RIP Little Patchy poo...

Yes, our dear little puppy Patch is gone. Yesterday afternoon 2 minutes after letting him out, he was hit by a car when he charged into the road, for reasons we do not know. He has never been on the road before unless he was following one of the boys, but would always come right back when we called him. We didn't see what happened, but our neighbor's son did and he came and told us. I could tell it was not what he wanted to be doing, but we really appreciate him doing that. Our boys were upset, but after seeing him, they had their closure and were pretty well over it. Me, not so much. He seemed more my dog than anyone else's and he was the only company I had many a night after the kids were all tucked in and sleeping. He was always laying at my feet, especially when I was nursing Matthew, and would only go out if I opened the door, otherwise the boys had to pick him up and put him out. He rarely barked and had the sweetest face ever. That puppy just had the perfect personality, and I tried not to get attached, but let's face it, he was pretty stinkin' adorable! I had a really hard time sleeping last night, and it was tough this morning, but I'm hangin' in there. We are looking for another dog the same breed (for allergy purposes) and we have found 3 possibilities. No dog will ever completely replace him, but I can't imagine not having a dog anymore. Just something you get used to, I think.

Well, here's a few pictures for posterity, and I'll update when/ if we find another pooch.

Time for another "normal" post, I guess...

It's been busy here, but I'm going to do my best to update what's been going on around here lately.

Matthew is now almost 3 months old and is weighing in somewhere between 16-17 pounds by now. He was 15lb 6oz at his 2 1/2 month check-up. His older cousin Tyler has caught up to him, so now they're about the same size. He is usually pretty happy, but has been having crying fits where I can't get him to settle down for a while. This afternoon it was so bad that he still was doing the little sniffle thing for 1/2 hour after he stopped crying. It's unnerving when he's like that because I don't know what's bothering him and nothing helps. :( On the flip side, when he's happy, he constantly talking and smiling and such a joy. He is smothered with love from all the other kids and Patch loves to kiss his feet too. He loves his fingers and that helps him sleep through the night, which is great! :)

Kimberly will be 23 months this week. I can't believe she'll be 2 in just over a month! She continues to be happy, easy-going and funny. She's learning more and more words and it's so fun to hear her talk. Lately she's been a little obsessed with freckles. She knows what they are and shows me the one she has on her tummy quite often. She was sitting in church fine for a couple weeks, but was in nursery yesterday... didn't even make it until the minister walked in! Might've been the weather, but we'll keep trying with her until it's a permanent thing. She loves to have her purse in church and loves wearing dresses. I've been making a point of doing something with her hair every day so she gets used to it and with her hair being so fine, to keep the tangles at bay. She's a girly girl where that is concerned. She loves her pretties. :)

Lucas just celebrated his fourth birthday! He's loving being four now, and he got a bike helmet and now rarely goes outside without it on whether or not he rides his bike. He's really improving with his speech, but when he gets tired or hungry he gets lazy and it's harder to understand him again. We decided to hold him back for Sunday school for that reason, although he wants to learn the verses still. If he gets better, we may let him go at the end of the summer, but we'll be doing the wait and see thing with that. We're trying to get him to stop his shrieking.
He screams when he's playing,
He screams when he laying,
He screams when he's happy,
He screams when he sad,
its enough to drive me mad!

He screams when he fine,
He screams when he's hurt.
He screams when he's sleepy,
He screams when he's alert
Man oh man, do my ears hurt!

Sorry, just a poem that popped in my head, lol. I don't think I know of any boys that scream like mine do. You'd almost think I had a house full of girls! Lucas has also been cruising around on his little 2 wheeler bike, but is now out-growing it. We are going to have to do some bike shopping as Caleb's bike has no brakes and Lucas is too big for his... Thankfully Lucas isn't too phased by the size of his bike, but Caleb is sick of crashing. They have the bike arrangements all figured out for when Caleb gets his new one. They have had many discussions about the whole bike thing. :)

Daniel is our new 5 year old and is loving it! He thinks he can do so much more now that he's 5. He is obsessed with Alvin and the Chipmunks, it's funny. If I'd let him, he'd watch it over and over from sun-up to sun-down. I'm thankful it's going back to Movie Gallery tonight... lol he is very active and has been enjoying his school work. Not everything in the letters clicks, but he's getting there. He's definitely a numbers kind of kid. He does great at math stuff. We haven't even gotten to telling time yet, but he knows how to change my family room clock to 4PM so he can have snack time. Smarty pants, that one! He loves flying around on his bike. I don't know that either of my other 2 boys can ride as fast as he. He also has a new helmet, but is a dare devil and would rather not wear it.  :)

Caleb is dealing with some issues lately. We have had to cut back his allergy meds as they were making him VERY hyper. He's a very active kid to begin with, but it was getting really bad. So far he isn't doing too bad with the lower dose, but we're also really watching his sugar and artificial coloring and flavoring intake. Those seem to be triggers of super hyper behavior as well. It's been tough, but we're getting through it day by day. He loves to be outside, and riding his bike with his new helmet as well. He has also been doing well with his school work as long as I let him run outside first. He does well with both letters and numbers, but I think he leans more to the reader/ writer brain than the math brain. He's looking forward to starting his grade 1 books really soon! he's got to get through his short o's and u's and money and clocks then he's done his Kindergarten book! He and Daniel are still keeping up with each other. :)

I have been keeping quite busy, as can be expected with 5 kids. Laundry is a challenge, but I've been managing to get through everything at least once a week. It helps that I have a new dryer that actually shuts off when it's done, and Caleb has been doing some load switching for me. He knows how to start the dryer, but he has yet to learn how to start the washer... that'll probably happen next year. He also will take the wet clothes upstairs for me to hang outside on nice days. He's growing up, and can be such a help! I have also started cloth diapers. Some might think me crazy, but I figure I'm doing so much laundry already, whats another load or 2 a week... not much. Plus, we're no longer paying so much money just for our kids to poop! lol It's amazing once you add it all up how much money you spend on diapers! I'm thankful to have a couple friends who don't think I'm crazy to be doing this. :)

Peter has been VERY busy, for which we are thankful! God has blessed him with much work for his hands to do and his business is doing very well. He has jury duty this week, and he's a little worried that he'll get selected for a trial. He was in for selection this morning, but got excused for that trial. He may still get on another case, but he's hoping not. He had a trial 3 years ago, shortly after starting on his own, and he figures one is enough, especially when he's so busy. He left his phone home this morning and it was going crazy... He also celebrated his birthday yesterday, which is the anniversary of when we met. It's been 9 years and I am so thankful for every one. (Ok, we met a couple days before his birthday, but we didn't really start talking to each other until his birthday.) It's been a great 9 years and I pray he's blessed with many more!

That's the basic run-down of how we're all doing... I do have new pics posted on Facebook so if you're a friend of mine, you can check them out.

If I knew then what I know now...

If I had been completely armed with the knowledge I have now about birth, I probably would have done some things differently with each of my births. However, I am thankful for each of those births as they provided me with more motivation to learn more about what could have been done, other than what was done. I am so thankful to my mom for instilling in me that birth is a normal, natural thing and is to be treated as such. I think that really made me want to have my babies all naturally, to feel the adrenaline rush afterwards, to feel the endorphins during labor and well, to just feel and experience each aspect of birth.

I have always been really interested in anything to do with babies, and amazed at what our womanly bodies were created to do, and are able to do! The whole process of conceiving, nurturing and birthing a baby is so amazing! At my first pre-natal appointment with Matthew (with the second Dr) He said something that made me really think. He said that if left alone, most mothers can birth their babies on their own really well. (That idea is so lost in the obstetric world in the US right now. I loved him for saying that and backing up what I already knew.) If you look at most mammals, (No, I'm not directly implying that we are animals) you will see that they choose a place that is safe, warm and comfortable to birth their babies, often doing it alone, without support or interference. Personally, I'd sometimes rather to labor alone than to be bothered with people trying to talk to me and asking every few minutes how I'm doing, what's my pain level, do I want meds or do I feel the urge to push. With Kimberly I almost told everyone to just leave me alone and I'll call them if I needed help. While going through transition (all 20 minutes of it) I was bombarded with questions from the nurses, the Drs and (I do love him dearly) my husband. I was getting annoyed because I lost focus so often it was frustrating. I do feel that having a great support system which believes in you and your "plan" for your birth is vital in achieving that goal. I know you cannot really plan a birth as there are so many variables, but having a clear idea of what you would like your birth to be like is a great way to let your care giver and support system (whether that be just your husband or your husband and your mom, a doula, or other persons) know what you want done or not done. I had a birth plan written up for all my babies, and it was a good way to have the conversation about what is a standard procedure, what can be ignored, or how your provider does their thing. My birth plan was also what convinced me to switch doctors at 21 weeks. At my first appointment after switching doctors, we went over my plan in great detail, and it was so nice not to be laughed at for what I wanted. Instead I was given options for helping my plan be followed, and encouragement that what I wanted was not too much. It is so important to have someone who believes in your plan and will respect and fight for your wishes for you. You do not want to be fighting against hospital policies while in labor yourself. You need someone who knows what you want, and will stand up against hospital employees for you. I always had in my plan a "just in case" section for if a c-section would be necessary, my preferences for that situation. That helped my Dr know that I knew that things can happen and was prepared for that, and kept my dr comfortable enough to talk to me when something wasn't going quite the way they like. A prime example of that was with Caleb. He was not making progress coming down for a long time and the possibility of a c-section was mentioned. I was not happy that it had to even be mentioned as a possibility, but because I had done some reading, it didn't make me panic, and after that it made me try even harder to get Caleb out on my own.

As much as a well thought out birth plan can help, the most important thing to do is educate yourself. Research all your options, even if you think you know what you want. I really wish I had done more reading during my first pregnancy... more than just What to Expect. Now I honestly wish I hadn't even read that book. Yes, it was a little helpful, but it didn't give me the full spectrum of options that are out there. Everything had to be put by the dr for approval, and honestly, I'd like to see women given the birth process back to them. Teach pregnant women how to care for themselves during pregnancy in regards to which activities are ok, a healthy diet and moderate exercise. Give them the benefit of the doubt that they are not stupid and have to be told everything they can or can't do. Give them more options than "just do what the dr says because s/he knows best". God did not make us so stupid that we cannot decide for ourselves what is best for us. Research all "routine" tests and procedures and refuse the ones that you feel are not necessary. I had no ultrasounds with Caleb until I was over due. I will not have any with (Lord willing) my next pregnancies unless there is a medical indication that it might be beneficial. I do not personally think that the routine 20 week ultra sound is necessary. They do not help with better outcomes, and they are not proven to be completely safe either. FDA approved does not necessarily mean safe. It means that there is no proof that they are not harmful. There is a huge lack of studies and data on the safety of routine ultrasound scans. In fact, of all my pregnancies, I had the most with Lucas and he has the most problems with his ears and speech, which I feel may be linked to all the scans I had. (I was gestational diabetic and had routine scans every couple weeks to follow his growth. Because my GD was under control, they were definitely not necessary.) I did not have GD with Matthew and he was 2lb 2oz bigger than Lucas was, so did the scans help? I don't really think so. With Matthew I had 3 scans, and I totally regret the last one especially. I was 35 weeks pregnant and he was measuring 7lb 5oz and my doctor started getting a little nervous. I told him flat out I'm not scared to birth a big baby, as I had before and inducing early for big baby was not an option for me. I would not show up. The chances of the induction failing are higher (possibly resulting in an unnecessary c-section) and my baby could quite possibly not be ready to come yet (resulting in a possible NICU stay). I was not induced and I had no problems birthing a large baby. :)

Even the test for GD has it's flaws. I don't think I know any woman who fasts for an hour, drinks or eats 50mg worth of glucose and fasts another hour on a regular basis. Of course your body is going to react a little different to the over load of sugar. I think the test would be more accurate if you were testing a few times a day for a few days while the mom is eating and drinking as she normally would. That would be a better indicator of GD and she can alter her diet accordingly. To me it just makes more sense. Doesn't it?

Another test I question the benefits of is the group B strep. I understand why it's done, but I don't think that it's completely necessary for every pregnant woman to HAVE to have it done. The virus is known to come and go, and if you test positive, who's to say you still have it when you go into labor, and if you test negative, who's to say you don't have it when your baby is born? Doesn't quite make sense to me...

I guess I just hope that all moms do the research and make the decision based on what they feel is best for them and their baby. The areas I would encourage all moms to research are these:
Which health provider is going to help you have your best birth possible? Is an OB, or a family dr, or a midwife going to look out for your best interests and educate you as much as you would like? Are they going to push you to do things you don't feel are necessary, or are they going to listen to you, answer your questions truthfully and respect your wishes?

Which tests are absolutely necessary? Are the benefits out weighing any risks? What are the reasons for doing those tests, are they medically indicated?

For after the baby is born, I looked at all sides of these few issues. Circumcision. Why is it done so often, routinely without parents doing the research to find out if this cosmetic surgery is really necessary? In the US we have one of the highest rates of infant male circumcision. I personally don't agree with it and I'm happy that some insurance companies are actually not even covering this procedure anymore. In Canada there is a bill that's going through the government that, if passed, will outlaw all infant circumcision that is not due to a medical problem, which will protect little boys just as little girls are protected from female circumcision. I don't know that I agree with going to that extreme, but I do think a lot more information should be given to parents about the risks (which are many) and the benefits (which are so few, I don't even know if there are any) of circumcision. After doing the research, I am so thankful we left our precious boys intact. This is something that I have just begun the research on and the more I read, the more I want to see parents doing their own research. I have huge problems with parents doing it just because everyone else is, or just so their boys look like Daddy. If a parent does the research on BOTH sides of the issue and makes an informed decision, then fine. I can respect that. (And that goes with a lot of other things I have mentioned as well.) It really irritates me when people just go with the flow and don't think for themselves. There are so many resources out there that there really is no excuse to not do the studying, in my opinion.

Vaccinations. We do not vaccinate. We did have the first 3 boys vaccinated for DTAP, but not until they turned 2, and after again doing the leg work and finding more out, we have decided that we will not be doing those anymore either. Our kids have been really healthy for the most part and they are building their immune systems naturally, and we feel the risks way outweigh the benefits of routine vaccinations. In the US we give our kids more vaccines by the time they're 5 than any other country in the world. Again, if a truly informed decision is made, I can respect that. But do the research, read the ingredients of the vaccines, and educate yourself about the risks involved.

Those are the main issues I wanted to address, and would love to hear from my readers their thoughts. Please leave a message and if you want more information, I can give you some resources so you can do your own research. I guess I have just made my "crunchy mama" statement. lol Regular posts will commence with the next post. I just want to get word out that following the leader is not a game to be played when it comes to the choices we make for our kids.