Naomi's first real bath

Naomi had her first bath a few days ago. She loved it and actually coo'd for the first time while soaking in the tub. Now I wish we would have bought the tummy tub! She was very peaceful and just happy to stay in there. Usually I get a lot of yelling as soon as their bottom touches the water. :) Hopefully this means Miss Naomi will like her baths for the long term.

Now.. as peaceful as this picture looks this is what you're missing.

1) I undressed Naomi at the changing table, wrapped her in a blanket and carried her into the bathroom. Approximately 4 seconds later she poo'd everywhere. All over the sink, floor, and hit Joseph's step stool which set up a howl of protest -- as everyone else burst out laughing.

2) Why was Joseph's stool there? All around the countertop she had siblings. Noah and Joseph shared the stool so they could see. (Trust me, "Let ME see!!!" was the phrase of the day). James hovered around them and Charlotte & Bethany ooh'd and ahh'd as she got her bath.

3) Sound effects - lots and lots of them as her hair was washed and then later as she was lotioned. Joseph was the one most into the lotioning part, tho everyone got some lotion for their hands.

Naomi is outgrowing her newborn items. A few are fitting a little snug. They're up to 8lbs and she's getting too long for them. A park mom gave us a bag of little baby girl items (thanks Kim!!) so Naomi won't be naked after all. hehe. I'm hoping to hit the fabric store soon and will show off our dress making progress.. or lack of!

Yesterday we went to the park day for the first time since her birth. Seeing all of the park moms and kids was fantastic. I think we were all feeling some cabin fever. It was easier than I'd imagined. The hardest part was seeing the price at the gas pump! Tomorrow we're going to church. It will be our 2nd time visiting this church. We missed going the sunday before Easter & Easter due to sick kiddoes. We're all looking forward to going back. Hopefully when softball ends (mid-may) we can join in on the Wed Bible study. Plus, hoping to get involved in Sunday school as well.

Inside and outside stuff

Outside...

The kids found this little guy wandering the yard yesterday. Charli was the original finder, he was hanging out near the batting pole. (A pole with a ball on a tether for hitting). They said he didn't come out. I was snoozing with Naomi so Daddy was the picture taker for this event -- which is probably why heads appear to be missing ;-)

Inside...

Naomi is slowly becoming adjusted to the amby bed. She's so short that she looks kinda scrunched between the two baby positioners (keep her on her back for safety). She has been the easiest baby so far, I can't believe it. One friend at the park, when I mentioned not looking forward to sleep deprivation, mentioned speaking positive instead of negative. That has really stuck with me. While we're not "name it and claim it" Christians, I can see where expecting *good* is often a blessing in itself.

James.. being James.. and other stuff

Okay, ignore the messy floor.. this was done a few days after Naomi arrived and I'm just now getting time to post them. This was hilarious and had all of us laughing. When you're 7 I think anything goes!

He refers to himself as "The Entertainment". You should see how long he can balance on the birth balls! hehe. He's a circus act in the making.

A few more pictures of our littlest miss...

This picture was taken when Naomi was a few days old, soaking up sunshine with Daddy to help prevent jaundice issues -thankfully that never turned into a problem.

A quick note

Life in our household is humming along. Eventually I'll return emails and phone calls, but still making sleep a priority right now. Naomi slept beautifully last night and we snuck in some catnaps today. She must have read the books, she's nursing around every 2 hours for a nice length of time. Her slight yellow coloring appears to be disappearing. When she wakes up she loves to quietly look around.. she's still a quiet baby for the most part. Only objecting over diaper changes (sometimes) and empty tummy feelings.

Jim is doing a great job of keeping everything together. None of us are starving *g* and the kids are cooperating. They're a little disappointed we won't be at the park on friday (!) but I told them we need a bit longer than a week. We're aiming to go the friday after next for a short visit. They are happy we'll have no school next week as we just work on getting into a routine.

Tomorrow Naomi will have her first sad time as her PKU is done by our midwife. She caught the flu and was unable to come on Monday -- we told her we appreciated her keeping her germs away from us. :) Her first ped visit is May 1st. It's nice to not have to worry about running out and about with her.

Life is going great and we've adjusted nicely. Having the baby at home, and being able to rest here, has made all of the difference in the world. I really feel like we somehow cheated this time! hehe. We had an easy no-stress pregnancy, easy birth, and easy recovery now. We know God deserves the glory and we're so thankful he blessed us with another child.

We'll hopefully get more pictures up soon - including pics with the happy big siblings!

Naomi is here!

(for some reason the pics look a little blurred thru blogger, I'll try to post better ones later on, just want to get a few up now for those who have been waiting!)

Naomi Kiersten arrived on 4/13 at 5:16pm. She was 7lbs10oz and 18" long - she has tiny little feet and looks like a gorgeous baby doll. :) For those who have called/emailed.. it'll probably be a bit before I reply, trying to use as much of this week as possible to just relax and recover while Jim is home. If you need to reach us, call Jim's number instead of mine.

For those interested in the long birth story, read on..

Many of you know we planned a homebirth and needed to make it to 37 weeks. On Friday, Noami's birthday, we hit an amazing 39 weeks - a real blessing! The day before we had a midwife visit and did ask to have dilation checked. I was a little concerned because I hadn't been feeling much prelabor activity. We found out I was 3cm and about 50-70% effaced, which was good news.

At 5am my water broke and I woke Jim up to let him know it was time to get things ready. He hopped into gear with filling the pool (took about an hour or so, less than we expected) and boiling hot water to add once our water tank was done. The pool holds about 125 gallons. We called the midwife and she said for us to call back after contractions started. We finished up some other odds and ends, waiting on the sun to come up before calling to see who could come over. Diana had to work that day til 3pm and so I was able to reach Ann instead. Jo, my other backup, offered to help if Ann needed a hand - *that* was also a huge relief, to have friends willing to be here for us. I told Ann we'd call back when things got going. We let the midwife know some mild contractions had started, but nothing major. I got soup going in the crockpot and by then the kids were awake.

I think it was around 9am when everyone showed up. Contractions basically stopped at that point. My midwife's assistant was sick, so she had a doula friend come help - this was her first homebirth experience, tho she has lots of hospital experience. She was absolutely wonderful and the kids, especially Bethany, adored her. We opted to go for a walk since walking around the house seemed to stir up some activity. A few contractions on the walk, but not a lot, we come back and midwife/doula go to get some lunch and safety pins. We did a rebozo style wrap of the tummy to try to put baby's head against the cervix. Also had 'homework' of using the breastpump off and on to increase the natural hormones. Well, the little pins didn't work so great (they found some at the local dry cleaner, basically said "I'm a midwife, have a client in labor, and trying to find large pins" they gave them a bunch *G*). So I was wrapped for probably 15 mins or so, but the breast pump did work. We probably did that about five times, including once after the returned. Contractions hit around 6 minutes apart. We did an exam and I was 5cm at this time.

Sooo.. off to sit in the playroom on the birth ball. We had 8 children in the house (2 11yo girls, 9yog, 7yob, 2 3yo boys, & 2 toddlers) and 5 adults. Later, Diana arrived with her 2 (7yog & baby boy) to add to the headcount :) It was SO nice! We chatted about everything and when a contraction arrived I just leaned against Jim (who is an A+ labor helper!!!!) and breathed through it. The children usually quieted down and waited.. then back to chatting. At this point contractions were generally coming in pairs. I could tell they were working, but it wasn't overwhelming. Noah was playing tag through the playroom and the mood was very upbeat. Around the time Diana arrived we moved into the bedroom with the midwife. I sat on the edge of the bed, contractions coming 2-3 at a time, and worked verbally with Jim while the midwife applied pressure on my back. I was so thankful that they were not that challenging. I guess during this time Bethany was having a long discussion with the doula about birth balls and such. It was funny. She did come in with us at some point and we started talking about the pool.

I felt kinda silly, like I was still in early labor and didn't want to spend hours and hours in the pool. Midwife assured us that anytime after 5cm is definitely a great time for the pool. My other concern was that I couldn't lean against Jim or look up into his eyes as easily. We were using a combo of scripture, prayer, hypnobirthing, and www.earthmamaangelbaby.com (that CD was playing). Plus, someone had told me looking up is good during ctx and they were right! So, into the pool I went, changing into a simple shirt and losing my other clothes. I opted to labor in my regular stuff earlier, being in my nightgown felt waaaay too hospitalish to me.

The water was very nice. My arms just floated and we continued to chat in between contractions. I could feel some trembling in my legs and my teeth chattered a bit, this is a definite transition sign for me.. but I had NONE of the overwhelming transition feelings so it wasn't difficult at all. A few contractions I felt baby move down and mentioned it. Midwife tried listening during one contraction and that was the only one that seemed like way too much. I think it was just the extra activity. Everyone was very in tune to what I asked and that kept me in control and at peace. Jim poured water over my shoulders and during a few my midwife kept eye contact with me so I'd remember to breath. My prayer during this labor was to never feel out of control or attacked. Even at this time I prayed a sincere thank you to God for such a gentle labor and for the peace we experienced. His promises to us are SO good. I'd been reading the Supernatural Childbirth book throughout my pregnancy. We also had scripture that stayed with me so I could call on His word for peace.

Finally, without any of the 'drama' of transition, I realized baby was coming. At that point I know I said "I need help" and floated a bit more in the pool. I have no clue as to what everyone else did, but the doula reminded me to keep vocalizing, to let them hear me working. (I did find out later the kids heard nothing and hadn't even realized when baby was born!). I stared in her eyes, held her hand, leaned against Jim and was surprised when the head was born. I was told I could push and almost immediately Naomi was there on my chest with a towel draped on top. I was so surprised! I even told them I couldn't believe I had the baby without going through transition.. while she was being born that thought went through my head too. Transition is generally my feared stage because I hate feeling overwhelmed or out of control. Waterbirth is most definitely the way to go.

A while after she was born Jim took a peek to see what we had.. said he had to look twice he was so convinced baby was a boy. hehe. Everyone is thrilled with a sister and now we're even with 3 girls and 3 boys. I especially love being here with my family. We got tucked all into bed and everything was cleaned up and done by midwife & doula. Naomi checked out to be around 39 weeks (on the newborn exam). Her apgars were 7 & 8. Basically she wasn't interested in crying, and still doesn't, so took a while to turn pink. Our midwife said she's the most mellow baby she has ever seen. I'm so thrilled that her birth experience was calm and peaceful for *her* as well as me.

Still waiting!

We're now at 38 weeks and 4 days. Definitely longer than we'd have assumed in the beginning! Tomorrow I have a visit with the midwife, we did not think we'd make it to THAT one. hehe. It's like a strange time warp because we truly expected baby that first week in April. We were fretting over making it to April 1st.. and we're now at the 11th!

Praise God for keeping our baby safe and snug til it's time for the arrival. We're happy to let baby pick the date that is best. The appointment is late tomorrow evening so I'll try to update after we get home.

Greenhouses & Skirt for Bethany

Bethany's (aka "Boo") greenhouse. Some of hers definitely took off better than others. We have them currently sitting outside so maybe they'll perk up! Our Keeper meeting is this Saturday and everyone is bringing one plant to put in the community plot. At least they all have *one* that grew!

Below is a closeup of the plants growing the best in her greenhouse.
I guess it is fitting that Noah's our littlest and his plants are ALSO the littlest.. can't quite figure out why his are not growing? At least he has some progress showing now! These are also outside to soak up some extra sunshine.

This is the skirt I made today for Bethany. She likes the simple prairie skirts that are sooooo easy to make. It's almost embarrassing to admit this is my "project" for the day. To add to it I made a matching scrunchie. I don't have the patience for an extended sewing project lately.. too much baby sitting between me and the machine!.. but these skirts are right up my alley. We have enough fabric leftover to make a little t-shirt dress if baby is a girl.. or perhaps a cute skirt for Bethany's American Girl doll.

I'd like to make a skirt like this one: http://www.xanga.com/connimom/549154186/how-to-make-a-wrap-skirt---part-1-cutting.html for Charli. The prairie skirts really seem to lose their charm when you're 5'2" and the size of other adults!! hehe. (Thanks Crystal for giving me that link!)

Baby Poll!

Want to guess on baby's arrival?

http://www.expectnet.com/games/Blessing6

A cat photo, plants, etc.

Here are some of the plants in progress. The large one at top is Charlotte's. They have sprouted fast and most are coming close to reaching the lid.


James and Joseph show off their sprouts. Noah and Bethany's plants are lagging behind, hopefully they'll have more to show tomorrow! (Btw, this is Joseph's "Cheese Face" as he calls it!)

I had to take a picture of Mocha. This is where she sits. Noah hasn't been using the high chair lately, so I guess it seems to be the perfect cat hangout. She sat here for over an hour, patiently watching the world go by, although I'm wondering if she assumes she'll get a snack!

Everything is done and waiting on baby. The birth pool is set up with a sheet overtop to discourage cats from jumping in it. They haven't tried it.. but why tempt them? It is not filled. The crockpot has a fresh ginger root in it. It is used during labor to help prevent tearing (assuming we're not in the pool!). The stack of receiving blankets are waiting patiently for a baby to wrap up! :)

Here are some of Noah's new diapers. He's got a rainbow bottom. hehe. Missing from this picture is a BRIGHT orange (so cute!) and another color that escapes me right now. These are soooo soft and wonderful.

A funny..

Most folks know we don't celebrate the Easter Bunny. The kids are aware of traditions, but overall we just killed off the secular from the Christian holidays. Works for us. We're not militant, we don't burn pictures of the Bunny, and it's not a crusade.. just not for us.

BUT..





This is funny..

Snoedel and Seeds

I found some really cute dolls online and had a friend that used to make them years ago. One name for them is snoedels. Basically, its a knotted doll made from a flannel blanket. We went to Hancock Fabrics yesterday - hoping to walk the baby out *g* - and bought some gorgeous gender neutral fabric. A lot of the fabric was very boy/girl gender specific. I also found some contrasting fabric for the hat. The rest of the notions we had at home already.

The picture above shows the blanket without the "hands" knotted. I stitched the blanket together, leaving a small side open and turned right side out. Then I went over it with a cute overstitch that my Kenmore/Janome machine has programmed. (The girls especially adore all the awesome stitches! Once we know if we have an Elijah or Naomi we'll use the monogramming to put their name on the blanket). If you look at the picture at the bottom you can see the little vine that is stitched around. We also hemmed a cute little hat and stitched it on top.

Here are the knots for the hands. They're bulky. We'll probably leave it unknotted for now and when baby is older put the knots in if wanted. The girls prefer it without knots.

This picture is true to the color of the actual blanket. It's a vibrant color and ultra-soft.




Above are some of the greenhouses that the kids are using to grow seeds. It is part of their Keepers/Contenders club. They have sprouted, we'll post an updated picture later on. The club is organized by my friend Diana and we're having the boys & girls do gardening together.. even the little ones are sprouting seeds.

I'm surrounded by crafty friends lately! Diana is making colonial layette sets for babies.. Another friend, Jo, finished up an awesome set of pocket diapers for Noah. They're all BEAUTIFUL colors. I'll have to show a picture later on, he's got a whole rainbow. Bright orange, red, blue, celery, sage, pale blue, and so on. Her site is www.jolibebes.com if you're in the market for diapers. I was a Fuzzi Bunz posterchild, but the fleece and fit of her pockets is so much nicer. FB really can't compare!

We're using kissaluvs on the newest arrival.. whenever s/he arrives! :)

Happy Resurrection Day!

A normal Friday

Hi all,

Our home seems to be taken over by cold germs.. ugh. But, most of us are on the mend so at least that is good news. We're all a little surprised we have no signs of baby's arrival -- some are getting quite impatient. hehe. Joseph is anxiously awaiting baby! The girls are too, but they're not as outspoken. This morning James zipped out of his room, looked at me, and said "Is the baby here?" When I told him "no" he replied "I gotta go to the bathroom.." and zipped off again. hehe.

Please join us in prayers for a safe, gentle birth. We're not really going for "fast" because our midwife has a little over an hour's drive to our home. :)

No baby yet!

Still sitting around, enjoying being fullterm. Our longest pregnancy was 37w4d. Currently 37w3d. I think everyone is surprised we don't have labor signs yet!

Maybe the driveway is stalling progress.. lol.

For those who don't know, we've been dealing with property line issues for a couple of weeks. Basically, 3 corners of our property are marked correctly, the 4th corner had two markings - one saying the driveway is on our property, the other saying it is not. Well, the real estate agent in this issue has been quite dishonest on many occassions. If you're local to us I'd be happy to give you her name so you can avoid it. She had the one rebar covered up (I dug it back up), hid the fact they were trying to close -- even with the WRONG property lines -- was threatening regarding where our other lines were.. and basically just terrible. It took hours to find out who was doing the surveying and getting information settled to where the surveyor would come out again.

Praise God the surveyor was NOT willing to let the real estate agent run us over. He clearly marked our property lines.. and while we did lose the front part of the driveway, the owner (selling the lot next to us and sold us our lot) is supposed to cut us a new driveway. We are out the money we spent on that one and have to buy more gravel, but that's better than what we thought would happen!

The ironic thing is the people are adamant they want NO driveway between our lot and theirs. They're closing today and I don't think they realize we're cutting the new section right next to the old one. I also don't think they realize just how much of the treeline between us that we own. When the surveyor was out here he showed how our property line is actually at an angle to the road, not perpendicular like everyone was assuming. It should make life interesting if they decide they want to clear that section. I'm not letting them touch a single tree on our property. We really like having a tree line for privacy.

We're hoping they'll be polite and allow us to use the 700 sq. ft section of driveway that's on their land until the new one is in. We have to wait on the state to move the culvert, or put a new one in before the driveway can be cut. What's truly annoying is the real estate agent kept saying all of the driveways are flat here, with no culverts. There is absolutely *NO WAY* she could have missed seeing the culverts, especially since our ditches out here (in the sticks) are cut so deep. Honestly, she may just be ditzy, but she's gotten so many things wrong I can't imagine it all being on accident.. especially since all of it suits her!

Whew.. I'll be glad when it is done and life returns to normal. My fear is the culvert people will arrive the day Jim goes back to work!

But.. we have a cute baby to prepare for and that's way more fun than fretting over the driveway! All of our leaves are back on the trees and it's just gorgeous here. The perfect time to welcome a new member of the family.