Ryan's Home Birth Story

The morning of Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014 will be one I never forget! I had been anticipating this moment for months (even years). I didn't know quite how it would turn out, I had played it over and over in my head and "planned" how I wanted certain things, but it turned out even better than I could ever have imagined. To say that it was perfect would be an understatement. God was definitely in control and the stars were aligned that morning.

It started the night before, I had trouble getting kaylee to bed, so I let her sleep in our bed. I had a funny feeling that she was trying to get closer to me because she knew that it was "baby night" as she and Ainslee called it. So off to bed we went and at 4:09 I awoke with the overwhelming feeling of pressure down low. I laid there for a minute desperately trying to remember how I knew it was the "real" thing with Brynlee because I remember just KNOWING that was the day.  Here is what my conversation with Marcus looked like next (notice the times)

 

We started filling the pool with water about 4:50, I called Lynda (my midwife) to let her know my progress. she asked "how far apart are they?" When I told her about 8 minutes she asked if she should come now. I sort of fumbled with my words and Marcus, very assertively said from the other room "last time when you were 8 min apart we had a baby in an hour." she said she heard Marcus and then said "we are on the way." I continued to time my contractions, pacing the house trying to figure out what I needed to do next. Then I felt like I needed to try and slow things down, they were moving too quick, so I tried getting in the polar bear pose to take the pressure off. That only lasted a few seconds before I felt like it was time to wake kaylee. I struggled to get her up, and then continued to pace the house bracing myself with the counter whenever a contraction came. I noticed my contractions jumped from 8 minutes apart to 3 minutes. I called Lynda back to tell her and she assured me they were close and coming as quickly as possible. The moment Marcus announced the pool was full I told him I needed to get in. His response was "NOW??!"  So I climbed in and my immediate reaction was "oh my gosh this feels SO NICE!" I tried to get comfortable as I awaited the next contraction. The first contraction that came while in the water was way different. I felt the pressure, but it felt different. It was like the pressure was released into the water instead of building up in me, if that makes any sense. At some point Marcus sent kaylee in to wake up Ainslee, I just can't remember exactly when that was in the timeline. So I'm in the pool and a few contractions came, and then I let out a scream I felt the urge to push, so I did and I could feel my water break like a big balloon under the water. I was so relieved, one of my biggest fears/concerns was were my water would break. I told Marcus what happened and he called Lynda back again, she told him how far away she was and he told her what happened. Next thing I know they came barging in the front door, drop their bags, and got the fetal heart monitor out to check on the baby. Next thing I know Lynda was telling me that I needed to move away from the wall of the pool because the baby would have no where to go when it came out, so I crawled to the other edge of the pool when I felt the next urge to push. I had 2 contractions close together and that was when he was born. Lynda and Marcus were there to catch him as he came into this world. I had envisioned me getting to be the one to lift my baby out of the water, I imagined how magical it would be to watch him take his first breath. But alas my plan was not meant to be, and looking back on it I am so thankful that Marcus was able to be the one to lift him up and announce his gender, especially since he is our first (and most likely only) boy.  Lynda quickly handed him to me and while I sat there in total awe of my beautiful baby all I could think was "I can't believe I have a son!"

(ignore the picture, and just listen to the sound)

I knew the entire pregnancy he was a boy but even now I still have trouble wrapping my brain around it. I get so excited when I think of all the fun things to come. I'm thrilled at the opportunity to experience what it will be like to raise daughters AND a son! Each day I fall more and more in love with him! He is more perfect than I ever could imagine and he has been the best and easiest baby so far.

After I delivered him there was no suctioning. There were no interventions. I was allowed to sit peacefully as long as I wanted, just holding and staring at him. After a few minutes of him not crying Lynda gently came over and began rubbing his feet to get him to let out a big cry to clear his lungs. And he did! We waited and waited for me to deliver the placenta before resorting to me getting out of the pool. I was helped out by Lynda and Penny (her assistant) and laid down on the couch. I had attempted nursing in the pool to try and help the placenta along and then again after I got out. Unfortunately the placenta was not budging. Now I believe the reason why I had trouble was because I pulled an oblique muscle (muscle in the side of my abdomen) and was unable to push. Thankfully with a little help from Lynda I was able to deliver the placenta about an hour after his birth and all went smoothly. Ainslee was much more interested and involved than I ever imagined, while Kaylee surprised me by not being involved; she was more interested in Ryan.  After the placenta I was able to get up and get cleaned up. Lynda did the newborn assessment on Ryan with the girls right there to watch. She examined the placenta to make sure everything looked ok, and even gave the girls a little lesson. Since I had talked at great lengths about the birth process with the girls they were very interested in that part. So Lynda let them put on gloves and touch the placenta as well as ask questions about everything. I know this isn't for everyone but I couldn't be more happy with how his birthday played out! It was PERFECT!

In the days following his birth I was able to recuperate in my own home, thankfully I had the help of lots of visitors as well as Marcus; who stepped up to the plate big time! He was amazing letting me sleep in every morning, dealing with my raging hormones, taking care of the girls, and keeping the house mostly cleaned and picked up. I do think that I over did it the first couple of days just because I can't stand being slowed down. When I see something that needs to be done I want to get up and do it immediately. Which in turn was the reason why my recovery turned out to be even more difficult than just dealing with the pulled oblique. I ended up straining my adductor muscles in both legs (muscles on the inside of your thighs). This was extremely painful, mostly at night when attempting to move/roll over.  But as far as the recovery from the actual birth and all that goes with it, that was easy and only lasted about 1/2 as long as my other births.

This is the last shot of me pregnant,

I said I wanted to do this with each pregnancy and never did.

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Ive had that post written for just about 3 months, im not quite sure why I never posted it. But SOOOOO much has happened since then, I guess I'll go ahead and update it on here.

 

The biggest update I have is one of the most upsetting things for me to think/talk about. Ryan stopped nursing. He stopped just after he turned 2 months old.  I never thought this would/could happen to me. Ive never had a big problem nursing the girls, an occasional clogged duct and that's about it. But he hadn't been latching good, he was a fussy/gassy baby, he didn't eat good, he didn't sleep good, he cried and acted like he was in pain all the time. I finally gave in when I noticed he only gained a few ounces in 5 weeks. Im not a firm believer in growth charts and all that, but I knew something was wrong and that just confirmed it. I decided to ask my midwife for help. Within hours she and a lactation consultant were at my house trying to help. After many failed attempts the LC decided to try and give him a bottle to calm him and get him a little satisfied, and then try to nurse him again. So I pumped 2 ounces, she fed it to him. I think he drank it in 29 seconds and about 10 gulps. He was STARVING! I tried nursing again and he got so frustrated and refused to latch. So I pumped more and he took it from the bottle. I tried nursing again and still he wouldn't latch. And from that day on he has only nursed a handful of times and not for very long. It took me a long time to accept our new routine. In fact im still adjusting. Ive never had a bottle baby. I feel like it was all my fault, I could've done so many things differently. I cant provide for my child. I feel like a failure. it pains me to see other moms nursing their babies. I WANT to nurse him, and I just cant. Im still pumping, but Im only getting about 1/2 of what he eat in a day. Pumping is hard and painful, and time consuming. The little chunk wants to eat SO much! I know that this is what is best for him. He is such a different baby now. He sleeps, hes happy, he talks and coos, he doesn't scream in the car, and hes not in pain! He gained 8oz in just 5 days. he barely gained 1/2 that in the 5 weeks before.

So now he is on bottles full time. He will nurse a few times a week, but never to eat, mostly just for comfort. I used to have high hopes that I could pump long enough to maybe get him back on the breast full time, but alas as the days and weeks pass the less and less I think that will ever happen. I try to focus on the positives. Having a bottle baby is so much more freeing for me. I can leave him much earlier than I could with the girls. But the lack of bonding just kills me.

 

I am so thankful for the support of marcus and my midwife and the LC. Now my little guy weighs over 14lbs. he has gained about 3lbs in the month since starting bottles. and he SLEEPS, and is so happy! We have continued chiropractic care to try and help relieve the tension and possibly help get him to latch again.

 

Here's my little man so far....

 

 

To say this little man is loved is an understatement. I wish could describe how sweet and adoring his sisters are to him. They love him beyond words......and so do I!!!

Background: The Girls' Birth Stories

Im back.......and with LOTS of news........lets just say I REALLY need to think of a new name for this little neglected blog of mine


I wanted to post a little background info on my previous births before getting to "the most recent" amazingness i am so thankful I was able to experience. Don't get me wrong each one of them was super special in their own way. Let me just recap them all, as I remember them.

Kaylee my strong willed, mothering type, who can NOT wait to grow up. She was born at 5:15pm Sunday, January 7th, 2007 at GMH. She weighed 7lb 15.4oz. I added the .4 because the nurses actually argued as to whether or not they should list her at 7lb 15oz or bump her up to 8lb even. Whoever voted for the 7lb 15oz won, because that's what ended up being her official weight. She measured 20.75 inches long and pretty sure she scored 9 on both APGAR tests. I was induced with her somewhere between 5 and 7 days early; mostly because I was terrified of going into labor while teaching 18 4yr olds. I totally wish I would've know better. So we basically picked her birthday, told no one, showed up to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning, started the typical induction protocol and things started moving along rather quickly. I had decided I wanted to try going without the epidural, but when it came down to it I felt bullied by the nurses and sad to say Marcus scared me into it too. I think he was persuaded by the nurses as well. I dilated quickly the contractions were strong and close and when the nurse came in and said "you know it could be up to 2 hours before you get pain relief from the time you ask for your epidural". So I caved. Had my epidural shortly after and progressed even faster. I could only lay on my right side because if I ever tried to switch to my left side, move in the slightest way, Kaylee's heart rate would be affected and that didn't sit well with the nurses. So I was banished to my right side no matter how uncomfortable I was. And I also remember them trying to screw that fetal monitor thingy to her head, but thankfully she had so much hair they couldn't get it attached. What was I thinking? Oh I forgot to mention I had one of those "nurses in training" assigned to me too, which I didn't really have a problem with, they have to learn sometime right?? The reason why I mentioned that was because when it came time to push she had me sitting in a nearly upright position. My body was basically in a "V" shape. The baby could not descend any further due to this position so all my attempts at pushing, for like 1-2 hours mind you, were fruitless. I was beginning to tire, when I perked up and heard the doctors and nurses talking quietly by the door about a possible C-sec. I piped up rather loud and said "I will NOT have this baby by C-sec, so you might as well stop discussing that as an option". I tend to get really moody and hostile in labor. ;) shortly after that my head nurse came in to check on me and asked if I was comfortable and why I was in such an upright position. She suggested they lay the table back flat and BAM like 3 pushes later out pops Kaylee into our world! Why didn't I think of that? Total time in labor was about 9-10 hours and I required a few stitches for a minor tear. I was able to attempt nursing her almost immediately. Had a bit of trouble, knowing what I know now I had lots of trouble, and we were off to our postpartum room. She got all the routine procedures done to her accept that I asked that she be bathed in my room, not sure if it was her real first bath or not but they did bath her in my room. I had to be catheterized a few hours after having her because I had no feeling in my right leg, due to the epidural, so I was unable to get up and go to the bathroom by myself. It wasn't until the next day that I regained my mobility. So NOT cool! She went to the nursery each night and during the day when I requested it. We were discharged with a healthy baby 2 days later and our little family became a little bit bigger.

Ainslee my super sensitive, caring, thoughtful child was born at the same hospital at 12:34pm Thursday, February 12th, 2009. She weighed 7lb 4oz and was 20.25 inches long. Both her APGAR scores were also 9. I was also induced with her approximately 7 days early, it was originally scheduled for 15 days early due to our move to Hawaii. But when that fell through we moved the date back. I chose induction again primarily because I still felt such a high about Kaylee's birth, in my eyes it was perfect. (You know how they describe that feeling of your first high, that is never attainable again which is why people get addicted to drugs so easily. I wouldn't know firsthand but I clearly remember learning about it in school.) so for that reason only I chose to attempt to recreate the amazingness and induce again. Why didn't I realize that the amazingness I felt came from the fact that I brought home a beautiful, perfect baby girl. It wasn't the manner in which we chose to bring her home (make sense). Anyways, so again we picked the birthday, we told people about our induction this time, kaylee spent the night at my parents house the night before so we could go to the hospital early the next morning to start the routine all over again. Again I wanted to try and go without the epidural, especially with the complications I suffered after delivery last time. I asked if I could get up and walk around or squat or just try and manage my pain naturally. All my requests were denied. Finally, I was able to convince them to just let me get up and go to the bathroom. Labor progressed much faster this time and again I caved and got the epidural. I bet if they would've checked me prior to giving me the epi they wouldn't have given it, because I bet I was 9-10 cm dilated. She was born about 10 minutes after getting the epidural with little effort pushing. We were shocked and elated to hear we had another beautiful baby girl! I nursed her immediately and introduced her to her big sister shortly afterwards. Total time in labor was about 4-5 hours and I didn't require any stitches. During our second attempt at nursing, in delivery room, the nursery nurse came in and attempted to take her to the nursery for "evaluation and tests". I protested and said she was nursing and they could do the tests in my room when she was finished. They stated it was "hospital protocol" to take all babies to the nursery within 1 hour of birth." WHAT? So she came back at the one hour mark and physically took her off of my breast and whisked her away to the nursery for "testing".  To say I was pissed was an understatement. When they finally brought her back, not sure how much time had past, they informed me that her blood sugar was low and they needed to give her formula to raise it up. I thought my head was going to explode. I said "so you took her while she was nursing, and bring her back to me saying that she needs to eat because of her blood sugar?" Seriously? By this time she was so exhausted she wouldn't perk up enough to nurse. I was bullied more by the nurses about this whole blood sugar thing but thankfully I won and she was not given formula, at least to my knowledge. I asked if she could be bathed for the 1st time in my room, they again gave me trouble but finally agreed to the inconvenience. I didn't learn until days later that they actually bathed her for the 1st time in the nursery and then lied to me about it! I did allow her to go to the nursery at night but kept her in my room each day. Nursing came easier to me this time around. We were discharged 2 days later and our little family got a bit bigger.

Brynlee my OCD, impatient, game changer, but super lovable one came into our world at 6:54 am on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011. She weighed 8lb 10.6oz so they rounded her up to 8lb 11oz. She was 21 inches tall (but still think they measured wrong). I'm pretty sure I recall her scoring an 8 on one APGAR and 9 on the other. She is what I like to call my "unassisted hospital birth." I was adamant I didn't want to be induced, I didn't want to pick her birthday, I wanted what I set out for 5 years earlier when I was pregnant with kaylee. I deserved to labor and deliver how I wanted. This decision, I felt, was met with slight resistance from Marcus, as I don't think he could understand why I wanted to be in pain when I could have relief and why I wouldn't want to do the convenient thing and induce again. Thankfully he came to support my decisions.  I went into labor with her while Marcus was at work about 2:40ish that morning. Got up, cleaned some toilets, straightened my hair, called Marcus and my mom.....you can read her whole birth story here.  Basically this was more in line with what I had in mind when I pictured how I wanted originally to give birth. Well minus the trauma of it all. I wanted no interventions I wanted to be able to labor as my body dictated. And I didn't want them telling me what was "protocol". Again, I became hostile in labor when they attempted to do things I wasn't comfortable with, but for the most part I was pleased with this experience (again minus the trauma). I kept her by my side, literally, for the entire time we were in the hospital. I even had the nurses say to me when they came to check my blood pressure at all hours of the night, "you are going to put her back in her bassinet when you finish nursing....right???" Yeah sure whatever I need to say to make you go away and leave me alone. I struggled postpartum. I had issues I hadn't dealt with after my previous deliveries, and thankfully I was able to work through them in the weeks following her birth. She didn't have any of the typical "newborn protocol" done to her. I'm pretty sure all I let them do was the heel prick and the hearing screening. Nursing was super easy for me this time and we were discharged 2 days later.

In a nutshell those are the stories of my first 3 births as I recall them 7, 5, and 2 years later. Stay tuned for the most recent birth story.....

Ramblings

I finally got the time, desire, and REMEMBERED to write a little post. Im sure this will end up being a mish mosh post about a lot of different stuff, but here goes.....

First of all our cruise went fantastic! If you ever have the opportunity to go on a cruise, I highly recommend it! Such an awesome way to vacation! I wont go into details as that should be a post of its own, but I will say if I ever get around to that post the pictures will be quite limited as my phone went for a swim in the ocean and didn't survive. I lost nearly the entire vacation worth of pics. I was devastated and actually still recovering from the trauma!

Baby is doing GREAT! I had my most recent appt with my midwife today. Im only measuring 1 week ahead, which is a step up from last month when I was measuring 4 weeks ahead! Buuuuuuut I have gained more this pregnancy at the 25 week mark than I have with any of the others the ENTIRE pregnancy! So things might get a little crazy up in here the next 14 or so weeks. After the new year I plan to start getting my birth supplies ready for the big day. There are is a list of things I am responsible for collecting as well as the birth kit which will be sent directly to the house containing more of the "medical" stuff. As each day passes I cant believe the day is coming, I get more and more excited as the time passes.

Bethany did it again..............

 

 



 those, along with the new pictures on the right side of the blog, are from the most recent photo shoot with my amazing personal photographer (chuckle chuckle)!

 

School - we are still trucking along with 1st grade for Kaylee. She is set to be finished before the baby arrives, and she is working ever so diligently, because I have told her if she is not finished; when I need "help" with the baby she will be busy doing her schoolwork instead of rocking the baby, or changing diapers, or whatever else baby related that she is DYING to do! She has become quite the little reader, still does not have a love of reading like I was hoping, but I guess I can't blame her, she gets that from me I suppose.

Ainslee has been begging to do more school work. I cant decide if it is because she truly wants/needs more stimulation in that area, or if she is trying to get out of the chores she is required to do during school time. little does she know once she does start school the chores do NOT stop. But right now the plan is to purchase her Kindergarten curriculum (using the same one as Kaylee) after the new year and just taking it slow.

Brynlee amazes me daily at the tasks she can complete. She can do more than I remember the big girls doing at her age, guess that's what happens when you have 2 big sisters to watch. She loves to do whatever the big girls are doing and does not want any modifications made for her, or "baby" things substituted. She wont stand for the crayons because the big girls use markers or colored pencils, she wants whatever they have.  She is such a good listener (most of the time), but man is she a feisty little booger. And such a socialite. She doesn't know a stranger, loves any man, and wouldn't mind going to them or even kissing them (NO I don't have her kiss random strangers, Im referring to men shes never met but I know).

 

with Christmas just around the corner that means that Brynlee just celebrated her 2nd birthday! We did it small again, just the family out to an awesome "best in Memphis" Mexican restaurant. I still cant believe she is 2!

 

Speaking of Brynlee she is totally gluten free now (I told you this post would be random). I began having problems with her last Spring. mostly diaper issues, but also irritability, sleep issues, potty issues, and those are just the things I remember. Ive tried to block those few months out of my memory, because after I got things fixed with her I realize just how bad it had gotten. I decided to put her on GF diet even though her blood test came back negative (ive since learned the type I had done is next to pointless). And it has made a world of a difference! She began using the potty again, she quickly fixed bed time issues, and her irritability/clinginess stopped. She became much more independent and over all just happier! She began eating, she was down to only eating dinner 2-3 times a week. Sometimes skipping lunch and dinner in the same day.  She has put on weight, before going GF she didn't gain any weight for 9 months. I has been so amazing to see the transformation. Now she is completely potty trained, well except nap and bedtime, and even wears panties when we leave the house. I am so proud of that baby, she puts a smile on my face all day long!

 

I know its way early, but the plans are in the making for our BIG Disney trip next fall. Ive been trying to nail down most of the itinerary before having to make our dinner reservations right before the baby is born. I really hope that everything works out as planned. Much of our trip is dependent on Disney offering the free dining like they have historically. So lets all pray that happens, because if all the stars align we will have an EPIC trip next year. All SIX of us, and my mom is joining for the fun, and help with the babies!

 

And well since Ive talked about everyone else in the family I guess Marcus deserves an update too. He still works for FedEx......shocker!  Still at night.........big shocker! He started running a few months ago, but that has taken a back seat with it being peak season and all.  I look forward to the day when we can work out together, I really miss the crossfit training. That's about all that's new in his world.  If any of you would like to see him in action tune in to 20/20 this Friday (I think).

 

If I don't get around to posting again before Christmas I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Spend your time with those you love and cherish most, you will never get these moments back! I need to work on telling the ones I love how I feel more often. Maybe that will be my new year's resolution!

 

It's been awhile! I am still here........

Hello my faithful blog buddies!

I'm not sure many of you have hung around waiting on my next post, in fact I'm pretty sure I've lost all 6 of my readers. Which is totally understandable since it has been nearly 14 months since my last post. I'm not even going to begin to try and fill you in on everything that has gone on since I was last on here. I will fill you in on the new stuff going forward. And when I say "fill YOU in" I really mean "write this stuff down so I don't forget". If I'm friends with you on FB you know pretty much most of what has been going on with us, buuuuut......keep reading there are some surprises for you guys too!


1st we are about to go on our FIRST CRUISE!
Marcus and I have been talking about it since, well since attempting to plan our honeymoon 10 years ago, which never happened. We finally bit the bullet and booked one! All 5 of us and my mom are going on a 7 night Exotic Western Caribbean cruise next month. Our excitement level is through the roof. I told the girls I might just start packing us now.


Ok so if can you imagine how excited we are about that there is something EVEN MORE EXCITING coming up.......




Any guesses????
























































We will be welcoming baby #4 sometime late March or early April!

 

                                 the head is on the left, you can see all 4 arm and leg buds! So amazing!






And what is even MORE exciting than THAT???
We are planning a home birth! This is something I have dreamed about for years now! I am so thankful to have the full support of my husband and midwife to help me on my journey. I am perfectly confident in my body to be able to do the most natural thing mothers have been doing since the beginning of time! And I am looking forward to a peaceful experience in the comfort of our own home with no drugs, little or no intervention, and just letting my body (and baby) dictate how the story plays out! I've never been so excited about the unknown!




To answer some of the most common questions Ive gotten so far......

Where will the kids be?

Well that all depends on Mother Nature. If it happens in the middle of the night they just might miss it. But hopefully it won't. I want my kids to play as much of a part in the birth of their new sibling as they want. We will be learning lots about birth prior to the big day. And I know Kaylee will be my MW's right hand helper. My MW has already told me she will let Kaylee do as much or as little as she wants to do. Kaylee is going to be so excited when she finds out what role she will get to play.

What if something goes wrong?

This has never been a concern of mine. However, it was Marcus' biggest concern. Like I said, I am fully confident in my body, but IF something were to go wrong I trust that my MW would detect all the warning signs and take action before it was too late.

WHERE will you have the baby......the bath tub?

This one just makes me laugh! I am planning a water birth, but not in my bath tub. I will be getting a birthing tub. Whether or not I have the baby in the water is a different question. We will all just have to wait and see.

Who all will be there?

1st and foremost my husband and children. I would also love for my most favorite photographer ever to come capture everything, especially since she missed my last one. And then hopefully someone to help with the littles, not sure who that will be yet. I have definitely had people offer, which is kinda strange and cool at the same time.

(Not related to home birth)

Are you going to find out the gender of this baby?

Yes we will......when he/she is born!

 

I know there have been more questions I have already answered, but my mommy brain has kicked into full gear so remembering them just isn't in the cards. If you have any questions feel free to ask I will be happy to answer if I can.

Oh I remember one......
Do you know anyone who has done this? I have 2 "friends of a friend" who have. And I have a friend who attempted with her 1st and unfortunately ended up being transferred. Besides that I don't know ANYone!

I also want to say that over the past 14 months I have not only neglected MY blog I have not read a single blog post of yours! So I have no idea what is going on with all my blog buddies. Hope you all are well and have had a great past 14 months.

Oh i almost forgot!  How am I feeling and how far along am I?
I am 9 1/2 weeks and I feel better than any of my other pregnancies. My nausea has been very lite. Most days with none. I don't have food or smell aversions. My biggest complaint is the exhaustion. Which is totally understandable given I have 3 kids ALL DAY LONG and homeschool! But I wouldn't change it. I don't want to send them to school just so I can rest. I love that they get to share this experience with me. I love that Ainslee asks me EVERYday how the baby is feeling and how I am feeling. And Kaylee asks how big the baby is and if I can feel "her" kicking. (Kaylee is dead set on this being another girl!) and I love when I ask Brynlee to point to my baby that she immediately points to my belly button. And we never taught her that! Some people say I feel different because this is a boy. Which is a legitimate guess. But I truly attribute it to our change in life style. Mostly in the way we eat. I love that I am getting to teach the girls about REAL food, healthy food, and traditional cooking. They are catching on and building a solid foundation for a lifetime of healthy living. And that makes me more happy than the way I feel temporarily when pregnant! So feeling good is just a bonus! So I said me feeling better is "mostly" from the way we eat, I think it is also because my body is just plain ol' used to being pregnant. I mean I've been pregnant for about 29 out of the last 89 months! THAT'S CRAZY!!! Ok so there it is, all the updates. I'm not sure when I will be posting again. It just might take me awhile to get back into the swing of things.

Brynlee Growning - 7 months

How did you get to be 7 months?

This is the excitement you have when you see your sisters.

They were attempting to "help" me get you to not climb off the chair and get you to smile.

You are the HAPPIEST baby!

Your favorite thing to do right now is blowing raspberries/spitting. You love to eat, however I am wondering if you are still having trouble with your tummy. So I have decided to try cutting back on your solid food intake (Im definitely NOT worried about you starving to death!). And considering you can down an ENTIRE avocado at a single meal, I think there is plenty of room to "cut back".  You are still a horrible sleeper, well I probably shouldnt say horrible I should say "not as good as your sisters." Your 3-4 wake up calls EVERY night are getting super duper old, and I am ready to get a solid stretch of sleep.  You have just recently developed a ridiculous attachment to me. If I am in the room you MUST be on my hip (or in one of your various carriers attached to me). Today you really started moving across the floor, Im not quite sure I am ready to call it "crawling" but you are definitely scooting your fat self all around.  You are still nursing like a champ, and have not had as many bottles as I would like (which is my fault), Im hoping your daddy will start putting you to bed with a bottle soon on weekend nights. Despite your biggest sisters' BEST (and unending) attempts to shove in your face get you to drink water from your own cup you still refuse. You love your car seat WAY more than your sisters at this age, and you even sleep in it, which is a whole new world for me. You are a very content baby, most of the time, and you have a lot of patience most of the time which I feel like is a requirement of the 3rd born. You are 19+ lbs, Im not quite sure your exact weight, but I know you have plenty of meat on those bones, which makes momma VERY happy! You still love men, you will smile and "talk" to any guy that will listen to you. You kick your feet when you are happy and excited. You are DYING to get your hands on the iPad. You are trying desperately to suck your thumb (just like your sisters), which does not make your momma happy, and you think the paci is a toy. You have lost most of the hair on the back of your head leaving a semi-bald spot, and the hair by your ears and in front are growing longer and longer. Despite being dressed in pink (and other girl colors) you still get mistaken for a boy. You have brought a ridiculous amount happiness and joy and love and giggles to our lives and we love you more than you will EVER know!

Kaylee getting Brynlee dressed

This is a funny video. I missed the funniest parts while I was trying to get the camera rolling. Everytime Kaylee would try to put her clothes on Brynlee would try and roll away!

Kaylee even picked out her outfit

I HAVE A KINDERGARTENER!!!

Kaylee has been begging me for weeks now to start her Kindergarten curriculum that has been sitting in a box in the school room for a couple of months now. Finally I gave in and decided I would let her start it because she was so determined to do so. That is the beauty of homeschool, if she wants to start school in June......so be it. If we want to take the month of September off.......we can! The first day went well and after the 2nd day I noticed that she had already completed ONE TENTH of her entire curriculum for Kindergarten. Now after less than a week she is ONE FIFTH of her way through!  If we continue on this pace (mind you I am not forcing her to do any of this, she comes to me throughout the day asking to do more schoolwork) she can finish Kindergarten and start 1st grade by this fall! Now dont get your feathers ruffled (the person I am referring to, you know who you are), Im not saying thats what I am going to do. im not exactly sure what I am going to do about this situation yet.

I knew when the curriculum arrived it was going to be easy for her. I even tossed around the idea of finding another curriculum. But a great friend and homeschooling expert advised me to stick with it even if it was too easy. I am glad I did! I think I will continue to use this curriculum throughout our homeschool experience. I love it and it is apparent that she loves it too. I love the fact that it is gentle and encouraging, I love how it is repetative and she knows what to expect. And I dont want to bounce around from curriculum to curriculum each year. I want to stick with what we start with (unless we hate it, but obviously we dont) and that way she is where she needs to be to move on to the next level. My fear is that she might be behind when/if we out her in school. Hopefully that will never be the case!

Kaylee has also been asking me to start the 1st grade math curriculum I purchased. The girl LOVES her math! YAY for that! So I am getting the teachers manual for that curriculum and we will be starting it soon, per her request.
Also, Kaylee has asked on numerous occasions about electricity. She says, and i quote, "mommy can you teach me about electricity in Kindergarten. I want to know all about it!" How can I NOT teach her about electricity when she is dying to learn about it! So I have ordered a science kit pertaining to electricity. She also seems super into blood and guts and that sort of thing so I bought her a science kit and a few books pertaining to that topic as well.



Now I have to decide what the heck Im going to do when she finishes Kindergarten this summer! Any ideas/suggestions???

Horse camp picture

I just found this picture they took of the campers during Kaylee's horse camp.

 It was too sweet not to share!

She is at the bottom left of the circle. She is covering her fave with her eyes and wearing a purple shirt.

(Great) Grandma's Furniture

This post has been a LOOOONG time in the making!

 

After my grandmother passed away earlier this year my dad asked me if i wanted her vanity. I screamed YES before he could even finish his sentence. I was so thrilled to be able to get to have a little something that was special to her. Come to find out is was more special than I could have ever imagined! Turns out her chest of drawers and vanity were a matching set so I was going to get BOTH of them!!! When we got the furniture back here I made the decision to have someone restore the pieces. My dad found a guy who has a business out of his house and thats who we chose, and I am so glad we did. He did such an amazing job! Here are the pictures that were taken before any work was done.

Originally we were going to have the pieces stripped and restained. But after thinking about it, I decided I wanted them to look as natural as possible. So I asked the man doing the work for us if we could see them after they were stripped to make up our mind. Here they are after stripping

I chose to just have them clear coated and to let the natural mahogany shine. I am so thankful I did because they turned out magnificent!  The man told me that when he took the backing of the mirror off to remove the glass he found a date. Turns out these were made in July 1937. My grandparents were married JULY 1937 and these were most likely a wedding gift or purchased by them after their marriage. When I learned this my knees almost buckled (and Im getting goose bumps right now just typing about it) How lucky am I to be able to have pieces of furniture that were obviously super special in the life of the woman I admire most! And this marks the 2nd set of furniture I own from my grandparents. I've had my maternal grandmothers' bedroom suite for like 15 years now, and it too holds a special place in my heart!
Here are the pieces as soon as we got them into Kaylee's room. We werent allowed to put the hardware back on for 5 days so that the sealer stuff could harden and set properly.

Here is the chest of drawers completely finished with the hardware.

And the vanity

I am still so happy everytime I think about the fact that I am lucky enough to own both sets of grandparents' furniture. And they are both remarkably beautiful sets!

Funny things kids say....

Kaylee:
When I dropped her off for her first day of horse camp I hadnt told her about the camp prior to that day. I didnt want there to be any problems with Ainslee feeling left out or Kaylee having trouble sleeping beforehand from being excited. Anyways so we were walking up and Kaylee kept asking questions about what was going to happen and what they were going to be doing. As I was saying good bye to her she says "Mommy I might get to touch a horse today!" Little did she know then that she would be riding one. And to think that she was SOOOO excited about the thought of even touching one!

Ainslee:
we were driving one day and she asks "Mommy where are we going?" I said we have to find somewhere I can park so I can nurse Brynlee. She then noticed the car in front of us was making the same turns as us and appeared to be going the same place as we were. Then she asked "Mommy is that car going to find somewhere to nurse their baby too?"

Kaylee:
One night we were out to eat dinner and we ordered fries. As Kaylee bit into her giant steak fry she looked inside of it. She leaned over to me and whispered "Mommy there are potatoes inside these fries!" and I said "YES Kaylee that is what fries are made out of." She immediately leaned over to Ainslee and said "Ainslee we are eating potatoes!"



There have been MANY more things they have said lately but I failed to remember them or write them down, so they are lost and gone forever, unless they ever say them again