Birthing Pool

I've gained a total of 16 lbs so far, but haven't gained any more weight since I was 10 weeks. I know it's coming though. *smile* Morning sickness has subsided and I've been feeling pretty good all around. Still taking my Omega 3-6-9 and prenatals. Trying to add an evening walk to my daily routine. *crossing fingers*

My fetalscope arrived and I tried to listen to baby's heartbeat the other night, but coulldn't hear a thing (I'm sure due to the eatr padding--hehe). Perhaps I'll try in another week or so.

I met a wonderful mama on a local forum who had planned an US birth with her last baby, but ended up transferring to the hospital after 3 days of labor. (Her baby was born healthy.) Anyways, she passed along all of her birthing supplies to me for FREE. What a blessing! She has children's pool she had bought to use as her birthing pool and passed it along to me! Yay!

The boys think it's funny that I'm planning to have baby in a kiddie pool, especially one with smiling fish on it. I think it definitly sets a happy tune for baby to arrive in this world in. Layla and Gideon just want me to fill it up with water, so they can swim in it NOW! It just looks fun! Gideon asked me if he could swim in the pool while I push the baby out and then asked maybe I could push it out tonight and we could swim in it together! So cute. I think he's more excited about the pool than his new baby brother/sister.

I wanted to blow the pool up to see how big it was, well.......

We blew the pool up by mouth...phew!.....because we couldn't figure out how to get the electric air pump to work. Between all our hot air and 10 hours (j/k), we did it and it is now sitting in the guest room airing out.

Watch me grow---belly pics!

Watch Me Grow

Here's my 1st belly pic, taken last night (1-29-09). I definitly still have some "leftovers" from my four previous pregnancies, but the flab has definitly turned into a baby bump. I love it!
I started feeling definite baby flutters and small kicks this last week. Every night while laying in bed talking to Billy, baby starts fluttering and jumping around like crazy. I enjoy feeling him move and grow and feel at awe when he kicks. As you may have noticed, I'm calling it a "He." We still don't know the gender and plan to not find out, but my gut is saying --boy. Billy still says --girl, of coarse. LoL!




2o weeks pregnant!














24 weeks pregnant







Today at 27 weeks pregnant! Baby is moving and loves doing summersaults after dinner. The boys, especially Gideon (my 4yo) loves to lay with me and place his ear or hand to my belly to feel the baby kick. Rylan thinks it's weird and said it would seem annoying to him to have something constantly kicking his insides all day. lol. Nolan comes up and talks to the belly all the time and Layla loves rubbing the baby and constantly asks when the baby is gonna come out. My girth is getting grander by the day and that is good and bad. Good because baby is growing healthy and strong. Bad because I'm getting less sleep and having to roll off the sofa and bed to get up. ((smile)) I think about this baby's birth daily. Thinking through how I want my body to birth and NOT me push the baby out. The kids and I (well, mostly Gideon, Layla, and I) watch animal births on youtube. It is so inspiring to me. It's nature, no doctors pulling and prodding. Just nature doing exactly what God created it to do all by itself! This life growing inside of me is so wonderful! I love feeling it get bigger and stronger everyday. I sing and talk to (him?) every night before bed. I can't wait to meet this gift God has given us once more. My scripture this week to help me while in labor has been, Isaiah 66:9 "Do I bring ye to the moment of birth and not deliver? Says the Lord" This scripture means so much to me. My God has created my body to take a sperm and an egg and together, without help, form a living embryo. He then takes that tiny embryo and gives it a way to thrive, develope, and grow into a perfect little human being that is inside me right now. If my God can create this body to do that, then he would have created a way for that tiny person to get out, to be born, with out aid, help, or intervention from men in white coats. He did and that is what I trust.

My 32 week preggo belly- I swear I feel like baby is so low; however, looking at this pic my belly still seems high? I don't know. I measured my fundus hight yesterday and it is measuring 36 cm, so right on track for me. I've always measured a bit bigger, especially towards the end since I have large babies (10 lbders). By the way, This is the same shirt I wore in my 20week pic. It's definitly getting snugger. It doesn't cover my whole belly now.










Here is my 35 week picture. Looking at this pic and comparing belly with my past pic, I've realized just how much baby has dropped. He is definitly engaged in my pelvis. I felt that he was just from all the pressure and pains on my cervix, but seeing the drop in pics is confirming. I'm so excited about baby coming soon.








More pics to come....

My Newborn Stash

I'm soooo exited! Billy gave me the go ahead to buy cloth diapers for this baby. So, last night I ordered 24 unbleached Indian pre-folds and 4 snappies. I just need to get together with my sewing buddies and sew some covers and my newborn stash will be complete!

I'm also planning on ordering my fetalscope today!

Layla has been sleeping in her own bed ever since we've made her new room. She stays in there during the day for hours playing alone with her dolls and books. At night she acually runs in there excited to sleep in her big girl bed. I've made it an exciting big girl night-time routine for her. She takes a bath with her babies, PJ's, picks out 3 books and we read, sing a few songs, then I sit in the rocking chair and rock (alone) while she's in her bed drifting off to sleep. She hasn't nursed at night in 4 days! It makes me a bit sad, but only because of the realization that she is growing into the next stage. I am excited to be able to be able to build a different relationship between her and I over these next few months before and after the baby's arrival. She has asked a few times during the day to nurse, but mostly when I'm talking about it on the phone with Angela. She has incredible listening ears!

Ongoing list of what I need for baby.

This our 5th baby and truthfully I have nothing (almost nothing). I tend to give my baby things away to ppl who need it instead of storing it, then I never get it back. Hehe. Oh well.

This will be an on-going list of things I need to buy before the baby gets here.

I have already a ...

dresser for baby with changing pad on top.
a few infant girl clothes
rocking chair
5 small girly LHC CDs (again if it's a girl)
cream bamboo sling (wonderful! I made and used with last dd)
my bed ...we cosleep
my jucuzzi bath tub for the birth

So far my list to buy mostly off craigslist, consignment store, or thrift store is...


birthing kit .....most all for FREE, just a few more things to get
white cotton t-shirts ( TGness it'll be July!) ...bought all from thrift store for .20/each and embellished to match my recycled wool shorties I made for baby!
hats and socks ....have hats. Need socks? Can't decide?
a few light weight blankets
Unbleached Indian prefolds .... bought 28 pre-folds and 4 snappies!
snappies ...yep!
sew about 10 covers ......finished 6 recycled wool soakers and 5 fleece wraps
baby swing (never had one w/ my other babies, but think I'd like one this time---good while HSing the boys)..............My friend Angela has one that I can have, but gotta fix the motor.
I'm planning to sew a new LaylaBunz diaperbag for myself.
Britax Marathon for the new baby...........Thanks Angela!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I plan to buy clothes after the baby arrives, so everything isn't yellow. (gag)

12 wks, waterbirths, freebirths, and twins?

Well, all the holiday craziness is over for a while and I can breathe now. Phew! I am 12 weeks 1 day today. Been feeling extremely exhausted, and nausea has set in a bit. I've only thrown up a hand full of times, but believe me that is enough! The boys have been so compasionate during my moment of pukiness. Offering a washcloth to wipe my face and asking if I'm ok. So sweet.

My kitchen smells to me. (I mean I want to puke everytime I enter it.) No one else can smell it, so it must be my imagination. Regardless, Billy and the boys have been more than helpful. Billy has cooked dinner numerous times and the boys have done a decent share of dishes. I am so thankful!

So, I've been having dreams at night that I'm having twins. I have to admit that twins has been in the back of both Billy's and my head because I am showing so early and have gained (gulp) 14lbs. (hide) in 6wks! It has been very uncomfortable to sleep on my stomach for the last few weeks and my fatigue is ridiculous! We've contemplated an ultrasound to confirm our theory or calm our thoughts, but at this point have decided to wait a bit longer. I really am not fond of u/s and would rather not have one. I feel like twins will become obvious eventually over the next few weeks as begin to get bigger. Truthfully, I'm hoping just one because I don't know how to AP to twins. How would I sling them at the same time, cosleep with them + Layla? OMGoodness. I try not to fall into the fear and I trust that God will give us what we can handle, so it is in His hands.

I've been watching boocoos of unassisted births on youtube.com .It's become my obsession. Here is one of my favorite unassisted births. Wll it wouldn't let me copy/paste the video, but www.freebirth.com has a ton of UC or freebirth videos and my faorite is the 2nd one down.

I came across some waterbirth info the other day and although I have never been drawn towards waterbirth in my last pregnancies, I've been pulled towards reading all that I can about waterbirths and am almost positive we will plan a water birth with this baby.

Watch this amazing waterbirth video done for research. It shows that babies do not breath until there face hits air. They recieve O2 through the umbilical cord till then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdN4xdvIhGg

Gideon saw me looking at birthing pools and got so excited that we were gonna get a pool. I explained that mama was thinking about having the baby in it. I showed him the video above and he says, "I know, we could go to Ray's Splash Planet and you could have the baby there. They have a b~i~g pool!" It was so cute. RSP is an indoor water park and we just went there a few weeks ago. He loved it, so I guess it makes since to go there for the water birth to him.

Birthing pools tend to run on the expensive side, so we are planning on a nice kiddie pool (shown in the pic).

Billy and I have been talking almost everynight about this birth. He was hessitant about the H2Obirth until I showed him the video above and showed him all of the wonderful things it can do for a laboring mama. Now, he's ok with it. Her's a link about how laboring and birthing in th water can be beneficial. http://www.waterbirthinfo.com/benefits.html

Since this baby will be born in July and it'll be warm out, I'm thinking about putting the birthing pool outside. We live in the country and our neighbors are old and 2 acres away. So, privacy is perfect. We could set up the birthingpool right outside the back door and clean up would be a sinch. I think it would be amazing to birth under the starry sky. Just God, my husband, and I. Of coarse everyone who hears or reads of this will probably think we are weird hippy coooks, but who cares. It's my birth.