Wednesday Pregnancy Report-- April 28

I know I'm sliding in this post at the last possible moment of the day, so I'll make this brief.

Introducing... My Wonderful Midwife!
This past Monday, I had my first official appointment with my new midwife, Stephanie and her assistant, Kate. I really like them both, and we all had a great time talking, listening to the baby's heartbeat, and reminiscing about my ten other births. I am really excited to work with them! :-)

This morning:

I woke up feeling good, but then my attitude grew sour as I made a HUMONGOUS batch of whole wheat pancakes (half blueberry, half not) but hadn't yet eaten.

Haven't you heard? Pregnant mommies get cranky when they've not been fed...

Anyway, I did finally make myself a cup of pregnancy tea and drank a tall glass of water. That seemed to help calm the hungry-mommie beast a little bit. And then the pancakes REALLY helped me feel better.

But I still felt over-tired today, so I was very relieved and grateful when my husband took the two big kids to their "Key of Liberty" class this morning. I did go and pick them up later, but it was so nice to only pick then up, and not have to sit and wait somewhere until their class was done. (Thank you, Honey!!!)



In other news: SUGAR!!!

I am trying to wean myself off of sugar. SURELY, I can do this for the last two months of my pregnancy for the baby's sake! So, after this batch of cold cereal is gone, I won't be getting any more. *gasp!*

A small victory happened when I didn't bully my son out of his hard-earned candy after class today. *grin* (Though he did give me three small pieces of DOTS candy out of pity and love. But I didn't ask him to!)

We announced to the girls that we need them to stop baking cookies, muffins, and cakes. Unless they're sweetened with honey or agave syrup. *sigh*

Wish me luck that I can "beat" this thing called sugar addiction... (I think I can... I think I can...)

Big Families=GREEN!

I was so excited to read this article, because it puts into words the thoughts and gut-instincts about large families that I've had for a long time.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

Large families tend to buy used clothes, books, and toys, but we hang onto them, passing them down from child to child and even to family. The thermal onesie on my baby today? It started life keeping my nephew and niece warm, then went on to clothe every one of my eight kids so far.
Our family of 10 usually produces only three kitchen-sized bags of trash per week.
If you’re still feeling a little eco-guilt, go ahead and plug your own family’s stats into one of the many carbon calculators available online (try SafeClimate.net). You may be surprised at how “be fruitful and multiply” translates quite naturally into treading lightly on the earth.
According to the first three carbon calculators that Google turned up, my family of 10 consumes and emits less than the national average … the national average, that is, for a family of two. And we were just trying to get through the week.

http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/magazine/big_families_are_the_new_green/


Though I'm not of the Catholic faith myself, I can TOTALLY relate to this article! I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have. :-)

Wednesday Pregnancy Report

*whew!* I'm posting this blog at the last minute (11:26 pm) of my VERY busy day-- but it's Wednesday, and I did designate this as my pregnancy report day, so I'm following through! (See me? I'm following through. Yay me!)

What impacted me the most today was being TIRED! I really don't know how some moms can spend all day in a car running children hither and yon. I admire their stamina! But I'm half dead, myself! :-p I know I didn't drink enough water today, and I didn't eat very healthfully. Cooking from scratch just doesn't happen when I've been going non-stop, and when the cooking kids are in and out.

We won't go into the feelings of guilt about neglecting the small children-- at least not at this juncture.


So lots of false labor, and lots of s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g of the belly. You'd think my stretch marks were well established by now (which they are), but I do get new ones every pregnancy, also. FUN! (Not really, but hey!)

Baby is moving well; keeping me up at night, creating great entertainment for the kids. Sometimes it's uncomfortable, but it's also very sweet. I just love the little reminder that there's another wonderful person growing inside of me.

I am constantly amazed at how much of a miracle it truly is to have this gift. I am so grateful!

Number Eleven will be as loved as Numbers One through Ten. "Jewels in my crown!" :-)

(I thank thee, dear Father in Heaven!)

In Defense of Large Families

I really appreciated everything this mom-of-many had to say in defense of those of us with large families:

"Are We There Yet?" Blog

Here's an excerpt:

I could write a book about how large families are no more strain on the environment than any other group of ten or twelve people; we are in fact less strain on the planet because we share space and resources as a unit and are forced by monetary constraints to be frugal. I could also talk your ear off about how the only environment that really requires our attention is the moral environment and that all other responsibilities flow from its health and well-being. Then I could go on and on about how my ten children are not deprived but enriched because they're not spoiled by material possessions; they learn to share with their many brothers and sisters for the happiness of all. And, I could recite all of this to you fairly dispassionately.

But the one accusation that gets my hackles up is that the child of a large family must necessarily be neglected -- as their parents could not possibly "do it all." POPPYCOCK! Anyone who thinks this knows not of what they speak. They are sadly ignorant.

Wednesday Pregnancy Report

FUN!

I just read this post at the Larger Family Life blog, and I think it's a great idea!

So, it's Wednesday, and though I'm near the end of this pregnancy at 30-ish weeks, (my little ticker in the sidebar needs readjusting...) I think it's worth blogging about. :-)

Here are my caveats:

1) I don't do bare belly pictures. As a woman pregnant with my eleventh child, does anyone seriously want to see my majorly stretch-marked stomach?! I think not. ;-D And even if someone did, sorry folks, I don't want to share! :-p

Stick-in-the-mud I may be, but I'm putting my foot down on this issue. I'll leave the adorable belly pictures to much cuter, more svelt women, who are early in their baby bearing years. *wink*

2) There will most likely be no ultrasound picture to share. I'm having another home birth (YAY ME!!!), and I just don't feel like it's necessary for this birth. This will be the first pregnancy without an ultrasound, but I'm okay with that.

3) I'll try to stay upbeat, but as anyone who's ever carried a baby for nine + months knows, those last few months can be interesting, to say the least. I'll give fair warning in the title if my post turns out to be a whiny rant! LOL!


So, for today's pregnancy update:

• This Monday afternoon, I went to meet a midwife that I'm feeling pretty good about using for this birth. Her name is Stephanie, and she has a great blog attached to her business website. I like that she's a woman who speaks her mind, and she has some pretty amazing insights into homebirthing and the principles behind it. My favorite post of hers is all about Mothers' Instincts, and I think a lot of you out there would really appreciate it! (Home birthers or not!)

• Baby is getting BIG. And, as with every pregnancy, I look at my sweet husband and ask him if he thinks I'm bigger this time than with any of the others. And, wise man that he is, he says "No. You always ask that," with a smile, and I go about my daily business. (He may be right, but I still feel HUGE!!!)

• My biggest craving this pregnancy is.... (drumroll, please) cold cereal. Hmm. Not sure what that says about me. I mean, even ice cream has taken a back seat to a mouth-watering bowl of Cheerios. *drool* (You think I'm kidding, right? Nope.)

• Baby Names: I'm stuck in baby boy name land, and can't seem to seriously consider any girl names. So, I'm wondering if this is an indication that the baby is definitely a boy, or if I'm just tired of deciding on little girl names, seeing as how the last three were girls. Besides, I got to use my favorite baby girl name of all time for #10. :-) I'm not sure why I'm doing too much thinking on this; it's Russell's turn to pick the name. (Though I do get veto power, of course.)

• False Labor is going strong, as usual. And, as with other pregnancies, blueberries seem to really get them going. Weird, huh? Especially since blueberries are craving #2 this pregnancy. Maybe this old body knows that it needs to keep my busy uterus in good shape for the big day. (Hence, me making blueberry lemon muffins this morning. ouch.)

So, there you have it. You're all caught up with another pregnancy! Aren't you glad? ;-D See you for a new update next week!

Three Years Ago Today...

... our ninth child, Grayse Dawn entered the world and became a part of our family.

To celebrate her birth today, I want to share some of my favorite pictures our our funny, happy, quirky little girl.

We Love You, Grayse Dawn!!! :-)