Noah Blake's Birth Story: Part 2

After Noah was born, my mother-in-law brought the girls all the way up to Dayton to visit us.

Daddy with the girls in the elevator on the way up to the birth center.


Abigail meeting Noah for the first time.

Elsie was just a mess. She had a runny nose and was confused and upset to see Mama with another baby besides her. She really just sat and cried . . . except if a camera was pointed at her. Funny girl. If she saw the red eye reduction go off on my mother-in-law's camera, she would smile and ham it up for the camera. I think you can still see her tears though.

Abigail was instantly an adoring older sister.

"Nana", my mother-in-law, with newborn Noah.

I held Elsie on my lap and played with her to try to make things feel "normal" for her. She was still pretty confused and upset.

My father-in-law works in Dayton and so he met the rest of the family at the birth center after work. He's holding Noah for the first time.

During the birth, there was some confusion as to whether I was a carrier or not of Group B Strep. It's still a mystery. I had tested positive (I think) at one point during my pregnancy but the doctor retested me at 37 weeks and the test had been negative so I didn't end up having antibiotics during labor (yeah yeah yeah for no IV!).

After he was born, all the medical staff was in a tizzy thinking he could have been exposed to GBS even though I had tested negative in late pregnancy. He was born pretty quickly after my water broke, so I wasn't concerned. Procedure stated that he had to have his blood drawn and monitored for infection. They did that before we went to bed for the evening.

During the night I was requesting pain medication from the nurses and they told me that his blood work had come back and they were concerned about infection. So we were supposed to stay in the hospital an extra day.

*A typical stay in our birth center is 24 hours after birth, which is what we did with the girls.*

I was disappointed to hear this news because we wanted to go home but we agreed to stay just to make sure that Noah was okay. He seemed to be fine to me, nursing, sleeping, was fine. The doctor agreed with me that he would have showed some abnormal fussiness or refusal to eat if he had been sick.

Later the next day the pediatrician checked him out again and just said the elevated while blood cells were probably stress from the birth (you're telling me, kid!) and that he was checking out fine now. He still had not been circumcised and so we had to wait until the next day for that - by that point - anyway.

Everything else was fine. We just simply were anxious to get back home and to be honest, a bit bored by that point. Having never stayed 48 hours after a birth before, it was an interesting experience. I longed for the comforts of home and my own bed.

Noah with his Great-Grandma, Rosalie Myers:

Noah with my mom who the kids call "Roro".

And . . . that is Noah's birth story!

Food Blogging Friday - Sesame Seed Cookies

These cookies bring back memories of my childhood. We grew up making these cookies! I never remember having very many other cookies than these until I could bake them myself! :) Ha!

I love to make these with my children and know that the only sweetner they are getting in these cookies is from the honey.

You can tell I took these pictures to blog this LAST summer (as in 2010!). Look at my little darling. :)

First you have to take a big spoonful of honey and eat it. At least if you are my girl. :)


Use natural and raw honey . . . not the cooked stuff . . . that removes all the healthy and good things from the honey.

Yum, trying the dough!

Finished product.

Here is the recipe:

Sesame Seed Cookies

jaimeschechter.blogspot.com

½ cup honey

½ cup oil (I use butter or coconut oil)

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup wheat bran

1 ¼ cup oatmeal

1 cup ww flour

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

¾ cup sesame seeds

Combine honey, oil and egg. Mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Dough should be stiff; add tablespoon or two of milk if too stiff.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with the bottom of glass dipped in cold water. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Hint: I love to make a sandwich out of these cookies with a little nutella or nut butter in the middle.

Overcoming Childhood Fears!

My daughter has many fears. Bugs, Jack-in-the-box, this stick horse, having water on her face, having clothes trapped over her head, the dark, and the list goes on.

I am really trying slowly but surely to help her overcome some of these by slowly "exposing" her to the things she's afraid of that won't really hurt her.

She's been TERRIFIED of this stick horse for many months so I started slowly. I set it out in the room and just didn't make a big deal of it. She was afraid at first but got used to it sitting there. Then I played with the horse with her younger sister (nothing like peer pressure) until finally she realized it was just a toy and it was FUN!

So this video is really for Grandpa Kurt, who gave her this toy. She loves it now, by the way.

Enjoy!

Noah Blake's Birth Story Part 1

Oh my, Noah's birth story!!

The weeks leading up to Noah's birth were interesting. I was super uncomfortable with a very low riding baby boy, a 17 month old and a 3 year old. But we survived. My sister came into town just after my 39th week. Both the girls were born during that week, Abigail at 39 weeks 4 days, and Elsie at 39 weeks 1 day, so I assumed Noah would be similar.

I am SO thankful that she was there to help me out, even though she missed the birth. On Sunday night, May 8th, I had terrible and painful irregular contractions all night long. I think I slept 2 or 3 hours that night. My sister had planned to leave first thing that morning, to return home, but she graciously stayed until after lunch and took care of all the kids so I could rest. I don't know what I would have done without her.

That Monday evening I left the girls with Andrew and went to Walgreens to purchase some Epsom Salts. I had received a tip from a friend that if I bathed with them, it would induce labor. I could barely walk into the store because of my low baby pressing on my bladder. I will NEVER forget that pinching pain but I managed to buy some. I got home and relaxed in a nice bath and was in bed about 8:30 pm.

*Side note here: I have never in my history of pregnancy and birth been asked so many times when my baby would be born. Unless you have an induction or c-section scheduled - let me tell you something - the mother does not know for sure. Labor can start suddenly and at any time. Some of the symptoms I felt when I went in to labor with Elsie, I felt in month six with Noah. So every time things are different. I got so many tips on stimulating labor and I wasn't even overdue!! My heart goes out to those women who are!*

I woke up around 2 am with pretty painful contractions. I tried to wait in bed, as I had with Elsie, and rest but the contractions were regular and too painful to lay still through. I went into the nursery and walked and rocked a bit. I ended up walking Andrew accidentally. I was trying to let him sleep more. Once he knew I was up, he couldn't sleep either so he got up and timed contractions for me. They were still a little irregular but got as close as every 3 minutes.

He sent some work emails, showered, etc., while I relaxed through the early stages of labor. I took advantage of it being early May and did some walking around outside while I labored. Both the girls were born in the winter so I couldn't do that with them.

I think it was around 4:00 am that Andrew called his parents to have them come stay with our girls so we could head to the hospital.

I had one HUGE contraction in the car but that was it. I was afraid that we'd be sent home when we got there. It is one of my biggest fears with each of my children. Strange that after three kids, I'd still questioning whether or not I was in labor.

We got there around 5:30 am (I think) and I got checked. I was at 5 centimeters, so they admitted us to the birth center and we got settled in. My labor was still very stalled. I hadn't had a contraction since being in the car and was scared this was going to take all day!

So . . .

I alternated between walking around the birth center and regular L&D ward and emptying my bladder (helps promote the baby dropping and labor). Andrew was able to relax and get in a few more minutes of rest. I was very thankful for this!


I had always wished with the girls that we'd gotten better pictures of the birth center to show people how nice it is. So since my labor was still very mild at this time, I walked around and took pictures of things.

Bathroom:

The tub where Noah would eventually be born:

I remember Andrew making many jokes during this time and thinking how wonderful it was to get to spend this time with him. His attention was just on me and was undivided by other things. I guess we need more date nights, huh?! Anyway, it was just fun!

Well, I walked and walked and walked and FINALLY labor started up again. I finally reached the point where I could not walk through each contraction so I started to stay closer to my room.

I noticed (through out the whole labor process but it started early) that if I leaned back and reclined my contractions slowed down and were very mild. If I leaned forward, like on my hands and knees, the contractions came fast and were hard and painful. This meant that I forced myself to be forward during almost every contraction. I knew it would speed things up instead of draw them out.

My contractions started to get serious around mid morning, 9 am or so. Andrew encouraged me to go ahead and get into the bath. I wasn't quite ready yet because I didn't want my labor to stall any but I went ahead and got in.

Relaxing and reclining back in the bath did slow things a bit so I had to get out and walk around a bit.

My darling husband took this awful picture of me during a contraction, which I will graciously share with you. This was after I had tried to be in the bath once.

Things got intense at this point and so I got back into the bath. After that happened, I went into my own little world. I was aware of people around me and goings-on but it was difficult for me to answer. I was so thankful that Andrew seemed to know what I was thinking and guided the staff to pretty much watch and leave me alone. That was best!! I would be a great candidate for going out in the woods to squat and have a baby since I do crave being alone during the process - except the ending.

My contractions at this point were double-peaking. I had been checked again during the process and was only at a 5-6. I was discouraged to say the least. I had no idea how I could continue to handle double-peaking contractions that never let up and still try to progress from a 6 to a 10!

I suddenly felt an urge to push. They checked me again and said I was still at a 7 but the baby's head was very low and that was the reason that I had the urge to push. They broke my water at this point.

I had been asked repeatedly if I wanted it broken and I had refused. My reason being that I had went ahead and had it broken with Abigail. It made labor very hard and difficult and she still wasn't born for HOURS after.)

I labored through a few more intense contractions with pushing and dialated very fast! By this point, the midwife was there, as well as her mid-wife in training, who ended up actually delivering Noah. I was on my back with Andrew holding me up on a waterproof pillow. I was out of control (yes, yelling . . . lots. I could not help it!) and felt that I would drown in the birthing tub were it not for my husband holding me up. They checked me again and said that I still had a little cervix left so I pushed him past the cervix. Three or four more pushes later (and the worst pain you can IMAGINE!) and he was ready to exit.

The midwife was coaching me at this point to not just push constantly but to wait for each contraction. I was able to finally do this at the end even though I thought that the pain was too intense to even feel the contractions (the contractions are pansy pain compared to the exit!).

At 10:59 am I pushed his head out and was able to reach down and feel him. The midwife said "oh, there's his wrinkly little head"). I think (hard to remember!) it took two more pushes to get his body out. The best feeling in the world was when he was set up on my chest. I am convinced that there is no greater high than that. It is one of the many reasons why I choose to have drug-free natural births. We waited for the cord blood to go back into his body before Andrew cut the cord.

After the cord was cut, the nurse took the baby to do some cleaning up and checking and I climbed out of the huge tub (which was a sight, I'm sure) and went to the bed for the rest of the examination and cleaning-up period.

Only a few minutes later and I got to snuggle with this little bundle of joy:

Very tired and blissfully happy to have a healthy baby boy and also to be done with labor!

He weighed 8 lbs 6 oz and was right in-between his sister's lengths at 21 1/2 inches long.

He took off immediately with breastfeeding (often and for long periods of time!) and never looked back. It helps to have lots of experience but he was the easiest breastfeeding baby I've had.

Here is a picture of him in a milk-coma (as we like to call it) in the hospital.

Part 2 still to come . . .

Elsie Tornado

We have recently had a tornado around our house. The tornado's name is Elsie!

Within the last week she learned how to climb.

It started out with a single step. She learned how to climb up and down. That meant the shoes were all a mess in our mud room.

Then she learned to climb up on the bench drawers in the living room. That meant Noah's diapers and changing table were torn apart and finger prints were on the TV.

Then she learned to climb up on the child sized rocking chair, which makes Mama scared for her safety!

Then she learned to climb up the stairs, which means all of my "going-upstairs" junk that I used to keep on the stairway can no longer stay there.

Then she learned how to climb up on Abigail's bed (but she can't get down) which means the stuffed animals and baby dolls are no longer out of reach.

Today . . . she climbed up on the couch all by herself. That means all of the stuff that we kept away from her on the back of the couch (remotes, kleenex, drinks, etc) will no longer be safe.


And . . . she has a thing for Kleenex as you can see in the photo below. The amazing thing was, this room (the whole house!) was perfectly clean the day before for our appraisal.

My life is different now . . . oh yes! :)

Music Class: Elsie

My Elsie Pie is something else. The first time we went to these music classes she clung to me and cried. Now she's the life of the group. You can see the other kids sitting quietly and clapping while my maniac runs around. She enjoys it but boy she's a handful!

Next week is our last week. We have had fun attending even if it is a challenge to do with all three of my kids (I have to make two trips to get all my kids inside because there are too many stairs for Elsie to handle).

Enjoy!

Food Blogging Friday - Curried Beef Stew

Finally! Finally! I have returned to food blogging. I do not claim to be good at it but cooking is something I enjoy (and eating too, obviously). I stopped posting recipes when I became pregnant with Noah (a year ago!!) because I was so nauseated that I couldn't think of food and I never really got into it after that.

Anyway, I have lots of new recipes to share.

Here is probably the easiest one I have made in a while. The idea for this recipe came from my mother-in-law. She watched the girls while we were in the hospital having Noah and fixed a version of this for us the night we returned home from the hospital. We had round steak thawed from the freezer so she was trying to use that up. All of these measurements are estimated. I just threw these ingredients into the crock pot and the result is some deliciousness!

Here is is:

1 to 2 round steaks, outsides sprinkled with flour and browned in a pan with olive oil
2 medium potatoes cut into chunks
2 medium carrots cut into slices
1/2 of a large onion roughly chopped (can be big pieces)
1 to 2 cups of water
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Throw it into a crock pot and let 'er go 8 hours or so on low! You can adjust the curry powder to your tastes. I may have gone a bit overboard because my oldest daughter claimed it to be too spicy. My middle daughter (21 months old) LOVED this dish. She gobbled it up!

I also cooked some brown rice in the extra liquid from the stew (I had put in too much water) so we served this over rice. Extra yummy. All the juices soaked up in the rice.

When I brought it to the table my daughter asked, "Does it have peas?". What a great idea!! Next time I will throw some peas in at the last minute. They just need to stay in a few minutes to warm up but would become a mushy mess if left too long.




It was a great way to serve a tougher cut of meat to my family. The kids (3 and 21 months old) can't really eat steak yet but this was fork tender and very easy to eat. If you like curry, this is the way to go. So good.

I calculated it to be about 8 points plus for about 2/3 to 3/4 cup scoops, which seem to be plenty big.

Also, please excuse my poor photography skills. That's my husband's department and I'm terrible at it.

Weekend and Monday Update

We had a nice weekend.

Got out on Saturday to deliver a meal to some friends at church and to Target. Then I took the kids to watch Andrew's cousin run in a Mudathlon. It looked like so much fun that I'm considering doing it next year. Then our evening consisted of a birthday dinner for my father-in-law. Fun times!

Sunday: we were finally back at church after missing for 3 weeks due to travel and attending another church. It was good to be back. In the afternoon I was able to slip away for a few hours to see a movie, The Help. I was particularly interested in seeing it since I had read the book. My darling husband bravely watched the kids for a few hours while I went.

This morning we went to our next to last music class. Elsie was a crazy maniac the whole time (I got a video and will post after I download it!) and Abigail loves it. I needed to mail something at the post office so we did that after the class.

Now it's naptime so I'm off to try to accomplish something. Don't know what yet.

Michigan 2011

We left for our Michigan trip at about 8:30 am, which was impressive, considering we had to load up all of our luggage and family members by that time. This was our first trip with Noah and he did great!

Here is Elsie on the trip to Michigan . . . riding in style with her shades. It took us about 6 hours to get to our rental house.


We arrived first and the very first course of action was for Andrew to take the girls on the golf cart (provided with the house) down to see Lake Michigan. It was about a 3 minute cart ride or 10 minute walk to the lake.

We discovered a 99-step stairway that led down to the beach. Since I wasn't there for this picture, I'm not sure how Andrew got both girls down those stairs alone! :) It was steep and climbing it was a workout in itself. It was well worth it, though. The lake was beautiful the first few days we were there. Nice and warm with beautful waves. We did quite a bit of swimming.

Unfortunately Elsie did not like the waves, sand, beach, etc. So whenever we took her to the beach she would spend the whole time whining and crying. I'm sure she'll outgrow this by our next trip to any sort of beach!

The girls had so much fun playing with cousins Alex and Isaac. Alex is seen in the below picture with the girls.

My Grandma Fairchild was able to join us on this trip. Her primary activity for the week was holding a sleepy baby. The both look pretty cozy! It was so nice to have her on this trip and I hope she can join us again!!

On the windiest day of the week (why we picked that day, I don't know) we headed down to South Haven to the public beach. It was accessible to my Grandma, since she couldn't navigate the 99 steps to our private beach. We enjoyed seeing wind surfers and the water was nice enough to swim.

Grandma at the beach.

Elsie at the beach. You can't tell but she's crying in this picture.

Abigail and Alex had a lot of fun playing in the sand!

My darling beauty standing at the top of our stairs to the beach. She got braver as the week went on and walked them by herself a few times (with adults close behind, of course).

Sunset on our private beach on evening! So beautiful!!

After our week in the rental house, we headed to Grand Rapids to celebrate my Grandma Helen's 80th birthday. A large crowd of her family and friends gathered for the celebration. Almost everyone is pictured in the following photo (Grandma Fern is holding Noah inside - not in photo). This was taken after a lovely catered meal at my Grandma's retirement center.

The next day we headed to Meijer Garden's for a tour of their gardens and sculpture park. What a neat place! We enjoyed the children's area especially. The girls enjoyed exploring and seeing the exhibits there.

Below my sister Jenny is helping Isaac and Elsie play in the water/boat area.

Elsie is wandering around Meijer gardens.

Then that evening we had a lovely picnic, hosted by my Grandma's daughter, Kathy. She has a lovely home with a newly remodeled kitchen (Sorry, no pictures) that is to die for! This was her beautiful back yard.

I enjoyed watching my nephew, Isaac, try to walk on the sloped lawn. He is a new walker and it was hilarious! He was very determined not to let it slow him down. You can see his attempts in the picture below.

We spent that night at the Calvin College's Conference Center (just like a hotel) and our kids REALLY slept in. Nobody woke up until about 8:45 am!!! Noah, of course, was up a few times at night but everyone really slept great as you can see in the following photos.

Elsie . . .

Abigail . . .

Noah. . .

Then we all enjoyed church and a dinner at my Grandma's church in Grand Rapids.

These are obviously pictures of the lunch . . . not the church service! :)

After lunch we started our journey home. It wasn't easy to travel with our small children but it was worth it! We spent quite a bit of time on the way home listening to crying children (Elsie only napped 30 minutes) but we had a great time anyway.

That's a recap! We had so much fun and it was a blessing to me to be able to vacation with my family - who we do not get to see very often. I hope to be able to do it again someday!!

Michigan 2011

We just returned home from a lovely and wonderful trip to Michigan. We spent the week (Saturday to Friday) at a rental house in South Haven, Michigan and then the following weekend we were in Grand Rapids to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday.

Andrew fixed my computer the night before we left (yeah, yeah) so I'm back to blogging more, hopefully.

I'll try to find some time to post pictures, video, etc.

The kids are growing like weeds and I don't want to miss out on recording their lives. . . crazy as things are around here.

To Do List

I have my to do list in front of me. Since Monday morning at 8 am I have been able to cross off the following:

Laundry
Clean laundry room
Clean Mud Room
Clean Kitchen
Make dinner: Sloppy Lentils, Corn, Potatoes, Watermelon

Clean Van
Laundry
Clean Noah's Room
Clean Upstairs Bathroom
Clean Master Bedroom
Make Sesame Seed Cookies for trip
Make dinner: Meatballs, sweet potato fries, Lima Beans
Get Dish from Grandma's

Go shopping
Clean Abigail's room
Clean Elsie's Room
Clean Downstairs bathroom
Clean living room
Bake Cookes (too many!)

Go Grocery shopping (w/ all three kids)
Clean Kitchen
Make Grandma Bread
Do Laundry
Get Cash

Wow!

Still left on my to-do list before we leave on our trip Saturday morning (it's Thursday at 4:15):
Mop Kitchen
Clean fridge
Zumba class
Straighten each room (nothing ever stays clean)
Pack
Empty all trash
Mow

Not bad. Planning ahead and being organized is my favorite thing! I can't survive without it!!!

Crashed!

So . . . a lot less blogging lately.

My computer is ka put!

So, that means I can either blog while standing in my kitchen with my children running around (which is going to be blogs like this one - since that is what is happening right at this moment) or I'd have to go to the basement (not babyproofed basement!) and blog on Andrew's computer.

So . . . .

The blogs may be few and far between until I get my computer back up and running. I hope that we can do this right after we return from our trip to Michigan. We're leaving in a few days.

I'm busy cleaning, packing, doing laundry, shopping, etc. Getting ready to take our family of 5 on a trip for the first time. We're all really looking forward to it!!

~Jaime

Why I'm a blog slacker . . .

I'm busy playing with, taking care of, monitoring, cooking for, rocking, nursing, reading to, kissing, and hugging these cuties!

Abigail LOVES to take care of Noah. She's pretty good about holding him but I like to stay nearby, just in case she would get the notion to get up. I have caught her a few times trying to pick him up. I'd say that her only problem is caring for him too much!


Me and my three babies! They're a handful but I can hardly stand it when they are away!

Affection!! These two are going to have a great relationship, I can tell. Look at that giant smile on Noah's face as his older sister bends down to talk to him (or poke him in the eye - take your pick).

Poking him in the eye - her favorite activity! Actually, she is getting better. I think her intention is good but she just doesn't have good control over her chubby little arms.

"I love you, I think. Just don't poke me."

The End!

(Abigail's sleeping is still troublsome. Some nights are okay and others are BAD! I think God knew that I needed a baby who would sleep well because Noah is an awesome sleeper. He usually goes 5 to 7 hours and then a shorter stretch. I don't think Elsie slept that long until she was eating solid food and then she really didn't sleep through the night until she was over a year old. She's great now!!)

Sleep Update

Being consistent and firm has paid off! Abigail has slept "through" the night since my last post. I put the italics because she's been getting up early but I can't blame her since she does wait until it's light outside. Unfortunately it gets light pretty early (like 6 am!).

She came quietly into my bedroom today and just got in bed and laid beside me until I woke up this morning. Thankfully she didn't get into any trouble. She's been a mess lately.

I have also been rewarding her with small bits of candy and small prizes if she stays in bed all night. It seems to be working. Now only if it would work for her "quiet time". She still comes out 5 or 6 times to ask me questions.

We're working on it!!

I'm so please with the progress though. We both are feeling more rested and that makes for less stressed out parents!! Yeah!

Sleeping is for the Cows

So, I wish this sleep update would be all about my boy, Noah. But really, he's doing great! He usually sleeps a 3 to 5 1/2 hour stretch first and then a 2 to 3 hour stretch. Not bad for 7 weeks old. I'll take it!

The real reason I'm writing this is my darling daughter, Abigail. She's struggling, poor soul. Please forgive any typos or things that don't make sense in this. It's been a long night.

I have heard from several people that having to retrain a toddler to sleep is fairly common. I just never thought it would happen to me and with a newborn! Whew!

Anyway, I guess the reason I was so self-assured that toddler sleep training would never be a big issue for me is that we have always been very consistent with bedtime and nighttime. The routine has been the same for years (literally) and my daughter has never gotten away with much at bedtime or during the night.

My husband is a little easier on her at night but we've still never let her sleep in our bed or anywhere else but her bed, for that matter. Yet we have spent many nights over the past two or three weeks saying "No, you cannot try to fall asleep in our bed" after she has asked to do this repeatedly. Where do kids get this stuff?

"We" (by that I mean Daddy) have recently told her that if she can't fall asleep right away she can turn on her light and read a book. Big mistake! I knew this and was hesitant to start it but she was having a hard time falling asleep when she napped during the day and I wanted to be sympathetic. When I hear her "reading" at 1:30 am, it's not okay with me. Someday she'll share a room with her sister, hopefully, and she'll need to learn that if she can't sleep, she needs to just lay still and relax and not disturb others.

We are having a hard time explaining the difference between waking us up for an "emergency" (in my definition is blood, poop, or puke) and waking us up for attention. Last night the first visit to our room by Abigail was to tell us that she had falled out of bed. Seriously. The girl walked all the way out of her room, down the hall, up the stairs and into our room to tell us this instead of just getting back in bed. Wow!

Then it was the "potty" break. She does this frequently and during "quiet time" too. She says she has to do #2 and therefore needs our attention to clean up at the end. She and Daddy sat in the bathroom for 15 minutes last night and . . .nothing. I probably could have told you that before she even started but I'd hate to be wrong and have a mess on my hands.

I finally just said to her last night, after her 3 or 4th trip upstairs that she had to stay in her room, with the light off, closing her eyes and not reading. I think my husband thinks I'm harsh but honestly, you can't sleep with your eyes open and turning on lights only stimulates you and makes it harder to fall asleep. She then proceeded to lose her paci and cry for it since she couldn't turn on the light to find it. Manipulate much?! Wow! She's a smart kid.

Anyway, after that episode I told her that if I heard her crying for her paci again, I would take them away . . . for good. No more out of her then.

I have spent the morning, on and off, reading about helping your toddler sleep and sleep training. They are all pretty unified in one thing . . . consistency. Which is great news, actually because that's something I'm good at. We'll see how the next few nights go. I'm also going to try to respond less - and hopefully with less emotion and frustration too.

In the meantime . . .

I'm sleepy! Sitting down anywhere for any length of time is not good because I'll be asleep.

:)

Things I'm learning . . .

I have so many blog posts that run through my head . . . mostly at night! I hope to really sit down and write a good one soon. Perhaps Noah's birth story. In the meantime bullets will have to do.

Things I'm learning as a mother of three children who are 3 and under . . .

• It does no good for me to get upset/emotional. Remaining calm when one is misbehaving or whining or crying is much more helpful. It's not always easy and some days I'm better at it than others.
• It's hard when your 3-yr-old who shouldn't be napping does nap. Whew. I'm tired. Got up with her 4+ times last night.
• You have to clean and cook in 5 minute segments because that's all you'll have.
• It does no good to soothe yourself with a box of natural oreos . . . you'll just be annoyed at your fat and out-of-shape self later. (Thanks Weight Watchers).
• It is almost comical how long it takes me just to get the kids ready to go outside to swing. I almost wish I had a witness! :)
• Mommy guilt is a daily battle for me. Am I doing the right activities for each child and their particular age? Are they getting enough social stimulation (when it's so much easier just to stay home?)? Am I parenting in the right way? Do they pick up when I'm just annoyed that there are so many needs to be met?

These are the sweet days, however. I'm doing my best to enjoy things . . . even the hard moments. This poem is always on my mind . . .

Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

So . . . I'm going to do just that. Now, which baby do I choose to rock is the question?! :)

I dare you not to cry!

Let Me Hold You Longer

a poem by Karen Kingsbury

Long ago you came to me,

a miracle of firsts;

First smiles and teeth and baby steps,

a sunbeam on the burst.

But one day you will move away and leave to me your past

And I will be left thinking of a lifetime of your lasts.

The last time that I held a bottle to your baby lips

The last time that I lifted you and held you on my hip,

The last night when you woke up crying,

Needing to be walked,

When last you crawled up with your blanket

Wanting to be rocked.

The last time when you ran to me still small enough to hold

The last time when you said you’d marry me when you grew old.

Precious simple moments and bright flashes from your past

Would I have held on longer if I’d known they were your last?

Our last adventure to the park, your final midday nap

The last time when you wore your favorite faded baseball cap.

Your last few hours of kindergarten, last days of first grade,

Your last at bat in Little League, last colored picture made.

I never said goodbye to all your yesterdays long past

So what about tomorrow? Will I recognize your lasts?

The last time that you catch a frog in that old backyard pond

The last that you ran barefoot across our fresh-cut lawn

Silly, scattered moments and bright flashes from your past

I keep on taking pictures, never quite sure of your last.

The last time that I comb your hair or stop a pillow fight,

The last time that I tuck you in and pray with you at night.

The last time when we cuddled with a book just me and you,

The last time you jump in our bed and sleep between us two.

The last piano lesson, the last vacation to the lake

Your last few weeks of middle school, last soccer goal you make.

I look ahead and dream of days that haven’t come to pass

But as I do I sometimes miss today’s sweet precious lasts.

The last time that I help you with a math or spelling test

The last time when I shout that “Yes! Your room is still a mess!”

The last time that you need me for a ride from here to there

The last time that you spend the night with your old tattered bear.

My life keeps moving faster, stealing precious days that pass

I want to hold on longer, want to recognize your lasts.

The last thing that you need my help with, details of a dance,

And the last time that you asked me for advice about romance.

The last time that you talked to me about your hopes and dreams

The last time that you wear a jersey for your high school team.

I’ve watched you grow and barely noticed seasons as they pass

If I could freeze the hands of time, I’d hold onto your lasts.

For come some bright fall morning, you’ll be going far away

College life will beckon in a brilliant sort of way

One last hug, one last goodbye, one quick and hurried kiss,

One last time to understand just how much you’ll be missed.

I’ll watch you leave and think how fast our time together passed

So let me hold on longer, God, to every precious last.

*It didn't help that I was scanning my husband's family pictures when I found this poem today. It's a great reminder that even though these days are long and sometimes challening, they are also the good days, the sweet days. I'm cherishing every moment (almost!) and I hope I continue to do that!

A No "TV" Day

We are having something amazing happen in our home today. It's a no "tv" day with the kids. I didn't plan it . . . it's just happening.

I never wanted to be one of those moms who constantly plopped her kids in front of the TV. In fact I don't watch much TV. However the circumstances of my pregnancy led me to find lots of children's programs on Netflix streaming. I remember feeling terribly guilty during my early pregnancy for letting my daughter watch Dora episode after Dora episode but I could hardly help it.

I was unconscious for most of it. So exhausted on the couch that I hardly noticed she kept pushing the play button after every episode was over.

After the extreme nausea and exhaustion was over, we did better with the TV but still not great.

Then late pregnancy came. I hate the feeling of "how can I make it through the day with my two kids". The TV saved me when it came to those days - especially in the last few weeks. They at least were safe and not getting into anything.

Then we had a new baby. I was feeling better but still tired, etc. It's now 4:15 and they haven't watched a speck of TV today. It's nice.

I'm not saying that I'll be in this state every day. After all, it takes much more effort and creativity on my part but I love the progress we're making. I hear lots of playing and that's a wonderful thing!!

The after effects . . .

I am experiencing something wonderful. After my most difficult, painful, nauseating, tiring, etc, etc, etc, pregnancy to date (and I think we're done with all that), I am experiencing a new phenomenon!

I feel great!

Yes, I'm tired and yes, I have three kids 3 and under but physically, I feel great. I can finally carry out what my ambitious mind desires! :)

It's Tuesday at 2:00 pm in the afternoon and I have only one load of laundry left to do and one load of laundry left to fold for the week. The kitchen is clean and mopped and most of the other rooms are in decent shape. It's wonderful!

If I were sleeping all night (or more than 3 hours at a time) I think I would feel like flying! I certainly hope this feeling never goes away but I will probably slack off in time and get used to feeling good again.

But for now . . . can I get a "yeah" for not being pregnant?! Woo hoo!

1 month

Dear Noah (aka Noey - as your sis calls you),

You are one month old today. You are a joy to me! I have received some of your wonderful first smiles in the past few days and they thrill me to no end. Your daddy is so proud of you. Each day it seems he tells me something he's planning to do with you. I hope you like camping because I'm sure he'll be taking you as soon he can! Yesterday he told me that he plans to build a go-cart with you! Be warned! :)

Abigail can be in the most sour of moods but if she sees you, she instantly perks up and starts cooing in her motherly tone (hi baby Noah, hi little buddy). It's pretty cute.

Elsie doesn't know how long you're going to hang around but she does enjoy giving you "kisses" and exploring all the ways to upset mama by being rough with you. Her favorite is the good ole' eye poke! We're trying to keep her from totally beating you up before you can fight back!

We love you so much, Noah. Welcome to our family.

Love you my boy,

Mama

Growing

Andrew took this picture of me and Noah on May 29th.

My boy is growing and I so want time to slow down! I know I can't keep him small forever but I'd be okay if he stayed small longer! I am definitely having issues knowing that this is more than likely our last child. With the other two I'd try to get them to nap in their cribs, get stressed if they didn't sleep at night, and easily lose patience with the older ones if they took away time from the baby. Not this time. I am spending as much time with my precious baby as I can. I don't mind getting up multiple times at night because I get to see him.

I'm also making sure to be purposeful with my older two babies as well - what precious girls they are! I really thought I'd be terribly stressed with three but I feel so easy going and relaxed (not two words I would have EVER used to describe myself) that it's crazy.

Well, all kids are napping and I have clothes to fold so this post will be short but I just want to say that I'm definitely experiencing some baby bliss. My kids bring me such joy (and yes, stress too, of course) so I want time to slow down so I can enjoy their littleness!

Recovery

My recovery from giving birth seems to be going great. I have always claimed that it really takes 6 weeks for me to feel "normal" and in some aspects I'm still not quite there yet (sleep!! hello!!) but I'm very pleased with where I am.

I don't feel like I'm incapable of taking care of all three kids during the days and today I got quite a bit of cleaning and other housework done.

I credit a lot of my recovery to my husband to MADE me rest the first week after Noah was born and he (my husband) was home taking care of things. Then he encouraged me to rest a lot the second week when my family was here helping me (thanks family!!).

Sleep could be much better, though. For some reason, I like to torture myself by writing down the nights events in a little note pad beside my bed. It's because people will ask me how the night went (like my darling husband) and honestly I can be so sleep deprived that I can't remember! I've done this with each child so it's nice to look back and compare. :)

Here is Noah's schedule from last night:

9:30 pm Noah in bed
11:00 pm - Changed dirty diaper and nursed
11:30 pm - Up again - nursed
1:15 am - Changed dirty diaper and nursed
3:15 am - Nursed
4:30 am - Nursed
6:30 am - Nursed and decided to get up for the day before the girls woke up. (Probably why I was so productive today).

Whew - I'm tired.

To compound these frequenty wakings, I also could NOT fall asleep. I don't think I was asleep, or at least not for very long, until after his 1:15 am feeding. I've never had insomnia while a newborn was in my care. I've ALWAYS been able to sleep. Weird.

He's had a handful of good nights where I will only get up with him 3 times (2hrs 45 min is about the longest stretch yet). He is a good baby in that he will go back to sleep after I feed him, for a little while at least and he is great about sleeping in his crib. The girls both used a bouncy seat or swing for the first few weeks or months. He did sleep in the swing a bit last night but it was only for an hour so it didn't help him to sleep longer.

Okay, that's all for now. Hopefully I can report soon that he's stretched out to 3 or 4 hours of sleep. That would be great!

Finally Fixed!

My computer is finally fixed! Yeah! Thanks to my IT guy!! :)

We finally took some photos of the kids on Sunday. Abigail had a runny nose and Noah hadn't slept very well (at all) the night before so we all stayed home.

Here is one of the best ones!! Elsie had just scraped her knee that morning. Poor girl!


Noah Blake - taken with Andrew's phone! I think he looks so "boyish" but it I'm not sure how he'd look in pink! :)

And . . . I finally got a picture of some of the features of the birth center this time. This is the very tub where Noah was born and where I spent the intense part of my labor (where I thought I might die - ha ha!). I literally could picture the word - epidural - in my mind but I wouldn't allow my tongue to ask for it and I'm glad for that now.

I'll try to post more details of the birth and following days later but it's nap time. I have lots of thank you notes to write, a hungry baby, and a desperate need for a bath or shower! :) Ha!

Not my fault!

So the lack of blogging is not my fault!

My first hurtle is my computer. It really can crash at any moment. If it does, this won't be posted. The video card went bad around the time Noah was born. I cannot look at videos and pictures make it extra touchy. I promise I'll be back with both once this thing gets fixed.

My second hurtle is the fact I have 3 kids under 3. Monday was my first day home alone with them. It went fine, really. Eveyone is well cared for and alive but it's just hard. Wow! When Noah naps well, things go much better with the girls. Elsie has become very clingy on top of everything else and . . . I can't find my sling (would help an incredible amount!). I have learned in the last few days that my response to things can make or break a situation. If there is crying (which is most of the day) I just can't let it make me frustrated or everything spirals down!

Noah is still sleeping in 2 to 3 hour blocks (3 hours is a luxury that he usually doesn't quite make) so I'm pretty tired. I am actually considering letting Andrew give him a bottle (of breastmilk - of course) this weekend so maybe I can hit a deep sleep.

Speaking of Andrew . . .

Today is our 8 year anniversary!! I am really looking forward to having fondue (fundue as we call it) tonight. I love him so much and he has been the greatest support in the history of the WORLD these last three weeks. :)

Welcome Noah Blake!

I cannot believe he's been here a week and I haven't posted yet. I'm a bad blogger!

Noah Blake was born on May 10, 2011 at 10:59 am. He was born in a drug-free waterbirth at our wonderful birth center. I can't imagine ever having a child another way at this point.

He was 8 lbs 6 oz and 21.5 inches long.

He is doing wonderful and despite a few slight adjustment issues from the girls, we're all wonderful.

He's not the best sleeper. Last night was better with a few 2 hours stretches. The thing that helps the most is if he just goes back to sleep after waking up for a feeding. I'm hoping that this week brings about big changes in the sleeping department. One thing though, he's doing great sleeping by himself in his crib - which neither of the girls did well at first, so I think that's promising. He does sleep best next to mama! However Mama does not sleep best next to him so I try not to bring him into bed until the morning hours.

Our household is interesting now. Let me just say this, if you don't like the sound of babies crying, don't come around here. I've had several instances where all three were going at it. Three years ago my nerves would have been extremely frazzled by this but now . . . it's just how life is! We'll see if I'm this calm and steady in a few weeks.

I will post more about my thoughts, feelings, and hopefully a full-blown birth story before too long but for now I'm just soaking up a lot of newborn snuggles. I'm not really caring if he sleeps too much during the day or if I hold him too much. He may well be our last baby (sad!!) and I want to enjoy every precious moment!

Been There

I'm up again with contractions. This time they are a bit more regular. I'm still not sure we'll be heading to the hospital any time soon but we'll see how things play out. They may stop all together (they have before) so I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

Andrew is awake this time too - so I hope they're the real thing!!!

Oh What A Night!

Last night was CRAZY! I went upstairs to take a bath at 9:30 pm. I got out about 10 pm and went to bed. Since I had taken a nap during the day I struggled to fall asleep. Finally (I think) around 11:30 pm, I fell asleep.

Had some very mild cramps (which I'd had off and on all day) during that time. Woke at 1:00 am to a contraction so I used the potty and came back to bed. I had them on and off (just fairly mild ones) until 2:30 am or so. I was hungry then so I got up to walk a little and have a snack.

They never got very close together but I didn't fall back asleep until 4:00 am because the cramps kept me up. Andrew woke me at 5:15 am (I had moved rooms) to see what was going on. He was leaving for work.

I told him I thought today would be a good day for him to stay home (ha!) but he decided to go anyway and just come home early since I hadn't had any contractions after my last round of sleep.

Boy . . . today is going to be fun! I'm just hoping to keep my kids fed and alive. Nap time is around1 pm and Andrew should be home towards the end of that. My sister is still here but she has to leave this morning so I'll have help for a little while anyway.

We'll see what the day holds.

Mother

First of all, I'd like to say "Happy Mother's Day" to my own wonderful mother. I never realized how much to appreciate my mother until I had my own children. I remember thinking during the middle of the night, when Abigail was a newborn, how much I owed to my mother. Wow! What sacrifice and love she gave to me all those years.

I'd also like to take the time to recognize the two little "joys" in my life that have given me the blessing of motherhood. Yes they are lots and lots of joy and laughter!

These pictures were taken last Sunday.

Elsie Joy and Mama

Abigail Jennifer and Mama

Baby brother is also rather obvious in these pictures. No he has not yet decided to join us on the outside world as of this morning (I'm writing this at 7:35 am). He is definitely his own little person and that's okay. We're ready to meet him whenever!!

Questions?!

Okay, here are some answers to some frequently asked questions in my life:

1) What did the doctor say?

Well, to be quite honest, I don't see a doctor. I (generally speaking) see midwives. They usually don't "say" much at my appointments. They check 4 things at this point. Weight, blood pressure, belly measurement, and fetal heartrate. If those are all good, they usually don't "say" much to me but will ask if I have any questions. If I don't . . .that's it. They will never guess on what day you will deliver and yes they have "checked" me recently but I'm reading more and more how that is no indication of when a baby will arrive. I've now been 2 cm for 2 weeks. See?!

2) Any changes?

At this point of pregnancy, I hardly know what is a "change" and what is just a minor discomfort that will pass. As I look back on previous pregnancies and birth, I can see some signs leading up to the birth that I should have recognized but I didn't. That will probably be the case this time. I kind of expected to "know" more this time around except I forgot . . . each pregnancy is different!

3) How are you feeling?

My main response to this question is . . . tired. Let me explain. I went to bed last night at 9:30 pm. I was very uncomfortable. I had a head pushing down and some feet pushing up under my ribs, esophagus burning heartburn and pain in my back. I didn't fall asleep until 10:30. I woke at 11:30 pm to go to the potty. I didn't fall back asleep until around 12:15 am because of heartburn and being uncomfortable. I woke at 1:30 am to my husband getting up to go to the bathroom. I was awake from 1:30 am until after 4 am. During that time, I heard some strange noises come over the monitor. I discovered that a toy (which is a BIG NO NO in my book) had been left in Elsie's crib and she was sitting up playing with it. I got up and went downstairs and took it out of the crib and laid her back down again. Then around 4 am, Abigail started to cry . . . no wail . . . in her bed. I got up to see what was wrong. She told me she was hungry. Usually I do not give in to stuff like this in the night but I was oh. so. tired. and she was oh. so. pitiful. so I got her a snack. Back to bed. I slept until 6 am when my husband left for work. I got up to use the potty. Slept until 7:10 am when I heard Elsie get up for the day. That doesn't happen every night but it is a good indication of why I'm tired.

4) Are you having contractions?

Well, yes and no. If you've ever given birth or had contractions you know that if you're having the real thing you'll be heading for the hospital so if you see me walking around, I've probably not had any real contractions. I generally call the other pains you might feel at this point, cramps. Yes, I'm having those but honestly, I've had them on and off since January so it is no indication of when the baby might come (which is what I know everyone wants to know).

5) Induction?

I can't believe I'm actually answering this yet since I haven't even hit my due date but as a general rule my practice does not induce unless medically necessary. That probably means a fetus in distress or VERY high blood pressure. They will do everything possible to no induce because that is a scary road leading to bad things (in my world). The midwife at my last appointment mentioned some "natural" things to try. I told her I wanted to wait for my due date to try them because I believe he'll come when he's ready.

Also a note about induction, I will have the midwives check the babies measurements before trying any sort of natural or other induction. This pregnancy was a wonderful surprise but that also means that I am not nearly as sure about the timing of this one than I was with the other two. Birth control was messing up the timing of my cycle so my due date as always been measured by the baby's size.

6) Surprised?

I'm surprised by how much I can still do at this point. I thought I'd be laid up on the couch but I have all the laundry done (currently), beds are made, lunch dishes are put in the dishwasher, all the dishes are washed, etc. I have a few things that I'd like to do today and tomorrow - including cleaning the fridge and kitchen cabinets - and you know what, I may just get them done. I am trying to just do as much as I can when I feel good because I don't feel good all the time.

Okay, that's it. Hopefully that explains things better than I can do face to face.

Oh . . . one last thing . . . silence from me (on the blog, Facebook, no calls from me, etc.) means exactly that. . . nothing is happening. Someone (me or Andrew) will post or let people know when the event is happening or soon after.

Ah, it's nap time so I'm off to rest a bit.

39 week appointment

I had my 39 week appointment this morning (despite not actually being 39 weeks until tomorrow). Andrew took these pictures yesterday.


Stats:

• Still dialated about the same amount. She said 2 cm and 80% so almost 3. Funny midwife.



• I didn't ask about my blood pressure but they didn't say anything so I'm sure it was fine.



• My belly measured 40 weeks - like last week - but it was a different person measuring so that probably makes a little difference.



• No real significant contractions or pains.



• She said the baby is not engaged yet but with 2, 3, 4 babies, a lot of times they don't drop until actual labor has started. I never noticed my babies dropping before until I was in the birth center getting ready to have them so that makes sense.


• She is concerned that the baby is laying posterior (meaning facing forward with his spine against mine) and not anterior like he is supposed to be. This primarily just means that I would have back labor so she gave me a few exercises to do to try to get him to turn around. I have read that most babies will turn during the labor so I'm hoping for that!!

I'm hoping the rain will hold off so we can go on a family walk tonight. Maybe that will help things!

It is still possible to have a birthday baby, I guess, but I assumed I would be feeling more contractions by now if that were the case. I guess we'll see.

And . . . I accidentally uploaded this picture instead of the one of me above but it is so cute I had to keep it. This was Abigail on Easter Sunday! :)

Baby Baby - Thoughts at almost 39 weeks

I really thought I'd have a baby by now. I guess the main reason I feel that way is that I thought my children would progressively come earlier and earlier but I guess that reasoning is faulty.

Abigail was 3 days before her due date, Elsie 6 days before her due date, so I guess I sort of assumed this one might be 9 days before his due date. No such luck.

Oh well.

Despite being increasingly uncomfortable (I NEVER remember it being this bad before) there is no rush for him to get here.

The hardest part is taking care of the girls all day. I can do it. I just can't think about everything that has to be done in a day for them or I feel overwhelmed. I'm so thankful for Andrew and all the help he's been giving me - especially with them.

I have done everything mentally possible to prepare. You see, my husband thinks that my babies are born when something mentally changes for me (like Abigail being born just hours after I left work on maternity leave). I tend to disagree with this argument. I think the baby comes when he's ready and then the hormones start labor. It has little to do with me! :)

Anyway, for my own memories sake, here is a list of things that I thought might release me "mentally" to start labor: getting all the laundry done last week, cleaning both bathrooms, cleaning the kitchen, cleaning the living room (dusting and vacuuming included!!), eating spicy mexican food (it's happened several times with no luck), having Andrew take pictures of me in late pregnancy (with Elsie I went into labor the day after we did this), stayed out "late" to play a board game with family (went into labor with Abigail the day after we did this) - didn't work since I'm not in labor right now), etc. That's all I can think of right now.

Well, I have a midwife appointment today so I'm sure I will report back on that. I'm not technically 39 weeks until Tuesday . . . which also happens to be my birthday. I'd love to share my birthday with our little boy but I had hoped he would come before then so I could actually enjoy eating something or resting in relative comfort on that day. Oh well. I know it won't be forever.