Q & A about the birth

I've loved all your comments and questions. I will be more than happy to tell you about the delivery.. but give me a second. He's only three days old. It was so awesome and wonderful and intense that I just can't spit it out like I want to. I will take it a subject at a time. For now-- here's a simple Q&A.

Did you REALLY have the baby at home? Yes. This was the plan from day one and I was fortunate enough to experience it the way I wanted to. This was my big frustration with early labor, small baby, etc. Bedrest was really important to me and I am so grateful he waited as long as he did to come.

He was born in my bedroom. My husband, my midwife, a nurse and the most incredible DOULA (birthing coach) were present. My kids were home but not in my bedroom for the delivery. They were coloring and playing downstairs :) They came upstairs about 10 minutes after he was born.

No drugs? No drugs. I've wanted natural births for my other babies but have never been able to do it. This time, drugs weren't an option. And I didn't need them! I think I set myself up for something MUCH worse than what it was. It was seriously incredible to be fully aware of what was going on. Painful? Absolutely. But more intense and exhausting than excruciating. I knew I could do it and it was liberating! I am WOMAN!

Do I think this is for everyone? Of course not. Only crazy Granolas have their babies at home. My husband was not on board until after he was born. I told him I would be willing to go to the hospital if there was ANY sign of an emergency. We live 2 minutes from a hospital. I felt very calm and relaxed since the time I made the decision to deliver at home. It was right for me and for my 4th baby.

Widwife or Doctor? There is no question in my mind that midwives are the way to go, if circumstances allow. No question. My widwife is a mother of 6. LDS. Homeschooling mom. My appointments were usually on a Saturday morning. Zero wait. Our visits were more like therapy than they were medical visits. I was empowered throughout this pregnancy and knew I could read my natural instincts rather than rely on medical experts to tell me how I was feeling.

If I could have had it my way, I would have delivered in a hospital with a midwife, but it's not legal here in NV (lame.) Now that I have gone through the experience, I cannot imagine going back to the hospital (obviously unless it's best for me and the baby.)

Didn't you miss the nurses taking care of you and your baby after delivery? I have never had a bad hospital experience, but I don't consider the post-delivery in the hospital room ideal. HOW are you supposed to recover from such a delivery with a nurse coming in every hour to check your blood pressure and temperature? Just a few hours after delivery, my three older kids crawled in bed with us and we read scriptures as a family with the newest little member. It was heavenly. I slept wonderfully in my own, comfortable bed. 12 hours of sleep the first night-- 7 solid without being woken at ALL. Simon and I were both obviously very tired!

How's the recovery? well, it's only day three.. and it's rough. (Even though I don't have any stitches to recover from.) It's been a while, so I might have forgotten, but I think it might even be worse than my other deliveries... but that could be due to the fact that I've had zero drugs (except for a bit of Ibuprofen) and the fact that my mom can't be here to help me with the other kids.. and the fact that my husband is swamped at work. He went back Monday. I really miss him and hate that he has to work for a living.

More to come later... nursing baby ready to eat..

"Your house is a mess, go straight to Hell."

That was the quote of the day yesterday. Maybe even the quote of the year. It was said by our favorite #1 son during FHE last night. Aaron and I simultaneously followed up with "Do not pass go. Do not collect $200."

Ben puts HIMSELF in charge of the Family Home Evening lesson every single week. Even when it's not his turn or when someone has already given the lesson, he sneaks his own agenda in there somewhere. He is such a teacher's pet and we love him for it. Last night, Luke gave an awesome 5 minute lesson and we thought we were golden. Low and behold, Ben was in charge of the activity... and apparently he had spent quite a bit of time making up his own game-- with a loooong lesson to boot. It was particularly creative, so I pulled out the trusty cam.

*you have no idea how perfect the picture above describes my life:
Luke upside-down on the couch, Zack wearing my boots, Ben cheesing it in his favorite TF shirt with holes.*

The object of the game was to make it to HEAVEN (the brown piece of paper at the end...) Ben wrote certain "scenarios" on slips of paper and we each took a turn to draw. Some of the papers read: PREY, move two steps forward. BABTIZE the DEAD, move 3 steps forward. GET a NEW BABY, 4 steps forward. TALK BACK TO MOM or DAD, two steps back. LEAF your HOUSE a MESS, one step back. LISTEN to SATIN, 3 steps back. Whoever was the first to make it to the Heaven was the winner. But a few of us had to go back--- all the way back to Hell, that is. When Luke drew a the messy house slip of paper and was one step away from outer darkness, Ben excitedly announced, "Your house is a mess! Go straight to Hell!" I don't think any woman with a baby 2 days old should laugh that hard. But it's such a great quote that I am thinking about putting it up on the wall somewhere.

*Obviously Luke didn't care about losing the game..
he and Zack had a gay 'ol time playing. And by gay, I mean FUN.

Oh and I must mention for memory's sake: When Ben was setting up for the game, I saw that he was coloring sheets of white paper different colors (the first two are red and blue.) I asked him if he would rather use construction paper instead of scribbling over white paper. Ben let out a big sigh and said,

"Sure. That would make my job a LOT easier."

If he only KNEW how much easier he made my job as a mom.....

Hello. My name is Simon.

I also go by a few nicknames:

proud big brothers

Can you tell they're excited to have another boy in the house?

Ben CANNOT get enough of the baby. All he says is:

"Can I hold him? Can I hold him? Can you believe how cute he is? If I go downstairs, then I will miss him! Can I hold him? Is there anything about him that looks like ME? I love him SO MUCH already!"

This is the one of the first things Luke said to me after the baby was born.. (I kid you not)

"Did you know that every baby is born with over 300 bones, but because they fuse together, by the time they are an adult they only have 206. There are like 30 bones just in his skull."

I have NO IDEA if that is true, but coming from Luke, I would imagine it's probably accurate.

The picture says it all. Zack is ECSTATIC about being an older brother.
He doesn't want to hold him very much or for very long, but he loves him alright.
He has already passed down his beloved truck pillow
and gave the baby his very first (and very in the FACE) puppet show.
While joking about a few names, Zack asked the baby if he wanted to be called Jasper.
When the baby sneezed in response, Zack said, "I think he's allergic to Jasper!"
(that name isn't even on the list, btw.)

Aaron is proud to have four boys.
I love to watch how sweet he is with the baby (and to me.)
If only Daddy could be at home always...

I am literally pinching myself every waking moment.
Do I REALLY have a little doll to play with???

he's here.

November 7, 2009
12:48 PM
7 lbs 8 oz
20 inches long

we don't know his name just yet.


he has long eyelashes
and looks just like his older brother, Luke.


everyone is doing fabulously well.