Lela has arrived!

We had a precious little girl on Friday, May 15th at 7:09 PM. She weighed 7 lb. 10 oz. and was 20.8 inches long. We named her Lela (LEE-luh) Katharine Alberta Smith. The birth was natural and a large part of the labor was in water. We had two midwives attending (one in training) and our friend Sarah as an assistant and massage therapist.

Here's the brief version of the birth story: Labor induction with breast pump began at 8:15 AM and by 11 AM thing had progressed enough to break my water. Jack says labor got really intense around 3 PM and by 5 PM I was ready to start pushing (though it was another hour before I was TOTALLY dilated (had 1 more cm to go). I did much of the hard labor in the waterbirth tub, but by around 6:45 PM the midwife suggested I try the bed again, as I had made more progress there about an hour before. It only took about 3-4 more rounds of contractions (4-5 pushes each) to give birth to Lela. Jack caught her with his bare hands (guided by the midwife) and put her on my chest right away. A few minutes went by before we discovered she was a girl. After about 10 minutes Jack cut the cord (we wanted to wait until it stopped pulsing). The placenta was born shortly after that.

We were discharged in 24 hours and spent our second night at home together in bed.

Baby Lela is now 2 weeks old, eating like a horse, making all sorts of noises, filling lots of diapers, and is truly a joy in our lives. Praise God for this beautiful miracle.

"Overdue"

So the baby and I have a little stand-off going. I have to work within the 42 week timeline of obstetric professionals, and the baby wants to cook and stay cozy inside for as long as it wants. We're getting down to the wire these days, as I'm nearing the 42 week mark, which puts me into a "high risk" category that removes me from being treated by our midwife practice. So, Thursday we'll have to talk induction.

Please pray that things get going naturally. So far, my body has started the process of labor, and here are some signs: mucus plug drained out for the past week, mild-moderate contractions ranging from 5 minutes apart to more than 10, fatigue, dilation (I was 3 cm on Friday the 1st of May), effacement (I was 50% on Friday the 1st of May). These signs make me a good candidate for induction that is less extreme than it could be, however, Jack and I are really hoping to have a natural birth, with no intervention. We feel it is best for the baby.

One thing I was not prepared for at this stage of pregnancy is the constant questioning from friends and family about when the baby is coming. Of course, we want it to come soon, but we have no control over when it happens. Yesterday I even stopped answering my phone and just before falling asleep decided to change my voicemail to a message that told callers we would LET THEM KNOW when the baby arrived. I do appreciate the care and concern, and several folks have only given me encouragement. But everyone is curious and I can't blame them for it. It's just getting frustrating for me.

What I'm telling people to keep my spirits up when they ask:

Every day I'm still pregnant, is another day with MORE sleep and LESS responsibility.

I'm trying to enjoy the last few days with my husband while it is "just the two of us".

I'm doing my best to rest and keep track of early labor signs, so I'll know when things get serious.

We want the baby to start the process of labor, as it usually does when it is ready.

It's easier to be pregnant, than to take care of an infant (feeding/changing/carrying around/etc.)

What other people have told me to encourage me:

A baby that stays in longer is easier to take care of (sleeps through the night sooner, eats better, etc.).

I guess I'll just have to keep focused on the positive for the next few days and wait.

Quick Update

At our last midwife appointment, Friday the 10th, the baby was still head down (has been for the past 5 weeks...yeah!), weighed about 7 pounds. We had some good conversation with her about hospital procedures, what to expect, etc. We're going in every week now and have more questions every time.

We are on week three of our Bradley Method birthing class and getting excited. We'll be covering stages of labor and techniques for helping it progress this week and have some homework to do. We've been practicing relaxation and I've been doing squats, pelvic rocks, tailor sitting and Kegels, all the exercise they say help get the pelvic floor muscles and hips ready for birthing. We'll be meeting twice weekly for the next few weeks (once with 4 other couples in the group class, and once with just the instructor for advanced planning if we don't make it to May 19th with the class schedule) and getting our birth plan together this week.

What we'd like:
Natural water birth at Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital with midwife and no complications.
What we'll get:
No telling...

We recently watched "The Business of Being Born" as recommended by our class and really learned a lot.

Migration of Organs

The last month has been a fun one! Moving into the third tri-mester of pregnancy, my body is experiencing some strange changes. I thought I'd share a picture with you to give a glimpse inside of how my body is shifting right now to make room for baby "lulu". The backpain, the twinge of pain I feel sometimes when I move around from stretching ligaments, the frequent bathroom breaks, the shortness of breath, the smaller meals and the changing shape can all be partly explained by just how much my insides have to shift to make way for the baby. Honestly, this picture doesn't make the baby look to comfortable either!

Though I'm only in my 27th week, I think the general changes are pretty accurate. I'm really working on getting some pictures of me, but it's harder than you might think. I just need to breakdown and get out the camera one night, choose a fitting shirt, and stand in front of the wall. I'll look for some "in action" photos too, from recent social events.

As for other experiences we've been enjoying lately, the baby's movements are easily felt and seen at this point. Just this morning I watched the "popcorn belly" in amusement. I think it was the first time I noticed the baby's hiccups too (at least that's what I think it was). I'm still wondering what parts are moving when I see a bump or a sweep across my belly. Sooner than later we might be able to tell if it is a bum, limb or noggin. We'll keep you posted and maybe even try to get a video posted in the near future.

Long Awaited Italy Pics

Many of you know I spent 10 days last fall visiting my sister-in-law, nieces and the beautiful country of Italy. I wanted to share a few pics from the trip. Hopefully these will be things you can experience first-hand sometime in your lives. Italy is definitely a place I will need to visit again!

Villa Angelica (the name covers it!)

Lasize-a costal town on the east side of Lake Garda

Just one of many Gelateria's we enjoyed, and a nice view down the street

The marina at Lasize

The gorgeous blue waters of lake Garda, and a view across to the mountains on the west side of the lake

On a ferry ride we saw this!

Lasize and the eastern mountains from the ferry

Limone, the town where the Marathon began (I didn't run, but was on the support team)

Ruins of lemon orchards, for which Limone get it's name.

Anybody for some gelato and cappucino?

Walking through Limone's walled pathways, with peeks out over the lake. I was on child-chasing duty.

Vicki and the newest niece, Kera Grace.

My turn to hold her...too cute to let go!

Me and Nali, enjoying the ferry ride.

The runners (Vicki in dark blue, center, Jos in light blue to her right and Jess with the medal, left of center) and their training support (two gals on ends)

Yet another dessert to savor! Nali liked my selection.

Common view while walking through they cities.

Future residence?

I'd take the castle too!

What a family/person eats in a month: Around the world

You may or may not have seen the post I did last December on what families around the world buy as groceries for one month. As I was looking over those pictures again, I read a comment about how much of a contrast monthly meals for those in the service compares to these families. I thought I'd post this picture of the MRE to represent how many people eat when they are serving our country. This is far below the standard you can see in the picture of the American family, and in many other cultures as well. Thank you, men and women, for what you sacrifice to protect and serve America.

The Double-Bind Supreme: Loving Relationships

A friend recently shared this quote with me and I was touched. Enjoy!

Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.

--From The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis

Baby's First Photo Shoot

Cuddled warm, from the rear

Right lower arm and hand

Profile shot

Head down at cervix, open space is my full bladder

Left and right feet

Head cross section, notice measurements

Heart cross section

Heart, you can see all the chambers

Spine and scull

Umbilical cord, showing blood flow routing around the baby's bladder.

Gingerbread Village

To celebrate the Christmas season a bunch of our friends from church got together to make gingerbread houses last weekend. It was a blast! We had more candy on the table that you could imagine, and in total made 14 creations. Here are some pictures of the whole village. Matt and Jack worked on the castle, but because of the tediousness, asked for help decorating it. I was glad to help with that. My house is the one down and right from the castle, and it's a church. I was pretty proud of my work: red shingles, stained glass windows in front and back (not pictured), rolled out gumdrops made to look like window panes, window boxes and a stone pathway. Enjoy!

Belated birthday post...

I celebrated my 27th birthday this year in a relaxed way this year. Jack and I went out to dinner at a Mongolian Grill a few days before and enjoyed yummy stir-fry. On the actual day, Mark (church friend) and I had agreed to a join party at the indoor climbing wall in the evening. So, we gathered a few friends and family and headed to the community center. It was fun getting all geared up (I actually inherited a pair of shoes I've only used once before) and getting on the walls. The climbing routes ranged from 5.6-5.9 and I started with the easiest one. It really worked my forearms, fingers, hands and back. Lauren, my brother's girlfriend, advised me to keep my knees bent and arms long, instead of standing and bending my arms to hold on to the wall. Her advice was very helpful! Here are a few pictures from the event.

To add some sweetness to the event, we headed to Whole Foods after the climb to enjoy some awesome ice cream sandwiches made by a local vendor: Ruby Jewels. Her flavor choices and quality are great! Check them out: http://www.rubyjewel.net.

Mel and Linda sent some sweetness my way too, with a gift certificate to Sees Candy. Here's the delicious box I picked out.

I'm beginning to look (and feel) a lot more pregnant!

Dear friends and family,

I realize that I have set-up an expectation for this blog to be a very unreliable and out of date way to keep up on our lives. And I want you to know, that I plan to change this. I can only say that I will do my best to make sure this blog is a place you can read up on how Jack and I are doing, especially with the coming changes in our family.

Let me give you an update on how the first half of my pregnancy has been going (since I completely neglected to blog about this until now!). That's right... we are almost halfway through. Our ultrasound is scheduled for one week from NOW (as I write this). I have to say I'm really looking forward to seeing the little person inside me. I've certainly been doing my best to take care of it: sleeping/napping, eating healthy foods, taking vitamins, avoiding smoke and harmful other things, exercising.

And in past few weeks I'm pretty sure I've been feeling the baby move. One friend described it as butterflies. I've become pretty acquainted with the digestive changes now, and this is definitely different. A few nights ago I was laying flat about to go to sleep, with my hands resting on my belly and could literally feel the "flutter" and a slight push from it. I tried to get Jack to feel the same thing, but he couldn't. Too soon to share this experience I suppose.

Our appointments with the midwife clinic have been great. Very friendly people, knowledgable, not too invasive and supportive. I've dealt with a lot of nausea and they have done their best to advise me on how to best deal with it. We are thrilled that this place also offers water birth, which is an option we are SERIOUSLY considering (could have guessed that one, given that I've been a fish my whole life!). So far the testimonies I've heard on this type of delivery have been wonderful. We'll share more once we know more.

As for preparations, there has been little going on so far. I've had to change my wardrobe drastically. Thanks to the Veteran's Day sale at Value Village and the GENEROUS loans from friends I feel fully out-fitted now and have some really cute stuff to sport with my new body. I'm at the point now where people are actually asking if I'm pregnant, thanks to the clothes and the growing bump. It feels nice to look how I've been feeling for several months.

I have to be honest though, it hasn't all felt great. I've really had a hard time with nausea and vomitting. No matter how many times I do it, I hate every time and literally feel dread for the next one. I've tried my best to always have snacks, eat small and frequent meals, include more protien, drink red raspberry leave tea and get enough sleep, but my poor body is just plain uncomfortable some days. I have yet to try accupuncture or change my prenatals, though taking them at night has helped me avoid most of yucky feeling they cause.

Jack and I will have to find a bigger place, as the first 3 years of our marriage we've been living in a 1 bedroom apartment. I really like it there, the back patio opening to green grass and trees, the free pool, the open floor plan, it feels like home. However, babies take up space.

Beyond maternity clothing and more frequent visits to the clinic, we haven't really changed much. We're busy with church, friends, my work, family and enjoying the outdoors.

Pictures will follow soon, but I hope this update helps you feel more informed.

Happy Anniversary!

So this year we celebrated our third anniversary much different than before. I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. Yes, it's true. We're expected a baby next May and thrilled about it. To be honest, I don't even remember now what else we did that day. I post this now because I'm about 10 weeks and we've started spreading the word. So, this fourth year of marriage will be drastically different than before. A new adventure awaits!

Birthday at the Track

For Jack's birthday this year, celebration phase one was at the Malibu Grand Prix (we took notes from Matt on this one). The guys and some girls wanted to push the land speed record for 2 hours, in go carts that is. They had a blast, got an extra 30 minutes for the birthday boy, and enjoyed a pit stop with yummy chocolate cake and Breyer's vanilla ice cream (the only REAL good stuff).

At the end Jack was surprised with a few gifts: a new hat to replace the one he lost while swimming in the river (he dove in with it ON), and a mask/snorkle, fin set (also inspired by swimming... we kept borrowing our friends' set, so they bought him one). Overall he really enjoyed himself. Thanks to all the friends and family that called to wish him happy birthday, and sent cards. You are loved!

Peaches for FREE!

Yesterday I went to Sauvy Island and picked peaches at a friend's grandma's property. It was an opportunity that I accidently found out about on Saturday, and was able to get in on just in time. We met up in the morning at 10 AM and carpooled over. Jack suggested that I take two rubbermaid totes to fill, but with the limited space in the van we shared, I thought one would be plenty. My friend had warned me that the peach crop wasn't very good this year, and that the season was near the end, so the quality wouldn't be great. But who can complain about that when the price is FREE! Besides, he was so wrong!

We arrived at the beautiful acreage on the island. Flowers, pears, grapes, corn, pumpkins, apples, peaches, marionberries... is there anything this grandma DOESN'T grow? We pulled up to the peach orchard and grabbed our containers. The whole way over, little Benjamin (almost 4) couldn't stop talking about seeing the horse and feeding it. He'd been here before and had his mind set on ONE thing. My friend was right about the peaches on the trees not being so plentiful, but the ground was covered with eligible peaches. Right away, however, I noticed that honey bees were interested in the same thing as I was. Luckily, they wanted to rotting ones, and I didn't.

There was one slight problem with sharing the crowded space under the short and stalky peach trees with bees: Benjamin liked stepping on them. Yep! He decided it would be fun to smash the bees with this tough looking cowboy boots. After many warnings, the inevitable happened. He got stung by one. Since these were honey bees, one still was all it had, and luckily, only one got mad enough to sting him. And though his father is deathly allergic, and mom doesn't know her allergy because she's never been stung, he had no allergic reaction. Praise God!

We continued collecting peaches, and in no time my tote was full. We loaded the van, and went to thank and visit with grandma for a bit, and then headed home. Now the next phase began... prepping for the freezer. I napped until about 5:30, went to visit a friend until 7:30 and then started the project. A bit late to start a project like this, you might say? Nay! We usually take on big food projects late at night. We usually get through them :) I peeled, pared, sliced and de-pitted. Jack went to pick up the quart freezer bags (we thought we had them in stock.. doh!), and fruit fresh powder. When we had all the ingredients we sugared and packed for the freezer. 7 or 8 quarts was the yield from half of the peaches, we'll do the other part on Tuesday night when the rest of them ripen.

Oh, and by the way, we tested a few. So juicy!

Saying Goodbye to a Friend

This afternoon we had the unfortunate opportunity to say goodbye to Daniel Thomas. He wasn't there. He wasn't watching. He was resting...until Jesus returns and the resurrection unites us again. The friends and family had gathered to celebrate his life. The ceremony was quite lovely. We saw pictures, heard stories, and recounted some of the most important things to him. They were God, family, people, natures and health.

It was really touching to hear from Daniels personal trainer, and to see the great impact he had on her just from attending her cycling class and doing several athletic events. He had an amazing way with people, any type and any kind. He could make them feel comfortable, look for ways to take care of them and help them, and bring laughter and humor into any situation.

It was also great to see friends from Orchards Church, the place I spend my 10-15 years. During this time our Pathfinder club was being led by the Thomas' and my parents. These years are filled with great memories and unforgettable adventures. Most of them outdoors. Most of them unplanned.

Though this event was tragic and has caused me, for the first time ever, to wonder how God was limited in saving his life, I have learned the importance of loving people. Daniel loved people and never neglected to tell them so. All of his friends thought they were special to him, and they were. He loved without hesitation. I hope to show more love to the Thomas family by keeping in touch, offering to help, and praying for them. I hope to show more love to my family by putting aside my personal needs and looking more to theirs. I hope to show more love to strangers by showing mercy whenever I have an opportunity.

Daniel will be missed, sorely. I look forward to seeing him again on resurrection morning.

One Year Blog Anniversary!

You know you've officially entered the electronic communication world when you celebrate the anniversary of starting a blog. Well, that's what I'm doing. I realize that I only have a few faithful readers, and my hope this year is to build this base and get more connected to distant family members and loved ones. I will try to post at least once or twice a month, so that the readers will be rewarded. But as you know, life gets hectic, and the tangible demands take presidence over communication at a distance. Take a look back at the fun things we've done, the personal things I've shared and what else you'ld like to know about us. Then maybe we'll add some new features...

Dog Mountain Summit

Thanks to the invitation of a local hiker friend, we had the wonderful opportunity to hike Dog Mountain this Sabbath. It was a slightly cloudy and windy day, which is perfect for hiking. Dad and Stuart joined us for the adventure and we had a blast. Dog Mountain is rated the second most difficult hike in the Columbia Gorge. It is 3.8 miles one way and about 99.7% uphill. However, the views are beautiful and the flowers abundant. Here are a few pictures from the trek.