Noelle brought the photos over yesterday–less than one week from taking them. This is an absolute record for those of us that could sit an edit things all day:-)
I cried, and then got to work on the slideshow.
We hope you enjoy it!
I need to add that my labor necklace is made of beads given to me by family and female friends and their young daughters. It was a wonderful thing to rest my eyes on during contractions.
With love we present
Shivohn Eliese
Praise God
She arrived May 22nd at 3:50pm
Her birth in the water was incredible
Thank you to our birth team and to all of you
Full story to come
Here’s to healing (but no tearing, okay, TMI) LOL
Sarah and I visited Michelle today and asked her to check me. My braxton contractions have been quite strong lately so I was curious. It turns out I’m at 3cm. Woohoo! Now, while this tells me nothing about when labor might begin it does mean that the contractions have been doing something.
All right, we’re in need of a serious update here aren’t we. I’m feeling the end of this pregnancy. I talked to out-of-state-Sarah Saturday morning and sounded pathetic enough that she decided to pack and make her five hour drive to our house to give me some friend support and lovin’. She’s been keeping me company, loading me up with protein, pulling my weeds, washing my slipcovers, and smackin’ my kids around. She was out of the country for Amaiah’s birth and is determined not to miss this little one’s entry. I’m so grateful.
Our home visit with Michelle went well. We were cleaning like mad, as if the home birth police were on their way or something.
While we prayed, Wyatt took 110 pictures
I’m happy to announce the gardening effort is pressing forward. We’ve got some seeds started finally.
The bedroom project is also progressing. He started with the closets and when I walked in on this I thought I was going to have to hold this baby in for at least another month. That or come give birth at one of your houses.
After ripping out the vanity they decided it was time for a little saw, hammer, and nail craft.
Here’s what’s complete so far in the room: closets, wall patch and re-texture, paint, baseboards, door trim, caulk everything, interior window pane trim painted black. More photos coming soon.
At school we celebrated May Day. It was a really beautiful event for the children. The eating was great and the flowers were amazing. I brought my birth ball as a chair. LOL
Welcome to week 34
Along with totally renovating my bedroom/birth space (which is actually happening, yeah!), it’s time to start gathering the supplies. Last week marked the end of us traveling to Michelle for visits. Wyatt and Amaiah will miss playing with Mr. Pouncer Paws while I have my appointment. From here on out she will come to us. During the next visit she will begin to check that we are getting things ready around the house. This will include giving her and her assistant Marsha the lowdown on where things are. In these posts, along with journaling for myself and others, I’m also trying to answer the questions that we get asked most often about homebirth. “What does she do, boil some bedsheets?” comes up a lot, which I guess is someone really asking what tools does a midwife come with or use. So here’s the couple lists she gives to us for you to see. One is for items from a medical supply company. This includes things like alcohol, syringes, gauze, etc. She tells us what she needs and how many, making it very easy to order online. The other is just general items to have ready such as clothing for baby, clothes for me to put on after I shower, etc. It’s really nice when these things are labeled so that no one has to ask the mom or dad (or kiddos) where things are.
We also had to research birth tubs because we have never used one before. It’s amazing how many kinds there are. We ended up going with this one because of the handles and it seemed comfortable for me to lean out of and for anyone to lean into. You can buy them or rent them. We will be setting it up in the next couple of days to make sure there are no leaks. I also want to sit in it a few times so that I’m familiar with the sights, sounds, and smells of it before the big day. This also is part of the preparation for the kids.
The baby is moving a ton still. I’m so antsy to lay eyes, and hands, and kisses on her I can hardly stand it. In the same moment, I have much emotional work to do in order to be ready for this birth.
Let the work continue…
Does everyone see this skirt? I just wanted to let you all know that I will be wearing it everyday until the end of this pregnancy. Shoot, I might as well wear it all summer too.
Week 2 Vertigo Update. I’m doing a hell of a lot better. Every few days it seems like there’s less drag when my head turns. My orientation to the planet is returning to normal. While Dr. Jen was on vacation, her dad, Dr. Tom, gave me the craziest neck adjustment ever and put me on some awesome immune support supplements just in case it was an inner ear infection. This pregnancy has led me down some wild paths and this is one I am surely glad to say good-bye to. Once again, we are grateful for the meals and help. I’m especially grateful to the Sunflower class for making me such a beautiful card filled with all your lovely art. It feels wonderful to be back out and about and seeing your amazing faces every morning.
So there we were, camped out on the floor of the shower, again. It’s getting a little cramped in there these days. We all have our respective spots. And lucky for me, Amaiah has taken to mothering me which includes washing my hair anywhere from six to eight times and my armpits (hmm?) about the same. She also does not get cold, leaving my selfish hogging of the hot water unnoticed. Wyatt sits next to me and chats, and makes me laugh, and makes me think.
Wyatt: You know, it’s sort of silly to say “private parts”. I mean you’re going to have a whole other person down there. That’s doesn’t seem very private to me.
Me (laughing): You’re right buddy, that’s not exactly private is it?
Wyatt: God should have made it so the baby comes out your mouth maybe.
And this was the image that was stuck in my head the rest of the day….me with a mouth looking something like this…
