Greetings. Because I am not in labor and I am pretty sure this little one is going to hold out a bit longer, I will say "Happy Halloween" and to our unborn lady, "Happy Eviction Day". Wednesday is her due date. Mom had to leave yesterday without getting to say hello or good bye to baby #3. Sigh. Her time here was precious and such an amazing help...I cannot begin to write how blessed I was to have her here....and now I am lonely for her.
Though all the feelings of disappointment, exhaustion, and hormonal overload are making life a bit more challenging this week, I know God has appointed this baby's birthday long before the creation of the world and I trust that He knows best.
But I still cried a lot today. Missing my mom....wanting to hold the baby.....wanting the kids, Tim and my mom to hold the baby, wanting Tim to get a day or two off work and wanting to be empty in the abdomen.
And so I tried to make today like any other "no mother" day....I took the kids to the bread store, the chiropractor and then the Library. Promise, not knowing how to read, picked a book with a bunch of bunnies on it called "When the World Waited for You"....it was all about a bunny family waiting for their baby sister to be born. How appropriate. A little encouragement from Jesus, perhaps. The book was too short, though....instead of 10 months, it was just 12 pages....and the baby came already cooing. Sigh. :)
I have discovered that crying during a sinus infection can be quite healing.
Toby and I have cried a lot today.
I miss my mom. I am lonely....and we're all waiting...patiently.
Be blessed.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
39 weeks...still counting
MY MOM IS HERE!!!
She drove up Sunday and arrived bearing gifts from Oregon including trucks and animals for the kids (not live ones) and blankets and clothes for the baby.
She also came bearing a servant's heart....she has assisted me in the daily run-a-round in an incredible way....setting up the baby's bed, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, mopping and of course, entertaining Promise and Toby to the point of exhaustion and giggles....resulting in hiccups. The chase begins at 7 am and doesn't stop until around 8 pm, so Grandma is getting some serious exercise! We are loving her be here....
BUT the baby is still nestled inside my belly...which is growing astronomically large and causing quite a bit of discomfort....
Yes, we've tried (almost) all the tricks of getting little baby #3 out and she is just stubborn or perhaps she knows the weather has turned blustery and prefers the warmth of my chubby belly. I dunno, but an eviction noticed is now WAY overdue in my world. We'll be 40 weeks on Halloween. Mom leaves on Sunday.....
BABY....COME OUT NOW!
Meanwhile, we are fighting sinus infections and sleeplessness....praying for grace for these last few days....I am so glad my mom is here....and so is Tim!
Be blessed.
She drove up Sunday and arrived bearing gifts from Oregon including trucks and animals for the kids (not live ones) and blankets and clothes for the baby.
She also came bearing a servant's heart....she has assisted me in the daily run-a-round in an incredible way....setting up the baby's bed, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, mopping and of course, entertaining Promise and Toby to the point of exhaustion and giggles....resulting in hiccups. The chase begins at 7 am and doesn't stop until around 8 pm, so Grandma is getting some serious exercise! We are loving her be here....
BUT the baby is still nestled inside my belly...which is growing astronomically large and causing quite a bit of discomfort....
Yes, we've tried (almost) all the tricks of getting little baby #3 out and she is just stubborn or perhaps she knows the weather has turned blustery and prefers the warmth of my chubby belly. I dunno, but an eviction noticed is now WAY overdue in my world. We'll be 40 weeks on Halloween. Mom leaves on Sunday.....
BABY....COME OUT NOW!
Meanwhile, we are fighting sinus infections and sleeplessness....praying for grace for these last few days....I am so glad my mom is here....and so is Tim!
Be blessed.
Friday, October 19, 2012
38 weeks and counting
Greetings! No baby, yet.
However, I thought baby was coming Friday! Lots of contractions and flu-like symptoms for 4 days prior....then I headed over the border to see a friend and we tried a midwifery concoction we'd always wanted to try to induce stronger labor....and....well, between the puking and explosive diarrhea, whatever flu-bug I had came out....with a vengeance.
I called Tim to come home early "just in case", called the midwife and set up a time to arrive in hospital....then I asked my midwife if I could just take a brief nap....
Waking from my nap there was nothing....no puking, no diarrhea and no contractions....false alarm....but at least I got a nap and an early arrival of Tim on a Friday! Alas....no baby.
Kids are getting a bit anxious, but our prenatal last night served to be a positive reminder that "it's all in God's hands". So, we wait.....With great expectation for wonderful outcomes and a healthy baby girl (or boy if we get surprised!). With the in-laws gone and the kids needing extra support (as I can't really bend over very well!!) my mom is coming up from Oregon on Sunday to hang and be a blessing....and BOY! She WILL be! We are so looking forward to her company.
We're also praying baby comes while she is here as she has not been a part of Toby or Promise's births.
So exciting.
Be blessed.
However, I thought baby was coming Friday! Lots of contractions and flu-like symptoms for 4 days prior....then I headed over the border to see a friend and we tried a midwifery concoction we'd always wanted to try to induce stronger labor....and....well, between the puking and explosive diarrhea, whatever flu-bug I had came out....with a vengeance.
I called Tim to come home early "just in case", called the midwife and set up a time to arrive in hospital....then I asked my midwife if I could just take a brief nap....
Waking from my nap there was nothing....no puking, no diarrhea and no contractions....false alarm....but at least I got a nap and an early arrival of Tim on a Friday! Alas....no baby.
Kids are getting a bit anxious, but our prenatal last night served to be a positive reminder that "it's all in God's hands". So, we wait.....With great expectation for wonderful outcomes and a healthy baby girl (or boy if we get surprised!). With the in-laws gone and the kids needing extra support (as I can't really bend over very well!!) my mom is coming up from Oregon on Sunday to hang and be a blessing....and BOY! She WILL be! We are so looking forward to her company.
We're also praying baby comes while she is here as she has not been a part of Toby or Promise's births.
So exciting.
Be blessed.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Full term and ready?
So I have to buy a carseat today. I've never bought one before. I need to get a 3-in-1 so that I can use it for quite a while (until it expires! HA HA!), which is why Craigslist and kids swap are off my lists.
Yes, it is the "sign of the times"....we will be 37 weeks pregnant in just a few days and while my midwife "okayed" a homebirth, Tim and I decided that we would like the government to wash our linens, supply us with adult diapers (not for life, just immediately postpartum), feed us and let us sleep in peace instead of spending oodles of "magically appearing" money on supplies for a birth in our home....not including having to do our own "dirty" (VERY) laundry in the in-laws' machines, cook and clean up after the birth not just for the new baby, but for the other two toddlers hanging out nearby....Yes, I have a peace that a hospital birth is exactly the "vacation" this G3 mama needs.
The other reason, though, is that I tested Group B strep positive, which does not inhibit me from having a homebirth, but my midwife requires me to head to the hospital immediately when labor begins and perhaps another time throughout labor depending on how quickly labor continues....the thought of going in and out of the hospital just seems a little retarded this being my 3rd time around....I am hoping this little lady doesn't take the 16 hours Toby did....it wouldn't be "good luck" (as it is in the Philippines) to have the baby in the car....especially OUR car....there's already mold growing in the carpet...the family vehicle doesn't NEED any more 'family' christening it. They don't test for this bacteria in the Philippines, but desperately need to as up to 30% of women are carriers and it explains why Toby had such a hard time when he arrived!
So we're still praying lady comes the weekend of the 12th, as Steve and Christina (my inlaws) will be here until the 16th willing to care for Promise and Toby and then they are gone until the 26th....then childcare will cost a bundle and the anxieties of Promise could make life a more challenging event.
But with a Costco shop yesterday for the month completed (2 hours unloading down the stairs to our basement suite) for "ready-made" dinners (as gluten/dairy free as possible), labor grub, and supplies and another shop today to get all the things Costco lacks and then dragging that junk down the stairs, I'd say that my body is heading closer towards labor! I just need a few more days hauling Costco-sized items down uneven stairs and we'll be there!
The irrational hormones have also announced baby's coming....last night, exhausted and sore, I cried....and cried.....as Tim heard all about how much I hate cooking for toddlers and how desperately I needed them to sleep later than 6 am. He was gracious, agreed with me whole heartedly and rubbed my back. Good man. Then we clunked out to be awakened at 6:15 am by toddlers even though he was supposed to get up quite a bit earlier than that for work. Oops. Just blame it on a very pregnant wife.
As we enjoy another sunny Fall day (no rain in weeks and the driest October to date!), Tim is cold and my internal thermometer reads "summer has JUST begun!"....I am buying him a blanket for our bed today along with that carseat.
Everyone I meet says, "Almost there!" and I keep thinking, "Almost there??? We'll be almost there when Promise enters college." Life is speeding by these days and yet, the fatigue and frequent (but not too frequent) contractions remind me that life is a long song. Everyday is walked by God's grace alone and with the request of His ever-present Presence. I need Jesus so much....every moment of every day....
Anybody open to getting a 2 am phone call with a request to stay with two toddlers for 48 hours for free while I usher another one into the world?
Be blessed.
Yes, it is the "sign of the times"....we will be 37 weeks pregnant in just a few days and while my midwife "okayed" a homebirth, Tim and I decided that we would like the government to wash our linens, supply us with adult diapers (not for life, just immediately postpartum), feed us and let us sleep in peace instead of spending oodles of "magically appearing" money on supplies for a birth in our home....not including having to do our own "dirty" (VERY) laundry in the in-laws' machines, cook and clean up after the birth not just for the new baby, but for the other two toddlers hanging out nearby....Yes, I have a peace that a hospital birth is exactly the "vacation" this G3 mama needs.
The other reason, though, is that I tested Group B strep positive, which does not inhibit me from having a homebirth, but my midwife requires me to head to the hospital immediately when labor begins and perhaps another time throughout labor depending on how quickly labor continues....the thought of going in and out of the hospital just seems a little retarded this being my 3rd time around....I am hoping this little lady doesn't take the 16 hours Toby did....it wouldn't be "good luck" (as it is in the Philippines) to have the baby in the car....especially OUR car....there's already mold growing in the carpet...the family vehicle doesn't NEED any more 'family' christening it. They don't test for this bacteria in the Philippines, but desperately need to as up to 30% of women are carriers and it explains why Toby had such a hard time when he arrived!
So we're still praying lady comes the weekend of the 12th, as Steve and Christina (my inlaws) will be here until the 16th willing to care for Promise and Toby and then they are gone until the 26th....then childcare will cost a bundle and the anxieties of Promise could make life a more challenging event.
But with a Costco shop yesterday for the month completed (2 hours unloading down the stairs to our basement suite) for "ready-made" dinners (as gluten/dairy free as possible), labor grub, and supplies and another shop today to get all the things Costco lacks and then dragging that junk down the stairs, I'd say that my body is heading closer towards labor! I just need a few more days hauling Costco-sized items down uneven stairs and we'll be there!
The irrational hormones have also announced baby's coming....last night, exhausted and sore, I cried....and cried.....as Tim heard all about how much I hate cooking for toddlers and how desperately I needed them to sleep later than 6 am. He was gracious, agreed with me whole heartedly and rubbed my back. Good man. Then we clunked out to be awakened at 6:15 am by toddlers even though he was supposed to get up quite a bit earlier than that for work. Oops. Just blame it on a very pregnant wife.
As we enjoy another sunny Fall day (no rain in weeks and the driest October to date!), Tim is cold and my internal thermometer reads "summer has JUST begun!"....I am buying him a blanket for our bed today along with that carseat.
Everyone I meet says, "Almost there!" and I keep thinking, "Almost there??? We'll be almost there when Promise enters college." Life is speeding by these days and yet, the fatigue and frequent (but not too frequent) contractions remind me that life is a long song. Everyday is walked by God's grace alone and with the request of His ever-present Presence. I need Jesus so much....every moment of every day....
Anybody open to getting a 2 am phone call with a request to stay with two toddlers for 48 hours for free while I usher another one into the world?
Be blessed.
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