August Harvest

 It could hardly be August without daily trips out to the garden to see what we can find.

Baby in Blue

Naomi is one month old today. In this picture she's wearing a dress that I wore as a newborn.

Summer Read-Alouds

Here's our list of books we read aloud as a family this summer.

1. All Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

2. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli

3. Homer Price by Robert McCloskey

4. Follow My Leader by James B. Garfield

5. The Boxcar Children: Animal Shelter Mystery

6. The Wheel on the School by Meindert Dejong

7. The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz

8. Chrissa (American Girl)

9. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

10. Pioneer Cat by William H. Hooks

I just asked Millie which one was her favorite, and after saying it was hard to decide because they were all so good, she said The Wheel on the School. That was Tom's favorite too. Like Millie, I have a hard time choosing a favorite. (Though my least favorite was the Boxcar Children mystery - I just don't like that series!) I'd say the most "challenging" read (considering that our kids are ages 7, 4, and almost 2) was The Door in the Wall, though that was probably one of my favorites.

Did you read any good books this summer? 

This post is linked to:
Top Ten Tuesday

Millie Turns Seven

Well, hello! Just thought I'd take a break from the nursing marathon over here to share a bit about Millie's birthday. Millie turned 7 last week, and with the busy-ness and lack of sleep that comes with life with a newborn, we decided on a low-key celebration. She invited her best friend over to spend the night, and I basically let them come up with whatever fun they could find here at home.

Although I'd planned to decorate a cake for Millie, I finally decided it just wasn't going to happen, so I let the kids decorate their own cupcakes instead:

The girls also managed to find a bit of makeup to do makeovers, though I did not get a picture of them with their blue eye shadow. And do you remember these?

I slept in rollers like these many nights in my childhood.

And finally, what I suppose may be the most memorable part of Millie's birthday, we let the girls set up a little table to sell some homemade jewelry. This is something Millie has been wanting to do since last year sometime.

Much to everyone's excitement, they did actually sell two of their necklaces.

Alright, back to my sweet new baby. Hope you're having a good weekend!

Baby Girl

Well, I don't know if Naomi looks much different now that she's nearly three weeks old, but any pictures of her will be outdated in no time, so here are a couple of recent shots.

Okay, mama, get that camera out of my face, please.

Naomi's Birth Story

I haven't figured out a way to keep a birth story concise, so if you're so inclined, settle in for a long read...

Saturday morning I woke up shortly after 5am. I was having contractions that felt like "real" contractions. I hadn't slept well the past couple of nights, so I lay in bed trying to sleep, but the contractions kept me awake. I would glance at the clock each time one started, and noticed that they were regularly 10 minutes apart. I figured this would end one of two ways: either we'd have a baby in the next 24 hours or so, or it would still be another week. I've had it go both ways with my past couple of labors.

My due date was still more than a week away, and we were not ready for this baby. My to-do list for the weekend included getting our birth supplies together. As everyone woke up, we went about our normal relaxed Saturday morning breakfast routine. I told Tom about the contractions, and we decided that we probably ought to go grocery shopping "just in case" this was it. My only other priority for the day was to attempt a nap.

I called our midwife, J, before we went shopping, just to give her a heads-up that I might be in labor, with an emphasis on might. We then realized that we didn't even have our list of birth supplies, so we called her back and asked her to email the list to us, just in case. I felt very scatter-brained while shopping, to say the least. I wasn't sure if I should buy our normal groceries, with the assumption that I'd be cooking for the next week, or if I should buy more convenience foods, under the assumption that I'd be recovering from birth.

Isaac fell asleep on the way home and when we got home I tried to nap with him, but didn't really sleep. For the next several hours we puttered around the house a bit, eating lunch, cleaning up and gathering birth supplies into one place, all the while with me trying to gauge whether this was truly labor or not. Contractions weren't really uncomfortable, though I recognized them as actual labor contractions - the kind that radiate into the back and hips, and they were still steady at about 10 minutes apart.

Finally at about 2 pm, after debating back and forth, I decided to call my mom and let her know that I might be in labor, with an emphasis on might. My mom lives several hours away from us, and I figured that since it was the weekend we would maybe go ahead and have her come up for the night in case labor picked up. With three little ones, we knew we would need some help with the kids during labor, and they are more comfortable with her than anyone else.

After I talked to my mom I decided to run out by myself and do just a bit more shopping - there were a few things we realized we still needed. I actually got a little bit nervous while I was out. The contractions were feeling stronger, though still erratic, and I really didn't want to get caught driving if a harder one hit.

I arrived back home at about 4 pm, and at that point labor seemed to stop. I only had maybe 3 contractions during the next hour. This was frustrating. Here my mom was on her way, and I wasn't really in labor. Everything was just going to taper off, I was sure. I fixed supper for everyone, feeling bad that I was making my mom come drive up for no reason. I ate a good helping for supper, feeling quite sure that I wasn't really in labor.

But then labor picked back up. Soon contractions were back to regular 10 minute intervals, maybe slightly stronger than they had been the rest of the day. My mom arrived early that evening, and we spent the next couple of hours essentially trying to decide if this was "it". We were on the phone some with J, and she advised that we time things, and watch for contractions that lasted a full minute.

After timing for an hour, with contractions hovering just under a minute, we decided to call J. I was still feeling hesitant about having her make the almost 2-hour drive, but Tom and my mom both felt it would be best to get her here, as there was always the possibility that things could pick up and go quickly.

J and her assistant arrived around 11:30 pm, and labor seemed to stall again. The contractions were inconsistent: far apart, with varying intensity. At this point I was just plain old tired. My typical labor philosophy told me that I should stay busy with some sort of a labor project. But all I felt like doing was laying down between contractions. I was tired of the uncertainty, and really just wished that I could sleep.

By 12:30 pm, with things looking about the same, and maybe even slower, we decided to check and see how far along I was. This is something I would normally avoid. I don't like checking dilation, as I feel like that can just set a woman up for frustration. But I felt like we needed to decide if J should stay or go back home, and if we knew the state of my cervix, that would help me make a decision. We checked, and I was at 4 centimeters. This was somewhat encouraging, as I could see that these inconsistent contractions were actually working, but it still left me uncertain about what to expect. A woman can walk around for several weeks at 4 cm. It was possible that the contractions could still taper off. So we decided to send J home. At that point I said, "I just want to sleep", and it was my full intention to lay down and try to sleep.

So at 1 am we all went to bed and I attempted to sleep. I may have dozed off for a couple of minutes here and there, but I essentially spent the next three hours rolling out of bed every 10 to 15 minutes so that I could squat and breathe through contractions. My hips and lower back felt really achy, so I brought a heating pad to bed with me for a little bit of relief. I was glad that at least Tom was getting some sleep at this point, and decided I would try to let him sleep as long as possible.

Finally at 4 am contractions were getting strong enough that I was pretty sure this was really it. I was still puzzled by the inconsistency of the timing, though the intensity of them had me working hard. I woke Tom up and told him to call J to come back, feeling a bit guilty the whole time to have to wake her up after so little sleep.

At this point I just couldn't get comfortable with the contractions. We tried having Tom apply some pressure either to my lower back or hips. I tried my normal squatting, swaying and breathing, but I just couldn't seem to find the right thing. It was definitely time for a hot shower.

The shower helped so much, just taking the edge off of the contractions. But emotionally I was starting to feel panicky. This was it. I was really going to have to push this baby out, and that was the part I'd been dreading for a while. This was my time to pull it together, so at this point I was praying, asking God to give me peace, and I really felt God reminding me that I wasn't alone, that He would carry me through this. Isaiah 43 came to mind, and the song that goes with it:

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you,

And the waves will not

Overcome you.

Do not fear,

For I have redeemed you,

I have called you by name,

You are Mine.

For I am the Lord your God

The Holy One of Israel
Your Savior

Do not fear 

I began to sing this song quietly to myself as each contraction would come. Looking back, I realize that my other labors I was able to get through on my own…my own techniques, my own mental focus. But this time I recognized my need for help. I needed God to carry me through the rest of this labor, and He was faithful to meet me in that place of need.

I got out of the shower eventually, ready to face whatever was ahead. Everyone was still asleep, including Tom who had gone back to bed.

J and her assistant returned to our house by about 5:30 am. This time one of J's daughters was also along to help. Everyone was tired, and I felt bad that contractions continued at such a slow pace, even though they had reached an incredible intensity. With everyone sleepily gathered in the living room, I felt a bit like a watched pot taking forever to boil. Tom suggested I do something to keep me busy and occupy my mind. He asked if I'd like to bake something (I made baked oatmeal the morning Isaac was born), but that didn't appeal to me. I decided to step outside into our backyard and maybe do a bit of weeding in the garden.

And that's what I did. The sun was just up and it was a beautiful, cool morning. There was plenty of weeding to do. The mindless repetition of pulling up weeds kept me occupied, with only the occasional pause to writhe through another contraction. But I was still feeling frustrated, wondering why the pace was so erratic.

I was ready to get back in the shower, beginning to hope that just maybe we were getting closer. Again, the hot water took the edge off, but it wasn't long before I grew tired of standing up. I also began to feel just the slightest tinge of, just maybe, feeling pushy? Maybe?

I went back out into the living room. At this point it was nearly 7 am and all the kids were awake, but my mom was fortunately doing a great job of taking care of them and keeping them busy. After a few more contractions while leaned against the couch in the living room, I was ready to check and see where things stood. J checked, and I was completely dilated. It was the first time in  24 hours that I was able to really, truly believe we would be having our baby!

We moved everything to our bedroom, and everyone began to scurry around to get things set up. Six-year-old Millie joined us at this point. She had been saying that she'd like to see the baby being born, so Tom asked J's daughter to stay with Millie and answer any questions she might have.Tom has caught all three of our children, and he would be catching this one as well.

But the pushing phase went just as slow as all the labor leading up to that point. With my first pushing contraction, sweet Millie said she had changed her mind and asked to leave the room. She told us later that she just didn't want to see me in pain.

More waiting, waiting between contractions.  I started out standing up, but soon grew tired and knelt at the edge of the bed. The long breaks between contractions continued, and I wondered just how long this was going to take. It felt like nothing was happening. But once I got some momentum, it all progressed quickly. Suddenly I could feel that baby was nearly there. I could only think that I was so close, I was ready to be done. A few good pushes and baby was out! I looked down to see baby emerge, still in the amniotic sac, which broke as baby was caught by Tom and our midwife. I reached down to grab baby, instantly overjoyed and mostly just relieved that baby was here and labor was over! The birth took place just after 8am, so I had pushed for a bit more than 30 minutes.

The kids came rushing into the room within just a minute of the birth, as they heard me exclaiming over baby. One of them asked, "Is Naomi here?" I realized then that we hadn't even double-checked to see if baby was, in fact, a girl. I took a quick peek, which confirmed that we did indeed have a baby girl, and the kids climbed up on the bed to get a closer look at their new sister. Millie and Silas were so excited, while Isaac had no idea what to make of all the commotion and clung close to my mom.

The next day when J came to check on Naomi and me, she said that the verse that came to her mind repeatedly during my labor was "Lean not on thine own understanding" from Proverbs 3:5-6. The whole verse is:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. 

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.

Naomi's labor was certainly one that didn't make any sense to my mind, and challenged me nearly as much as the very first time I gave birth. But I am thankful that God met me in that helpless place and carried me through, and we are incredibly blessed to have Naomi as a part of our family.

One, Two, Three, Four

Silas, Millie, Isaac, Naomi

Tuesday was my first day home all day with just me and the kids. And it went pretty well. Naomi is only a little over a week old, so of course we are still finding our groove. But we managed just fine, and I even got to take a nice, long nap with Isaac and Naomi. And any day that includes a good nap is a good day.

Tiny Hands

One of my favorite things about Naomi right now: her tiny, delicate hands. Her hands were one of the first things that struck me after she was born - little wisps of fingers with such long fingernails. Soon enough they'll fill out into pudgy, dimpled baby hands. But for now they are perfectly dainty.

Woven Wrap

Okay, here we go. My first attempt using a woven wrap - here Naomi is six days old.  My sister gave me a bit of inspiration toward woven wraps, and my friend Natalie is letting me borrow her Storch for a while. (And isn't it lovely to have other mothers around for inspiration, support and encouragement?) I could use some more practice on my technique, but there will be plenty of time and opportunity for that. So far, so good.