A new Shedd Addition.

When I ended my last post on this blog, I genuinely thought I would be posting more about the garden, our life here in NY and not focusing on the baby. 

Time sort of got away from me though and I never had a chance to post about the garden. 

Our baby arrived on May 15th, 2018 at 8:29am. 

 

I really was starting to think that I would go past my due date, so I was trying quite hard to not focus on the pregnancy anymore.  One of the staff ladies at the nursing home ministry we lead each week predicted that the baby would arrive on Mothers Day, so part of me was ready just in case.  But the day came and went. 

Monday I decided that I was going to get a lot done.  I cleaned the entire house and helped Dan plant out in the garden.  We also went out to eat that day at Golden Corral.  My mother had given us a gift card to GC for our anniversary, and so we were using it before the baby came.  While I was sitting there enjoying their fried chicken and mashed potatoes (which I could eat all day), I remembered that an old wives tale I've heard said that eating pineapple brings on labor.  So for dessert, instead of getting a huge ice cream cone with all the toppings, I got a big plate of pineapple chunks and ate them.  That evening after getting home, we cleaned out the garage (quite a task, to say the least). 

 

That night at 10:30, I felt my first contraction (though I didn't really know what a contraction felt like, so it was a guess).  I waited for about 45 minutes and called my midwife.  She suggested I try to get some sleep and call her back if they didn't subside but got more intense.  I finally called her back at 2:30am to let her know that they had intensified and that I couldn't sleep through them or between them.  She and the other midwife headed to our house at that time.  By the time they arrived, Dan had the pool blown up, the bed made, and coffee brewing :) 

 

The next three hours I just slept between contractions, and was in the birth pool most of the time. 

 

 The labor got intense at about 7am.  I have never been one who is very tolerant of pain, so the pain level was what I worried about the most throughout my pregnancy. 

When my contractions began at 10:30pm, I told Dan "If this is what giving birth is, I don't know why women complain.  It doesn't feel all that bad; only slightly uncomfortable." 

 

By 7am, I retracted that statement.  :)

Giving birth was by far the most pain I've ever experienced in my life.  Finally, after what felt like days, little Gwendolyn Jayne was born at 8:29. 

I mostly was in a hazy state of mind, but I remember Dan "catching" her and saying "It's a GIRL!"

 

And I remember my midwives putting her up on my chest and myself saying "She's so slimy!"

It wasn't quite how I expected it.   

 

Gwendolyn weighed in at 8 lbs exactly and was 21 inches long. 

 

 

After resting for about two hours, my midwife escorted us to the hospital, where I had to go to have stitches.  I've never been admitted into a hospital except for when I was born, so I was quite nervous.  We weren't expecting to have to go to the hospital, but because my tears were so severe, my midwife thought it best. 

I have to say though, I had such a positive experience at this particular hospital.  The nurses and doctor were SO kind and friendly and funny.  They were talkative and kept my mind off of the stitches. 

Dan took this photo while he and Gwendolyn were waiting for the procedure to be done. 

 

After it was done, we started driving home and actually got stopped by the police on the northway.  We were informed that Dan was following the Ford Focus in front of us too closely.  The police officer saw me sitting in the backseat with Gwen and said "Ahh, a new baby.  How old?" 

Dan explained that Gwen was just five hours old and that we were just coming back from the hospital.  After checking Dan's license, the officer came back and said that he just couldn't stand to give a new mother and baby a ticket so he warned us to not follow cars closely (we really weren't even that close) and wished us good luck. 

Of course we were very grateful to not get a ticket.  The whole situation was sort of embarrassing though since two cars actually pulled us over. 

 

As you can see, Gwendolyn was not amused.

 

Life with a new baby has been interesting.  We are all adjusting to the newborn schedule. 

 

Dan enjoys being a father.  :)

 

And of course, we are just completely in love with our little Gwendolyn Jayne. 

 

 

I promise, the next post WILL be about other things than just the baby.  Although...I'm sure it might have SOME pictures of her in it.  Forgive me if I overdo on the pictures.  Being my first baby, I've been going a little crazy with snapping photos.  She's too cute and will only be an infant once. 

 

 

Baby Shower and Baby Preparation

Wow.  Have the past nine months flown by or what?!

It's sometimes hard to believe that (hopefully) this month, I'll have a baby at some point. 

I haven't posted much about it, since focusing on it so much seems to make the time go more slowly for me.  But now that I'm in the final stretch, I figured that I'd devote an entire post to the baby and the baby preparations. 

 

Of course, we haven't seen the baby since the one and only ultrasound we had in November when the baby was 12 weeks old.  By now, it is much bigger and probably has much less room to move around.  I sometimes like to just look at this picture though.  I think its big head and tummy are so cute.  And I say to Dan that it's brain takes after his.  Maybe its just me, but I keep thinking I can see either the skull or brain line. 

 

 

After we found out that our insurance wouldn't cover the baby or any costs related to the pregnancy, we decided to not have any more ultrasounds.  That was the reason why we decided to be surprised with the gender also.  But hey, I think it has been more fun this way.  I imagine what the baby will look like...(I'm seriously hoping it looks like Dan). 

 

Since I found out I was pregnant, I decided right away that a homebirth with a midwife would be the way to go for me.  Several of my sisters have gone that route in their childbirths, and have had good experiences. 

It's a concept that many people don't fully understand: why one would choose to have their baby at home in what may seem more primitive as opposed to going to the hospital and having a conventional birth.  When people ask me about it, I just tell them that I would prefer to have my baby in the comfort of my home and with the only people being people I have gotten to know personally. 

 

While many people probably get to know the doctor or OBGYN who helps deliver their babies at the hospitals, it's unlikely that the nurses know them personally.  Also, the doctor isn't with you the whole time.  As I understand it, in most cases, the doctor is brought in at or just before the actual birth. 

And not even to mention the fact that because the expenses would be out-of-pocket...going with a midwife and homebirth would be much less expensive than going to a hospital. 

 

 I've really enjoyed getting to know the three midwives I'll potentially be working with.  The owner of the midwifery and midwife I've had most of my meetings with is out of the country for the entire month of May, so there is a chance she will not be there for the birth of our baby. 

But the two other midwives she works with are wonderful people and have really helped to  make this pregnancy smooth and easy for me.  They've helped to answer all of my questions and reassure me the entire time. 

 

That being said, one of the things I love about my midwife is that while she is required by law to tell me about the state regulated blood tests and different ultrasounds, she doesn't require them.  I have only had blood drawn twice during my pregnancy (the only two times in my LIFE actually!).  One was to check my blood type because I didn't even know what it was, and to check my thyroid.  The other, was for iron levels. 

I passed on a lot of different tests that, had I gone with a hospital, I would have been required to have.     

 

Another thing I love about my midwives is that they are personable and down-to-earth with me.  The last time I went to an appointment in Albany, the receptionist asked me if I wanted some maternity clothes and then gave me a huge bag full of really NICE, name brand maternity tops all in my size.  I thought that was just so nice.  Especially since I had been alternating through the same three tops for a few weeks. 

 

The ladies in my church are all very supportive of me and many of them love to guess the gender of the baby based on how I am carrying it (although my midwife says everyone carries babies differently and no two women are alike in that way).

 

Two weeks ago, I had planned to go to this huge children/baby consignment sale I had seen advertised on facebook in the winter time.  I put it on my calendar in December and had been telling Dan for weeks about it and that I wanted to go. 

The thing about this consignment sale was that it was open from 9am-12 noon, then re-open from 1pm-3pm with everything being 50% off.  Being the thrifty person I am, I decided I would go at 1pm and get some good deals, even if it meant missing out on lots of items for sale earlier in the day. 

 

The Friday night before the sale, Dan was asking me all about my plans for the next day.  I told him about how I would be going to the sale and going during the 1/2 off part of day.  He got all weird and starting asking me if I could please go in the morning instead because he wanted to take me on a lunch date at 1pm. 

At first I resisted because I really like to get deals, and also because I don't like it when I've been planning something for months and then someone tries to change it a few hours before. 

 

Finally I gave in, and the next morning, I got to the consignment sale which was in this massive old warehouse.  There were aisles and aisles of children and baby things.  I only looked through the books, and through one aisle.  I ended up getting a boppy lounger pillow for $5, along with two extra covers for it for $2.  I found a portable infant bed which can fold up (super convenient) for $5, a nursing cover and car shades for $5.  And I found a small black diaper bag for $5.  After paying for the things, I headed home.  I texted Dan when I got home and sent him some pictures of the things I got and he started frantically texting me back saying things like "Wow, you were really quick.  Maybe you should take a nap now.  Get some rest." 

I thought that was odd. 

 

I started getting suspicious when two of the church people pulled into the church parking lot (which we can see from our house window) and they went into the church through the sidedoor.  I texted Dan and just said that I might head over to the church and see if the ladies needed help cleaning (since I assumed they were cleaning the church).  He called me and said that I shouldn't worry about it and that I should just have fun and rest.  As more and more cars pulled in, I started realizing that maybe it was going to be a shower for me...

Dan called me then and admitted that he wasn't planning to take me to lunch at all, but he just needed me to not be at the consignment at 1pm, since that was when I needed to be at the church. 

 

Such a sneaky guy.... 

 

 

 

I tried to snap a few pictures, but of course I missed some people as some came late and some weren't able to stay. 

It was such a kind gesture to throw a baby shower for me.  I really enjoyed my time. 

 

 

They really did shower me with gifts too!

 

One of the ladies was snapping photos as I was opening gifts.  So pardon my odd facial expressions.  My candid faces are not too attractive sometimes! :D

 

It was such a nice surprise!  Quite unexpected!  It was a good thing that I ended up not getting much at the consignment sale after all. 

 

 

 

I feel very ready for the baby to come.  I'm drinking raspberry leaf tea and eating dates every day.  A few weeks ago, we picked up our birth pool rental and set it up and gave it a trial run.  I recently re-arranged this room as well so that it is more spacious with the pool set up in it. 

 



 

And the last picture!  This was taken last week, when I was 36 weeks pregnant.  I am 37 now. 

 

 

 

 

I hope you all are having a fantastic day.  The next post about the baby that you see will be a birth announcement hopefully!  :D