Yoo-Hoo! I'm Over Here Now!

The new and improved Anxious for Nothing!

A Long-Overdue Update

My littlest one (who still doesn't have a blog pseudonym yet) is 9 weeks old now, and she is such a delight. She's very smiley and loves to people watch. She's starting to reach for interesting things, such as a toy or Papa's beard.

This is probably the last year before I start officially homeschooling D.L.F. Right now he and Cupcake spend their days reading, playing educational computer games, listening to music, playing with Duplos and other toys, playing outside, and going places with T or me. D.L.F. reads very well, and he sometimes likes to just sit and read a book by himself. I can't really take the credit--he pretty much taught himself to read by playing Starfall and watching Leapfrog videos.

Our garden is still producing tomatoes. Everything else has gone to seed. After the tomatoes are done, I'm going to pull everything out and plant some lettuce and spinach for a fall crop. It drives me nuts to have to pay a dollar (or more) a head for lettuce at the store, now that I know how nice it can be just to walk outside and pick whatever I need for a salad or sandwich. And home-grown lettuce tastes better, too.

My back is almost back to normal now. During my most recent pregnancy, I had constant, debilitating pain in my lower back that got worse with any kind of exercise. I put up with it, figuring it would go away after the baby was born, but it didn't, so I found a chiropractor, and he has really helped a lot. I've been doing Leslie Sansone walking videos to try to get back in shape. Three kids in four years does a number on one's body.

I'm excited about a year-long women's inductive Bible study I've joined. We'll be studying the life of Jesus. It meets once a week at a large church, and there are classes for children during the study. D.L.F. and Cupcake love to go to their classes and do art projects and play with new toys. Once a month at the same church, I go to a mom's group. A lot of my friends from my (small) church attend the Bible study and mom's group, too, so it's great to have time to fellowship with them.

T and I just started teaching Junior High Sunday School at our church. Neither of us have ever worked with Junior Highers before, so it's a whole new experience and we definitely need the Lord's help to know what to do!

I was a bridesmaid in my good friend's wedding this past weekend. I took Baby with me, since she's nursing. It was challenging trying to do the necessary bridesmaidly preparations while feeding and otherwise caring for an infant, not to mention the late-night rainy driving (T and the kids stayed home this time...normally he spoils me by doing all the driving on long trips so I can read or snooze), but it was totally worth it. My friend was truly a radiant, happy bride, and I'm very excited for her as she starts life together with her new husband.

T has been home sick for a few days with a bad cold. Hopefully, he'll keep it to himself. :-)

I haven't been doing much else. Obviously, taking care of three little kids takes up most of my time. Everyone tells me this stage of life will go by so fast, and I believe it. "The days are long, but the years are short."

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Baby Dear

 

Baby Girl's Birth Story

 

I woke up on Sunday morning, July 18, 2010, when my 2-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son climbed onto my bed around 6:30 AM and began chattering and bouncing around as usual. After several minutes, they got down and went to play in another room, and as I lay in bed, I realized I was having light contractions, about 12-15 minutes apart. At exactly 42 weeks pregnant, I was ecstatic to finally have some indication that labor was beginning.

We considered staying home from church, but I finally convinced T that I would rather be doing something than just sitting around waiting for contractions to get stronger. After church, we went home, had leftovers for lunch, and put the kids down for naps. My mom picked me up at 1:40 to take me to a joint baby shower at church for another 3rd-time mama and me. My contractions started getting stronger and closer together during the shower. During the prayer time at the end, they were coming about 8 minutes apart and making me perspire and curl my toes!

As Mom was driving me back home after the shower, around 4 PM, I called my midwives and let them know I was ready to come to the birth center. We agreed to meet there at 5:30. I called T and let him know the plans. He was running errands with the kids, but he came home quickly and loaded our things into the van.

I had two contractions on the ride to the birth center and one more as I stepped out of the van; they were uncomfortable, but not at all as intense as our last hurried trip to the birth center when I was already in transition before giving birth to our 2-year-old.

We checked into the birth center at 5:40. I had planned to give birth to this child in the same room we'd used with our other two children, but that room was occupied, so we were shown to a very nice, large room with an extra-deep birth tub.

At this point, I was 4 cm dilated and very effaced.

My midwives made me a turkey sandwich, and after I ate it, T and I decided to go for a walk. It was a perfect summer evening, about 70 degrees with clear blue skies. Once T and I started walking around 6:15, my contractions immediately became much more intense and came every 2-3 minutes, lasting about a minute each. We would walk a block or so, then I would stop and lean on T for support, then we would resume walking until the next contraction.

We returned to the birth center at 7:15. I laid on my side on the bed to try to catch what little rest I could between contractions. I remember having one insanely strong one and saying to my midwives and T, “It won't stop! Why is this contraction going on forever?” They assured me that it was because our baby would be born very soon.

My water broke at 8:07, and I sat on the birth stool at 8:08. After 6 minutes of very intense pushing, our daughter was born at 8:14 PM, weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces, and measuring 20 inches long with a 13 ½ inch head. I birthed the placenta at 8:27 and T cut the cord at 8:30.

We had planned to go home after a few hours, but we ended up staying overnight at the birth center because Baby Girl's breathing was a little fast. We arrived home around 1:30 PM the next day and introduced Baby Girl to her brother, sister, grandma, and grandpa. Baby Girl is doing great, and we're so thankful for her.

It's a Girl!

Born Sunday, July 18, at 8:14 PM. 9 pounds, 2 ounces, 20 inches long. Birth story to follow....

Still No News

Just in case you were wondering.

Birth Stories (Only Two So Far!)

Still no baby. I've just been reading D.L.F.'s and Cupcake's birth stories to remind myself of what lies ahead....

Baby's Due Date...

...is tomorrow. No signs of labor at all, though. I have a feeling he or she is quite cozy and will still be in there for a while.

The kids are looking forward to their new sibling, although we've been talking about "the baby" for so long, it's probably hard for them to understand that they really, truly are going to have a brother or sister soon. Whenever we mention the baby to Cupcake, she says, "I will give the baby hugs and give the baby kisses and play with the baby!"

We're planning to have the baby at the same birth center where D.L.F. and Cupcake were born. I'm hoping I'll get there in time to take advantage of the big birth tubs. D.L.F. was born in the water, but my labor with Cupcake was so fast that the midwives didn't even have time to fill up the birth tub before Cupcake was born!

Rose Garden