Catch Up

Well, I haven't had much time to blog lately. Most of my computer time is spent nursing or holding a baby. Or, buying diapers, my new hobby. I actually LOVE cloth diapering. Or, maybe I just love shopping! : )

We had a fun Memorial Day weekend. Yesterday, instead of cell group, we had a bbq. There were about 20 people here and lots of good fun. Very fun!

Silas turned one month old on the 25th. He had his one month check up a few days early (on the 22nd) and weighed 11lbs, 11oz (up from 8lbs, 5 oz at one week) and was 22 inches (I think?). In the 90th and 75th percentile. He's a big, healthy boy just like his brothers!

Also, God is definitely blessing our business. So much so, that we were able to hire an employee. Eric has been spending time training him, but hopefully next week he will have more free time. He's been working M-F 6am-5pm and then half days on Saturdays. Crazy! He's been taking Judah to work with him on Saturdays, which has been really fun for both of them. This, also, means we have to buy a new truck. While we visited the dealership I decided I would love a Toyota Sienna. I was always anti-minivans, but they're very practical and actually really nice. I guess with 3 kids I need a "mom car."

Hmm, what else? So much has been going on, but it's hard to think of it all when I sit down to blog. Erika tagged me to do a survey, so here it is:

4 Things I was doing 10 years ago
1) About to finish my sophomore year of high school
2) Babysitting for extra money (and I loved it, anyway)
3) Hanging out with my two best friends, Lisa and Sara
4) Anxiously awaiting getting my driver's permit

4 Things I was doing 5 years ago
1) Last minute wedding preparations (we got married June 7, 2003)
2) Volunteering at Women's Resource Clinic, where I would soon be hired as the secretary
3) Nannying for a cute 2 year old boy
4) Hanging out with my bestfriends, Cari and Tara

4 Things I did yesterday
1) Cleaned my house
2) Had lots of people over for a bbq
3) Hung out with my bestfriends, Eric, Judah, Samuel, and Silas
4) Lots of breastfeeding and diaper changing

4 Shows I like to watch
1) Lost
2) Prison Break
3) Numbers
4) We don't have a tv, so these are hard....although, I just put The Mole in our Netflix queue. Do any of you like it?

4 things I like to do
1) Read my Bible and spend time with Jesus
2) Minister to my disciples and see women's hearts healed and restored (like mine was!)
3) Spend time with my husband and sons. It doesn't really matter what we do, although some of are favorites are going to Farmer's Market, coffee shops, walks in the park
4) Hang out with my friends and talk. I like to talk!

I'm going to tag Sara, Patty, Analene, Holly, and anyone else that likes surveys!

Walk in the Park

Today a friend and her little boy were supposed to come over, but he is getting over croup, so we rescheduled. Tomorrow I'm going walking with some friends (Jenna!), so today was the perfect day for a practice run (and perfect weather at 77, instead of the 104 it has been!). The practice run was...interesting. I got tired and I don't have a very good carrier for walks. I carried Silas part way in my mei tei and then moved him into the sling. We turned around about half way and went to the playground and finally made it home to eat lunch. We all took a nap until 4:45 and I'm still exhausted. I hope I survive tomorrow. I'm not sure if it will be harder or easier with friends there.

Another funny thing is how much attention we got. Seriously, even that walked by us commented. My favorite was the lady that said, "You are so cute. You look so good for having a 3 week old baby!" Love her! I guess people don't see a lady out walking with her 3 (3 and under!) kids too often.

I ordered my Beco and I cannot WAIT to get it. If you want to look it up (maybe I'll post a pic or link to it later) it is the "Natalie." I think it will be perfect for walks in the park. The walks are really interesting - and good excercise- because I push Judah and Samuel in the stroller and carry Silas. Hopefully it will speed up my baby weight loss!

I've, also, decided to cloth diaper Silas. I've noticed the longer I'm a mom the more "crunchy" (hippy?) I become- natural waterbirths, extended breastfeeding, making my own babyfood, babywearing, and now cloth diapering. I really love it! I was concerned about the chemicals in the diapers. You can see little chemical balls (I don't know the technical term..haha) on them when they pee a lot. They're also really, really easy to use. I've even gone as far as using cloth wipes!

I know everyone wants to see pictures...I'll post some tomorrow.

3 Weeks

Well, I'm here. We're doing GREAT! Just not much time to blog. My usual blogging time is when everyone is asleep, but these days when the boys are sleeping I'm sleeping, too. Except for right now, when I SHOULD be sleeping. In a few minutes...

Judah and Samuel are still in love with their brother. Who is already 3 weeks old today. It sounds so young, but it's gone by so fast. I've taken all 3 of them out twice by myself. The first time was to Trader Joe's and the craft store (where we bought Mother's Day/birthday presents and never actually finished them! Whoops! What was I thinking trying to be crafty with a 2 week old!) and the second time was today to Barnes & Noble. They both went suprisingly smooth and well.

It is so hot here!! Last night Judah & Samuel went to Eric's parents, so we were going to go to the Farmer's Market. When we drove by a sign that said it was 104 degrees we just kept on driving by. Before Silas was born I was taking the boys to the playground all the time, because I knew we needed to take advantage of the nice weather while we could. Now I think we'll be spending a lot more time at Barnes & Noble!

I know you all want to see pictures. It just seems like a hassle right now to upload them to flickr, then copy and paste the html here. I'll show you a few from our recent photo shoots with Jen (at Poise Photography). She took maternity pictures 2 weeks before Silas was born, then again when he was 2 weeks old.

Sunbathing Boy

Wow, Silas is already 10 days. It is flying by. Although, as cliche as it is, it feels like he's always been in our family. Judah and Samuel ADORE him and don't really give him any personal space. He doesn't seem to mind much, though.

We went to his first well baby check-up at 6 days old. He was up to 8lbs, 5oz (the doctor was impressed by that) and 21.5 inches. He's a good little eater and it shows! He's sleeping great at night. Up every 2-3 hours, but he eats fast and then goes right back to sleep. He had a little jaundice, but like the other boys recovered quickly. We had to have him sunbathe, though. That's what the picture is from.



Judah and Samuel are adjusting well. They haven't had any problems at all, really. I'm adjusting well. I'm still a little sore and tired when I do too much, so I'm trying to remind myself that he's only 10 days old and to take it easy. I think jumping right back into life and deciding that it's going to be easy has made things so much easier. My friend, Brooke, and I were talking to about how the outcome of some many things in our life (everything?) are based upon the decisions we make and our mindsets. If we think, "Oh, this is going to be hard," then it usually is. If we think, "Oh, this will be easy," then it usually is then, too.

Silas Joel's Birth Story

On Thursday, the 24th, I had my weekly midwife appointment. I was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. Cheryl said everything looked good for the induction, BUT the hospital was full. She wasn't sure if I would be able to get in. Starting to get a little cold feet I said, "That's ok...I'll wait until Monday."

After my appointment Cheryl made a call to the hospital and they said they could fit me in the next day. All set for an induction! I was to call the hospital between 8 and 9am to see what time I should head up.

The next morning Eric had to work a little, so I woke up and called around 8:30am. They said they were full, so to call back at noon. The boys woke up, we ate breakfast, and got all of the last minute things ready to go. Eric got home around 10 and helped. At 11:50 (I was trying to call right at 12, but Eric wanted me to hurry up and call) they said they were still full, so I should call back at 3. We had a housecleaner coming at 1:30 (the best thing EVER for a new mom!), so we decided to go ahead and drop off the kids at my inlaws. Eric and I went out to lunch at my favorite restaurant (Sierra Nevada Brewery, where I ordered a bbq chicken sandwich with their delicious fries), then we ran some errands and got mochas (decaf for me). At 3 I called again and they said to call back in an hour. We decided to go for a walk, because I knew once I got up there they'd have me walking anyway. In the middle of the walk I got a call on my cell from an unknown number. I usually don't answer them, but I'm glad this time I did. It was the hospital telling me I could come up there. They confirmed that I wanted a waterbirth and said that they'd get the room ready for me. (There is only one room at this hospital that is equipped for waterbirths.)

We got to the hospital at about 4pm. When we got there they hooked me up to a monitor to make sure everything looked good with baby's heart rate. Eric read a book and, although, I had mine I was too excited to concentrate. Instead, I listened to the people next to me watch Judge Judy and talk. It was, also, neat to see his heart rate change when he moved. It was anywhere from 129-the 160s. Just goes to show that the old wives tale that boys have high heart rates and girls have low doesn't mean anything. It totally depends on whether baby is moving or sleeping.

At around 5pm she put the cytotec in. It is a little pill, inserted right near your uterus, that is supposed to soften the cervix and start contractions. I had already been having contractions and, even after a few hours, nothing had changed. I felt them, and they were doing something, but they were never hard or uncomfortable.

At 8pm Cheryl decided to break my water. Right before she did she said, "Are you ready?" and I just said, "Are you?" and laughed. But, my legs were shaking...I was a little nervous. Right away my contractions started getting stronger, but still not painful. She had us walk around outside.

Eric called his parents and told them we would probably have our baby soon. By this time I needed to stop and breathe through contractions. I was praying in tongues in my head. After only 10 minutes of walking I could feel the baby really low and knew that we should go inside.

I went up to the nurses' station and told our nurse, Courtney, (who I know...it was so nice having her as our nurse!) that the contractions were strong and the baby was low. She asked if I wanted her to get Cheryl and I said yes. Cheryl didn't get much of a break! Right away Courtney and Cheryl started getting the birthing tub ready and I got right in.

Cheryl checked me at 8:30 and I was 5cm dilated. After I got in the tub I just laid sideways and held onto the side silently. The whole room was silent during my labor. Cheryl sat in one of the chairs, Eric was near the side offering me drinks of water, and Courtney was getting things ready for the baby. Every time a contraction would come I would pray in my head or say to myself, "Jesus defeated all pain on the cross" or "contractions don't have to hurt. I can work with them" or, I'd think of my baby, "I wonder what color hair he'll have. Will it be dark or light? How much do I think he'll weight?" I didn't plan this out or read it in a book, it just came naturally for me. It's funny now to think about.

I guess it must have been about 40 minutes later that I knew I had to push. My body was starting to push a few contractions earlier, but I wanted to make sure this was it. I called Cheryl over and they got me into position. On my 2nd push his head was out and on the 3rd his body. It all went by so quickly!

Judah's labor and delivery was really similar, but for some reason with him I felt kind of out of it. Even though I didn't have any pain medication I still felt maybe in shock? This time I didn't feel like that at all. I just felt so happy to finally be holding my baby. He started crying right away and we all laughed because his little cry sounded like, "Ma! Ma!" Eric cut the cord, which was special, too!

We had been praying for a quick, easy, painfree, supernatural delivery since I found out I was pregnant and God definitely answered our prayers. Silas is such a blessing to our family and is our precious baby boy!