It's a Boy!

The baby is finally here! Jeremiah Jacob was born on Tuesday at 8:43 . He weighed 8 lbs and 11 0z. We are all thrilled to have him here and home.

And It Stopped

After nearly 13 hours of contractions with the intensity increasing throughout the day - it all stopped. Clay and I got a good nights rest while my mom and dad stayed up all night with our girls (who were too excited to sleep).

This morning my showed signs of progression (if you are easily grossed out or male - jump to next paragraph). I started having bloody show about 5 this morning and have had it several times since.

We really hope that means labor will start within 24 hours. I hate having the girls away for so long. I am also really concerned about the burden it puts on my mom and dad to try and keep up with two very active little girls.

Clay and I spent this morning running errands that are hard to do with two little girls in tow. Clay got a haircut, I got a pedicure(though left quite disappointed because she refused to really massage my feet because she said that could cause the baby to slip right out - I don't think we would have been too upset.), and looking for Gabriella a birthday present (any ideas what to get her? we have so many toys . . . any great educational things out there or books that anyone knows of that a two year old might like? Then Clay came back to the house and worked from home, I took a nap, woke up, and then did some cleaning in the house.

But still no real contractions. I have small ones here and there - but nothing that looks promising. I also have a slight dull backache.

We will be going to pick up the kids about lunch time tomorrow if nothing starts up before then.

Prayers for my mom and dad would also be appreciated as they are not use to keeping up with my girls.

Progress Towards Baby

We went to the doctor yesterday. She said I was 50% effaced and 2 cm dilated. As we all know that could mean that I will go into labor today or it could be two more weeks. It was nice knowing that all the pain that I had up till due date was actually doing something (unlike with my other two where I was about 50% effaced but only like 1/2cm at my due date).

Today I have been having constant back pain and some contractions that are more intense than what I have previously been having. The baby is also much more active today than what it normally is at this time of the day. I started having the contractions about 11 this morning and have had them through being at library with girls, fixing lunch and feeding us, cleaning up from lunch, doing some clothes, getting them down for a nap, reading to them, and then me laying down for about an hour. But I still can not determine if it will actually result in me being in actual labor today.

Praise the Lord! Gabriella is doing much better. Her cough is much improved, there is a lot less snot, and her eyes are no longer nearly swollen shut. She has also started playing with her sister again instead of just fighting with her (or more like screaming every time Micah comes near her).

Update:

So it has been 12 hours of contractions that would last for several hours - stop - and then resume with a little bit more intensity. My mom just took the girls with her. Clay and I are going for a walk and then the plan is to try and get some sleep. It is beginning to seem more like this could be it - but only time will tell.

Update on Baby & Family Illnesses

Tomorrow is the baby's due date. I thought I was ready a week ago to have the baby. But Micah came down with a cough and runny nose (we thought that was allergies). On Saturday, Gabriella got extremely grumpy and whinny, started running a fever, quit eating, and drinking, and started screaming every time she said she had to go potty. They have run a urine test on Gabriella - which came back negative - meaning she does not currently have a UTI. She is eating a little and drinking better. She is also not screaming every time she tries to pee. But now she is coughing a horrible cough constantly and sneezing and has tons of snot. Her little eyes are red and swollen. She is miserable and making everyone else that way too. She breaks down in a fit with simple request such as "Gabriella, can you please come here." She bit her sister yesterday and keep whacking Micah over the head.

Anyhow, with all that said, I am not feeling so much like I am "ready" to have the baby. But I am having backaches, contractions, and all the different very pregnant pains. So from that perspective I am very ready to have baby.

We go in tomorrow morning to see our doctor. I have hardly been checked at all during this pregnancy - but she told me up front that she would have to check me once I reach my due date. So we are going along with that & tomorrow should know if my body has made any progress through all the contractions that I've already had.

So, for those of you who read this and would like to pray. Please pray that my little girls would be healthy (they are looking forward to meeting the baby). Pray that the rest of us will stay healthy and that the baby and I will stay safe through labor. Also pray for us to be content in the Lord's timing in this all (even if that means we have a baby two weeks late or if that means that we have a baby while the girls are still sick). I will try and give some sort of update tomorrow.

The Stinch of Death Returns Just in Time For the Fragrance of Life . . .

Or at least that is what we expect. Two years ago about this time in March when I was very pregnant with Gabriella - we had a visitor. One whom we did not welcome. A visitor who got chased with a B-B gun on several occasions. Unfortunately, we did not get the victory. Not that the rat won - but on his way "out" he left us weeks of remembering him. When I came home from the hospital we could smell him. In the bathroom. Our only bathroom mind you. The bathroom in which Clay finally finished tiling the shower while I was in the hospital after having Gabriella. He died under our bathtub. My first shower in our home of 6 months was marked with comments of "What's that smell? We had to endure using the restroom and showering in there for weeks with the smell of a dead rat. Nothing that we tried would get rid of the smell. Only time. . .

Oh yeah, he left fleas too. . .

Well, here I am 10 days till due date - and guess who came to visit. It must be one of his relatives. Right now Clay is trying to get a rat trap in the wall behind our dishwasher. Our house has gotten a lot more secure than it was two years ago. We have sheet rock up in places that we did not before. We don't know of any holes that he can actually get into the rooms of our house. But he is in the walls. We just heard him again tonight trying to eat through the walls. We can here him climb the stack pipe in the bathroom wall and also run the length of our bathroom wall & up underneath the tub.

So as we prepare for the sweet smell of new life to enter into our home once more . . . we are also bracing ourselves for the very real possibility that we will also be enduring the smell of death for weeks to come.

Family Portrait

In our family history we've only had like 5 pictures where our entire family was in the picture and no one's head was cut off. So enjoy...

Saving Money

I recently started using The Grocery Game to help me plan my shopping and grocery list. I have already noticed a savings and I have only been using this for a month. The grocery game tracks sales and pairs them with the coupons found in the Sunday paper. You are then encouraged to only buy those things that are a 50% or more off in order to stockpile for when you really need them. She tells you how to plan your meal plan on what you have in stock and then just those few things you really need and anything else you will use later and can stockpile. The game rules say that it takes 12 weeks to create a good stockpile. If you are looking for ways to cut your monthly expenses I encourage you to try this out. You can get a trial on using this system for $1 for 4 weeks. Then it goes up to $10 every 8 weeks. Once I get a good handle on how to go about doing this - I might drop paying the money for her list and start using my own.

Another great site that I like to look at is Money Saving Mom. She will walk you through how to get a lot of stuff using coupons, rebates, and money back at Wal-greens and CVS. Again, I encourage you to check these out. I am just getting started using these systems to save money - but have enjoyed the things that I've gotten for free or 1/3 the original price.

If you know of any other really great sites on how to save money and live more frugal - please leave a link in the comments.