Tuesday, September 28, 2010

birth announcement

Todd and I would like to announce the birth of our daughter, Wren Kathryn. She was born at 11:27pm on Friday September 24th, 2010. She weighed 8 lbs and 10 oz and was 21 inches long. She is absolutely perfect and is the light of our lives. I can't even describe how it feels to be a mother and hold this tiny person in my arms. Todd and I are overwhelmed with this new experience and can't believe how fullfilled we feel. It really is such a special thing. I could go on and on, but I'll just share some pictures of our precious girl.

Our family


Wren sleeping


Wren asking to be fed


I had a long labor (27 hours of active labor, plus the 13 hours of light painless labor leading up to that), but we made it through and it was all worth it! She really is just perfect. And I feel pretty good already, just 5 days later.

I can already see that I am going to be quite consumed with her, but I don't mind. I will still try to get out there and ride this fall when I feel able too, but if not, I won't feel guilty about it. I still will get a chance to mess with my horses, but right now, I have a new priority. And she is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And this is all coming from a woman who used to never want to have children! But then I met a man with whom I knew I wanted to share this special experience with, and the rest is history! It is wonderful. We are cherishing it!

Friday, September 17, 2010

pregnancy update

Well, as of today, I am one week past my due date. But stats say that first time mothers on average give birth 8 days past their due date. So technically, that means I'm not late yet! Last week I was discouraged because after my exam, the doctor said baby was not descended yet and my cervix was still closed. A few days ago, I began to feel some differences...the top of my stomach seemed lower and I was getting some nerve pains on the inside of my left leg throughout the day (instead of just in the evening). And sure enough, today, the doctor said baby is descended and I am 2 cm dilated! Yay! Things are moving along! I was secretly starting to fear that I just wouldn't go into labor at all. I have an appointment to be induced on Sept 24th, but I really just want to go into labor naturally because I am going to do it without pain meds (hopefully). Everyone I've spoken to that has been induced said it is very painful and contractions come unnaturally intense. I feel like I can handle the pain if it is natural, but if it is artificially induced, I fear I won't be able to handle it both physically and psychologically. I made the choice to do no pain meds because of the risks involved for the baby when you use them. Even epidurals carry some risks, and babies are not as aware at birth as their unmedicated counterparts. Plus, I don't want someone sticking a needle into my spine. Ick! Women have been giving birth for thousands of years without pain meds. I can handle it. Birth is a natural process! After all the stuff I've read, I do understand that risks to the baby increase when you get past 42 weeks, but I worry that most doctors are too induction happy...Someone I know just had a baby yesterday - she was induced and was 13 days past her due date. However, when the baby was born, they measured her to be at 38 weeks! So clearly someone was not ready yet! Can you imagine how bad it would be if they tried to induce earlier? I also know someone else who had a baby 3.5 weeks late, back in the days when they didn't induce. Her baby was 10lbs, a girl, and definitely more aware than the average newborn, indicating that she was more than ready to come out...and her labor was the easiest of her 3 kids, she said. Her other babies (one before and one after) were only 7 lbs, but both were much longer labors. So, it is perfectly possible to deliver a healthy baby past the estimated due date without interventions. After all, they say 40 weeks, plus or minus 2 weeks!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Another farrier visit

The farrier came out again today. This is the third time he's worked on my horses this summer. The first time, the wild ones gave him a little trouble on their right hind, but eventually we got them all trimmed. The second time, we skipped their hind feet and just did their fronts, since it was super muddy in the paddock, and I didn't feel like struggling with them in my pregnant state. They were very good for their fronts. This time, I was worried, because it was really windy and chilly (about 60 degrees, but we've been used to 80-90 degrees and high humidity just two weeks ago!). It was so windy it was whipping acorns off the oak trees and they were rattling off the tin roof of the shed. But when I called the horses in from the pasture, they all came, ate some oats, and then stood calmly looking at me, despite the wind. Griffin even approached me and I haltered him right away! Kachina too. Sometimes even the "tame" ones get a little snorty about getting caught (that was how it was last time), but it was almost as though they all wanted to be caught and scratched on today. Perhaps it's the lack of flies...they don't have that frantic fly bitten feeling. I really was surprised, especially since once, when the farrier was working on Kachina, an acorn bounced off the roof and hit her in the head! She hardly reacted!

The tame ones were probably the most difficult to work on today because they were so relaxed that they just didn't want to stand up and support their own weight. They were really leaning on the farrier, and I had to keep poking at them to get them to stand up. Perhaps it's the extra couple hundred pounds they've all gained over the summer. I feel awful about the weight they've gained, but so far, no one has been "sick" from it and they'll likely lose it this winter. It's easier to ration them over the winter. With all the rain we've had this summer, the pastures (and our lawn too) have grown like crazy and there has been no shortage of graze! I'd consider Chico to be the fattest out of them all. He's very very round. I'll have to get some pictures of him. The only ones that are not fat are Cody (only because she just got back from training), Griffin and Kachina. I think Griffin is not fat because he's still growing, and Kachina just is too high strung to put on a lot of weight.

The two wild ones actually did very very well today. Both of them are still a little bit worse about their hind feet, but if the farrier just stands and lets them get used to him being back there (sometimes it's just really hard to have a human back by your butt), then they'll stand still. They each took the "bad" hoof (the right hind) away from him only once, and then let him finish with it no problem. I'd call that extremely good! All the other feet he was able to hold up until he was done without a problem. This would be great for a nice day, but to have this on a day with high winds! Awesome! I was pleased with them! Especially since I really have not done a thing with them at all this summer. A few weeks ago, I did bring them all in again for fly spray (which they accept very well because they do understand it makes icky flies go away).

Spending time with them like I did today really makes me anxious to get out and work with them again. I really can't do it yet though, and I am glad I've taken time off. It gave them a chance to just settle, and it's kept me from overdoing it. Just holding 5 horses (and having to maneuver the two wild ones into position and convince them that they COULD hold still while the farrier approached) has left me very sore. I was fine while working with them, but right now, my hips are so achey! Changing positions from sitting to standing/walking are the worse! I'm currently only 3 days away from my due date and very anxious to get my body back! I just want the aches and pains to go away! I know it will take time after baby comes, but at least I know I should be feeling better every day instead of worse!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Geldings playing

Last night I stood on the deck and watched the boys, Chico and Griffin, play for a while. Kachina joined in with them a couple of times when they involved her in it, but for the most part stayed out of it. I took a few pictures, but they turned out pretty poorly because the sun was setting. The low light and the need to use zoom made the pictures a little blurry. But I'm posting them anyway because they are entertaining. :)