I love being able to read back on my previous birthing experience and remember God's goodness. I forget so many little details, so it is wonderful to have it recorded down. Here I am, holding my third child, with a third, unique story to tell.

Unlike my first two which were born the day before and the day of their due dates, this little guy decided he liked it inside mommy best of all. My mom had arrived, the midwife thought it could happen any minute, we did lots and lots of walking, but he wasn't convinced. I had planned a homebirth again, but instead found myself at 9:00 AM, Monday, June 6th headed to the hospital for an induction after being 12 days "overdue". While I was happy to take this route because my mom only had one week left, I was emotional and a bit nervous the day before. It was such a blessing to talk to several women at church who had been through induction before and realize that here in the UK they try to keep things as natural and un-medicated as possible.

Sure enough at 10:30 that morning, after being monitored and assessed, the midwife recommended the first, most natural stage of induction - a pessary. This is a "pill" placed on the cervix that releases a hormone to cause it to soften and dilate, hopefully bringing on contractions. If that didn't work in 24 hours, then the next stage would be to break my waters.

Right away, however, the pessary did its job. My husband and I walked around the BIG hospital one time and monitored my contractions starting at 4-5 minutes apart and ending up around 2-3 minutes apart. It was nearly lunch time, so I lay down briefly before we got into the lunch line. While we were standing and waiting for our food, a long, strong, double-over and pant contraction hit. As soon as I was able, we headed back to my bed. Another one hit and after it finally passed, I sent my husband after the midwife. It felt like things wouldn't be much longer and I was pretty sure I should be heading to the delivery room. The midwife came in and felt my tummy to assess the strength of the contractions and the time between. Of course she sat there for what felt like ages and I only had one contraction. They encouraged me to walk around some more and they would assess me again after a little while. I knew I was not going to get out of that bed! This baby was not far off. Another contraction hit. I felt desperate to be in the delivery room, free of my clothes and ready to push. I sent dear husband after the midwife again to ask for an internal assessment of the situation. Sure enough, I was at 7 cm and she said I could move to the delivery room. Thank you!!

They wheeled me down the hall, to a room that had just experienced another birth which they were quickly trying to clean up for me. At this point, I had turned inward to deal with the pain of the contractions which were long and hard. I wasn't overly aware of what was going on around me except that there is a lot more hustle and bustle, banging and clattering in a hospital. I was missing my quiet, homebirth experience. However, it was a huge relief to be in the delivery bed and let my body start bearing down with the contractions. Finally the only people in the room were my husband, the midwife and a student nurse. It didn't take long. The midwife could see my waters bulging, so she asked if she could break them with the next contraction. I said, Yes, please!!, but the baby didn't let her get that far. Suddenly, another contraction came on and my body totally took over, pushing mightily. The waters broke everywhere and baby was heading out. The midwife was saying, "Take it easy. Go slowly. Pant." "I was saying, "I'm tearing, I'm tearing!" "No you're not. You are fine." Another push, maybe two, and there were the head... shoulders... baby! We were all a bit shocked. I had expected at least another 30 minutes with waters breaking, head descending, the 'ring of fire', etc... Yet, there I was, at 1: 42 PM, less than an hour from entering the room, already holding a crying little, blue baby. We were all looking at each other saying, "That was fast!" I could hardly believe that it was over. I had my baby! I sat holding him to me for a while before we thought to confirm the gender. Yup, most definitely a boy!

We waited about 20 minutes for the placenta to show up. Meanwhile, baby took to nursing like a champ. I ended up needing only 3 superficial stitches. Then the equally long part of the experience started.... the paperwork. Daddy was able to bond with his son while I took a shower. Then he took off to get Oma and the older siblings. I enjoyed a quiet time alone with my second son - praying for him and feeling the love swell.

This baby is proving to be the easiest one on me yet (physically). I have been amazed at how quickly I have been able to get up and going compared to the other two. I see God answering my prayers because with my mom leaving soon, I need to be able to get up and going. Having my mom gone will probably be a much harder adjustment for the kids than welcoming a new baby home. They are fascinated by their little brother and are doing great at being gentle and helpful.

Many people have expressed interest in hearing the birth story of our little Miriam. I will post it here:

That was my experience with giving birth. Fairly straightforward, text-book style. So, at about 10:00 AM, June 17th, when I got really sharp cramps, I didn't assume right away that I was having contractions. In fact, it was all rather strange to me... I would cramp up very painfully anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour or so apart. I honestly wondered if I was experiencing bad constipation due to the iron pills I had been taking. I didn't want to cry "wolf" and I also had a sick little boy on my hands, so we spent most of the day in bed - where I felt better. When my husband came home from work around 2:00 PM, I told him what was going on and after a particularly bad cramp, he encouraged me to touch base with the midwife.

I called the midwife, and she suggested I take a laxative just to rule out the constipation possibility. Poor husband got sent out in the rain to the pharmacy. At 6:00, I was still in denial but starting to hurt pretty badly and the pains were coming more frequently. After going to the bathroom and discovering my mucus plug (if you don't know what that is, you can research), I knew for sure where this was headed. My husband took a moment to pray with me. Then we called the midwife again and I prepared the bed and waited for her. Meanwhile, my dear husband was feeding my son and getting him ready for bed. It was quite a relief to have the midwife show up, but even more of a relief to have my son asleep and my husband's hands to squeeze. My prayers for this pregnancy were that if it happened before my mother arrived (on the 19th), then could it please happen while my son was sleeping and oblivious.

Shortly after the midwife arrived, my contractions were still fairly spaced out, but long and painful. At one point I told her I was starting to feel the need to push. She then checked my dilation for the first time and we were all rather surprised to discover that it was at about 9 cm. She quickly went to the car for her gear and called the back-up midwife to come. The second midwife showed up and shortly after it was time to start pushing. These midwives were such lovely ladies. Unfortunately, my midwife was off this day, and she was equally disappointed to not be there, but these two women were so encouraging. We were all surprised at how fast it was progressing, and they kept making me feel like it would be just a matter of moments. In reality, it really was quick. The first midwife showed up at about 6:30ish and little Miriam was born at 8:46. It took a bit more work for her to come out than it did with my son because they just let her come naturally. My legs were cramping up, so I moved to my hands and knees. It was amazing because I actually able to watch the baby come and bring her up to me as soon as she was born.

If there are any men reading this, I just want to say - don't underestimate your role in being next to your wife as she delivers. I find so much comfort and support in having my husband's hands to squeeze. (I should check to see if he has bruises!) I can't imagine going through it without him and I thank God that he was available just as it started to get really hard.

Certainly, He has blessed us with this precious gift.

This next week is going to be a fun one:

On Monday we celebrate my son's second birthday (we'll wait for his grandparents for a proper party, but we'll do something small on the actual day).

Where did the year go? Here are a few pictures from his last birthday:

Wednesday is the day that I am due, but of course that is never a given.

Me, at 39 weeks with an awful cold:

Lastly, Friday my wonderful mother and brother arrive (Dad to follow next week):

Fun, fun, fun!!!

I love the philosophy of "Simple Mom".  She has many great tips for simplifying life, saving money, managing time, etc...   It totally appeals to my minimalistic self. 

This week she is focusing on cloth diapers. Part of the week is a cloth diaper give-away.  In unashamedly trying to boost my chances for a win, I am sharing the news here so that you can track back to her website. =)  I've collected pieces here and there to try cloth on baby number two, but everything is used and not necessarily matching. Some good quality, new diapers would be amazing!

Seriously... if there is any chance you might be in the cloth diaper world sometime, she and guest posters have shared very clear explanations of what it entails, the products out there, videos for us visual learners, and some excellent give-aways.

Enjoy!

One of the biggest charity sale events here happens twice a year - May and November.  The Kwon sale has been going on for about 30 years now and sends money  to help a hospital in Uganda.  A lady at my church is one of the leaders, so we were given the option of going to help at the sale.  The bonus:  we got to shop a day early after we set up everything.  The second bonus: hanging out with a bunch of ladies and some child-free time.  (I wonder how accommodating my husband will be in November with 2 little kids to watch!!)

I had been holding off on buying things not knowing what I would be able to find at the sale for a good price.  It was fantastic.  I think I spent a little over $50 and walked away with an amazing amount of stuff.  I made a list, but it would bore you... you can click on the picture instead.  One of the big money-savers was all the cloth diaper items I bought.  Besides what is in the picture, I also bought 4 books and a puzzle hiding away for my son.

I asked the next Sunday and was told that we raised close to $3000 to send to Uganda!

Only four more weeks to go!  I'm trying not to hit panic mode as we are in the final count-down now.  Things have definitely been progressing on my checklist, but unfortunately, every time I check one thing off, I feel like I have to add two more.  Oh, well.  Some things are priorities and others are not.  This is where we are at:

I can tell that I have been smaller this pregnancy than my first one.  I have no problem with this since my son was pushing 9 pounds - half of it in his head, I think. =)  For both pregnancies, I've taken belly pictures every two weeks to document the growth.  It was time for a comparison:

I laughed out loud at the difference.  Maybe the myth is true that you can tell it's a boy if you carry the baby "high" and forward and it's a girl if "low" and rounded.  (Granted, the black shirt might make the comparison a little unfair.)

Here's something fun for my pregnant friends out there - Boy or Girl: Ancient Chinese Birth Chart.  After answering their three questions, I was told that I am most likely having a girl (Not bad!); the likelihood of this - 50% chance (Ah....).  Not every result will end up in 50/50 on their charts.  Mine just happened to.  Maybe I shouldn't have bought all that pink yet?!

It is supposed to be much more economical with water, keep it warmer longer and to help calm tummy-aches and colicky babies. It is made with an anti-skid base and a low center of gravity. Below is their demo video. I watched a couple other videos of young babies quieting when they got in the water and older babies splashing around.

These bath tubs have many positive and negative reviews, but generally from what I was reading, the negative reviews came from people who were mocking the product as a gimmick. Others, who had actually used these tubs, seemed to like them quite a bit, particularly after their baby was a few weeks old. I love the economy of them, but my biggest problem would be the price tag. I have seen three versions offered in the US:

Spa Baby -

From my limited research, this seemed to be the priciest option ($50+) and didn't have as good of reviews as TummyTub did.

Tummy Tub - This one also runs around $45 dollars (new), but probably can be found for a bit less with researching. For an additional price, it has a stand that the bucket can fit on to make it higher if desired.

You can get these Tummy Tubs for 20 Euros on the German Amazon. I don't know the cost of shipping, and you would probably need some help putting in your order. I couldn't find an "English" option anywhere on their website.

Wash Pod (Prince Lionheart) - This is definitely the cheapest option ($25ish). The reviews were not bad either. A few mothers mentioned that it was hard to bath their baby's lower regions, but other mothers addressed this issue by saying they just lift their babies up a bit or prop them on the edge to do that part of washing. Some also mentioned that they felt like it was more stable in design.

What do I think? Well, for $5, I would buy one in a heart-beat, but at 5-10x that much - I need to be convinced that it is worth it. I wonder if using a bucket wouldn't work just as well. It might not be as stable or comfortable for the baby since that is not its purpose. Some people mentioned concerns about exposing their children to harmful chemicals in regular buckets (though one woman did say she has been washing her children in a trash can for years). I don't think I would worry about that too much since you only use warm, not hot, water for bathing babies (or does that reveal my ignorance about how chemicals leach into water?)

I don't know... I'm going to think about it more. I have German in-laws that I could request one from as a baby gift, but I also have a pretty deep kitchen sink that would work too.

1. Sort through baby clothes for things a girl could wear
2. Try to get newborn spit-up stains off clothes and wash everything
3. Clean stroller from thrift store
4. Clean car seat from Freecycle
5. Decide on a middle name
6. Buy some kind of organizer/hanging shelves for baby's clothing
7. Make a list of things to try to buy at big, summer Kwon sale
1. Cloth diapers
2. Diaper pail
3. Spit-up rags
4. Girl accessories – shoes, bibs, hair bows
5. Warmer layers for colder months
6. Highchair/booster seat
7. Car seat
8. Buggy board for the stroller
9. Receiving blankets (or make them?)
8. Send wish list to parents for things from Indonesia (cinnamon, Hagelslags, tumeric)
9. Make wish list of things for mom to pick up while she's in America (if she has time)
10. Make a 1-month menu plan (with diabetic-friendly meals for dad)
11. Make a grocery list to cover the menu plan and stock up the pantry
12. Set up guest room
    
    
    
    It still looks like this with a few more baby things filling up the space.
    
    
1. Buy a bed
2. Buy sheets, pillows, comforters, etc…
3. Buy/alter/line and hang curtains in guest room
4. Get closet cleared out
13. Fill out residency paperwork
14. Apply for Pregnancy Grant
15. Find dentist and make an appointment
16. Make couch cover – okay, maybe I’ll get mom to work on this while she’s here.
17. Finish baby blanket
18. Arrange babysitters to watch De Sheng when giving birth
19. Make schedule and explanations of De Sheng's routines for carer
20. Fill out paperwork for helping in the nursery
21. Buy birthday gift for De Sheng
22. Send out update email
23. Prepare baby announcement email
24. Get a joint Gmail account and let people know about it
25. Hem up living room curtains
26. Write a few blog posts to save and publish after the baby is born
27. ....

When I saw this adorable little dress at the thrift store with tags attached and selling for only 50 pence (75 cents), I couldn't resist.  It will probably be seasonally off and totally impractical (with buttons up the back), but oh, so cute!