Friday, November 19, 2010

An announcement

Baby number 6 is on it's way.

He/she looks like a bean right now - I'm not very far along.  I went in earlier than I would normally go just to get a more accurate idea of how far along I was.  I couldn't rely on the usual way to estimate my due date because I'm still nursing Ray and I hadn't had the usual symptoms of not-being pregnant.

It turns out I am 8 weeks along (which is one week longer than I thought I was) and everything looks good.  Baby is due July 1st.  I know I should probably wait a little longer to tell people.  I should know better because I have had a miscarriage before, but I'm never very good at waiting.

I am feeling pretty good so far!  I am quite tired and sometimes sick, but I actually have times during the day when I feel fine.  I'm usually quite a bit more sick by now.  My friend, Joanne, once told me that she seems to get less sick if she is nursing a baby when she gets pregnant with another.  Maybe the hormones don't fluctuate as much?  I don't know, but I hope it keeps up!  I'm usually feeling pretty awful by 10 weeks so I guess we'll see.

Everyone is really exited for this new little one.  The boys want another boy "just like Ray", but the girls would love another sister.  I would be pretty exited about either one.  It would be nice to have a boy so Ray could have a little playmate that wouldn't mind playing rough with him, but if this is to be our last baby than it might be nice to have a girl - it just seems ideal to have the youngest be a girl.  I'm tempted to not find out until he/she is born!  It would be fun, but the kids think it sounds crazy and they really want to know - so they might overrule me.

I started getting suspicious that I was pregnant on Halloween.  The kids shared a Kit Kat with me (one of my favorite candy bars) and it made me feel a little sick and I didn't want any more chocolate.  I didn't want any chocolate the next day either so I knew something very fishy was going on.  I usually can't resist chocolate.  I took a test that following day just to put my mind at ease either way.  I was home alone with Bazinks whom I had brought home from church early since he was complaining of feeling sick.  So Bazinks was the first to know.  I was going to wait so Rock could be the first to know, but Bazinks noticed something was up and he said, "Mom, why do you keep smiling so much?"  So I broke down and told him and made him not tell anyone until I told his dad.  He did good.  Rock told the news to the kids and they were all very exited.

The only thing that would make all of this any better is if I could convince my family to let me have this baby at home!  I think that would be such a wonderful experience - and studies show that it's actually more safe than having a baby at the hospital (if it is not a high-risk pregnancy), but no one seems to want to budge on this for me!  Any suggestions?  I'm sure it'll be a lovely experience at the hospital as well.

I better get to my morning - it seems that there is much to do today.

18 comments:

  1. Congratulations!!!! I'm so happy for you!! I came back to comment on your last post, and was so surprised/excited to see this new one. I really hope the nursing trick works for you - that would be so nice to not get too sick. How funny that chocolate made you feel sick! I wish I always had that symptom. I love how Bazinks noticed you smiling so much.

    I can't wait to see what you end up having - it seems like you're kind of in the same position we were - I wanted a boy to be a friend for Henry, but a girl to make things even.

    I've always thought it would be so neat to have a baby at home - good luck with convincing everyone, though!

    I know this comment is way too long already, but I just want to say this new little baby will be so lucky to come to your family! You are the best.

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  2. Congratulations...how exciting!! I was BFing with Ammon when I got pregnant with Lexi, too, but I was never very sick with either one, so can't help you there. Anyway, I LOVED the home birthing experience, so if you need someone to talk to them about it, let me know. It was WONDERFUL (although, honestly, how could childbirth not be wonderful, right?). Congratulations!!!!

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  3. So happy for you! I highly recommend home birth. Just ask Heavenly Father to soften the hearts of those that are opposed.

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  4. I'm so excited for you!! What a wonderful blessing. I never want to be without a baby in my house so I guess I will have to keep having them until I get grandchildren. Just tell your husband that if you don't have this one at home then you definitely want to have the next one at home! I wish I hadn't waited so long to have a home birth.

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  5. Congrats! Wonderful news. The one and only time I got sick being pregnant was when I was pregnant with our boy. I also couldn't STAND to even smell chocolate so we knew it was a very different pregnancy than the others.

    Hope, for your sake the nausea stays at bay!

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  6. How exciting! I would say wait it makes it so much more fun. We just had # 6 and waited until he was born to find out. It was a hoot to see their excitement when we told them he was a boy. It was so much fun. The whole timethey called themelves " Five Kids and It" like the book from Edith Nesbit. I would have loved a home birth unfortunately he was born at 30 weeks and it wasn't possible. He is strong and healthy now. Good luck with everthing.

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  7. Oh, that's wonderful! Congratulations!!

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  8. Very happy for you. congratulations. You are such a good mom. I loved home birth. I started having them at home with my 6th.

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  9. Oooh, congratulations!! I'm thrilled for you. :)

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  10. That is the best news! How exciting, and how great that you aren't very sick. I can't imagine you would have time for that. :)

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  11. Congrats!!!

    I started getting very interested in home births after my son was born because his birth was so highly medical (of course he was born at 33 weeks and there were complications with me that left me sterile.) But I won't tell you my stories! My best friend had a baby girl at home last year and had the most amazing labor and delivery - 4 hours of laboring in the birthing tub they brought in, and then out came baby and all done!

    The Business of Being Born is a great documentary to watch about how hospitals can be not good. I also recommend checking out mothering.com, especially the discussions forum, for home birthing questions - all the mommas there are sooo knowledgeable!

    If your husband absolutely doesn't feel comfortable with it at all, there are birthing centers that look really nice. If I could have another I would definitely go to a birthing center. The one I am specifically thinking of is Bella Natale and I believe there are two centers, one in Utah Valley and one in Salt Lake somewhere.

    Congrats again!

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  12. Thank-you everyone for your kind comments and great suggestions. One pregnancy symptom that I seem to get is that I start to worry about how I'm raising my kids and if I'm doing enough so your kind comments are nice to hear.

    Thank-you, Kestrel for the movie and website too. It sounds like you have a pretty difficult story. I have considered the birthing centers, but the nearest one is 40 minutes from here. I tend to go into labor pretty suddenly and then the contractions get pretty intense and close together right away - I just can't decide if I could stand to be in the car for so long while that is all going on. I'll have to think some more about it.

    I couldn't get homebirth out of my mind last night. I couldn't sleep. I sure would love it. I'll take your kind suggestions and pray that if it would work out, that people's hearts will be softened towards it.

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  13. Congratulations!!!

    I've been eye-ing tiny babies lately, melting my heart. Hmm...wonder what that means.

    I never crave chocolate when I'm pregnant. The first couple of pregnancies I still ate it, mourning the loss of my taste for it. I've learned since then my cravings will come back with a vengeance, I don't need to worry!

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  14. Congratulations! That is so exciting! Here's praying you have a smooth and healthy pregnancy.

    I've been busy and haven't commented here lately, but I still keep up on your posts and really enjoy them. I especially liked your recent book lists. (As if I need any more books to read!) Thanks for your thoughtful posts. I learn so much from you.

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  15. Oh Karen, congratulations!!! What better family for this little baby to be coming to than yours?!

    I have nursed through all of my pregnancies (after my first baby of course), and although I have still had some sickness, it definitely does seem to help with the hormonal fluctuations. I hope you keep feeling great.

    I hope you have all you are dreaming of for this pregnancy and birth. Growing and birthing a baby is always a miracle, but I can not say enough about how incredible my homebirth experiences have been. Every little detail of working with a homebirth midwife during pregnancy and birth is just what I needed and I wouldn't change my experiences for anything. I understand how important it is to have family support in a decision like this, but be sure not to ignore your own mother's intuition about what is best for you and your baby. It took my family some time as well as experiencing our first home birth together to be sure, but now you couldn't find any bigger supporters of home birth in the world than my family! Please let me know if I can help you in any way! (I've got tons and tons of books if that helps, and a husband who loves to talk to other husbands about how great it is!)
    Hope to see you sometime soon!

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  16. You dont know me. My name is Emily and I was training to be a Doula. Labor coach. I myself never did a home birth but if we were to have another one we would do it. There would be no other option. In most cases giving birth is a natural process and it should be treated as such. What better of a way for a little one to come into this world surrounded by those who love him/her before he/she was even born. There is NOTHING more beautiful then birth in the natural environment with the support of those you love the most by your side. Feel free to email me if you would like and we could chat. emilybryar@yahoo.com
    : )

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