Wednesday, July 28, 2010

4 Weeks



4 weeks

It's been 4 weeks since I had the baby. It's taken time to get life to a certain kind of normal. I'm sure normal will change a little here and there over the next few months. Beggars can't be choosers. I'll take what I can get. Let's just say I love this little guy more than anything.

Sloan started school on Monday. 5th grade. I can't believe how time has flown. She loves her new school and all of her new teachers. It's fun to watch her grow as a little person. She reads on her own now, without me asking her to. Like I will walk into her room and she's reading. I love that!

Zoe & Aris are adjusting to Sloan being back in school. They miss her when she's not home. At the moment they are both pretty much obsessed with "Spooky Bones". Let me explain. Any dark or scary place that they see out and about (or in our house) now is the home of "Spooky Bones". Skeletons are spooky bones. They also like to run around the house with blankets on their heads saying the spooky bones are going to get us. And if they don't want to help me out, well, they use the excuse that they can't because the spooky bones might get them. Dean and I find it pretty hilarious. I love how they are using their imaginations.

Deans ankle is healing well. He is now in a walking boot and can take the boot off throughout the day to work on moving his foot and ankle. It still hurts him quite a bit but he has been able to go to work for a few days here and there. Now that he has the boot I can't keep him from working around the house. He's out in the yard and working on the garden as much as he is able. We just got our first harvest of squash & he will be planting some more broccoli and lettuce this weekend. I love that he likes gardening so very much.

Me, well I have a whole bunch of ideas cooking in this old noggin of mine. I've been working on setting up my "art nook" as I like to call it. I am now the happy owner of a very nice drafting table. I can't wait to start painting! While my mom was here she bought me a work table from the thrift store. I will be setting that up for all my sewing projects. Things are coming together slowly but surely. I just work on a little each and every day. That's all that I can do right now & I am okay with it. Eventually it will all come together. Also working on opening another etsy shop for all the vintage goodies I find. I have always loved thrifting and this is a fun way to support my habit. Can't wait to share all the new goodies with you soon. Very soon!

Monday, July 26, 2010

First Photo


Photo taken by Aris

These days I'm lucky if I make it out of my jammies let alone get the chance to put makeup on before late afternoon. It's probably a good thing Aris didn't get a close up of the bags under my eyes;)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

So Far.....


So far I'm loving this darling onesie that a dear blogging friend sent to little Omri. I met Adrienne when she posted a birth story on Design Mom's blog. She has a son who was diagnosed with diabetes not so long ago. I sent her an email and we started writing back and forth. It is so nice to have someone to complain/talk to about the ups and downs of living with a diabetic child. She is a sweetheart and talented to boot. I drool over her beautiful letterpress work. I love the Internet for the very fact that I have met so many very kind and wonderful people through this blog. Thanks Adrienne, can't wait until the other two onsies fit my little guy. I'm sure it won't be that far away due to the fact that he is already in size 2 diapers!

So far I miss my mom. She was so very helpful when she came to visit. She was only staying two weeks however Deans accident happened and she ended up staying a whole month. It was wonderful. I don't know if she would say the same. She worked her butt off while she was here and I honestly don't know how we could have done it without her. My girls miss her too. They keep wanting their Booma to come and tuck them up at night. "Just call her mommy and she will come over", they say. It's a tough thing to explain distance to a 3 & 4 year old. I'm also grateful for all the help we got from our wonderful church family. So many meals were brought over & there are still young men coming over to mow our yard on a weekly basis. Don't know how we could have done it without their help either. I can't wait to return the favor to someone in need. Despite all our setbacks there have been soooo many blessings it's just plain amazing.

So far I'm still trying to figure out being a mom to 4 little ones. I'm hoping it's something that I get a little better at day by day. I miss not having time for art. I know this will not always be the case. I'm enjoying the fact that I can sit and nurse my little guy and don't have to worry about where I have to be. It's fun to have that one on one time just with him. I know soon enough he will be running around and I will miss this slower pace of life. I will admit that it is odd to think after this little guy grows up a smidge there will never be another little one in the house after him. It fills me with this sense of aging I never had before. I know now that I'm going into that next phase of life. Don't laugh. It's just odd to think about growing up sometimes. I'm treasuring every moment. Even the crazy ones. So far I'm glad the good outweigh the crazy.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Birth Story

I honestly didn't feel like I could get any bigger. My belly had hit that point where I felt like if it stretched anymore I might pop open. It was June 29th and we had a little party to celebrate Aris 3rd birthday. I was having a few contractions here and there but I had been having stuff like that for weeks. I didn't think much of it. We got the kiddos in bed and my mom cleaned up after the party and we got the kids into bed. I think we watched something on Netflix, I can't remember.
What I do remember is this. Contractions. They started. The real kind that you have to breath through. It was almost 2 in the morning and I had been lying in bed for an hour unable to sleep. Should I call my midwife? Did I mention I had called her one night almost a month before with said contractions in the early am only to have nothing happen? I was a little apprehensive in calling but worried if I didn't I might be delivering the baby by myself. My last two had come so quickly. Around 2:30 am I made the call. Liz her assistant came over and timed my contractions, checked me, dilated to 3, called my friend Hillary, breath through contractions. Hillary showed up. Diane my midwife showed up around 3:30 with all her bags in tow. I was so excited. This was it! No more waiting around for this little guy. My days of misery over at last! I say misery because I had spent the last few weeks waddling. My hips were in constant pain. I remember feeling a little uncomfortable toward the end with my last three but nothing like this.
My mom and Dean woke up a little after 5am. Diane and Liz started filling up the birthing tub. I was still having solid contractions. Tried the birthing tub and they slowed down quite a bit so I got out. A little after 6am Diane said she wanted to check me. I was still a 3. A 3!!!! She let me know I probably wasn't in true labor or I would be progressing a cm an hour. I was mortified & devastated. I felt bad for waking everyone up in the wee hours of the morning. I was angry. Miserable. She suggested I get some rest and to call her no matter what in an hour. I apologized several times before everyone left. I went to bed.
That nap must have been just what my body needed. I woke up less than an hour later. I went to the bathroom, vomited, lost my plug, and couldn't leave the toilet the contractions were so strong. I called Diane and told her it was "for real" this time. She suggested I call my friend Hillary and have her come over. When I got up to move around again Dean & I walked the porch a few times. He told me how much he loved me. I breathed through the contractions, Hillary told me what a great job I was doing. Everything was happening so quickly now. It was time to get into the birthing tub. I felt the water would be relaxing.

It was time to push. Dean and the girls were there. The two little ones right at the edge of the tub. Sloan watching from a chair near by. I've never delivered in water before. Let me tell you it is quite a different experience. I kept feeling like my legs wanted to float to the surface. So I hooked my toes toward the bottom of the tub and pushed. It took a few minutes to get the hang of it. I kinda feel a little goofy. How hard is it to remember to push? It took me a second to figure it all out though. Way different feeling than laying in bed with nurses holding your feet telling you to push. Diane was very calm and let me control the pushes. I asked her to count, she offered the advice of listening to my body instead. 


More pushing. Liz informed me the head was out. I looked down and by golly she was right! So I thought, hey, we are almost done here. Pushed and pushed and nothing was happening. Finally Diane said, "It's time to get this little guy out Summer. I need you to listen to me and turn over on all fours. Really push okay?" So she flipped me over and I pushed with all my might. He was stuck. Diane took her two fingers and hooked him up under his armpit and helped to pull him out as I pushed. I do remember yelling it hurt. Poor little Sloan ran crying out of the house just as Omri was born. My mom went out to get her. The two little ones were right there by the tub clapping their hands jumping up and down and laughing with excitement. They kept telling me, "Come on mommy, you can do it!" I also remember looking at Dean and telling him I couldn't do it. He smiled and said, "You've said this at every birth and you can do it. It's going to be fine". For every ones information I only said one bad word. I won't repeat it though. 

And just like that he was here. I cut the cord. He was beautiful, perfect, and big! 10 pounds 3 ounces. Now I know why my hips had been hurting so much those last few weeks. And I did it without any drugs or monitors or IV's. At home. In our living room. It was a beautiful and perfect birth. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I say "I" did it but really it was a team effort. It wouldn't have been the same without the love and support of my family. I was surrounded by them and that love and that is just how it should be. I'm grateful for this moment that I was able to share with them. Most of all I'm grateful for our little boy. 

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Ugggh!


Omri 2 weeks old & Harvey 1 month old

I had the best intentions of posting my birth story along with another post on all the amazing love and help we have received from family and friends over the past few weeks. Instead I found myself shivering with aches and chills all of Thursday night and well into Saturday morning. I have never had mastitis until this little guy. Let me tell you it is as bad as they say. I seriously felt like I was dying of the flu, my whole body hurt. Aches & pain in every joint, only my boobs felt like they were being stabbed by toothpicks and full of fire and I kind of wished they would fall off that's how badly they hurt. Too much info? Maybe. I'm just grateful I only had to suffer through it this once and not with every one of my little ones. Thank goodness for modern medicine. After 3 days of antibiotic I'm feeling like a normal human being again.

 Looking forward to catching up on the ol' blog. Posts and pics to come.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

A Little Longer





I have a million things I'm dying to write about.


It will have to wait.


Kinda busy with a few things right now. Promise to write more tomorrow. Hopefully it will take my mind off the fact that my mom is flying back home. I'm sure it will be a poor substitute. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer break. I know I sure am.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Finally



He's here!

Welcome Omri River
weighing 10 pounds 3 ounces
22 inches long
Born June 30th

Yep he's a keeper