Aiden's Birth Story

I can't believe Aiden is already a week old! It flew by so fast! I figured that this was a good time to sit down and write out his birth story, before I forget any of it. :)

It all started on a saturday morning...

I lost my mucous plug around 11 am (sorry if that's TMI). Now, I wasn't quite sure what that meant so I gave my midwife a call. She told me that it meant I was dilating (I was at 1 1/2cm earlier that week) and that labor could start within 24-36 hours. We didn't want to get everybody all excited, so we only told our parents and a friend, Sarah Cornett, who was going to take pictures of the birth for us.

Contractions started just a few hours later but they weren't very strong or consistent until late afternoon. Now, the timing of everything was just perfect. Eli's cousin was getting married that day and a bunch of his relatives were in town. Everyone (and I mean everyone!) kept telling us to wait to have the baby until after the wedding but before they left! We went to the wedding and then the reception and had a wonderful time. We left the reception at about 9pm, by that point the contractions were pretty strong and were coming 10 minutes apart. Came home and took a bath to see if that would help any. And it did! I didn't have any contractions while in the tub but once I got out they started coming stronger and closer. By 12am they were averaging 4-5 minutes apart. We left for the birthing shortly after that! My midwife checked me when I got there and I was almost at 5cm! At this point I decided to take a shower 'cause my back was killing me. It was wonderful! A little while later I transfered to the hot tub and labored there for 2-ish hours. And ended up getting sick! This is Eli's favorite part to tell. :) The midwife gave me a bowl and I threw up in it, so she went to clean it out. While she was away I threw up again and since I didn't have a bowl, Eli caught it in his hands. What a great husband I have! After that, I was checked again and was at 7cm and my water had still not broken. So she broke it for me and boy, did those contractions get more painful! I kept telling Eli that it hurt and he kept holding my hand and telling me I was doing great. He was wonderful and so supportive! At around 3am, I got out of the tub and labored in bed because my back hurt so bad and none of the positions in the tub were helping it. By 3:30am I was ready to push! That was probably one of the most painful things I have ever experienced. But less than 2 hours later, Aiden was here! The official stats are: born at 5:19am, weighing 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 inches long.

It was one of the most amazing experiences when he came out and was put up on my chest. I was in shock, just couldn't believe he was actually here! And Eli was all teary eyed. :) Aiden was so calm, barely cried and just laid there, looking around with his gorgeous little baby eyes.

Now, I won't lie and tell you it was easy. It was definitely hard, but so worth it. While I was in labor all kinds of thoughts ran through my head about how I couldn't do this, it hurt so bad and now I understand why people get the drugs and c-sections! Looking back, it wasn't that bad and went by very quickly. I'm so glad I made the decision to have an all natural birth. Now I feel like superwoman! It's just an amazing feeling knowing that I gave birth to this child! I feel so accomplished!

Here are some of the pictures Sarah Cornett took!

Scented Pine Cones

This was a super easy and fun project! I definitely recommend it if you like scented pine cones. Well, maybe I should put off judging it until the final result is seen and smelled (it takes 1 week), but I feel pretty confident that they'll turn out fine. :) What I like best about this project is that we already had everything for it! Yeah for inexpensive-ness!

What you need:

pine cones

essential oils (we used cinnamon & apple)

baking sheets

plastic bags

oven

First off, gather pine cones.

We just went out in the yard and picked up ones that had fallen off the trees. Isn't my little helper a cutie!?!? We filled a gallon sized ziploc bag.

Next, rinse and dry them off.

This will help get rid of the dirt and other things stuck on and inside the cones. And the little bugs and flies, ick!

After that, lay them, single coat, in a baking sheet.

Or 2 in our case. Now, the instructions I read say the put them on a foil covered sheet, but we didn't and they turned out fine.

Then bake them for an hour at 200 degrees.

This will kill any bugs or flies that may still be in there.

And they should come out nice and toasted.

The pine cones kinda had a funky fall smell to them.

After baking, let them cool off for a few minutes.

Not that their really hot, but I didn't want to take any chances of burning myself or melting the plastic bags.

Finally, put them in a sealable plastic bag, add a few drops of essential oil, seal the bags and shake the cones around so that the oil gets spread around.

We did 2 different "flavors". Cinnamon and Cinnamon Apple. I think put about 6 drops (?) of oil in each bag. Hopefully that'll be enough! If not, I can always add more. :)

Lastly, let them sit for a week.

I can't wait to smell them! I was also thinking that these would be great little party favors or thank-you gifts! Just put a couple in a little baggie or satchel type thing and voila! yummy-ness to share!

Let me know if you try this recipe and how it worked for you! And what oils you used. Orange and peppermint were 2 other oils that were suggested. Maybe I'll have to make another batch of christmas scented pine cones. :)

*Sorry for the bad lighting in the photos. My camera is having issues with the flash right now*

Please come soon, Baby Aiden!

I don't mean to complain, but I am so ready to be done being pregnant. Just ready to be done with the back pain, tiredness, feeling large, being HOT all the time and the random contractions. Especially after last night. Had about 3-4 contractions within an hour, went to bed and started getting them closer together and on top of that had constipation and diarrhea. Ugh, really! Spent a miserable hour laying there before I was finally able to fall asleep. Now, I must admit, I was pretty excited that I was having contractions, it's means something is going on, right?!?!

I can't really complain. This pregnancy has been so easy. No morning sickness, no heartburn, no swelling and no weird food cravings. We're both healthy, but I really want my normal body back. Or at least close to my normal size.

So I guess the point of this post is to ask for prayers. For strength, energy, patience and acceptance of my body right now. Sounds silly, but I really hate the weight I've put on.

On a lighter note, I am going to attempt to make scented pine cones tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes!