Mother's Day

In pictures...









Life is full and so very busy right now. But wow... what a wonderful life this is. I'm so very very blessed to be a mama to these boys. They were wanted, prayed for, and cried over more than they will ever know. What a gift, what a joy....I love them with all of my heart. My three boys.

Lately

Brewing...

Tea perfect for a postpartum mama- nettles, borage, alfalfa, and spearmint.


Drinking...
Green smoothies every morning. This one is an orange, two frozen bananas, a big handful of spinach, and just enough water to help it blend.


Enjoying...
A wooden leaf puzzle that came in the mail this week. So sweet!



Loving...
Two week old babies. Especially little Gavin and his calm, sweet spirit.


Jeremy is back to work today for the first time. I'm a mama at home with 3 boys... let the adventure begin!

Birthing

My midwife stopped by our home yesterday for our one week postpartum visit. She checked Gavin's vitals and his weight (up to 7lbs 1oz!) and asked how I was feeling, emotionally and physically. We talked a bit about Gavin's birth and I realized how my feelings of that day are intertwined with her and the other two midwives on my "birth team". I know that they're belief in a woman's choice to birth how she wants gave me the freedom to figure out what that meant to me.

A little background... I had a c-section with Ian. I don't have any regrets about his birth although it did take me a good year to come to terms with it. But I know there was really no way around it... placental abruption and 12 weeks of bedrest ending in emergency c-section. It's his story, our story, and I treasure that. However, at my 6 week postpartum appointment I asked about the next baby and was told "once a cesarean, always a cesarean." I cried the entire way home.

18 months later when I became pregnant with Sawyer, we lived in a different town in a different part of the country. I looked into VBAC's and found a little more openness to it. I decided pretty early on that I didn't want a hospital birth regardless of their VBAC policy because I still felt they would be too quick to demand a c-section if I wasn't laboring to their specifications. So I found a midwife, not in a hospital but a freestanding birth center. Sawyer's pregnancy was, thankfully, uneventful and I ended up having a very successful VBAC.

This time, I looked into a hospital birth (for pain med options only) thinking I was now on an even playing field with everyone else. I quickly found out that I was still considered high-risk and no one cared about my VBAC, they only saw my c-section. I called my previous midwife back and asked if she would take me again. "I'd love to," she said without hesitation. I knew instantly I had made the right decision.

Gavin's birth was... amazing. I can hardly put into words the feelings I have about it. First of all, he was 9 days overdue. Having one baby at 37 weeks and another at exactly 40, I never thought I would go over my due date. I won't lie... it was hard. Talking to people and hearing the concern in their voices, I tried desperately to put it out of my mind. I laid it all down. I gave it to God. I had trust in my midwives and trust in my body that it knew the right time to birth this baby. I knew that only in a world of 40% c-section rates and constant inductions would the question of my body going into labor on it's own even be asked. Of course it would. Because that's exactly how God designed it.

And it did. After several hours of walking, changing positions, getting in and out of the tub, I knew it was time. Jeremy and my 3 midwives spoke encouraging words. No one touched me except to give me support. No one told me when it was okay to push or how to do it. She just told me to trust in my body and it would know. When we were minutes away from holding him, she touched my shoulder gently and told me what to expect next. I nodded, knowing exactly what I was going to do. When I knew I had pushed for the last time, I reached down and felt his little body and with both of my hands, pulled him out of the water by myself. I held him close and kissed his head letting him know that all was okay.

There is something about the indescribable intensity of the pain and the instantaneous relief as soon as the baby is born that mixes with the wonder of this new being and the crazy love you immediately feel that makes for one unforgettable moment. It's beautiful.

What a gift these women are to the birthing world. I'm so grateful they are out there, encouraging women that pregnancy and birth are not a disease to be treated but a natural process to be supported. That we as women know more about our bodies then an insurer or hospital policy maker. That lawsuits shouldn't dictate the type of care we receive. That we shouldn't live by fear-based philosophies treating every symptom as a worst-case scenario. That we are made to do this and do it without intervention.

I was told that Oregon legislature recently started questioning whether VBAC's, along with breech births and twin births, should even be allowed to be done in a free standing birth center or at home. But seeing how hospitals and OB's rarely allow these type of births to happen naturally at all, what they are really saying is that these births should automatically end in c-section. Nearly all midwives who deliver outside of a hospital setting will say they have a very high success rate with these types of births. Limiting a woman's choice in how she births does not make it safer. Allowing a woman freedom to choose and trust in her own body creates the best opportunity for a healthy and safe birth for both mama and baby.

(Me and my wonderful midwives)

Support your local midwives.
ICAN -- info about c-sections and VBAC support
State by state guide to midwifery

Bits and pieces

We are in love...

(The night Gavin was born, my sister gave me a Lisa Leonard necklace engraved with all 3 of my boys' initials. I'll treasure it forever.)

He's here

Gavin Frederick

Born Wednesday April 14, 2010 at 6:25pm

6 lbs 14 oz and 20 3/4 in.

He's beautiful and peaceful and fills us with so much love and joy. We are snuggling in bed and enjoying every moment of it. Back soon with more details.

Waiting...

(Our wheat berries we planted last week)

Life goes on even when we are waiting for a big event. Baby is still snug inside. I don't think he realizes his due date has come and gone. The car seat is installed, his itty bitty clothes are washed and ready to be worn, and the blankets are set aside just waiting to wrap him up. The boys are really excited to meet their little brother and I'm ready to kiss his little feet, counting toes as I go.

His time inside is almost over and even though I get excited with every contraction knowing it could be time, I'm also trying to enjoy the last bump to my ribs and the tiny foot that makes my belly so lopsided. And while I know the hardest work is still to come, I cannot wait to have him here with us.

(We thought it would be funny for little Red and Chicky to grow some hair, so we planted some for them.)

Easter

Keeping it simple this year. No Easter egg baskets filled with candy and toys. No big Easter egg hunts or the Easter bunny. Just a few humble eggs in a basket (naturally plant-dyed from this kit).


And a stone being rolled away from a grave. A quiet gesture to illustrate a point... that Jesus has risen!


He's ALIVE!


Happy Easter everyone!

Good Friday

Planting our Easter garden for the table.



Letting it grow...


Then gathering rocks from outside...


to build a tomb...

to lay a King who died for us.



Good Friday

_________________

And then we planted seeds...


for hope of new life to come.

Reusable snack bags

I've been spending a lot of time in my sewing room this past week and I finished these little bags up just yesterday. We have to take our snacks with us most places but I get tired of carrying around plastic bags which we just throw away. So I found an easy tutorial online for reusable fabric bags and now I have a nice little stash growing.


I used tea towel material for the outside (from the fabric store, or an old tea towel would work perfectly too!) and unbleached muslin on the inside. To close the bag I used velcro but a drawstring would be just as useful. It's a great size for small hands and fits our snacks perfectly. And easy to toss in the wash when they get dirty.

Baby wearing boys

We brought up all the baby boxes from our basement last week. Neatly packed away were baby blankets, clothes, socks, and every other baby essential we ever used for the boys. We've been slowly unpacking them, remembering who wore what and when, and "oh do you remember when so and so used that!". Boxes full of memories that will only be added to when this new little boy arrives.

In one of the boxes was a Waldorf doll that we had bought for Ian when I was pregnant with Sawyer. He was barely two at the time and in typical 2-year-old boy fashion, he threw the doll across the room not looking at it twice. We kept it around for awhile but it never really got more than a cursory glance from him.

Last week, he grabbed it out of the box as fast as he could and asked what the doll was for. Ever since, he's carried the baby around, made a little bed for him, and makes sure he's taken care of.

Since I know we'll be wearing this new baby after he's born most of the time, I decided to make a couple baby slings for the boys so they could wear their "babies" as well. Ian was so excited when I told him that this is how Dad carried them.


The pattern is from Amanda Soule's book, sized down for kids. I repurposed some yellow curtains since the fabric was sturdy and then added a little color with extra pieces I had laying around. No cost to me but something new for the boys.



We are currently in waiting mode. He can come any time but I know it can still be a couple of weeks away. Trying to enjoy the last of this pregnancy while dreaming of what our life will be like with 3 little boys. In the meantime, we are ready for him and I have a lot of sewing projects to keep my busy.

Eating for two

I'm into the last 4 weeks of this pregnancy (till due date anyway!) and I'm finding this third time around to be the hardest. I'm well into my 30's now and it makes a difference in how I physically feel carrying this baby. Having two active little boys keeps me going which is good because I fear my natural tendency would be to lay down and rest continually.

The biggest change this time is my eating. While the choices I'm making are very similar to Sawyer's pregnancy, this time I'm 100% gluten free and about 75% dairy free. ( I've found butter and small amounts of cheese seem to settle just fine in my tummy so I have them occasionally). A few weeks ago I realized my normal eating habits were slipping because of tiredness and cravings. I settled for things I wouldn't normally and even ate a bite of gluten (regular bread!) here and there. I realized that my energy was severely waning, my digestion was poor, my skin was breaking out, and I was miserable.

So I brought back the green smoothies. Something I've been doing for a good 2 years now and the thing that I crave almost daily. I was shocked at the difference I had been feeling without them for a couple of weeks. The one thing about eating a clean diet is that trying to go back and enjoy something processed not only disappoints me greatly because it's never as good as what I remember, but it also sends my stomach and digestion into fits.

Our green smoothies vary from day to day and what I have on hand. I find I have to go grocery shopping twice a week to keep up with the veggies and fruit but again, worth it. I usually start them the same way:

-hemp milk or homemade almond milk as the base
-a banana or two
-lately I've added a spoonful of peanut butter or almond butter for extra protein
-frozen fruit like strawberries, blueberries, mango etc.
-a super food like chia seeds or goji berries
-and lots and lots of spinach, I just stuff the rest of the blender full of it.

The boys love the smoothies although they enjoy the fresh juiced veggies a little more if you can believe it. Either way, I try to keep it a part of our daily diet. I've found this works for me as a way to always get lots of raw greens in.

The rest of our diet consists of beans and legumes, gluten-free grains like quinoa and rice, all vegetables, cooked and raw, nuts and seeds, fruit, and many variations of these foods. We only eat meat about once a week at home so most everything I make is either vegetarian or vegan.

I have varied from this but again I notice a big difference in my energy level and moods. So to keep me happy I have to put the effort in, even at 36 + weeks pregnant. But my favorite, above everything else, is my green smoothie. I love it and it loves me back.

Lambing season

The boys and I took a 4 hour road trip yesterday to visit a sheep barn during lambing season. I debated about going... the program is only open 3 weeks out of the year so I knew this was our last chance but I AM pretty pregnant at this point so I just wasn't sure. But the adventurer got the better of me and we packed up early and set out. And we were not disappointed!

Sweet baby lambs, newly born, huddled close to their mamas.


The boys loved watching them...


And feeding the mamas.


They were encouraging the babies to come get a bite but they preferred mama's warm milk and no amount of hand gestures seemed to entice them away.


Everywhere we looked there were lambs tucked into the straw sleeping.


And a llama with funny teeth who wondered about all the attention.


Ian begged for the camera and spent a good part of the time taking his own pictures, like this one. Note to self... get the kid a used digital camera.


I couldn't resist this mama... she looked so happy to be laying about with her babies. Doesn't she look like she's smiling?


The land was beautiful and made us all dream of a little bit of space of our own where the boys can run and outdoor play would be endless.


Ian talked the whole way home about wanting to be a farmer and take care of his own animals. Either that or policeman he says. Whatever you want baby.


I think we'll be back here next year when lambing season comes again.