Adding a 4th Geiger

Emery Sevena Geiger joined us at 8:55am Sunday May 11th and this is her story:

We found out we were pregnant with Emery on our once in a life time trip to Italy. I was immediately sicker with her than with Caleb which took a lot of fun out of traveling abroad. I may finally be able to look the pictures we took there. Before this I haven't been able to look because the association made me nauseated...but such is life.

Now Caleb came at 34 weeks with a labor lasting 2 hours from the start, water breaking to birth. It was very much a TV birth. We really didn't want Emery to come that early so we visited a doc and a midwife (hoping we could still birth at home). The doc put us on progesterone shots to help stop early labor and then cleared us to birth at home!

We took the shots until week 34. I read online that most people taking progesterone to stop early labor, began labor 1-2 weeks after they stopped taking the shots. At 36.5 weeks I had not started laboring and we had made it to the "legal to birth at home" mark. At that point I was 2.5 weeks more pregnant than I had ever been and I was ready for her to come ASAP.

I had gotten in my head that she was going to come on May 1st and as May 1st rolled around I was more and more convinced. That morning I was having light contractions but consistent 15 min apart. I decided not to go to work and to stay home and see what happened. I let my midwife know and she told me to come in and she would check if things were happening. I was 3cm dilated when she checked me out that afternoon. I was still having consistent mild contractions. This was all totally new for me since I didn't have any of this experience with Caleb.

I had given up hope that she would be coming that day when 6pm rolled around. I had been eating dinner with Caleb at a meeting John was having and my contractions started to pick up, they weren't strong yet but they were feeling about 5 min apart. I texted my midwife told her I was going to start timing the contractions and tell her what was happening. Caleb and I walked home and I put him to bed and started to time my contractions. They were ranging from 3-6 min apart lasting about 1 min. I called Katrina and told her she said she would head over. Everyone arrived around 8pm and we got things set up. Filled the pool, picked up toys and shipped off our toddler to a friends house. Katrina checked me out again and I was 4cm almost 5cm so my contractions had been doing things. John and I took a walk and I felt like I had a few stronger contractions we came home but then everything slowed down. Katrina told me lay down and try to rest. I went to sleep around 1am. And so did everyone else. 9am the next morning nothing was really happening I was having contractions but they were very sporadic and I had not dilated anymore. Everyone left and I told Katrina I would keep her updated.

John took Friday off we were still hoping something might happen. We took Caleb to the park and I walked and walked. Still nothing. I kinda gave up after that.

Sunday May 4 we borrowed Frozen and watched it as a fam. While the movie was on my contractions began to get closer together. I didn't say anything because I wanted to be sure this time. So I timed them without mentioning it John. I timed them for about an hour and they were 2-3 min apart and 1 min long but still not very strong. I called Katrina she came over but didn't call everyone else (I didn't want the crew to come over for a false alarm again) She checked me out I had not dilated anymore than I had on Thursday and as soon as she arrived my contractions slowed way down. We chatted for a bit and we decided nothing was going happen so Katrina went home.

I had steady contractions off and on for the rest of that week. It was totally killing me. My emotions were all over the place. I felt like a first timer. Having all this pre labor, no baby, the pregnancy taking so long. at this point I was 5 more weeks pregnant than I had ever been and everything I had read indicated to me that I would have begun labor 2 weeks ago.

At 39 weeks and 2 days I was laying in bed. It was Mother's Day so I was sleeping in and John was watching Thomas with Caleb. I rolled over in bed and had wicked pain in my abdomen. I thought "that hurts, I wonder if that is a contraction, nah that is not what all the other ones have felt like" and drifted back off to sleep for a min. I had another pain it woke me up and I thought "that really hurts I must be laying funny" and attempted to wiggle to find a better spot. As I was moving there was a pop and my water broke. I leapt out of bed and headed to the bathroom while hollering at John my water broke.

Caleb then came into the bathroom and handed me an envelope and said "here go mama" John had instructed him to give me my Mother's Day Gift when I woke up and he did :)

I called Katrina at 7:55 and she said okay I will be there in an hour is that okay and I said yes. I called my Doula and she said the same. I hung up called my mom and left her a message since she was at church saying "hi mom it's Melissa, my water broke, Happy Mother's Day" While this was happening I was having fairly intense contractions but I didn't really want to admit that.

Meanwhile John was getting Caleb ready to go and waking up our housemate telling him he might want to get ready to go. But as I was wandering from room to room I realized I should say something so everyone could get here. I told John things were happening fast. He called our friends to get Caleb and they got here in like 2min and then told our housemate uh you might want to hurry this baby is coming fast.

I called Katrina and said they are coming hard and fast and she said I am getting in the car now. John promptly got the pool set up and started to fill it, moved vehicles, picked up and other various things. I having contractions that I wasn't sure even how to handle I was mostly walking around in a daze. I was having a hard time believing that it was really happening.

Katrina and Barbara arrived. Katrina gave me an exam and I was 8.5cm dilated. She quickly said lets get in the pool. I went and got in the pool and had about 3 more contractions and then I said I am ready to push. (I emotionally was not ready and the thoughts in my head were. You just told me like 2 min ago I was 8.5cm and I don't want to tear I can't push. I AM NOT READY) But my body was totally ready and on the next contraction I couldn't not push my body was making this happening. On the second push Katrina put the mirror down and I could see her head. John felt her head and then I pushed again and her head was out. Everything slowed down (it felt like a long time even though I am sure is was seconds) and my next contraction took a long time to come. Katrina said so are you going to do anything. A few more seconds passed while the contraction was building and then I pushed out the rest of her body. She was immediately in my arms. She arrived in an amazingly jammed packed one hour at 8:55am weighing 7lbs 6oz and 21in long.

It was so wonderful being at home, we immediately got to relax in our bed and hold our little girl I am so glad we were able to birth at home. I suppose only having a labor of one hour helps too ;)

Umm, I had a baby and moved to Montana....

As you may know we have made a lot of changes this year, like having a baby, moving the across the country to Montana and we have started living on one income. Why have we done these things? Well we had the baby because he is so cute, and have moved to one income so I can stay home and wrangle that cute baby and we moved to Montana because John was offered his dream job, a job that we have been praying for, for two years. It may not have been in the location that we expected but it was without a doubt the job we were praying for. John is working with youth in our neighborhood. He hangs out with them after school, takes them to Younglife activities, meets their families and tries to invest in their lives. CLDI (Community Leadership Development Inc. the organization he works for) owns a house on one of the rougher streets on the Southside and John is working on renovating this house to become a youth spot. Where they will have a computer lab, homework help, cooking demos, and general fun. You can read more about CLDI here http://cldibillings.org/.

We know that a lot our friends and family are in the same boat as us, the budgeting, pinching pennies, and stealing your parents netflix password boat. Some of you may even be living in your friends basement like we are. Which we love. But we are lacking two things. We have stretched out budget so tight John is selling his plasma like a college kid and we are still short 360.00 a month and we are asking you for help.

While we are not strangers to the support raising front, it has been a long time since we have done this, therefore we are trying to start a new base list of people who are interested in supporting us and the ministry John is doing. The 360.00 we need breaks down as follows, one Medical Insurance for John and me, Caleb is covered so don't worry about that. Two a membership to the YMCA. Why do we need this you may ask? Well maybe it's because I am staying at home now so I am couped up more or maybe it's because Montana winter is longer, but I feel like I am living in a Laura Ingalls Wilder book, and we need and indoor place to play to keep mom from going crazy.

If you are interested in joining us in our endeavours, to be neighbors, to people on the Southside of Billings then please send me your e-mails, your addresses and your phone numbers and we will be in more formal contact with you. You can private message me on facebook or e-mail me at melissasevena@gmail.com

Why I live in a "bad" neighborhood

Moving to a new place means meeting new people, meeting new people means lots of questions about, where we are from, why did we come here, what are we doing now.

Because of this people have felt the need to present John and me with the fact that we live in a "bad" neighborhood, and that we are planning to move into the "bad" part of the "bad" neighborhood. When John and I lived in Binghampton/Highland Heights we were told this and now that we have moved to the Southside of Billings we are being told this, but no one ever asks why we have decided to move into the the "bad" neighborhood, and I just felt like I wanted to share why I live in a bad neighborhood.

Isaiah 41:10 Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Psalm 23:4a Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil because you are with me.

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?

I do not fear a bad neighborhood because I know that God is with me. I know that God loves my son and husband more than I do. I know that He loves me more than my husband does. I know He has our be interest  in mind when calling us to a new home. But I am not sure God calls us to be "safe." Safe is a very nice word that is used by people with great intentions saying things that really get into the heart of mothers. Don't you want your family to be safe? Yes I do. But I know that God tells me to be bold, not safe, God tells me to not fear, not be safe, God tells me to love, and love is not safe. But even though He doesn't tell me we will be safe He tells me He will be with me.

God has commanded me to love and care for the poor. He has commanded everyone to love and care for the poor. I find it really hard to love and care for the poor if I am not around the poor. If I am not poor.

I think God wants us to be intentional about where we choose to live. If I do not live or work or send my son to school with people who need Christ then how will I meet people who need Christ. If God has commanded me love and serve the poor how can I say  I will help you but I am too good to live life with you. I won't send my son to your failing school. I won't put my family on your decaying block. I won't make my home on your dangerous street. How will I understand the plight of the poor if I do not live among them. God came and lived among us. He gave us that example. I just find that if I am not in the midst of where I want things to change then I will not really be invested in the change. It means so much more to try and stop crime on my street then it does to stop crime across town.

I guess I live in a "bad" neighborhood because I want to be part of the change in the Southside that I want to see happen there. And if good people live in bad neighborhoods they will start to change.

Pinterest Teething Ambition

Okay, I promise I have not forgotten about this blog but I find that I am really unsure of what to write a lot of the time. So I am trying something new.

As most of you know I am a first time mom. This means I am completely unaware of what having a child entails. Just to preface this story so you are aware of what I am getting into.

When John and I moved to Montana it was July, Caleb was about 3 months old, one day we were sitting downstairs in the basement of the house we share with some friends in the living area/Caleb's room/craft area and I said to John I think I want to make every ones Christmas Gifts this year...why did I say this you might think...Well I thought to myself. I don't have a job, all I do is stay home with my son and he takes 3 naps a day and goes to bed around 6 it should be no problem.

Well here I am 5 months later and the realizations that have come to light are 1. no job? How about exhausting job of saying hi all day long to a 7 month old trying to run to the grocery store in the hour and a half I have before he needs to fall asleep again. 2. Do you remember above when I said our living area is also Caleb's room as well as the craft room. This means that the sewing machine is in the room where my child naps, which means no sewing during naps. And while he is awake I am busy saying Hi. 3. On top of that I seem to have managed to sew enough that my 100$ 6 year old sewing machine went on strike for a week until we took it to the spa. But she has return oiled and buffed and with a new set of bobbins. 4. My lovely son is working on his 3rd tooth which means he sleeps twice as much and the hour he is awake between naps means 15 min of happy/eating time and 45 min of being worn in the Moby so he isn't hysterical.

But despite the trials I must face I am still making all my Christmas gifts and today with all the sleeping and no sewing machine I sewed by hand and finished my brother in laws gift!

So I am going to blame Pinterest for making me take on this overly ambitious venture in the midst of the new mommy chaos.

P.S. I also gave up caffeine...

In Honor of Labor Day

I was inspired to share my birth story again in honor of Labor Day By my friend Kourtney who has been doing a birth story marathon today. She has shared birth stories all day long, including Caleb's today. You can check them out here  http://laundryeveryday.blogspot.com/2012/09/birth-marathon-lemuel.html

Caleb’s Birth

Joshua 14:10b-11 -Today I am 85 years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight was well as I could then. (The strength of Caleb)

Thursday, March 29 I had not been feeling very well. I even told John I just felt raw and uncomfortable down there. I really just thought nothing of it assuming that was just part of how the few weeks were going feel as Caleb began to get into position for birth (turns out I was dilating and was unaware of it.

Friday, March 30 I woke up at 6 like always and looked at my phone and checked my baby bump app that read you are 33weeks and 7days, 43 more days to go. I thought to myself 43 that so long and 43 gee we have a lot to do. I was procrastinating that morning, not really wanting to get in ready for work so I was on the computer a little and got in the shower pretty late. At 6:40 John called me and we talked for a min about taxes and stuff and then I got dressed. I was just leaving the bedroom and going to pack a quick lunch when I felt a rush of fluid. My first thought was OMG I just peed myself. When I checked to see how bad it was I realized there was blood in it and then I got scared. I first called John and told him (he was already at work). He asked if he should come home I told him not yet that I would let him know after I talked to the midwives. Second I called school and this was at 6:53 I called Nedra and told her what had happened and she told me she would take care of the school end. I then called Missy and Martina to tell them what was going on.

Missy told me, no I had not peed myself, that most likely my water had broken. This really scared me thinking, what this is so bad my water can’t break this early …infection… etc…Missy and Martina told me to go straight to the hospital. I called John to tell him and she said he was almost home. He had left anyway.

When John got home he was trying to rush me out the door to go to the hospital. I wanted to change my pants first. I changed and we left. Missy texted me and asked me if I was having contractions and if I had felt the baby move. Again this scared me. I didn’t really know if I was having contractions, I had never done this before. I also had not felt the baby move that morning and so I was worried what that might mean. John was driving and I thought I had begun to have contractions which felt like period cramps. I texted Missy and told her I was having contractions. She asked me how long and how far apart they were. I didn’t know since I hadn’t really been timing them we just wanted to get to the hospital.

John pulled up at St. Francis and we went up to Labor and Delivery. A nurse was just about to let us in to the unit when we told her our Doctor was Dr. Caruthers. At that she informed us Dr. Caruthers did not work out of this hospital but St. Francis Bartlett (which we knew but had gone to the wrong one anyway). We headed back outside to try and make it to Bartlett. As John was getting the car to pick me up I felt Caleb move and this made me feel much better. I texted Missy and told her, she was also relieved. Back in the car I began to time my contractions using John’s phone to time how far apart and mine to time how long. When I started doing this they were 30-35 sec long and 2.5 min apart. I thought I must be doing this wrong or I am confused about what a contraction feels like. But the longer I timed them the closer together they got and the longer they lasted. By the time we reached the hospital they were 1 min long and 1 min apart.

We arrived at the hospital around 8 am (that is my best guess). We went up to Labor and Delivery. I walked up they asked if I wanted a wheel chair I said no. Looking back I probably could have used one. From here on out everything was a blur. They made John go downstairs and fill out intake paper work. It seemed like he was gone forever, but we have deduced that it was probably only 15 to 20 min. They took me to a holding room where I changed into the gown. At this point we are still unsure of what is happening. We didn’t really know we were coming in for a birth. I changed and was being asked many questions about med history and the like. Martina arrived around this point and began helping me breath through contractions. I think to sign paper work I went through 4 contractions. They were coming very fast. The doctor arrived right after that and checked my cervix. He told me I was 6 cm dilated and that there would be a baby today. I couldn’t even really focus on that news. That was the point I wanted John back. I told Martina I had to pee and she took me to the rest room. I told her I also felt like I had to poop and asked if that was the baby and she told me it was. Right after getting back from the restroom John arrived and I was so happy to have him back but I still couldn’t really focus on him.  Around then Martina told me to tell her when I felt like I wanted to push and I immediately told her I felt like pushing right then. She told the doctor he checked me out and said that indeed I was ready.

There were no rooms available so they wheeled me to the OR to deliver. I was wanting to push but I didn’t really feel confident that I could or that I was doing it right. The doctor had his fingers in my cervix and kept telling me to push them out. This made no sense to me so I really just focused on John and on Martina. I knew John was praying for me but I really needed to hear him so I asked him to pray out loud, he did and I instantly felt the Lord’s strength to push the baby out. At that point I knew I could do it and I was able to push with more confidence then I had been. Martina was telling me to get behind it and push down. This made total sense to me. I could really feel what she was talking about. She was coaching me and telling me I was beautiful and I just kept praying Jesus let the baby come fast. At one point John told me he could see the head and I thought I want to see the head. The worst pain was when the head was crowning and I waiting between contractions with his head half out. But Martina reminded me this was good to let him stretch and not to push to avoid tearing. The next push his head was out and he was mid shoulders.  This time I knew I wanted him out and pushed him out the last push with no contraction. I looked down and they were pulling him out and I think I said, “Did that really just happen?” I could not believe it. His actual time of birth was 9:09 am March 30, 2012They brought him to my chest while John cut his cord and then took him away to check his breathing. John went with the baby, while Martina stayed with me and the doc while I delivered the placenta. Which at that point actually felt good and like a relief.  They brought Caleb back for a sec let us take our first pic and give him a kiss and the off he was to the NICU.

They took me into a room which was cleaned while I was delivering.  My mind was blown at how fast everything was. I was in good spirits and did not really begin to get tired until afternoon.

That’s the story of how Caleb Andrew Geiger arrived in about 2 hours.

Montana Update

Things have begun to settle down here.
Our family has officially been in Billings for 6 weeks now. Enough time to find your way to Target and the know where the grocery store is. A few weeks ago we visited a mountain town called Red Lodge it is at the start of the Beartooth pass that goes through Yellowstone. They close access to it this weekend for the winter. Crazy.

It is pretty gorgeous. I am glad we got to go up there before it snowed. This is all about and hour or so from where we live.
Other family milestones
Caleb is 5 months old. He loves to laugh and smile at strangers. He does not like to sleep through the night.
John just purchased an XL Green Egg to replace the one we had to leave on Gordon St. He got it for a steal.
I have decided to make all my Christmas gifts this year. I am have already started. I figured it might take awhile.

Don't worry I have not forgotten about this blog :)

Swaddle Blanket Irritation

I am looking at my 3 month old laying in a bouncy seat with his swaddle blanket up around his neck, covering most of his face, with his arms poking out the bottom. He is wearing a Swaddle Me swaddle blanket with the Velcro, supposedly easier to use than actually swaddling him. It's pretty much a pain. I spend a lot of time swaddling him because he has colic and we are trying the methods recommended in "Happiest Baby on the Block" I tightly swaddle him every night using a mayraid of swaddling aides. We have used flannel receiving blankets, the Swaddle Me, muslin blankets (the big ones everyone raves about), even one I made myself. What I use the most are Carter's Little Layette stretchy swaddle blankets. These are large, but not too large 35x35 they stretch so you can get them very tight. They are the best thing I have used so far. But the child is Houdini and still busts from his swaddle in the fewest kicks and flails. I find this irritating Becuase the book has led me to believe from the outrgeous amount of tstimonies that if I have a proper swaddle my child will sleep for a glorious 6-8 hours better than the current 2-3 I get even with a swaddle. This expectation I now have has caused me to purchase 2 more swaddle devises a Woombie and a Miracle Blanket, to add to the 10 swaddle blankets I already have (not counting flannel receiving blankets). So what I am trying to say is I guess "Happiest Baby on the Block" has given me unrealistic expectations about what swaddling can do and I am willing to cough up some big bucks to make it happen because at this point I would do almost anything to make him sleep for more than 3 hours.