Hi!! Okay, I’m a little excited today - recently returning from my OB visit. I’m not sure if I mentioned on here or Facebook, but I was hoping I’d be over the 1.5 cm today - especially after enduring all those contractions the other night!

I was! I’m now at 3 cm, still only 25% effaced - which the dr. said would be about right for the later babies (more than one). Although they don’t know ‘anything’, she doesn’t seem to think that I will make it back for next week’s visit!

I guess her excitement was rubbing off on me…. How neat to think this little one could be here anytime now!

I’ve been having contractions, usually 2 or 3 an hour, sometimes more. Mainly after a lot of physical effort - walking, bending over cleaning, laundry, etc…

Now I’m thinking I’ll be busier than ever, since I can now see the end really is near. I guess in the back of my mind it was going to be another month or so - ha!

So, from here on out, if you don’t have a post or new entries on Facebook (or Twitter - yep, I’m trying that out as MrsCandace), just assume I’m having the baby! I have a friend that will be posting when the baby is born on FB, so keep your eyes open….

Now, back to work!

Oh, funny note - when checking, she was SO funny - ‘Oh! There’s it’s head!’, or was it “It’s head is right here!”??

Either way, she didn’t have to tell me that…. trust me, I KNOW it’s head is right there! Can’t wait to have that tailbone pressure relieved and be able to sleep again… oh right, no sleeping, but at least I’ll be more comfortable.

“Little Mommy”

Alright, the short and sweet version of it (since Word Press just decided to delete the ENTIRE post I made) - I missed taking pics on Friday, my 38 week mark. So here’s some taken this morning before church.

I’m still thinking I’m mainly ‘just in front’ - which is boy, but everything else is telling me girl. I just can’t believe that I really don’t know! Well, I think I know, but don’t want to say in case I’m wrong….

I’m not feeling the baby move much at all anymore, and am hoping it’s just because it’s getting tight in there. I’ll be sharing this concern with the OB on Tuesday, but am pretty certain this particular dr. will shrug it off. I’m really having to trust that God is watching over the both of us!

Oh - did I happen to mention that my blood clotting test came back negative?!! Praise the Lord! I’ve tested positive for the past 5 or 6 years, so this has been a great blessing!

Not my favorite pose, but needed a front view, so this little one could one day see how NOT 9 months pregnant I look! I’m thinking the black skirt above my belly is the only thing that makes stand out.

I couldn’t leave without sharing big brothers and big sister! Come soon baby, we’re ready for you!!

PS - Note the late posting of the contest winner today? I slept for nearly 3 hours this afternoon!! I’m wondering if God put me to sleep cause I’m having the baby tonight? Nah, but it did cross my mind.

DD did that - labor beginning around 8 that evening, with her born around 12:30 AM. We didn’t sleep much that night, but never really felt the effects - we were so excited!!

Well, from EARLY on in the morning - I’m guessing 2 or 3 - I had contractions. A LOT of contractions! I would sleep for maybe an hour to an hour and a half, only to wake up to hard/ strong contractions every 3 to 5 minutes.

Since they were so close together, I’d be awake for 20 to 30 minutes, trying to time them, and decide if I should get up and showered to go to the hospital. Yeah, they were that intense.

Sad to report (ha), they ended around 6:30 or 7 this morning, only to have them occassionally throughout the morning. Maybe it was just a lying down thing… I would roll side to side, which would make them stop for literally a second, then another would start up again.

I decided in my VERY sleepy state that since I wasn’t dying in pain, the baby wasn’t coming within that next hour - so I’d go back to sleep. Probably NOT something I should recommend to new moms…. At one point, just before they ended at 6:30, it crossed my mind that maybe I should get up and go in. What if for some reason the baby was stuck, and at some point became too stressed? That’s something to keep in mind - my mind just wasn’t very clear during ’sleeping hours’.

The past week has had me thinking how great it’ll be once the baby is here, so I can finally begin to sleep at night again! Then I remembered - Oh yeah, I won’t be able to sleep, I’ll be feeding a baby every 2.5 to 3.5 hours round the clock. Oh well!

I’ll probably end up doing what I did with my last - having DH bring the baby to our bed, and nurse while sleeping. While this isn’t really recommended, I have to say I feel it’s safer than nursing the baby on the couch, then waking up and 1.5 hours later have the baby STILL nursing, amazingly NOT in the floor!

Yep, that happened more than once last baby before I finally transferred to bed feedings.

Anyways, I thought that I’d have BIG news to share today, but God seems to be growing this little one a little more. If by some chance it DOES come soon, please be patient with my announcing winners on the contests…. Such as my late posting today - DH let me sleep in since I didn’t sleep last night. (Isn’t he sweet!)

“Little Mommy”

Alright, as promised - a HAPPY update! (Sorry for any panic on the title of my last post….)

I’m very blessed to say that I still have a little one moving around in here, even if I’d prefer it move a LOT more! I’m almost afraid to say that it seems this will be an easy baby. It’s so content, I haven’t felt it move TONS but maybe a couple of times the entire pregnancy.

I meant to take a picture today, but only managed to dress up the upper half of me - I slipped back into pj shorts after my shower….. Never dried my hair (nap was more important!), never put on makeup. There was NO way in the world that I was posing for a pic this evening - even if I didn’t share it online.

I’m not sure if I mentioned after my visit this past Monday, but I had gained 2 lbs. It hit me tonight that it’s all the extra treats I’ve been allowing myself. Even my children are expecting dessert each evening after dinner.

My appetite is decreasing a good bit. It was 7 tonight when DH asked about dinner…. what we were going to have. My one thought - spaghetti - was out since we didn’t have any meat left in the freezer, and that’s the only way my 2 boys will eat it, with the ground turkey meat. I myself am a plain Ragu gal, even picking out the onions.

We ended up with Arby’s roast beef (love those $1.99 coupons), 3 milkshakes (99 cents each), and a curly fry. Yep, cookies, sherbet, and milkshakes ‘might’ be part of the reason I gained 2 lbs. in a week and a half….

I still have yet to order newborn diapers/ prefolds - I’m waiting for money to ‘appear’ - ha!! We do have a small stash of disposables, so we’re good for a couple of weeks at least.

I have started my letter to this baby, and will hopefully have time to finish it up this weekend. Today begins the 2 week countdown - so I’m getting excited and nervous at the same time!

I’m struck by the ‘bad’ side of me - two times this week…

1) Tonight - I had called my brother and SIL on their cells. Neither one answered, and I didn’t leave a message since it wasn’t important. HA - they noticed this later and thought I had gone into labor and they missed something (sorry guys - it’s funny on this end).

and

2) While it’s been fun not finding out the gender ourselves, it’s just as fun (if not more so) to see how it’s affected my family! I really do feel bad for my children, since they are so sweet in wanting to know what it is, but it’s especially the most fun with my grandmother. (Don’t tell her I said that!!)

She tried to guilt trip me - “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me!” Now, she didn’t have ultrasounds with her children, OR grandchildren! Surely she can endure 9 months now. ;P

I’m actually considering finding out next time (if God chooses to give us another family member), and NOT tell anyone. Wouldn’t that be so much fun - or am I really that bad?? LOL

Well, there’s really nothing else to update, except that we are so ready to welcome this little one to our family! We’ll probably be the same with names as we were last time - naming him the morning we came home (3 days old). All we know is that one of the names will be a Bible name - but haven’t even gone all the way through the book this time.

I guess we know it doesn’t matter for us. The name we had picked as our 1st choice for our 1st child didn’t stick - he ended up with our 2nd choice (1st choice once we saw him).

Our dd had several name options, Daddy picking his favorite for her first name, me picking her middle name.

Our last son, well, his name was on the list - but no where close to the top. For DAYS we debated who he looked like - with me changing his clothes a LOT to see if an outfit would make him look like a certain name. Really!

What’s funny is, the name we chose is the same name my brother and his wife thought of the first time they saw him (on Day 1) - they just didn’t tell us until after we announced his name on Day 3! How cool is that! Oh, first name only… but still pretty good!

Yep, since we base the name partly on ‘who’ they look like, we can’t pick a name for sure until we see them. The hard part will be if we choose a name that’s not on the ‘approved’ list of older brother and sister.

Pretty much, I guess daily bleeps are on Facebook - which I’m really beginning to get into. I joined Twitter tonight - but have NO clue what I’m doing there. I’ll have to figure that one out before I share that link….

Dessert, dessert, and more dessert - that’s my biggest update!

“Little Mommy”

** NOTE - This is the DETAILED birth story, so beware, especially any men - you probably don’t care to read! It’s really long too!**

I can’t believe that we’re now a week out from the beginnings of our baby’s birth story! Last Tuesday, April 14th, I called in to my OB’s office to see if I could change my appt. for last Friday. There are two doctors at this practice that I’m not really fond of, mainly because it’s obvious that they aren’t fond of their patients.

I was shocked to hear that my favorite OB in the group wasn’t on vacation like I had been told before, but he was on call that day! To make things better, my OB was on call the next day. Okay, so now I knew that this baby HAD to come between that Tuesday morning and up until 6:59 AM on Thursday - I wanted a doctor I liked.

I googled all sorts of natural inductions, trying some of them during the day, such as massage/ pressure points. My Facebook friends offered their suggestions, and off we went trying to prod our little one along.

Just in case something might work, I straightened up the living room before bedtime, and the kiddos all had a bath. I have no idea what time we finally got to bed, but I wasn’t having contractions - not even one!

I woke up around 12:30 AM or so for my first potty break - no contractions. Alright, I was content that this baby had decided to camp out permanently in my tummy.

I believe the next time I woke up was around 2:15 to 2:30 AM- again, for a potty trip. I remember noticing a few contractions, but nothing to keep me awake or be concerned about. I was back asleep in no time.

3:40 AM - Again, potty break. But this time was different, this time my tummy was hurting. FYI first time moms, you’re tummy will begin to clean itself in preparation for a baby. This is when the contractions got my attention.

I wasn’t sure if it was contractions, or if my stomach was just cramping - but they were strong cramps for sure. I decided to camp out on the couch for a little while, just to be able to pay attention to what was going on. I’ve learned through the many weeks of contractions that I can have tons of contractions while lying in bed, only to have them stop when I move to the couch and become upright.

I was probably on the couch for 15 to 20 minutes when it was clear that these were contractions, and then I realized that they were consistent. I wasn’t sure, but they seemed to be coming every 3 to 5 minutes - though still not too painful, just strong and intense. Yeah, intense is a good word.

(My last visit I was around 3.5 cm, 25% effaced. All of my past pregnancies I was at least 4 cm on my last visit, and each labor - induced or not - were all around 4 hours start to finish. Of course, part of that is due to being 4 to 6 cm when I started - LOL. Anyway, I figured we had at least 2 or 3 hours from here.)

I made my way back to the bedroom, and I guess my stirring around was waking DH up. I didn’t want to wake him up fully, in case it was false labor. It was now about 4:05 AM, and I knew he’d have to be up for work in less than 2 hours, so I just asked where the stopwatch was - if he knew.

It was in the bathroom drawer, but the batteries were dead. Well, now back in the bathroom, my tummy was upset again. Yep, this is it - you normally just don’t go potty that much, especially in the middle of the night. And that normally doesn’t cause contractions to get more intense.

So, 4:11 AM, I’m waking him up telling him I’m pretty sure I’m in labor. My next step is to call the hospital and let them know that I think I’m in labor. I told them contractions were now 2 to 3 minutes apart, and we might be showing up in 30 minutes or so at the earliest if they kept up. They said yes, to come on in.

I wanted to prepare them, since I have fast babies - they would have time to read over my birth plan and maybe alert the doctor (yeah right… they insist on checking to be sure you are in labor before they even call the OB, like I wouldn’t know… I don’t know that they even looked at it at all.)

Back to the story - DH is getting up really quick, and since contractions are only 2 to 3 minutes, I tell him that I don’t think I have time at this point to get a shower. Next thing I know - he’s IN THE SHOWER! Hello! If I don’t have time, he doesn’t have time! (He later told me he thought I meant a shower, dry and fix my hair, etc… No, I meant I didn’t even have time for a shower!)

4:15 AM - I’m sure enough that it’s happening now that I call my parents to wake them. I tell them it would probably be 30 minutes or so before we got ready and left, but if they could be ready to meet us at the hospital to get the kids.

 After that call is made, I begin trying to fix my hair where it won’t look too dirty in pictures, wash my face and begin putting on makeup. Hey, pictures aren’t forgiving!

At one point, I began to think it all stopped - I thought it seemed to be a few minutes without a contraction. Kinda disappointed, but that didn’t last long. Before I knew it, back they were, and now only 1 to 2 minutes apart.

One of my friends, Missi, is all for natural childbirth and homebirths. I remembered reading something she had wrote about standing and rocking through contractions - or dancing with your husband. At the time, I thought it sounded crazy.

Hospitals have you flat on your back to labor. With my first, I was brave and tried the hands and knees positions. Just seconds into my next contraction I discovered that was NOT the position I wanted to be in, and after it was over, I quickly went back to my back. So in my mind, on your back was the way to go, like they do at the hospital.

Well, this time I thought I’d try it Missi’s way. So each time a contraction would come on, I would lean over wherever I was (at the footboard of the bed, or at the bathroom counter) and begin swaying back and forth. To my amazement, it felt wonderful!

So I just kept rocking each time a contraction came. By 4:25 or 4:30 AM, I was rocking an awful lot, and contractions were getting a lot stronger. It was kinda hard to get ready at this point, since I had to keep stopping every minute.

DH was now getting the kids up and dressed, and I was once again going potty. Only this time it was different - it felt like the baby was coming out! I began getting a little frightened at this point, afraid to even sit down since it might come out.

There was so much pressure, that I quickly just dropped my drawers and rushed to the potty. There I was, straddling the toilet - a sight to see. Actually, DH did come to the door and I had to scream him away. But what really scared me was at this point I began bleeding. I’ve never done that, and even having 3 children before, I didn’t realize that you bled BEFORE having a baby.

Let’s just say I was VERY panicked at this point. It felt like the baby was coming out right there, and now I was bleeding. I called L & D to ask them what to do. The nurse was trying to be calm, but that only made me more tense.

She began asking me if the head was right there, to which I finally ended up screaming at her that I didn’t know, I was just hurting real bad and was bleeding. When in pain, and fear on top of that, I’ll scream and not think much of it except that I’m right in doing so.

She could tell that she wasn’t getting anywhere with me, so she kept asking for me to put DH on the phone. Well, considering he wasn’t in the bathroom and I was having contractions almost continally now… well, I wasn’t going to hunt him down.

He came to the door and took the phone from me, at which point it became a little humorous. She asked him if he could see the head, and can you guess what he did??!! He actually got down in the floor and was trying to look! NO!!! (Yep, I’m screaming at him now - ha ha!!)

She’s trying to get him to have my lie on the bed, which I’m yelling back NO to. Yeah, been there - it hurts. He’s beginning to panic at my rocking, wanting me to stop doing that.

Well, I manage to get pants back on and get to the living room before the next contraction. I thought I’d try the lying on my back thing since I was in the middle of the room and had no where to go except the couch.

I threw myself down and back - and yes, I was right, on your back is no fun! And let’s just add this to - thinking you might really have your baby at home isn’t too fun either when you don’t know what you’re doing!

I have mentioned a lot this pregnancy and last that I really would like a home birth, but at that moment, I just wanted to snap my fingers and be somewhere where someone knew what to do.

The nurse had mentioned calling an ambulance, but I knew from my kidney stone that those guys really don’t know much about pregnant women. Plus, I knew this baby was coming NOW, and I didn’t want to have it in the back of an ambulance with strange men with my husband and children behind us in the van.

So, we prepped my clothes and the van (not that it wouldn’t been enough if my water were to break, but it was something), and loaded up. The last time I recall on my clock was 4:41 AM (I’ve been awake an hour now). Of course, we had to sit a minute in the driveway because another contraction came on and I couldn’t even close my door!

I do remember looking back to the kiddos as I was getting in. They were all 3 VERY awake at 4:41 AM in the morning! DD was SO excited, and talked our ears off - asking lots of questions. I wasn’t exactly in the talking mood, I was just trying not to have a baby in front of my children!

For the past 10 mintues or so at that point, I had begun to push against the contractions. While in the bathroom, I would have to stand up on my tiptoes during them. In the van, I was pushing down as hard as I could against the armrest and door - along with pushing up on my feet.

Of course, we came to redlights - but again, a laboring woman cares little for what’s right - so I’m telling DH just to run them. We make it to the interstate ramp, and get behind someone going grandpa speed…. NO!!!

Once on the interstate, we speed around him, and quickly take the fast lane. I guess we went 80 or so with flashers on. I was beginning to calm down a little now, feeling in control of the contractions. They really weren’t so bad pain wise, it was just the intense pressure to push at this point.

I remember once we hit the interchange thinking I was going to have to get DH to pull off on the ramp for me to have the baby. But somehow I managed to get through each contraction, only giving in a couple seconds at a time to push.

I wasn’t trying to push, or wanting to, but the urge was really getting strong now. We made it to the exit, again having to run a redlight. This had to be done carefully, since there were more people there. And what in the world would we see, but a roadworker SLOWLY walking across the traffic lane just minutes before 5 AM!

He got out of the way, then we had no more problems until a transfer truck pulled out in front of us just before we reached the ER entrance. BTW - I dying at this point, fighting off contractions and pushing, though the pain still managable since my water was still intact.

We pull up to the ER right just a few mintues before 5 AM, and my parents come out - my dad with a wheelchair. I’m having a contraction, so it takes a minute to get out. My parents begin asking what they need to do, and I can’t think, so I just tell them to wait there at the hospital.

The nurse begins pushing me, but really, I could’ve walked quicker! She was taking her sweet little time - HELLO!! I’m having a baby - NOW!

I ask if she can walk faster, to which she replies - no, she can’t in case she were to fall or something. So I come back with ”well can he push me?” (DH). Nope again. Well, we had to comply - we didn’t know where to go!

I remember having a contraction just after this, and I had to put my feet down to stop and push against it again. I didn’t think that one would ever end, nor did they - DH and the nurse kept telling me to put my feet up so we could get to the room. They needed to let me get through that contraction without having a baby in the hall!

Well, there wasn’t a foot rest on the chair, and I knew I couldn’t hold my feet up. Thankfully, another nurse met us in the hallway and I switched to her chair. At the time, I was thinking that she might not want to give me her chair, but looking back, she was probably a labor nurse coming to meet me anyway.

The funniest thing of all was when we went to get on the elevator. There was an eldery black gentleman getting off, and his reaction when he realized I was in labor was hilarious!! His eyes bulged out, he jumped and hopped out of the way. I believe he exclaimed something, but wouldn’t have a clue what - it was just really funny.

We got to labor and delivery, and nurses came pouring in the room after us. I felt bad, all the noise I was making in the hallways, but couldn’t really help it (nor really cared at that time). The nurse said something about getting on the bed so they could check me.

Umm.. not exactly what I wanted to hear - that hurts when you’re in labor! Well, there really wasn’t any need to be concerned. Another contraction came on and I lunged onto the bed, kicking my legs and nurses tried to get my pants off.

The next thing I remember them saying was that my water was right there and was what I was feeling. The nurse pushed the baby monitor against my stomach - but didn’t have time to buckle it on. This was 5:07 AM.

The next contraction came on, and despite knowing that you aren’t supposed to push until they say (in case you’re not fully dilated and would tear), I couldn’t help but push - even without the doc there. They began calling for someone to get the resident on call in there.

I didn’t tell them I pushed, until they said I could push on the next one - then I told them I had pushed on the last one. Here it came, and of course, I was pushing again, but it seemed something was lodged. All I knew was it was the water sack.

I thought it was stuck, but DH told me later it wasn’t - he kept looking and seeing it get bigger, even bigger than the baby’s head at the end.

The doc came in, and I’m able to whisper in pain “It hurts, pop it”. The head nurse hands over some metal thing as the doc is gloving up and they are putting her smock thing on. I’m still pushing. She pops it, and next thing I know they are saying something about suctioning.

“It’s head is out?”, I’m asking. Wow - I never even knew it! I kinda felt jipped, not hearing ‘here comes the head’. I guess when the water sac was popped, either his head was right there or got flushed out. Either way, it was relief when she popped it.

I heard something about the cord being around his neck (it was around his neck twice), and the shoulders. DH thinks she pulled the baby out from there, but it was so fast - who knows. 5:10 AM our baby boy was born! It took a minute for me to realize that no one had told me what the gender was, and I had to ask!

In hindsight, I realized that this was the first birth I ‘missed’. I was able to see each child be born with a mirror before, but didn’t really have time to think about it this time. Start to finish - 2:30 AM to 5:10 AM. In hospital room, less than 5 minutes.

I laugh that God must’ve known He had to help me have a natural birth, making it that quick so I couldn’t give in to meds. Really, it was all very managable. The last 3 to 5 minutes were rough, with the water coming out and stretching to the max. That was mainly a very tight, burning feeling.

The cord only was attached for 5 to 8 minutes probably. They said that something was detached and it wouldn’t pump blood to the baby anymore, but instead pull blood out of him. I really don’t think they knew what they were talking about, but they kept arguing and insisting, so DH told me just to trust them and let them cut it.

Since they were saying something about me still bleeding and being concerned about that, I agreed. Plus they said the cord had a knot in it, so I wasn’t sure if much blood could even get to him. In the emergency rush they made us feel we were in, the doc cut the cord - something DH has always gotten to do.

I realized this later, and feel bad for DH. I think he was disappointed, but he doesn’t like to think or dwell on things that he can’t change or fix. (Very unlike me, why do I think I can change things in the past?)

I was able to have him placed skin to skin on my stomach right away, and wonder if him being elevated like that was part of the reason they said the cord would pull tight and draw away blood?

We also forgot to snap a picture with the doc, actually, I don’t even recall her saying goodbye… Really, it was complete chaos!

After he was born, the nurses were great about leaving us alone. It was wonderful to be in a quiet room, no wires or machines hooked up, able to hold and nurse the baby for as long as I wanted. They came in occassionally to check him temp, and just as I thought - he was perfect!

My last baby had his temp drop, but they wouldn’t put him skin to skin - this time we did and it was great! I called my parents back, and they brought our children to meet their new brother around 5:45 AM. The reaction was so sweet! DD’s face was all lit up.

The comment was made that ’someone’ wanted it to be a girl, like a baby patter-in, but they were happy with their brother.

Well, aside from one nurse insisting on giving me a shot of something (starts with M) for bleeding which I really didn’t think I needed, the rest of my care went pretty good. DH was okay with that, not wanting me to bleed too much, and was willing to chance the drugs.

Overall, I’m amazed at how I can go from start to finish in LESS than 3 hours!! I knew it would be a night baby, and was surprised it was a boy. Mainly because his pregnancy was so high and caused little to no pain/ pressure on my pelvic floor or legs. But he was all in front, so that did have me somewhat thinking it was a boy.

We opened the envelope on Saturday once we remembered it, and the sonogram tech was right “It’s A Boy!”. We are so glad he is, and have been loving every minute we’ve had to love and kiss on him!

Thanks for reading his story, and we’d love to hear a comment from you! I’m very curious at who all of my visitors are - I can see numbers, but that still leaves you a stranger. So please, could you drop a quick comment, maybe even letting us know how you found us? Thanks so much!

“Little Mommy”

PS - It’s true, natural labor DOES give you a much quicker recovery time. This was my 1st all natural. I’ve had two inductions (pictocin and water breaking), and my 2nd child was a natural start with some pain meds in my IV about 45 minutes before she was born. I’m not sure that they helped with pain, but sure made me dizzy!

As long as you focus on contractions, know that they are doing something and shouldn’t be fought against (unless you are in the van!!), you can easily work through them. Your body knows what to do if you listen to it.

I was pretty much on my own this time. I had nurses at the end, but really don’t know much of what they were saying, I was doing what I knew my body needed me to. I didn’t even tear this time!

In case you missed it, he was 7 lbs. and 6 oz., 20 inches long. Okay, NOW I’m saying goodnight - it’s taken about an hour to type this all up!

To my dear son, I love you more than words can describe, and have so loved stroking your head, having your hold my fingers, and kissing your precious little self time and time again! You are a true blessing from God - HIS creation - and we’re so blessed that HE decided to create you for our family! We Love You!

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??”

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”