The enchanted broccoli baby...

...and his sisters:



The outfit E is wearing is hot off my new-to-me machine! D's grandma gave me her old Singer 500 (Slant-O-Matic), a fantastic machine that I'm LOVING!




It does so many stitches, has all these accessory feet (I used a ruffler, rolled hem, applique, and normal presser foot all in this project - just for fun), and is plain beefy. My old Target cheap-o Singer is going out the door - never to be used in this house again...you know what they say, "they just don't make 'em like they used to!"

Quickening!

So today I can say with certainty: I feel the baby! I've been thinking I felt him/her for about the last week, but never with enough consistency to be sure. Today he/she is so active, I've had for-sure little belly tickles all day! Baby's gestational age (by LMP) is 17 weeks tomorrow :)

This Alaskan woman...

...is obviously in great company! Yes, this is a political post. I am so tired of people assuming because Ms. Palin is the Alaskan governor, that I (we) support her current political aspirations (gag).

I love that the "Alaska Women Reject Palin" rally was so successful - now for that, I'm proud to be an Alaskan!

I know not all my readers are on my side of the ballot, and that's OK. I respect differences in opinion! What I don't like is the current fad of supporting a candidate for her gender, not her politics. Off my soapbox now.

Go Alaskan women! *grin*

Sunday morning

Another hot day in AZ...cleaning out the garage, doing little chores. The kiddos decided to ride bikes. We are fortunate to live on a side street with a HUGE bike lane, so the girls can ride in it relatively safely. E insisted on riding the trike, which she's obviously long ago outgrown...and C is working on riding the big bike. As soon as the temps fall (we're still at 100), we plan on some intensive bike-riding lessons :)

Baby L and his stroller

We just resurrected this stroller from the garage, and it has become L's favorite "new" toy. He does laps around the house pushing it with miscellaneous passengers loaded in...

Maternity bargains

If anybody local is looking for some cheap maternity clothes, check out Every Mother and Child at Guadeloupe and Ellsworth! Jenny, the owner, has gently used clothes at great prices - plus they're all 50% off through the end of the month! I got everything below for less than $19 this last weekend...including a velour Gap dress for the holidays, two pairs of jeans, a bunch of shirts, shorts and a Glamourmom nursing tank! Support a local business and score some deals while you're at it :) There was a ton of stuff in medium and large...

Second Birth

10:30 last night, S called to let me know M was in labor and ready for us. Within 10 minutes, we arrived to find her laboring on the toilet, obviously working hard through frequent contractions. She asked to be checked and was found to be at 5 cm. Her husband was setting up the birth pool (La Bassine) and took their toddler to Grandma's. While he was gone, M's contractions picked up to basically one on top of another, and she began vocalizing shortly before dad arrived back home.

S and I assisted filling the tub by pitcher from the bathroom sink, as M was desperate for the relief, and obviously getting very close to birth. Once in the tub, her water broke (heavily meconium stained) and then she quickly began pushing. Five minutes later, at 11:48 p.m., a 7 lb 4 oz baby girl joined the world after 41 weeks, one day gestation. There was very heavy meconium staining on the baby as well - green amniotic sac, umbilical cord, nail staining, etc.

Mom rapidly birthed the placenta as well, and moved to bed. Baby did receive some blow-by oxygen, and remained tachypnic for a couple hours. Her coloring improved, her lungs sounded great...but she was working pretty hard and fast to breathe. After two hours, we recommended careful observation with transport to the hospital if it did not improve in another hour. The mom's father came over and with the dad gave the baby a blessing (LDS family). By the time we left at 3:00, she appeared to have settled and was nursing calmly. We will see them again this evening for follow-up.

Mom was amazing - no tearing, no soreness - such a beautiful, strong woman! The parents were so thrilled with the labor and birth - their first had been born at a hospital, in what the dad described as a "fine, normal" hospital birth. But then he said in comparison, "...it was awful! This is how birth should be!"

First Birth

Got a call Wednesday night around 11 that our primip at 38 + 4 had called to say her water broke. Got another call around 1:30 a.m. that contractions had picked up, were 4 min apart, and they were ready for us to come. When we arrived, she was already at 5 cm; she and her husband labored peacefully for the next couple hours while we read, occasionally checked in on them, and got everything ready for the birth.

At 5 a.m. she was completely dilated and started pushing...and kept pushing for the next 3.5 hours! This primip birthed her 6 lb 14 oz baby boy in a posterior, acynclitic presentation! She did hemorrhage pretty badly following the birth of the placenta; I administered a dose of pitocin, and the bleeding stopped.

My lessons learned? Some moms really do find flat-on-back, legs pushed up to ears the single most comfortable position for pushing. Mom's intuition on pushing position is keen - this happens to be a great position for getting a posterior baby past the pubic bone! A simple labor does not mean a simple birth. Some births really do need a little extra assistance (hands-on) from a provider...I am sure in a hospital setting, this young mama would have been taken for a C-section after about an hour of pushing, without any progress. Despite my personal preference for hands-off, do-it-yourself-style birth, some well-timed help made a huge difference in this pushing phase. What else...oh, administering IM pit isn't nearly as bad when you've seen the blood gushing...I thought jamming that long needle in a thigh would freak me out a little. First, I should have known better - I have no problem with poking people with needles (EMT leftover); second, knowing what you are doing will literally save a transfer, some major problems, and maybe a life makes that quick jab very very easy!


So one down, two to go...soon! Our mamas are currently at 40 + 6 and 40 + 4, so I'm expecting a call any time now...

Long time no posts...

Where does the time go?

The girls are doing great in school; they do dance on Mondays and C has keyboard on Thursdays. Both activities are at school, so I just pick up later in the day. This is also handy so D can grab them on his way home!

My apprenticeship is getting busy! We have two mamas at 40 weeks right now, and another at 38 weeks. Two are primips, one is a G2 P1. I actually just got a "heads-up" call that the one may be starting labor now...we'll see how the night goes! We're expecting thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow, which seems to also bring labor...

What else? I'm at 14 weeks, 5 days with Baby4, feeling absolutely great, if not a touch tired. My belly is growing more obvious by the day.

Just got news from my mom that one of my best childhood friends is expecting her first - and second! - around the same time as Baby4 is joining us. I'm thrilled for S and D, and can't wait to hear more.

Baby L is as active and non-sleepy as ever. He loves activity and being carried around. He actually shows excitement when I pull out my carriers these days :)

There's the news; I'm off to bed in case this does turn into a late-night labor call. Zzzzzzzzzz.

I'll leave you with pics of L from yesterday. He's goofy - kept telling me, "more, more" whenever I tried to stop taking pictures!