Briar Autumn

Sweet Briar Autumn was born at 1:11AM on November 8th. :) She weighed 8lbs 13oz, which shocked me since I didn't get too big during pregnancy. My labor was 25 hours long, a home birth, delivered by two sweet midwives and Kelley. The intense labor and 6 hours of pushing were way worth it. I ended up pushing for 3 hours before we discovered that my cervix was stuck over a portion of her head, then I was just exhausted for the last 3 hours, trying to pull it together after 39 hours of not sleeping. Definitely an intense experience. :) We love her to pieces!!!

Sweet Rat Girl...

My sweet rat girl passed away today. A tumor suddenly grew on the inside of her mouth, and within days turned into a stinky and rotting situation. :( I was luckily able to sleep with her for a night and hold her before she got too sick. She was seriously the sweetest rat I have ever known. And even through all of her pain, she was still so gentle and tried to lick my hands as much as she normally does. We took her into the vet earlier to make her transition more comfortable. So heartbreaking, and it makes me not want anymore animals for a while, after my girls live their lives fully. It hurts so bad to lose fur and feather family, and I have experienced it twice in the past year with Little Wing passing last October. I am just grateful that Mooshika lived a full life, and had a lot of people to play with her and give her love over the past couple of years. 

With all of that being said, I haven't had the baby yet. I chalk it up to emotional distress with Mooshika, and a few other things. We have a sweet roommate that is going to take Wolfgang for a couple of days so we can give birth in a quiet and calm environment. Wolfgang has been sick with diarrhea a bit lately, and is now in a 2-year-old screaming fit mood the past couple of days, so I am definitely feeling the need for a break so I can focus only on the birth. Last night, my water was leaking a lot and I had contractions on top of each other, and as soon as the little one started screeching, it was over for me and the contractions wouldn't start up again this morning due to more screeching. I know that stress contributes to unsuccessful labor, so I am truly thankful that there is someone looking to help out. I guess this is why people have family to take their kids for a few days so they can give birth. :) Unfortunately we lack that a lot out here. We also had internet setup today at the house, so I will be able to post about the birth soon! :) Stay tuned. Love :)

Instagram

If anyone wants to follow my Instagram for photos, the link is here:

http://instagram.com/earthyhoneymama

It is easier to keep up with than Blogger sometimes :)

No Wee One Yet :)

I am only 4 days away from my due date, but I feel like the wee one will be waiting until November 3rd (the new moon). At least I am hoping so. I am not ready to not be pregnant yet. I enjoy it too much, and will miss the little one being in there. Though, I do want to meet her and am also getting a little anxious to see her little face. :) I have been scrambling to try and stock up on things and get all of my errands done and bills paid ahead of time so that I do not have to leave the comforts of the mountain.

I had some fun on the set of the upcoming movie "Wild" the other day (Reese Witherspoon has the main acting role). I was cast as an extra (just asked on the street) and ended up being in 5 scenes of the movie. I was getting picked for scenes a lot because of the baby in my belly. Neat experience, but wow it was a long day. I worked 15 hours and ended up with crazy ankle swelling for the first time during my pregnancy, since I had to sit in one place for so long. Definitely something I won't be doing so close to my due date with future pregnancies. :) I didn't actually think I would get back to normal, but I haven't had swelling since, thank goodness.

We are still settling into things at the new place. It is nice and peaceful at night, and it is great having other women on the land to talk to. It sure beats being out in the country alone. We should be getting internet out there within the month. We have pretty bad reception up on the mountain, just like everywhere else that we have lived. :)

I guess I don't have too much to share as of yet! Next blog should be about the baby. :) Sending love to everyone :)

Moving to the Mountains!

We found a place to stay for the winter. It is about 45 minutes northeast of Ashland, up in the mountains. I have a good feeling about it, and we will have access to everything we have been wanting (shower/bathtub, toilet, electricity, water, internet). The place we are staying at has free-range peacocks and a lot of elk and deer. :) Kelley also got a job in Medford that he has been enjoying. He isn't getting a whole lot of hours, but he I am glad because I am due to give birth in less than 4 weeks now.

I had my 36 week midwife appointment, and everything is still great. I am ready to give birth now. And definitely excited to be able to hold my pee in throughout the night. :) I have decided to rest for the remainder of my pregnancy since I have been so active and all over the place. Running errands all day long and taking care of everything is wearing on me. I haven't had much downtime the whole pregnancy, and I can tell that my body wants it now. It will be a good time to catch up on some reading and cooking.

My Bug has yet to sell. I haven't had the money to fix the wheel bearings and sell it..so hoping someone will buy it at a discount and just fix it on their own. It is really a cheap fix..but I also don't want to drive an hour and a half round trip to get it done right now. I am really just ready for everything to be done and over with. I am truly just glad to have the Dolphin now and have insurance and title all taken care of.

Nothing else has really been going on. I was removed from the remainder of my unemployment because of government cuts. It has been a roller coaster with it really, being that I have been kicked off of it multiple times already, even after being laid off again. Oregon is definitely a place to make your own job, and not rely on a company for a paycheck. Kelley has applied for so many jobs, and only got one out of applying for 5 or so a day over a month. I really want to get back to Texas in the Spring and get the hours I need to transfer my massage license elsewhere, but I will need to be working for a company, and not myself unfortunately (Oregon Law), hence why I couldn't do it this time around. Ideally, I do not want to be doing anything else job wise.

I am still trying to make a registry list, but I would much rather have hand-me-downs of handmade clothing (knits), and warm baby clothes (newborn to 12 mos). If anyone has any of that, I'd be very grateful. :) I may be out of signal for a while until the internet is setup where we are staying, but will try to stay in contact. :) Sending love. :) My PO Box will still be the same until the end of December.

So many changes!

A lot of things are shifting in my life last minute, as I expected they would. I finally sold the bus to a young couple, who are also expecting a baby..not until spring though. :) I have enough money from the sale to move into the exact Toyota Dolphin that I have been wanting, which is very exciting. I am going to miss the bus, but not the size or trying to find places to park it. The Dolphin will be much more manageable for me. Kelley is going to take me to Klamath Falls to pick it up on Sunday, then the new bus owners will take over the bus then. Sad endings and happy beginnings. :) Now to sell sweet Bella Bug.

I have been downsizing and selling everything that I had on the bus. I am excited to have even less stuff than I moved to Oregon with. Plus, it is giving me a little extra income to work with for when the baby gets here. Looking into buying a small trailer for all of my bulk food so that we can use it all up this winter and have a way to move around the country in the spring. It looks like Kelley might get a really good paying job in Klamath Falls for the winter, which will mean having a roof over our heads until we head out in the spring. :) We will see how that unfolds.

I finally went to my first midwife appointment, more out of curiosity of how my baby is growing than anything. I have felt really great my whole pregnancy, so it wasn't out of worry, but wanting to hear the heartbeat and reaffirm that I have been eating well and that pregnancies can be completely healthy and perfect without having to go to a doctor. The baby is healthy, moving all of the time, the right size, heartbeat is awesome, my blood pressure is great, and the levels on my urine test are perfect. I have gained around 25lbs, but not sure where the weight is going, for I fit into all of my clothes still and my body looks the same, aside from my huge belly. :) I guess it is possible that it could all go to my belly. :)

The weather is changing fast here in Ashland. The nights are getting chilly, and the days have cooled off a lot. I am glad for the change, because it sure was getting hot on the bus during the day.

Will update more on Monday. :)

New Home for Bob

I finally sold the motorcycle today. I sold it for much, much less than it was worth, but I really needed to stop moving it around Ashland, so I am glad that he sold. I was thankfully able to hold back my stream of tears when they new owners drove him away. Two more vehicles to sell! Showing and letting people test drive the vehicles so often is making me slightly crazy and very exhausted. I am getting pretty anxious to find the other two a new home soon, and pick up the Dolphin. I really just want to rest for the remainder of my pregnancy, not move around all of the time. I am 33 weeks on Wednesday, and I do not feel like I am growing much sometimes. Other people reassure me that I am, but I feel so tiny compared to some people at even 28 weeks. I think I just eat a lot differently than most everyone else. I guess I can't gain too much body fat when I am just eating fermented food, a lot of beans, vegetables, and cheese. I applied for Oregon Health Plan the other day to get help with midwife costs, so with that being said, I am working on finding a midwife in Ashland right now for the birth. I think I actually found one, and she is one of the only midwives in Ashland that will take people right before birth, even if you have had another midwife during the pregnancy.

I am thinking about starting an online registry this week for the rest of the baby things I need before the wee one comes. I already have a car seat, which was the biggest thing on my list, but probably not enough cloth diapers..or clothing. So anyone that has any baby clothes they aren't using anymore, please hit me up. :)

I will take an updated pregnancy photo pretty soon. I have been slacking on it big time. :) I have been thinking about staying in Ashland for the winter and then taking a long road trip in the spring. A lot of searching on the internet for places to rent lately. Everything is pretty expensive here.

Just a quick update - I will update more this week. :)