Autumn

The daytime temperatures are not getting as high, the days are getting shorter, the leaves are starting to change color and soon there won't be any flowers left blooming. I like the crispness in the air that fall brings and the colors that are revealed in the trees leaves as the chlorophyll fades now that it's job is done for the year. Dogwoods, Sugar Maples, Ash & Sumac are some of my favorites for fall color.

Here the flowers that were still blooming in my yard just before and after autumn officially rolled in on Sept 22. The majority of these were taken on Sept 17th & the last three on Sept 30th.


Autumn is a great time to do some hiking. We recently went to a Nature Center about a 45 minute drive from us and took a short hike to enjoy the sights and sounds of fall. Many of the plants have traded their flowers in for berries. My kids and I also went on a nature walk in a field near our house to search for some of autumns treasures. Last few photos were taken in my yard.


If you live in a place where the leaves change colors I hope you have or will go out to enjoy them. Here the wind and rain have brought most of the leaves down. Now it's time to rake them up and compost them ;)

Baby #4

I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I was expecting baby #4. He arrived on Aug 26. Things have been a bit busy around here since then.
Here is his birth story:

On Tuesday Aug 25th, I started to have mild contractions around 1am, about 1 every hour or so. I didn’t think much about them, since I’d had some here & there for the past few weeks. They continued through the morning about one every 45 min to an hour. About 1pm I laid down to rest and the contractions started to increase in intensity and were coming closer together. They continued to get a bit stronger and closer together. I called my mom around 4:30pm to see if she could pick up Et... and El..., figuring this was going to continue. I also called my mother-in-law to see if she could pick up Ev... Mom arrived about 45 min later and left with Et... & El... and instructions to call her when the baby arrived no matter what time it was. So I continued with my daily activities, packed Ev..’s bag and then made dinner. Eric had arrived home by this time. When we were eating Eric’s parents arrived & Eric said he’d bring Ev.. by later, he had something he wanted to do with him yet. After dinner Eric & Ev.. did some things in the garage then headed to Home Depot before going to his parents house. I started to get things ready for the birth & did some cleaning. The contractions continued to increase in intensity and frequency. I was randomly timing them with contraction master on the computer.
At 8:49pm I called my midwife, G....., saying the contractions had been coming about 5 min apart for about an hour. She said she’d get her things together and come on over. I called Eric to tell him to hurry home and get the birth pool set up.
Eric returned home and added some more air to the pool and put it in place in our room and got the hose hooked up for filling it. I continued getting things ready like the camera, clothes and towels. I am now getting on all fours during contractions.
G..... arrives at 9:25pm and gets her things ready. We go downstairs to grab a few more needed items, along with something to drink. We talk in between contractions. Eric is on the bed sleeping.
10:44pm I have Eric start to fill the pool. We run out of hot water before it’s full and have to wait for the boiler to heat up some more water. 10:58 I drink something and am breathing harder through the contractions.
11:00pm J.., G.....’s assistant, arrives. She takes over note taking for a while. The 3 of us talk and Eric runs out for coffee and then goes on the computer. 11:53pm G..... checks the babies heart rate, 136, and then I get into the pool for the 1st time. The contractions at first seem to slow just a bit and decrease in intensity but not for long. They are easier to deal with in the water. On my knees, hanging on the side of the pool seems to be the best way to deal with them. J.. occasionally applies counter pressure during the contractions.
At 1:00am I get out of the pool to use the bathroom. My belly feels so much heavier out of the water and the contractions seem stronger. The contractions are coming every 3-5 minutes and lasting 1-2 minutes. I am also more vocal during the contractions now.
At 2:15am I once again get out to use the bathroom. G..... checks the baby’s heart rate which was 148. I have G..... get Eric upstairs to apply counter pressure during contractions. He has a tendency to walk away after the contraction is over & I have to keep calling him back. At some point I get a leg cramp in my right leg behind my knee. Eric & I massage it and then I get one on my left leg in the same spot. After we massage them out a bit I try to stretch my legs out every once in a while in between contractions. I also have started to feel a little pushy during the contractions & start giving little warm up pushes during the contractions.
3:40am once again leave the pool to use the bathroom. G..... checks my pulse, 116 and the baby’s heart rate which is now up to 180. She says can not go back in the pool. They get the bed ready and I then go onto it. 3:50am another check of my pulse, 60 and the baby’s heart rate, 172. She does the first dilation check and I’m a bit disappointed to hear her say I’m at 9 ¾ & not 10. I have just a bit of a lip left. I switch between lying on left & right sides and hands & knees positions. She continues to monitor the baby’s heart rate. I really am getting discouraged and hoping I can get my water to break soon. Thoughts of not having the strength to push this baby out are entering my head and I’m hoping I won’t have to make an emergency transfer. The pain is so intense and concentrated just above my pubic bone. I push on my stomach there during the contractions and tend to roll onto my back during the contraction from my side lying position.
At 4:27 G..... breaks my water (I thought I broke it) while I’m pushing, just by scratching it with her finger and the fluid is clear. It gives me hope for a little while that I can do this. At 4:40 the serious, get the baby out, pushing begins. The pain continues to be so intense that I’m am starting to say it hurts and sobbing just a little. They all are saying encouraging words. Eric helps to hold my leg up while I push.
5:06am the head shows, Eric wants to jump up & take pictures, knowing I had wanted someone there to take some, I say not now. It hurts but I know I have to keep pushing. 5:08am the baby crowns! I reach down to feel his head. Goldie loosens the cord from around the baby’s head once it’s out and I push some more to get the shoulders out. Eric jumps up to take pictures. At 5:09am he is out! I help bring him up onto my body after Goldie gets the cord off of him. (He was posterior which is what made the pain so intense and made him hard to push out.) At 5:10 he takes his first breath. Eric checks to see if it is a boy or girl and says it’s a boy. (I am not surprised; at some point during the labor I just knew it was a boy.) I am so happy! With some help I did it! He’s out and he’s healthy. He is just beautiful. His apgars are 9 at 1 min & 10 at 5 min. We spend some time cuddling on the bed. Eric cuts the cord after it stops pulsing. He gets weighed and is 8lbs 12oz! He is 21 ¾” long.
I start to feel a little crampy and push the placenta out at 5:26am. He nurses for the 1st time at 5:49. We take an herbal bath together and then snuggle into bed. J.. leaves. Eric has already fallen asleep on the bed during this time, so G..... runs up to the corner to get me some breakfast. Then we are alone to sleep.

He is now 2 months old & just a delightful little boy. He smiles & laughs easily. Likes hanging out w/ the rest of the family & is starting to sleep better. Now if I could just figure out what makes him spit up alot some days & not others things would be even better.