My Men

Big brother Matthew giving Levi a kiss.

Daddy, Matty and Levi.
Levi is yawning here, not screaming.
And doesnt Matthew just look so proud to be a big brother?

Matthew: You sure he has to stay?

Levi David

Birth date: Sunday, January 24, 2010

Birth weight: 9 lbs exactly

Time of birth: 1:40 pm

Surprises?: I did it oh naturel. Not only that, but I was praised for how well I did it without ANY meds. They were so surprised at how well I controlled my breathing and my pain. I must admit,I dont know how I did it either.

Labour Pains

Its 4 am right now. I have been woken by the beginning of labour. It started at 3:30 and I have been swaying and pacing my dark, lonely bedroom since the initial contraction.

Thank you Lord for answering my prayer. Things are happening. My body is working and Levi will be here eventually. I was beginning to feel like he would never come.

Breathe, breathe, relax and breathe...

Not even my husband knows Im in labour yet. Ill let him get the.... ouch! what was I saying? Oh ya, Ill let him get as much sleep as I can. How neat would it be that Levi could be born on a Sunday just like Matty? 8 days overdue. What the doctor told me seems to be the average for women delivering.

Labour started and stopped with Matty for several days. Im up pacing and rocking and trying to stay relaxed to avoid that from happening but we shall see. Remain posted. Perhaps soon there will be news... Oh I do hope!

Phew one more contraction before finishing off.

Hope everyone is resting and sleeping well.

Still Waiting

I have no ideawhy I was so impatient waiting for Matthew. He came on the 5th overdue day but I was in labour for 3 days. Things were happening and it kept my mind off of waiting. Yet with him I was impatient a month before he came.

Levi, however, is now 6 days late. And NOTHING is happening. He isnt making me have contractions and so it is discouraging. I just want the process to start.

I just returned from the ultrasound. I guess they wanted to check me out to make sure that I didnt go through whole weekend if My plecenta was tired or my liquid was low. Everything looked fantastic. You know what the tech told me? They estimate that Levi currently weighs 9.14. I really hope they are wrong. Matthew was big enough, thank you very much.

If I dont go into labour on my own this weekend, I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday and then they will schedule will for induction. I really dont want to be induced and I really dont want to wait so long. Every moment of the day I feel like I am fighting back tears. Im tired and my whole body hurts. I cant walk properly and I cant sit or lie comfortably either. Poor Matthew gets the brunt of my impatience. Its like we are both in the same mind set. The past two and a half days he has just been fussy and whiney and crying all the time and I feel like doing the same thing. I think we are rubbing off on one another. Its hard being the mom and having to just suck it up and hold it back.

Right now I guess im just trying to keep myself busy with anything. It's really hard. I find myself telling Levi how great it is to be in the world in hopes that he'll listen and come out. I have to keep my mind away from how pleasant it will be just to bend over when there is no human in my womb. So many things will be so much easier (tieing boots, putting on pants, shaving my legs, standing by the sink...).

I dont know if anyone on the planet can understand impatience the way a woman does while waiting for an overdue baby.

Favourite Places

Matthew:"Its not the animals that go in the barn, its me."

Levi:

I think its time this big basketball be born, don't you?

Find another favourite place. PLEASE!!!

P.S. if you could all be praying; my blood pressure hasnt been so great and it is a bit of a concern. If you could pray this little man would just come now it would be good. It would save us both a lot of stress.

Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

What a strange story. I knew the story but had never read it. Boy does it get even wierder when it is read. One really does have to wonder what was wrong with the author when he wrote this story. Sure it is very imaginative and... different but was it written without substance abuse? I really doubt it.

Dont get me wrong, I really enjoyed reading it and have even watched a version of it as a movie and thought it quite enjoyable (my sister thought it was much to creepy). It just goes to prove that reading the real thing is always different and usually better.

One thing that I was expecting and didnt see was Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum. I wonder if they are in Through the Looking Glass instead...

Birthday

Today is the day that Levi was expected to come. When I say expected I mean I am officially 40 weeks today. Due to my pesimism, I have not been expecting Levi to come on this date because his brother sure didnt think he should come when he was suppose to. Why should Levi???

I am huge, tired, eager, my hands keep going numb because I am so swollen, I can barely walk, I ache... the list could go on forever. However, I know eventually this little man will come. Maybe tonight (although I highly doubt it) or in another week and a half.

Currently the doctor feels that Levi is still too high up in the womb. He hasnt quite found the place he needs to put his head and so has not decended. If they were to induce me, which they may have considered doing due to higher blood pressure and serious swelling, it would very likely end up in a c-section. So they desire this little man to get lower and better still, for me to go into labour naturally.

The exact same thing happened with Matty. He didnt want to come until my body started things and even then he got stuck and confused for a while. Once it got sorted out it was much faster.

Lets pray that Levi figures out where to go quickly and my labour is not three days. I would love for a much quicker and smoother delievery. Mostly, I am just excited to meet my little man. I pray he is healthy and strong and that we can begin our relationship from outside the womb.

Mommy hurts Levi. Please come out and say hello!!!! There are so many people who wish to meet you.

Dune

Another book down.

Dune written by Frank Herbert.

Its a science fiction that brings you to a completely different world from ours. I 'm not usually a fan of science fiction but this one was also kind of fantasy like. Its about a family (Royal) who has to move from their planet to another planet due to some schemeing on the part of another royal family. Once they arrive things are so different from what they are accustommed to and their family ends up being a legend that the people have been waiting for.

Very interesting read. Its the first of a trilogy and I may just come back and finish the other two once I have finished my list of other books.

Keeping a Clean, Organized Home

See how incredibly thrilled this woman is to be working hard at keeping her home neat and tidy and clean? I fear this is so far from me. Now, I do have days where I really do just want to get down and get to work and make my place shine but many times it is more of a duty then a pleasure. I know this attitude is wrong and I am working hard at trying to change it.

Part of my motivation is spiritual. I am currently renting and have been for some time. A lot of the time I lose pride in the place I am living because it doesn't belong to me. However, this is a terrible way of thinking. This home that I have is a blessing from God and we are to be good stewards with everything we are given. So, already my excuse for not keeping my home is no good. God desires me to treat everything respectfully and with joy and thankfulness.

As I strive to get motivated to keep on top of my duties and my home I have started to write up a list of all the tasks that need doing in a home. Whether it is daily, weekly, monthly or annually I have tried to write them all in a list that I can later organize into when and how often it needs to be done.

Here is what I have come up with so far:

*sweeping
*dusting
*vacuuming
*wiping down the counters
*dishes
*cleaning the bathroom
*shaking out and cleaning the front hall mats
*scrubbing baseboards
*cleaning out the fridge
*cleaning out the freezer
*laundry (cleaning, folding, putting away)

*ironing

*changing the beds
*watering the plants
*fertilizing the plants
*organizing closets
*cleaning the oven
*vacuuming under couch cushions and behind and under the couch (or other furniture)
*cleaning the windows
*washing the floors
*organizing kitchen cupboards
*organizing the pantry
*organizing dressers
*making meals
*grocery shopping
*making meal plans
*baking
*cleaning the porch
*yard care (weeding, mowing, tidying toys...)
*paper work (organizing and filing)
*paying bills

Can anyone think of anything else I missed? I really am desperate to organize my life and with a second little one coming any day I would love to get started now as things will only be getting harder. I plan on taking these ideas, deciding when each thing needs to be done and then making myself a master list/schedule to try and learn and make routine. I will also have to add the everyday living tasks such as devotions, kids time, visiting etc. to this list eventually and try and get it to work. It sounds like a very inflexible idea but I see it working well with my flexible schedule. If I am diligent on the daily tasks that keep a home presentable then I can easily switch a task from one day to another since it is not something that will cause the house to fall apart.

Please send me your ideas and any things I missed. I would love to learn how you manage your lives and maybe adopt some of those ideas myself.