Labor??? Or not???

Well here is the second soaker that I finished... The picture isn't very good. But this time I knitted on the cuffs to make them rolled. The next one I make is going to have that cream colored waistband with that blue verigated body, cream colored cuffs and a verigated blue tie.

Back to our regularly scheduled post.

I coulda swore I was in labor last night. In fact if it had been closer to my due date I probably would have packed it up and went to the hospital.

I started to get uncomfortable contractions at around 8:45 last night. They were about 8-10 minutes apart. By two in the morning the pain was keeping me awake and they had gotten closer... 4-6 minutes apart. At this point I couldn't sleep anymore. Since I am only 33 weeks I just laid there and prayed that God would give Josiah at least two more weeks of development. Especially if he does have a problem (the cyst) then at least then he would have a better fighting chance.

At any rate. By the time morning came they had finally died down to a dull roar and I was able to just breath through them and then they stopped. Problem is that now around lunch time today they started back in again. Now they are 7 minutes apart and I feel pressure with them. They don't really hurt though.... I don't know what I should do. Seeing as how my midwife is on vacation... the one I spoke with on Monday said.. well they are just Braxton Hicks... Ignore them... At what point do I stop ignoring and start worrying????

As much as I want to see Josiah and hold him in my arms I want to wait at least TWO MORE WEEKS....

Updates

I had an appointment with the midwife yesterday. ( Not MY midwife... she is on vacation... but that is a different story!)

Anywho! I am staying steady with the weight gain... Thank God! I didn't gain anything the past two weeks... which was fine since I had that nice 9 pound weight gain a month or so back...

The baby's heartrate was in the 150's... Uh... Josiah.. are you sure those were boy parts we saw in there????

And my belly is measuring right where it should be for 33 weeks.... So unfortunately there is no chance that just maybe by some stroke of luck I was farther along.... Oh well..

And then after last weeks incident at the hospital, the midwife proceeded to tell the little baby to stay in there for at least two more weeks so that he could be born at our hospital.

Anyways.. here is the story with the midwives...

The one that I see is an old coworker from when I used to work in the maternity ward at Samaritan hospital. So we knew each other. At any rate she "specialed" me for Emma's birth. Which means that she came in for the birth even though she wasn't on call that night. So she plans on doing the same for Josiah.... Here lies the problem... As long as I am not truely in labor the other midwives have to attend me till it is determined that I am in active labor. I think that one of the midwives has a problem wit that. Well when I went to the office I had to see the other midwife because mine is on vacation. She was very short with me and did only what was necessary for the appointment then told me that when I was do to come back Michelle would be back from vacation....

I told her... hey.. it is okay that I had to see you today... It didn't bother me... She kind of looked at me with a weird look and said... Well I thought you WANTED Michelle. To which I answered I do and walked away... How weird is that??? So know I am thinking that maybe I should tell Michelle this so that she is aware that maybe Margaret is kind of miffed that I don't want to see her..... Sigh... I can't wait till all this is over....

We are shooting to make it to 35 weeks. That is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving... Anytime after that he is more than welcome to come and greet the world! Hopeing for a Christmas baby....

Wool Soakers

So I knitted my first wool soaker... but it isn't wool it is just plain old acrylic yarn. I heard somewhere that you can use acrylic but it wouldn't be leak proof for a whole entire night. I used this pattern... I used size 7 circular needles and then size 7 dpns. I never checked my guage.. I sorta just wung it! But the best part is that my homemade cloth diapers fit perfectly in the cover!

I followed the directions to the tee except for the cuffs... I just used three rows of single crochet stitching in the back loop of the stitch.

I ended up finding some wool yarn at AC Moore, a local craft store. So I picked up two skeins of Lionbrand Wool. And then some cool stuff handspun in Chile. I can't wait to use it. When I have those knitted or crocheted up I will share!

Cloth Diapers and weird pregnancy dreams

So I decided that I would sew my own cloth diapers to save even more money than I would by just purchasing them off the internet. The fun part was trying to make a pattern with some paper without buying a pattern. My mom and I worked for an hour and made two prototypes before we agreed on a good size for a newborn. My mom sewed while I cut the material.

For the outer layer we used flannel from Walmart that cost $2.57 a yard. For the outer layer that will touch Josiah's butt we used fleece (a natural wicking agent!) that was the same price. Then for the inside layers inside the diaper we used two layers of an ugly flannel that I got for $1 a yard. And the soaker pad is made out of washclothes folded in thirds. They were 18 for $4. All in all I am going to get about two dozen diapers for $40. They will last for a few months. If we bought disposables for three months it would cost about $240! So yippy!! We saved tons of money. Then when the baby is a couple of months old I will make some more only bigger. They have to be used with diaper covers. I had already had those from Emma so that worked out great!

After doing so much research on the net about cloth diapers and seeing how much they cost I had about given up on using anything other than the good old square cloth diapers that you buy at the store. Then when I saw this pattern on the internet due to my friend Jamie I became excited with the possiblity of being able to make them on my own. It worked great and I plan on making them for the whole time for Josiah. I believe that it will be easier for potty training. I really should make some for Emma as well and just be done with it! But I hate to put the money into it when I am almost done with her! Especially since we have two mega huge boxes of diapers in the closet for her!

The last thing that I want to do is make some wool soaker covers. I found this on the net yesterday and plan on trying it as soon as I can find some "real" wool yarn. I can't get that at Walmart. So it may not pay for me to make them. If that is the case I may just buy some fleece covers off the web and call it good. They run about 15 dollars a piece. But you only need one a night.




Okay moving on....

I am thinking that I may be strange. But has anyone ever had a toilet dream??? I have them all the time. And probably more so now since I am pregnant and have to pee all night!

In my dreams I usually have to go really bad!! But when I finally find the toilet it is out in the open. No stall doors. Or maybe there are doors but there aren't any walls between the stalls. Sometimes there are walls but they aren't tall enough. And then sometimes it is just like one big huge communal bathroom with a whole bunch of toilets just sitting out in the open. And it seems like I am the only one that cares that there is no privacy! Everyone else just goes about their business like there is no problem at all!

My personal favorite (but only for the humor!) is when I finally find these toilets all out in the open like that they are all usually full from the last user. You know! Kinda like when you go to Walmart and skip over three or four stalls till you find one with clean water in it!

Anyways.... I am guessing that you are all going to think I am just about the wierdest person in the world. But these are my toilet dreams! Come on... someone please tell me I am not alone in all this!

Enough Already!!!

Man.... I had hoped against all hope that this pregnancy was going to be different than the last one....

Nope!

All weekend I had painful contractions that really annoyed me and made me uncomfortable... Now I am only 32 weeks today. (That would mean I would be 8 weeks early for those of you that don't know the week breakdown of a pregnancy!) So I decided to call the office today. They made me come in to Labor and Delivery so that they could watch for a bit.

Don't you know that as soon as I walked through the doors of the hospital the contractions stopped?? Isn't that always how it works???

Anyways.... the point I am trying to make...

During my pregnancy with Emma I had started to have contractions about 33 weeks but they were painless. But the problem was that towards the end when they did start to hurt (about two weeks before her birth) I never really knew when I was in labor! I had so been hoping that this go around I would never have a painful contraction before labor so that I would feel the first one and say HEY!! I must be in labor....

After watching me for a little while they decided it wasn't labor and that the baby was okay.. and of course good news... my cervix is long thick and closed... So no dilation... Hope that means the baby will stay put for at least three more weeks so I can deliver at my hospital instead of the medical center in the city. If I can get to 35 weeks they won't really consider him a preemie... Since Emma was born at 37 weeks I am hoping he is going to come early as well... All the signs seem to pointing in that direction... What with everything going exactly as it did before only a week or two sooner... Hey I wonder if that means he will be born earlier than Emma??

I guess now I am just going to hope that my water breaks as a sure sign... *Sigh* I just wish I could have a normal pregnancy....

Oh the bliss....

Emma is completely off bottles now... I wanted to have a break with the washing and what not before Josiah came! So yesterday we had a little party... We got all of Emma's bottles together and let her throw them away in the trash... Then we all clapped our hands and said Yah!!!!

Now since we did that she goes to sleep without even crying... I think that the fact that she visually saw them go in the trash really helped... I am sooooo happy that she is off the bottle... Next hurtle?? Potty training... but I think that is going to wait until spring when she turns two... I don't have the energy right now to deal with that.... Not to mention I probably should get her into a big girl bed before we do that.

The nesting bug is really biting me... I never really did that with Emma but this go around it is really driving me batty... I am having to have things in all the right places and I want it done NOW! Not yesterday.... I FINALLY hung the pictures and quilt up next to Josiah's bed and we got the glider rocker in next to it. I want to get a nursing stool to put my feet up... Then I need to plug the pretty nightlight in on the little table... I want to finish organizing all of his clothes... I still need another little set of drawers or some under the bed storage for the rest of his stuff.... Space is limited here in the our bathroom...(Don't ask!! Those of you who know our house understand....)

We still have a list of stuff that we need to buy for the baby and we are not able to right now so of course that is driving me batty as well!!! Part of having the baby is the fun of getting everything ready and since we are short financially we can't do what I would like to do.... argh... the frustration...

Well maybe I will go and put my feet up for a little while and try to forget about it for a couple hours... I have plenty of time to worry about it tomorrow!

The Countdown Continues

I am now 31 weeks... Only 62 days to go till D-day.... Went to my midwife appointment yesterday.... Good news... I only gained two pounds in two weeks!!! Whew... Thank goodness!!! The baby was definitely head down! And she estimates him at around 3 pounds or so.... The bad news... I won't be able to see my wonderful midwife in two weeks cause she won't be there! So I have to settle for the other one.... I won't see Michelle again until 35 weeks for the dreaded Group B strep swab.... Then hopefully we will be on the home stretch by then...

Another fun thing happened today.... Our childbirth education lady who is also a doula has agreed to be OUR doula for free.... We are excited. But the condition was that we had to kinda understand that she may not be able to make it because her and her husband's second car is out of commission.... If this turned out to be the case she would "doula us" over the phone...
She has no qualms about it being Christmas time when I am due... And to make everything just perfect she is a born again Christian! So none of that earthy weird stuff....

Oh and I almost forgot....

I am enjoying the nice weather Buuuuttttt.... It woke up all the wasps and hornets around our house... So today when Emma and I were waving bye bye to Nana I got stung on my back by a wasp or hornet... not sure cause I didn't see it..... Man did that HURT!!! Still does in fact! How can something so small and easily crushed create such havoc! I was crying when it happened... mom was looking for a stinger and Emma was crying cause mommy was crying.... Oh welll.... Wasn't as bad as labor though! Which we will be experiencing the joys of again in short time.

Call the presses!!!!!

Emma went to sleep in less then ten minutes.... Now that is nothing new... here is the best part....

It was by herself.... (like normal)... with NO BOTTLE!!!!!!

(I should have tried this sooner!!!)

Whew!! (Housecleaning and christmas spirit)

It took me two whole days, a lot of backache, and a million contractions... but I finally finished cleaning the whole house!!! I so proud of myself. I had the energy and decided to just get up and do it. I haven't been able to in weeks, or months. Everytime I would start cleaning and get too active the contractions would get too bad... So finally I sat there and thought hmm... last time I was pregnant I would clean straight through the contractions and nothing bad ever happened. So I just got up and did it...

Course if I post about a new baby in a couple of weeks I will know that I probably should have taken it easy! It would seem that the nesting has finally set in for good. All the cleaning and cooking I have been doing this week, not to mention getting the baby stuff ready. Today I plan on hanging the pictures above his crib. Been meaning to do that! I am going to start getting all the cloth diapers ready and set to go. I have decided to use cloth this go around to save money but I will still be using disposables at night till the night time feedings decrease, and I am able to afford the all in ones that don't leak at all! If anyone cares to buy Josiah a present the all in one's cost $14.95 a piece... wink wink.... I know, I know, it is a little steep but you only need four or five of them....

Well I finally found a Christmas Tree Farm around here so we can go and cut a tree down this year. I am so excited because I have never had a real tree. Pete finally agreed to it since he doesn't want to find a place to store a fake tree. So on the Saturday after Thanksgiving we are going to bundle up and take Emma out to get a tree. The farm that I found takes you out on a trolley into the woods where they have planted all the trees. When you get there they let you loose with a saw and a cart to haul it back to the trolley with. Then you ride the trolley back to the main area where the "shake" the tree free of loose needles, bale it up for you and then put it on your car. Then after all that they give you a mug of hot chocolate and a candy cane! How cute is that???

We are planning on making this our family tradition so we will be doing this in the morning (November 26th) towards lunch then heading home to turn on the music and decorate. Hopefully we will have a couple presents already wrapped so we can get those under there and make it look more festive. It's going to be fun keeping Emma away from the tree and presents!

We are planning to have the shopping and decorating done by that weekend since we don't know when Josiah will be gracing us with his presence. If he is like his sister it will be way before Christmas and we don't want to be shopping with a newborn. Speaking of.... Josiah... if you can hear me... Again I repeat come soon... preferably maybe the third week in December????

For your viewing pleasure

Well I guess it would be for those who don't mind seeing my naked belly and those who are wondering how big I am... Sorry for the quality of the picture... It is the best that I can do without Pete! I am 30 weeks and two days in this picture.

If you can tell.... I have a small stretch mark right near the point where my stomach and hip meet... I was kinda hoping to pass by unscathed like I did with Emma... But I don't think that that is going to happen... I guess when you hit your all time weight high you kinda tend to stretch in places! I can't wear my wedding ring anymore... that never happened with Emma... Makes me sad!

Josiah is killing me!! Carrying a boy is definitely different then carrying a girl... His favorite past time is ramming his little head down into my right hip and elsewhere.... while also stretching and kicking his feet into my left rib or sternum... Feels great!! Then of course there is the fact that he NEVER sleeps! Or if he is sleeping then he moves in his sleep.... Help me someone... I think I may have been taken over by a little alien!!!


Josiah if you can hear me... come soon... very soon... (well when you are done cookin'!!)

Woe is me

Well... it seem that the contractions that I was plagued with the entire third trimester with Emma have finally found their way home to me again.

The painful contractions started on Sunday. I just try to be careful about how much I do and when I notice that they begin to get regular than I slow down! I was kind of hoping that I would escape this but such is not the case.

My one consolation is that I am getting closer to the point when in this pregnancy where Emma was born last time. Seven more weeks and I will be 37 weeks and then I am going to start counting the days. I have made that my small goal to acheive. It sounds a lot better than ten weeks.

I have decided to give up on my knitted poncho.... Maybe after Josiah is born I will have the gumption to pick it back up again. Instead I think that I will make a shawl. My friend Jamie just finished this one and it looks pretty. Hopefully I will have enough yarn to make it.

In the mean time a nice lady at church has given me a buttondown shawl to wear. It is pretty warm when I wear two layers under it. I am currently enjoying it until I make one of my own.

I better get cracking!

Oh NO!

I had an appointment today with my midwife.

The good news first!
My blood pressure is great. My sugar is fine, don't have to worry about diabetes, and the baby sounds great!

The bad news
I gained 9 pounds in the last month. What is up with that???

Out of Emma's mouth!

Emma knows that there is a baby in mommy's belly she often points to my belly, pats it and says baby.

Today Emma came up to me and pulled on my pants...

I looked down and asked her what??

She pointed to her belly and said:


"Mommy.... Baby!"


I almost peed my pants laughing!!!

Life as I know it... (aka family updates)

Well this headache that I have had for two weeks is still going strong. I call the doctor's office about twice a week and tell them about it... hoping it isn't my blood pressure. They continue to reassure me that it isn't. Today my midwife called in a prescription for pain meds to take at night... She says they are okay to take when pregnant. I trust her. But I had hoped not to get to that point.

Then yesterday to top it all off I had to take that glucose tolerance test where you drink that nasty orange carbonated beverage then have your blood drawn an hour later... I uh had a little reaction to it to say the least. The room was spinning and I had all I could do to sit in a chair... I got through it okay then went down to the doctor's office only to find out that my midwife was upstairs in the middle of a delivery and I had to reschedule my appointment! I was so bummed. When you are pregnant you LIVE for those appointments!! But at any rate I will get to go in on Monday and FINALLY have my blood pressure checked.

Today I went to have my eyes checked... THANK GOD that my prescription hadn't changed enough to warrant new glasses so that saved us about $150!! But at least we ruled out my eyes as the cause of the headaches.

The baby continues to keep me awake at night and seems to have found a new comfy home under my ribcage! FUN FUN! We are very anxious to meet our Josiah though and pray every day for his safety and for the cyst to be gone at our next ultrasound.

We are starting our childbirth education classes next Tuesday... I am really excited because she is a born again Christian and incoporates God and the bible into her classes. I am hoping that I get through this labor easier and faster with her tuterage!

Pete is not getting such good hours at work lately. Although it comes and goes so we just roll with the punches. Other than that he can't complain about work.

Well I think that about sums up our life at this moment in the year!

A conversation with Emma

Today Emma and I were sitting in the rocking chair talking about baba's. Although I must admit that it was pretty much onesided!

"Emma don't you know that big sisters aren't supposed to drink baba's"

"Nooo"

"Well they don't! Maybe we should throw the baba in the trash?"

"Noo"

"Why not? Don't you want to be a big sister??"

"Noo"

"You mean you don't want a baby brother??"

"Noooo"


Will she ever learn how to say yes?

Please remind me

Dear Lord,

Would it be possible to remind me sometime in the future how much I suffered through my pregnancies???

When I suddenly become riddled with baby fever could You remind of me of the sleepless nights I experienced while pregnant?? Could You remind of the eternal back pain?? How it never went away and when I got up at night to answer yet another call of nature I would sometimes almost fall on the floor because my lower back could no longer support me??

Would it be okay if You could just gently whisper in my ear how I stayed up at night sometimes with heartburn to the point that I was sure I was going to die a slow agonizing death?? And how it didn’t seem to matter what I ate??

Would You remind me of my daughter’s four day labor marathon that ended with 2 and half hours of hellish pushing?? Only to find out that the problems all came from a "sunny side up" face and a diagonally positioned head?? And when the time comes, if it becomes necessary, remind me of me of my son’s magical entrance into the world???

In the future when I see a baby or hold one could You remind me that I already went through that?? And that I am now back into the blissful days where I can sleep at night?? And maybe even take my eyes off of my grown children for a moment long enough to find a bathroom??

And when I hold that baby and think about how nice it would be to have "JUST ONE MORE", remind me that I already used that excuse??

Please, sometime in the future remind me of how sure I was that I only wanted two children, a boy and girl, and while You are at it could You remind me, that is exactly what You blessed me with???

I say all this because Dear Lord, I am still not sure that I want to quit after this one even though at times lately I just wish someone would take me out behind the barn and shoot me!!

Give me peace with the two beautiful children that You have given me (I hope Josiah is beautiful!). Remind me that life isn’t just about babyhood! I still have toddler-hood, child-hood, and those wonderful teenage years ahead....

Oh and yeah.. One more thing.. Remind me that someday I will be a grandma! Babies without the pain of pregnancy, labor and delivery!!!!!

Amen

Fall is in the air!!!!

Finally!!!! I have waiting so long for the hot weather to disappear... Last night the weather man said, "Take a good look at this map, it won't look like this again till May!" He was referring to the 70 and 80 degree reading on the map. I was so HAPPY when he said that!

Now we are finally going to get the nice temps of fall. Although I believe that it is going to come in like a vengeance and just turn into to winter right away... that is okay though, the sooner Christmas comes then the sooner Josiah will be here!

I walked outside today, (it was still a little warm!) and looked around at the trees... they have finally started to change colors. Took long enough! Guess I shouldn't complain though because soon the trees will be bare and it will look bleak and gray and that seasonal depression will kick in...

Actually I was thinking about all the nice fall and winter things that I get to do soon! Like wear wool socks with my clogs, wear turtle necks and sweaters, and see my breath when I go outside. Oh and my favorite, that weird smell in the air, is it the cold, wood smoke or snow??? Who knows but everyone you ask knows the smell and loves it. While thinking about the fall today I thought of my friend Jamie who loves the fall too! Are you enjoying it as much as me??

It is supposed to rain for the next four days... I had forgotten about that part of fall... Oh well soon it will be snow!!!

Knitting, babies and pregnancy.

Well my poncho is not turning out so good! I was doing really well until I got to this one mock granny stitch that totally confused me! Now I have so many stitches on my needle that it is more than what I ever even started with!! Which I don't think was the idea... Hopefully the lady at church that knits will be able to help me.... Bums me out though I really wanted to wear it on Sunday... Maybe if I get enough gumption I will try and look at it again later tonight and see what I can see....

Well here is a picture of Emma. This morning she emptied her laundry basket so that she could play with it! I caught her walking around with it on her head! She is so cute.... Here is another cute picture of Emma. She is wearing the scarf that I knitted her.


She always manages to cheer me up on bad days!

She cracked me up this morning... I said hey Emma are you being bad??? And she says... Nooooo!!!! Right in the middle of touching something she shouldn't!

Then later she emptied her laundry basket just so she could play in it.... I caught her in the kitchen and had to take a picture of it!


I am not sleeping at night... It could be my back... it hurts!!! Or maybe it is the fact that everytime I wake up (which just happens to be every 45 minutes) Josiah decides to have a party in there and do jigs on my bladder! Hey kiddo, need I remind you that you are a guest in there?? What gets me is that I am supposed to be resting at this point and trying not to overdo! Yeah okay let me just tell my body and the foreigner in there that we have to sleep now... LEAVE ME ALONE!!

Oh and let's not forget that the dreaded contractions I had with Emma for ten weeks have started up again with Josiah. What a girl woudn't give for a normal pregnancy. Last night they were pretty regular all night long. Anywhere between 5 to 10 minutes apart. I debated calling the midwife on call. But it wouldn't have done any good! Pete was at work till 3AM and Emma is not a force to be contended with when woken! So I just bade my time and figured I would call if they were still around in the morning. Which of course they weren't! Same thing that happened with Em! Keep me up all night then disappear in the morning.

At any rate. Soon the baby will be here and instead of being woken every hour to pee I will be woken every couple of hours to feed. Not so bad considering I might get longer stretches of sleep then!

Sheer boredom!

I hate the fact that when Emma is sleeping I can't do anything that makes noise! We live in such a small house that I have to be careful if I don't want a cranky child on my hands! I hope that Josiah will be used to noise and I won't have problems with him!

Well I started a new knitting project. I am making this. The website called it the Martha Stewart Coming home Poncho... whatever!! I saw it and thought it looked pretty so I decided to make it! When I started to work on it on Friday I ended up taking it out 3 or 4 times and got so frustrated that I just decided to quit. So on saturday I started it and actually accomplished something! I am using size 11 straight needles but there are so many stitches that I am cramped on there. So hopefully before I start the next panel I will be able to buy some circulars to finish the poncho on. It would definitely make life so much easier!!!

So until I switch over to the circulars I can't really take a pic because it is too squished together to see. Maybe the pic will have to wait till I am done... then maybe I can have Pete take a picture of me with it on.... wow... won't everyone be thrilled to see my big belly under a poncho!

Strange Dreams

I am wondering... are we brainwashed at a young age to believe something?? Or is it just a principle that is ingrained into our beings that just suddenly becomes a sense of propriety???

The reason I ask? I have always been brought up that girls where dresses to church... the whole nine yards. Dress, stockings, dress shoes, nice hair.... you get the idea. The problem becomes that when one is pregnant it is VERY hard to find dress clothes for women the size of cows that don't make you look like a cow... or better yet... the side of a barn... (or is it just me??) I went to the maternity store yesterday in desperate need of a skirt. NOTHING! Well nothing modest and certainly nothing that would allow me to go stocking-less. Can you imagine a big pregnant lady trying to put on stockings?? So I leave the store empty handed after all.... IT IS TABOO TO WEAR PANTS TO CHURCH!!!

In the end I had chats with several people that I consider my closest mentors... They all agree... Wear pants if it will make you feel comfortable, never mind what people think! It is only temporary! So back to the store I go... this time with an aunt and grandmother ( worked nicer than with the hubby and dearest daughter!) And came home with three pairs of lovely pants and shirts to match.

Here is where the dream comes in! I go to sleep last night thinking... Oh my gosh! I can't where pants...what are people going to think??? I am the associate pastor's grandaughter. I then go on to dream that I walk into the church with pants, everyone so shocked I would do such a thing! Then the pastor calls an emergency meeting and says... Women are supposed to wear dresses!!! At which point half the church gets up and walks out. I wake this morning thinking OH GREAT! I caused a church split because I wore pants!

So I ask again is it brainwashing?? Hmmm.... I don't really know. I do know though, that I was SO much more comfortable today, no one said anything to me about my outfit except that I looked nice and most importantly our church congregation is still intact.....

Boy I sure will be glad when this baby comes and I stop having these weird dreams!