Jubilee Camilla Richter
She was born on December 11, 2010 at 1 PM. She weighed 8 lb 2 oz.
Praise be to God!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Baby is 39 weeks
The contractions are strong and hopefully, effective. They feel like the real thing but just not very consistent or close together. I believe I'm in early labor and that birth should be just around the corner. I lost my mucus plug this morning so another big sign that it shouldn't be much longer.
Chris is really unlike most men, I think, how he personally takes responsibility over our births. He took me out walking tonight even though I wasn't very enthusiastic about the prospect of going out in the cold, knowing that contractions may make walking less than comfortable. He wants this baby to come and out we went. God gave us a wonderful walk and it wasn't that cold at all. It was like being on a date. We hadn't had much time to ourselves this past week so it was very nice to hold hands and talk with each other.
I am still amazed that God has given me a husband that is not afraid to take on his wife's birth. He doesn't want that responsibility to fall on anyone else. Neither of us would be comfortable with someone helping us during the birth of our baby. It's an intimate and special time that we don't feel the need to share with others.
We've had to share our births before in a managed setting and it really pales in comparison to what we've since experienced in the privacy of our home. We birth our way, unhindered, under no time constraints, allowing the birth to unfold and be accomplished naturally.
Chris is really unlike most men, I think, how he personally takes responsibility over our births. He took me out walking tonight even though I wasn't very enthusiastic about the prospect of going out in the cold, knowing that contractions may make walking less than comfortable. He wants this baby to come and out we went. God gave us a wonderful walk and it wasn't that cold at all. It was like being on a date. We hadn't had much time to ourselves this past week so it was very nice to hold hands and talk with each other.
I am still amazed that God has given me a husband that is not afraid to take on his wife's birth. He doesn't want that responsibility to fall on anyone else. Neither of us would be comfortable with someone helping us during the birth of our baby. It's an intimate and special time that we don't feel the need to share with others.
We've had to share our births before in a managed setting and it really pales in comparison to what we've since experienced in the privacy of our home. We birth our way, unhindered, under no time constraints, allowing the birth to unfold and be accomplished naturally.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Baby is 38 weeks
No matter that I've had 7 children. Each pregnancy still is as exciting and unpredictable as ever. Last Friday I thought I was in labor. Chris had just started a two week night shift and I was in bed thinking this was it! And then, he came home! I hadn't even called him. He inflated the pool and I gathered what I wanted for the birth. Then God answered Chris' unspoken prayer, I think. He didn't want the baby to be born with us both tired. My contractions didn't seem to be as consistent so we went to bed. And that was that. I guess a warm up was in order so I can really get super excited for the real thing.
God's timing is better than my timing.
We have been so blessed by our little church family. Last Sunday, they prayed for us and then showered us with love and dessert and money to buy a double jogging stroller. The ladies told me that they decided to give us money instead of an actual stroller because they thought I could find a good deal. Well, God is the one who provides. I saw a double jogging stroller on Craigslist this morning and I got it this afternoon for a very good price! A church blessed us in such a wonderful way. Just like how our church is. For the whole family.
I'm still learning to rest in the Lord and wait on Him. This pregnancy is no exception. God never wastes anything. Everything to draw us closer to Himself.
God's timing is better than my timing.
We have been so blessed by our little church family. Last Sunday, they prayed for us and then showered us with love and dessert and money to buy a double jogging stroller. The ladies told me that they decided to give us money instead of an actual stroller because they thought I could find a good deal. Well, God is the one who provides. I saw a double jogging stroller on Craigslist this morning and I got it this afternoon for a very good price! A church blessed us in such a wonderful way. Just like how our church is. For the whole family.
I'm still learning to rest in the Lord and wait on Him. This pregnancy is no exception. God never wastes anything. Everything to draw us closer to Himself.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Baby is 35 weeks
Baby is still active and moving all around so I doubt delivery is imminent. I think 2-4 more weeks and we'll get to meet this new little one.
I was pondering about Romans 8:28. Does it really mean all things as in everything that happens in a believer's life? Does it mean that even though childbirth is very hard because of the Fall, God will use even the pain of contractions for good? And we don't have to opt out on that pain but if we relied on God to truly deliver us, we can have a miraculous birth? I believe so. I believe God is good, even after pronouncing judgment on mankind, and He gives us grace to endure what's hard and seemingly beyond what we can endure.
I am greatly comforted by God's promises that I don't have to accomplish anything on my own strength. It is God who will shoulder the burden if I don't fret and allow fear to overcome my task at hand. I was thinking over what fears I may be harboring with this birth. I don't think I really have much of a list. I would like a shorter birth than Noble's birth but I am not really fearful of another long labor. Chris and I were talking about whether to go to the Urgent Care 5 minutes away or to the Base Hospital if I needed to transfer. That would be terribly sad, but I don't think I am really fearful of that happening. I don't believe that I am immune from problems arising in labor. Believing childbirth to be a normal non-medical event doesn't mean that I also believe that nothing will ever go wrong. If I wanted to really become fearful, I could imagine all sorts of things that could go wrong and dwell on those possibilities. Instead I will pray for peace and a joyful anticipation of this baby's birth. God is still in control and all is well with me.
I was pondering about Romans 8:28. Does it really mean all things as in everything that happens in a believer's life? Does it mean that even though childbirth is very hard because of the Fall, God will use even the pain of contractions for good? And we don't have to opt out on that pain but if we relied on God to truly deliver us, we can have a miraculous birth? I believe so. I believe God is good, even after pronouncing judgment on mankind, and He gives us grace to endure what's hard and seemingly beyond what we can endure.
I am greatly comforted by God's promises that I don't have to accomplish anything on my own strength. It is God who will shoulder the burden if I don't fret and allow fear to overcome my task at hand. I was thinking over what fears I may be harboring with this birth. I don't think I really have much of a list. I would like a shorter birth than Noble's birth but I am not really fearful of another long labor. Chris and I were talking about whether to go to the Urgent Care 5 minutes away or to the Base Hospital if I needed to transfer. That would be terribly sad, but I don't think I am really fearful of that happening. I don't believe that I am immune from problems arising in labor. Believing childbirth to be a normal non-medical event doesn't mean that I also believe that nothing will ever go wrong. If I wanted to really become fearful, I could imagine all sorts of things that could go wrong and dwell on those possibilities. Instead I will pray for peace and a joyful anticipation of this baby's birth. God is still in control and all is well with me.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Baby is 33 weeks
Monday, October 25, 2010
Why homeschooling is so good
I went grocery shopping this morning. I didn't have to take any of the littles, as all the children were home and could take care of everything. It began raining quite hard on my way home and was still raining when I got home. When I pulled into the driveway, my nine year old daughter was waiting for me with an umbrella to escort me into the house. The boys brought in the groceries and put them away while I had lunch.
The children do school at home. But they also live here at home during the day, serving and doing things that need to be done. They aren't where they can't be available to their siblings or to us. They have the freedom to take care of more important things than school work because they are home. God designed families to serve each other and I'm so grateful that my children are learning to do that and not in an artificial environment where they are learning to serve themselves. God's command for parents to teach their children all day long sure benefits the entire family. Thank you, Lord, for showing us what our responsibilities are as parents and for blessing us with our children.
The children do school at home. But they also live here at home during the day, serving and doing things that need to be done. They aren't where they can't be available to their siblings or to us. They have the freedom to take care of more important things than school work because they are home. God designed families to serve each other and I'm so grateful that my children are learning to do that and not in an artificial environment where they are learning to serve themselves. God's command for parents to teach their children all day long sure benefits the entire family. Thank you, Lord, for showing us what our responsibilities are as parents and for blessing us with our children.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Baby is 32 weeks
Amazing. Just amazing how fast this pregnancy is going. I skipped quite a few weeks posting because a monumental event happened last month. My husband came home after being gone for 4 months!
I'm up to 107 pounds. And I feel it, especially after sitting for awhile and then getting up. Although this pregnancy has been pretty normal, I have been plagued by itchy red bumps on my belly. There's actually a name for this. It's called pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP) or polymorphic eruption of pregnancy. I've tried using coconut oil and it seems to help a little, but it's still pretty itchy. I'd think that after 7 pregnancies, my skin would've gotten used to being stretched, but apparently not. Other symptoms I'm experiencing are vulvar varicosities and hemorrhoids. Getting older and being pregnant does have side effects, I guess, for me, but despite these annoyances, it's still pretty exciting knowing that my baby is growing and will be born soon. This is such an active baby that there's hardly a time when I don't feel either the baby moving or my uterus contracting.
I haven't been walking as faithfully but I did go out yesterday and it felt good. I took a bath last night and I am very grateful there's an inflatable pool waiting in the garage for the birth. The bath tub was just way too shallow. What's so nice about the inflatable pool is that the bottom is also inflated so it's not hard like the bathtub. I would recommend getting an inflatable pool just for laboring in because it makes relaxation so much easier to come by even if the idea of birthing the baby isn't that appealing. For me, I love that the baby is supported by water when s(he) is birthed and no one has to catch the baby.
I don't know what made me so sure that I wanted a water birth with our first homebirth. I didn't read any books specifically on water birthing, although a few books did mention using water as a relaxation tool. My husband says he loves it, too. He likes how everything is all in one place and how unmessy it is. I've heard some homebirthers say they didn't realize how messy childbirth was but that hasn't been our experience at all. We've never had to clean floors or sheets because of the birth. All Chris has to do is to let the water out of the tub and we're all done. Doesn't get easier than that!
I'm up to 107 pounds. And I feel it, especially after sitting for awhile and then getting up. Although this pregnancy has been pretty normal, I have been plagued by itchy red bumps on my belly. There's actually a name for this. It's called pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP) or polymorphic eruption of pregnancy. I've tried using coconut oil and it seems to help a little, but it's still pretty itchy. I'd think that after 7 pregnancies, my skin would've gotten used to being stretched, but apparently not. Other symptoms I'm experiencing are vulvar varicosities and hemorrhoids. Getting older and being pregnant does have side effects, I guess, for me, but despite these annoyances, it's still pretty exciting knowing that my baby is growing and will be born soon. This is such an active baby that there's hardly a time when I don't feel either the baby moving or my uterus contracting.
I haven't been walking as faithfully but I did go out yesterday and it felt good. I took a bath last night and I am very grateful there's an inflatable pool waiting in the garage for the birth. The bath tub was just way too shallow. What's so nice about the inflatable pool is that the bottom is also inflated so it's not hard like the bathtub. I would recommend getting an inflatable pool just for laboring in because it makes relaxation so much easier to come by even if the idea of birthing the baby isn't that appealing. For me, I love that the baby is supported by water when s(he) is birthed and no one has to catch the baby.
I don't know what made me so sure that I wanted a water birth with our first homebirth. I didn't read any books specifically on water birthing, although a few books did mention using water as a relaxation tool. My husband says he loves it, too. He likes how everything is all in one place and how unmessy it is. I've heard some homebirthers say they didn't realize how messy childbirth was but that hasn't been our experience at all. We've never had to clean floors or sheets because of the birth. All Chris has to do is to let the water out of the tub and we're all done. Doesn't get easier than that!
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