Postpartum Notes #2

I'll try using the same categories as last time pretty much for my update. Here we go!

Hormones - I got the official word from my endocrinologist to do bloodwork for my thyroid at 8 weeks postpartum, so that is set. Emotionally I've been pretty even-keeled. A few teary times, but they were triggered by laughing as often as not, which the kids find hilarious. Daniel likes to tell me jokes and get me laughing until I cry. I think one reason things have been pretty even for me in the last week is that I'm getting great sleep for having a newborn. If you read Rebekah's 2 week update you already know she's doing a solid 4 hour stretch each night from midnight to 4am. It just can't be overstated how essential sleep is to healthy functioning in all areas!

Milk - My body is pretty much done, just a bit of occasionally discomfort now. Glad that is nearly over. Wearing a tight sports bra is helping a lot.

Diastasis Recti - While things are obviously still settling back to normal as I'm only 2 weeks post-delivery, I have checked my abdominal split. It feels like somewhere between 3 and 4 fingers wide at my bellybutton, getting smaller as you go up or down from there. I also have discovered I hate wearing the abdominal splint. Mostly because I'm still going to the bathroom pretty often with the lovely postpartum bleeding and that means removing the splints, then redoing it all. I'll give the splints a try again soon.

Bleeding - Mine slowed down dramatically around 12 days postpartum. Yesterday it kicked up a bit, which isn't surprising. Yesterday Daddy went back to work so I've been on my own with all 10 kids. That means I'm up and doing things more and the bleeding increased accordingly. I'm trying to find a balance between being up and doing the mom things I need to and resting.

Spinal Headache - This is officially gone. I had a few more headaches after I last posted but have been headache free for several days now.

Uterine Prolapse - Can't really check on this yet. Just waiting.

Sleep - Already updated in the Hormones category. :)

Weight - At 5 days postpartum I was 209 lbs. At 15 days postpartum I am now 205 lbs. I probably won't lose any more weight without effort, but we shall see. That means I've lost 25 of the 30 lbs I gained this pregnancy.

Clothing - I ended up having to buy a pair of pants. I have one pair of jeans that mostly fit and all my maternity yoga pants are falling off. I found a pair of pants on clearance at WalMart and between that and my maxi skirts I'm making due for now.

Rebekah Joy at 2 Weeks Old

Rebekah is 2 weeks old today! I thought I would share a peek into her newborn personality and preferences because every baby is different.

Rebekah's routine so far goes something like this:

• Mornings: Sleep, wake up to eat 3 ounces, be awake for an hour or two, then sleep some more, repeat. 
• Afternoons: Pretty much the same. Sleep, wake and eat, then sleep some more, repeat. 
• Evenings: Wake up, eat, stay awake calmly for a while, then fuss, need held/walked/distracted from her grumping until she finally sleeps again a few hours later. This time period usually runs until about midnight. 
• Nights: She sleeps well for a newborn, gloriously well. She sleeps 4-5 hours and wakes up sometime between 4am-5am. Then she eats and is awake about an hour, before going back to sleep for several hours, waking up after her siblings have already started their day.

I know her routine is a fluid thing that is going to keep changing as she grows. It helps that she is my 10th newborn. I'm not stressed out by the grumpy times, I don't panic when she sleeps a longer stretch than a newborn 'should' according to the books, and I make time at least once during the day to nap when she does. I know you can't spoil a baby and so she's held as much as she wants by willing arms, either mine, daddy's, or a sibling's.

Today my husband went back to work after two weeks home with us. It was wonderful to have him home for so long! Now I am outnumbered 10 kids to 1 mom. I've got a great bunch of children and we've got solid routines to keep the house running, so we'll do just fine. Lunch is ready, dinner is going in the crock pot, and I'm off to check diapers and fill cups with milk to go with our muffins.

Postpartum Notes #1

Feel free to skip this post if you aren't interested in the nitty gritty of recovery from my 10th pregnancy. If you are interested, read on, and be aware that I'm pretty open about the reality of recovery.

Hormones - This is one of my least favorite parts of the postpartum period. Not only is my body changing from pregnant to not pregnant hormones, but I'm hypothyroid so my body doesn't do hormones well. It doesn't make enough of a lot of them and the dose of thyroid medication I need changes too. Adjusting that to a new normal will take months. Ugh. I'll work with my endocrinologist to monitor and adjust my medication, starting with a blood draw to check things around 5-6 weeks postpartum.

I also don't love the random emotional meltdowns I have in the first couple weeks after having a baby. Tears come randomly and in my head I can even recognize there isn't anything to be crying about but I cry anyway. I also usually struggle to control my frustration level and snap at people. I can't be up and doing things so the house isn't functioning as smoothly, the kids are adjusting and that often means trying to get away with things (especially the littler ones) while mom is busy with the baby, and I hate asking for help with every little thing. I know my husband and children don't mind helping. I just could do things faster and easier myself.

I also am on watch for postpartum depression. Sometimes I've struggled with it, sometimes I haven't. You just never know what you'll get after each pregnancy.

Milk - I don't nurse my babies anymore because of hormone issues. That means my body tries to make milk a couple days postpartum, my body gets really uncomfortable for a day, then mildly uncomfortable for a couple days before going back to normal. I have learned that if I spend a day or two using ice packs around day 3 or 4 then things get better faster.

Diastasis Recti - My abdominal muscles are split. I was able to begin trying an abdominal splint at 4 days postpartum. Wearing it definitely makes getting up off the couch or rolling over when I'm laying in bed more comfortable. It is also annoying to need to take it off every time I go to the bathroom because then I need to go lay down on the floor or my bed to put it back on correctly. All those little things add up time wise and with a new baby sometimes I just don't have the time!

Bleeding - Nobody enjoys this, including me. As a mom of many and an 'older mom' over age 35 I am more at risk for bleeding problems. I watch my bleeding and use it as a gauge for my activity level, slowing down as needed. This time around I am also trying really hard to go slowly back into activity to head off issues, which is why my husband is taking two weeks off work instead of just one. By the end of the second week of doing almost nothing my body should be more ready to be up and doing the mom thing.

Spinal headache - I had this not quite 48 hours after my epidural. Ouch! Thankfully it only lasted about 18 hours and if I laid down the pressure equalized and I felt ok, but any time I was sitting up it felt like someone was taking a hatchet to the middle of my skull. In the days since I've had some headaches that are uncomfortable but nothing as bad as that was.

Uterine Prolapse - I shared the basic overview of this in Rebekah's birth story. My pelvic floor muscles aren't holding up my uterus where they should, but we won't know for at least 6 weeks how much healing my body will do on its own as my uterus shrinks to normal size. I'll update on this when we know more.

Sleep - It's a good thing I know what to expect with a newborn! I am trying to be diligent about napping at least once or twice a day when Rebekah is asleep. This helps because she and I spend a good bit of our nights awake. She'll do a couple longer sleep stretches during the day (one early morning after 5am and then one in the afternoon and sometimes one in the evening). At night she wakes up every 1-2.5 hours and there is a 2-3 hour stretch in the middle of the night where she is awake non-stop. I know this phase doesn't last forever. We're working to make sure her body is exposed to daylight at appropriate times to help her internal clock shift, we don't keep the house quiet during the day, and at night we set the stage for sleep with white noise, comfortable temperatures, and lots of snuggles.

Weight - This is always interesting to track. I ended my pregnancy weighing 230 lbs. That is my highest weight ever, but it was not my highest weight gain. I gained 30 lbs. I won't do any kind of exercise for weeks yet, and it will be really slow when I begin because of the abdominal split and the uterine prolapse. For now my body is just doing whatever it's going to do on it's own. I hopped on the scale at day 5 postpartum and weighed 209 lbs, so the initial weight loss from birth is 21 lbs. That will probably continue a couple more pounds down by the 6 week mark, but I don't know that I'll lose the last 9 lbs I gained, maybe 4 or 5? Then the real work begins. Of course, until my thyroid hormones and medication are adjusted correctly true weight loss will be nearly impossible. (For perspective, in the four months before I became pregnant with Rebekah my doctor was adjusting my thyroid medication and I gained almost 18 lbs in that time while eating well and working out 4 days a week.)

Clothing - One thing I hate after baby is trying to fit into clothing again. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of my maternity clothes. My body also gains weight in different ways/areas with each pregnancy, so things that fit one way before baby will fit differently after. I did pull out some of my non-maternity clothes on day 5 and pack away most of my maternity clothing. I can wear the stretchier items like maxi skirts and some of my shirts. They don't fit the way they used to for sure! I figure if I'm going to wear shirts that are a bit too tight on my belly they might as well be ones I haven't had out for 9 months just for some variety. I fit into one pair of jeans but I don't think they would be comfortable for an entire day. I did not use my abdominal splint when trying on clothes. I will wear it over a lot of clothes for now because you need a layer of fabric between your skin and the splint. I put a few clothing pieces that really aren't going to be comfortable just yet into the bottom drawer of my dresser to try on in a month and the rest went back into the attic. After my first 6 weeks I will also be ready to pick out a few new pieces of clothing to fit wherever my body is at, especially some pants.

That is all I can think of for now. Do you have anything you wonder about the postpartum period for a mama of 10? Ask away in the comments!

Rebekah Joy's Birth Story

Every labor is different and I remembered to take notes or have my husband take notes during this one, which makes it easier to write up this birth story. Here we go!

This was officially my longest pregnancy ever, at 12 days overdue. My husband Jason and I headed to the hospital at 5am for my induction.

Fun Fact: I have needed Pitocin in every labor because my body doesn't sustain contractions. So this was my 9th time with Pitocin, I didn't have any with my planned C-section for Mason.

We got checked in at 6am and started answering the one hundred questions they ask before they really do anything. At 7:15am my IV was ready and they started Pitocin. I started labor dilated to 4cm. Contractions were every 5 minutes pretty quickly but if I got up and walked around they were irregular. It was the first sign something was off.

By 9:30am my contractions were still irregular and my tailbone hurt with every one. This was not a good thing. At 10:35am I was still having tailbone pain with each contraction and we realized baby Rebekah was posterior (back of skull pushing on my tailbone). The nurse had me lay on my side with a peanut ball between my knees, switching sides every 30 minutes to encourage Rebekah to turn. 

By 12:00pm my contractions were coming every 3 minutes and the pain was radiating down my sit bones and thighs, as well as my lower abdomen. Things were shifting. At 12:30pm I had a cervical check and was still 4cm dilated. Rebekah was just not in a great position. I moved to sitting up to see if we could get some pressure on my cervix to help with dilation.

At 2:10pm my notes say this: "Contractions every 1 1/2 minutes. Hurting more." Ahh, the joys of labor with Pitocin. Contractions don't stay at a normal pace.

My next cervical check was at 3:25pm. I was dilated 5-6 cm, 70% effaced. However my doctor realized that Rebekah was presenting ear first. Her head was tilted. Not good! Back trying different positions to get her to move. I got on the birthing ball for a while. Things were really painful at this point and I wasn't getting much break between contractions. We discussed a lot of options. I knew that if things didn't change soon I was going to need some help. Coming into the induction I had been praying that I would know what decisions to make in labor. For the first time in my life I seriously considered getting an epidural. After 8 vaginal births with Pitocin and without an epidural, and one planned C-section.

At 5:20pm it was decision time. I told my nurse that I needed checked and if things had not started progressing I needed an epidural. I needed a break. Things were still the same. No progress and no breaks between contractions. One would stop and within 30 seconds the next would start. I got an epidural. It was uncomfortable and weird, but started to be effective within about 15 minutes. I took a nap. My contractions spaced out to about a minute apart. Thankfully during all of this labor Rebekah was handling contractions well. 

At 6:30pm I was 8cm dilated and 100% effaced. My water still had not broke and baby simply wasn't decending lower in the pelvis. We gave her more time as she was showing no signs of distress. 

At 8:40pm I was 9cm dilated and we finally decided to break my water. My doctor said he would be back to check on me within the hour. 

At 9:30pm I was 10cm dilated. It was time to have this baby! My doctor decided to see how well I could push with the epidural, so he didn't have the nurse break the bed down completely, he just lowered the foot of the bed and sat on it. The rest of labor went basically like this:

"Let's try a push with this contraction." 

"Oh, good job! Her head's out. When you are ready push again and let's deliver." 

At which point I pushed and she came out. It was the easiest pushing phase I've ever had.

They put her up on my chest and we snuggled and laughed at her chubby squishiness, cooed over her full head of hair, and started getting to know one another.

Eventually we got around to weighing and measuring her. 9 lbs 8.4 oz of sweetness. She was my biggest baby by a couple of ounces.

If you want to see a couple more pictures of Rebekah, including meeting her siblings, check out this blog post.

Medical details (possible TMI):

1. Uterine Prolapse - While pushing was easy and I didn't tear, that doesn't mean things were perfect. We were expecting what happened. My uterus prolapsed. This had happened with my last two deliveries as well. The only real question was if it would be worse. A prolapse varies in degree. Normally your uterus is held up by pelvic floor muscles inside your body. When those muscles no longer support your uterus in the appropriate position it descends, or lowers, into the vagina, and can even come out of the body. Right now I have somewhere between a 1st and 2nd degree prolapse. My uterus is still in my body, but pretty much has fallen as far into the vagina as possible. We will wait to see how things heal up as my uterus returns to prepregnancy size to make the final decision on what degree of prolapse I have. It may go back up to a more normal position, it may not. This can cause problems in a couple areas (I won't go into those right now) and I may need medical interventions or even surgery. 

2. Diastasis Recti - split abdominal muscles. I've had this for a long time, it's a common side effect of pregnancy or weight gain and I've just finished my 14th pregnancy. Until my uterus returns to it's prepregnancy size I won't really know just how large my split is. I had been working to close it before this pregnancy with some exercises and gone from a 4 finger split to a 1-2 finger split. I fully expect my split to be as bad or worse than 4 fingers. To help that I did get a set of abdominal splints. As of day 4 postpartum I was able to get into the first two parts of the splint. I've not used one before but I'm hoping it will help support things as I work on healing. I'll share an update of what I think as things go!

3. Spinal Headache - around 48 hours postpartum I developed a really bad headache. When laying down it would go away completely, to return within a minute or two of sitting up. This happens sometimes with a spinal epidural due to leaking fluid and pressure issues in the brain. Today, day 4 postpartum, it has mostly resolved itself. Thank goodness. 

Rebekah is Here!

While there is much I want to share about her birth this is just a quick post to introduce Rebekah Joy!

She was born Tuesday evening at 9:39pm weighing 9 lbs 8.4 oz (my biggest baby by a couple ounces), 20 3/4" long, with a head full of brown hair.

She and mommy are doing well!

We got home Thursday morning and her siblings were pretty much all smitten with her. Of course!

Here are my ten precious children. I'm so blessed!

Pregnancy Update #21 - Induction Tomorrow!

I left off with this post on Friday. Feel free to read it so you know what's going on.

After I posted that I spent Friday having contractions on and off. By bedtime they were pretty uncomfortable but I decided if I could fall asleep then they weren't going to go anywhere. I slept and woke up Saturday morning for a regular day.

Contractions were more scattered during the day Saturday. I did a trip to the store and we spent lots of time as a family at home. We did a few last minute things like double checking that the infant carseat isn't expired, replacing a curtain rod that was bent out of useable shape, and grinding wheat for baking. I made a meal plan and placed an online grocery order that someone will pick up on Monday morning.

Sunday morning dawned snowy and it was finally time to take the whole family to church. Everyone has recovered well from their colds two weeks ago, with a bit of a lingering cough for the asthma kids of course. We were all excited to get out of the house together!

Monday was the day to tie up loose ends. Daddy picked up our grocery order. We made sure the house was cleaned and supplies like diapers and wipes refilled from the stockpile. I double checked my hospital bag contents. We spent one last day as a family of 11, talked about baby Rebekah, made predictions as to what color hair she'll have, and did a lot of drawing projects watching video tutorials from Art for Kids Hub.

I also found out I'm to be at the hospital at 6am tomorrow for my induction. I figure it takes them an hour to get us checked in and my Pitocin started. Then I made the mistake of thinking about just when I might hold this baby girl. If she matches my shortest labor ever (10.5 hours) I still won't be holding her until 5:30pm. And if she falls closer to my longest labor times of 30 and 37 hours it could be sometime Wednesday morning...gulp. I'm not going to think too closely about that right now.

I can't believe we are finally here. I will be 41 weeks 5 days pregnant tomorrow (12 days past my due date). We're going to be back to the newborn stage again one last time. What a gift!

Pregnancy Update #20 - Still Pregnant 41 weeks 1 day

Today's pregnancy picture - 41 wks 1 day pregnant.

I'm seeing my doctor more often now that we've passed my due date, so these updates will pop up more often.

Wednesday was a normal, quiet pregnancy day. Baby girl has settled in for a long winter's nap. I'm just enjoying feeling her move and waiting to hold her.

Thursday contractions started at 5:30am. I lost my mucous plug (TMI? What did you expect? This post is about pregnancy!) and had steady contractions every 3-4 minutes for 7 hours. Then nothing for several hours. Then irregular contractions after dinner. Then 2 hours of painful contractions before bed. It is just practice. I simply won't believe it is labor unless my water breaks, since my body is so unpredictable.

Friday was doctor day! I had another non stress test to see how active baby Rebekah is and how her heart rate responds to her activity.

Monitors strapped to my belly. Rebekah's butt is sticking up

in this shot so my belly looks a bit pointed.

I got some pictures during the test for fun.

The printout of the monitors.

Then I had a check with my doctor. I'm dilated to 4 cm, which is 1 cm more than I was at my appointment 3 days ago. We talked about induction and went ahead and got on the hospital's schedule for next Tuesday. Hopefully I'll deliver before then, but if not then we're going to encourage this baby girl to come on out. I would be 41 weeks 5 days pregnant then.

This pregnancy is almost at an end. I can't believe we're here!

Pregnancy Update #19: 5 Days Overdue

You would think by the 10th pregnancy that labor would happen early or at least by my due date, right? I wish. Here's my notes for each day since my last pregnancy update (read that one here). 

Friday was quiet in the pre-labor department. My body probably had 10 contractions spread out over the entire day. I'm halfway glad, since 8 kids are still sick and Miss Rebekah doesn't need to be exposed to all their germs. I'm hoping that my body is fighting off the illness and giving her some antibodies. 

Saturday's pregnancy notes include swollen hands, feet, and ankles from water retention. I'm achy with occasional contractions but nothing noteworthy.

Sunday really had nothing to report either. Contractions in the evening and a baby happily active and still in the womb.

Monday was likewise easy and uneventful, other than a dentist appointment where I found out my recent tooth pain is from a dying root. Scheduled an extraction for the tooth for tomorrow morning.

Tuesday - that's today! I started my day having a tooth pulled. Being pregnant the pain relief options are pretty limited to Tylenol right now.

I had a pregnancy checkup in the afternoon. First was a nonstress test (looks good), an ultrasound to check fluid levels (looks good, baby is looking to be around 8lb 14oz but ultrasound is easily off by a pound either way), and a checkup. I'm still gaining weight (228lbs). I'm now dilated to 3cm. Basically, everything looks great with baby and we're still waiting for her arrival.

I go back to see the doctor in 3 days (on Friday) and repeat the nonstress test and checkup. 

Homeschool Notes for Week 26

It feels like everything at home is just holding it's breath, waiting for Miss Rebekah to come. We are not making any long term or concrete plans. Just waiting.

Saturday we picked Joseph up from a winter campout and Makayla up from a friend's house. We placed an online grocery order that we will pick up on Monday. We read books and played and watched some Studio C. Tobias was beginning a cold with a fever, cough, and runny nose, so I knew Sunday I would be home from church. I reread a favorite book, Seeking Persephone, and cried. My hormones are all over the place.

Sunday I helped Daddy get the other 8 kids ready and out the door for church. Tobias and I stayed home for a quiet sick day. He really wasn't interested in playing. We looked at a few books, then snuggled up and watched some Paw Patrol. He fell asleep on my lap before the rest of the family returned from church.

After lunch Makayla headed upstairs to do some scripture study for seminary, four of the boys played a game of Harry Potter Clue, a couple kids played Connect Four, and Emma and I baked chocolate chip butterscotch chip cookies. Yum!

Monday I was out the door to pick up groceries, get bloodwork, have a form notarized, and more by 7:30am. Daddy was home with kids for a while before he had two doctors appointments. The kids' morning consisted of wake up, breakfast, chores, and reading. Unfortunately there was also a hefty side of runny noses and coughing. Tobias is sicker today and several other kids are sounding like frogs, coughing, and just looking less than energetic. That means I'm formally calling a break for school. I'm due with this sweet baby #10 on Thursday, we're just going to start our baby break now. I need these children to get well as soon as possible so the order of the day is rest, fresh air (windows are open), and more rest.

Tuesday I took the two sickest kids to walk in hours at the pediatrician to check for flu. No flu (hooray) but the congestion has given Tobias an ear infection. The day was endless rounds of snuggling sick kids, getting them to sip water, and keeping them down and quiet. Five kids are sick for sure. I suspect a 6th but they're in denial.

The biggest happening on Tuesday was that Makayla got her driver's license. I'm officially old and tired and very pregnant and way too scared to hand over the keys and wave her on her merry way, but apparently it's legal to do just that now.

The second biggest happening on Tuesday was realizing that Tobias is allergic to penicillin. Hives all over his chest and abdomen after just one dose made it pretty clear that Daniel is no longer our only child with a penicillin allergy. I got rid of the medicine and put a call in to the pediatrician to let them know.

Wednesday I was still surrounded by sick kids. They're just everywhere right now. Some are needing breathing treatments with our nebulizer, others are holding their own in the breathing department. I'm basically playing nurse and trying to keep all my patients needs straight. I'm so grateful we homeschool because this week of illness doesn't affect the kids learning. Nobody is getting behind. There is no stress over homework, missed projects, or anything else. We just hunker down, take the time to heal, and life moves forward.

Thursday was my official pregnancy due date. Baby Rebekah has not made her appearance. I'm at the "I just might be pregnant forever" stage. I had a checkup with my obstetrician and you can read more about that here. All of my kids are sick now except one. Eight sick kids. The coughing and the snot are everywhere. I am doing my best to avoid joining the sick crowd. Today that meant taking a nap in the middle of the afternoon. Rest is good for the immune system, right?

Friday we kept things quiet with the sick kids, though the earliest to be sick are starting to have a bit of energy to play now. A roofer came over to check the slate on our roof after a big storm one night earlier this week. Everything looks pretty good, the slate in the grass between our house and the neighbor is from the neighbor's roof. Dinner is in the crock pot (meatballs to go with spaghetti).

I took a nap again today. So far I'm not sick, so maybe it's helping, but more than likely it's just getting this pregnant and overdue mama through the day. Right now I'm sitting adding today's notes to the blog post with Tobias sitting beside me coloring with colored pencils. He's adorable and wants me to color with him, so I'm off to do that.

Pregnancy Update #18: 40 Weeks - Today's My Due Date

Friday I was 39 weeks 1 day pregnant. I had my checkup the day before, which I shared about here. After that appointment I was expecting lots of contractions like the prior week. Nope. My body is not predictable. Just achy, with few contractions. It feels like Rebekah is really low in my pelvis because I'm everything hurts - it hurts to walk (or sit, or stand), and I'm in the bathroom a lot. It's not fun but it is just part of the process!

Saturday followed the same pattern, no regular contractions. It feels like little girl has settled in for a long winter's nap, stretching and kicking and not in any hurry to come out. My hormones are all over the place again though. I'm crying over books as I read.

Sunday was also quiet.

Monday night I had regular, uncomfortable contractions for 6 hours. I was also up 8 or 9 times with a sick Tobias so I had plenty of time to notice the contractions.

By Tuesday morning contractions were gone until about an hour before dinner. Then they were back to regular and uncomfortable, ranging from 2-4 minutes apart. I've officially decided that unless my water breaks I'm not in labor and there is no need to go to the hospital. My doctor will probably laugh at me when I tell him that in 2 days on my due date. And remind me to have some baby blankets in the car in case I deliver on the way.

Wednesday I had back labor with the contractions through dinner. Then things settled down again. Nothing to get excited over, just preparation for baby.

Today is Thursday. I am officially due with this baby today. I headed to the obstetrician for a checkup. Everything looks great. I'm going to be pregnant forever, but that is always how I feel at this stage. I've not really changed dilation much, about 2.5cm instead of 2cm. I weigh 226 lbs and a fair amount of that is water retention (oh my poor ankles and fingers!). We talked about where we go from here, induction possibilities, etc. Basically, I now go in every couple days (starts next Tuesday, so 5 days) and have 3 things happen:

1. Non Stress Test - They hook me up to monitors and see how baby girl is moving and how her heart rate is over a period of time.
2. Ultrasound - This is to measure the fluid around baby to monitor it and make sure there is still plenty. 
3. A check up with a doctor. 

We're trying to let my body do as much of the preparing for labor process as it will before we induce. At the same time we have to balance that with making sure my body is still a healthy, safe place for Rebekah to grow, that she is doing well. 

I am so ready for her to be in my arms. 

Pregnancy Update #17: 39 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #10

I had contractions for several days quite often after my last doctor's appointment. On Sunday things settled down. By Monday morning I was having nothing. Monday evening we had a snowstorm and I had hours of contractions.

I remembered to get a picture of my pregnant self because you just never know how much longer until baby will come. In this picture I am 38 weeks 4 days pregnant.

Tuesday I had fewer contractions, which was a relief because we were dealing with a lot of snow and yucky roads. I also was very hormonal - weepy. This hasn't happened in months and to be honest it's just a reminder of how all over the place my hormones will be during the postpartum weeks after baby is born. Ugh! What a rollercoaster of craziness that always is.

Wednesday emotions were on a more even keel again and contractions were very few. I even did a bit of snow shoveling (carefully, with breaks, switching off with my hubby while he protested me taking any turns). A few hours later I started feeling it. No, not contractions, just achy muscles that haven't been used that way in ages.

Today is Thursday and I am officially 39 weeks pregnant. At my check up this morning I was still only dilated to 2 cm and was 60% effaced. Blood pressure looks great, I weighed 224 lbs, and everything looks great. My doctor was surprised I was still pregnant. He stripped my membranes again and says he's guessing this baby will come in the next 3 days, but that babies come when they come. He's on call this weekend, which would be great if I do go into labor. I've got an appointment scheduled for next Thursday on my due date. I expect to still be pregnant then, but would love to meet little Rebekah sooner if she's ready.

Homeschool Notes for Week 23 and 24

Saturday was cold. We woke to several inches of snow, which was beautiful. I headed to WalMart for our online grocery pick up at 8:30am. Once home we did a few quick projects and made lunch. After lunch Daddy got picked up by Grandma and Grandpa for a Trans Siberian Orchestra concert along with one nephew thanks to free tickets Grandma got. They said it was fantastic when they arrived home 7 hours later. I'm glad he got to go (and that I didn't have to, it's not my kind of music, lol).

While Daddy was gone our Saturday moved forward as usual. Medical care in the afternoon for Mason, a nap for Tobias, and just play. Dinner was beef stew in the crock pot with some rolls. I dropped Makayla off at a friend's house to ride to the Church holiday ball for youth an hour away. Then it was just mommy and the younger 8 children until bedtime. We watched some tv, played with Legos, and stayed inside where it was warm.

Sunday was even colder but everyone was well enough to go to church so it was a great morning. After church we pulled together a Harry Potter themed Would You Rather game for our family New Year's Eve party and prepared snacks to share. We had a fun evening of snacks and games together!

Monday was the first day of the new year. It was extra cold (-9 degrees F). We gathered as a family for our Morning Basket at 9:30am. I have to be honest and say I'm a practical mom. Not all of my kids are enthusiastic about doing a morning basket. I'm okay with that, they are welcome to miss our time together. However I do practice a little bit of encouragement and consequences. The encouragement is a treat. If you show up there is a treat waiting for you. If you don't the consequence is you miss out. (Today was a couple M&Ms, sometimes it might be a cookie, strawberries, apple slices, hot cocoa, peanut butter crackers, you just never know). And of course when we do a read aloud we pull out our trusty read aloud bin of candy. If you are sitting and listening to the read aloud you get  a piece of candy. Today's morning basket included the following:

• Hymn: I'm Trying to Be like Jesus
• Prayer: Oliver
• Devotional: Kindness Isaiah 63:7
• Scripture Memory: Romans 8:16
• Other: Star Wars Mad Libs
• Read Aloud: Esperanza Rising

At 11:00am Daddy, Joseph, Daniel, Oliver, and Caleb headed to the local movie theater for a matinee viewing of the new Star Wars movie. They were excited. The girls and the youngest three boys and I stayed home and enjoyed the quiet. It is amazing just how much quieter the house can be depending on which children are home. The rest of Monday had things like laundry, cooking, and family time. Pretty much my happy place!

Tuesday was still cold. I got an appointment done, a trip to the store for peanut butter and vegan mayo, and then it was babysitting a nephew and 2 nieces at our house. Of course, it really is great to babysit them because they match up with several of my kids ages and everyone just plays and laughs and has fun. I have LESS work to do when more kids are over. I even got to read a book just for me for a while. The kids had piano lessons in the afternoon and then we did family time all evening.

Wednesday my sister came to watch the kids while Mason and I headed to the city to get his cast off. Yay! We have a lot of things to watch for, he's not done healing yet, but not having the cast on is wonderful. The day was uneventful and on the quiet side. Cub Scouts and youth activities happened in the evening.

Thursday started off with a phone call to the fire department because our oven heating element started sparking everywhere. Thankfully they were able to contain it easily. Now we wait 5 days for a new oven I ordered from Home Depot to arrive - and we feed 11 people without a stove or oven. When I finally looked around I discovered plenty of cooking options already in the house - microwave, toaster, crock pot, griddle, rice cooker, etc. It just takes rethinking how to prepare meals and possibly cooking them in batches if using something like the toaster or microwave.

I also had a doctor's appointment on Thursday and baby is looking good. We're closing in on the end of this pregnancy and just taking things a day at a time.

Friday found two of us at the dentist and scheduling appointments for next week to get some work done (a baby tooth pulled and a filling redone). Beyond that it was just a regular day.

Saturday hubby and I went on a date while Grandma watched the kids. It was great to get out and just talk without little ears around, go to the store together, etc. We also picked up the ice cream sundae and root beer float supplies for Mason's family birthday party on Sunday since we wouldn't be able to bake a cake with no stove/oven.

Sunday Mommy stayed home from church with the four youngest boys who all are congested, runny nosed, and fending off colds. In the evening family came over for the birthday party (Mason will turn 6 next Thursday). We also watched the last episode of Extinct as a family - it was good but hard to say goodbye to the series.

Monday we got snow and ice. Daddy started back to school for the new semester with two classes. A lot of the kids started the day out with a playdoh party.

We kept things low-key. There was playing in the snow and ice in the afternoon, reading aloud Esperanza Rising over hot chocolate after that, dinner in the crock pot, and a stove delivery at lunch time. Yes, I was so happy to have a stove again!

Mason is healing somewhat post-cast removal(that happened last Wednesday). The incision is doing good so far, no infection. His leg and foot swelling has settled in and isn't increasing now, so we just have to wait several weeks for it to go down. The only iffy part is the pressure sore on the top of his foot/ankle, and we're following instructions for another week and a half before we get things re-evaluated. Unfortunately wounds like this don't heal well when you are paralyzed because your body doesn't always get the information that it needs to be healing something.

Tuesday I announced to the kids that after breakfast they needed to read something, either history or literature, and beginning readers needed to read to me. It was just one simple way to remind them to keep those learning routines going. Here is what they read:

• On Board the Titanic - Makayla
• 100 Cupboards - Joseph
• The 12th How to Train Your Dragon book - Emma
• Poppy - Daniel
• Ice Wizard Magic Tree House - Oliver
• All About Reading At the Pond - Caleb
• All About Reading Fox in a Box - Mason

Our day kept rolling peacefully from there. Mason was especially happy to move to the bigger chalkboard for his Handwriting Without Tears work as he moved into lowercase letters today. One interesting thing I've noticed with Mason is that lately he is reading text in his environment - words off of signs or the spines of books. It's a fun stage.

In the afternoon Daniel and I both had dental work done. Ouch. I'll be sore for several days, Daniel's didn't really hurt at all he said.

Another random thing: our new bed frame arrived today. We've had a big wooden frame and box springs for years and it was breaking, creaky, and always woke babies when my truck driver husband gets up between 2 and 3am for work. I decided if I want a decent chance of sleeping well once baby Rebekah is born that the frame and box springs had to go. So we ordered this frame on sale for $60 on Amazon. I'm typing these notes a couple days later and have to say I love it!

Wednesday we got back into a morning learning time rhythm. Was it perfect? No. But it was productive and felt good. I also tried a new recipe in my instant pot on this day - potato soup. It was delicious! In the evening we had Cub Scouts and Mutual (youth group for ages 12-18). I spent the whole time having contractions of course which is my usual evening pattern, but the kids had fun.

Thursday started with my 38 week pregnancy checkup (more on that here) and I spent the rest of the day having contractions. It was a good day with the windows open to take advantage of the unusually warm temperatures (55F! It felt like a heat wave even though it rained all day). Tomorrow the temperatures are supposed to drop as we go from rain to ice to several inches of snow on top of that. Back to winter.

It's Friday morning and we're taking the day off of formal learning. I'm feeling like a broody hen, wanting to nest. So I'll make a short list of deep cleaning chores and projects for us to do around the house and we will work on those today.

Happy Friday everyone!

Pregnancy Update #16 - 38 weeks

I started this week last Thursday at 37 weeks pregnant. Contractions had become sporadic, mild visitors. Then on Monday evening right after dinner I had strong, regular contractions for several hours. Solid practice - yay! On Tuesday evening about 15 minutes after dinner it happened again, strong, regular contractions for a couple hours. Wednesday the same. Yay! I love that my body is slowly working toward delivery day.

Today I am 38 weeks pregnant. I had my weekly check up and I'm at 224.4 lbs (24 lbs gained this pregnancy), measuring 40 weeks. Baby Rebekah's heart rate is great. She is still head down and has engaged a good bit (aka - it hurts to walk since she's so low but I can breath easier). I've gone from 1cm dilated last week to 2cm dilated this week, which is progress. That makes me happy. My doctor stripped my membranes (TMI? What did you expect, this is a pregnancy post?!) and says he gives me a 75% chance of going into labor before my appointment next Thursday. I laughed at him and said I expect to still be pregnant on February 1st (a week past my due date), but I'm more than happy to have this baby soon. My doctor did say I get bonus points if I have this baby during the day time and not during this weekend's projected snowstorm. Ha!

I'm having all sorts of contractions post-membrane stripping and just trying to make the most of it. I came home and did laundry party (sorted several loads of laundry and called the kids to put it all away. I need to peek at my hospital bag and see what else I want to add. And I really should bring the infant carseat down from the attic soon. Squee! I can't believe we'll fill up the last seat in our 12 passenger van soon!

That's all the update for this week!

Pregnancy Update #15 - A quiet week

It has been a quiet week on the pregnancy front since my last update. Contractions visit. I'm hugely pregnant and enjoying it. I got good news on Tuesday that my Group B Strep results came back negative. That means no need for 4 hours of antibiotics during labor. Yay!

It is starting to feel real that we will have a newborn again soon. I washed baby blankets this week, organized clothes and diapers, and just talked to Miss Rebekah in my belly a lot. The kids get a kick out of seeing my belly moving around or feeling baby hiccups and kicks.

Today I had my 37 week checkup and ultrasound. Everything looks good so far. Baby is still head down and has one foot by her head. According to ultrasound (which can be off by a pound or more) she's weighing 8 lbs. I'm pretty sure that's high.

I gained about a pound this week. I'm measuring 39 weeks along, typical for me. Still just dilated to 1 cm, which is exactly what I expected. I'm going to go right ahead and predict that this sweet baby girl will come at least a couple days after my due date. My babies never seem to be in a hurry to come out.

Pregnancy Update #14 - Contractions and Braxton Hicks

Well, that was unexpected. Up to now I've had mild contractions when I've done things like walking all over the grocery store. Not uncomfortable, just noticeable. On Saturday things changed. In came my first day with countable, timeable contractions. Uncomfortable ones. I drank water and laid down for a while and after 1 1/2 hours they spaced out and disappeared, because we don't want to deliver until I'm full term (minimum 37 or 38 weeks, and on this day I was only 35 weeks 3 days).

Sunday morning I woke to consistent, uncomfortable, timeable contractions every 4 minutes lasting a minute long. It went on for four hours! I'm doing my best to stay hydrated and keep an eye on things. I'm still early for labor and my doctor would want to stop labor (I'm 35 weeks 3 days on this particular Sunday). Rebekah is also still breech. We'll see what happens as the week moves forward. I'm really hopeful that my body will do this practice labor pretty regularly for the next few weeks and that when I'm finally closer to delivery day I'll have already done a lot of dilating.

Monday contractions didn't start until lunch time, then happened on and off the rest of the day. Nothing major, definitely just Braxton hicks. Practice! Tuesday was similar, more contractions as the day went on, but very much just practice, nothing to worry about. Wednesday followed the same pattern.

I am feeling better overall energy-wise now that my iron infusions are done and being used by my body. That is really nice.

Thursday (today!) I am officially 36 weeks pregnant. I had my weekly check up at my doctor's office. It was time for my Group B Strep test, results come in a couple days. I'm measuring where I should. I gained no weight this week which is surprising over Christmas, but fine with me. My blood pressure is up for me but still in the normal range (130 over 82 instead of my usual 110 over 62). I'm dilated 1 cm and expect to sit there for the next 3 or 4 weeks.  

I signed the paperwork for a VBAC delivery plan stating I'm aware of the potential risks, so that is in my file. This is my 3rd VBAC and so this is all routine for me and my doctor. He's on vacation next week, so I will see one of the midwives after my ultrasound.

The best news of the day was that baby Rebekah has turned head down! I suspected things were different when I woke up this morning and it's always nice to have it confirmed. I'm praying she stays that way right up to delivery. 

Homeschool Notes Week 21 - Christmas Break Begins

Saturday morning Emma and I went to WalMart first thing to pick up our online grocery order. I have to say, this is so easy! 10 minutes from the time we parked to the time we were done and ready to go home. We don't always use this because I can technically spend less money by going to Aldi, however I've reached the part of pregnancy where it's becoming difficult to walk around a store and grocery shop for an hour or more. I end up with contractions and pains in various places. Right now spending a bit more on groceries is worth it.

Other things that happened today:

• Makayla worked. Of course! Retail means she's working pretty much every Friday and Saturday right now.
• Kids did their weekly 30 minute turn with the video game system we bring up from storage and plug in on Saturdays. 
• The tub and shower got a deep cleaning.
• Bills were paid. 
• I checked the rest of our homeschool progress for first semester. We're done! 3 week Christmas and New Year's break starts now!
• Daddy and mommy worked on wrapping Christmas presents. 
• I started looking for a new printer. Ours has died, which means it needs replaced before we start school back up in January. 

Sunday we got to go to church as a family. Mason was feeling good so we decided to just make it work with the cast and the big wheelchair. I'm so glad we were all able to go together! After church (and choir practice for Makayla) the kids took turns wrapping the gift exchange gift they each chose for a sibling or cousin. (My kids and my sister's kids do a gift exchange so on Christmas Eve when we all get together the kids get to give a gift to someone special.)

After dinner we surprised the kids with a gift. This year we were able to buy a series of 8 'family gifts' and we will open one each day between now and Christmas. They are all games of some sort, for varying ages. Today's game was Uno Moo. Almost everyone teamed up to play (one person chose to just watch) and it was a fun introduction to Uno for younger kids.

Monday we decided to open the family gift right after breakfast before Makayla needed to go to work. This one was Harry Potter Clue. Oh my, this one is fun! It follows a traditional Clue game in some ways (figuring out who, with what, and where related to the crime) but has some special things going on. First, you have house points and can lose them with dark mark cards, unless you have a special help card that protects you from the specific events on the dark mark card. Second, there are four turning portions of the board that change things in the castle: opening and closing doors into rooms, opening secret passages, etc. The game is always changing! This game is definitely aimed at older kids because it takes time, you need to be able to read (Oliver was able to play on his own, Caleb and younger needed a buddy), and you need to understand how to track the clues on the cards as you eliminate possible suspects, items, and rooms. Samuel and Tobias chose not to play, they pulled out Uno Moo from yesterday instead. Mason made it through one game with a buddy, Caleb made it most of the way through two games before abandoning his buddy.

After that is was off to work for Makayla and chores and play for everyone else. I did some organizing in a set of drawers that needed gone through. We had lunch. Tobias napped. I did Mason medical care. Daddy baked peppermint chocolate chip cookies. After Tobias woke up Emma grabbed some younger siblings to play Uno Moo while Daddy and some more of the kids pulled out Harry Potter Clue to play again. I waited for the nurse to show up to do my iron infusion. As soon as that was finished I made Chicken Alfredo for dinner.

Tuesday everyone got up, fed, and dressed as we usually do. Then my nurse arrived at 9:30am for my next iron infusion. Really, that takes up about an hour and a half of my day. By the time she left I needed to get going on cooking lunch. Makayla was already at the veterinarian office shadowing thanks to an aunt who could drive her while I was still hooked up to an IV. We did our afternoon routine. The kids opened a new game: Knot So Fast. This one will be a challenge for everyone!

Daddy was home by midafternoon. Then we had dinner and family time and decided to try making cake batter in our waffle irons. It wasn't too bad, but doesn't get crunchy like a waffle. The sugar content is too high to cook it long enough for that without burning.

Wednesday was the first day of break from seminary. That meant I got to sleep in until 7:00am and it was wonderful! We had a slow start to our morning and opened today's family gift. This one was a hit with a lot of the kids: Dr. Eureka Speed Logic Game.

Today was IV iron infusion #4. It happened at lunch time. The kids are more fascinated by the IV process each day. Me, not so much.

Thursday started off with an hour drive to my obstetrician's office for a check up. I now go for a check up every week until this baby arrives. I posted on the blog about today's visit. Once I got home from that the kids were ready to open today's family gift. It was a simple game called Let's Go Fishin'. Noisy, hilarious, and fun. Tobias shrieks every time he manages to snag a fish with his pole.

Lunch was easy because I had tossed it in the crock pot before heading to my doctor earlier in the morning. I put a couple cans of green beans in the crock pot and laid out a sliced ham on top. It was delicious with leftover rolls from dinner last night (polish sausage and bean soup).

I've started thinking about January, new years goals, and what our homeschool plan will be until Rebekah is born. I have papers and notes around my computer with ideas and I'm praying over it all to see what rises to the top and what falls off the lists.

Friday is here! I woke up to contractions this morning (totally normal for a great grand multipara - someone pregnant with their 10th or greater baby). They settled down after a half hour or so while I was making breakfast. We don't have any big plans for today beyond opening our next family gift and playing games all day. I'll also put in my online grocery order for WalMart this morning so I can pick it up tomorrow.

Happy Friday everyone!

Pregnancy Update #13 - Weekly Check Ups Begin

Today I'm 35 weeks pregnant. I will have my last iron infusion by IV this afternoon. I'm feeling pretty good compared to how I was, less exhausted.

I had a check up this morning with my obstetrician. I'm waiting to hear a couple results but things looked good during the visit. My blood pressure is holding steady at a bit higher than my normal but well within the normal range (mine tends to be low). I'm not sure how my protein level in the urine sample was yet. I'm weighing 222.8lbs, so almost 23 lbs gained this pregnancy. While this is equal to my highest weight ever during pregnancy (222 lbs) it is a lot less weight than I usually gain. Usually I gain 50-55 lbs. It will be interesting to see what my body does after delivery in the weight department.

Rebekah is still breech so we decided to add an appointment next week for my Group B Strep test instead of waiting another week. Why? Because at my 37 week appointment we'll do an ultrasound to see if Rebekah has turned head down. If she hasn't we will go to the hospital and attempt an external version to turn her. They want to know Group B Strep results before that just in case I end up in labor.

We also discussed the possibility that after a version baby could turn head up again before delivery. If so, we could do another external version but it would be followed by an induction at the same time. Or we could do a C-section. There are risks to all options of course, so we're praying to avoid it all and just have this sweet girl flip on her own.

I can't believe it is almost time to meet Rebekah Joy!

Pregnancy Update #12 - Anemia and Iron Infusions

Picture of me taken today at 34 weeks 1 day pregnant.

I left off with week 33 in my last update. Blood work came back Tuesday and my iron is very low, so I will be having IV infusions of iron. My doctor expects me to have 5 infusions over a 2 week period. I got a call that we would begin these right away. A huge blessing - my insurance company is sending a nurse to do the infusions in my home! I don't have to travel an hour each way or find childcare.

My first infusion happened the next day - Wednesday.  It was interesting getting an IV done at home, surrounded by my curious children. The infusion of iron went just fine. I didn't have an allergic reaction (they send an epi-pen along in the large box of supplies and medication).

One down, four to go.

Pregnancy Update #11: Weeks 28-33

Week 28 is where I left off in my last pregnancy update post. I was given an iron prescription for my low iron and started taking it faithfully, with vitamin C, and not having dairy (calcium) within several hours of the iron.
Rebecca is a pretty active baby. She likes to be right under my ribs or turn sideways. It gets uncomfortable sometimes, but I'm trying to embrace every moment.

Week 29 I got a bad headache on Sunday, which is unusual for me. I did check my blood pressure (normal) and decided to just monitor things. As the week went on everything was normal.

Week 30 I had another pregnancy check up. Everything looks perfectly fine, we're cruising through third trimester. I scheduled the rest of my prenatal appointments for the pregnancy - unless baby decides to be especially late. I'll go in every 2 weeks for check ups through December and when January arrives we move to weekly check ups.

Week 31 was pretty uneventful. I'm just trying too enjoy each day of pregnancy. I am starting to have contractions every time I am out walking at the store or anywhere else for more than about 20 minutes. They settle down pretty easily when I lay or sit down for a while.

Week 32 I'm feeling gigantic. Just really big pregnant. Turning over in bed is awkward and uncomfortable. I'm starting to gather things for the end of my pregnancy:

1. Dates - I eat 6 dates per day late in the 3rd trimester. There have been studies done that show eating dates for the last 4 weeks of pregnancy have a significant impact on increased dilation and going into labor on your own, as well as a shorter first phase of labor. 
2. Red Raspberry Leaf Herbal Tea - This one is new for me. I'm drinking it beginning midway through the 3rd trimester. Drinking this during 3rd trimester can help strengthen the uterus (great for a VBAC mom especially!), improve the effectiveness of contractions, and reduce the rate of complications and interventions compared to women who did not drink this tea. 
3. Postpartum wrap/support - As is normal for a woman who has had multiple babies I have diastasis recti, a separation of the abdominal muscles down the middle (vertically) of my abdomen. This places a number of movement and exercise restrictions on me (some things can make the split worse), makes me prone to back issues, and just isn't fun. Before this pregnancy I had worked to reduce my DR split from 4+ fingers wide to 2 fingers wide. However I'm pretty sure this pregnancy has undone all that work, and quite possibly has made things even worse. I have been looking into ways to help support my abdominal muscles and back after this sweet baby is born and then work to reduce the split again after the first 6 weeks postpartum. I've looked at a lot of different support belts/waist trainers/girdles/wraps and have narrowed down my options. Now to make a final decision and purchase. 

Week 33 - I'm 33 weeks and 3 days pregnant as I type this. I had a checkup on Thursday. Baby is currently breech (head up) but she flips around pretty often so we'll see what position she settles into as we get closer to delivery. I have officially gained 19 lbs for this pregnancy.

Several things came up in tests that we're now trying to figure out. First, I had high leukocytes and protein in my urine. That can indicate a UTI (urinary tract infection) or possibly preeclampsia. I'm to keep monitoring my blood pressure and symptoms to watch for preeclampsia. 

They also took blood to check how my body was responding to the iron pills I've been taking. I got a call the next day with bad news. My iron is still low - and not any better. Worse, actually. So tomorrow I head back to the doctor for more bloodwork to see what is going on. We will also be talking about whether we should continue iron pills or if I need to do iron infusions by IV. I'm guessing my doctor will want me to do the infusions because I'm so far into my pregnancy and the infusions are more effective quickly. I'm at higher risk for several things due to my age, pregnancy history (prior csection, 14 pregnancies, etc), and so on, and having really low iron is a bad thing for several of those risks. We'll see how things go!

Pregnancy Update #10: Weeks 26-28

It has been a quiet three weeks. I'm growing, baby is growing. She likes to turn head up or sideways pretty often. My sciatic nerve has been decently good for the last three weeks which I am very grateful for. I'm still tired and hoping for a nap each day. My bladder is feeling crunched and I visit the bathroom frequently. Way too frequently. Heartburn is a daily companion. Yuck.

I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday. I'm 28 weeks pregnant. I weighed 215 lbs for a gain of 5 pounds since my last visit. My appointments will now happen every 2 weeks for a while, then we're at weekly appointments until this sweet girl arrives. It's flying past so quickly! At my appointment I also did the gestational diabetes test, which I passed for the 10th time. I got a Rhogam shot because of my RH negative blood type. I also found out my iron is low, so I'm starting treatment for that in the hopes of getting my iron level higher before delivery.

This Saturday a sweet friend from church is throwing me a baby shower, with help from my mom and sister. I'm feeling pretty blessed just that she thought of it! It has been twelve years next month since I had a little girl baby. We have long since passed along baby girl clothes to others, and worn out the rest of the baby clothes with all those boys. The best part will just be visiting with others who love me and want to celebrate this sweet little baby joining our family.