Bubba, our most recent addition to our family has now turned two. So, I figured it’s high time I sit down and write his birth story. To do that I am going to start a bit before the actual birth though.

Birth Options in Upstate New York

When I got pregnant with baby #4, I was clueless about maternity care in the area (upstate NY). I did not know about midwives in the area, doulas, procedures, or anything. I was honestly feeling a bit overwhelmed and out of my element. I was a pro at giving birth in Costa Rica. I knew who to call, what to do and the whole shebang. New York was a whole new ballgame.

So, I started looking on the internet. I searched Doulas, homebirth midwives, you name it. I emailed several. I heard back from a few. I called and left messages and got no response. I called one and finally got a hold of someone! Yeah! I felt like I was making progress. After telling her that I was quite early in my pregnancy but I was trying to figure out a course of action and get my ducks all in a row so to speak, she tells me that she is taking a hiatus from her homebirth practice, moving and wouldn’t be able to help me. But, there was a “but”. Whew. She was sending her clients to a nurse midwife who was just getting started in her own homebirth practice! Hurray.

Midwife Available?

Next on my list, call said nurse midwife. We talked for a good while by phone and I felt an instant connection. We hit it off right away. Bad news, she was booked for my due date window already!!! Ugh.

Around a week later, I received a phone call from her. She said she now had an opening and could take me on as her client if I was so inclined. I think I must have sighed a great sigh of relief at that moment. I finally was starting to feel like I had options. Next we talked about price. I was a bit taken aback by how much birth can cost in the U.S. Our insurance said they would cover nothing and Hubby and I discussed how we could make it work financially. She was happy to help us figure it out too, by offering us payment options. We scheduled a first visit to get a feel for her and to see if she was actually a good fit in person. Long story short, she was!

Every Birth is Different

November 28, 2015 at a little over 39 weeks, my water broke while I was sound asleep in bed. I was sleeping deeply, when I suddenly felt a “pop” between my legs and a warm gush of fluid. My pajama bottoms were all wet along with my side of the bed. I had never had my bag of waters break before transition, so this was a first. I went to the bathroom (and saw a little bloody show in the toilet), washed myself off in the shower, changed into new pajama pants and I debated on whether or not I should call the midwife.

I decided I would. It was 3:15 a.m.I was not having surges (contractions) yet, but I was in new territory and a bit unsure of what would happen next. I thought things might pick up quickly. Julie, our midwife, told me to use a maxi pad for amniotic fluid leakage and suggested that I go back to bed and try to get some more sleep. She said it could still be a while before labor actually started even though my water had broken. She instructed me to put nothing in my vagina in order to prevent the possibility of infection, since my membranes had ruptured. I got a towel and laid it down over the wet spot on the mattress and sheets. I grabbed a different blanket and just laid it over myself. I think hubby may have stirred at some point in his sleep and asked me what I was doing up and I may have mentioned my water breaking. I can’t remember for sure. I was able to get a few more hours of sleep before getting out of bed again around 8:00 a.m.

 A Slow Start

I got up and made breakfast for the kids. I was not experiencing surges at this point. My midwife instructed me to take my temperature every 2 hours. This was because my water had broken, which opens up the possibility of infection which would be indicated with a fever. My temps were fine. I kept in touch with her over the phone and gave her updates periodically. I remember a conversation I had with her during one of these updates and her suggesting that I might want to try cooking a few eggs in castor oil to get things moving along. If labor did not pick up (because my water had already broken) there might be the possibility of needing to go to the hospital to have this baby. I told her I would consider it, but that at this point I wanted to give my body time to do what it knew how to do. I felt a peace about trusting my body.

At around 10 am the kids and I went across the street to my in-laws to share the news that baby would most likely be coming soon. My sister-in-law and her family were actually planning on leaving for Chicago (to head home from a Thanksgiving visit) when we announced that my water had broken! They decided to stick around a few extra days.

It Begins

At around 2 pm I started experiencing mild surges every 30 minutes. Julie decided to come to our house to do a non-stress test for the baby. She lived an hour and a half away. She got there around 4:30 in the afternoon. I think I spent the better part of that day tidying up and basically “nesting”. Before she got to our house I had taken a nap for about an hour and a half. I lay down on the bed and she did the test. Everything looked great. I lay in bed with Mrs. Sayuri and we watched “More of the Business of Being Born” on Netflix. I guess watching birth videos while in labor is one of my rituals.

By 5:30 pm the surges were still mild but every 2-3 minutes apart now. Julie talked about maybe leaving and coming back in a bit when things picked up more and got more intense. However, I felt like she should stay. By 8 that evening I started to have stronger contractions and Matthew and Julie started filling the birthing tub. We had the birth room all set up with candles, towels, birth supplies and soothing music. I had requested that hubby make a playlist with harp songs that I really liked. As the tub was filling, I paced  and swayed and did sitting hip circles on the birth ball. I love birth balls!

Hydrotherapy Feels So Good!

Once the tub was filled, I was ready to get in. Things had started to pick up. I got in the tub and the children wanted to get in for a bit too. My contractions were getting stronger but I didn’t mind having them in the tub. I would just pause and ride out my contraction and then come back to reality and the moment. After a bit I was ready for them to get out. It was getting late and I was concerned about bedtimes and sleep for them. Hubby left me for a bit and went to go ready them for bed. Once he had tucked them in their beds, he was free to come rejoin me in the birth. This was around 9:30 pm. Contractions were steadily getting stronger. I would gear up for riding them like a wave. Once I got to the “peak” I knew I could ride it down. I was in laborland and pretty quiet up until the very end. Breathing and low tones were great helps to me. I felt warm in the tub and hubby held a cool washcloth to my forehead while the  midwife made sure I was hydrated.

Time for Baby

Right around this time I suggested that it might be time to get Mrs. Sayuri up so that she could witness the birth. All along the plan had been for her to be there for it all. Our midwife went down the hall to quickly try and awaken her but she said she would not get up. She had been feeling unwell all day with a stomachache so I think that had worn her out. Unfortunately she did not make it for the birth. However, we set up a video camera to record it and she was able to watch that later.

I started feeling pressure around 10 PM. The fetal ejection reflex was in full force. I could not hold back from the force that felt overwhelmingly intense. At this point there was not much break between these last contractions. Tears streamed down my face toward the end because I felt a little overcome. Julie reassured me that I was doing great and baby was almost here. She could see the head and reminded me to open my legs so baby could come out. After what felt like 3 surges baby #4 was out! He was born at 10:12 pm.

He’s Out!

Immediately I held him close and kissed him while telling him “hello”. I was exhausted. He gave a lusty cry. Hubby was right behind me looking on in love. I soon began experiencing strong after pains. Everyone helped steady me as I got out of the tub while holding baby boy. He was still attached. I got out of the tub and lay down on a mattress we had set up on the floor. I delivered the placenta naturally within 15-20 minutes. We left baby boy attached and allowed the cord to stop pulsing. Hubby cut the cord at 11:03 pm.

He weighed just shy of 7 pounds.

Next morning all of his siblings met him. They were instantly smitten!

The post Birth #4 – Home Water Birth in Upstate New York appeared first on Dream A Lil Dream.

Turquoise is one of my favorite colors and stones. She let me pick the stone and also asked me if I preferred a necklace or a ring and the rest of the design was a surprise.

She gave this to me as a birthday gift several years back actually, but I am just getting around to posting it.

What I love about her pieces are they are all so natural and fluid. She calls her style “modern organic”.

Every piece is very thoughtfully and skillfully made. Most of her pieces showcase natural cabochons and argentium silver however she also works with other metals like copper and gold as accents. She’s even made pieces with fossils and dinosaur bones! Kinda cool.

I love the feather surprise on the back! Just beautiful!

Starving Artist Designs

End of last year Heather and her family of four moved here to upstate N.Y. from the big city of Chicago.

Not only does she spend a lot of her “free time” making jewelry these days, but she is also cutting stones, a.k.a. cabs.

Visit her Etsy shop StarvingArtistDsgns to shop. She is always adding new pieces!

And if you want to keep up with her latest updates follow her on social media:

• Facebook Starving Artist Designs
• Instagram at Torch and Tot
• Instagram account for her cabs at StarvingArtistStones

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In the early nineties, experts changed the recommended practice of putting babies to sleep on their tummies to putting them down on their backs. This practice helps to lower the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). However, as a result more babies are developing flat head and/or torticollis, or stiff neck. “Container baby syndrome” is also something that modern babies are experiencing. This is where they go from car seat to baby bouncer to swing, etc. This results in many babies beinge in a supine or angled back position for the majority of their day.

9 times out of 10 flat head is the result of not enough tummy time.

Tummy time not only helps combat flat head and torticollis but it also helps babies with motor development and to strengthen their head, neck, and back muscles.

The good news is that the shape of baby’s skull does not impact brain development!

Tummy time should be started as soon as possible. Although tummy time for your newborn is not going to look the same as for your infant. There are lots of ways to get an infant to do tummy time. We can place our infant on a play mat or use a nursing pillow to kind of prop them up. However, with a newborn it can be kinda tricky. The recommended amount of tummy time for your newborn is 30 minutes per day. So, this begs the question: how do we achieve that?

Tummy Time Helps for Newborns

Invariably it can be a scary, foreign experience for newborns to be laid face down on the floor.Here are some other gentler options for how to achieve tummy time with a newborn.

1. Baby can lie on a parent’s chest with the parent in a somewhat semi-reclined position in order to facilitate tummy time for baby.
2. Baby can be carried in a tummy/face down position. One common hold is the “football hold”. This position can be great for babies that suffer from acid re-flux as long as pressure is not placed on the belly.
3. Baby can be made to lie tummy down across parent’s lap.

Tummy time can be started gradually and slowly increased. An easy way to incorporate tummy time is to make it a part of your everyday routine so that it becomes natural and less likely to be forgotten.

How much tummy time should we do?

Cumulative time goals for a 24 hour period are:

• Newborn: 30 minutes per day
• 2 month old: 1 hour per day
• 4 month old: 1.5 hours per day

Tummy time also helps babies learn how to roll over which leads to walking. It is also a great time to massage those back muscles and bond with your baby!

Further Reading

WebMd article: More explanation about what tummy time is and why it’s important as well as tips for if your baby just hates being on the floor!

Parentguidenews.com: Article written by a pediatric occupational therapist all about tummy time and a helpful list of activities to do with your baby to help promote shoulder, arm and hand strength.

The post Tummy Time – What’s The Big Deal? appeared first on Dream A Lil Dream.

I made these as a set for my niece who was born last, last September. I crocheted her two pairs of mittens and a coordinating hat. These were made in a creamy soft baby yarn by Bernat.

I plan to make another set of baby mittens so that I can review the pattern and have it fresh in my mind. I will then post my altered version of the original pattern, because I have gotten so many questions regarding my changes I made to it in the original crocheted baby mittens post.

The free pattern for the hat can be found here: Newborn Shell Hat by Amy Lehman on Ravelry. My project notes on yarn and changes I made can be found here: My Ravelry Project Page. I added the oversized purple flower made in a sparkly “party” yarn.

Here’s Mrs. Sayuri modeling the hat on her baby doll. This was over a year ago and it’s a bit overwhelming to me to see how much she has changed in a year and a  half! She looked like such a baby here…

The post Crocheted Newborn Shell Hat with Mittens appeared first on Dream A Lil Dream.

This blog has been sorely neglected for the past two years (How did that happen???). There have been several projects completed but never blogged about and even a new somebody added to our family! So while I get around to getting posts ready, I hope you will enjoy a picture of our newest little one who we like to call Bubba. I am sorely overdue for an “About” update too. In time.

I look forward to catching up on the past year or more – some things we’ve done and some crafts we’ve made. I hope you will join me. Bubba and homeschooling and just this season in my life haven’t made it easy to find the time to get on here, but I am determined to start blogging again – one post at a time.

Some planned future posts include:

• An update on crocheted baby mittens – my most popular post by far (Thank you Pinterest!)
• Bubba’s Birth Story
• A Road Trip to Chicago
• Doula Training and Future Birthwork plans
• Updates on my Doula Training journey
• Other crochet projects

The post A Lot of Catching Up To Do and a New Someone appeared first on Dream A Lil Dream.

Green Gables Knits listed on Ravelry is a beautiful collection of knit patterns inspired by the book. If I were a better knitter, I would love to own this book – the patterns look like such fun!

The author, Joanna Johnson, really did an amazing job of designing patterns that captured the beauty and timelessness of the story. The book comes with 8 patterns and they can all be viewed on the book’s Ravelry page. I like all of them, but my favorites are Anne’s Sweater, Gilbert’s Scarf and Diana’s Hat.

Which one is yours?

Here’s a bit about the book from its Ravelry page:

Inspired by the beloved children’s classic, Anne of Green Gables, this collection of eight patterns includes knits for ages 12 to adult and includes garments and accessories for teens, women, and men. Each pattern is accompanied by quotes from the novel alongside a selection of L. M. Montgomery’s personal photographs from Prince Edward Island. This work is published in collaboration with The Heirs of L. M. Montgomery, Inc.

Green Gables Knits is available at your local yarn shop, our Etsy shop, and Amazon.com.

{This post does not contain affiliate links nor is it a sponsored post ~ I just really like this pattern collection and wanted to share}

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This was a recent project made for my brother-in-law. He is a coffee drinker and I thought this might be something he would like and find useful.

It’s a simple project and works up fast. If I were making a coffee cup cozy for a travel mug I might make the Cafe Couture pattern by Drew Emborsky. It’s another free pattern, but didn’t work for my purposes.

Mug Cozy pattern from Lauren Frank on Ravelry

The post Crocheted Coffee Mug Cozy appeared first on Dream A Lil Dream.

As I gear up for the beginning of another homeschool year, I thought I might post some pictures that I took of Mrs. Sayuri beginning of last school year.

I know I’m very late posting about these, but this will help me remind myself to take school photos again this year and since Mr. Happy Feet will be starting Kindergarten, I’ll need to get him photographed too. I’m in the middle of ordering the last of our curriculum for this coming year of homeschool. I’m hoping we can get a little bit of schooling in this month before September rolls around. It’s always nice to get started early.

The sign graphic I used was a free printable from Skip to My Lou.

Here are some links to free photo prop printables that I might use this year:

Yellow Bliss Road First Day of School Photo Prop Printables

Ink Happi Back to School First Day of School Signs (very cute!)

I heart Naptime Free Back to School Printables

I am also playing around with the idea of making my own sign…maybe using paint and wood…we’ll see what I end up doing.

The post Another Year appeared first on Dream A Lil Dream.

Visit often, but not too much

Listen more: talk less.

Be willing to help in an instant.

Shun petty arguments.

Avoid sarcastic humor.

Guard against flattery.

Pray often for one another.

Give-and-take makes good friends.

The post Scottish Proverb appeared first on Dream A Lil Dream.

About three to four months ago a dear friend of mine (and her husband) lost their twin boys before they were full term. Soon after I found out, I started thinking of making her a prayer shawl.

We live many miles apart now and my hope is that when she wraps herself in this shawl that she feels the Lord’s warm embrace and all of the love and care that went into making it for her and her babes.

Free Prayer Shawl Patterns Online

I found so many beautiful patterns for shawls online and most of them were free. I found myself drawn to the cozier looking shawls just because to me they seemed to convey more of what I wanted to say which was comfort and warmth. In no particular order here is an incomplete list of some patterns I found and thought would make beautiful prayer shawls:

• Seraphina’s Shawl
• Easy/Spendid Triangle Shawl with Crochet Border by Lionbrand
• Magnificent Mantle at Crochet Kitten.com
• Seems Like Old Times Shawl (a free Ravelry download)
• Shoal from Berroco
• Striped Shawl #4254 by Bernat
• Have It Your Way Shawl by Lionbrand
• Comfort Shawl by Marcy Smith
• Easy Triangle Shawl with Fringe by Lionbrand
• Friendship Shawl by Karen Drouin

A Note on the Pattern I Chose

The pattern that I followed was the Homespun Wrap by Tohline. Even though the original pattern was intended to be striped I chose not to make it so. I made it out of Lionbrand Homespun yarn with blue, green and purple tones. I wanted to use a yarn that was warm and soft but also machine washable and dry-able.

I liked that each row was tied off and the ends became the shawl fringe – this would especially be convenient when making it striped thus eliminating the need to weave in any ends.

I chose to do a bit of decorative knotting to the ends as well.

This youtube video for double and triple knotted fringe was helpful.

Prayer Shawl Resources

These are a couple helpful books for people interested in blessing someone with a prayer shawl :

• The Prayer Shawl Companion: 38 Knitted Designs to Embrace Inspire & Celebrate Life by Janet Bristow and Victoria A. Cole-Galo
• The Crocheted Prayer Shawl Companion: 37 Patterns to Embrace, Inspire, and Celebrate Life Paperback by Janet Bristow and Victoria A. Cole-Galo

I checked out both of these books from the library. I found them very inspirational although I didn’t end up choosing a pattern from either. There were many nice poems, prayers and stories shared within each.

Also, the prayer shawl ministry home page website has tons of information including a few free basic patterns to get you started in both crochet or knit.

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