A Glorious Night

Taneal did the dishes tonight! Loaded the dishwasher, handwashed the pots and pans, wiped the counters, and cleaned the sink. Over the last 8 years I have dreamed of this moment. I am a happy mom.

Diapers and Proud of It

All of my children have been potty trained by the time they were Spencer's age. Yes, they were girls and I know from what EVERYONE has told me that boys take longer. I'm okay with that, but If I could encourage him to be potty-trained a little sooner, that would be nice. With my girls, as soon as I had a baby, I pointed out that the baby was a baby because they wear diapers. So, although the older child thinks they are big (as do I), they are still a baby because they are in diapers. Within weeks of that, they soon get potty trained. Well, not the case with Spencer. He is still in diapers and proud of it.

Chunky Boy!

About two weeks ago I was at the doctors and I weighed myself (amount not disclosed) and then held Nathan and weighed myself again. The baby is a whopping 12.5 pounds! That was at five weeks. He doubled his weight in five weeks. He is now seven weeks and out of all his 0-3 months clothes. At the rate he is going he will be as big as Spencer in no time.

Aftermath of Ike

School has been out since Friday, September 12th. It resumed again today, September 24th. That is 8 days off of school due to Hurricane Ike. The biggest part of the problem in resuming school has been all the power outages. Many people around here still do not have power. I think I heard that 14 schools in our district still do not have power.

Just a little update of what effect Ike had on the area:

• We weren't able to drink the water for almost a week. It was strange making orange juice from water bottles.
• We had a curfew from dusk until dawn that ended on Friday. Strange. I haven't had a curfew since I got married.
• Church was cancelled one Sunday and the following Sunday we only had Sacrament Meeting
• No school for 8 days
• Most restaurants and stores closed
• Long gas lines or no gas at all
  
• Grocery shopping was a joke. Yesterday (a week and a half later) was the first time I was able to go to the store and see food in the dairy, meat, or frozen food section. I was shocked when one week after Ike and I went to Walmart and was not able to find ANY food. I could buy chips and canned goods, but my pantry was already stocked with those. I'm so glad I listened to the council of the church to have a good food supply. I REALLY would have been in trouble had I not.
  

My friend, Stacy, took her camera to the store and got these pictures. I was so disappointed that I didn't bring mine, so thanks Stacey for taking these pictures:

And utility trucks have been all over the place working hard to restore our power. It was great to see lines of them driving on the highways.

We Survived Ike

Hurricane Ike was unbelievable. I think the hardest part about Ike was listening to the winds and the rain crashing up against the windows completely in the dark. I thought the windows were going to break from the wind alone. The trees by the windows were slamming up against the glass. I don't know what kind of glass those windows were made of, I am shocked they didn't break. Wind was howling through the front door. It was so dark. I couldn't look out the window and see anything. Spencer, Danielle, and Nathan were awake through several hours of it. It was so dark that Spencer climbed onto the bed with me and didn't realize the edge of the bed was there and crawled right off and bit his tongue in the fall. Camie woke for part of the storm and Taneal slept until her normal awake time of 6:30am. I've been through several storms growing up and I kept praying that this storm wouldn't produce hail. The winds were so intense and kept going on and on and on. When it finally got light outside to where we could see, the rain was horizontal. It was literally raining sideways! And it went on and on.

Finally around 4pm, I had Troy take me home. We spent the night at Troy and Becky's house (Evan's brother that lives about 10 minutes from my house) so that we could turn this intense storm into more of a party for the kids. I was amazed at the damage and the amount of water as we drove home. Tall pine trees were snapped in half and hanging in the power lines. Water was covering the roads and all the retention ponds filled to their brims. My house weathered the storm well, my fence had snapped in a few places and was laying on its side.

As we were out of power i didn't hear the warning not to go out sight-seeing. So, I did and I got a few pictures. Huge trees had fallen on homes. I had to turn around on several street because trees were blocking the roads. Of course once we got power, I turned on the tv and saw the damage Ike left behind. Wow! the power of Mother Nature.

I was only out of power for a day. I really can't complain because most people don't have power back on yet. But the day I went without electricity was soooooo HOT! I think my house only got to 81 degrees, but with the humidity, that night was almost unbearable. I hardly slept. I had all the kids sleep on my bedroom floor. We lit candles around the room to provide some light (4 different kind of scented candles doesn't go too well together) and each of the kids had their own flashlight. We put wet wash clothes on our necks and I read Harry Potter to them using my flashlight. The kids thought it was great and were pretty bummed when the power came on the next day. I was so excited. They asked if we could still light candles that night and read more Harry Potter. We did.

Not everyone in my subdivision has power yet. I was so impressed with all the people that stopped by to make sure we were okay. Our phones just started working a few hours ago, so we couldn't contact each other that way, we had to either walk or drive and communicate the old fashioned way. It was nice. So much more personable. I am glad to have the phones back up and working though. And, we had a nice excuse to have some of those without power over for dinner.

And so tomorrow I will go online and see more of the damage of Ike. With what I saw on my drive no further then 2 miles from my home, I realize just how blessed my family was. No major damage, no one hurt other then Spencer's bloody mouth from falling off the bed in dark of the night, and only two hot and sleepless nights. Some will be out of power for weeks. I am very blessed to be back to normal within three days of such a storm. And, I get to have all my kiddos home with me this week because school has been cancelled.

These are some of the pictures I got the following day on a short drive I took. I didn't drive very far from home, the roads were too covered with debris and water.

See the broken and fallen trees on the power lines. These are on major roads. No wonder the power is out!

This house had four trees on it. Check out the detached garage on the left.

See the tree leaning up against the house? This kind of thing is all over the place!

This house had a tree go through its roof

This is the retention pond near my house. It is VERY full.

This is a typical picture of the trees blown down all over everywhere.

This is a new construction build in my subdivision. It was just framed, and totally blown down.

Hurricane Ike

Yes, we are "hunkering down" and waiting out Ike. We have been asked not to evacuate and let those that need to evacuate get out. We should have some pretty strong winds, but we are prepared. Troy (Evan's' brother) and his family came over last night and helped put everything away outside in preparation for the winds. I have a full tank of gas, lots of water and plenty of food. I'm kind of curious what hurricane winds could be like. They will be hitting in the middle of the night, so it will be harder to tell just how strong they will be. I don't look forward to be out of power with no AC and high humidity.

The plan has been to go to Troy's house and wait the storm out there, but last night Taneal started throwing up. Hopefully it is an isolated incident. Wouldn't it be horrible to be out of power and running water for days with all of us throwing up? Not a fun thought.

Oh, the Diapers

What do you get when you have a two-year old and a one -month old in diapers?




















This is just from last night. See, a BIG diaper from Spencer and five little ones from Nathan. There is a lot of dipaer changing going on here. And, the diapers don't make it to the trash in the middle of the night, they wait until morning.



My little Nathan. It was 3am. I heard him dirtying his diaper while in his crib. I waited a few minutes to make sure he was finished. He started to cry because he doesn't like a messy diapers. I changed him. I fed him. 45 minutes later he was finishing up eating and he had already filled his diaper again. I unlatched the diaper, lifted his bum to clean him (yes, the diaper was still there just in case) and an explosion happened. I think I screamed. Yes, poop everywhere! On my hand, up my arm, all over my pajama leg, all over my bed sheets (I had a changing pad under him, he just had enough force to make it past the changing pad), all over the dresser next to my bed, and on the carpet. Wow! And at 3am in the morning!

Smiles

Nathan has started smiling. I love the newborn smile. I'm not talking about the ones they make while they are sleeping or in la la land. I'm talking about the ones that they make when they look at you, the full face smiles. Nathan started making those smiles about two weeks ago and they have started becoming more frequent. I have tried and tried to capture the smiles on camera, I even had Taneal snapping photos, but no luck. So, for the meantime, here is the closest photo I have gotten, I will post the real smiles as soon as I can capture them.

My Biggest Helper

Look at how Nathan is growing. He is now one month old.

I always figured my oldest child would, by default, be my biggest helper. But, I'm learning regardless of birth order, their personalities still dominate. Taneal is still a great helper, but Camie just can't seem to get enough of her newest brother. Today she came home from school and as always, asked to hold Nathan. She had already washed her hands. Danielle came in and asked to hold Nathan when she heard Camie asking. Camie explained to Danielle, "I have been gone all day and haven't even held Nathan once! You've been around him all day. It is my turn." How can you refute that? Camie spent a lot of her afternoon and evening holding her little brother. And this evening after scriptures and prayer as I was reading stories to Danielle and Spencer, Camie sat in the hall and held Nathan. She is such a great helper. With the help of the older children, the transition to five children hasn't been too hard. The hardest part for me in the past was bedtime and reading stories to the kids while the baby cried and I tried to juggle books and nursing and anything to keep the baby happy while doing the bedtime routine. This time around I have helpers that offer to help. And they are wonderful!

This one is for you, Evan

There was a lot of dancing and laughing this morning by Spencer and Danielle. And Spencer has the best laugh. He does the all out belly laugh. Oh, how I love to hear Spencer's laugh. As soon as I pulled out the camera, Danielle and Spencer realized they were being video taped, so they weren't acting quite the same, but it was still fun to watch them play. Hope you enjoy.

Sleeping?

It appears there is a lot of sleep going on in this house . . .

Nathan sleeps fairly well, most of the time. He goes to bed usually around 10pm, wakes once (which takes about 45 minutes) and the wakes again around 5:30am and is awake for a while. I haven't had a baby sleep this well before. I am very happy.

As for the rest of my kiddos, they attempt to fall asleep around 8pm and I roust them out of bed at 6:45am. They all usually sleep through the night with an occasional wake-up.

The problem lies with the amount of sleep I am getting. Can you ever really get enough? I go to sleep after Nathan around 10:30pm. I am awake for the 3am feeding lasting 45 minutes (why do newborns take so long to eat?). Nathan then wakes for the morning at 5:30am and I have to get up at 6:30 to get Taneal and Camie out the door by 7:30am. So, although there is a lot of sleep going on by the children, I think I am getting about 6 hours each night. I typically need more, but it is amazing how much less sleep you need when you aren't pregnant. The only napper in my house is the newborn baby. If Spencer takes a nap, bedtime is a nightmare, so I try to not let him fall asleep or I am up until midnight with him. Naps just aren't worth it.

Being Pregnant

I was out of a computer for the last month, so I wasn't able to post pictures of the end of my pregnancy. Of course I probably shouldn't want to publish just how big I got, but I really find pregnancy amazing.

This is my good friend, Jana. She was due a week after me. I ended up having my baby two weeks early and she has gone a week past her due date, so the babies will be almost a month apart.

And as a tribute to pregnancy, I thought I would share 10 great things about being pregnant:

1. you get to feel the miracle of life inside you

2. getting the flu is no longer a big deal, morning sickness is about the same, only it lasts 3 months

3. You no longer have to suck in your gut.

4. you are able to really appreciate sleeping on your belly once the baby is born

5. TUMS become your best friend

6. pregnancy is an automatic diet because you can no longer eat treats-the heart-burn isn't worth it!

7. You actually fill out your bra for a few months afterwards

8. You don't need a reason to cry

9. Your air conditioning bill goes way down once the baby is born

10. You get a baby. Everything is so worth it once you get to hold your baby in your arms.

This is me relaxing in a chair that was delivered to my house a few nights before Nathan was born. It is so comfortable. It worked miracles on getting sleep with horrible heart-burn. And, it is wonderful at rocking Nathan back to sleep in the middle of the night!

Jana had her baby!

For those of you who know Jana, her baby was born this morning at 9:52. Jana had a baby girl weighing 8 pounds and 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. They named her Brook and are still deciding on a middle name.

Congratulations Clint and Jana!

Spencer's new trick

Nathan is growing

He is still a sweet, sweet newborn, but he is really starting to fill out. His cheeks are chunkier and his thighs are getting bigger!

Punching Balloons?

Grandma brought some punching balloons from home, thinking the kids might enjoy them. . . to punch of course. Well, Danielle and Spencer had something else in mind. They put the rubber band around their neck, put the balloon through their legs, and bounced on them like a hoppity-hop! Only twice did a balloon pop. I was amazed at how well those punching balloons held up. Danielle and Spencer weigh at least 30 pounds!

The First Day of School

Taneal started 3rd grade and Camie started 1st grade. They were so excited to go until the morning that going was a reality. They were really quiet that morning, ate their yummy oatmeal (mom can't quite cook it like grandma), helped pack their lunches, and insisted on hot rollers in their hair! Where did that come from? I had to pull those rollers out and dust them off. But they still worked great and Taneal and Camie were pleased with the results.

They caught the bus on the first day. I felt like such a bad parent, not

walking them to their class on the first day. And then as the bus drove off and I was busy keeping Danielle and Spencer out of the road while holding Nathan in my arms, I didn't even cry! Wow, my first year not to have the tears a-rollin'. I knew they were safe, I miss them terribly, but they love school and were excited to go. My house is so quiet and empty with them gone. Yes, I still have THREE kids at home, but it is too quiet here. I am still so busy, but I miss them.

Danielle's Birthday

Happy very late birthday to Danielle. Her birthday was the end of last month. We did celebrate it on her day, I just haven't had acces to a computer since then. I had fun decorating her cake and watching her open her gifts. She turned 4. I was a bit embarrassed as she opened her gifts.

Taneal and Camie spent a lot of time sewing her gifts. Taneal made her a scripture tote and Camie made her a pencil holder. Danielle was more interested in the next gift then the one she had just opened. I guess the gratitude will come . . . I hope!

She had a great day. We ate pancakes for breakfast and had rice for supper (with chicken, salad, lemonade, etc. although rice was all she wanted) and had cake and ice cream for dessert. She got to share the candle blowing-out experience with Spencer and didn't think that was too cool. He couldn't accept the fact that it was someone other then himself that was having a birthday.

Happy 4th Birthday, Danielle.

Happy Birthday Evan

Evan came home for a few days, for Nathan's birth. He was gone during his birthday. I almost went ahead on his birthday and baked him a birthday cake and then was going to call him and have all the kids sing "happy birthday" to him over the phone, but then I thought otherwise. The last thing I needed to do was upset the kids. So, when Evan came home, my mother-in-law baked a cake, Taneal frosted it, and we celebrated Evan's birthday . . . late. Happy Birthday Evan!

Cord Care

Usually my children take about three weeks to loose their cords. A doctor once told me that if they took much longer to loose their cord, it COULD be a sign of a bigger problem. If it takes too long, maybe their immune system isn't working properly and doesn't fight infections like it should. All my babies have lost their cords in ample time, but it does take a while.

I have heard in 3rd world countries that mothers actually put cow dung on their babies cords and the cord falls off within a day. It again is the bodies way of fighting infection. Of course I would never put poop on my babies cord, but I found that interesting.

This time the hospital told me to leave Nathan's cord alone, not to put alcohol on it like I have been instructed to do with my other children (unless the area gets red). So, I thought I would give it a try. And guess what? The cord fell off in a week and a half. Maybe there is some truth the the cow dung thing!

My New Family

I can hardly believe all these children are mine! I have FIVE children! I had all the kiddos loaded into the mini van and all the seat belts were in use when I think at that moment it really hit me. I am responsible for all these children. I love them all so much and so individually, but wow! what a responsibility. And wow! How I have been blessed!

Midwifery

I was able to deliver Spencer without an epidural, but it wasn't such a pleasant experience. I labored on my own, and it hurt! It wasn't a long labor, but I wasn't able to enjoy the delivery like I wanted. For Nathan, I switched doctors to one that was a little closer to my house, and in the practice they had a midwife. This caught my attention. I don't like putting all the medications in my body, especially having a needle inserted into my back. i wanted to have this baby medication-free, but I knew I didn't want to labor on my own like I had with the last birth. Plus, God gave me a body specially created for having children. I wanted to see what my body could do. So I met with the midwife and really liked her philosophy. It was my birth done my way. She only delivered at the hospital, she had been a labor and delivery nurse for ten years and then went to midwifery school for two more. She has had a lot of experience delivering babies. She was so calm. And, she wanted to do it my way!

When I found out Nathan was breech, I was 36 weeks. Danielle had been breech and I had to have the version done with her, so I knew what my choices were. A version that is risky, or a c-section. I remember thinking after Danielle had to be turned that I would not do that again. I would have a c-section. The risk was too high and I also had read too much on the Internet. So, when I had the ultrasound and then met with the midwife right after, I was of course bawling. She spent all the time I needed consoling me and putting my concerns at ease. She was so great. Of course now I knew that I couldn't have the baby completely natural because I would have to be induced or c-section.

The problem at this point was that my fluids were low. So, I was told be stay down and rest. My mom came into town for a week so that I could stay down. It was such a blessing because my fluids did increase, allowing a successful version.

Having a midwife deliver my baby was a wonderful experience. She stayed by my side (or at my back) the entire labor and delivery. She knew the pressure points to push to relieve the contractions, helped me with the breathing, showed me different positions, and made the delivery the way I wanted it to be. Heavenly Father made our bodies so amazing.

One of the things that my midwife is doing is making a book of all her deliveries. She has the mother write a message of what labor and birth mean to her. On the opposite page she has the babies feet prints. She is going to keep this in her office for other mothers-to-be to look at and also a way of keeping a journal of all her deliveries. She asked me to think about and write down what labor and birth means to me. While I spent the two days in the hospital holding this precious new baby, I thought a lot about what labor and birth mean to me. i am not very eloquent with my words, but this is what I came up with: Labor is a gift from God. Not only did He send us a precious baby, but He created our bodies as the tool by which He sends these miracles to us.

After having just gone through this amazing experience, I'm curious how you would answer the same question: What does labor and birth mean to you?

Acts of Kindness

I have been so blessed to live where I live and have the friends and family that I have. Evan started his new job the last week of July. The day he left for training, I was told to rest. I was really worried about how I was going to manage on my own until training was over. I called my mom and she came the next day and stayed with me and the children until Nathan was born. She did all my errands for me, grocery shopped, cleaned on my house, and made sure I stayed down. During that time, friends and people from church brought meals in. Another friend's husband mowed my lawn. I had so many concerned phone calls. Family and friends came over and took my kids to get them out of the house. I had so much help! The day Nathan was born my mother-in-law flew in from California and stayed two weeks. She let me get naps every day, did grocery shopping, put the kids down to bed every night, and spent hours after hours reading books and playing games with the kids. My sister-in-law and her children came during my doctor's appointment and cleaned my house! My neighbors took my three girls to church with them along with their own three. I have had so much help. My recovery has been great and with all the people taking my children allowing me to grocery shop and rest, I feel so blessed! My nephews are taking care of my lawn for me! My home-teachers came over Sunday night and gave my girls their back-to-school blessings! There are so many great people near that genuinely want to help.The Lord has sent so many people to help and I feel so blessed. I am being taken care of. I have not being left to do this alone, I have Heavenly Father's help and the sweet friends and family that He has sent to help me.

Nathan

We have been so blessed to have this new baby in our home. I absolutely love to hold me newborns and love the warm spirit that comes with them. Nathan has been a wonderful baby. I have been so blessed! He is very happy and sleeps so well. The last two nights he has slept five-hour stretches, only waking once to eat. Never have I had a baby do that for me so early on. I really feel that Havenly Father knows my situation and is watching over me and helping me with this new baby.

Nathan's birth went so well. I showed up at the hospital Saturday morning. They were a little busy so I had to wait for the operating room to become available, just in case the version did not go well. Around noon they were finally able to come in and turn the baby. It was so weird. The doctor and the midwife both worked together and put oils on my belly and turned Nathan around like you would turn the hands on a clock. Yah, it hurt, but they were successful and it was fairly quick. No need to use the operating room! Yay! The doctor left and my midwife stayed with me until the birth. Because of the version, I had to be induced, but because of that, Evan was able to be there for the birth. Funny how things work out. If the baby hadn't been breech, I would have gone into labor on my own (which I was set on doing) and Evan would have missed the birth. Because of the complications, he was able to be there, which was wonderful. I couldn't have imagined having one of our babies without Evan being there.

Around 1pm they started the pitocin. The labor got intense, but the midwife was there rubbing my back, helping me through the contractions with breathing and using a birthing ball. It was amazing. I know you quickly forget things after labor, but only about an hour was intense. Only about 15 minutes was I rethinking natural labor. I think I asked for an epidural about the time I was fully dilated, and the midwife was so nice and didn't tell me "no" even though it was too late. But I was so set on not having one that I asked and then said I didn't want one. Five minutes later Nathan was born. It was amazing. He was so beautiful. He was so sweet. And he was finally here, perfect. And Evan was able to help deliver Nathan. Welcome, Nathan! We are so glad you are here and that everything went so well.

Nathan Stephen Black

Nathan was born Saturday, August 9th at 3:44 pm. He weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. They were able to successfully turn Nathan externally, which meant I had a normal delivery and Evan was able to be there! All turned out so well. The delivery was about three hours, and I have the most beautiful baby boy.

My computer hard drive crashed, so i am still out of a computer for another week. my good friend is letting me use her computer, so I will keep this short and post more later. Thanks for all your prayers. I couldn't have asked for a more successful delivery.

Baby updates

I had another ultrasound today. Baby is still breech. Frank breech, which means it is sitting on its bum with its feet up. This last week of staying down helped a bit because my amniotic fluid levels are up, within the normal range, allowing an inversion on . . . . Saturday.

Yes, Saturday in two days from now!

I am scheduled to go in Saturday for an inversion. If they are successful and can turn this little guy, I can have the baby normal. If they are not able or if I go into labor on my own before Saturday, the baby will come c-section. Not the way I want to go. Hopefully they can turn the baby and I can have it normal which will mean recovery will be so much faster. I was hoping to go into labor all on my own, but this baby has something else in mind.

So tomorrow is the last day I will be pregnant. I'm not sure I'm ready. I have mixed emotions. Strange, huh? I was induced with Spencer and felt the same way. At first I was excited and then a little anxious, and then just feeling not quite ready. I'm still very excited to see and meet my new baby, but it feels strange that the end of this pregnancy is here.

Breech baby updates

This last week I have spent "down". From what my doctor told me and then talking to many of you, staying down should help increase my amniotic fluid which should help the baby be able to be turned if he doesn't turn on his own. From home I have been trying different techniques hoping to get the baby to turn, tomorrow I will find out if it has been helpful. I have an ultrasound in the afternoon. If the baby is still breech, we will schedule an induction for next week in which they will try to turn the baby and then induce labor. If they are successful in the turn, I will be able to have this baby normal, although I will have to be induced. If they are unsuccessful, they will do a c-section. Or, maybe I will get lucky and the baby will have turned on his own and I can have the baby naturally.

So many acts of service have been rendered in my behalf this week. Dinner has been brought in, my lawn was mowed for me, friends have watched my children, and I have had amazing support. My mom dropped everything and came to help me be able to stay down. Evan has been gone with his new job and has felt so bad having to leave me, but knows I have been taken care of. Thanks to all of you for your love and support. I am so grateful and so blessed.

Computer Problems

Over the last week I have been trying to access my pictures on my computer so I could post things like the Pioneer dresses my mom made my girls for Pioneer Day and also pictures from Danielle's birthday, but to no avail. I finally called my computer savy brother and as I was rebooting my computer, I got the "blue screen of death" as my brother calls it. My computer completely crashed. My mom is here visiting, so I am able to use her laptop, but it contains none of my pictures, etc. I am going to be mailing my computer to my brother in hopes of him being able to back-up my data and restore the computer, but until then, I won't be online much. Plus, with the baby coming at any time, who knows what will be going on. I will try to keep you up-dated on the progress of the baby and delivery. Until then . . .