Mary Claire Couch

Claire was 8 days late and I had to be induced. I got to the hospital at7:00am and we got started right away. Once checked in and hooked up, my midwife broke my water. It was 8am and I was 3cm by 11am I was 5+cm. I was so excited and ready.........I actually thought it may be a fast process. Not so lucky. I was checked again at 2:30 and NO changes.At that point I finally decided on the epidural and got it around 3pm. May I add it was the best epidural yet. I could feel the contractions and move my legs!!But at that point I knew it would be hrs before I could see my sweet baby girl. So with HGTV on and a secret Dr Pepper, I relaxed. At about 3:40 I had turned to my left side and noticed a lot of all the sudden pressure. It was a feeling I knew, i had felt before. I calmly told Jamie that I thought it may be time. But waited a couple more contractions to verify what I thought i was feeling. He got nervous and anxious anyways. I called the nurse to check me and I was correct. She called the midwife and Tappie was in and ready by 4pm. 2 great pushes and 6 min later our Sweet Claire was in my arms!!! Perfect 8lbs 8 oz and 21in long. She has a thing for 8's. Daddy and Claire

Me, Zoe, Jonas, Addison and Claire

Mary Claire couch at one week!!

EDD or Estimated Due Date

Well today is the day!! And unfortunately i have very low expectations of any action. Although it would be nice to have 1 out of 4 born on their due date. At this point I'm just praying that God delivers her naturally to me.
After some research on the computer I found that only 5-6% of babies are actually born on their Due Date. Most babies delivering within1-2 weeks early or late. There are many interesting studies out there. The following are just some fun facts:

•Labor gets a push: The number of women whose labor is induced has more than doubled since 1990. In 2006, it rose 1 percent above the previous year, to about 22.5 percent of births. Sixteen percent of preterm and 24 percent of term and higher deliveries were induced in 2006.

•Doctors remain top choice: In 2006, the vast majority of moms in the United States gave birth in hospitals (99 percent) with the help of a physician (91.5 percent). Midwives attended about 8 percent of all births (most midwife-attended births are in hospitals), up from less than 1 percent in the mid-1970s.

•Of the 1 percent of births outside the hospital in 2006, 65 percent were in homes, and 28 percent were in birth centers, numbers that have remained largely the same since 1989. Midwives attended 61 percent of home births, and physicians attended 7.6 percent of home births in 2006. In all, 38,568 births happened outside of hospitals in 2006.

When and where U.S. babies are born
•Midweek delivery: The most popular day for babies to make their entrance? It's now Wednesday. (This is the first year since at least 1990 that Tuesday wasn't the biggest birth day.) There were 15.4 percent more births on Wednesday than on the average day.

•Little lightweights: The average newborn weight in 2006 was 7 pounds, 4 ounces, down just an ounce from 2005. About 8 percent of babies born in 2006 were low birth weight (less than 2,500 grams or 5 pounds, 8 ounces) – also basically unchanged from 2005. The low-birth-weight rate has risen 9 percent since 2000 and 24 percent since the mid-1980s. Induced labors, c-sections, older maternal age, and fertility therapies are reasons given for the trend.

All that being said, I am ready to meet my sweet Claire, but am not ready for induction. Nor a little lightweight. And if not Tuesday, than I'm good with the Midweek delivery being the biggest day of the week for birthdays. I'm also ready for my Midwife to be the only sweet one who delivers me. No matter the study or the facts, she will be here when he is ready for her to arrive.

Blessed

As i am cutting fabric , ipod in and singing away. God took that moment to give me goose pimples and remind me of how BLESSED I am! I am born again and forgiven. He picked me to use in part of his master plan! A sinner, a women who fails and will fall short. Our father is so GREAT.
So I want to remind my self of 10 things I have been blessed with. Because if I forget what i have, I may forget HE gave it all to me.
BLESSED 10-
I was adopted by my Father!!!
Jesus died for me
I have been saved by Mercy and Grace
I will meet him and you in eternity
God gave me a book to learn from
Someone who will Always listen to me
I am loved
I have a voice to use in spreading his word
My Family:
I was given a kind hearted husband
3(almost 4 children)
My Church Family

Full Moon

Due to the moon's elliptical orbit, the full moon Saturday will appear to be bigger and brighter than it has in a long time.It will appear 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter.
The last time the full moon was so big and close to Earth was in March 1993. This brings be to the question:
Do More Women Go Into Labor During a Full Moon of is it a silly Wives Tale?

I am 39 weeks and 3 days. I went to what was hopefully my last appointment today. I am 2+ cm dilated and 50-60% thinned out. We stripped my membranes and I headed home. I have been feeling fine and have yet to notice any changes. But tomorrow is the Full Moon that could be the answer to my NO-INDUCING prayers.

So Myth or Fact???

Nursery Wall Decor

I wanted the nursery for our fourth to be a bit different. And after hrs of looking and thinking, i found this wonderful post at Chronicle Books Blog. I dont eat or hunt deer nor am i an activist. I just loved the whimsical feel of it.And well it's different.

YOU’LL NEED:
Deer templates
1 20″ x 30″ piece (3/16″-thick) foam core
1 6″ x 7″ piece (1/2″-thick) foam core
60″ length (30″-wide) wrapping paper
1 6″ x 7″ piece of contrasting paper
Craft knife
Cutting board
Spray adhesive
Picture-frame hanging wire
Awl

Make the pieces

1. Using the deer templates:
From the 3/16″ thick foam core, cut:
2 deer heads
1 deer body
1 deer nose
1 deer antler
From the 1/2″ thick foam core, cut:
1 mounting board

Cover the pieces

2. Using spray adhesive, spray one side of the nose piece and adhere it to the Wrong side of the wrapping paper. Use the craft knife and the cutting board and cut out the nose piece. Repeat for the other side of the nose.

3. Repeat to cover both sides of the two deer heads, the deer body, and the deer antler pieces.

4. Using spray adhesive, adhere the contrasting paper to one side of the mounting board. Cut it out using the craft knife and cutting board.

Hang the deer head

5. On each deer head piece, cut a hole 1″ below the top edge and 3/8″ inside the back edge with the awl.

6. Assemble the deer head as shown in the photograph.

7. Thread wire through both holes several times and end by wrapping the wire around itself for a hanger.

For templet head to attached blogspot. For the entire tutorial head over to Chronicle Book Blog. http://www.chroniclebooks.com/etchosts/DeerHead.zip

Special Delivary-and its not the baby

Since I started this blog i haven't really had the chance to BRAG on my husband. Well today is the day. He is a kind hearted man with many great quality's. But one of his best quality is the one to build. Over the years I have used and abused the fact that the man makes great things. I recently gave him a picture and the dimensions for a table, bench and console that i fell in love with at West Elm. So today was my special delivery, and I'M IN LOVE!!!

Terra Console

Terra Table and Bench


I decided on a budget friendly chair from Target.

Now the most perfect lampshade for my moms vintage orange glass lamp.Our walls are a perfect shade of yellow called Pollen Grain. And the curtains are white. I made a sunburst mirror(still needs to be painted) and will be using white and orangesh/brown old Clorox bottles for console decor. I cant wait for the final project!!So a Big thanks to my hubby and all his hard work on my eat in kitchen redo for under $300.

Anthropology

Party Planning

Addison' Birthday is just around the corner. And with the baby due in less than 2 weeks, I knew I better get planning!

We are having an Alice in Wonderland/ Mad Hatter Tea Party. I though I could do so much with all the funess Wonderland had to offer.I found some great invitations at SillyMeDesign on etsy.



I found thee great plated at PlatesandNapkins.com.

I ordered a tea cup cookie cutter and chocolate molds from Amazon.com

Her tutu has been started and i bought all the supplies for the mini top hat. I cant wait to really in party mode!!I just hope 4 kids doesn't hinder me any..hahaha