Not Pregnant Anymore! Or Again!

So. Long time no blog, eh?

Baby H was born May 23, 2010, 9 days past her due date. And right on time.

We now have a first grader (E), a preschooler (D), a 2-year-old (Miss Baby M), and an almost-6 month old (H). So, you can see why I do not have time for blogging.

SuperDad has entered the world of gluten free living, and is the healthier for it.

And I feel that I've somewhat said everything that needs to be said about living life gluten free and on a budget. Because, here's the bottom line: Save money other places. Health is more important.

We've recently subscribed to the gluten-free menus at mealtimemakeover dot com, and have really been enjoying that. The shopping lists are more expensive than what I usually spend on groceries, but we're enjoying new meals, and we're eating out less. And they very much understand that the key to affordable and satisfying gluten-free eating is not replacing everything with a gluten free version, but to eat mostly naturally gluten free foods. I would definitely recommend checking it out, and for $5/month, it's just worth a try.

As for me, I'm busy, and happy. And working on my doula certification. And after that, well, who knows?

So… anyone want to hear a birth story, before I sign off?

I was 9 days over due, and I'd been having serious contractions for days. I was contemplating castor oil. But a tornado that had touched down the night before seemed to do the trick. Despite having gone into full-blown labor in the middle of the night, like I did in the previous two pregnancies, that wasn't how it worked out this time.

On May 23rd, a Sunday afternoon, I was having very strong but very irregular contractions, and I wasn't sure if I should head to the hospital or not, since the contractions weren't especially close together. Finally, I decided it was time, based really on nothing at all other than intuition. We got childcare lined up, waited for a break between contractions, and ran for the car. It seemed like the whole neighborhood was outside that day and they waved and wished me luck. (For the record, sneaking off in the middle of the night is better!)

On the short drive to the hospital, the contractions stopped. I wasn't even sure if I should bother getting out of the car. Thankfully, I decided that one way or another, I wasn't turning back, and headed into the hospital.

The nurse took us to the triage room, and since my contractions had really slowed down, she probably had her doubts that I was really in labor. However, while I was changing, I had a couple of strong enough contractions that the nurse rushed us out and into a delivery room. And on that walk, she let me know that Dr. K was out of town. Me=unhappy. But she reassured me that his back-up, Dr. M, would do just fine with a natural birth, and that I was definitely with the right group of doctors. (She was correct.)

My lovely nurse rushed through the check-in procedures (I was disappointed to only be at 4 cm at that point) so that I could do my GBS antibiotics in the tub. Wonderful, wonderful. Honestly, the nurses were awesome about following my birth plan.

I spent some time in the tub as the contractions intensified (though I don't know that they ever got much closer together). I did some panicky flailing. I punched SuperDad in the eye. I didn't feel badly about it.

The doctor arrived and checked me (7 cm now) and asked to break my water. He said he wasn't going to pressure me, but that he wanted to get things moving for me. Ahem. Not in love with that part. But I agreed, especially considering I was already pushing. Really, though, there wasn't much water to break, compared to my previous 37-weeker.

The doctor then left. Not smart on his part, really, because the nurse was almost immediately catching the head. Thanks to my lack of communication, though, I was able to deliver on hands-and-knees, which of course was the perfect position for my baby, who turned out to be in a posterior presentation.

With a pause to remove a nuchal cord, Baby H was born, 8 pounds, 8 ounces (my smallest baby, if you can believe it) at 4:57, just an hour and half after I paused in the hospital parking lot and considered going home.

She had a great latch and was *starving*, and we enjoyed a few days in the hospital together. Because they have cable and little cups of orange sherbet, and someone else does the cleaning.

H has been an absolute joy and blessing to each of us, every single day of her life. She is possibly made of sunshine.

And I think that's all, folks! It's been fun!