Anika Isabelle is here!!!!!

Born at home on July 26th, at 7:03pm... which also happens to be my dad's birthday! She was 9lbs. and 8oz., 22.25" long and is doing great! I'm working on the story, but real short... it was a long 14 hour labor, things were slowed down by baby putting her hand on her head and causing it to be near to impossible to get her out.  But she is here!!!

3 days until due date...

Nothing new happening, had my check up yesterday - all is going well. I measured 40 weeks which is just about where I should be - that was comforting and encouraging.

Trying to get myself motivated to finish up my to-do list before I really do go into labor as it is bound to happen within the week, I have let too many things go this past week that I can't do it all if I begin labor now or today, so off I go to clean up and pack some bags for the kiddos in case they need to spend the night at G'pa & G'ma's house.

The kids are finishing up their Vacation Bible School tonight, they are loving it. I will post pictures soon.

Ok, off I go.

10 days until due date!

I had my 38.4 week check up today, baby is doing well - might be moving into position, but no real indicators that baby is coming soon. I had to go in for an EKG last week since my pulse wouldn't go down during resting, but that came back fine, my other tests came back good, I'm GBS NEGATIVE (Praise the Lord!), and let's see... I got the "green light" from the ND and my midwife for a home birth, I was hesitating and asked them if they thought I was still a good candidate a while back seeing how we thought a lot of things were going wrong (heart/gestational diabetes/GBS+/spilling of protein/etc...), however things have turned a corner and my heart is fine, I passed the gestational diabetes test, I'm GBS-, I'm no longer spilling any small amounts of protein. So YAY!!! I'm measuring 41 weeks, and feeling that way too. Midwife thinks it is due to this being my 5th child, I have extra room... but I'm wondering if it is a big baby. Only time will tell. :o)

I'm feeling better, some peace about the birth with occasional moments of panic attacks. I feel better once I remember that God is in control and I just need to relax and trust in Him.

Ryan had another incident this week... he tried to climb up on Mike's motorcycle (he had just got home) and burnt his leg on the exhaust pipe. My aunt came to the rescue again, bringing an aloe vera plant so I could try to keep it from hurting too badly. He only complains when i need to change the dressing & wash it, otherwise he is feeling OK.

Jordan & Joshua have been sick with sore throats/fevers/etc... I'm trying to keep the house aired/lysol'ed and lots of hand washing in hopes to cut down on any one else getting sick.

Mike is trying to get in any last minute overtime shifts before the little one arrives and I'm trying to prep for the next month of schooling so that things will go easier once baby is here.

SO... prayer request would be:
* For my labor & delivery, no panic attacks, lots of peace and a wonderful birth with no complications.
* For Ryan's burn to heal quickly.
* That no one else gets sick this summer.

Thanks so much!!! More later when I can get back on here to update/chat.

Nesting is finally hitting, my husband is rejoicing! LOL!

I could NOT sleep last night, my brain would not shut down... I was so tired though, so I was useless. I kept thinking of all the stuff I have to get ready NOW.

So I woke up this morning with a determination to get things finished. While things have not gone as planned, I did get some stuff done and I plan to finish up the bedroom/bathroom tonight. Bedding is being washed, drawers are set up, room is decluttered and deep cleaned, now I just need to wrap up a few things in the bedroom and then deep clean the bathroom.

I labor primarily in my room and private bathroom. I can close myself in there and can't hear anything or be distracted by anyone. Hubby will often sit with me and keep me calm, praying through contractions and I keep the lights off with an occasional candle... pillows on top of toilet so I can rest and I just stay there until I'm ready to push, at that point I move to my room/bed and the rest is history. :o) I used to have CD's on hand, but have come to discover that I don't care for any music or noise. But who knows... if I get antsy enough I may make one just to pass time. LOL!

Ok, I need to finish up the to-do list for tonight before I run out of energy.

Family Response Time in an Emergency...

So last night around 10pm, Ryan was climbing on the end of Jordan's bunk bed, he slipped and fell - hitting his chin on the lower wood on the bottom bunk, resulting in biting THROUGH his tongue in 3 places.

I had NO idea what was going on, was doing dishes, kids were supposed to be finding jammies and then I heard the bang and crying - run down the hallway to see Ryan with blood POURING out of his mouth. I pick him up and run him to the bathroom so I can hold him over the sink in hopes of minimizing the amount of blood he is swallowing... I thought maybe he just nicked his lip or something, but the blood - wow. There was a LOT of blood and it wasn't slowing down. I couldn't see in his mouth so I could not tell where or why he was bleeding so badly, no one saw him and so we had no idea what had happened to him. He kept screaming and the blood kept pouring.

Realizing I have NO van since Mike took it to work, I call my parents to see if they can come up to help me. After I call them I realize that there are 3 holes that go through his tongue, he still won't stop screaming but the blood is starting to slow down, at this point I realize my sister is next door (doh!) so I call her and ask her to come over quickly. My mom calls then to tell me that they are on their way and so is my aunt (who lives closer).

My sister was here within a minute, I tried to find the 24 hour nurse hotline (why isn't that easier to find when there's an emergency????), but Ryan wants me and won't stop screaming, I can't hear anything - so my sister calls. I'm calming down now that I have another adult with me and a vehicle and the blood is stopping... my only real thought is will we need to get to the ER for antibiotics? The nurse on the phone says that we don't need to go in, just to keep an eye on it and give him something cold to eat, check his temp in the next 24-48 hours, watch for infection and if possible have him rinse with water or salt water after he eats.

At this point my aunt is there with her daughter and her friend, my parents show up about 10 min. later, Ryan is now laughing and having a good time and totally distracted from his pain with all the family members showing up. Whew!

I felt silly for a while for having to call everyone, but in retrospect I probably would have done the same thing - unless I remembered that my sister was staying next door and I could have just called her over to help with the nurse hotline. My poor dad had a migraine and was finally asleep when I called.

Ryan is doing OK, he had a hard time sleeping... once everyone left and things quieted down he realized that his tongue really hurt. Gave him some tylenol, but he kept waking up wanting a hug. :o( Today he is hungry, but doesn't want to eat much... tried some yogurt, wanted some cereal... had a little of each but that's it. He is trying to nap now.

So in case of an emergency, if Mike is not here... I can expect my parents within 20 (from a dead sleep), my aunt within 10 and if my sister is still next door, then 1 minute for her. :o) Nice to know. Oh and I have the 24-hour nurse hotline printed in big letters/numbers that I will be laminating for my fridge. I also put it on my phone in the address section.

36.4 week check up...

I am now seeing the midwife weekly until baby arrives. Today went well, baby's heart rate is good, I'm measuring 37 weeks - which is good because I have been measuring 2-3 weeks ahead for the past few months which had me worried about this being a BIG baby, but the measurements are evening out again. Baby is NOT breech (at the moment, however she keeps moving a TON so she could go the wrong direction - praying for that not to happen).

I have been getting sick occasionally after I eat or take my super prenatal vitamins, it doesn't happen often, but I will be sick for about 4 hours after my big prenatals and a time or two after I have had dinner... my midwife's assistant thinks my gall bladder is going. Great. I cannot even tell you how ridiculous that is. My midwife told me to "rebuke that thought... we are NOT going there!" I agree. I just can't fathom what another surgery would do to my system. I know people have many surgeries over and over, so I really can't say much - however the reactions I get from any surgery I have had in the past 2 years have resulted in a month of rashes/weird reactions due to me not being able to handle adhesives/cleansers/etc... This was never a problem before my accident by the way.

Let's see, I have been having contractions on & off for a while now. They have been fairly painful so it has been good practice for me to try and relax through them. ;o)

I got just about everything purchased for the homebirth, now I just need to sterilize/wash/set up and pack up things so they are ready to go when labor begins.

Still have to go through clothes, nothing is washed yet for baby. Will get on that this weekend.

Ok, it's late, laundry is ready to be switched and I need to go to bed before the kids decide it is time to begin celebrating the 4th of July.

27 days until due date...

Well, I have 27 days until my due date and I'm trying really hard not to panic. So any prayers for peace and the labor & delivery would be MOST welcome. :o)

I DID pass my 3-hour glucose test, but due to many other issues I have been told to avoid as much sugar/caffeine as possible. Still trying for 80 grams of protein daily, which at times can be very difficult. This little heat wave we just had (2-3 days of it being between 80-90 degrees) was truly unbearable. My parents came to the rescue with an airconditioner for my bedroom... heavenly!!! I would walk from my livingroom (which was 84 degrees) to my bedroom (which was 63 degrees) and feel tons better.

Mike has been extremely helpful, taking kids to swimming while telling me to nap... making dinner almost every night (before he leaves for work), taking over the grocery shopping when I'm too tired or not feeling well... etc... the list goes on, he is my hero. :o)

My aunt Jayne has stopped by a few times to help me deep clean and begin prepping for baby, as with my parents when they actually had a few hours between helping other friends/family (they are such an inspiration), my mom (bless her heart) has taken the kids a few times now during day care hours... which means with my 4 kiddos she has anywhere from 8-10 kids under her care. She has the patience and the strength of a saint.

I begin seeing my midwife every week now. I have to have my homebirth supplies ready to go by Monday (7/7/08) and then I need to have all the baby supplies ready within a week after that. I do have the bassinet up (but bedding is not ready), the swing is up, I have a bunch of diapers and wipes. I grabbed a bag of baby clothes to go through tonight before bed. I need to have some neutral items ready to go and then a bag of boy and a bag of girl stuff ready to be washed once we find out for sure what we are having.

For those who are curious... here's how the last 4 kiddos went:

Jordan was induced 10 days after his due date (labor was over 24 hours), born at the hospital with all the trimmings minus the c-section (which they threatened).

Kaitlyn was born 4 days late in a free standing birthing center, in THIS room and she was my only water-birth born in the extra large tub. Labor with her was about 7 or 8 hours I think.

Joshua was born 1 day before his due date at home, was the BEST birth ever... about 3 hours and as painless as a birth can be.

Ryan was born on his due date and his was very similar to Katie's birth, I was scared that my midwife wouldn't arrive in time so I became frozen with fear which led to a LOT of pain and a long labor. Once my midwife arrived though I relaxed and had him pretty quickly.

So here we are with the 5th little one about to be due... I wonder when I will begin labor, how it will go, can I remain calm??? If I can remain calm and focused on God, prayer it really the only thing that brings about peace in my labor... then I can have a good birth. If I loose my focus though and freak out, well I will probably be heard throughout my neighborhood and hopefully it won't be in the middle of the night. LOL!

So for those who can, please pray for me and the baby, that we will have a wonderful labor and delivery experience.

Thank you!!!