That should make things interesting

A quick update on our health first. The older 3 kids are no longer snotty, just have slightly stuffed noses and occasionally cough. Yay. The end is near. The baby looks like he's feeling better. We were a little worried on Friday as he wasn't eating much, and therefor wasn't peeing much either, and he just didnt seem well. He also lost his "voice" which means when he cried, all he would do is squeak. Yesterday he started nursing better and just looked better. He also had some good awake time, whereas on Friday he slept all day. Today he's doing even better. He's already had some good awake time, he's eating like he used to and his wet diapers are much more frequent. He also is starting to get his voice back some, which is wonderful because you only get the newborn cry for so long and I miss hearing it.

Now to my blog topic. Having a new baby always make your schedule more interesting. Everything takes longer, to start. Constant interuptions, learning how to do it all one-handed or with a babt-strapped to you, etc. Well, DH just made it even more interesting by starting a new job with a new schedule. He'll still be working 2nd shift, but instead of going it at 3, he won't go in until 5, taking 2 hours out my already tight schedule. Yay. I'm thinking we'll move school time to the mornings while DH is still sleeping. I've been wanting to get a stricter morning schedule, for myself, in place anyways, so maybe this will force me to. Overall, this is a good job switch though. We'll have a little more money in our budget and DH likes this kind of cooking better. Oh, and he might end up on day shift, which wouldn't be so bad either :)

1 step forward, 2 steps back

I got laundry caught up, I got dishes caught up and I got the bathroom cleaned! And then I came down with the kids nasty cold/cough. The older 3 have had for about a week now. Really icky noses, horrible sounding cough, that while infrequent, can bring them to the point of throwing up when they do start coughing. Fun stuff. I've been trying to keep them away from the baby, but that's near impossible. Night before last Solomon started coughing, just a few coughs, but I could tell they were sick coughs. Yesterday we both had icky noses and he had more coughs. I haven't coughed yet, but I know it's probably coming. I pray it goes through us quickly. I also started taking garlic today. I cut up a clove into about 8 pieces and swallowed them. Science will tell you you have to chew or mince the garlic first, but I've read many anecdotes that say swallowing whole works too. Now to find a way for the kids to take it...

Day Two!

My second day back on the job. Today I decided to clean up the kitchen. I just can't function with a messy kitchen. Especially if I need to cook. And while DH has kept us fed, it hasn't been the most nutritious, filling food, if you kwim. So I NEED to start cooking again. Lucky for me, I still have a few meals in the freezer and some easy stuff around the house, so I shouldn't have to work too hard. So now I have a functioning kitchen again. I feel like I'm really doing good. DH kept the living room functional, I got laundry and kitchen caught up, so once I get the bathroom caught up tomorrow I'll be able to just do daily maintenance for another week while I continue to heal. My body hasn't shown any signs of over-doing it, so I think I'm alright to keep up at this pace.

The only thing I need to work on is my sleep schedule. I've been staying up late to ChaCha and earn some money, but that makes mornings hard. I really miss my quiet time in the mornings and not waking up to complaints of hunger, etc. The last couple nights I've tried getting up after 8 hours of sleep, and I just can't do it, but I never could before either. I need either 9 hours of sleep (what I've been getting) or 7 hours it seems. So I'm going to try going to bed at 11 and getting up at 6. The kids have been getting up between 6 and 7am, but I'm thinking they'll be told to stay in their room until 7. They have a clock and both boys understand "when the little hand is on the 7 and the big hand is on the 12." Before Solomon was born, I had tried getting them to sleep in longer by keeping them up later at night and some how it completely backfired on me. They had been getting up closer to 7-7:30 and before I knew it they were waking up at 6! Right now they're going to bed early b/c, to be honest, by 7:30pm I am just done. I have lost all patience, etc. I'm really hoping having early morning time will help with that though.

My first day back to work

Solomon is two weeks old already. It's amazing how quickly 2 weeks goes, but at the same time, it seems like he's been here forever. But now that he's two weeks old my vacation is over. I plan to take it slowly, but that might be hard! DH has actually tried very hard and done a half way decent job keeping the house, but we all know how that goes. There's clutter everywhere, the floors are sticky, the bathroom hasn't been wiped down. My goal today is laundry. Nothing but laundry. That's plenty though. For two weeks clothes have not been put away, so you can imagine the pile(s) of folded clothes I have (I did the folding). Genesis has been putting her own clothes away with nobody going behind her and folding and putting in the right drawers, so I can't find anything of hers. And I have a mountain of dirty clothes to wash. DH tried to keep it caught up, but to give you an idea of how that went: One day he did 3 loads of laundry, failing to get any of the clothes out of the kids' room. 3 DAYS later he goes "how can there be so much laundry? I just did THREE loads!" Um...I do 2-3 loads of laundry 5 days a week in order to keep it up, and that was before we added a new baby. Of course you're going to be backed up after 3 days of not doing any. I'm trying to decide how much laundry I'm going to have to do everyday now with the baby's stuff, after I get caught up.

Speaking of the baby's laundry. He's already adding more laundry than the others did. The boy is a pee-er. I've been peed on more times in his short two weeks than I was in the past 6 years. I think he gets me or himself 2 out of every 3 diaper changes. And when he doesn't pee during the change, he seems to pee out of the side of the diaper between changes. So clothes are being changed often due to this. And not just clothes, but extra blankets, burping clothes and cloth diapers. Yeah, he's adding a good bit of extra laundry.

I'm still debating what my goal will be for tomorrow. I'll probably have to work on laundry some more. I doubt I'll get it all done today. But after that, should I work on the icky dishes, counter and table? Maybe the icky bathroom that as previously mentioned hasn't been wiped down in 2 weeks, and I have 2 boys and a 2yo girl who insists on using the big potty, so you can imagine what it looks/smells like in there. Or do I plan to mop the dining room floor that is sticky because the kids split juice all over it and nobody bothered to clean it up? Decisions, decisions...

I love the newborn stage

I just love the newborn stage. They're just little lumps who let you hold them and snuggle them. So precious. They don't stay newborns near long enough.

Midwife visited today. Everything looks good. His belly button is bleeding a little bit, but with the way it sticks out, it just keeps getting hit by his diaper and whatnot. I'd been keeping a close eye on it and it's not infected or anything and still healing good, so we're just watching it. I was relieved to have the MW agree with me though that it looks fine and is probably just being hit. Other than that, it all looks great!

In other wonderful news, I filed our taxes today and in about two week we should have a good size chunk of money. First thing on the list, paying off the midwife and ordering next year's school stuff. I love tax time.

First real day alone

I had my first real day alone with 4 kids today. I think we did great! Of course the kids watched TV a good part of the day, DH had bowls of soup already made up that the kids could microwave and they all CHOSE to go to bed early because they have a cough. So I basically did nothing but sit in bed all day, again, except to change diapers and tuck kids in. Oh, and I gave them some honey for their coughs before they went to bed. I haven't heard much coughing thankfully. So that's our update for the day, lol.

1 week

Solomon will be one week old in about 11 hours. I can't believe he's been here a week already. I can't believe a week ago I was trying to figure out if my water broke or if it was a leak that would heal itself or what. I look at this beautiful little boy and can't believe I made him, or rather that God made him inside of me. It's just unbelievable. Every child is such a miracle. This week has been great. DH took Monday off from work, we spent the day sleeping while the kids were at his mom's house, then we just enjoyed the newest member of our family. On Tues my step-mom came down so DH could go back to work. She was very helpful on Tues and Wed with the kids, the house and food. She also left a few things to reheat in the fridge. Thur we went up the health department for Solomon's PKU test, which they say we need for a birth certificate. We probably could get around it, but it's just a heel prick, so we went ahead and did it. My step-mom was still here so we left the kids with her. Then she cooked lunch and headed home. We enjoyed the rest of the day Thur and all day Fri just lounging around the house. It turned out that even going to the health department was too much for me that early, so I needed the good down time. DH decided to call in Sat because I needed more down time still and there was no one to help with the kids. Today was supposed to be my first day alone with the kids, but my SIL picked them up about 11am and MIL came over and cleaned the house. Genesis was returned to me a few hours later, but the boys spent the day over there. In fact, they're still there with DH. So it's been just me, Genesis and Solomon since about 2pm I think.

I've never conscously taken time off after a baby was born. I never said "I'm going to do nothing for 2 weeks." But I'm so glad I did this time. I can really feel a difference. Don't me wrong, I wasn't one to sweep the floor hours after giving birth, but I fairly quickly was back to my normal stuff. This time, I only get up to go potty if at all possible. DH is being great. He's not a very good housekeeper, but he tries and of course he doesn't mind that I'm not doing anything. He had agreed with me that I get 2 weeks "vacation" after baby is born, then 4 weeks of "light duty" where he'll still help me out. We decided my overall long term health is the most important. We want me to be able to keep having babies, so we need to keep my baby making parts healthy. I've been trying to figure out how to slowly add more in, what to add first, etc. This coming week I'll have to feed the kids, but it's going to be all pb&j, hotdogs in the microwave or leftovers. I also have to put them to bed, but other than that, nothing. The next week I'm thinking I'll work on a daily shower (a must for me, really) and doing some light cooking with the freezer meals I made up that DH hasn't used. Then I'll add laundry and more cooking, followed by dishes (we're using paper right now), counters, tables, sweeping floors etc. The last week of "light duty" I'll add in daily bathroom maintence. This is of course all subject to how well my body reacts to the added duties. I'm hoping by taking it slow though that I'll be able to add things in and by the end of 6wks be able to do most of the work around the house. We'll start school again in March. March seems so far away, but I know it'll be here before I know it. I also get to figure out how to add this all in while nursing a newborn.

It seems like forever since I've had a newborn. This is the longest time inbetween babies, but only by 2 weeks. I think the big difference is how much more mature Genesis is then the boys were at her age. She talks, a lot, in pretty much complete sentances, she's potty trained, dresses herself, takes directions well, and overall is just a big help. The boys were just starting to do all those things when the next baby was born.

Anyways, that's enough babbling. We're all just doing great and everybody loves the new baby.

Birth story

At about 5:15pm Sunday night, I was cooking some eggs for dinner when I felt a tiny gush and then had a very consistent dripping. I thought it was my water, but couldn't be sure. I called the midwife, who said it was most likely either a high leak or liquefied mucus plug, both of which could be nothing or could be something.

About two hours later I got my first painful contraction, which was exactly how I remembered the first couple of contractions with Genesis. At first they were very far apart and sporadic, of course but by about midnight they were between 5 and 10 min apart and I was feeling a lot of pressure, so I called the midwife and told her to head out. She had a few things to do, and I wasn't in a big hurry, so it was close to 1:30am before her and the apprentice showed up.

When she got there, contractions were one and a half to two minutes apart, and I felt a little pushy, but they weren't all that intense. The MW immediately knew what was going on and said the baby was rotating around. Hands and knees was the best way to get him to turn, so that's how I went. At this point the MW said that after he was rotated, labor may stall out and it could be a few more days. I informed her that the kids would be awake between 6 and 7 am and this baby MUST be born before then.

At some point I started to fall asleep sitting up between contractions, so we moved to the bedroom where I laid down on my left side, also good for rotating babies, and slept between contractions. At about 4am the contractions changed and "real" labor started. I quickly felt pushy, but we were worried about a cervical lip, since I had one with the last two. The MW said that he was mostly rotated and as soon as he got all the way around that lip should go away. She said I could push if I wanted to, but if it hurt more, especially with a pinching feeling in front, then not to. Basically, I was to do whatever it took to hurt the least. Yay for less pain. I took most of these contractions on my hands and knees and some just kneeling, some I could push a little, some I couldn't.

A little after 5am, the contractions changed again, to definite pushing contractions. The MW checked for the baby's position with the doppler, declared him fully rotated, and said I could and should start really pushing. Pushing is not my favorite part of labor. I had done really well handling contractions up to this point, but now I lost it and declared I was not going to push the baby out. My body had other ideas and push I did. I changed positions regularly, with whatever felt right, some on all fours, some squatting, some kneeling, but most in a semi-squat. Sometimes I got downright mad at the contractions that always came too close together and never seemed to let up soon enough. I did my best pushing during those ones. Finally I could feel the extreme stretching that meant baby was getting closer. The last 3-4 contractions I was squatting next to the bed and just wanted that baby out NOW. When he finally started crowning I was yelling "Get out!!" while pushing. I was so done.

After 50 minutes of pushing, he was finally out. That is actually my shortest pushing time. It was 5:58am. The placenta was delivered just few minutes later. We got me sitting back down with babe in arms. We were surprised he was a boy, as both DH and I had fully felt we were having a girl. Not 15 minutes after he was born we heard the kids get up and come running. DH stopped them in the living room, giving us time to cover me up. They had heard the baby cry and DH said all their little faces were just lit up with excitment. We let them peak in for a few minutes, then DH got them some breakfast while we got me moved to the bed and the baby started nursing. He was a little snotty/mucusy at first and it took a while before he got it cleared out, but other than that, there were no problems.

We decided to leave the placenta attached until the cord dried out, about 24 hours later. He still has a few inches of cord , though we could trim it up more if we wanted. The whole thing should fall off in a couple more days. He his so beautiful. I was surprised at having a boy, which took a bit to get used to, but now I'm thrilled with another son. The original boy name we had picked out wasn't working for us anymore, so it took a few hours before we decided on his name. Now I look at him and just know that he is Solomon Russell. He's perfect.

I'm very happy with how the birth went. It was so natural to do it at home and the MW was everything I expected. I didn't plan much how the birth was going to go, though I wanted a night birth so the kids wouldn't have to go anywhere. With no expectations I had no let downs. Other than pushing, I felt like I did beautifully during labor. With Genesis I felt like I completely lost it, so I'm happy with how I did. Solomon's brothers and sister are already in love and can't get enough of him. He's a nursing champ, is wonderfully wide awake after eating and just so aware. I'm in love.

It's a boy!!!

After 13 hours total of labor, boy#3 was born at 5:58 this morning at home. He weighs 8lbs 4oz and is 19inches long. He doesn't have a name yet. It was my easiest birth yet. More to come later.

ETA, we decided to name him Solomon Russell. Russell is my grandfather's name.

Visit with my dad

First I just want to mention that there is still no baby. Which is fine b/c I had great weekend visiting with my dad. By this far along I had had both Canaan and Asher, so it really could be any day now. And now that that visit is out of the way and we're getting closer to my due date (the 13th) I'm starting to feel more like this baby will be coming, but I'm not sure it'll be soon. Who knows, maybe I'll go over this time!

As for my visit, it was great! My dad's new wife is just lovely. They actually won't be married until May, I think they said, but they're both wearing wedding rings already and they're going on a honeymoon cruise at the end of the month, so they might as well be! On the first night they got here she offered to cook dinner, though DH helped, then she cleaned up everything afterwards, did the dishes and everything and wouldn't let me help. The next morning, we were invited to join them for bfast at the hotel and she completely doted on the children. She put more food in front of them then they could possibly eat, but they just picked what they wanted and left alone the rest and she was okay with that. After bfast we went swimming in the hotel's pool. The kids had a great time. We went back to their room to change into our dry clothes and I was asked if there were any museums or anything around and I said I was sure there were some in Cincinnati, but I had no idea what. So she looked it up and decided we would go to the Children's Museum and off we went. Before I knew it, we were eating lunch at the museum with tickets for the Children's museum, the natural history and science museum and the omnimax theater (all in one building). It was afternoon by the time we got started and they close at 6 (on holidays) so we didn't get to see everything, unfortunately. But I mentioned in passing to DH that we might want to consider a family membership at some point, since they were only $115 and it included the two museums we visited and the history museum (also some museum) and before we left she took it upon herself to buy us a premium membership, which includes not only our family, but also a guest!

We stopped for dinner on the way home and of course the kids were all asleep before we got home. This morning we got up, I took DH to work, and we headed back to the hotel for more bfast and swimming. Then while Asher watched cartoons, Canaan and Genesis fell asleep for much needed naps. By the time they woke up, we went to DH's work, had lunch and when dh was off we headed out. We looked at a few houses that were for sale. The first night they were here I mentioned I saw a house on realtor. com for $25,000 on 10 acres and Liz (my Dad's wife) wanted to check it out. Turns out it's under contract, but there were a few others that we checked out, one looked promising and there's another that might be even more so, but we couldn't find it. Apparently, she is interested in co-owning a house with us. I'm not sure exactly how it would work out, especially with our credit, maybe we'd do a land contract type thing with her, I'm not sure, but that would be so cool! We didn't talk any specifics, and she really didn't even come out and say she wanted to buy a house with us or anything, but it was implied and my dad said she was interested when she was out of the room. So that's exciting. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but it's hard.

After that we went back to the hotel, the kids swam a little more, then had pillow fights while the grown-ups talked. She is really planning on coming out again as soon as the baby is born, even if it's this week! My dad may come if it's a weekend, but we'll see about that. I have no worries about her coming and being a burden either. I'm sure she would be a wonderful help, especially since DH will only be able to get a few days off of work and that even depends on when the baby is born. But it was said, if I call her at 5am and say baby is here, then she'll be here by noon. So I'm actually looking forward to that bit of help.

Anyways, that's my update. We had a great weekend. I'm very happy with my Dad's wife and think she'll be wonderful for my dad and a wonderful step-grandma to my kids.

My dad is coming today!

Well, I don't know that I'll have much time to keep you all updated this weekend. My dad should be getting in sometime today with his new wife. Actually, I don't think they're married yet, but she'll be his wife soon enough I suppose. I can't wait to get to know her. From what I've read in her e-mails I think she'll be really good for my dad and will really get him involved in our lives. She doesn't have any grandchildren of her own and she's always wanted some, so marrying my dad gives her an instant, huge family (my baby is grandchild #17 for my parents). She's already talking about coming down after the baby is born to see it and she's invited our family to join them at her timeshare in Virginia for week this summer.

But thinking about my dad's new wife brings me to thinking about my parents and thier marriage. I was 12 when they got divorced. My dad wasn't really around much when I was growing up. He was in the house, but he wasn't mentally present. He was always in his workshop or reading a book. As I've gotten older and learned more about marriage and how it should be, I understand why. My mom walked all over my dad. She didn't respect him and she certainly did not submit to him. She did what she wanted. 3 of my siblings are adopted and my dad will tell you, if it had been his choice, they probably never would have adopted. He did it for her. There is one thing that speaks the most to me though. The last time my dad visited he started talking about our old house. Now I don't remember this house, we moved around my 3rd birthday. It was obvious in hearing my dad talk about it that he loved that house. But alas, my mom was not happy with it. So they ended up moving. You can hear the sadness in my dad's voice. He would have been happy in that house for his whole life. He'll tell you himself, something broke in him when they moved and their marriage was never the same again. I'm sure to my mom it was no big deal. It was just a house and she wanted something bigger/better for all the children they had. To my dad, it was obviously more than a house. I sometimes wonder if I do things like that, without even knowing. Is there some issue that is no big deal to me but big to my husband? Am I tearing down our marriage without even knowing it? Just something to think about at the beginning of this new year.

And in case you're wondering, I don't feel any closer to having this baby then I did last time I blogged. Ask me again after my dad leaves ;)