The Birth Story

Here it is The Birth Story.

I of course won't let you in on all the details of the birthing process, but if you are that squeamish I don't see why you'd be reading my blog anyway. Here goes....

A few days before my due date I had already 3 cm, but knowing that dilation means next to nothing as to when baby will arrive I tried to ignore the information and only told a few people. I was however excited to have dilated that much without noticing though. Less work later, right?

My due date came and went as mentioned in my last post and in one week I had dilated another cm. Sweet! We started to have a feeling that baby may come late, but would probably come faster than the other two. (We were right) Having gone past my due date before I was thankfully emotionally prepared for it this time only having one bad day. I had a feeling I would go between five and ten days late. (Demand was five days late, Happy was ten.)

Saturday was five days past my due date. I felt nothing the night before and I felt nothing all morning. Shortly before nap time I suggested going for a walk to get my body a little more prepared. I walked while Mr. Sloth and the kids slept. After that we all went to Target to get some groceries. Just as we got back from Target I started feeling 'different'. No contraction, just pressure. This went on for hours. It got to the point where we discussed going in just to see if anything was going on and get a status. Without having any contractions I felt silly going in obviously not in labor so I suggested we get the kids to bed and then see where we were. The kids struggled to fall asleep that night and since I had a feeling that they'd wake up without me there, Mommy-guilt kicked in and I laid with Demand until they fell asleep. Things were off an on all evening. No contractions just some pressure and light, irregular menstrual cramps. At 10:30pm Mr. Sloth asked me, "This baby is going to come at 3am isn't it?" "Yep." I said. I just had a feeling. So we decided to go to bed early (for us) so that we'd at least have some rest. Mr. Sloth, has an understandable yet exaggerated fear of "catching a baby" or worse having the baby in the car. But we both agreed he could get a new car if I gave birth in the old Saturn. So I promised that the first real contraction I had we would go to the hospital. Around midnight I woke up with a contraction but fell back asleep, around 12:15am I had another one, a bit stronger. I quietly got out of bed and started getting ready letting Mr. Sloth sleep as long as possible. Mr. Sloth and his "spidysense" caught on fast and nervously asked me if everything was O.K. I told him we should probably go. We called our friend to come over. I had to leave a message, but she called right back. Apparently in her sleepy state thought what everyone thinks when someone calls at 12:30am.."Who the heck is calling me??" We finished gathering our stuff while she walked over. I went in to say good-bye to the kiddos even though they were sleeping. It surprised and embarrassed me how hard it was to say good-bye to sleeping children. I guess I just knew how hard the next few days would be for them and I felt particularly bad for Happy. He had NO IDEA what was about to happen and as he slept peacefully his reign and 'baby' would be stripped away and his routine would be turned upside down. So with tears in my eyes I decided it was time to go get a new family. Besides contractions seemed a bit closer.

I remember the ride to the hospital being much more pleasant than the last two babies. Our plan was to leave earlier this time so I'd be sure to make it in the water birth room and just in case I went faster than expected. (Apparently leaving at contractions 4 minutes apart in a snowstorm two hours before Happy was born was cutting it close for him) The weather was great outside and traffic was clear. Mr. Sloth called the hospital on the way to let them know we were coming. He told them my contractions were 10 minutes apart, but they seemed to be picking up. As we stood in the lobby waiting for our escort upstairs we also noticed that they seemed a bit closer, but nothing too strong. We got in our room and got settled. The nurse finally checked me 5 cm, only one since Thursday. It looked like I had done it, I was in labor but not too far along. They started getting the water birth room ready and said they'd check me in a half an hour and then I could get in the tub. That was around 1:30am. We worked on some paper work between contractions. Then they decided they'd start moving furniture over to the waterbirth room and I could get in but baby had other plans. Just as everyone left the room my body just started pushing. At first I didn't believe it, but after another push Mr. Sloth called people back and everyone else believed it. Then there was a scurry as they moved all the furniture back into my room and called for the on-call OB. A few minutes later, at 2:17am "Pax" entered the world. 9 lbs 3 oz, 21 inches. Thankfully, my doctor didn't wait like she said she was going to do but came right away making it just in time to catch the baby. Even though I didn't get my waterbirth I'm more than happy with my two hour labor. I went from a few contractions to pushing, skipping that whole seriously painful part. If the rest of my babies could be like that I would be a happy girl.

In case you are wondering about the name "Pax". It of course means peace in Latin (Catholics and their Latin). He's such a peaceful little guy. Easily pleased and easily soothed.

So there you have it people the birth story. My apologies for the delay. I had 80% written when things went downhill around here. Life goes on I guess.

Tick Toc

I honestly don't have much to say but it's been almost two weeks. I guess I'm just waiting for something exciting to talk about, like a new baby. I don't even have many pictures because I have the camera packed away "just in case".

My due date was Monday and wouldn't you know it I woke up feeling the same way I felt the day I had Happy. We actually thought we might have a baby on their due date for once. Learning from history and slightly playing Murphy's Law.I hadn't tied up some loose ends that first time moms would have done months ago. I hadn't printed out a birth plan or packed clothes to come home in, cosmetic bag, etc. Before Mr. Sloth left for work (yep he worked on Labor Day) we realized that we needed to find the car seat base and I needed to wash the car seat cover. Sure enough we couldn't find the base. "Oh, well!", I thought, "It's a minor price to pay to have Murphy's Law work in your favor."

Mr. Sloth found the base in the trunk of his car at lunch (Don't ask, we don't even know why it was there.) By naptime I had finished packing my bag, the car seat was clean and ready to go and the house was spotless. By the end of nap time contractions had stopped.

It's like a superstitions tradition doesn't even work anymore.

The rest of the week has been off and on, but since I was a little more prepared this time around and I'm progressing more than usual I'm a little more ok with being past due this time around. Plus I have a cold. I wake up most days thinking "I am in no condition to have a baby today". The other problem is the children between the usual "Mom at the end of pregnancy" shenanigans and the hot close to summer the kids are a little out of sorts. I've resorted to TV and sugar just too many times and their routines and our meal plans are kaput. Plus Demand is getting very impatient waiting for this baby.

So we wait and hope we can keep the other kids happy and the house somewhat livable.

Tick-Toc, Little One.

Better Than Planned

As I mentioned in my last post we're trying to do as much as we can during this last week of summer and yesterday was no exception. I spent the morning cooking and avoiding the question "Where are we going today?" while getting some mad cleaning & organizing done.

I was cleaning of course for sanity and because we're having a new baby. I was cooking because we were scheduled to drop off a meal for another family with a new baby. And I was avoiding the question, "Where are we going today?" because I was planning on taking the kids to the pool after nap time but I've made the mistake too many times of spilling the beans only to have plans change. And yesterday plans changed. Every mother knows that the best way to get a child to take a long nap is to make plans for after nap time. Mr. Sloth was grilling a turkey but I was in charge of the side dishes, so I dragged my body out of bed at nap time to finish making mashed potatoes and stuffing. Demand soon stumbled downstairs all sleepy eyed (and haired) and then I told her we were heading to the pool as soon as Happy woke up. I spent the next half hour loading the van, changing our clothes, and packing snacks.

tic, tock, tick, tock.

Mr. Sloth came home and made the prediction that Happy would sleep until 4pm...and he was right. Happy ALWAYS wakes up between 3pm and 3:04pm, but yesterday he was up a bit earlier and probably led to a longer nap. So plans changed. Instead of taking the kids to the pool after naps so Mr. Sloth could finish grilling and deliver the food, the kids and I delivered the food while Mr. Sloth grilled chicken for us and then right after dinner we ALL went to the pool. It ended up being a great plan except that it was a bit cooler than expected. The kids didn't mind, they dove right in water while Mr. Sloth and I only went in as far as we had to. The real challenge is Happy. While he LOVES the water he's a little too adventurous. He just wants to be UNDER water. He's a riot to watch, you just have to be RIGHT NEXT to him constantly because he's always going under...on purpose. It's always better to go somewhere with Mr. Sloth so we were glad that plans had changed...at least the kids and I thought so.

Both kids having good naps we were able to stay until 7:30pm when we decided it was just too cold and time to head home. I was a bit sad. It was a perfect night and so much fun to watch the kids but I know that it was probably the last time for our little family at the outdoor pool for the season. Next year Demand will be older and Happy will be 2 and we'll have a crawler...it just won't be the same. So sad :(

Since Happy napped late I was able to get all the dinner dishes cleaned before we even ate and I had already cleaned the rest of the house that day so we came home to a very clean and welcoming house. I stuck around admiring the cleanliness of it all while Mr. Sloth put the kids to bed and then I ran to the store for milk and three other items. (Yep, I came home with a whole car full of groceries.)

I hope to post pictures of the clean house so I can look back and remember them some day. Our next goal for the week is to head to the fair tomorrow. I have about 36 hours to NOT have the baby after that it's fair game.

The Plan

Not only is the summer wrapping up but our time before baby arrives is coming to an end as well. "Up here" summer officially ends on Labor Day with most schools starting the next day. Labor Day happens to be the last day of the State Fair and of course, my due date.

So you may have guessed that things are getting busy and summer and fall schedules are starting to mesh together. This is our last week before our due date so I'm trying to get anything done that's best done without three children, I also want to enjoy the last week of summer with the kids, but at the same time I'm anxious to get rolling with homeschooling too. I'm trying to be conscious of the fact the in a few months it will be cold and we'll be stuck inside...plenty of time for school, for now we play.

Of course are week is already packed. Monday we are scheduled to drop off a meal for friends who just had a baby and Mr. Sloth is grilling a Turkey. To make life easier for us all I'll be taking the kids to the pool in the afternoon so Mr. Sloth can grill and work at home alone...and our house will stay clean. If I spend the morning cleaning and making the side dishes we should just have to come home to a clean house and dinner ready to eat. It sounds like a great plan anyway...

Tuesday is supposed to be rainy which is perfect. The kids and friends of ours are going to the mall for no good reason. We just haven't been in a while and it's a good place to get some pre-labor walking done. Gotta be in shape! And again it will be nice to have the kids a meal out of the home and keep the dining room/kitchen somewhat clean.

Wednesday or Thursday we are heading to the State Fair. Demand is REALLY excited and even though I'm probably going to go past my due date I'm afraid of having the baby before we go to the State Fair. Demand and I would both be disappointed. (Mr. Sloth would probably take her on his own though) So my only real go is to not go into labor before arriving at the State Fair. I can start laboring there, that's just fine. Walking and eating is great for that. Oh, I can't wait!!

Friday: As to start getting into a new fall schedule I'm trying to keep Fridays open as a free day for field trips or play dates. Fridays are great for that. I do have book club that night though, so that's exciting.

My other real goal for the week, other than NOT to have the baby before State Fair is to have the carpets and couch steam cleaned. I find them rather embarrassing right now and would REALLY feel ready for baby to come if they were done. As far as the house goes, the garage and downstairs bathroom are done and I *kinda* started working on the playroom. Mommy didn't get much time to work on it this weekend though, but who didn't see that coming?? I'm proud of myself for finding a way to rearrange some furniture and use some pre-existing shelving to give us more shelving and better storage without having to buy more. Next big step is to pain the tiny wall to match the adjacent one and then hang the shelves up. Other than having the carpets cleaned that's all the room really needs.

The last week I've been working on putting together a new fall schedule and getting as much prepared in advance for home schooling that we can before baby arrives. We've already done 7 weeks of her preschool program and around 3-4 lessons each of her reading and math so we're not doing horrible. I've been playing around a lot with what times to do certain activities and I think I found a schedule that works for us. I'm looking at a three day school week of Mon/Wed/Thurs, Demand has Good Shepard on Tuesday afternoons and Fridays we leave free.

So on school days here's my tentative schedule (assuming baby is completely cooperative and in agreement of course).

6:30am: I get up and dressed and such and start breakfast. Chances are Demand will be up for hours already as we don't know what time she actually wakes up.

7-8am Children release from crib/ upstairs and breakfast is served. I've decided to do and faith formation, mostly "Who am I?" over breakfast as meals are always a great time to teach the faith. For example.....Mass. I've started doing this the last few days and it's working fabulously. Demand can do her workbook pages or crafts later in the day but stories,Q&A , etc works great while the kids are eating. Demand loves it when I read saint stories or Bible stories during meals anyways. After breakfast will be quick downstairs clean up.

8-9am Upstairs dress kids, brush teeth, do hair and make beds. We pretty much do this already so that shouldn't take too much adjusting, we'll just have another baby to work with. And finally start laundry. I have a great new system for doing laundry, but I'll share that some other day.

9-10am Schooling--Little Saints Preschool Program. It definitely doesn't take an hour I'm just assuming we'll need some wiggle room and I'll most likely have to nurse the baby, change a diaper, stop a fight, you get the idea.

10/ 10:30am- 11am. Snack time then chores, playtime, etc.

11:30am make/eat lunch, clean up, playtime

1pm -Nap time for Happy and most likely baby. Demand and I will either work on MathUSee, Little Stories for Little Folks, other supplemental things like Bob Books, general reading, board games, computer games, preschool workbooks, or just plain old resting time.

3pm- Happy usually wakes up at 3pm-3:04pm sharp. Then it's snack time and playtime giving me time to get more housework done and start dinner. I'd also like to have the kids do more cooking during this time if possible. Both kids love to cook (What kid doesn't?) Cooking is definitely on our list of things to incorporate into home schooling.

Basically we're doing the preschool program while Happy is awake because he follows along with most of it as far as the songs, books, games go, and of course he'll be learning too. I decided that trying to do Math and Reading while Happy is awake just doesn't work for our family right now and since Demand is doing Kindergarten Math and Reading she needs more concentration. Next year he'll have a playmate and that should help entertain him if need be.

So that's our plan and it's just that a plan for now. Not knowing the baby and his/her plans yet anything could change so we're ready to be flexible, but we need to start with some plan of action.

So that's the plan for the next week, and then some. Now if we only knew when baby was joining our family...

Feasting

It's been a big week for Feast Days and fun around the Sloth home.

First we had the Feast of the Assumption on Sunday. Since Demand is at a great learning age I'm trying to celebrate two feasts days a month to teach her about the saints. Of course some feast days are bigger than others, but this month we have two really big ones. My original plans didn't seem so grand at first but I saw that look in Mr. Sloth's eye and knew I needed to scale back.

We tried to use the colors white and blue as much as possible and explain to Demand that white is for Mary's purity and blue is the color of heaven.

We started with breakfast. First we had powdered doughnuts (clouds) and blueberry bread. Afterward the kids and I colored pictures of Mary being Assumed into Heaven...we colored some additional pictures as well.




Next we got dressed for Mass and everyone tried to wear blue. I was a little slacking as my options are limited these days. During lunch (which was just random things from our refrigerator) we drank blue Powerade just to keep up the theme. Before dinner Demand helped me decorate the dining room and make paper flowers. I had bought some real flowers too but we disappointed that they didn't have white or blue. So we made paper lilies (a purity flower) and hung blue and white streamers and the pictures we had colored and then Demand helped me make cloud dessert. For dinner we had Chipotle because we found out that kids eat free on Sundays in August so we're taking advantage of it in our late pregnancy state.



The cloud dessert was a hit and oh so easy! Oh, and I forgot to mention that we let Demand and Happy borrow The Rosary for Kids (by Demands request) from Church since it talked about Mary's Assumption. It was a fun day and Demand was really excited to hear that HER feast day was Wednesday...





We've been hunting for baseball tickets for sometime now and two day ago friend offered us theirs. Great timing! We'd promised Demand back in the Spring that we would take her at some point and with baby coming and playoffs approaching we were running out of time. It was a perfect night for it too. Absolutely gorgeous weather. As excited as Demand was she wanted to leave during the 5th inning. "No way!", I thought. I don't get out much, I'm not leaving now and during a good game. We stuck it out until the middle of the eighth when there was a good chance we'd win. Sure enough just as we left the parking garage the game was tied up and went into extra innings. We listened to the radio on the way home and found out we won by a home run in the 10th inning. Sounds like fun, wish we could have been there but Miss "I'm so tired" was too busy chatting away in the backseat.








Next it was Demand's feast day! We had a busy day planned so the simple activities we had planned were for dinner time only. The kids and I started the day at a much needed trip to the chiropractors then it was home for lunch. Shortly after lunch I put Happy down for a nap (That kid loves his naps!) I let Demand stay up since I had to pre-make all the food for her celebration and of course she wanted to help. First we started with dessert. Years ago I saw a "Duggar" recipe for a homemade ice cream cake and since the recipe looked easy and Demand loves ice cream I thought it was the best time to try it. The recipe was SUPER easy and great for kids to do. Demand could do all the steps on her own. Demands attention span was done after making the cake so I made dinner while she worked on some preschool activities at the dining room table. For dinner I just made cold pasta dish with penne, chicken, grape tomatoes, cubed mozarella, pine nuts, and fresh basil. The basil was the reason for the dish. We learned that the Mountain on which St. Helen found the cross had a lot of basil growing on it so basil is traditionally eaten on her feast day.






With dinner ready and in the fridge (and Happy now awake) we made the after dinner game. I thought that since St. Helen is most known for finding the true cross that we could play a game of find the cross. Demand and Happy "helped" me make 9 crosses for the game. (No reason for the number nine, I just didn't feel like making any more.)





Next we all piled into the van for our family dentist appointment. Since Happy didn't need to see the dentist yet I dropped him off at a friends to make life easier. Happy was just fine since his babysitter has a baby, a 2 year old boy, boy toys, a dog, a cat, cable and a car he can ride in.... yep, he did just fine. It was Demand's first real appointment so I was a bit nervous for her. I went first and it was perfect timing that Mr. Sloth showed up just as I finished. He stayed with her for their turns while I picked up Happy.

What do you do after the dentists? Go home and eat sugar of course!! Demand had no interest in eating dinner. Surprise, surprise, but choked it down for some ice cream cake. Turns out the cake isn't' as overwhelming as it seems. It was quite tasty actually. After dessert we played a few rounds of "Find the Cross" both kids had fun even if Happy had no idea what was going on.





So that was our week of feasting. I was nervous at the doctors this morning when for just a second it said I had gained seven pounds in one week. I did not however, whew!

Here's the recipe for the ice cream cake, it can also be found on the Duggar Website.



LAYERED ICE CREAM CAKE
Makes a 9”x 13” Pan
24 Ice cream sandwiches
8 oz. Cool Whip™
1 Hershey’s™ chocolate syrup bottle
1 Smuckers™ caramel syrup bottle
2 king size Butterfinger™ candy bars chopped up
1st layer -12 ice cream sandwiches
2nd – half of whipped cream
3rd - half of Butterfinger™ bars, Squeeze 1/2 of caramel &
chocolate over that.
4th - rest of ice cream sandwiches
5th – Cool Whip™
6th - rest of Butterfinger™, caramel & chocolate
You can freeze this and eat as desired! Yummy! Yummy!

What to do, what to do....

Saw the doctor the other day. We both agree that I am still pregnant.

I am now partially convinced that St. Ann's canonization could have happened merely on the fact that she delivered the Blessed Mother on Sept. 8th. If it be God's will I would love to only have winter babies from now on.

So many times over the past week I have found myself motivated to work but just not physically capable of doing it. As we speak Mr. Sloth is redoing the garage and the children are sleeping. I however, with my swollen feet and hands can see nothing better to do than to sit on my couch in the air conditioning. Even that isn't helping much.

In case you are wondering I have made some progress with baby preparations. Earlier this week I started collecting all the newborn clothes only to find I was missing our boy clothes and neutral clothes. After 24 hours of obsessing including one sleepless night where I asked Mr. Sloth at 2:30am if they might be at his office, I finally found them at Obscures home in a mislabeled bin. I always have a mix of feelings sorting through baby clothes but this time it was different. Not only do I have memories attached to Happy's clothes but a hand full of them are the ones he wore in Europe. It brought back such fun un-pregnant memories. Maybe Mr. Sloth is right, maybe we should go back this Spring...

I have come to the realization that we have too much baby equipment for this house yet I am unwilling to get rid of any just yet. We have a mini packnplay that we use for baby for the first 7 months,then we have a regular packnplay, we may be bringing in another swing so we'll have one upstairs and one downstairs, plus we have the travel swing that fits the infant car seat, plus our baby seat and if it's a girl we have a bouncer now, and an excersaucer. One day Mr. Sloth is going to go on a baby equipment rampage. So much stuff! The good news is that I've decided for now that baby will stay in our room until they are too big for the mini packnplay, which is usually around 7 months. And then we'll just put baby in with the other kids. Happy is getting close to being able to get out of his crib and when that happens it's bunk bed time! We can go cheap and baby friendly with the Ikea bed which has one mattress on the floor and the top bed is only about chest high on an adult (not too far to fall). Or.....I have been checking out some super-awesome bunkbeds online, but maybe we'll save that for the next house.

Even though I'm feeling rather pregnant-lazy these days it doesn't keep me from *thinking* I can do everything which is why we are planning a little Assumption party for tomorrow. I'm sure I got carried away with planning so we'll see how much I actually get done tomorrow.

Speaking of over achieving. I have a habit of only surrounding myself with friends who are smarter and more talented than myself. I don't know if self-tortured or inspirational but it seems to work out that way. You'll notice I'm following the blog of my ever talented college roommate (and Happy's Godmother). She has started a sewing blog and every post makes me simultaneously jealous of her talent and angry that she doesn't live next door. So whenever you are bored hearing about what that Lazywife *didn't* do, check out her blog The Chipper Snipper.

I will now proceed to move some baby stuff around and pretend that I did something.

Good Timing

Remember Wednesday when I had plans for the pool but then it was too cool outside? I caught on quickly that it was plenty warm for the pool. I quickly contrived a plan for the afternoon. After naps I'd take the kids (along with my neighbor and her baby) to the pool and Mr. Sloth could meet us there after work. Then we'd have dinner pool side swim a bit more and head home around the kids bedtime. It was a genius plan!

Around 2pm while the kiddos were still asleep my neighbor called to say she couldn't make it due to a crabby-baby situation and seeing as the pool is a half hour drive away, I completely understood. I had the van all packed and ready to go and Demand knew where we were going we were just waiting for Happy to wake up. Then Mr. Sloth called and said he'd be a bit later than planned.

Argh! Could I really do this on my own? What was I getting myself into?

As soon as Happy woke up it was into the van and off we went. The good news was that by the time we got to the pool and got dressed and out to the water it was 3:40. I only had an hour an a half on my own. I could do this, right?

At this point you are expecting a twist. What went wrong? This is the best part....NOTHING went wrong. Yay! Demand is extremely cautious and doesn't wander which is great. Happy took a little training while he warmed up to the idea of the pool, but I wasn't exhausted in the slightest which was an improvement since the last time. By the time Mr. Sloth came Happy was very comfortable in the water. Hilarious actually. He was having so much fun that I couldn't even sit in the water I had to be standing RIGHT THERE because he kept dunking his head under....just for fun. Mr. Sloth arrived hungry and ready for dinner only to find that the cafe wasn't open for dinner for some reason. Demand wanted to swim a bit longer and Happy was really in a swimming groove so we stayed for another half an hour and planned to go out to eat.

Twenty minutes later Demand asked if we could go to an "Astronaut" (her word for restaurant) now. After an inexplicable length of time to get dressed we started to make our dinner plans. We had two cars at the pool and were a half an hour from home and an hour past dinner time. Mr. Sloth drove with us while he searched for a restaurant on his "magic-phone" meanwhile I knew where I was going the whole time. Once we realized that it made more sense to drive separate it was back to the gym to get Mr.Sloth's car. Demand was very confused. Finally we were on our way to Red Robin for dinner. Suddenly it was a down pour of rain. I mean a down pour. I wasn't comfortable driving and thankfully it wasn't far. Looks like we left the pool at the best time. The rain stopped for us to get in the restaurant and was done when we left the restaurant. The kids did great especially since we were an hour past their dinner time and a half an hour before their bedtime after a few exciting hours in the sun.

Mr. Sloth and I were certain that Happy would be asleep by the time I got home but we were both wrong. The kids jumped out of the van ready to play a little baseball before finally being dragged into the house for bedtime.

So we had a day that was planned and then unplanned and then re-planned but with assumed difficulties that ended up not having difficulties.......anywho we had fun.