Bed Rest Is OVER!

The Little Mister was finally born at 5am on
Tuesday, March 22nd 2011
8lbs 14oz 20in

I say finally but, just like his big brothers, he did mamma a favor and came 2 weeks early, sparing me additional bed rest. I didn't have to be induced, yea! I avoided an epidural, I didn't want this to be my first, but I did go a new road and opted for some IV drug to take off the edge. And thank goodness for that, Little Mister was in the "Sunnyside Up" position (facing up instead of down-the easier way) making him a doozy to birth, even with the drugs. And again, just like his brothers, he was very considerate and was born swiftly. Even with trying to arrive extra early, not waiting for 5 min contractions, we were only in the hospital about 3 hours before his arrival. What a wonderful date to be born. As my good friend pointed out the numbers are 32211, super cool! And it's my maternal grandfather's birthday, making it a day with extra special meaning.

Final bed rest count: 3 weeks to the day. Thanks to my mom-in-law I survived with sanity mostly in tact and a clean and fully stocked house waiting for us when we returned from the hospital. If only those three weeks of rest could be stowed away and used during these first few exhausting months of newbornhood. Unfortunately the body does not stock pile rest and I'm blissfully exhausted.

The Bed Rest Club

I have been blessed by two of my fellow book clubbers sending me books and am pretty quickly working my way through the stack. When 'Bed Rest' the novel was brought to my door it was just too fitting not to read immediately. I wasn't sure through most of it whether to feel good that I could relate or doubly depressed because I was going through my own bed rest doldrums and reading about hers!

Yesterday marked two weeks on bed rest. Two solid weeks of sitting on my butt, getting up only to pee (ok, that's quite often these days actually), to refill my water and when I just can't stand the numb feeling in my back and tingle in my legs anymore. That is an amazing amount of immobility! The highlight of my day is getting to take a shower, you know I'm dragging those out as long as the hot water heater will allow. My other daily pick-me-up: the deliveries that have started to come in of all the baby goodies I ordered online like an agoraphobic shut in since I can't venture out into the real world.

The fantastic thing is that I know the Little Mister won't be sticking in there through the entire remaining three weeks until his due date. Dr. already said if he hasn't decided to enter the world on his own within two weeks then we'll talk inducing him in the 39th week. So two weeks tops and I get to meet my little guy! I'm still hoping he comes on his own in the 38th week like his big brothers. If he does that means in mere days I could be freed from bed rest and holding him all wrapped up like a little burrito in my arms!

Are We There Yet?

Are We There Yet? Ceramic Travel Mug by Lenny Mud on Etsy

Today we are 3 weeks away from our due date! That also means 1 week from when I usually have my babies and with all the craziness this pregnancy has brought who really knows. I wouldn't be surprised if this little booger made us wait until the due date.

Bed rest has been a strange experience. The days have been going very quickly, which really surprises me, and yet the feeling of being trapped can be suddenly overwhelming, especially when trapped in with a chatty five year old! My mom-in-law has been incredible though and the other morning took him on an outing to Walmart for awhile to give me some blissful quiet time. I didn't realize how desperately I needed it until the door shut behind them and it was like my whole body sighed in relief! Then yesterday she took both boys to the movies so my honey and I both could have a peaceful afternoon together.

I think one of the toughest things to let go of for me has been the fact that I will not be able to go out for the post baby shower shopping trips I like to go on before baby arrives where I stock up on anything we still need or want. It helps me get my mind on baby and get excited that he's actually on his way. Then I can meticulously place everything in the nursery and go in and out of it dreamily thinking about him being there. Without that I've felt a little stuck in pregnancy, like this is just my new state of being and there is no place where it ends in a fantastic bundle of joy. So yesterday I just bucked up and did some serious online shopping! Not instantly gratifying but I'm trying. And again, my super fantastic mom-in-law organized the shower gifts into the nursery and brought me all the clothes and things to sort and unpackage so I could feel part of the process. For a gal on bed rest I've pretty much got it made, now all I want to know is "are we there yet?"

Virtual Baby Shower

My husband is a youth director and his kids had planned to surprise me with a baby shower Sunday night. Since the bed rest verdict was going to stick they decided to Skype me into the party so I wouldn't miss out! So sweet! They all sat in front of the computer and two of the girls would open the gifts and then bring them up to the webcam for me to check out. Later that evening one of the guys put a picture of the cake on Facebook for me to see, since about cake time they lost video feed, and they sent me home some pieces. Isn't technology awesome?! I also loved that when I asked if someone could take notes on who was gifting what one of the girls grabbed the gigantic dry erase board, put it across her lap and notated away. Most unique baby shower ever!

Day 9 Of Captivity

Whale Tissue Holder by Gnomes Sweet Gnome on Etsy

"I feel like a beached whale waiting around for someone to shove me back into the ocean." That is the way I'm feeling about bed rest, in a nutshell. My twice a week appointments are not a nuisance, they're my salvation. We drive through town and I ooh and ahh that spring is happening in the world. I heave and huff to get myself in and out of the car, up the stairs, in and out of buildings and that's ok because I'm actually moving!

Today brought us another good report. This was the second appointment in a row where my blood pressure was back into normal range and Three passed his fetal non stress test right away so life is good and bed rest is doing what it's supposed to. My husband even took me to Starbucks for a tiny outing to celebrate. I couldn't talk him into allowing me a caffeinnated beverage so I was basically bed resting in public and it boosted my spirits with no harm done. Last appointment also brought us news that we are making some progress, I am 1cm dilated and 25% effaced. I'm feeling much relief that this baby may come on his own after all and extremely torn between wanting him to spend some more time fattening up before he enters the world and just wanting him to hurry the heck up!

Her Majesty Of Bed Rest

Still in the womb and this child is already giving his mamma troubles! Tuesday's appointment brought less than stellar news...bed rest. I went in for a regular 'ole appointment at 9:15am but high blood pressure and a high fetal heart rate got me rounds of monitoring and a sonogram that kept me until about 2pm. Above is a picture of me on the morning of my second appointment where I was still hopeful to receive good news and have the sentence lifted, no such luck. So it looks like I'm doomed to finish out my pregnancy on my butt...my ever numbing butt. I actually didn't think it would be so bad because I felt I had already entered the end of pregnancy mega lazies, but man, I was really underestimating how much I was still getting done.

Now we go back in on Monday to test for Preeclampsia, oh but first another new experience, collecting a jug 'o pee in my fridge for an entire 24hrs. There's just nothing quite as humbling as pregnancy, childbirth and the embarrassments brought on by rearing children. Anywho, if I test positive then we'll be induced immediately. If I test negative then it's a waiting game. I'll go in twice a week for monitoring and I'll go with bags packed because any of those appointments could lead to the surprise news that we have to induce right away. Personally I'm saying a little prayer for negative test Monday and this baby coming on his own in a week or so!

My sentence allows me to do anything I want as long as I'm sitting or laying down, which encompasses surprisingly few activities. Thankfully I'm allowed to shower, but no housecleaning, no leaving the house and no morning cup 'o joe...gasp, no shopping for baby things, ok that one choked me up a bit. But look at my sexy help! The day before I was sentenced my fantastic husband brought me home this gorgeous apron and a rose, just because. I was really excited to wear it and get some work done, maybe even some cooking, oh well. My husband did a stellar job through the first two days of bed rest but we thought we'd better call in heavy duty reinforcements, mom-in-law! She swooped in on Thursday and by the end of the day Friday had the house back in shape. A true blessing because it was going to be torture to spend the next days or weeks glued to a chair and staring down all the things that needed picked up and cleaned!

One of the many side effects of having a giant pregnant belly and little boys is the belly is likely to be used as a ramp for cars. Hey, Spitfire is just anxious to play with Baby Brother. Actually he really really is excited and Golden Curls too. Spitfire is also my exposed belly police, he's at just the right height to be able to see my tummy peak out if my shirt rides up even the tiniest little bit. He likes to encourage me to correct this atrocity by gasping loudly, pointing at the offense, and whispering urgently "Mamma, your tummy!" A few days ago Golden Curls caught sight of my confused no longer an innie, not really an outtie belly button and disgustedly blurted out "Ewwww, that's gross!" Sweet, sweet memories.

Book Club Baby Shower

Saturday was our first baby shower, put on by my beloved book club gals. The fantastic hostesses did such a great job, just look at that adorable tub full of goodies. It had blue tulle and plastic bubbles, so cute! Baby showers make me so happy, it's a signal that the end is near and it always gets me so excited to meet my little man when he has things that were given just to him. I've been sneaking lots of peaks at all those cute things now sitting in his nursery!

I was especially honored to have my mom, mom-in-law, sis-in-law and niece there with me. I just can not believe I forgot to get a picture of all of us together! My niece is 8 and it's really the first time I've gotten to hang out with her away from the 5 boys that are usually around when she is (her 3 brothers and my two boys). She's one cool little lady. She sat so sweetly with her tea cup of punch, played with the baby and came up to me and almost whispered "I'm having fun." Then my princess niece went out into the hostess' yard, threw a ball for the dogs, kicked around in the dirt and accidentally started a fire in the old burn pile. Now that's my kind of gal!

Me with the fantastic hostesses.

Paper lover that I am, you know I was loving that banner!

Opening gifts on the throne. There is one large baby bump underneath that gift bag!

One of the faves of the day: baby eating hoodie towel

A Nusery Is Born

Six weeks on baby countdown, but who's counting? Oh yes, that would be me! The nursery is all decorated and all we lack are some baby necessities and the Little Mister himself. I can't believe all the stuff this kid has already, guess it's bound to happen when you have two older brothers and 4 out of 5 cousins are boys. A lot of these things have been in both his brothers' nurseries but it's amazing how his still looks different. There are so many special things in this baby's room.

I'm in love with the newest special handmade thing, my baby mobile, custom made by a friend of mine. I keep saying we collaborate on them but really that's an overstatement on my part. I make her the paper parts (on this one the pinwheels and carousel) but she works her magic, bending and painting her own metal, adding clay embellishments, and stringing beads, she really has a good eye. It just turned out perfectly!

The rest of the tour: the crib, handmade by my husband's grandfather, has slept all 4 of my sis-in-law's kiddos and will all 3 of ours. The bedding was made by my husband and I, the paintings above the crib and the diaper bag on the changing table were made by me. the little blue creature on the shelf was made by Spitfire and I.

The bookshelf feels like a masterpiece of giving and makes me feel loved because it and everything on it was given to our boys over the years and it makes me overwhelmed with thankfulness that there are so many people in our lives that have helped us provide for, love, and raise our most precious babies.

Spitfire made this for the baby in Sunday School months ago. On the hearts are written all the things he loves: Mamma, Pappa, Brother, Baby and himself.

Coffee Shelf

It's a perfect fit for my morning cup, but I'm glad it's temporary. We're 7 weeks away from our due date, yea! We're hoping for 2 weeks early like his brothers which means only 5 weeks, 5 weeks sounds so much better.

Baby Love

Lil' Spitfire pointed to my belly yesterday and asked "How long until our baby comes out?" "Well, we have mamma's birthday, Valentines Day and then he'll be born." I'm always describing large expanses of time by what holidays and birthdays we have to cross first and it made me realize how few there are left between us and baby. I look back and feel like I've been pregnant forever but this April 3rd due date doesn't seem ages away anymore, a realization that has me both incredibly excited and incredibly frightened all at the same time. Yep, I'm no rookie and I'm still frightened at the prospect of what lies ahead. Or maybe it's because I'm no rookie that I fear what lies ahead.

Lil' Spitfire is drawing a lot of family portraits these days and his depiction of me always includes a big 'ole scribbled baby belly. Everyone else usually gets a letter on the their tummy to show who they are. The picture below was drawn just after his 5th birthday so his letter was replaced with a 5 for his impressive age.

Sonogram Says...It's A Boy!

I'm pretty sure people with girls do not show off a "girl parts" sonogram pic but hey, he's a boy and he's proud!

Finally the long awaited news! Not just to answer the pink vs. blue question but, more importantly, to see that baby is healthy and perfect! And I had better invest in some earplugs and buy stock in Band-Aids because I'm gonna need them.

Spitfire and Golden Curls went with us dressed in their "Big Brother" tees and they were nearly bouncing off the walls with anticipation. They have been waiting to see this baby with about as much anticipation as we have. They were amazed at what they saw and bombarded the tech with a million questions but it was super cool to watch and listen to them. She gave both boys their own sonogram picture. Golden Curls took his to school and got to pass it around and tell all about his experience. And proud big brother Spitfire carried his all over the place and then put it up on the fridge, surrounding it by magnets, "a frame." I kept seeing him pass by it and stop to touch it. They're going to be perfect big brothers!

My absolute favorite thing is to see baby's profile on the sonogram, I can almost picture what he looks like. Three was very active during the sonogram and very stubborn. The tech was getting onto him the whole time. She would just get a good view of something and he'd roll over or put his hands up to his face. She had to jiggle my tummy (ick!) and had me roll over and back just to be able to get a good view of all his vital organs. Huh, imagine that, us having an ornery child.

The next two pics are from when she turned on the 4D ultrasound. A little horror movie to me, I think I prefer the classic sonogram, but pretty cool to look at. She could hardly get a view of him without his hands up by his face. She told the boys he was picking his nose, which they just found completely hysterical!


Alright, now it's time to get to work, there are walls to be painted, 3 years worth of baby clothes and nursery things to dig back out of the yard sale pile (read mountain) in the garage and get cleaned up, rooms to shift...whew!

Countdown To Sonogram: 2 Days!

I can't believe it's almost here, sonogram day! I feel like a little kid waiting for the arrival of Christmas morning. I'm ready to lay eyes on this little peanut, see that all is well, and know what our little family will be made up of...all snips and snails or a splash of sugar and spice? I'm also ready to begin getting everything put together. We have so many things to shuffle around in our house to make room for this child, so many things to be gotten rid of.

We're almost halfway, yippee! I've been feeling pretty good. The beginning was crappy but it's going better and I feel calmer. There's also the added joy of the regular, daily gymnastics that let me know baby is there and well. Exhaustion is frustrating. If I don't get my to-do list done before lunch it's not going to get done. That seems to be my witching hour, I go from super energetic mom to couch potato. Pregnancy brain is also firmly establishing itself. I haven't exactly left the milk jug in the cupboard but it makes regular visits. Most mornings I get the coffee going just to realize 10 minutes later I did everything but turn it on.

The boys are so excited. We're taking them to the sonogram so they can be part of it all. Spitfire decided he needed a Big Brother t-shirt when we saw one in a store so today I made two. He's so proud to be a big brother! It's a lot of fun this go 'round with the boys being old enough to get excited and talk about it. Can't wait for Monday!

Countdown To Sonogram

Fine, I'll share a belly picture. I always take them just for the baby books but I'm feeling a little homesick. I don't see family as much since we've moved and I'd like to lessen the possibility that they will fall out in a faint or burst out laughing when they see I've developed quite the pooch. Baby is definitely on board!

Well, it seems there aren't many updates to make about baby from here on out. We're 16 weeks in and the countdown to sonogram stands at 4 weeks. There aren't anymore adorable fruit comparisons, everything is pretty well formed and just growing. As far as symptoms go those will be ever changing for the next 5 months, and many of them simply do not make for polite conversation. Just when I think nausea and exhaustion are gone it hits me like a ton of bricks and I'm laid out like a sick person. I have added massive heartburn, the likes of which I never see outside of pregnancy, to the list of complaints. I've heard that heavy heartburn is a sign that baby will have lots of hair. It seemed to be true with my Lil' Spitfire who gave me worse heartburn than his brother and was born needing a haircut.

I have been having the biggest urge to go out and buy something adorably girly because I'm having the realization that this really might be my last chance to buy something for a baby girl, one that might be mine, and I really want to. If I do it now then after the sonogram I can just "oh well, I'll give it to someone else" but if I wait and find out I'm having a boy I've lost the chance. Then I can have it around to daydream at because right now I'm having the hardest time wrapping my brain around the reality that there is actually going to be a baby in our household. Also, last night I had a crazy dream involving bad guys chasing us. We had to race to the house to get the baby from the sitter. Lo and behold, it was a boy. Now, I'm not a superstitious signs kind of a girl but...ok, I totally am a superstitious signs kind of a girl! But we've had some pretty bizarre signs of girl, like her possible name cropping up in strange places, pretty much everywhere, but I can't talk about that because we usually keep the name a surprise. Anyway, rambling post be done!

For Richer Or For Poorer...Emphasis On Poorer

The doctor has been visited! As a result I have no cute fruit to compare baby to because they put me at 12 weeks now which is what I was guessing I was last week. I heard the baby's heartbeat, that certainly helps quell the bizarre fears that I was making all this up in my mind and I was going to find out I wasn't really pregnant. It's just such a strange experience to be pregnant, so hard to believe until there's some kind of proof...apparently 24/7 morning sickness for months on end, a rapidly expanding waste line and bizarre eating habits just don't cut it for me. I loved the staff at the doctor's office, including the doctor, loved the facility, loved it all.

I left my very first appointment with a big 'ole bag of baby magazines for me to drool and coo over and I was a happy camper...until my next appointment, to start the medicaid application process, where I ended up in tears in a strangers office over money and obsessively appologizing "I'm so sorry, I can't believe I'm crying, I never cry in front of people." She reassured me that crazy pregnant ladies frequent her office on a regular basis and it was fine. And that there was still hope that in spite of the change in life that turned us into the owners of "income" property there was still a small hope that we would have a sympathetic case worker who actually took note of the fact that the rent we collect barely covers the mortgage on a house we couldn't sell. Living on a youth director's salary in a society built around the assumption that everyone is a two income family can be trying to say the least. God has never let us drown, there's no reason he would now, so why is it so hard to go forward in life with complete and utter faith that it will all be fine?

Number Three Update

Key Lime Pie Felt Food by lisajhoney on Etsy

I know my weekly updates are probably not all that exciting to anyone else but hey, since I only have about 10 readers I'm pretty ok with keepin' on with the updates! After a horrible shrimp hiatus, this week compares baby to a large lime. Ok, I'm a about a week behind on my update and there's not a comparison for this week so lets just say it's a really large lime. This week is pretty amazing, when I read the info I must admit I got a little misty eyed, "(baby) is fully formed, from tooth buds to toenails, and your baby's job now is to continue getting larger and stronger for the rest of your pregnancy." How amazing is that?! A mere 3 months in and bam, baby is formed!

The ickies and exhaustion are pretty well gone though they rear their ugly heads in the evening. To balance the evening exhaustion I can't sleep through the night anymore. And I've had a really strange symptom completely unique from my other pregnancies, this overwhelming salty taste/feeling in my mouth and throat as though I just gargled the ocean. The coolest thing is I think possibly I felt little tiny baby movements. It's pretty early so it's hard to tell at this point if it really is baby and not the pregnant woman's buffet I ate earlier or just some random muscle twitch, but it makes me excited for all those wonderful things in pregnancy like feeling baby kick. Ok, that one wonderful thing in pregnancy! Next Friday I will finally get to see my doctor at an appointment so early I'm pretty sure God will still rubbing his eyes. But hey, I'll take it! P.S. How super cute is that Key Lime Pie plushie?! Check out her shop, there are so many cute felt plush foods!

Shrimp Baby?!?!

Shrimp Sushi Plush by Cornstarch on Etsy

Well, so much for adorable fruit comparisons to how big the baby has gotten. Week 10 and baby is the size of a...ewww...medium shrimp. To add to the ickies my husband talks to my belly and tells it "I know you're swimming around in there with your little shrimpy tail." Goof ball! Thankfully nausea and extreme exhaustion rode off into the sunset together this week making me a much more productive human being. Non-stop ravenous eating of strange foods, mega picky pants and the pregnancy crazies have moved in. Since those things are sort of normal for me it's survivable. Well, normal as in if my regular 'ole quirky character traits could be hyped up on crack cocaine.

Craft Room Eviction Notice

Dear Craft Room,

It has been a delightful two years having you, my first ever craft room. It seems like only yesterday that I sat in the floor, built your shelves and obsessively, I mean, lovingly filled every nook and cranny with scrapbooking supplies. But it seems our days of shutting ourselves off from the world, blaring music, and flinging paper are coming to an end. 9 months seems like a long time but I know from experience it goes so fast. But don't worry craft room, I will still be crafting away in the future Master Bedroom/Craft Room. It will never take your place but you have a more important job to do and I look forward to trading our crafting time for time spent with sweet little baby number three. We'll still have raucous times and quiet calm times but these will be so much more rewarding! I will never forget you craft room!

Forever yours,
Sunny