One Day Old

Maddie holds Jackson - happy that he finally has clothes on!

A few first week anecdotes

*Warning- the upcoming stories include references to breastfeeding. Read at your own risk.

The day Jackson was born, Maddie became a mother. As the day wore on into the afternoon, she couldn't understand why he was still naked. I love to have my newborn babies naked and unwashed the first day, just wrapped in the softest piece of cotton flannel I can find. It's very primal. It's why people love the smell of babies heads - phremones and all that.

Maddie started to get a bit disgusted with me when the baby was still naked at suppertime.

Maddie: "Mom! WHEN are you going to put clothes on Jackson?"

Kat: "Maddie, I'm not in any rush to get him dressed. I like him like that. We'll dress him later." (It's important to be careful when you use the word later with an anxious child. They think later is about two minutes from now.)

Maddie: "Well, if I had a baby, I would put clothes on him." And she just walked away.

Later on, she was watching me nurse Jackson and was a little concerned with the quickness required to latch the baby on.

Maddie: "Mom!? Why are you doing that like that?"

Kat: "I have to move quickly to help him get latched on right while his mouth is wide open."

Maddie: "When I have a baby, I'm not going to smash his face into my breast like that." And, again, she just walked away.


Isabella was equally perplexed by watching Jackson nurse. She was astounded to see milk actually coming out. Jackson is having some trouble latching on properly, so before I nurse him each time, I am training him how to latch on properly by having him suck on my finger and training him to stick his tongue out further. Isabella came in during this training session and saw Jackson sucking on my finger.

Isabella: "Does milk come out of there, too?!"

A son is born!

At 7:35 this morning, Jackson Hickey was born. He entered the world peacefully at home in our master bathroom suite after about 6 hours of labor and and an hour or so of pushing. He weighed in at 8 lb, 4 oz and 21 1/2 inches long, our biggest baby yet. He is calm and serene - a welcome addition to the family. The birth was attended by Johnny, the midwife, and her assistant. Grandma Dot, Grandma Hickey and Aunt Jen arrived within an hour after he arrived. Liam, Maddie and Isabella each woke up in turn after the birth to meet their new little brother.

Liam meets Jackson.

Maddie holds Jackson for the first (but not the last) time!

The baby holds the new baby.

Johnny and I at 9:30 this morning- 2 hours postpartum.

Baby Jackson ready for his close-up.

Good work, Mama. I knew we could do it.

They're so ashamed.

How much is my fine?

Well, the day has arrived. The due date. Funny thing, though. It's not like a library book due date or the one at the video store. There are no late fines. Although, there are people calling my house. But not to return something we've borrowed. It's a little different.

Many requests have been issued: today is John's great grandfather's birthday, a close friend of Grandma Hickey's birthday and my Great Aunt Dorothy's birthday. I'm just not feeling it's going to happen by midnight. Sorry, folks. John's cousin will be celebrating his 8th birthday on Friday and has said he'd love to have a cousin to share the birthday with - or so he thinks!

If there's one thing that this last week or so has taught me is that I have no control over the how or the when. I've felt quite ready for over a week now, periodically having strong contractions for a few hours at a time that suddenly stop. This is life - the lesson I am to learn this time. So I wait. And I enjoy the last time I will feel a person inside my body, kicking at my ribs and squirming about. The last time I will truly be able to protect this small being from the world around us. The last moments of calm before the storm. For I have been truly blessed with four easy pregnancies and healthy children... I am honored to have been able to carry these children into the world, knowing I am a different person than I was before - closer to the person I am meant to become.

On Children (from The Prophet)

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

-Khalil Gibran

Let the polling begin...

Well, it's time to take bets. Anyone who wants to join the baby pool (not the kind that is always mysteriously warm during the summer - the betting pool). Here's the deal. Post a comment with your guess. The actual due date is June 27.

Birthdate
Birth time
Baby's gender
Baby's weight
Baby's length
Baby's name (if you want to get creative)

The winner gets their pick of the other three kids. :)

Adventures in Landscaping

It's a bit of a work in progress - just waiting for the grass to die so our guy can come back. The third photo down is where our garden will be. Hopefully, the after pictures will be ready this week!

Professional Musicians in Training

 

All set...

For those of you who are wondering - especially my crunchy granola friends - we are planning a homebirth with a CNM (certified nurse-midwife). In Indiana (unlike Ohio), CNMs are permitted to attend homebirths. Our midwife trained first with a lay midwife doing only homebirths before becoming a nurse-midwife. The best of both worlds for us - a midwife who believes in the process of birth, but who can also practice legally and transport with us to a hospital if we have an emergency!

We had our home visit today - the midwife and her assistant/nurse/doula/photographer extraordinaire came to see the house. We gave them the tour of the master suite - soon to be birthing/baby suite. I'm so happy about our bedroom on the first floor, connected to the bathroom with a big garden tub... You'd think we'd bought this house just to have a baby in.

So, supplies are purchased, baby clothes washed and folded and the midwives know how to get here! I'm 36 weeks today, which means I could really have a baby anytime after next Tuesday or so, although I expect this sweet little thing will arrive closer to the due date, like his/her siblings.

It's really hard to believe that I've reached the last month of my last pregnancy. Bittersweet, really. John has informed me that it's great that I'm so good at the pregnancy/baby having stuff, but I'm going to have to find a new hobby after his vasectomy... :)