Sunday, July 31, 2011

Shem's Painting Project

Shem has taken on the task of re-painting his motorcycle. Here are the pictures of the progress he has made so far. It is not finished yet but he has done a lot of work so far.
 Starting to take the bike apart


 Bike pulled apart

 Fenders primed



 Tank primed
 Taping off for painting




 Black paint on fender
 Black painted fender
 Tank painted black
 Fenders painted black
 Tank
 Fender with taping pulled off and black paint


Tank with taping off and black paint

The parts that are still grey will soon become a burnt orange color. Shem is pretty excited about having a customized bike. :) I think he has done an excellent job so far!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Is it September yet?

I just set up the anatomy/gender ultra sound for September 6th! Yes we will be finding out who will be joining out family. Once I have stuff for both I would like to have a surprise but Shem wants to find out with all of them. He just likes to know and plan for the baby. So now to sit and wait for 5 more weeks. Oh this is going to be murder on this little mommy. I hope the next month goes by quickly! If you are wondering we are hoping this one is a little girl. After two cute and energetic little boys we feel we need a little pink mixed into the mixture. That and I need a little more estrogen to balance out the testosterone in the house. ;)

Thursday, July 28, 2011

This is taken from another blog....

But this is exactly how I feel and I couldn't have written anything better. I get that most comments made are from "well meaning people" but this explains exactly how I feel. So to those that may not completely agree with our decision to have a home birth please read this.

"When people tell me that I'm brave for doing a homebirth, I know that they mean well, which is why I am not confrontational with them. But honestly, a girl can only take so much. While someone may mean it as a compliment, it can easily be taken as an insult, because more often than not, telling someone that they are brave usually can only be interpreted as:Wow, you are so brave... I could never do something like that.

To which I want to say:
"Oh really? Why is that?"Well, because it hurts more and it's not as safe, right?

Actually, no.... it is more often than not quite the opposite.

I am not birthing at home because I want to show everyone just how tough I am, and I am not trying to make any kind of point.

******
What's even more irritating is when someone tells me:
"Well, I just want to have my baby in the hospital just in case something happens and there's an emergency."

Here's how I see the conversation playing out in my head (which is far from what really happens):
Me: "Oh, you know, with all this planning that I did for my home birth, I guess I completely forgot about the fact that something might happen. It didn't even occur to me, I guess I will do a hospital birth then. Thanks for enlightening me."

*or*
Me: "So either you think that I don't love my baby as much and I am willing to put him at risk by having a home birth, or you think that I'm a complete idiot by not taking advantage of all of the medical advances of the time, ensuring a safer birth, right?"

*or*
Me: "Oh, is this from all the research that you have done on the pros and cons to hospital and home births? Or is this just what you think is better because everyone does it? Just like how everyone chooses to enjoy the occasional fast food lunch... because it's not bad for them either, right?"

Here's the reality:
To birth at home requires planning. Lots and lots of planning. It takes initiative. It takes courage to go against the social norm for reasons that you know are best for you. It takes making your own decisions, and not letting others make it for you. It takes prayer. It takes telling people what you want and not being told. It takes doing lots of your own research, from weighing the pros and cons to hospital birth, to finding the right caregiver, to choosing who you want to attend the birth, to what kind of home birth you want (because there are many), and much more.

I am not blogging to tell you all the reasons why I chose a home birth over a hospital birth, because I would end up writing a book, and you need to do your own research (but if you want I can provide some insight, just let me know). I am blogging to tell you that I made this choice based on completely educated and meditated decisions. To completely disregard someone's informed decision just because you think it's not the best option, even though you've done no research of your own, is insulting at best.

Just so everyone knows, I did not always want a home birth. I grew up always wanting a hospital birth with an epidural and everything. Only recently, when Chris and I began thinking about having children, did I begin doing my own research and finding that the best birth option for me was not in the hospital.

With that being said, I believe hospitals are absolutely wonderful when they are necessary. We are blessed to live in a time where we have such medical advances. The problem is relying too heavily on these medical advances that we completely lose faith in our own bodies to do what they were divinely designed to do.

If you want a hospital birth, or have had a hospital birth, great. I am not going to tell you that you are brave, or that you are stupid, because I trust that you made your own educated and informed decisions as to what was best for you and your baby. All I ask is that you in return respect the educated and informed decision that others make to have a home birth.

For everyone who is curious, women who chose home births love to talk about why they chose it. If you want to know why I chose a home birth, ask! Just don't tell me that I'm brave :)"


Taken from this blog: http://thebatemanbabyblog.​blogspot.com/2011/06/why-y​es-im-planning-on-home-bir​th.html

Sunday, July 17, 2011

July the 17th, three years ago

Three years ago today I was heading into the hospital to be induced to meet our first little spirit that chose to join our family. I was 41 weeks and more than ready to meet the little boy that I had been carrying around for 9+ months. They started the pit around 11 in the morning and Shawn didn't make his appearance until 2:05 the next morning. So even though Shawn's birthday isn't officially until tomorrow, today is the 3 year birthday of when I was induced. We are celebrating his birthday with the family today.

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY SHAWN!!!!! We love you and are so glad you chose us to be your parents!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Midwife appointment

So we had our midwife appointment this past Tuesday, it's taken me this long to update because I caught a cold, and the appointment went really well! I was there for an hour and the entire hour I was with my midwife! It was nice not having to wait for 2 hours before FINALLY seeing the Dr, then only spending 20 minutes tops with them. Did all the normal tests and everything is looking good! Then it was heart beat time. I was 11 weeks along and being such a small frame it's pretty easy hearing heart beat this early. The assistant midwife tried first to find the heart beat and found it for a second several times but the baby just did not want to hold still so she finally handed the doppler over to my midwife and I proceeded to tell her that I was pretty sure the placenta attached in the middle and slightly off to the right. So she felt around and agreed that that's where she felt the lump and where we would probably find our little babe. So she stuck the doppler there and started to move around. Baby had settled it's self down in my pelvis trying to hide. lol. We found a good strong heart beat in the 160's. :) That is one of the happiest sounds in the world I think. The appointment with the midwife just settled our resolve to go with her and a home birth. Yes I know the risks but I have prayed long and hard about it and with the Lords guidance it feels right for us. If I got or get any bad feelings saying to switch to a Dr at any point in this pregnancy I will do just that and switch but right now this IS the right thing.