Avonlea Dawn
born at home on July 19th, 2009
8lbs. 3oz., 21.5 inches
born in the water and caught by Daddy!
View the birth in pictures

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Avonlea's Birth from Alicia Melban on Vimeo.

July 18th, 2009 - the day I had guessed my baby would make her grand entrance, and by 5pm I was showing no signs of labor whatsoever and feeling pretty discouraged. I was only six days overdue, as I had fully expected, but my parents had to travel back to Wisconsin the next morning, and I was extremely sad that they would be missing the birth of their granddaughter. I spent the day feeling sorry for myself and thinking about my next appointment with the midwife on July 23rd, and how I'd probably be able to make it no problem.

My mom and I talked about my feelings and came up with a plan that she would go back the next morning, but I could call her as soon as I was in labor and she would come right back. She might still miss the birth but would be here immediately after and that comforted me. For the first time the whole week, I felt at peace with everything and not anxious, as I had been.

Around 6pm I decided to go upstairs to de-stress and have some alone time. While upstairs, I started having some piddly little contractions, and thought, "Here we go again, more Braxton Hicks just to tease me!" I mostly ignored them, played some Bejeweled and laid in bed and watched TV. Shelby came upstairs around 7 and I let him know that I was having some small contractions but they were probably nothing. I was timing them just for fun and they were about 3 minutes apart and lasting 30-45 seconds. VERY mild though.

I decided to go back downstairs and watch TV with the family, and see if they would go away. The contractions continued on at a steady rate for the next hour or so, though not increasing any in intensity. I texted Cara at 8:30 and told her to keep her phone near her tonight, just in case. We talked for a few minutes about what was happening and I decided I would take a bath to see if the contractions would stop. Reading back through the texts now is amusing - I had said "These are pretty annoying!" and she said, "Yeah, labor is pretty annoying!" LOL!

So around 8:45 I went back upstairs and took a bath, adding in some clary sage oil to help relax me. I figured if this was the real thing, the bath would help me relax so things could progress, and if it wasn't then it would put a stop to things so I could have some relief.

I went back downstairs again after my bath, and everyone looked at me oddly and my mom said, "Are you in labor and not telling us??" I laughed and said of course not. I still thought it was nothing, even though the bath had not slowed the contractions at all. I couldn't stay downstairs long though and headed back up around 10pm. I texted Cara again that things were still happening and that Shelby would call her if it was indeed the real thing. I laid in bed again and watched some more TV, and my mom came up to check on me and I finally admitted that I was having some contractions but didn't want to get everyone's hopes up. She said they would head to bed and to wake her if I needed anything.

I spent the next couple hours alternating between the bed and the birth ball. Contractions were still steady, every 2ish minutes and a minute or so long. But again, still not intense and I barely had to concentrate through them. Shelby called the midwife around midnight to tell her what was going on, but I made sure he told her it would be awhile and we'd keep her posted. I was worried about having her come too soon again like with Beckett's birth, and was still also in denial that I was really in labor at all. She made him promise to call if the contractions got longer or more intense because she didn't want to miss the birth, and that made me laugh. Like I would be lucky enough to have such a quick labor, right?

My last text to Cara was at 12:59am and said, "The ctx are def getting stronger but still no bloody show.. WTF?" I was having to breathe a little through them at this point, but was waiting for the bloody show I had had with Beckett and it wasn't coming. I was really getting annoyed with that every time I'd go to the bathroom, and also annoyed because I just wanted to go to sleep and couldn't. The contractions were just strong enough that when I would doze off, one would start and wake me back up.

Around 2:30am, I still hadn't been able to sleep and was annoyed with Shelby because he was snoring next to me and not helping much. I snapped at him to please go get my mom, and when she came in I cried a little and told her I was just sick of these contractions that were going nowhere and just wanted to sleep. She suggested I try laying on the couch and see if that was more comfortable. So we moved downstairs, but I only lasted about ten minutes on the couch before things really started picking up. I think Shelby called the midwife again at that point, and I kept telling him to make sure he mentioned that I hadn't had any bloody show. She said she would be on her way, and I whined to him, "What if this is still nothing??" Very humorous in retrospect. :)

I was not comfortable on the couch at all, and got up to go to the bathroom which is where I had the first really intense contraction. I yelled for Shelby and leaned on him through it, and when I wiped, there was blood. Finally! I also started shaking and thought, transition? Already? No way! I told him to call Cara and that I wanted to go back upstairs. We got up there, and I sat on the toilet some more and was having to brace my arms against the wall to help with the contractions. I barked at Shelby that I needed in the water NOW and he got to work setting up the tub. We hadn't even pulled the hose and pump out yet. Cara arrived during all this and I remember saying "No pictures of me on the toilet!" Haha.

I think I was vocalizing a little at this point, and Shelby kept coming in to comfort me and I would shoo him back out to work on the tub. I think I yelled, "What is taking so long??" They were trying to use the pump to fill it and something was holding them up. He came in and tried to fill a bucket with water from the bath tub only to find that it was cracked on the bottom and the water was spilling out. I HAD to have relief in the water at that point so I started filling the bath tub and got in. It helped some, but the hot water ran out when it was only half full and I was extremely annoyed. They kept working on getting some water into the birth tub and I labored in the bath for a bit.

Finally there was enough water in the birth tub for me to move to it, and it was heaven. SO much better than laying on the bed or sitting in the hard bath tub. I was already feeling pressure with the contractions and wanted to push so badly, but I thought that was still a long way off. I remember saying "I want to push, but it's too soon!" I think the midwife (M) arrived shortly after - she said it was around 3:50am. I was working really hard through the contractions now, which had gotten very intense and without much of a break in between. M listened to the baby and she sounded great.

It wasn't much time later that I started pushing with the contractions. I was hoping it would be a relief like it was with Beckett, but it really wasn't. It was a lot more painful than I remembered and I just wanted her out. I think it was then that I said I was scared - and in my head I was wondering how in the world I was going to do this. It hurt so badly! My mom was awesome and kept reassuring me that I was doing great and she would be here soon.

I finally decided that the only way to make it end was to push as hard as I could, so that's what I did. I felt like I was getting nowhere though and when I tried to feel for a head, I didn't feel anything. M did a check while I was leaned forward against the tub and said her head was right there, and told me where to feel. I was able to feel her that time, and that was the motivation I needed to keep going. With a couple more good pushes I had her crowning and I said "She's coming out!"

Shelby moved over to catch her, I felt my water break and suddenly her head was out. I cannot describe how excited I was at that moment to almost be done. M was telling me to breathe as she checked for a cord but I only waited a few seconds and then pushed her shoulders and the rest of her out. As soon as I felt her body slide out, I said "Oh thank GOD!" The feeling of relief was monumental. Official birth time was 4:21am - half an hour after the midwife arrived!

Shelby passed her up to me and I lifted her out of the water, and there she was! The first thing I noticed was that her head was perfectly round - not a hint of a conehead. She had come FAST! She let out a couple good cries, and I was crying right along with her. My mom went to get my dad at that point - poor guy had been downstairs all by himself listening to the whole thing, LOL. Needless to say, he was excited to come up and see that everything was okay.

Shelby brought Sawyer in to help cut the cord, and the poor kid was still half asleep, but very much in awe. I delivered the placenta and the boys got to work cutting the cord. Sawyer did great, and was so sweet - he saw the drops of blood come out and was worried he had hurt her. Aww.

We nursed a but in the tub because she had a bit of gunk in her lungs, and it broke up pretty easily. Soon it was time to get out and do the herb bath and newborn check. Shelby and I put in our guesses for weight - I guessed 8lbs. 5oz. and he guessed 7lbs. 5oz. I couldn't believe how close I got - she weighed in at 8lbs 3oz! Smaller than her brother, but much longer at 21 1/2 inches. She had a fairly small head as well - 13 1/2 inches. We then had our time in the herb bath, where she was of course perfectly content and alert. M noticed that she had a dimple in one cheek, which made me so excited. Beckett has one in the same cheek, but his didn't appear until just recently.

After our herb bath we moved to the bed for more nursing and I was checked for tears. Only a tiny scratch that didn't even bother me - yay! M and Cara left a short time later and we were left to snuggle with our new girl.

I have now had two beautiful homebirths and would not change a thing about either one. Avonlea's birth was so much different than Beckett's - much faster and more intense. Totally not what I was expecting! Both were perfect though and I feel so incredibly blessed.

I finally got everything finished in her room, diapers washed and in the drawer, now I just need a baby!

I'm pretty proud, I made almost everything in the room. Bedding, curtains, quilts, name letters, bow holders and bows were all me. The dresser was a flea market salvage and was pretty beaten up before I made it pretty. And the mirror was from Goodwill, and was originally a gaudy gold. Yay for cheap decorating!

You can see the full size pics at my Flickr.

I've been working on some things for Baby Avonlea over the past week or so - it hit me that HEY, I only have 8-12 weeks left before my world is rocked by a newborn! I need receiving blankets and diaper covers and all that other essential newborn stuff! Her nursery is still not finished but should be soon. Our neighborhood is having its bi-annual community garage sale next weekend and I'm hoping to find a dresser that I can paint and spiff up with some fabric decoupage and maybe a nice rocking chair. Other than that I need to paint her name letters, make her crib mobile, and hang some stuff on the walls. I better get cracking.

Receiving blankets:





Squishy soft minkee and thermal cupcake blankie:





And the first of many fleece soakers - I have plans for more to match some shirts she has, complete with embroidery on the bums.

Sawyer giving Avie a poke. Yes, my belly is lopsided - all three of my kids favored the right side and have stretched it out!

It's official - I feel huge. Not just in my belly but everywhere. My back fat is growing, people. UGH. I wish I could be one of those women who stays stick thin and gains 15 pounds her whole pregnancy, but I'm just not. I have such a huge appetite and I figure if I'm hungry, the baby must need the nutrients, so I eat. I gained 60 pounds with both of the boys and easily lost it each time, so I'm trying not to stress over it, but I still hate blimping up in the meantime. I fully expect to start getting the "Oh my GAWDDDD are you SURE it's not twinzzzz?!?!?!" comments soon. My belly is all baby, just like it was the last two times. I have to say, I love the way I carry my babies straight out in front.

Other than that I'm feeling pretty good. Trying to keep my activity level up, although I don't always have a lot of energy. Having two whirlwinds running rampant all over the house helps with the activity. Heartburn is worse than with Beckett but not as bad as with Sawyer. I'm feeling the baby move a lot more these days, mostly down low and to the sides. Not a lot of activity above the belly button yet. She was hanging out head down with her back to my right side at my last appointment so I think a lot of what I feel is a kick from her feets on the left which bumps her body into my right. It's total cuteness.

I broke down and bought some maternity pants over the weekend. Up until now I'd just been wearing my regular jeans with a Bella Band over them. It was a nice boost of confidence. But the zipper was starting to dig in and the ol' hips were getting too wide, so I went for a pair of these from Motherhood. HEAVEN. So freakin' comfortable, seriously. On the shirt front, I'm still wearing normal ones. I hate maternity clothes with a passion. The tent look is so not me. Luckily, long shirts are in right now. I snagged a few from Rue 21 that I'm pretty sure will last me my whole pregnancy because they're so freakishly long. Then after the baby's born I can just dry them on high to shrink them up. Yay recycling!

I'm having a lot of trouble getting around already, which I guess is to be expected with this being my 5th pregnancy, 3rd to make it past the first trimester. My hips ache horribly after laying down for any length of time, and the pain in my pubic bone is excruciating. It feels like it's splitting in half when I stand up. Probably the early stages of SPD, which I luckily escaped the last two times. I need to bring it up with my midwife and maybe start seeing a chiropractor. Because with 16+ more weeks to go, it's certainly not going to get any better on its own, and I'd prefer not to need a walker complete with tennis balls before I birth this kid.

My dreams are becoming more and more vivid as the weeks go on, as well as incredibly twisted most nights. I dream every single time I fall asleep, even after getting up to pee in the wee hours of the morning. Which means I have 2-4 dreams per night. Most are nightmarish and leave me not wanting to fall back asleep. Should probably discuss this with the midwife as well. I'm hoping there's an extra supplement I can take that will help.

Next update: 28 weeks. Getting closer!

For I have discovered how to make bows as big as her head.

With pregnancy comes increasingly vivid and strange dreams for me. Last night? Avonlea was born with 12 teeth. Practically a full set. Adorable newborn baby, 8 lbs. 15 oz., light fluffy blonde hair, nice pearly set of chompers. Let me just say that I'm glad I don't feel pain in my dreams, because this baby did not know how to refrain from biting while nursing.

I woke up and went, "Phew, THAT was weird. Thank goodness that doesn't really happen. One or two teeth, maybe, but not 12." And then I Googled it.

Also in the same dream was a 48-hour labor. I'm thinking I'd rather have the toothed newborn.

I am so proud of this thing. My first "real" quilt and it actually doesn't suck! It's not perfect - there are tension issues and I got a little messy in some parts of the quilting. But I am in love with it. Photo overload, I know.

Ignore DH's legs. I still haven't found a good spot to hang quilts for photographing.



The back.



I decided to add a little personal touch and free-motion her name into the bottom corner.



I love the way a quilt looks when folded.





Folded nicely on her crib.



And big brother had to get in on the action. He is so fascinated with all the things I make for his little sister. :)

My latest project is the most time-consuming: Avonlea's quilt. It's about 47" x 60". I didn't intend for it to be that big, it just kind of happened, but I'm glad now because it should be big enough to use on her toddler bed.

It took me a day to cut and piece everything, then another day of basting and beginning the quilting. This is 2 days of work so far and I'm about 25% done with the quilting. I'm doing free-motion quilting, which is where you lower the feed dogs and use your hands to guide the speed and stitch direction. The pattern I'm doing is called stippling, which is basically just a continuous squiggly line over the whole quilt. I've never done this on a scale this large before (in fact, this is only the second time I've done it in general), so it's a little intimidating, but I'm really happy with it so far.

I wish now that I had made the blocks a little more detailed and the sashing a little thinner, but I still love it. The back is really cool too, I can't wait to take a picture of it.

I have to say that this is really exciting for me. I have always been an avid reader of several quilting blogs, my favorites being a quilt is nice, Crazy Mom Quilts and Handmade by Alissa. I love to marvel at the intricate quilts they make. I could also spend hours browsing quilts on Flickr. Until now, I've been too intimidated to try anything like this myself, figuring I would just be an in-the-ditch quilter for life. I'm so glad I took the plunge though and can't wait to make more.

Okay, on to the pictures.

Laid out over the table:


Close-up of the quilting:


Here you can see the difference between a quilted section and unquilted section:

Today marks 20 weeks. And I have quite the bump to show for it.



Have I mentioned how much I love pregnancy? The ability to eat a huge meal and not worry about sucking your gut in afterward. Can't beat that. Okay, so that's not the only reason I love it, but it's a nice perk. I also love not having to visit an OB and step on a scale that measures 10 pounds heavier than my home scale.

The nerve and joint pain, I could do without - experiencing that already this time around. But I'm finally feeling Miss Avie move on a regular basis, which is fabulous. I love it so much. I felt her from the outside for the first time a couple nights ago and it just made me smile.

And let me just say that I am severely disappointed in the magnitude of people who don't get the literary reference. Anne of Green Gables? L. M. Montgomery? Road to Avonlea? Ringing any bells? Seriously, about 99% of the people I know in real life have never heard of it. This makes me sad.

Anyway, for those of you who are in that same boat, it's pronounced Av (like have)-in-lee. The boys already call her Avie and it is adorable.

This is the crib we ordered. $134 from Wal-Mart. Can't beat that.

Sawyer broke my heart a couple days ago.

He'd been loafing around, lethargic and grumpy, and spent most of the afternoon on the couch. He'd been telling me his "head and body were bleeding," his way of saying they hurt.

Then, out of nowhere he said, "Mommy, can't I just feel fine?"

My heart shattered into a million little pieces for my poor boy who didn't understand why he felt bad. Really, isn't that just the saddest? He then told me he needed to go to the doctor and I assured him that Mommy would take good care of him and we didn't need the doctor yet. He seemed satisfied with that, which made me feel a little better.

I thought for sure he would start puking shortly after that, but he never did. Has just been running a fever and had no energy or appetite. He's the sweetest when he's sick though, always asking for hugs and drinks of water. We went to Sonic for dinner tonight and he only took one bite of his corn dog and ate maybe two tater tots. Poor guy.

He perked up today when we showed him the baby's room:



He's excited enough about it that he's FINALLY calling her by her name, and not "GoGo," which is the name he had given her since I first found out I was pregnant.

Speaking of the name - I think I may be spilling the beans soon, so keep your eyes peeled. ;)

I feel like this is turning into a home makeover blog, but hey, I'm proud of my handiwork and like to show it off.

Last night we painted:



A couple days ago I finished the crib skirt:



And yesterday I made a quilted wall hanging. My first ever attempt at freehand quilting:





Today we're hanging the chair rail and curtains. And after that, pretty much all the heavy lifting is DONE (other than putting together the crib when it comes) and I can focus on making accent pieces!

The window valance is finished! I hate hate hate sewing curtains so I'll just buy some white sheers to go under the valance. Isn't it pretty? Next up, crib skirt.

Ignore the green walls, I hung it in my dining room for the picture.



Close-up of the pretty edging.

After much swearing and extensively pin-pricked fingers, the first piece of the baby's bedding is finished. I'm glad I tackled the bumper first because it was definitely the most time-intensive part. I can't wait til I have the actual crib to display it on because these pictures just don't do it justice.

Oh, and that ruffle on the top edge? PAIN IN THE ASS. I wasn't smart enough to invest in a ruffler foot for my sewing machine and thought I could do it by hand. HA. That 400-inch long strip of fabric had other plans for me. Never again will I attempt to hand-gather a ruffle.

Anyway. On to the pictures.

The fuchsia and plum panels go on the inside and the yellow and white will face out through the slats. The big A will go on the back side of the crib (like this).

At each appointment with my midwife, she always asks if I've had any dreams about the baby. Last appointment, I had to say no. But yesterday, while napping on the couch, I had an extremely vivid dream about her. I want to write it down here so I don't forget it. It'll be cool to look back after she's born and see if any of it is true.

For some reason we were out of town when I went into labor. Not sure where we were, but as a result I ended up giving birth in a hospital. I still had a natural birth, but the actual moment of giving birth was blacked out in the dream. It flashed forward to me holding this gargantuan baby and begging people to tell me how much she weighed, so I could announce her arrival on Twitter (yes, I'm a nerd). They all seemed to think it was some hilarious joke to not tell me her weight and it pissed me off. She was huge though, had to be around 11 pounds. And she had quite a bit of reddish-blonde hair.

The weird part was that at first, I thought she was a boy and was calling her Daniel. Weird because that has never been a name we have considered. I told the boys to come meet their new brother. Then, it occurred to me - oh yeah, I was supposed to have a girl! I unwrapped her and pulled back her diaper and sure enough - all girl. I told DH, "Oh, it's _______ ______!" The name we have chosen for her, plus the middle name that I like and DH isn't crazy about. I told him that of course this means we have to use that name now, so there.

The dream ended with me nursing her and then her sleeping peacefully in my arms. She was so pretty and I got several good long looks at her face. It will be crazy to see if she actually looks like she did in my dream. And if she really has that much hair - I'm expecting a baldy.

Speaking of Little Miss, my brother officially moved out this weekend. Which means I have an empty room and can start the NURSERY! I got paint tonight and will probably get it on the walls this week. It'll be two-tone with the Rose Dust on the bottom and Cornmeal on top, separated by a white chair rail.

Because she's definitely a GIRL!







And my 17 week belly shot:

I go for another anatomy scan tomorrow, and most importantly, the confirmation that this girly still has her girly bits. I really hope she hasn't grown any new appendages, because if she has, the baby boy will look pretty funny wearing all the bows I've been making. Who knew it would take a baby girl to get my crafty motivation back?



Oh yes. I'm not ashamed to admit that I plan to make her one to match every outfit. I've waited a looooong time to have a little babe that I can dress all frilly and dainty.

I already painted the plaque that will eventually be transformed into a bow holder as well. Yes, she has a name, and I doubt it will change because it took me way too long to painstakingly paint those letters to redo it. Sorry about the blur. It's still a secret! The 'A' is all you're getting.



Tune in tomorrow for a dangle vs. spout report, as well as more pictures of our sweet most likely girl.