A Round of Therapy for Everyone!

Well, not everyone. But two of my kids are going into therapy. Not psychological therapy--I'm sure they'll have a day for that when they're older, but hopefully not!

Sam has started physical therapy for his leg. He is still walking around like he has a cast on his leg. It is straight out. We've been doing exercises mainly to help him gain confidence. The therapist said he has the range of motion he needs, he just also needs a good dose of "I can do it!". He is very afraid of bending his leg too far, and so he fights against it. He did much better with the PT than he did with us. But, we still get to do his exercises with him three times a day. I am praying he gains this confidence soon and starts to walk and run normally.

Lucy is being scheduled for a developmental evaluation (because several of her gross motor milestones were a bit late) and a speech evaluation (because she is a little behind on her speech). This is the kind of thing I thought I would freak out about, but I am not. She is SO smart--she's a little mimic, and she understands all the commands I give her. I think her hearing is fine--she responds to me from another room even if she can't see me. It could be that she's just mellow like her dad, and she doesn't care too much about keeping up with brother and sister. Either way, the sooner she gets help, the better. If you wait until after age 3, it is less corrective and more compensatory.

I am 9 weeks today, and I am feeling pretty well. This has honestly been the least sick I've felt in any pregnancy. I have moments, but I've figured out how to manage them better and keep myself from getting there. I'm still pretty tired, but even that is not as bad this time. I am going to be very busy the next couple of weeks with appointments--I've got Sam's PT appointments, Lucy's appointments, and I have two risk assessment appointments and a midwife appointment.

I am getting the sewing bug. This is a good thing because I have a few projects I have yet to finish. I feel like a heel when I promise something and don't come through. Sorry, Christy, I really haven't forgotten your purse (and I'm actually having a fabric dilemma and may need to go shopping!!!). I have grand plans to sew. I don't have much free time to do it since I nap during naptime now. :) But, as my energy returns, I am sure I will be sewing more than I should.

Today, we are headed to the library because they are having Kindersongs today. I think the kids will enjoy it. Now, I must go brush my teeth!

You're Doing WHAT???

We are planning, Lord willing and if the creek don't rise, to have a home birth. :)

I am seeing a midwife who lives about an hour from me. She has attended the births of two of my friends. She has excellent stats--875 babies--never lost one. This lady knows when to transfer!!! I appreciate that kind of self-knowledge. She knows her limits.

My last birth lasted 4.5 hours start to finish. I'm hoping this one is as good. It was a good length. I had some great pre-labor pains that were irregular with Lucy that helped speed me along. Our nearest hospital has a crazy high intervention rate--60%. I am not entrusting myself to people who are more likely to cut me open than do anything else. Plus, I'm low-risk. If at any point we feel concerned, we will not hesitate to make other plans.

Some of you may be wondering if having a home birth is safe. Well, a doctor friend of ours who is involved in all kinds of research--Walt Larimore, M.D., spends his time writing and researching EVERYTHING--not excluding home birth. His blog is full of wonderful information: www.drwalt.com/blog. In a conversation with him about home delivery, he said, "The combo of a midwife and doula is (statistically) the safest way to go -- and the U.S. data on home deliveries looks pretty good."

In addition, I've done my own research and found that for low-risk women, homebirth has typically better outcomes and fewer interventions (forceps, vaccuum, induction, c-section, etc.). If you are looking for a good book to read on home birth, read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin, the nation's leading midwife.

If you're still skeptical, here are a couple of links with some great information:

Medical News Today

Midwifery Today

British Medical Journal (yes, it's British, but the study is concerning North American homebirths. This study is frequently cited in other works, I've noticed, and it is quite recent.)

Cast-Away

Sam gets his cast off today! I am so glad. I am ready for his leg to be clean.

He doesn't want it removed. I think he is scared. I tried to explain how it would come off. We shall see how he does when we get there.

I'm thinking we will have lunch at Chick-Fil-A.

I wish Dave didn't have to work today. His mini-vacay ended Tuesday.

We had a lovely weekend in KC. We ate great food, saw a movie, napped, went to a museum, and spent some quality time at the International House of Prayer. We are very refreshed.

We missed the kiddos, though. I think they missed us a little bit. :) I think Lucy missed us the most.

My brother is amazacrazy and fixed our drainage problems. Yea!!! We are hoping this means no more of me in the garage with the shop vac every time it rains.

My family watched the kids, and the adults survived. The kids survived too. :)

Yesterday was our 8-year anniversary. My husband encouraged me big-time in his awesome card fashioned with the Super 8 logo. We do traditional anniversary gifts, and this year is pottery/bronze. He bought me a ceramic pot from 1956 that was traditionally used for beans. I am going to use it for cookies. :) His gift has not arrived yet, but I will be sure to show it when it does.

Well, that's my update. Wish it could have been more exciting! Happy Thursday!

What's the Dealio?

Okay, this is probably going to offend someone...maybe it should. I don't know, but I had a thought this morning...

What is the DEALIO with Christian women being so excited and enthralled with "Sex and the City" and "Desperate Housewives" and (this one's going to hurt) "Grey's Anatomy"?

Ouch. This is gonna come back and bite me, I'm pretty sure.

I have lately seen an overwhelming excitement over the new "Sex and the City" movie. I have never watched even one episode of any of the above shows, so I have NO IDEA if they are as trashy as I suppose them to be. So, I am talking without knowing; I realize that. And, I am not above watching something ungodly--I probably do more than I should anyway--just so you know, I am not any better, and I realize that too.

But, here's the thought I had this morning:

If a woman says she watches one of these kinds of shows for the story/romance and not for the sexy fantasy/attractive men, isn't that like a man saying he looks at Playboy for the articles?

Just a thought.

In Case You Didn't Know Already...

I am pregnant.

I am 6.5 weeks currently. I am nervous about it--nervous about losing the baby, mostly. Thankfully, I feel pretty bad, so everything is fine for the time being. I feel better about the pregnancy overall, which is good, but I know there are no guarantees. It's hard to let your heart get excited when you've lost one (or more).

My friend, Dixon, was just blogging the other day about the death of the blog world. I totally agree with him. I find my interest waning. I think it is a combo of little to no feedback and a lack of motivation. I still like to read other people's blogs, but even that can be tiresome sometimes. Now that I am perpetually tired and exhausted, blogging is way at the bottom of the list.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this space. I am not all that inspired, to tell you the truth--four years of this...hate to throw it away. I think part of my problem is that I don't take pictures anymore (because I HATE my camera). I think if I took pictures, I would blog more but maybe not.

How are you feeling about blogs these days?