Introducing...

Well, the little (eh hem, not so little...) Baby Michael Mighty Mouse is here!!!

Praise God he was born at 2:21 am - ACTUALLY 1:20 am because of the time change - Sunday morning Nov. 2nd.

I am doing well after a short labor time (about 3 hours) and an epidural.

Baby Michael Darin was born 9 lb 11.5 oz - without a C-section! 21" long.

Please keep us in your prayers, however, because we will be traveling to Children's Hospital today - baby via special van / ambulance ride. He has an enlarged heart and also some possible breathing issues (turned blue twice already...). The small hospital here doesn't have the equipment to diagnose these issues any farther, only watching them from here.

Please pray the doctors there will be able to diagnose his problems and there will be solutions. You could also pray, if it is His will that He would take away these problems Supernaturally and Baby Mighty Mouse (as his big brother B calls him) would be healed of any problems and will grow up healthy and normal.

We are expecting to stay in Seattle 3 - 4 days or more depending on what they find.

Hopefully more later! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

(pictures when I can...)

Ugh...

still going...

The doc. "can't believe it is still hanging in there."
(...uh, ...yah, me neither!!)

But anyway, here I am.

Still.


Waiting.

He said I have a really strong cervix. (Must come from my grandmas who had 6 kids and 8 kids.)

Thought we might be going last night again, but the contractions stopped. Of course. So far only two very early today, nothing this afternoon.

If I make it 'till Monday I'm supposed to call for an appt. to go in on Tuesday and "be induced." Which at this point, because the baby is so far down (and since it is #4, body knows what to do...), they will just break my water and "things" should go from there... Could do it on Monday, but Tuesday instead because that's Big D's birthday. (Also, US election day... can't wait to watch election results in the hospital...hmmm)

Will try to keep you updated. It's a little embarassing that it is s t i l l g o i n g however.

Anyway, still hoping for today. Or tonight. Or tomorrow. Or anytime sooner than later!

Still growing...

My stretch marks are stretching.



This is the longest I have carried a baby so far.



Ugh.



How big is it going to be?????? I'm not hungry anymore, but I keep gaining weight every week.
This is not pretty people.
I left that cute stage of pregnancy a few weeks ago.
If this continues, soon, I will be going into hiding.

Fall Fun w/ Grammy

(These pictures taken by Grammy while I was at my 3rd Doc. appt. I wasn't supposed to make it to. Looks like they had lots of fun!)

p.s. ...Still going...

Single Digits

OK, that ticker up there is now in the single digits.


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No baby yet.



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I can't believe I am still going!


Please pray it will come soon!!! :-)

Nothing Happening

Still nothing happening. Baby's shoulder really seems to be grinding on my hip bone today, pretty painfull. I think it wants out, it just doesn't have the map yet! Had about 6 contractions yesterday in a couple hours time, but nothin' doin'.

On Thursday, Doc. said everything about the same as last week, with baby "way down there" "about even now". (Does that mean zero station? I didn't think to ask.)

Hopefully there will be a productive update soon!!

"Un-Exciting" Update #3

Well, still cooking the bun in the oven here.

Some "evidence" has shown itself that things are progressing, and a couple more contractions today. Nothing serious. Still some energy. Baked cookies again for the second day in a row.

I am hoping for labor this week since my doc. is the one that is on call through Sunday. It would be nice if he could deliver one of the two pregnancies he has seen me through. Grammy is coming up again on Wednesday to help out at the house and in case of middle of the night labor.

Big D won't let me go grocery shopping at night by myself for the last two weeks. "Just in case." (Funny how differently two people shop for stuff! I didn't even know that brown sugar also came in boxes.)

"Un-Exciting" Update #2

OK, so Doc. appt. went as to be expected today being only 37 weeks today- bummer.

50% effaced
-2 station
3 cm dilated

Nothing too exciting - could have been this way for weeks.
Could stay this way for weeks.

Pray for my sanity!!
(And the rest of the houses sanity as well!!) :-{

"Un-Exciting" Update

Well, nothing yet. I feel like I am getting closer to "baby time", in fact Saturday night, before going to bed, I thought for sure we would be going to the hospital before morning.

Didn't happen.

That's OK. It is still early.

Doc. wasn't too sure I would make it to the next appt. this Thursday, but I am feeling pretty good so far today and yesterday. It doesn't feel "imminent". Bummer. Sleeping is getting hard. (Peeing is even harder! Especially when you have to go a-l-l t-h-e t-i-m-e!!) Guess I better start back up on my activity level again! :-) Well, maybe I'll wait for tomorrow when Grammy gets here! ;-) Then things would go much smoother if it were to happen in the night. Of course I finally did pack the hospital bag, so that should delay things by at least a week, right? :-(

So, that's it. Just thought I would give you a little update on the baby thing. Everyone -except maybe Daddy- can't wait for the baby to get here! And for Mommy to be back to normal!!! (Seems, though, that Big D has a lot of work right now with the quarter end and all. It would be hard to be in two places at once!)

Pregnancy Pictures

Hey...

Are you sure

you are pregnant?

Oh,

I guess so.

Whoa,

Very much so!

(36 weeks)

Curtailed Activity

curtail
: to make less by or as if by cutting off or away some part
: to cut short; cut off a part of; abridge; reduce; diminish
: to cut short or reduce

caution: pregnancy related post/small rant

Well, it has happened. I have been instructed by my doctor to "curtail activities" or he will have to hang me by my feet to "keep the baby in."

All because in the big ultrasound I just had to check on the baby's kidney collection system (which, praise God turned out A-OK) they took 89 pictures of my "shortening cervix." I understand that means it is starting to "thin out" or "efface" and I am only at 35 weeks. (31 days by that ticker up there!!)

My question is, who's to say this doesn't always happen this early with my pregnancies? Isn't everyone different in how labor progresses? I have always dilated early and with my #2 I was walking around so dilated (I can't remember how much now... was it a 4, 5 or 6??) the doc wouldn't let me go home from my appt but straight across the street to the hospital where after breaking my water (and getting my favorite epidural...) the B-man was born 4 hours later with the cord wrapped twice around his neck.

Thing is, this doctor (love him, but...) is quite a bit hands off and won't "go in there" to check things out for fear of stirring anything up - like labor. This is one thing I really like to know about... not that it would change anything if I was 1cm or anything, but just that it is interesting for me to think about where I am at and how long it might be. I know they don't want you to get excited that just because you are starting to dilate that you will be in labor soon, but I would be interested in knowing how seriously I need to take this "curtailed activity" warning. I mean really - is it no walking around WalMart for an hour or no 50 lb. laundry baskets? No standing to make dinner for an hour or no holding li'l D and walking to the mailbox? I understand it isn't bed rest thank God!

I have another appt this Thursday, but I'm not sure why if he isn't going to "check" on anything "in there." He had told me before I could go another two weeks before an appt, but now "in light of the situation" I am on an every week schedule - do you know how trying that will be for Big D to take time off work, or to find a sitter for these 3 kiddos every week?? That might be just enough stress to send me into labor right there! :-)

Well, another two weeks anyway and they won't try to stop it or have to send me to Seattle. It can just go as it goes. I think I'll sign up for an exercise class that starts then... that should get the ball rolling! (just kidding) But I may start normal activities again. (And get my Mom over here pronto just in case!!) :-)

Happenings

Wow, I am so excited.

That top little ticker calendar thingy says I have 43 days to go 'till baby comes!! That doesn't sound too bad... especially thinking that I usually come "early" and thinking that I still have things that need to get done before baby comes!! -yikes- (I wonder... Did I really give all those newborn baby clothes away?? And, I guess we better set up that bassinet!!)

Also, MOPS starts tomorrow. Woo Hoo! It adds more to do in the week, but I so look forward to the conversation with all the ladies there. Hopefully some old, some new. I pray this will be a fruitful year for Oak Harbor MOPS and that all the moms that come will be blessed for their time there. I also pray that those that need to hear about Jesus will be awakened to a new life and that those that feel a prompting will share testimonies with grace and keep God glorified. Click on that MOPS logo to go to the Oak Harbor MOPS website.

Crazy Posting / Life

So, I think you better disregard the post from the 5th How much has your mothering changed... Did you find it to be a bit of a "downer"? Was it a bit too honest? Was it not joyous for the Lord?

Well, here's me lately:
Mad, angry, irritated, agitated, all other synonyms, you get the idea.
Crying, sleeping, overwhelmed, not being able to sleep, can't do anything during the day.
Really "good days" when lots gets done, everyone is happy, things are productive.
"Normal" days where I am just normal pregnant, the kids are normal kids (as they are everyday), and things happen the way they are supposed to.

Apparently I am suffering from some form of pregnancy related depression. Things are not going well for me right now. I had a serious bit of it (not treated) a couple months after li'l D was born and it seems to be back. I am working now on sleeping more (naps during the day and going to bed e-a-r-l-y) and really watching my food intake. (Like making sure I actually eat!!) The doc asked if I thought I "needed something" but I don't really want the baby to be affected. However, if I can't shake it and have more of the bad days I will think about it some more. I will really have to watch it after this baby is born. Make sure I am doing what I need to do best for the family.

So take these past and future posts with a grain of salt. They may be the ramblings of a person gone a little haywire!

Hello Third Trimester - Goodbye Energy!

Maybe it is just the green nose cold that is running through our house, but from about a week and a half / two weeks ago, I started needing naps again. I had no energy to complete much during the day except take care of kiddos. I'm affraid the lack of energy of the third trimester has taken me over already. I did start the third trimester this last Thursday, but have been feeling this way a little longer than that.

Also, my hormones are all out of whack. I am quick to anger and quick to be harsh. (Don't worry, no one is in danger here, I'm just having a horrible attitude!) I need to pray that I can be in control to contain myself, and more importantly, my mouth. Now I just sit down and "shut it" and usually the B Man asks me "Mommy, are you sad? You need a nap." And that is usually correct, a nap seems to help a ton. Probably nutrition is another variable I should focus more on, as well as drinking more water.

Of course, this is followed by strange bursts of energy. I decide all of a sudden that this chore needs to be done. Is it on any list? No. Has it been thought of in the last two months or more? No. Does it need to be done right now versus, say cleaning the bathrooms that hasn't been done in more than a week, or cleaning the fridge that hasn't been done in more than a month? NO! But what do I choose to do?
Well, clean major dust bunnies from the wiring running behind my nightstand and our bed to the cable hookup in the wall of course! Yes, this needed to get done, for sure. Right now, before bathrooms or fridge? And then there was this little project...

Cleaning off the "beater bar" from the vacume cleaner. Oh, it was BAD. And actually, it was a necessary project. You know when so much stuff gets built up on it and then starts to get under the belt and you know that nasty smell that comes from the rubbery belt (...but I ... must ... finish this... rug...!!) and the kids start asking "Mom, does David have a poopy diaper?" and "Ewww, who tooted??" When really if I keep vacuming and finish just this one rug, the rubber belt will heat up so much that it will break and then not only will I probably have to clean up that bar and send D on an errand coming home from work (hello, can I call an emergency budget committee meeting?) but also have to deal with that incredibly aweful smell in the house for the next few hours. ... So I reluctantly stop the vacume, short of finishing the rug I was on, flip it over and sure enough, really really really a lot of hair on there. And threads, and a few other fuzzy items I'm not sure where they came from or which dress up outfit will be bare of a few fuzzy things.

Of course I couldn't get the thing apart even after taking the two screws out, so I had to find the book. (Hey, look at that, right in the file where it was supposed to be. ... I wonder if I put that back??) Finally I get the thing apart and find that miraculously, even with that smell, the belt was not broken!!! So clean off the bar, get it back together and try it out. Yes! It works (really, really well now!) and NO SMELL! Woo Hoo!

But, it was still another project that I did instead of more pressing things. Guess I should probably go clean that bathroom before our guests get here tomorrow night!! :-)

20 weeks

Well, 21 weeks on Thursday...

Had the "big" 20 week ultrasound today. Elected not to find out the sex of the baby. Hadn't found out with the other three, figured why change the process now? Looks like a cutie, of course. :-)

I'm still emptying my bladder 2 hours later! (Whew, that was a lot of water!)


Dinner tonight: Leftover roast beef: Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches.
What do you do with leftover roast beef??

Blog Crazy / Crazy Schedule

So in reading various blogs (my new favorite thing to do - it must be the adult "conversation"), I am noticing many are about only one topic. Like only Gardens, or only Fabrics, or only Life. Unlike mine which is a mish-mash (my new favorite and oh so appropriate word) of various topics and happenings. But these other blogs seem to have enough going on in their postings on these individual subjects to justify an individual blog on the topic. I don't think I could support an individual blog just on gardening, although that is the topic of choice right now. There just isn't enough going on with it at this point. And no way for fabrics and crafting right now.

So I guess this will remain a little about this and a little about that. Mostly my life as I adjust to it (an ongoing process for all...) and some special highlights during certain seasons of time (like gardening currently.)

The pregnancy is going OK for someone who isn't the best pregnant person on the earth. I am already experiencing symptoms that are very easy to complain about, but I am really trying to refrain since it is still early and I have so long left to complain!!! I am 17 weeks along; on Thursday I will be considered 4 months along.


The next few days and next week are going to be crazy.

Saturday H was invited to a friends swimming party at the local pool. She had a blast and can't wait to have swimming lessons. I think she will love it. She was very brave in the water, wanting to try different things - that is until the water splashed in her face at which time she immediately panicked... but quickly recovered. She will be fine.

Sunday H sang at church with all the kids. They did an awesome version of "Rock of Ages" and then "God Bless the USA". They really belted it out and looked great. They were mostly all wearing red white and blue and had hand motions (sign language type) for the second song. It was a great showing for Memorial Day by the kids.

Today (Monday) we rested and then went to a friends house for our small group's end of season BBQ. That was fun, but the weather was a little cool. It didn't stop us from being outside of course. The kids were very worn out by the end and B fell asleep in the van maybe 2 minutes into the drive home!

Tuesday is B's last full day of 3 year old preschool. H will go to a friends house for the morning because I am taking D for his 15 month doc. appt. where he will receive some more immunizations.

Wednesday at 9:30 is H's 4 year old preschool "graduation". It will last about an hour and they all have little lines to say and will sing some songs.

Thursday at 10:00 is B's preschool end of year "family picnic pot luck and play day" at school. **Mental note - remember to bring something for the pot luck!!

Friday at 12:00 is H's combined 4 year old preschool family picnic and play day" with the three other preschool classes, AM and PM. So there should maybe be 60 little 4 year olds and their families running around that day. Should be interesting!! It is also a $2/person fee for some food, so I wonder what that will be? At least I don't have to remember to bring anything!

Saturday: Wait a minute... ...is there nothing on the calendar???? Could it be??? Yes, it is true, .but we haven't been up to Concrete for quite a while to see D's folks, so that might be the time since the next weekend is already booked. Hmm Though I think D was thinking about borrowing the neighbors DR Brush Trimmer (insert Tim the Tool Man Taylor/Home Improvement noise here) to trim the ever growing taller ditches that weekend. That "trimmer" really mows it all down though, so it shouldn't take him too long. Maybe we can to both things. I guess we will wait on the weather forecast.

I guess I'm not going to know what to do with myself in June with school being out for these kiddos. I am going to have to create some kind of park schedule or something! How am I going to entertain these munchkins? Aaaaah! As the years keep going by and the munchkins keep growing my responsibilities keep changing! How is one to keep up??? I was just getting good at diapering! Now I have to entertain 4 and 5 year olds that have been used to professionals for half the day! Yikes. Maybe I'll hide in the bathroom (more) and just let them figure things out.