"Barbecue freaks me out"

Another week has flown by. At this week's Dr. appointment, I made slight progress -- 1 cm. dilated. Slow and steady seems to be my body's motto.

Brenna's poor cat, Jasmine, was spayed last Saturday and needed to wear the "cone of shame" for a few days. She did NOT enjoy it. She seems to be healing up well, though, so we have since released her.

Me and the 4 older kids took a kitchen tour of Chik-fil-a on Monday evening. While there, I inquired about their hiring practices. We were told they are hiring right now and Conner was offered an interview on the spot. He looked a little taken by surprise, but agreed to it. It went well, so he had a 2nd interview with a manager on Thursday. That went well, too, and now he waits to hear if he'll get a 3rd and final interview with the owner. He has been working with Scott at his company for a year now, but this would be his first "real" job that he's gotten on his own.

This was the final week at Options, so they just had award ceremonies, yearbook parties and a picnic. Brenna's awards were of course art-related. She has such talent and it definitely didn't come from me or her dad. =)

I got a few good deals at area garage sales on Friday, including a rocking horse for the little boys, a cat toy that Jasmine just loves, and new throw pillows for the couch.

Chase got to go camping for the weekend with his friend and their family. Thankfully, after such a rainy week the weather cooperated and was nice for them, although chilly. Conner spent the weekend bowling and the rest of us cleaned and organized in the garage. We were going through and finding stuff for the baby, curriculum I want to sell at a book fair, and we also hope to have a garage sale of our own soon.

On Saturday, I hit the Old Navy $1 flip-flop sale, then took Scott and Aiden with me to more garage sales, and we found some baby clothes, clothes for the little boys, and a book me and Brenna have been wanting to read together.

I wanted to record and remember a couple funny things Declan has been saying. He learned a song in his little music class and walks arounds singing, "He's got the whole world in his hands", which is adorable. But he also picked up from the Black-Eyed Peas "I got my money in my pocket". LOL

Then at dinner on Friday, somebody mentioned barbecue chips and he piped up with, "Barbecue freaks me out".

Such a turkey.

3 weeks and counting....

Today I am officially 37 weeks along. My last OB appt. showed no changes -- no dilation. That is typical of my pregnancies at this stage. Hopefully more will begin happening soon, though. I've been feeling well overall, just getting much slower at getting up and at walking. Sleeping is not easy, that's actually what usually bothers me the most at this point. I want sleep so bad, but am very uncomfortable at night and get up several times. But all of this just makes me more aware that soon - SOON - I will get to meet this precious new person. =)

In other family news, the older 3 kids had a fun night at youth group last Wednesday. It was the first night in the new student center so the leaders went all out and had a "Thrift Store Prom", complete with red carpet. The students were to dress up in prom attire -- the funnier or older the better. The boys raided Scott's closet for shirts & jackets and I picked up a couple ties from the thrift store. Also found Brenna a cute dress. They had a great time. Here's just a few of the pics:

Chase's serious look =)

Once a month or so, we try to have a family movie night. Sometimes I rent a new movie, other times we watch an old favorite. If possible I also try to have a theme. Friday night we watched "Kung Fu Panda" again, so Chase helped me make Chinese food. We used these recipes from Food Network: Sesame Chicken and Lemony Egg Soup . We also had wontons from our local Chinese restaurant and fortune cookies. Brenna helped the younger 3 boys make Chinese lanterns for decoration.

The weekend was incredibly busy. Early Saturday morning Scott dropped Brenna's cat off to be spayed, then took Aiden to his Cub Scouts rocket launch. The weather was cool and wet, but his rocket flew well and he had a lot of fun.

Meanwhile, I took Conner to an all-day state bowling tournament. He spent a total of 10 hours at the bowling alley that day. The rest of us attended a graduation party for friends of ours.

Sunday was church and Conner was busy again with bowling, a friend's birthday party and another friend's graduation party.

I keep waiting for some time to relax before baby's arrival, but this coming week isn't looking to promising either. Maybe it's good my babies don't come early? LOL

April

In the interest of keeping up with our activities, I'm hoping to at least get one p0st a month on here. Just to prove to future generations that we did not disappear off the face of the earth. =)

So let's see what happened in April:

The 1st was the season opener for the Rockies. We are huge fans so that's always a fun day for us. I made baseball-themed food for dinner: hot dogs, peanuts, etc. and we watched The Sandlot as our family movie. Chase bought a ticket for one of the home games and attended with 2 of his youth leaders from church.

On the 2nd, Brenna turned 12. We only do big parties for ages 1, 5, 10 and either 15 or 16. With such a big family it's really too much to have a party for each kid each year. On the other years, the birthday child gets to pick out his meals for the day and usually opens his presents throughout the day. We used to do a family meal out at a restaurant, but with so many of the children no longer eating kids meals, that isn't an option anymore. So this year we decided the birthday child will still get a meal out, but only with mom and dad. That gives them time alone with us, too.

So Brenna picked doughnuts for breakfast and Wingman wings for lunch. We waited until Saturday for her dinner and went to Red Robin. It was really nice to be able to visit with just her. She has become such a sweet and mature young woman; and a pleasure to be around.

Conner has been working approx. 2 days a week with his dad. This earns him spending money, which he uses for new bowling equipment, activities with friends and which he'll need next month for gas and insurance once he gets his driver's license! He is eagerly anticipating that. I am, too, as it will significantly cut down on my chauffering time. He is a good, conscientious driver so we're not TOO worried about him being on his own. =)

Chase made the decision to not continue with Boy Scouts. Instead, he is also trying out bowling. Conner gave him one of his bowling balls and we had it re-drilled for him. He started bowling in a junior league and will start some tournaments probably in the fall. He also is still doing archery a couple times a month. Both boys and Brenna have stayed very active in our church's youth group.

Aiden has been taking a karate class and the last week of April, he passed the test to receive his yellow belt. He was so excited! We just found out the classes will continue through the summer so he is thrilled about that. Brenna has decided she might try it out also. Aiden has also been participating in flag football at our Rec. Center as well as swimming lessons. Cub Scouts is wrapping up for the summer, so we are trying to keep him busy.

Zane and Declan attend a music class every Tuesday that they love. That is coming to an end, though, so I'll be looking at library programs for the summer.

Scott is busy at work and volunteers in the 2nd & 3rd grade room at church. I somehow ended up with 3 different bible studies this spring, but each was unique and filled a definite need. I met so many neat ladies! Only one continues through the summer and I think that will be enough as the baby will be here soon. I have about 4 1/2 weeks to go according to the doctor. But my babies are notoriously a week or so late. I'm doing well, just getting uncomfortable, but I'm trying to savor these last few weeks of what will most likely be my final pregnancy.

I can't believe I've done this 7 times! That's a total of 70 months I've been pregnant. And yet, it doesn't feel that way. I have been blessed to have fairly easy pregnancies and absolutely love some aspects, like feeling their little hiccups almost nightly, while I hate other aspects: namely, heartburn. That has been the bane of each of my pregnancies!

Whew, this was long but I feel more caught up now. Onward to May!

the birth story

Last Monday at this time I was having pretty much no contractions at all. I was uncomfortable, but resigned to the thought that I'd probably have another week to go.

I went to bed at midnight, and then up for a potty break at 1am. I settled back into sleep only to slightly move my legs a half hour later and feel an incredible gush of water burst from my body. Instantly awake, I reached across and started shaking Scott's arm. "Honey, my water just broke!" It took a couple shakes and then I heard a groggy, "Did it really??"

Umm...no. I just thought we'd do a trial run. LOL He woke up fully and we started getting ready for the hospital. I had only fully packed my bag the day before -- great timing, huh? We fumbled around a bit, trying to remember everything. I really wasn't in a hurry since I still wasn't having contractions. I took a shower, updated my blog and made sure Scott had the list of people to call or email.

Finally, I admitted I should call the doctor. She resisted my attempts to talk her into letting me stay home a couple more hours, and ordered me to the hospital. We arrived there at 3am. I finally began having a contraction here and there. Still not very strong. They sent me to a delivery room and had me change into the very attractive gown, and I overheard one nurse asking the other if they were admitting me. She answered that she wasn't sure, they needed to determine if my water really had broken. Hello...I didn't go in for a little seepage, this was a flood.

She checked me and quickly agreed it had indeed broken. At my doctor's appointment the week before, I was barely 1 cm dilated and since I'd not had many contractions, I expected to be at a 2 or 3 at most. So I was very surprised when she announced I was at 6 cm!

They let me get up and walk around awhile. This brought on a few more contractions, but they still weren't terribly painful. After an hour, they checked me again and I was at 7 cm. Usually once I hit 6 or 7 I go extremely fast up to 10 but this one was taking awhile.

My Dr. arrived, and she was scheduled to go off work at 7am so they decided to give me pitocin to hurry things along. And since I was progressing so slowly I agreed to an epidural. In past labors, the pitocin has brought on very painful contractions so I wanted to be prepared.

Once they hooked me up to pitocin and got the epidural in, the monitor stopped registering anything -- contractions or heartbeat. After fumbling with it for awhile, they decided to hook him up to an internal monitor. I could feel him moving around, so I wasn't too worried. However, soon after they got him hooked up, his heartbeat slowed way down.

They flipped me to my other side and put oxygen on me. His heart rate thankfully picked back up to normal. Poor guy! I went along like that until 9 cm. Unfortunately, the epidural did not take at all on my left side. I had that happen before, but since I had such a great epidural last labor, I thought I'd try again. Now I really wish I hadn't. So the contractions got increasingly more painful but I still wasn't quite at 10.

Finally I asked to roll to my back since nothing was happening on my side. Sure enough, the second I did that the doctor said the head slipped down more and I was at 10 and ready to push. For the last 3 labors, I have pushed maybe 2 times each. But this baby continued to be different. It probably took a good 8-10 pushes and he was out. It turns out he was face-up, which was what made the labor take longer.

They laid him on my stomach and oh, he was so beautiful!! No signs of Down Syndrome at all, praise the Lord! He nursed well from the beginning and also had a hearty wail.

The doctor exclaimed over his cord -- he had a perfect knot tied in it. See, this proves he was so very active in my tummy!

We had a very peaceful first day until he scared by throwing up bile. But it all ended well and I'm so thankful to have my precious baby home and our family complete.

He's on his way!!

Well, we are off to the hospital ... I had mild contractions yesterday but nothing to get excited over. Then before bed I just felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn't seem to sit still. I went to bed about midnight and slept well until 1:30 when my water suddenly broke.

I'm still not having many contractions but I called the Dr. and they need me to go in to make sure the baby is handling things okay.

So sometime today we should meet our little guy! I admit I'm worried it could take awhile since I wasn't dilated at my last appointment and the contractions are just not there.

Prayer for a quick delivery and healthy baby are much appreciated!!

Btw, those of you that have my cell phone number can feel free to call and check our progress -- Scott will keep my phone on him.

I will have Scott update the blog as soon as he can...

Officially Due

Okay, here is my official 2nd due date. I'd have to say it was closer to the mark -- I've had some contractions over the weekend. Nothing too big, but at least things feel like they're finally happening.

I kept pretty busy the last couple days -- doing a lot of gardening mostly. I also walked all through Walmart grocery shopping and stood in their ridiculously long checkout lines. Anything to get this labor going!

I go to the Dr. Wednesday for a non-stress test and we'll see if there's any progress...

new due date

Okay, so mother's intuiton wins out. =) My original due date for this baby was October 20th. At my first ultrasound, they changed it to the 12th but I've always felt the 20th was more accurate. My doctor insisted on the 12th until today. She finally conceded that maybe the 20th is more likely.



So I've changed my ticker and will NOT consider myself overdue until after Monday. LOL She asked if I'd like to be induced next week but I really want the baby to come on his own. So I have an appointment next Wednesday and she'll put me on the monitor to see how baby's doing. If all is well, she will give me until the beginning of the week of the 27th but she said that is final. LOL



So I feel like I have a bit of breathing room to let this baby and my body decide when they're ready. I'm only 1cm dilated and not having many contractions so it's not time yet.

Nada

Still no news...I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday so she'll give me my options then. I think she'll want to set an induction date while I really want this baby to come on his own. We'll see...

Today's the day!

NOT. Lol. Sorry -- this baby has decided he's nice and comfy and not ready to go anywhere. We've had a mellow weekend with almost no contractions.

We're just continuing to get a few odds and ends done around the house this weekend so we're prepared when he does arrive. I will be packing my bag for the hospital later today. See -- I never expect my babies to come early!

I'm also trying to get in as many snuggles with Zane as I can. He won't be the baby much longer. =(

39 week appointment

Baby is deciding to settle in for the winter, lol. He is low, but no lower than last week. My cervix is thinning, but still not dilating.

The doctor says she will let me go until the 20th, but beyond that we must talk induction. Ick, I really hope he comes on his own.

Prayers for something to start happening are appreciated. =)

In the meantime, we have the baby's room all ready, except I have one load of newborn clothes that were Zane's to launder and put away. I love how tiny they are and the sweet smell of Dreft. I had packed a couple of his newborn diapers with the clothes and the kids were amazed at how teeny they are.

I will show Scott how to post on the blog so he can let everyone know when baby finally does arrive.

catch up

Well, we're in the home stretch now. One week to go according to the doctor. About 2 according to me. =) We'll see who is right. I finally started having some light contractions this weekend. With my previous pregnancies, I've had contractions for 1-2 weeks before the kiddo showed up.

I am definitely at the end of my energy. Everyday tasks are taking much longer and much more effort on my part. And baby boy has moved his big, heavy head directly onto my pelvis in the last week. Yeouch! But overall this has been an uncomplicated pregnancy so I shouldn't complain.

In other news, both Brenna and Aiden are doing well in their Options program. Brenna absolutely loves her sign language class, although she really enjoys all her classes. Aiden is doing wonderfully in his Kindergarten class. I think one day a week is just right for him.

Conner and Chase are doing well at FACE also, although Conner doesn't really enjoy all the homework that comes along with being in high school. =) He is really learning a good lesson in time management this year.

Zane is growing so fast and putting together new words everyday. I'm finding it so hard to believe that he will no longer be the baby around here!

We had a very busy weekend, Saturday was MOPS. This is the first meeting I was able to attend this year and it was so good to see everyone. We had quite a few new ladies which was wonderful. Then I went to a friend's house and had a nice chat. In the afternoon, Conner and Chase went to a birthday party, so I dropped them off and Scott picked them up.

Sunday Brenna went with her Girl Scout group downtown to hand out water bottles at the finish line of the Race for the Cure. Scott and the kids went to church while I had an unexpected surprise. A friend I hadn't seen in 2 years was in town and I got to have breakfast with her. It was so nice to catch up with each other!

Then I took Aiden to a birthday party and then church choir. It's been a very full weekend and it's gone so fast. Guess it's good to keep busy in these last weeks, right?

I plan to show Scott how to update my blog so he can post when baby does arrive.

Baby update

Or maybe I should call it a non-update. I had my 37week appointment today and nothing has changed. Baby is still up pretty high and my cervix is doing. absolutely. nothing. It's not a surprise, since my track record is not one of early babies.

Conner - 1 week late
Chase - born 3 hours before due date
Brenna - born on her due date
Aiden - 5 days late
Zane - 6 days late

So even though technically the doctor says I have 3 weeks to go, in my head I think 4 or 5 is more realistic.

Baby update time

I had my 32-week appointment today. Very uneventful. All is well, although my blood pressure was just a tad high. Could be the total lack of sleep I got last night thanks to my teething Zane! The baby is doing great.

I will have another quick appt. at 34 weeks, and then my Dr. wants to schedule an ultrasound at 36 weeks. Since my quad screen numbers came back high, they want to check on the baby's size. I am also hopeful they'll be better able to look for the markers for Down's Syndrome at that time. That would still give us 4 weeks to prepare ourselves mentally.

I've been in a good place these past months. I've heard from so many ladies who have told me they tested positive for DS also and their babies were born perfect. So while it's definitely still a possibility, I've chosen not to dwell on it. If he does have DS, that is God's plan and he will equip us to deal with it.

I am slowing waaay down. Stairs are not my friend. Neither is bending over, lifting anything over 20 pounds, or trying to get up from our couch. But what I'm lacking in energy the baby is gaining. He is so active! It's fun for the other kids to see how much he moves.

Only 8 weeks to go! Or based on my previous experiences, 9 or 10. =)

Baby update

I had my doctor's appointment today. Baby boy is doing very well and so am I. The doctor did say we are going to go with the ultrasound date rather than my original one. So that puts me over 25 weeks instead of 24 and with a due date of October 12th instead of the 20th.

We'll see...my kiddoes always come late anyway so I won't expect him until later in October. =)

Baby update

I did hear back from the Dr. She said my test still came back as high-risk for Down's Syndrome. However, the way they classified high risk is that my chances of having a baby with Down's is 450:1. So the doctor pretty much said this test is pretty nonsensical and to quit worrying. =)

We had already decided not to do any genetic counseling or an amnio. So this just confirmed our decision.

The odds are low for Down's but even if our baby has it, we will rejoice. He is a perfect gift from God.

I want to thank all of you who have commented with your experienes, thoughts and prayers. I have talked to so many women in the past few weeks that also had a positive test and their babies were fine. It's been wonderful to have such encouragement.

I still don't know which due date to go with. The Dr. said we can say the 12th but based on my last period, I'm thinking the 20th is more accurate. So for now that's what I'll use. And if he comes before then, that would be a nice surprise!

Baby update

I know it's hard to see anything on these ultrasound pictures. So...I don't know anything definite yet. The ultrasound did show that baby is measuring more than a week earlier than my original due date. So the doctor said that could have possibly thrown off my test results.

She is going to have them run the test again using the new date. If it comes back normal, all is well. If it's still abnormal, we will need to decide if we want to go any further with genetic testing or even an amniocentesis. I will get a call from the Drs. office either Friday or Monday to let me know the new results. Continued prayers are very much appreciated! Thank you all so much for the encouraging comments, they mean a lot to me.

The baby looked wonderful. Everything is accounted for and in the right place and during the test, the baby was VERY active. The little hands were clasped together as if praying at one point.

AND..........................

Big surprise, right? God definitely has a plan for us with all these boys. I told Scott he should go ahead and plan on being a Scoutmaster someday. LOL

So I'm either 20 or 21 weeks along...

OR

prayer request

I've been pretty quiet about this, although a few of my good friends know. After my last OB appt. I got a call from the doctor's office. My triple screen test came back positive.

This could mean nothing -- they told me they get a lot of false positives with this test. It could also mean my dates are off. Although I really don't think they are.

Or...it could signify the baby has Down's Syndrome. I am 35, and will turn 36 before the baby is born so this is an increased risk.

I admit to being pretty upset when I first heard the news. Especially when they didn't reschedule my ultrasound -- so that meant a good 3 1/2 week wait for any news. But I think the wait has actually been good.

I've given my worries over to God. I know He planned this baby's life from the beginning. He has a perfect plan for him/her. I just need to cling to that.

So...my ultrasound is Tuesday morning. I'll share the news -- whatever it turns out to be -- later that day.

God Bless,

Baby update

I had my 15week OB appointment yesterday. They drew lots and lots of blood, which actually doesn't bother me. The nurse had to search a bit for the heartbeat again, but once I told her where we found it last time, she got it. 158 bpm.

Last visit was just the nurse. This time I saw my doctor. She's the same OB/GYN I've had since I was 19 years old. She was only able to deliver 2 of my kids -- Conner and Zane -- because with the rest she was either not on call or on vacation.

She was almost more excited about this baby than we were. (Not really, but she was very excited). Which is so nice, rather than questioning the wisdom of having a 6th child, as some have done.

Anyhoo...baby is doing well, as am I. I have had some energy return this week and not much nausea at all. This is usually my favorite trimester, where I feel the best.

I have an ultrasound scheduled for June 3rd, and we're still deciding whether or not we'll find out the gender.

I'm official now

I tend to wait awhile into each pregnancy to visit the doctor. My first 2 pregnancies I went in very early and it seemed to make the pregnancy drag out longer, and I know there's not much the doctor can do in the first weeks anyway.

So today I finally had my first OB appt since we found out we were expecting. I'm right at 13 weeks, and was given a due date of October 20. Which, with my track record, means about a week later. =)

It was wonderful to be able to hear the heartbeat today. It's always a scary moment for me while the nurse searches. But what joy when I hear the loud galloping!

I feel so blessed that God has given us another child.

Project 365 - Day 69

A recent craving satisfied -- Chocolate Cream Pie shake from Sonic.