 4) I'll simplify it a bit and have them do some Autumn activities also. Coloring, study of pumpkins and autumn leaves, as well as reading them more simplified versions of the Pilgrim stories and dictating it back to me. I found a link to another homeschooling mom's Thanksgiving notebook project that inspired me. She has done several notebooking projects that I thought were creative and sparked my creativity in turn. I don't agree with everything they study, but I'm looking for format at this point. If you know of other websites with photos of ideas for notebooking, let me know. I'm definitely a novice and sometimes I spend too much time thinking, and not enough time doing! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/611932/ Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:40:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/611932/ I'm preparing for a birthday party for my oldest dd who turned 10 last month, but with school, etc. going on, I decided to postpone it for a month. She wanted an American Girl theme so that's what we're doing. Most of her friends plan to dress up and bring their dolls and I'm still in the process of finalizing games, crafts, and organizing my house a bit more. I know I won't get everything done that I want to and I pray that I will be able to focus on the guests and my children and not the clutter lurking behind closed doors. I'm tempted to haul my homeschool bookshelf and drawers out of the hallway, but I won't. Most of the kids/moms coming are homeschooler families. Why should I care? I'll just straighten it and move on. Now, on to making mini pumpkin pies and other baked goods. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/609381/ Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:27:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MarlaMom/609381/