It’s around 6 PM, and I finally just got a chance to shower for the day! LOL. I’m a bit overwhelmed at how different things seem now that our little one is home. It seems I had more energy and patience BEFORE his birth, even though I was 40+ weeks pregnant.

7:30 AM this morning brought our oldest son to our room, crawling up on the bed to catch a glimpse of his new brother. I tried my hardest not to correct every little thing he did, since he’s just really so excited his brother is here. But at 7:30 AM, I wasn’t too happy about being awake….

The baby only woke up twice to eat last night. If you recall, I’ve mentioned before that I’m not one of those that’s going to wake the baby up every two hours at night to nurse. Their little bodies know to catch up during the day – I learned this last baby, and he had the best weight gain of all my babies. So, 4 to 5 hour stretches at night only lead to 1.5 to 2 hour stretches during the day. I can live with that!

We have him a playpen in our room, since we didn’t know which room he (or she if different) would go in. I let him sleep in it the first part of the night, but when he woke up for his first feeding, he was really cold. I couldn’t resist placing him back in our bed and cuddling up close!! He doesn’t mind it one bit.

*Note to self… Read this in 6 months when wondering why the baby won’t sleep on his own….

Well, back to our day, we finally convinced biggest brother to go potty and play, so I could nurse the baby. Not too much after that baby brother woke up, then big sister. She came into our room, and headed straight for the playpen – only to find it empty.

She immediately was asking where the baby was, a little concerned that he was missing. It was sweet, especially since he was right there in front of her – next to me in the bed.

Dad did a great job getting the older 3 breakfast while I tried to pull myself out of bed. It was SO nice to be in my bed instead of the hospital one! It didn’t help that it was cool this morning… who can get out of a soft, warm bed on a cool morning? Plus, I was in summer pjs, since I’m a little feverish due to my milk coming in last night. I quickly found a pair of sweat pants!

I was right on with my milk. The OB had argued that it would be the 3rd day before it came in, when I had something to her that it would be last night. I’m not sure why, but my milk comes in usually within 36 to 40 hours.

I’ll admit that I don’t like meds, and did great without them in labor, but am a baby when it comes to this part of having a baby. So, I am taking 4 OTC ibuprobens every 8 hours – to help with pain and fever. I waited too late with the last baby and had to have stronger meds, and don’t want to get to that point again this time.

What was the rest of my day? Basically, holding the baby! I can’t believe (once again) how you can fall so deeply in love with such a little one so quickly! My eyes are always on him, fingers stroking his little face. Soft kisses on his head and fingers… (Two naps together today…)

I’ve also tried to take times to spend with the other children, but Daddy has really jumped in here in a big way! The older two had a couple of rough moments this morning, but I think it’s just due to all the changes, plus being away from home part of the time - at least from what they say.

They were able to stay with family only 10 to 15 minutes from the hospital during the day, then in their own beds that 1 night. DD keeps saying something about that, so a HUGE thank you to my parents for doing this – DD keeps saying today how much she wanted to sleep at home.

Dad and oldest son went grocery shopping while the rest of us napped this afternoon – our fridge, freezer, and pantry were nearly bare! We managed to eat through our stash of food BEFORE the baby came. I’m not sure how much convenience food we have, but maybe I’ll feel like getting back in the kitchen quickly, cause we have a lot of ‘cooking’ food. (AKA – real food)

I have noticed the baby gagging some – last night and today – and am hoping it’s not reflux like our other children. But I did have a slice of pizza for lunch at the hospital yesterday, then DH’s only option for dinner last night was frozen pizzas – so I had a lot of cheese yesterday. So from here on out, I’m on more of an alert for cheese.

We got the circumcision set up for next Thursday, and I’m just going to have to NOT think about that for now. I received a comment regarding this the other day, and plan on addressing this topic next week.

Okay, baby boy is occupying my thoughts now, all bundled up and asleep here with me. His first day home has gone very well. He woke up to sitting assisted (of course) in our bed, turning his head side to side with eyes wide open, taking in the strange room he was in. He is SO alert – always looking around, even looking to people talking – it’s hard to believe he was just born 2 days ago!

Yesterday at the hospital, maybe 30 hours after he was born, he was holding his head up off of my shoulder, looking around the room, then at his Daddy when he started talking. He’s so attentive, and I can’t help but think the lack of drugs helped with that.

He even got really still and quiet when I played the Bible verse songs for him today. I wrote these while pregnant with him, so he’s heard them his whole life, just never on the outside before. He made it through O before getting fussy – I think it was just too much for his little self to handle at one time.

Oh, he’s a little jaundice looking… let’s just say that they idea of leaving the cord attached didn’t work out. I’m really disappointed in that, since both of my other boys were jaundice babies. I’m trying to nurse whenever he seems hungry, plus we’re holding him in front of the windows – trying to keep it at bay. It’s too windy and cool to keep him out in the sun today.

Birth story and pics? I haven’t forgetten! We’ve just tried to work our way through the day today without too much drama.

A very much in love “Little Mommy”

Here’s a quick post to let you know that we welcomed a new baby boy into our family yesterday, April 15, 2009! We decided to come home early, leaving late this afternoon (after our all day quest for the perfect name to suit him). It was strange, being home LESS than 36 hours from delivery, but it’s so much nicer this way.

Now I wish we could’ve picked the name earlier so we could’ve had all afternoon at home! But names are a pretty big thing, so we chose carefully, letting Dad decide the final choice. All I can say is that it’s a Bible name. (Thank you in advance for any friends or family respecting the children’s privacy and not sharing a comment with any of our family’s names – from Dad and Mom)

I’ll be posting his story in segments – we’re tired and taking our time adjusting to all the changes. It’s interesting, I can tell you that for sure!! Til next time,

“Little Mommy”

I’ve now gone from “Nine Months or Less” to “Nine Months and More”. LOL. Surprisingly, I don’t feel miserable, but instead feel only 6 or 7 months pregnant. Yesterday was the first time I looked at my belly and really thought “Wow! This is getting big!”.

My original gut feeling was the baby would be 2 to 3 days early, or 3 to 4 days late (or was it the other way around? I don’t think it was…). Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14th would be that last day – so we’ll see if my prediction was right.

My weight guess was 7 lbs. 3 oz. to 7 lbs. 8 or 9 oz., but I’ve now changed that due to the lateness. I believe this will now be my first baby over 8 lbs., and my guess is between 8 lbs. 2 oz. to 8 lbs. 8 oz.

My family has all these number games they’ve tried to play – the birthdate being divisible by 3, or related to the number 12 somehow (though one of our children already messed that up).

I’m happy that all of the ‘not so great’ b’days are now passed, so it can pick whatever day it would like now. The baby won’t have to have a Friday the 13th b’day, or share the day with someone else – it will have it’s own special day! Of course, we’ll just be happy with them being here…

I’m getting a little bored now, since I’ve been ready for this little one for weeks now. I’m about to give up on shaving my legs every day – the nurses will just have to deal with it. Think about it, docs thought I was having the baby at 32 weeks, 6 days – so that’s 8.5 weeks now that I’ve been on alert!

So tonight, we pulled out the playpen and baby swing. Baby son had a rough time, since he thought it was all for him. We would say it was for the baby, but to him, HE is the baby.

He managed to figure out he could crawl up on our bed and climb over into the playpen – thankfully big brother started laughing, and I caught him just before he made it into the bassinet part. It’s not made for that much weight, plus, he’s still got a yucky nose.

Same with the swing, he wants to get in it SO bad!! I’m really beginning to see how busy I’m going to be once the baby comes. Not because of taking care of the baby, but keeping DS away from the baby and all of their ‘toys’.

I’m hoping that having it up for a day, or two or three, or another week…. that he will get used to things and not bother them anymore. At least until the baby comes and begins using them.

He was really sweet this morning, picking up big sister’s baby doll so carefully, and beginning to rock it back and forth in his arms. He had the proper holding position and everything! And for once he didn’t throw it to the ground when he was done. He and big sis began quite an argument/ yelling match over who was going to get to hold the baby doll.

Yep, it’s going to be PRETTY interesting around here for the first few days and weeks…. This poor baby will have to be locked into a room when I shower and such, just to protect it from very loving siblings.

I’m still hanging right around 143 to 143.5 – exactly 27 lbs. from my beginning weight, but 13 lbs. shy of what I normally weigh at delivery.

My cravings have turned to chocolate – ice cream sandwiches, Rolos (that hit me last week), Hershey’s Kisses. This is a boy sign, plus the fact that I’m ALL up front.

Girl signs – I don’t feel like they are about to fall out at any minute (for the entire pregnancy), and I’m carrying higher in general.

I can’t believe we still haven’t really discussed names, but we aren’t too concerned. Since each child gets named based on which name they look like, even if we had a name it could change once we saw them.

Hospital bag -

PJs (warm and cool)

Houseshoes (I can’t stand walking barefoot on strange floors and in bathrooms!)

Mid-pregnancy clothes for after baby is born. These would be clothes from when I was around 6 months, but also easy for nursing.

Snacks. Hospital food and snacks aren’t always the best. When I went in with the kidney stone, the milk they gave me for cereal was 8 days old!! Plus, don’t forget hubby will get hungry too!

We’ve taken books before, but found we really didn’t read them.

Shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairdryer, MAKEUP – you know, all of the necessities!

Oh, we haven’t packed a blank sheet of scrapbook paper!! What for? To have an extra set of hand and footprints, should I ever in a million years get a chance to scrapbook again. prednisone frequent urination

Don’t forget cameras and video cameras. Better NOT to ask for permission to video – you might be denied. Be sure you have charged and extra batteries. Thankfully, DH checked our batteries last night - since most of them were empty! They’d been packed so long that they had drained.

After birth care

If they offer ice packs, TAKE THEM!! This, along with warm soaks in the tub, will really help ease any pain – trust me!

Be sure to use a small amount of the Lansinoh they give you if nursing, and pay attention to how the baby latches on. While you might can stand an incorrect latch in the beginning, it will QUICKLY turn to major pain, bleeding, and scabbing.

I personally won’t follow the strict 3 hour schedule they’ll insist on. My last baby would nurse 4, 2, 2, 4 hours, or something like that. As long as they get in 8 to 12 feedings a day, are gaining weight, and wetting/ pooping enough – they are good!

We’ll be leaving the cord attached for at least an hour. The research I’ve found online has been really neat to read – the chances of jaundice are greatly reduced by leaving the cord on longer. Both of our boys had jaundice. All of our children took 5 to 6 weeks to lose their cord stump. I’m hoping by leaving this attached longer, it will shorten this time frame as the articles suggest.

Circumcision is something we do with our boys, only because God must’ve had some reason for it. While we understand it’s not law now, God seems to have the most awesome facts hidden behind His requests.

When done on the 8th day, Vitamin K levels are at their peak, which results in less bleeding. We’ve never waited that long, since that would require another trip to the hospial and huge copay, but it is something I’m interested in, especially since we’re not doing the Vit. K shot this time. In place of this, I’ve been taking Alfalfa the past few weeks.

When caring for this diaper issue, we found it easier to buy a tube of vaseline. We could then squirt it all around the ‘pecker’, coating it extra well so the diaper won’t stick – without having to touch it with our fingers or q-tips.

Hmm.. did I forget anything? I’m thinking some of you preggie moms that are due AFTER me will be having your BEFORE me now. Hopefully it will be soon… LMK if you have any questions you’d like addressed, and if I have time, I’d love to address them on the blog for other moms.

“Little Mommy”

Well, it’s 9:28 PM on April 10th, 2009, and I’m pretty confident at this point that the baby will NOT come on it’s due date!

The end of each pregnancy leaves me torn, because I really do love being pregnant. There’s nothing to describe how wonderful and close you feel to your baby during pregnancy. It’s the only time in the world that it’s really just you and them. No one else can share in this, it’s a special bond – a gift of motherhood that is such a blessing!

I love feeling all the movements and trying to figure out which body part it is that is playing with me. I love the feel of hiccups in my belly. This baby hasn’t given me too much of either, at least not comparable to my other children. But still, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the ‘play’ times we have had.

I love the rounded belly, the funny walk, the smiles you get from others when they notice your belly. I love having my children and husband being able to feel the kicks and hiccups too, and listen to the heartbeat.

I love knowing that God has created a wonderful gift – He has blessed our marriage with something that can’t be compared to. Here is a gift, from our obedience to ‘be fruitful and multiply’, part of me and part of my husband.

I love the mystery of not knowing if it’s a boy or girl. I love the anticipation of seeing it in those first moments – holding it close, calming it’s cries, holding those tiny little fingers! I love it all!

I really thought I was in labor Wednesday night/ Thursday morning – and that we would have a baby by 7:30 AM. (Don’t ask why I picked that time…)

We got to bed around 11, but it was 1 AM before I was able to fall asleep – even in my exhausted state (and knowing I had an OB appt. the next morning). My heart seemed to be racing, but I really wasn’t having any contractions.

2:30 AM – Awake again. This time I WAS having contractions. They were very strong, and every 10 to 15 minutes. I laid in bed until 3:40, at which point I was really thinking that Thursday was ‘the day’. I kept telling myself to let them get closer together, at least 8 minutes, and then get up and shower.

That never happened, and I was getting more and more frustrated at my 1.5 hours of sleep so far into the night. So I gave up on the bed and moved to the couch. Around 4 I finally fell asleep again, with only occassional contractions.

I woke up at 6, hearing DH in the bathroom getting ready for work. Okay, so now I had 3.5 hours of sleep, better than before. Our youngest (20 months now) woke up at 6:36, when DH left, but when I went to get him up, he was back asleep. So I managed to get back in my own bed for about 45 more minutes of sleep before the baby woke up again for good.

Yeah, 4. 5 hours of sleep +/- isn’t so good for a very pregnant momma. Not to mention that now the contractions had stopped completely! I was so disappointed. Maybe it was all just the excitement of showing our house Wed. afternoon… or all the cleaning I had to do! Thankfully, DH is the best, and surprised me Wed. by coming home an hour early to help me finish cleaning! I couldn’t have done it had he not helped (since we have 3 little ones that do the OPPOSITE of helping sometimes).

At my visit Thursday, she told me I was close to 3.5 cm now, still not effacing much. Of course, she had to throw in the whole induction thing… I’ve learned by this point that this is NOT the way to go unless there’s a medical necessity.

Those sonograms aren’t 100% accurate on a due date. God knows when the baby is ready! There’s apparently some reason that He still has it ‘perkin’. Plus, I’ve been okay with it all week, since all 3 children seemed to have caught some really bad cold last week – very icky noses and coughs! I really wanted to get everyone healthy and well, so they could all see and hold the baby.

Part of me does question if the mag they put me on at 33 weeks does indeed slow down going into labor. An OB with my 1st child told me that, but then the nurses this go round said that NO it didn’t. Either way, I’m not interested in pumping modern day drugs into my body or my baby’s!

I’ve been amazed at how little research is actually done on modern day medicines, by doctors that is. Twice in this pregnancy they have prescribed me meds that are NOT even tested on pregnant women because of the risks! But not one dr. told me there were risks at all! The first time, as you might recall, the pharmacist warned me.

The second time, with the kidney stone, I had wised up to this group, and questioned the pharmacist before we even went to pick it up. Both times, it was a matter of risk vs. benefit – but the docs never gave me the option of making that decision.

I highly recommend doing your own Google searches, you’ll find out all kinds of information CONTRADICTING taking a lot of the things docs and nurses try to force on you. I am pretty much convinced that drs. today only care about getting as many people in and out as quickly as they can, and making the most money that they can.

Drug companies giving them money to promote their medicines. Inductions bringing in more money than normal labors. Then when inductions get stalled because the mom or baby one isn’t really ready – they have to add in more procedures = more risks, more threat to mom and baby, higher chance of intervention via forceps, suction, or c-section = more money!

Yep, drs. are SO out of the world they should be in. I really felt as if my OB was telling me the other day that I was putting her out if I even hinted at her delivering me, should she not be on call one weekend. That wasn’t what I was asking her, but she went on for probably 5 minutes about her life and family.

I was simply asking how I could have my records sent to another hospital, should a dr. be on call that I didn’t like. Simple question in my opinion.

I DO understand where she’s coming from, I don’t like DH working weekend rotations at all! But in her field, I believe being there for a patient that has trusted you to take care of her and baby just comes with the job. If an OB can’t handle it, they have either too many patients, or they are in the wrong field.

I so wish we weren’t in Alabama, where midwives and birthing centers aren’t legalized. I would love to have a home birth, and still haven’t ruled it out this time. We have a swimming pool we can blow up in the living room! If it wasn’t for the known genetic heart problem each child faces, I wouldn’t hesitate – at all.

But on that note, my OB told me that heart problems aren’t usually heard in the first few days anyway. That’s why you go back to the pediatrician within days of coming home. Hmm… she didn’t know that was my main reason for the hospital… There still would be the chance of a completely blocked valve, or almost closed, that would be noticed and require emergency surgery.

Well, the weekend is now officially here, so I’m hoping the Lord has just been holding off to allow DH to be home when labor starts, and family to be off to help with the children. I’m really hoping it’ll be a Resurrection Sunday baby!

The only OB in the group I really like is on call this weekend. He’s the one that said I could labor on my head – ha!! He’s on call til Monday at 7 AM, then he’s out the rest of the week. We’ll see – keep us in your prayers, and unless it’s still not here by the end of the week, you won’t see any posts. I’ll be focusing my attention elsewhere the next few days, but will still be popping in on Facebook (Mrs. Candace). If I DO have the baby, that’ll be where you’ll hear it first anyway.

Praying you have a blessed Resurrection Sunday!

“Little Mommy”

PS – Thank you to those that have taken the time to comment and/ or send an email, I’ve loved hearing from you and have really appreciated it! In case I don’t have it available on here, my email is Candace @ Sonbeams.com or Candace @ HeavenInOurHomes.com – both without spaces.

I’d be happy to reply with updates for those wanting to know ‘what’s going on??”

Ha – We showed our house this afternoon, and the couple knew upfront that I am expecting this baby at any time. It was so funny, the wife had asked the husband to call before they came, just to be sure we weren’t at the hospital. She knew that I might would forget to call in a mad rush out the door. I assured her, I had her number on the counter to call before we left…

But when they entered the front door, one of them said to the other – “Yep, she’s still perkin’”. TOO FUNNY!

The showing went very well, they seemed very interested. Of course, no matter the outcome, we are at peace – we know Who will sell our home!

Baby update, not too many contractions today. Baby looks really high in my stomach. We took pics this afternoon, but haven’t loaded them. I have my next OB appt. tomorrow – will post results when I get back (from the visit or the hospital!!).

“Little Mommy”

Well, another day down, 3 to go…. or will it be? I personally think it will wait until Friday, my due date, or the early part of next week.

I’ve been forewarned by my friend, Sunny, that she has had a dream about it all – and here’s what it is:

Our baby will be born on April 8th, tomorrow, and will be a boy. He will have a dark complexion, lots of dark hair, and be small. He’ll be born before late evening, since that’s when they came to see him at the hospital. She also told me what we named him, but I’m keeping that under tabs.

More info??  Well, that’s what I’d like too! Thanks Sunny for having an incomplete dream (sarcastic tone here). What time was he born? Which hospital did we end up at? HOW WAS THE LABOR??

Guess I’ll have to wait and see, but boy, now I’m gonna be nervous all day tomorrow….

He’s (or she’s) really been getting tight in there the past week – I can finally feel some body parts bulging out when they move. I’m getting so excited about meeting and lovin’ on this little one!!!!

I just finished looking at one of my reader’s baby pics (thanks for sharing the link Amanda), and OH – I SO have the baby bug!! Newborns are so sweet to see, hold, and kiss on – and I can’t wait til we get our chance with this little one!!!

We’re waiting (yes, you in here), you have LOTS of loved ones waiting to meet you!

“Little Mommy”

Note – I’ll go ahead and say, this post is ALL over the place – just bear with me.

I’m sitting here, watching my three little ones playing blocks, and wondering, “Where did the time go?”. I can remember so clearly when each of them was a newborn baby, then how each one accepted their new baby sibling.

And now, here we are, about to welcome yet another baby to our family. I’m somewhat sad that ‘my baby’ won’t be ‘my baby’ anymore. I’ll quickly admit to babying him more than I did the other two. I’m not sure if it was due to having a miscarriage before him, or just that I was in the midst of a lot of stress – and clinging to him helped calm me.

Either way, I don’t regret doing things a little different with him. He was our first to sleep regularly in our bed. Mainly because his reflux was so bad, I was afraid I wouldn’t hear him choking in his own bed – and I’d often have to grab him up quickly to help him breathe clearly. That is, when I wasn’t having to hold him asleep upright on the couch – simply so the pain wouldn’t cause him to scream.

I know this time go round things that I can do to prevent this. I’m no longer on cow’s milk, so the switch to goat’s milk isn’t a problem. I DO consume a lot of cheese again, so this will take some adjusting to – pizza, lasagna, ice cream, chicken alfredo….

I’m hoping that I’ll start to work up a taste for some red meat again – to give a little variety to our diet. We used to find some great deals on steaks and roasts – and these would usually allow for leftover meals.

I’ve really been taking it much easier the past few days, more because I’m exhausted than anything else. Contractions, plus having to potty every 1.5 hours, all through the night doesn’t allow for much sleep. So, I’m closing my eyes here and there throughout the morning PLUS taking an afternoon nap. It’s almost like the 1st trimester all over again – ha!! But as soon as I can get the younger two asleep, I’m out too!

It’s almost bittersweet rocking my ‘baby’ to sleep now. I’ve so enjoyed this one on one time with him. I decided with my first that I wasn’t going to allow some book tell me how bad it would be to rock my baby to sleep. Since we are never guaranteed another breath, I decided then to enjoy each moment that God gave me with my babies.

Yes, it did make for some difficult sleep times here and there, but it doesn’t come close to the wonderful closeness I felt holding my babies close, listening to the gentle rhythm of them breathing.

I realize that my time with the ‘baby’ is nearing the end. Each ‘baby’ has somehow grown up overnight with each new arrival. I don’t necessarily want them to, they just do. They even look older! How sweet it was to rock him to sleep today, then hold him an extra 10 to 15 minutes. He’s so pitiful right now, as he caught a really bad cold last week.

Yesterday was really bad for the little guy, who will be 20 months this week. He can’t breathe – AT ALL – and kept pointing to his nose and making the most pitiful “nose” sound and pointing to it. Then he’d try his hardest to get air moving through there…

The rest of us are on garlic pills, trying to get better before the baby. Yep, I’ve even come down with a touch of it, even flirting with a sore throat. We’ve avoided the outdoors for the most part the past few weeks, since the pollen here in the South has been really bad lately.

Oh, on another note, DD keeps asking if it’s still April – afraid it’s come and gone and we’ve missed the baby coming. She really is bothered about this when she asks each day!

She was apparently coughing Saturday morning at breakfast, at least that’s what she told me. I’d told them to keep their hands away from their noses and mouths, that they couldn’t hold the baby if they were sick. Well, that must’ve been in her mind, because she told me she was coughing (as seriously as she could), but “I still want to see the baby” (as sweetly as she could).

Oh, they are amazing, and I’m so glad that we have trusted the Lord to plan our family – for EACH member is such a blessing! The older two are inseparatable (is that spelled right?), and I’m hoping this baby will become great buddies with our ‘baby’, or at least give him one sibling to play with.

At the moment, he’s always breaking and tearing up what the older two try to do, so he’s left out a good bit. He doesn’t seem to mind most of the time, for often he can be found playing quietly and contently in a room all by himself. It’s kinda sad, but then I think that it’s probably good that he can occupy himself, so I let him play. (This being the child that we thought would NEVER do anything by themself!)

I wonder, how will life change over the next week or two? Quite a bit I’m sure – but in what ways I have no clue. We’ve been pretty relaxed, taking each moment and day as it comes, so I don’t think things will be rocked up too much.

I plan on continuing what I’ve done for years – taking the phone off the hook while we nap ( I need those naps too! ), and putting a sign on the door that we’re napping (the mailman or UPS has woke me up WAY too many times!). While we don’t stick to a strict schedule, we do plan visitors and trips around the baby just a little.

For me, I’ve learned it’s easier to stick with what we are used to, then mess it up and have fussy children and a fussy momma the next couple of days. Some might adjust well to adding flexibility for the sake of others (family/ friends), but honestly – I don’t.

I’ve had to realize it’s not the end of the world if I’m different than someone else might be – we have to do what works for us. FYI new moms – you do need to pay attention to this somewhat…. stress will REALLY affect your milk supply. I would dry up completely with our first when I was under a lot of stress. DH was great about it, realizing that I couldn’t help it, and was as helpful as he could be (even though it meant people getting upset with him at times).

Just remember, YOU’VE just had a baby – for once, rest and take care of yourself. It will speed your recovery, and make those first few days/ weeks much more enjoyable!

Any thoughts from other veteran moms out there?

“Little Mommy”

This was a VERY yummy giveaway, and I can’t believe you all weren’t knocking down the comment door to win!! One ‘blessed’ lady will soon be enjoying some very scrumptious chocolate!! Thank you so much to Kristen for sponsoring this contest! Check out her site at the link below (Just use caution if you’re hungry or pregnant – ha!)

Giveaway: $20 Gift Certificate

Offered by: Dove Chocolate Discoveries

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

3

Timestamp: 2009-04-05 17:16:14 UTC

Oooh, Sunny, you are the winner! Now I just need you to send Kristen my

your address. Congratulations!

Wow – it’s always impressive when I make it this far, since I usually am 3 to 4 cm by now. I am happy to report that the baby is no longer SO low. There were a couple of nights that were very uncomfortable due to the head PRYING my bones apart (or so it felt like).

I’m sad to say that I’ve been one grumpy mommy the past couple of days though, having to apologize to my children for my ‘explosions’. It’s not been like me to get so edgy about every little thing, so this has been hard on them and me.

They just want to play, read, and do crafts…. they ARE children after all. I just want to sit in peace and quiet, maybe taking a couple hours of sleep during the day….

I am excited that my parents are welcoming them tomorrow for some play time at their house – the kids are excited too! I guess I’ll finish getting our tax info together – not sure why I’ve procrastinated this long since we’re getting a refund.

I’m also hoping to pick up the ‘only slightly messy house’, do some laundry, and have some quiet down time with DH. Of course, he has plans to cut the grass, clean the fish water (they are getting sick and beginning to die), and probably a few other things I can’t remember.

It’s just one of those times I need to just be held, know what I mean? Just to sit quietly in his arms – feeling the strength, knowing he will be right there with and for me. This has been the BEST thing he’s done for me at times over the past few years when I get stressed.

There was a song he chose for our wedding “I Will Be Here”, and I always am reminded of the part that says “I will be here, you can cry on my shoulder” – I need him for that when I’m tired and weak. Isn’t God great to give us husbands for this!

He’ll agree, he wasn’t always like that in the beginning of our marriage (he just didn’t understand females and our differences very much then), but God has done such a great work in his heart – and he has been much more of the servant in our relationship. He inspires me, and I so want to be more like him – because he is so much like Him (God) now in our marriage. So hubby, if you ever read this blog, you are such a blessing to me and I’m so grateful for you!!

With one week to go, I’ve gained around 27 lbs. approximately. It’s funny that some large t-shirts of hubby’s still hide the baby, making it hard to notice I’m pregnant (from the front). DH says it’s VERY obvious from the side… thanks??

I took a lot of the afternoon making calls to hospitals, trying to find one that I could go to should I go into labor over the weekend. I know for sure the dr. on call at my hospital is the one that gave me such a hard time with the kidney stone and not wanting me to bother her over the weekend needing pain medicine (since we didn’t talk about it when I was discharged).

My previous hospital was an option, but the dr. on call with my old group there is the one that I mentally link to my miscarriage two years ago. He’s also the on call dr. for patients admitted without a dr. So, I called another practice that a friend uses.

That group wasn’t on call this weekend, so they gave me the number of the group covering them. Well, they closed at 12, and it was close to 2. UGGHHH – this is NOT the weekend to have a baby anywhere near the B’ham area!

Two other hospitals came to mind, one I knew of has a high staph infection rate. I found out the other one has the HIGHEST staph rate, info from someone that works with a lawyer and sees many cases from this one.

I thought I was out of options, and almost excitedly was prepared to blow up the swimming pool in the garage and have no choice but a home birth.

I guess DH has rubbed off on me a little… While I wouldn’t be concerned for myself, I wouldn’t ever forgive myself if the baby had a problem that needed medical attention and I wasn’t in a place to give it to them. See, our first born has a rare combination of heart problems – that thankfully aren’t causing any issues for him currently.

But when he was an infant, they were very concerned, and even had us preparing for surgery one particular visit if things didn’t improve. Thankfully, God improved them, and we never had to go there. Even the surgery was very risky for him, the risks causing more problems that would completely block the valve to his lungs – which would mean emergency open heart surgery.

SO, since they feel this is something genetic, DH has always been strong on hospital births – and I can agree with him on this. I feel more comfortable having emergency medical care should a new baby have this condition, but on a worse scale – needing immediate attention and/or surgery.

I myself am thinking this is a small baby, probably 7 lbs. 2 oz. to 7 lbs. 9 oz.  – strange huh? I’m actually looking forward to the more natural AFTER birth plan, keeping the cord attached that first hour. There’s so much I’ve learned reading about this!

I even came across one method called “Lotus Birth”, where you don’t cut the cord at all – leaving it in place until it falls off. I’m not there yet, I just can’t imagine having the placenta RIGHT there for 3 to 4 days – yuck!

I still have yet to order the bamboo sling I wrote about a while back, as well as the final cloth diaper supplies. Anyone want to buy some products from me to help out?? Ha! Really – I do have some neat items on one of the pages on the left sidebar – I have each of these myself and will be doing postings/ reviews on them in the future. (Only because I myself would recommend them)

We remembered to pack batteries for the cameras, charger for the phone, the address/ phone book and calling card. I still have to get together the cd’s to take – some instrumental hymn/ praise cd’s as well as the Bible verse song CD I wrote. I need the instrumental to relax me, and want the Bible verses to begin putting God’s Word in this little one’s heart straight from the beginning!

Remember, you still have a little time to join me on Facebook (Mrs. Candace)! You have to be approved, so just comment that you read this blog. I won’t be able to approve anyone once I go into the hospital. My friend, Sunny, will post the baby announcement on my wall – so look for it!

“Little Mommy”