Perry the Parakeet

OH, my bad. I misspelled his name. I've been informed that his name is spelled "Peary", like the fruit.

This poor bird. He does not belong to me in any way. Brendan takes full responsibility for him. Feeding him, cleaning his cage, and pestering the poor thing constantly. I have bit my tongue a LOT and allowed him to love his little bird just the way he wants. Just because it is annoying to  me doesn't mean the bird minds so much. And due to Brendan's persistence, Peary is becoming quite tame. All three boys have taken to trying to "train" him and Easton often asks Brendan if he can hold him. The other day Easton comes out of the back room just walking along all proud of himself with a little bird on his shoulder. I don't even know if he just helped himself or if Brendan put him there.  I'm starting to think that little bird kinda likes all the attention.

Canoeing and Knitting

So far this weekend we have accomplished a lot. We put the canoe in the creek for the first time. Brrrrrrrrr (Just Rand and the big boys this time!). And I managed to complete a knitting project! Woohoo! Big stuff, I know.

This gets me very excited for warmer weather!

I've been really missing my chickens. The canoe sort of makes up for it. Sort of....

Done in between burping a baby and taking naps.

More of you know what

Just more and more and more baby. At least she's changing fast so that nobody gets bored!

Uncle Jordan got to meet his newest niece!

Look at this little Daddy in training!

Annabel::2 Weeks

There is hardly anything else to post about. Cut me a little slack, it's only been 2 (ish) weeks. I'm not doing a whole heck of a lot else.

So Annabel. She is 2 weeks old. She's gone to the doctor. She's been weighed. She's growing and Oh I worry a bit about what the next several months hold for her (and me and my poor back!).  :)

How can we forget Easton. My smallest baby at birth and by far my largest by 4 months old. Perhaps breast milk enhances with age? I don't know. But it is indeed happening to sweet Annabel. She is already over 11lbs. 11lbs 4oz to be exact....but that was 4 days ago.

Let's remember together....

Here is Easton with his buddy Fletcher who is just 1 week younger than him.

Tank!

Summer 2010

Easton 4 months

My happy, nursing babies. What can I say? Chubby and difficult to pack around, but I remind myself often that Easton has yet to have ever gone to the doctor due to illness. I will take fat and healthy and look forward to that miraculous thin down that happens once they are up and on their feet!

Moving on....
Annabel is sweet, sweet. Obviously eating well. Sleeping well, when tummy bubbles aren't a problem. She has done a couple nights of 2 four hour stretches which I consider awesome! She smiles at us already and doesn't seem to mind all the noise that is her 3 brothers.

Here are some pics from around here lately!

E doing "Foo-Foo" (a.k.a. Kung Fu)

Still managing to get our school work done (at least some of it!)

Wyatt's reading skills have gotten WAY better since he has been reading books to Easton

It is true that this may in fact be a Christmas-y sort of number that she is wearing, but I haven't found all the 3 month clothes yet, and this one was in the drawer.

Annabel Rae Wagner {her birth story}

Baby #4. My third baby born at home. I really wanted to do this one different than the others.

With all my births, I spend the majority of the time with my eyes closed. I guess it is just how I stay grounded, calm and focused. But with that, I have very, very vivid memories from each of those experiences from when I did open my eyes.

Each birth I have been surrounded by friends and family. I loved sharing my experience with them, but it kind of didn't feel authentic to who I am. I clearly remember opening my eyes when I was having baby #1. There was my whole family, peeking around a curtain, huddled together in the doorway. With baby #2 I remember opening my eyes at one point and seeing my poor, newly pregnant sister standing in the doorway watching me, her face white as a ghost with sheer terror. With baby #3 there was less family there but more friends. I remember opening my eyes, and looking around at my friends, (who I love to death) and thinking, 'this feels a little chaotic', but in my head I was trying to keep this very simple calm going.

If anyone knows me well, you would know that being put on the spot, or performing is not my thing. In fact, I cringe at the thought of my first birth when everyone was just sitting there in silence staring at me while I went through pitocin induced contractions.

So I had this desire to have a much more private birth this time. I told my midwives what I was hoping for, and in their beautiful nature encouraged me to create the birth I wanted. However, they did suggest another adult be present to care for the other kids, just in case I had to transfer to a hospital or something. Duh. I hadn't even thought of that! So I asked my sister, Joanna to be here. Plus, she is a newly graduated massage therapist...that could probably come in handy!! A couple weeks later I got an email from my sweet friend, Jess. I call her my unprofessional-professional photographer friend. She offered to come take pictures for us if we wanted her to. I thought about it for a while. It doesn't go along with my "private birth" idea, but I knew the pictures would be invaluable and such good memories for us. Plus, then I wouldn't have to worry about capturing pictures myself while I was busy doing other important things. :)

So that's how it all got set up. On Saturday, (9 days past my due date) I woke up at 6 and knew I was having real contractions. They were no big deal, but I knew they were the real deal. Rand had to work that day. He had 2 services but assured me he could leave at any moment. I said, "okay. I'll let you know". So he left and I went about my day. I told Jo that I knew this thing was happening today and to come over whenever she was done working. She came over in the early afternoon. I told Rand, "Just so you know, I'm having a baby today." He said, "ok". After his day at work, he came home and started to help get things ready. Jess came over too. Still, it wasn't a big deal. I had told my mid-wife I was sure this was happening, but things were slow and still real easy. She said to let her know when things went to the next level.

I felt bad that Joanna and Jessie were there....just sitting around with me while we chatted at 10-20 minute intervals in between my contractions. They continued to slowly intensify, but stayed really far apart. That seemed to drag things on and on. Things picked up a tad once the kids went to bed....but not much.

Finally at midnight I called my midwife. I was still doing alright, but I knew she needed some time to get to us and it just felt like it was time. We all guesstimated how much progress I had made throughout the day. I said I was hoping to be a 7 but thought I was probably more like a 5. When Carolee got to our house she checked me. I was a 5. Then I contracted while she was checking me, my water broke and voila! I was a 7. Well, I know what that means for me. Craziness is about to happen!

I got into the tub at that point and was surprised still at how far apart my contractions were. The long breaks were nice, but it also just allowed more fear to creep in. I got through transition and started having that all too familiar, horrible urge to push, but I remember feeling afraid to push hard. I could tell she wasn't going anywhere. Carolee checked me again and said to breathe through a few contractions because there was still a little bit of cervix over the baby's head. Ummm, that was like the worst torture in the world. With the other 2 homebirths that urge to push was intense and when I did push (which I couldn't even help it if I tried), I could feel how much the baby was moving down. With this one, she was just stuck there. After a couple contractions they had me turn over from a sitting position in the water to my knees, leaning over the side of the tub. The next push moved the baby down and it wasn't long before she was out. Her chest was as big as her giant head, so I can't say it was easy and I swear they had to help pull her out, but finally, there she was! 2:47am, Sunday, Jan. 29

Holy sweet relief. She was huge. And she was chubby. And we all just looked at her sweet face for the longest time. Then it dawned on me. "Did anyone check to make sure she was a girl?" No one had. So I did. And it was true. She was a girl. :)

Rand cut the cord and I moved to the bed for the aftermath. I held her while I was sutured (for the 4th time...one of the lasting consequences of my first birth in the hospital) and she was ready to nurse, sucking on her hands like she'd been nursing for a month or something. Once I was cleaned up and had nursed the babe, we woke up the kiddos (except we couldn't wake up Easton so we just let him sleep) and they came in to meet her.

Then she got weighed and measured and checked out. My biggest (and latest) baby. 9lbs 7oz. 21.5inches long. 14.5 inch head. And she is lovely.

A word on her name

I don't remember where I heard the name Annabel first. But I instantly loved it. It is a combination of my middle name (Annette) and my sister's middle name (Isobel). And then her middle name is a part of my other sister's first name, (Rachel).

I really hadn't heard the name much before that....maybe I just wasn't paying attention.

Soon after (I didn't even know if I was having a girl at the time) one of my daily blog reads had a daughter and named her Annabel (same spelling and everything). I instantly thought, "shoot. Now I need to come up with another name." But then I thought, that was silly. I don't even know this person, and she is across the country and I can still have my own Annabel.

THEN, my sister in law adopted a beagle and low and behold the dog's name was Annabelle. I literally shouted at the computer, "NOOOOO". But then I talked myself down again. It's a dog, who is 15 years old. She doesn't own the name Annabelle. I still love it.

THEN, for a while Rand and I weren't in agreement on a middle name. He wanted it to be Grace, I wanted Rae. He came to my side eventually and then before Christmas we got a card from his uncle who's daughter (Rand's cousin) had had a baby girl and guess what they named her?.....Grace Annabelle.

What are the chances of that!!!???

And then we had our own Annabel.

The next day, my sister text me and said, "hey, I might be watching a baby girl after she is born. Her name is going to be Annabelle." Crazy, huh?

This was the first baby in which we really had decided on a name right a way. We will see what kind of crazy nicknames her brothers come up with as time goes by. So far she has been called "Agent Annie" "Annie-tooterpants" and "Belly".

We love our Annabel.

all photos courtesy of Jessica Ackley

The First Week

We survived the first week! It's always the hardest, right? Grandpa Mike, from Phoenix, came for a visit this weekend to meet the newest addition and left this morning. Rand is back to work this morning, too. My mom is helping by taking the big boys to their classes this morning (which I haven't even blogged about yet) and me and the 2 littlest are home alone until about 1:30 ish. Back to life....that's what it feels like! I have spent the entire week inside (despite our crazy beautiful weather we have been having here). The boys have all been outside most of the time. Rand put up the swing set with his Dad down in our lower yard. I could almost feel all the summer fun we are going to have. But me, well I spent the week just watching Annabel change before my very eyes. So fast! Maybe it's because she was born a tad late...or maybe because she is a girl, but I have been blown away by how fast she is going from that sleepy newborn to an alert baby. She is calm and content and she is already smiling at all of her admirers. Love her.

Quickly Changing

If you don't just sit around and stare and gaze and admire....you will just flat out miss it. She already looks so different. (She got pretty squished, so all that swelling has gone down now)

The newborn phase flies by. It is a blessing and a curse. I'm trying to love it as long as I can because soon it will be gone. So what if I can't do anything with her still so attached to me...and yes, I am scared to put her down anywhere because Easton is well....unpredictable and almost 2.  Every day it is a little different...and a little easier.

A Little Sneak Peak

I have a story to write, but not tonight.

Here are a few pics from our first 24 hours. It is a blessing to be at home, but I sometimes forget that most people get those first couple days in the hospital to recover. No dishes, no cooking, no diaper changing older siblings, that kind of stuff. So I'm trying to just take it easy.

My dear friend, Jessie, was present at Annabel's birth and took pictures for us. I'm hoping to get to see them soon and post them with a little story.

Until then....here's a few taken from my camera and my sister's phone after the fact.

4am (just an hour old)

8am (Easton waking up to a whole new life)

My Grandma



On Being Overdue

January 19th has come and gone. Like everyone on the planet that date automatically puts a deadline in my mind. 'Well of course I will have a baby on or by that date.' After that date doesn't really enter your mind.

I have chosen to have my babes outside the traditional medical model. I have researched and read and birthed and experienced enough that I feel confident and safe.

Anticipation is high and that makes the waiting harder. People are worried and that makes me lose confidence. There is an underlying feeling of now that we have passed the date, it is time to take matters into our own hands.

I read the following this morning from here. I feel better now.

Events during Pregnancy's Final Weeks

In the last weeks of pregnancy, maternal antibodies are passed to the baby—antibodies that will help fight infections in the first days and weeks of life. The baby gains weight and strength, stores iron, and develops more coordinated sucking and swallowing abilities. His lungs mature, and he stores brown fat that will help him maintain body temperature in the first days and weeks following birth. The maturing baby and the aging placenta trigger a prostaglandin increase that softens the cervix in readiness for effacement and dilatation. A rise in estrogen and a decrease in progesterone increase the uterine sensitivity to oxytocin. The baby moves down into the pelvis. Contractions in the last weeks may start the effacement and dilation of the cervix. A burst of energy helps pregnant women make final preparations, and insomnia prepares them for the start of round-the-clock parenting.

The watchful waiting and the intense wanting of the big day to arrive are all part of nature's plan. When the baby, uterus, placenta, and hormones are ready, labor will start. Additionally, all that preparation sets the stage for an easier labor and a fully mature baby who is physiologically stable and able to breastfeed well right from the start.

Waiting for Labor to Start

Thinking of, and clinging to, the “due date” as “the day” makes it difficult for women to trust nature's beautiful plan for the end of pregnancy and the start of labor. What women rarely know, and what people tend to forget, is that some variation exists in how long it takes for an individual baby to mature fully. Acknowledging that babies can safely come 2 weeks before or 2 weeks after the due date does not tell the whole story. Some babies are mature as early as 37 weeks (259 days), and others need 42 completed weeks (294 days) and sometimes a bit more to be fully ready. Size is not an indication of maturity, and the due date is only a guideline.

My colleagues who are midwives talk about due dates in vague terms. “The baby will probably come towards the end of August. If Labor Day comes and goes, we'll watch carefully.” In the days before ultrasound, caregivers encouraged a woman to note carefully the day she first felt her baby move. Moving forward 22 weeks gave a nice approximation of the time she would go into labor. It still does. Waiting for labor to start spontaneously is almost always the best way to know that the baby is ready to be born and that a woman's body is ready for labor.

That's what I'm going to go with. Here's to a fully ready baby and a fully ready Mama.

Soon.

During School

During school today I was just a little bored. And besdes, I like taking pictures of their cute faces. Aaaaand, the time is drawing to an end where there will only be 3 little boys to take pictures of. These are my 3 that I have today. Maybe tomorrow there will be another cute face.