Big Baby Belly

39 weeks tomorrow. WOW...time has just flown by. I am feeling fine. I am super run down by about dinner time, but am still accomplishing quite a bit during the day. I have had contractions on and off over the past few days. I am not sleeping through the night, but getting a few hours at a time. Rich took a picture of baby belly #6 this afternoon and I just wanted to share. I will be relieved to hold this precious one in my arms for the first time and be done with the waiting.

Can anyone say NESTING???

Okay, so this is really bad. I am supposed to be taking it easy, getting ready to bring new life into the world and I wake up this morning with the uncontrollable urge to install a new bathroom floor. Off to Lowes and home again with flooring. What am I thinking? Who knows. I think involving myself in major projects right now helps me not to focus on all of the things that could go wrong with this birth...UGH! Why do I do that? I was to the point this afternoon where I was going into a panic attack thinking that the baby might be breech. My midwife had made a brief comment 2 weeks ago that she thought for a second that she felt a bum way down low, but then was settled when she heard his heart beat in a good spot. I am just having trouble feeling where parts are when I lay down and feel around. I can normally feel the baby's head when it is down in my pelvis the last couple of weeks and am not able to feel it right now. My doula said that she thinks the baby's head is actually under my pubic bone. All this to say, I installed a bathroom floor at 38 weeks of pregnancy just to avoid having to think about anything serious. Oh yeah, and to make it even more not serious, Cheyanne helped me every step of the way. Crocheting would have been much too easy. :O)

38 weeks

Dante snapped a few pictures of me early this morning out at the garden and I thought it would be fun to share a belly picture of me at almost 38 weeks pregnant with pixie #6. I am feeling fabulous and am working, working to get as much as I can accomplished before the birth.

Down low

My doula stopped by today to drop off the inflatable tub. The other 2 fiberglass tubs are being used at the moment, so I figured it was a good idea to have a back up. I have started feeling very pregnant over the past 3 days so she was curious to see if she could tell any difference in baby size/position. Yup...lots more room up top and a itty bitty head way down low. She said she would estimate that the baby weights around 6 pounds, so a little longer in mama's oven would serve us some good. It is just so hard to take it easy right now. There is so much to be done. The baby is in a good position with his head down on the right side of my uterus and his back is facing out. The only must is a hose to fill up the tub and I will have that within the next few days. I am very relaxed and comfortable about welcoming little #6.

Closer and closer

I had my home visit Saturday and things seem to be moving right along. My bp was fine, I have gained a bit more weight. Rich and I decided not to test for GBS, but to just handle things as they come our way. MF will drop off the tub this week. My sweet girl, Amber will plan on being here for the birth, to take pictures and to be a stand in mama for my babies if any of them wind up awake during the labor or delivery.
Most of the time I don't feel super pregnant, but there are moments when I am sure labor will start within the next couple of weeks. My feet are swelling more. There is much more discomfort when I bend over the wrong way or just push myself too hard. I am thankful that there is not a ton to be done. I am going to try and focus my energies into moving forward with schoolwork with the other children and getting some food stashed into the freezer. I wish I had a more organized plan as far as menus for the month after baby, but it just seems that it is not within me to do that right now. We are also still toying with the garden trying to figure out the simpliest method for a productive and cheap garden. There is no time for HUGE nesting projects. Although... :O) I would like to fill in some holes in Justus and Izzie's room and put a fresh coat of paint in there. As time allows.

Nasal spray dilema

I started a few nights ago using Afrin nasal spray right before I go to bed. I have hesitated using this because of quite a few documented cases of addiction and destruction to your mucous membranes. Well, I decided last night after 2 very sweet sleeps that I was willing to risk being addicted to nose spray and at the moment, could care less about my mucous membranes. I am only using it once each evening and it has allowed me to sleep through the night so peacefully. I have not had peaceful sleep in over 3months. Once this sinus stuff is over after delivery, I may need someone to remind me that I did voluntarily addict myself to Afrin. I may also need help with a recover program. :O)

Dropping

Pretty sure the baby has dropped a bit this morning. I have been having mini contractions on and off since about 6:30am. It kind of has me down in the dumps. I always feel so icky when this time comes and life in general becomes challenging. I have had Dante and Rich running my "basement errands" to avoid the stairs and plan on doing a total leftover dinner so that I can get off of my feet a bit. I am thankful that I have had another super 32 weeks of pregnancy (aside from the sinus issue) and will try to focus on keeping consistency with the kids for the next few weeks.
Please pray that the end of my pregnancy will go smoothly and allow me to continue to accomplish all that I need to in order to be a good mama to my 5 sweeties. Also, that God's grace rains down upon Rich and I as we muddle our way through some difficult choices that come along with having babies at home under the care of midwives. We do not feel God wants us to prepare for a hospital transport, but rather to prepare our home and family for the arrival of another sweet, precious blessing. Rich assured me that we are to prayerfully take each step as it comes. Gosh, I love that confident man.
Amy

Birthing tubs

After trying out both styles of birthing pools available to me, I have decided that I much prefer the hard sided tub to the soft sided pool. Although I really like the light convenient style of the softer pool, it is just not supportive enough during the final stages of labor. I am going to work at lightening up the "mood" of the dark brown tub in order to create a softer environment.

Group B Steptococcal Infection

I am just finding this information fascinating and wanted to share. I have never had an issue with GBS and was tested for it during my first 3 pregnancies, but this info is so intriguing.

From the CDC...
Group B strept in a type of bacterium that causes illness in newborn babies and pregnant women. It is the most common cause of life-threatening infections in newborns.

Can GBS disease among newborns be prevented?
1. Most GBS disease in newborns cans be prevented by giving certain pregnant women antibiotics though the vein during labor.
2. Vaccines to prevent GBS disease are being developed so that in the future, women who are vaccinated may make antibodies that cross the placenta and protect the baby during birth and infancy.

For detailed info from the Center for Disease Control regarding GBS www.cdc.gov/groupbstrep

For those who know there has GOT to be a better way. Some like to call us crazy, hippie, earth crunchy freaks who just like to cause trouble. :O) I am not saying that GBS is something to take lightly. I am just pointing out that there may be a healthy and sensible way to avoid GBS disease apart from unnecessary antibiotics.

From Gail Hart, Certified Practicing Midwife...

" VAGINAL FLORA CULTURE, ORGANIC GARDENING, OR CHEMICAL WARFARE?"

Like it or not, we are always growing something in our vaginas good, bad, and indifferent.

The human vagina is never sterile--indeed it cannot be made sterile--but we CAN cultivate the organisms which make us healthy, by learning their natural growth patterns and how we can improve their preferred growing conditions. Think of the vagina as being like a garden, nourishing both flowers and weeds. Some gardeners use poisons to control weeds, a chemical warfare which can toxify the ground and which will usually need many repetitions. Modern organic gardeners use a different method--they learn the natural balance in their gardens, and change the soil to benefit the plants they wish to grow, and to make it more difficult for weeds to take root. We can adopt this thinking to our own "internal gardens," our own "vaginal horticulture," encouraging the good guys to be the dominant group in the natural vaginal flora and letting THEM get rid of the bad guys for us! A healthy vaginal flora can even fight and prevent group B strep from colonizing and we would all like to see more "negative strep" cultures!

The good news is we don't need to become microbiologists to do this. The other good news is that "vaginal horticulture" is relatively simple to learn and easy to do.

OF the many organisms which love to live within us-many of the "friendly ones" are inimical to those we would prefer to avoid-and most of the "good guys" grow best under certain conditions which the "bad guys" dislike.

The good guys are lactobacillus--the bad guys are staph, strep a and b, yeast, "BV", trich etc, and where you find one, you often find others. As a rough rule of thumb, the good guys like a ph of under 5--the bad guys prefer a more alkaline environment. Lactobacilli not only prefer an acidic environment, but they secrete hydrogen peroxide which makes the vagina even MORE acidic and make it harder for the bad guys to grown. So an organic gardener would advise us to make the vagina more acidic and plant more locatable to control an over-growth of bacteria. GBBS, and yeasts. Another benefit of lactobacilli is they exert an antibiotic effect on GBBS! (me: That is SO cool.)

Anway, I will sum up in my own words. There is a 2 step process involved in creating a healthy vaginal flora culture, which can in turn can reduce the incidence of GBS and yeast infections. There are tests that prove this method of "cleansing" does create a healthy environment in the vagina. I will try and add links later.

Step 1...Prepare the ground by making vagina more acidic. The simplest way is to douche with a mild vinegar solution of 1-3 TBS per pint of warm water. Preggies use a safe kind of douching called "jug douching." Do 2 -3 times daily for a week, then 2X a week, then 1x a week for a few weeks, and then maybe never again. This creates a fertile environment to move onto...
Step 2...Plant the seeds of lactobacilli by using yogurt as a sort of intravaginal cream. It can cause some very impressive changes both in pH and floraculture.

In summary, I find it amazing that this information is not being presented by doctors to their pregnant clients. How will we ever find a safe solution to this "most common cause of life threatening infections in newborns" if we are not even being offered sensible and simple steps to try on our own? What happens when the antibiotics are no longer effective?

A bit more GBS prevention right in your own home.
1. Vitamin C with Bioflavinoids 500/mg/day
2. Usnea tincture 10 days prior to due date :15 drops 3x a day
3. Garlic equivalent of 1-3 fresh cloves/day

My pH was a 7 at my last prenatal. I will have been "preparing the garden" for approximately a week and a half by my next appointment. I will report back with pH results.

Come to me, all who are weary.

Yesterday (right around 30 weeks) was the official day that I become way pregnant. I have been busy as a bee the past week while Rich has been off of work. We have gotten a lot accomplished, but it took it's toll on me last night.
I had a prenatal at 1:30 and this was after doing a glucose test at 7am, eating a quick breakfast in order to get the kids ready, doing another follow up glucose test at 9am, making chicken salad with pitas to take for lunch, chugging down 6 vitamins on my way out the door to co op, asking Rich to pull over the van so I could vomit up all 6 vitamins, bustling around co op for an hour trying to organize some books, eating lunch, eating ice cream, heading home just in time to turn around and run to a prenatal. Do you believe my blood pressure was 105 over 54? What's up with that? So, the cherry on my crazy sundae would be when my doula asks me to lay flat on the floor so they can get a better feel for the position of the little pixie. 20 minutes later I am sure I am stuck. 31 weeks pregnant, flat on a hard floor...bad idea. Aren't midwives and doulas supposed to know these things? :O) So, by the time I get home I am sure it is 9pm and all of the kids should be sweetly sleeping in bed. Oh right, it is only 3 and Rich wants to take the older boys fishing. Did I mention the hard picnic table bench at dinner? hhhmmm, where to go from here...WWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! So, it dawned on me as I was having trouble hoisting myself on off the living room couch at 10 pm that I AM REALLY PREGNANT, AGAIN! Time to slow down and find rest.

Making space for baby.

We are working on creating very usable space in our little adobe. If we can stick to neutral colors, including curtains, carpets, paint...it makes it much easier to move children from room to room when needed. The last room to need repainted was the boy's old room. Cheyanne and baby #6 will be residing in this nice quiet back bedroom. Off with the blue/gold paint/racecar paper and on with the Warm Cappucino paint. It has only taken us 4 days to get all of the wallpaper off, fill holes and apply a layer of primer. Goodness, these things were so much easier to do with only 2 children. The boys have been super helpful in assisting where they can. I think we will be able to finish painting and hang some new curtains by the end of the weekend. It will be a sweet room with 2 cribs, a dresser, a cradle, and a rocking chair.

Prenatal Update

I only have a moment, but wanted to keep this page updated. At my 28 week visit, I was reminded yet again how far along I am in this pregnancy and that I needed to accept that as fact. Baby is coming in about 10 weeks or so. My blood pressure was up a bit, but I was racing to get to the appt. after a very busy morning. Also, with the extreme sinus conditions I am experiencing, it is truly difficult to motivate to exercise. I am trying to make good choices and be realistic at the same time. I have gained a total of 7 pounds. Baby was head down and moving all over the place. He loves to play hide and seek from the midwives. So cute. We did talk about a way to lighten up the atmosphere of the brown birthing tub. MF suggested putting a pink or other light colored sheet in between the tub and the liner in order to give it a more cheery tone. I like that idea.
That's all for now. I am already into every 2 week visits, so will see them again on the 17th of April.
TTFN.
Amy

WAAAAAH!!!

28 weeks pregnant and pregnancy induced rhinitis...NO FUN!!! I know God is doing a work in me, but I am struggling here. I WILL go through the valley, but it is truly an exhausting journey right now.
Baby is so active. I love spending time with him at night when I finally lay my head on my pillow. Do you think he knows? Do you think he is taking advantage of one on one time? Don't they all love one on one time?
I have another prenatal tomorrow. I am not really looking forward to these appointments. I am not sure why. Maybe just seems like one more thing to do. It is good to stay accountable to those who care about you.
For now,
Amy

24 week prenatal

Things went well at my visit. My blood pressure was down to where it normally is and I have actually lost a few pounds during the past month, due to better eating and exercise. Leslie was looking back at my records and when comparing them to Cheyanne's, she is figuring on a due date of the 28th of June as opposed to the 18th. Either way, it looks like baby #6 will be here sometime in June.
Not too much time to think about anything baby right now. Not sure about birth plans other than a tub of warm water. Not sure where we will shove anymore baby stuff, let alone another baby. God's grace is sufficient though and His timing is sovereign. I am thankful for a forgiving God that allows me not to have to think about any of that right now.

24 weeks

At 24 weeks, I am feeling pretty pregnant already. I am having some sort of issue with the left side of my body. This did happen with Cheyanne a little, too. There is discomfort in the left side of my lower back, deep into my behind and down the back of my leg. It feels like poor circulation. I have been exercising for 2 weeks now, but it does not seem to be helping at all. I tried to go to the Chiro yesterday, but he was not open. I might try experimenting with the therapeutic massage place down the road. I definitely need to drink more water. I have added nettles to my supplements. It does aid in respiratory health (my allergies are terrible), but also does a ton of other great things.

Sunny stuff...baby is active when I finally settle down at night or to take a nap. I love thinking about baby girl names. :O) We found an 11 passenger van we are praying about. My black maternity skirt is still in great condition. I have tons of coupons to use at the pregnancy center for a few more clothing items. Rich loves having lots of babies and is confident Cheyanne will be walking by the time baby comes. :O) Okay, I think my happy list out weighs my grumble list.
Love,
Amy

Surrender

Why is that such a huge huge thing? To surrender?

Rich asked me last night how I was feeling about being quiver full. About opening our lives to all of the children that God has planned for us? Why does he always ask that after a super duper long week or 5 minutes after I have just given birth or when 4 out of 5 children are sick with runny noses and fevers? Do I want more babies after having 5 babies in 5 years? UM, dare I say, not really. I feel so unequipped. I feel so overwhelmed. I feel so tired, so defeated. But, in the same breath, I look at the most beautiful children in the world and I wonder how I could ever ever say no. Deny blessings from above? Have Rich doubt because the mother of his children doubts that our convictions are true and genuine?

It has been amazing watching Rich's heart transform to God's will for our family. His obedience to a concept ( having a quiver full mindset) that was so foreign to both of us less than 4 years ago is nothing short of miraculous. So why is it that after endless prayers for mine and Rich's hearts to be lined up regarding this issue am I so struggling? Is it an attack of the enemy? Well, sure it is. SO, now what? Well, drawing closer to the Maker of my babies and the Protector of my womb. To REST knowing that my Savior will never give me more (yes, even itsy, bitsy, tiny babies) than I am capable of handling IN HIM. That is the key. Remembering that I/We are not meant to be handling this alone. This is all a supernatural thing accomplished only through a Super Savior's Grace. Accomplished only when we truly SURRENDER. Refine me with fire, my dear sweet Savior and please, please stay close by.
Love,
A pregnant, nursing emotional mama of 4 sick babies and 1 healthy, challenging 10 year old

Ready, set., here we go...again.

Things went well at my prenatal visit today. Baby's heart rate was 147. It was good to have Leslie and Mary Frances encourage me to get back on the same track I was with Cheyanne only one short year ago. They dropped off a big baggie of preggie tea and I already have some steeping on the counter. I have gained about 5-6 pounds and hope to maintain a nice 15 pound gain from now until the end. My weight is always so easily managed during my pregnancies when I am taking good care of myself.
I am quite pooped due to being up with Cheyanne almost all night last night and a very busy day today with the littles. I am going to hit the sack early and try to catch some good zzzz's tonight.
Nighty-night.
Amy

Future jitters

At only 22 weeks, I am already feeling pressure about the logistics of my labor and delivery. I was talking to Rich about how I really do not want to spend the last few weeks of my pregnancy anxious over all of the details of other people. I had a wonderful birth experience with Cheyanne, but it was a lot keeping everyone at ease. Rich is a like to know type of guy and he is still not convinced that I do not know when the baby is coming EXACTLY. Dealing with him and his pacing and questioning is a lot in itself. Then there is Dante. Dante who just wants to see the birth. Dante who just wants to see the birth so that he can reinact every moment of the process in a very public place for a big audience. And my mom and my dad and Leslie and Mary Frances and the extra helper they would like to have there and my 4 other children. It is a lot to keep up with.
I want to be prayerful about the decisions. I have to remember that one of the big reasons for choosing a homebirth is so that I can be in charge of the decisions.
My prenatal was rescheduled for today, so I will update within the next 2 days.
Oh yea, I am loving the name Mira right now for a girl. Rest assured that I will find 1,500 other names before the baby comes along.

First Prenatal Visit scheduled

I have definitely been putting off scheduling my first prenatal. For starters, it has been hard to schedule anything with as sick as the children and myself have been.
Also, I feel like I just did all of this. Oh yeah, I did just do this. The paperwork, the blood pressure, the peeing in little cups and on and on. Don't get me wrong, I love my midwives, but it just seems like A LOT right now. I finally caved and realized that I needed to get the ball rolling.
First prenatal visit will be Friday, February 13th. I will update after that.

Little morning bundle

I woke up this morning having slept on my right side for a few hours. It was so cute. The baby must have snuggled his way in between the placenta and my uterus, because there was this hard little ball all stashed away way up on the left side of my belly.

Time to Move

I am a little over half way through this pregnancy and I think that is really hitting me this week. I am noticing how tired and wiped out I am. It has been hard admitting that a lot of this physical exhaustion is due to me not taking care of myself. I must start making my health a priority. I have stopped exercising, eating right, and taking regular vitamins.
I am making a commitment to my newest little one that I will do this now. I will start not only preparing for a wonderful and manageable labor and home delivery, but also for life with 6 kiddos.
Love,
Amy

Due date...kinda

The pregnancy center gave me a due date of June 29, which put me at 16 weeks and 2 days on Wednesday, January 14th. After talking to my midwife, she said that was probably an accurate medical date considering that all of my babies were fairly small at birth and were born 6-14 days earlier than predicted due dates. So, in reality the baby should be arriving closer to the middle of June.
It was really neat to see my sweet baby. I needed a good preggie, baby boost and seeing that tiny little life moving all over the place definitely melted my heart. My bladder was so full that it hurt and the whole time we were watching, baby was doing serious aerobics using my bladder as a trampoline. Rich said, "Oh, that's what you mean when you say that the baby is dancing on your bladder? I get it now."
It was weird though, because I almost feel like I cheated. Not sure why. I have grown accustomed to just waiting for the entire pregnancy to meet baby in person. I felt like I had met my baby. Holy hormones, batman!

Moving forward

So far, there has been little to report regarding this pregnancy. As always, God has been ever faithful in providing health and peace to my changing body. There has been little sickness, which I am so grateful for. I hear the stories of women who just struggle through pregnancies and it allows me to be truly thankful for what God has given to me.
My visit to the pregnancy center yesterday went fine. Not much to post about. They are supposed to call with a decision as to whether or not I am eligible for an ultrasound. I guess there are legal issue pertaining to how far along you are in your pregnancy. Not sure of all of the details, but I am certain there are good reasons. :O)

We visited with our wonderful doula, Mary-Frances last night who stopped by for a few minutes while her son was at his piano lesson. After searching and searching we were able to find a wee tiny heart beating at 146bpm. My goodness, that is always such an emotional moment. Praise God for fetal Doppler's! Praise God for fetal heartbeats! I was talking to Rich this morning about how amazing it is that you can hear this heart that is the size of a pin head as if it were the size of a full grown person.

After reviewing previous measurments and looking at possible conception dates, we were able to come up with a potential due date. A little earlier than I had expected, but this whole journey so far has proven to be pretty unexpected. I attached the email from Mary-Frances which so eloquently explains all of the numbers.

I looked at the records we have for Cheyanne and your first visit with us was at 17 weeks and your fundus was 4 finger breadths below your umbilicus. With Izzie, at 18 weeks, it was 2 fb below. Tonight we both thought it was closer to 3 fb below so if I figure a conception date of Sept 26 (one of the "possible" dates we discussed) then you'd be more like 17 1/2 weeks now... and that makes sense. That would also give you a due date of June 18. I know you said you took a preg test the end of Sept, but it probably was too soon to register. You gave me other possible conception dates of Oct 17 and 23, but I really think that's too late, given what you're measuring. By Cheyanne's records, you were 21 weeks when your fundus reached your umbilicus (which probably means that you have a longer lower torso than the 'average" woman) and we can use that as a marker when you reach that point.

Did you ever stop and think how mathemtical pregnancies are? Another good reason to give your children for learning their addition facts.

Publish Post

Love,
Amy

Initial appointment

I have an initial appointment at the local pregnancy center tomorrow to try and schedule an ultrasound. It is a bit unnerving not knowing a due date. It is a long and detailed story that will probably sound like mumbo jumbo by the end. To simplify, I never really started a regular cycle after Cheyanne's birth, so have no idea of a due date. After looking at some signs, I am thinking the baby is due sometime in early July. Rich would like me to find out a more specific date if possible so that he can schedule his 2 summer intensive classes accordingly.
I will update when I find out more!
Amy