Questions and Answers

This morning while pondering the usual question this answer popped into my mind: 3 Nephi 1:13

Of course, if you don't know the story around it, you mi ss some of the immplications (and of course one great story), so read the whole chapter again.

ANd in other news; I've decided if I have to wait I might as well throughly distract myself- and made it to the bookstore yesterday. So far I'm only 200 pages in and the beauitful weather this morning beat the the book reading hands down. So I got out there and started mowing the back lawn today- but Mike was on the phone trying to fix our internet connection- so I worked on cleaning up the patio instead. I have tenitivly invited a few friends over for a 4th of July BBQ and would like a nice place to be outside :)

no baby yet

Cervix is still unchanged. No inducment is schedueled. I have no more details.

Galen got his belt

Galen got his white belt today. It represents, I believe, more achievement in social aspects then in Tae Qwon Do, It means that Galen has learned how to participate in class, how to follow the instructor in a group setting, and how to immate others. This is a big acheievment in the austism issues. I wonder how much professional theropy he would have had to have to achieve the same things.

It also means he has learned to speak up, repeat words, accept corrections via words and actions, and generally grow up alittle bit. How come every time you are so proud of your child something inside of you crys about your baby not needing you anymore?

Also today: my catalog actually made it to press, my wholesale deal went through with a store (and payment is on it's way), and I, strangely, enjoyed cleaning the bathtub as much as I enjoyed taking the bath.

Tomarrow I meet with my midwife and see what the rest of the week holds.

Well either this child is going to come out soon or starve to death. I am seriously running out of room, I hope he feels he is too.

Well, I gave up and made my midwife appointment for this week. Last week we all assumed I wouldn't last this long. So now I am going to call the Chiro and make another appointment with her (then of course, due to the ironies of life I woun't make either appointment, right?)

So now today is Tuesday and tomarrow I am offically 40 weeks. 10 months of this baby. He better be worth it.

dear universe

can i hvae this baby today?

that hurt

Well last night I woke up to some painful contractions at the top of my utereus. They were trying the contract around baby's bony butt and in so doing causing my stomach no lack of greif. But becasue they were so high, painful and it was 3am I didn't see any desire to push these, and took a hot bath that calmed the muscles, so I could sleep the rest of the night.

Here I am so sily. I sit there all day telling the baby to come, and when the contactions come I tell him to let me sleep. Oh well, maby today I'll g et some contactions that will be useful and not so painful.

cute phone call

My mom calls me up last night- in the middle of my bath and says:

"I was just thinking about baby. It would be good if he came tonight, except we're ti red, but tomarrow is good and Monday, but Tuesday night I have rotery, that wouldn't be good. Wensday would be fine. You're not planning to go longer then Wensday are you?"

Somehow I just don't think Squiggly is quite as accomadating as Ian was.

What I read when i saw the weather report

this morning:
Partically cloudy with a 40% chance of baby.

Now what?

I have found the key to patienly waiting anything is to keep busy. So I have been doing that today. This morning I mowed the front lawn, paid bills, finished the laundry. Started dinner and tomarrow's dinner. So now what do I do?

Actaully while writting this blog I thought of several things: make a menue for this week, sheet Ian's top bunk. Then there are things I need to do on monday like contact business peoples for shipping and ordering and catalogs and the like.

It is finally nice outside. only 81 degrees, so we turned off our AC last night and sleept with the windows open it dropped down to 65 and we had a good sleep.

Mu house cleaner came, so my house is feeling better again. I love it when bathrooms and floors are all freshly scrubbed.

Meanwhile my breasts are still getting bigger, yesterday they truely fell out of my bra. I was telling Mike that story while we were dressing for bed and he had to agree with me. I might have to order some tradtional nursing bras just so something can hold them up.

Have I jumped subjects enough today? Is there any other subject s I can jump to while I am blogging?

Also if anyone can baby sit, we'd really like to get out.

no baby yet

Even though it seems rediculously logical to induce baby this weekend, we have decided to wait. The why of waiting I don't know.

However, I am now contracting again (like I was all month until Wensday, then it took a two day break). Maby these contactions are actually doing something.

We put the baby's crib up today, and it looks very cute bedecked in the organic nursery set.

I know my hormones are changing. I feel very emotional and cry for no good reason. The hormone change kind of feels like the crash before the period starts, only this change is lasting longer then one afternoon. I am hop ing a lot of these hormones are the ones that actually evict the baby, and then attach to it.

hot and miserable

The temperature offically reached 99 degrees today, adn that dosen't concider the humidity. So After I brought the boys home from Twe Qwon Do, i went to the basment and cooled off with a bath.

When I finally immerged 1hour and 45 minutes later Mike asked me how I felt . I told him "I'm no longer h ot, but still miserable." Of course in this heat it doesnt' take long to heat up again. So i hope we get amegastorm tonight that will not only blast the heat out of town, but the baby out of me. Do you think I could find someone to take the kids at 3am in the middle of a tornado warning?

nice bed

slept like a rock, woke up took my kids to thier classes, and slept again.
It is redicoulously hot outside today, so I am trying to stay calm, cool and relaxed indoors. We may take the kids to the toy store this afternoon. They are having a going out of business sale and it may be good to start our birthday and Christmas shopping.

Think Mom wants a toy for her bi rthday?

induction

The baby has 6 days before he's induced. I have never had to be induced yet. Meanwhile Mom went home. I think she drained me of energy, but we did get alot done.

I hope Mom can enjoy a quiet night or two before she's called back. But at least she'll bring Dad too.

I am enjoying a quiet night. My kids were so tired from staying up late last night, adn from the ice cream social at school tonight that Galen zonked in about 2 minutes from being in bed. ( I threatened to turn on Yanni, if he wouldn't go peacefully to bed by himself, and did. I think it might have worked) After getting mad he wasn't calming down to sleep, I thought maby if I changed his focus it would help us. So I helped him sheet his bed. He crawled right in and zonked. Ewan is not asleep yet. He has crawled up to sleep with Galen. I think Ewan likes to sleep with others.

Meanwhile, I found a good home for our used, but still very viable queen bed. My housecleaner said she'd love it. So she'll also get several sheet sets for it. I would pass her a queen blanket too, but we don't have any. (all we have are hand made quilts from Karla, and those are not going anywhere) Come to think of it, we don't have a blanket for our king bed yet. But I am planning on getting an organic cotton one from www.roundbelly.com when they restock in July. Then I may just research duvets adn organic covers for the bed this winter. in fact that sounds like something fun to do while I am waiting on Mike to get off his computer and watch a quiet movie with me before I sleep on our new bed. Mom did a great job having everything ready for my nap today. All the sheets and covers were washed and waiting for the bed. It is great to have such a loving mother.

So, I suppose you would like to hear more on what the midwife says: My baby is so low, but the top of my cervix is only open 1cm (still). They will happily break the water when they can get to it. Until then if i want to rush the baby, then I would have to have the cervix softening gel (that often brings on labor by it's self).
I wan't ready to commit to that yet, but I am allowed to call the midwife anytime of day or night and start it, (if I want). However, I have decided to wait on my body and prove that nature knows best.
So if you wish to rush the baby, please send cervix opening vibes my way- after a nice quiet night.

Are you eagerally awaiting the birth?

Well, wait a little longer. My silly cervix hasn't done a thing, so we can't even go in and break the water.

offically 39 weeks pregnant

and if Clayton isn't born today, then only Galen will have gesstated longer. I think he might have finally turned to prevent back labor. In which case, something like that is worth the wait.

So today I visit the midwife adn see what she thinks. Mom thinks it would be great if the midwife offered to break my water this evening so everyone could be here, and everything could be ready and planned. I wonder if that kind of coincidence is too much to ask for twice.

Meanwhile Mom has been here since Sunday Evening and has helped keep the kids, house and shopping in line. Today we are getting a king bed. So if anyone has need of a queen bed- including sheets just call.

In other words: I am running out of mormon movies to watch with mom, and we are running out things to shop for (however HOme Deopot is our next stop, and there is no lack of things there to get), so Clayton better come soon.

Have a good day- maby you'll get a call

Wishing

Ever wish you could look up your future blog on the internet and find out when something you are dying for is going to happen?

After all what makes us so excited we'd rather rush to the expecpedted items then enjoy the journey there?

Yesterday I told Ewan he could come with me to pick up Galen. Every 3 minutes (for 3 hours!) he asked if it was time to go.

IF my contractions were as regular as his questions, we would have had this baby out years ago.

Sometimes, I sit here wondering "what do I have to learn before this baby comes?, HOw am I ho lding this kid back?"

Then I wonder if maby the kid is in control, then I try to tell it how wonderful the world will be, how many great things to expereince.

Sometimes I even wonder that if I had com plete control over this experince in what wisdom would I rush a kid, or a birth? OF course, lacking in enough wisdom, maby the decision should be left up to uncounious mind, the hormones and the baby. Now it is just getting my concious mind to accept that it is not in control.

Happy Daddie's Dad

Dear Daddie,
The gift I so desperately wish to give you for father's day hasn't arrived it. )Of course, I wish to give the same gift to Mike, He says it's better than a tie).

There is a 95% chance that it will arrive this week, adn while you are checking it out, you can enjoy y our other grandsons a a huge box of granola. (adn no end of organic produce).

So here is my e-card to you

Happy Father's Day
Thanks to your genetics, you've got grandsons tall adn wise
of course they're also dreameres adn do pretend to fly.

Creative and resourceful, the do alot of things...
paint varnish on the minivan, adn build spiderwebs from strings.

They also have your focus, a blessing that is mixed
One drives my craszy with questions, the other's StarWars fixed.

So for Father's day I give you the best gift of all,
Another decendant of your genious
So look forward to my call.

shaved

This week we worked hard to get things in clean and workable order. Part of that work has been to shave things.

We shaved our lawn, our Galen and our Dog this week. All 3 should be easier to take care of, and should be able to enjoy the summer more.

Now in about 4 hours I am in the clear and baby is allowed to come, with out interupting my plans. We have to make a food storage pickup at 10- but after that Everything else should be able to be handled with out me for a few days. So will Clayton cooperate and come when Grandma is already down here? we will see.

I have never delivered more than 10 days before my due date- and as of tomarrow morning it will be 10 days before. (Ewan was 10 days early, Ian was 7, Galen was 4) So let's make room for baby.

Have a great day!

Watermelon

I couldn't deal with the watermelon I bought today. It was blatenlty staring my in the belly and saying "HaHa, you're bigger then I am. So I ate it.

today

I have done several things, in cluding, but not llimited to:
mowing the lawn (we bought a big nassty gas powered mower to take down our jungle lawn, which has already gone to seed twice this year).

cleaned 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, 2 living rooms and 1 kitchen

took my kids to twkwon do- adn they both attended class and had fun. Galen even came out of a turtle (in the middle of class) and rejoined his class. This is a significant development.

grocery shopped

ate a watermelon

shoped at the hardware store

had my floor measured for flooring

I'm so pregnant . . .

That now that I finally want to wash dishes, it is challenging even reaching the sink over my belly.

I have forgotten what it feels like to have have hips attached to me- (and even how to walk normally)

My laundry is actually getting done, the lawn actually getting mowed, the rooms painted, and bathrooms cleaned.

That I don't even care if I gain or loose weight.

That no matter how cute or good my k ids are being, I don 't want them anywhere near me (especially not touching the belly)

That a good night's sleep means only waking up to go potty 6 times.

That pain (contractions) is good

When people tell me it looks like the kid should be here anytime, I agree with them.

That I'm threatening the midwife wensday, (if this kid doesn't come before)

For those of you dying to know

A week of annoying contractions has not done much to bring this baby nearer. I am now offically 1 cm dialated at the top of the cervix. The lower part is 3-4cm, but even though the cervix is still thick, it is very soft.

The midwife expects that I will see her again next wensday. However, she warned that labor can go very fast with somebody who has had as many children as me.

Storm prediction

I have become a self contained storm prediction unit. Yesterday afternoon about 4pm. i just couldn't deal with it anymore. The weather provided us with sunny break, and I couldn't get anyone outside. So I called out that it was time to go the park. Everyone came. From about that second through the next hour (all through the park visit, in nice sunny weather) I had regular, fairly obvious contractions. Then they stopped.

And the storms came. There were about 3 hours from the contactions to the severe storm weather (included a certified tornado warning for us here). For a while I was wondering if I'd have a baby in the middle of a tornado. But of course, becasue there was no actual tornado, squiggly decided he would not touch down either.

In other news. . .
Galen has a sence of humor that would be lost on most people his age. Yesterday at Lunch Dad asked him if he felt a little hoarse, becasue his voice sounded scratchy. He reply was a whinny.

Feeling good with Energy

Does that mean that I am now in the pre-labor nesting phase? or
that the temperature has dropped 10 degrees? or
That I have sent Mike and Galen off to school this morning?

Or all the above. Yeah! I have already accompished some business today. And am on my way to doing bigger and better things (like changing diapers, and starting the dishwasher, maby even cleaning out the babie's dresser).

so does anybody else have a guess on the size and date of this child?

hot and ornery

The house cleaner and babysitter had to call in sick today. That left me home with 3 bored kids and a house in desperate need of cleaning.

So after cleaning the bathrooms, doing laundry and sweeping the floors, I did what any sane person would do. I left, but the only place I could think of going was grocery shopping. So as excited as Target is on saturday, with a hot and ornery pregnant women adn a grocery list containg only 8 items.. .

Of course the kind of excitment I am craving is probably 1.5 weeks away. But I would also be happy with a 10 degree drop in temperature,( or a 30% drop in humidity or both) and a completely finished upstairs. Which we were not able to work on today becasue our babysitter had to cancel. (and to try to make any decent decsion at home depot while chasing 3 kids is not going to happen).

So if you are in a baby sitting mood . . .

Well, My midwife says that my baby's head is smushed right up against my bladder. (she aslo says that she probally didn't need to tell me that)
He is at -2 station. And the bottom of my cervix is open 4 cm, but the top (near the baby's head) is closed. So everyone send me vibes of getting the top half of the cervix open and then we can talk about getting this kid out.

hot, hot, hot!

92 and 80% humidity was our weather today. and we tried to lay a floor on the uppermost story of our house in it. We turned on the AC at 3pm. called naptime for everyone while we let it cool off. Mike and I took the basment.

Meanwhile the floor has been layed for the third time today and we are still unhappy with it, adn will try again tomarrow. Anybody want to keep my kids busy? They managaed to mess up a few things and break 2 brooms today (at least thy didn't break them in the ceiling fan)

So Mike and I are probably sleeping in the basment since our bed is set up in Ian's room until we have a floor we are happy enough to put it on.

Maby the twice to price for professional instahlation is worth the money.

sore feet

sore hips, sore back. just how many hours can one fit into a warm and muggy weekend?
Well, we do not have the finaly count yet, but we have many newly and repainted walls. We have flooring, and new furinature and we have 2 boys who are not sure how to sleep on a bunkbed that cannot be assemebled for a while because 12 of the cross bars were left up north.

Meanwile I am looking forward to a bath in my deep tub (just as soon as the twerps fall asleep.) Then I'll have to find clothes suitale for church tomarrow for all the pumpkins. (the clean laundry is knee deep, but unfolded).

Ok, now that we bought the baby car seat and a few other nessicities. It is time for your offical guesses to come in.

Baby's Birth day
Time
Weight
Height

you may log you guesses here or email them :) Everyone who guesses will be sent baby pics

after 18 expectant months

I am going to actually have a baby.

I am washing his new clothes, and am setting up his bedroom (after painting it this weekend). It will have an all organic crib set, I may even make matching curtains.

Then I am going to prepare my room for him, and buy a car seat, adn think about actually holding an awsome new being in my arms.

A couple Sundays ago I held a little baby. It was then that I realizes how much I had missed holding a little cuddily bundle, and how complete it felt to hold one again.

The big, the bad and the ugly

Or in otherwords, the visit with my midwife.

The big: she says that I'll probably have another one of my "little babbies." Even though I do not messure big, adn the kid has room yet, that what she feels of him is substanial. Baby is active and has a good heart beat.

The bad: for all you who wanted to know if the baby was comming, I declined the cervix check. I fiqured it can wait until I am willing to endure the discomfort for the knowledge.

The ugly: dehydration! and I lost 6 pounds. I had to work hard to convince them that I could rehydrate without help from an IV. Dehydration is from the stomach bug (that I was blamming on baby, but I figured out that it must be a stomach bug when my kiddos started throwing up yesterday). So now that I have taken in alot of water (and of course feel better) I think I may survive. However, I can still only eat a few bites at a time as my stomach starts full cramping when ever anything enters it.

AS the lack of energy due to this bug comintues, I am falling more behind in housework every day. so if you feel like helping, come on over.

Real answers to the most asked questions

How are you feeling? Well how would you feel with a wiggly 20 lbs water melon sitting on your bladder, digestive system and sqishing your heart and lungs? Exhustaed, tired, ornery, hot, sore, gassy. Like I have to throw up and go potty all the time.

When are you due? Not soon enough! Does it matter? I'm going to threaten the midwife to get this kid out of me asap. (of course you always feel more desperate before you talk to them. when you are in thier office, one hardly ever breathes any real threats.)

Do you know what it is? A boy,a 4th boy. Actualy it is just another child to cuddle and hold and teach and become frustrated over becasue it wants to nurse all night, and i want to sleep. But yet, I'm willing to trade that just to breathe again.

The conversations never get beyond this becasue I had to ask them where the nearest restroom was.