Sick of it

Sick of what? Well sick of being...sick! In the past 18ish months, since we moved into this house, there has only been a few months (this past summer) where everyone was healthy. Recently, its been crazy bad! We had PJ with a throat infection at the beginning of the month, got that healed up in time for me to get Influenza A and of course everyone else got it too, right over Thanksgiving. We were just getting everyone over that when yesterday PJ got a stomach virus. At the moment I am feverishly praying that I secluded her enough yesterday that no one else will get it. I washed my hands so many times they are raw. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong here. They get vitamins, probiotics, sunshine (though probably not as much as they would if we had a fenced yard) my house is clean (as clean as it can be for having kids and a dog lol). Since school let back in I just cant seem to keep everyone on the up and up. I've come to the conclusion that its our house that's causing the issue. I think we may have mold. The inspector found some when we bought the house, but he told us that most of it was dry and what wasn't I cut out of the walls and replaced. I am thinking either its come back OR I missed some. But either way I have never had so many migraines, except when I lived in Florida, because I am allergic to mold it gives me wicked bad migraines and headaches. Also, my nose has been stuffed up since we moved in- also part of that mold allergy. So, I don't know what we are going to do about it. We'd like to move (it was our plan to move from here when we bought the place, it was only supposed to be our 'starter' home) but I don't think we can financially swing that right now. Its very frustrating to know its probably your house making your family sick and there's not much you can do about it for a while. I think this spring we will look at selling this place. After we get some doctor bills paid down and paid off then we will have a little more breathing room.

In other news, my little dude is about to turn 5 months old! How is that even possible? He's so cute! The other girls, when not trying to fight something off, are doing well. James is doing well too, he's trying to get into the weld shop at L&H for the set hours and the indoor work. His knees really bother him in the cold, and this year seems particularly bad for him and we haven't even got to the really cold stuff yet! That's about all the Soesbe news I have right now!

random thoughts for the month

Thoughts on baby:
My little big guy is 3 months old already! He's almost 18 lbs (17.12 as of a week ago) and 26 1/2 inches tall. That puts him firmly in 9-12 month clothing and starting to edge toward the 12 month side. He's so sweet and such a good baby. We are really enjoying his soft giggles and cute grin. He makes even bad day feel a little better.
Thoughts on diapering:
We are still cloth diapering. I have begun to feel frustrated with our currant brand because of leaks. It seemed that no matter what I did he ALWAYS leaked right aroung the legs. I adjusted the diapers, stripped them, double stuffed them and still they leaked. We were going through 3-4 outfits a day plus blankets and constantly washing the carseat pad out. I was really feeling like just selling them and going back to disposables. But at the encouragement of a friend of mine, who insisted that it was a brand thing, I decided to buy a different brand of diapers. She uses velcro closure diapers. They are fast and adjust better than the snaps do. But I was worried that the velcro wouldnt last with the constant washing. So, after some research and asking my moms (in my online mom's group) I was pointed toward a brand called Flips. They are made by the same company that makes BumGenious diapers. So after a few weeks of nail bitting and hem-hawing I pulled the trigger and bought 3. Well I thought I bought 3 complete diapers (thinking that the inserts were included). It turns out that the sale price I bought them at- buy 2 get one free- was only for the covers. So I was stuck, and decided to improvise by using the inserts from the other diapers, it also gave me a way to test to see if it was the inserts with build up on them or just the diapers. The verdict? Its the diapers and the brand. I absolutely LOVE the flips. LOVE LOVE them. They hold well, the inserts I have work great with these covers. The velcro is awesome, so much more fitted and faster. I also dont have to worry as much about it wearing out as you dont have to change the cover with each change, just the inserts. (Unless of course the cover gets dirty, then you should change it too.) But we have been leak free for 4 days and I am so glad- they have come through washing and drying perfectly too. Bottom line: spend the extra money for decent brand name diapers. But the inserts can come from anywhere. So long as they dont have build up. The inserts I have are nice and inexpensive.
Pictures to come soon!

2 months, school, and an update

School is back in session (Yay!!) and both big girls are back to the routine. And now, that we are creeping into fall I realize its probably time for a family update.

Baylie: Baylie is now in 1st grade! Its amazing to me that she's now in real grades that dont start with letters. She's loving school and her new teacher. Thankfully we have the same aid that she had last year and she's in a class with a few of the students that were in her class last year as well. Its made the transition much easier for her. Currently she's fighting the "start of school cold". Daisy brought it home last week and promptly shared it with her sisters. Baylie has it worst of all of them though, so she got a free pass to stay home yesterday and rest. We are hoping for a really awesome school year this year!

Daisy: Daisy is in her last year of preschool at the Center. She really loves it. So much so, that yesterday when I went to pick her up she was crying because she didnt want to leave. I am excited for her to have her last year and graduate this spring. She brought home the cold last week, was sick for about 2 days with the sniffles and a slight cough and now shes pretty much healed up. So unfair that she gets everything 1/2 of what everyone else gets. lol.

Pepper: Pepper is a sweet beautiful amazing child with a naughty streak as big as a house. She loves ticking off playing with her sisters, and loves her baby brother a lot. She's very smart and has recently started counting. So far she's got to 5. I can't wait for her to start preschool next spring and to watch her bloom, as I'm sure she will. She got 2 new molars in this last week, so she's been a bit on the grumpy side, but she's starting to come back around now that they've broken the surface.

(This picture of pepper is copyrighted, I have permission to use it. Everyone else does not. Please do not copy this picture for any use)

Weston: Weston is now 2 months old!!! I keep telling him to slow down but he just wont listen to me. "Little" man is about 24 inches long and 16ish pound. We had to buy him a new car seat a couple weeks back because he'd out grown the first one. He gets stronger every day and is an amzing sleeper at night. He is deffinately a joy in our lives. I told James that it was a good thing Weston was the last baby and not the first, otherwise I would have wanted a whole baseball team of them! lol.

James: James is still working for L&H. He really enjoys working for them. He no longer puts in the Megadoors (unless they are short handed), instead he now works for the oil field crew. He loves it out there :). Today is his company picnic, and I am hoping Baylie feels well enough that we can go. Recently, he under went a little operation to ensure that Weston is indeed our last child. I say thats fair since I pushed out 4 babies and have gone through 2 surgeries as a result of my close pregnancies. He's an amazing husband and father. I couldnt ask for a better life partner than him!

Me: I'm doing well. Still feeling a bit on the tired side, dispite having a good sleeper. Its taken me about a week to find a routine that worked for all of us where school was concerned. I am working through ways of trying to save us money now that all those doctor bills have come in from having Weston. I am looking to homemade freezer meals, homemade snacks, and trying my hand at homemade laundry soap as well. Learning to go back in time is harder than it sounds, but its something I need to learn for the financial well being of our family.

That's about all for now.

5 weeks

It amazes me that little man is already 5 weeks old. He's grown so much! He's up to 24 inches and about 15 pounds, and is on the last notch of the infant car seat. He's almost out grown (in height anyway) his swings and rocker. He's such a doll, an amazing baby that is soo relaxed. Everytime I look at him all snuggled up on my chest my heart just wants to explode!

notes about p-pills

Placenta pills or as I'm going to call them p-pills.
1. Eww
2. Smelly and ewww
3. If you are going to take them, and yes the benefits (from what I'm told) do outweigh the eww factor, spend the $150-200 to have someone else make them for you. It will make them much easier to swallow if you dont have to see what the process is like to make them.
4. A placenta is lumpy- it looks smooth like liver, but once you pick it up and start to rinse it you realize that its lumpy
5. Steamed placenta looks like a giant mutant piece of beef
6. Placenta jerky smells even funnier than the steamed one
7. Make sure you have all food processor parts before you start
8. Do not make hamburger that night for dinner. You will surly gag- I did.
I am sure I will be adding to this list as I get to the point of grinding the jerky up and filling the pills up. Please dear God let the benefits outweigh the the yuck for me too!

The other man

I must confess, I'm sleeping with another man. My husband is okay with it. The other man is bald, toothless and about 2 feet tall, and has won my heart with his crooked little grin and intelligent sea storm gray eyes.

I am a girl

Yes, believe it or not I am a girl. Raised in an all girl family by a single mom. The only knowledge I have of boy parts comes from a childhood of living on a farm and what little I've gained in my adventurous adult life. Which is to say I am woefully uneducated when it comes to human male reproductive parts. But now that I have a son I am learning quickly about the penis (testicles pretty much take care of themselves).
So, for all you other newbie boy moms out there I will tell you a short story followed by some advise backed by a website full of honest facts by people who know.
I took my son to his 2 week check up today and asked my pediatrician about penis care- mainly uncircumcised penis care. We opted not to get Jr clipped feeling that God put that skin there for a reason, why mess with a good thing. So here I am asking for this medical professionals advise on the proper care of this tiny human's reproductive future. She tells me that we should be pulling the skin back at every change to help the skin separate from the head. That advise sounded opposite of what other mom's I know have told me. So, I looked it up when I got home. Sure enough. It was NOT the right advise.
FYI: you are NEVER supposed to pull the foreskin back from the penis forcibly at anytime. The skin will separate and retract on its own around the age of 5, but sometimes taking as long as until your son reaches puberty. Seriously.
This website is from the American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/bathing-skin-care/Pages/Care-for-an-Uncircumcised-Penis.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token&nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token

And there are several others, including the Mayo clinic, that support the "don't pull it" rule. This also includes most of Europe, where circumcision is NOT routine!

Happy Birthday Weston Allen

The Soesbe family is please to announce the birth of Weston Allen Soesbe. Born July 3rd at 10:42 p.m. He weighed in at 11 pounds 3.2 ounces and was 22 inches long. His big sisters are very much in love with him as are his mom and dad. Weston is the biggest baby born at the hospital where we are so far this year. And yes, before you inquire on the state of my lady parts- I did have him vaginally with very minimal pain relief after about 22 hours of labor and no I did not require stitches "down there." So, with out further ado, Welcome Weston Allen!!!

+5 and 2

All I have to say is freakin' ouch- that is all. Oh and my mom will be back this afternoon- so anytime now little dude would most deffinately rock- as long as its not today. Ob at 5, mom back at 5, groceries at 6- after that rock on little man, rock on.

+4 and 3

Holy cow this kid is never going to come! That's okay though, since my ob is back now and my mom will be back tomorrow. Tuesday will be a day of walking walking walking and maybe a pedicure. Next appt is tomorrow at 5- which is when my mom is landing lol. 4 days over due and 3 to induction.

+3 and 4

40 weeks and 3 days along today. Finally starting to get really really uncomfortable. The heartburn last night was epic and so not fun. 4 days to induction, my ob will be back today, and my mom will be back in 2 days. I think I can, I think I can....

+2 and 5

Ehhh, still hanging in there. Getting really tired now though. And my hips are starting to feel geriatric. He will come out eventually.

+1 and 6

Today marks the official longest I have every carried a child within me. 40+1 day. 6 days to induction. Kid, I really do NOT want to go the pitocin route again- so if you could see fit to start working your way into the world the night of the 3rd so you come the non-medicated way on the 4th, it would be much appreciated by all involved.

0 and 7

So, today is my due date. My ob would argue that its actually tomorrow based on lmp, but based on early sonogram and the actions that lead to conception I say my due date is today. That being said we still have no baby to fill the swings and bassinet and crib and car seat and...well you get it.

So, today we are at 0 days to my due date and 7 days to induction. Yes indeed, if baby is too stubborn to join this family he will be evicted the hard way on the 4th of July. I've been telling people that since he's my last and he knows it he wants to go out with a bang- and music. Typical boy- late for his own party and trying to make a splashy entrance lol. I'm actually okay with going over a week to have a 4th of July baby as it means his family will always have that day off and we won't have to work as hard to schedule his party with a weekend.  And, I mean, who doesn't want fireworks and a huge party on their birthday?!

Anyway, we had one night where I thought he was going to come and then by the next morning- nada, zip, zero, zilch! But, like I said, I'm okay with it! So I will leave you with some pictures...

The bassinet...waiting, waiting, waiting....

The baby's nook in our bedroom.

The other part of the baby's nook in our bedroom.

And lastly, me @ 40 weeks. Please ignore the pj pants lol.

19 and counting

As of today we have 19 days to our due date of June 27th (give or take). At my last appointment my ob begged me to have this baby in the next week or so because he's so big. Infact my doc estimates that if we should make it to the due date we would be easily looking at a 9-10 lb. baby boy. Which means currently we are sitting at 37 weeks (yay for being term!) and already he's about 8 lbs. None of this is a surprise to me. Thing are starting to progress down there, so I feel we have the week to week and a half to make it to week 40 left in us. I am starting to get very uncomfortable though due to Mr. Man being sooooo very tall (taller than the girls it seems- or maybe he just likes to spread out more). So we will keep on going until he decided he's ready to make a grand entrance, whenever that may be. Doc will only allow me to go to 41 weeks because he's presenting as a large baby and given my past history of large babies- which mean jr will be evicted by July 5th if not sooner. So I will leave you with some pictures :-)

 An incredibly talented photographer friend of ours took these for us. She is amazing and does beautiful work. These pictures ARE copyrighted and may not be printed or reproduced without her consent. They are property of Turnbull Photography, I have permission to post these here.

 36 weeks in these (acutally 36 and a little more). :-)

 At 35 weeks, my little thumb sucker. Profile facing right and sucking his hand/thumb.

And last, a sneek peek of PJ and Weston's red white and blue western bed room. This is Weston's side, PJ's isnt done yet, her bed is in need of sanding and painting still.

Happy Birthday Pepper Jeannette!

On Tuesday my Pepper Jeannette will turn 2. I am not completely sure where the last 2 years went. It really does feel like only a few days ago we were in the hospital. Anyway, we celebrated her second birthday today. She had a garden flower party at the park! We had a lovely day and are truly blessed to have such amazing family and friends in our lives.

Baby at 32 weeks

 We had our 32 week check today, and doctor Beck did a quick ultra sound for me so that we could make sure baby was still Weston and not Dally.

So here is close up of his face..LOOK AT THOSE CHEEKS!!!





Here are the rest of the pictures from today. In the strip on the left ou will see a face, heart beat, and boy parts. On the right the top two are face shots and the bottom is a profile of him. Only 8 weeks to go until our due date!!

Don't hate me!

We made the choice together, as mommy and daddy, to NOT have our son circumcised when he is born. This choice was not made lightly, and it is a personal choice for every parent of a son. Some for religious reasons (we respect that) others for personal reason (we respect that too), but then there are those that do because they think its necessary and it has to be done. For all you, but especially the latter, this link is for you. I urge you to make informed educated decisions when it comes to the health care, especially the removal of healthy organs, for your babies. http://www.drmomma.org/2010/05/death-from-circumcision.html

Getting to the end

So this week I will round into week 31, which makes my time left until my due date down into the single digits. We are doing really well, I've managed to keep my weight gain up to this point down to just 17 lbs. I was much heavier at the start of this pregnancy than I was with the previous 3 so weight gain is an issue. This little guy is so differnt than my girls were. I've never had a baby so high and low at the same time, and he is sooo much more active than they were. I am now seeing my ob every other week, and managed to talk him into one last u/s next week to make sure baby's winkie didn't magically vanish sometime in the last 12 weeks. Baby measures 2 weeks ahead of where I really am, which is no surprise really. I am getting very excited that this weekend is my baby shower (thanks Mom!!!) I am seriously looking forward to seeing my friends and family one more time before I go into full baby induced hybernation.

On the home front we finally put in the rest of our flooring, so now our house is wall to wall (except kitchen, baths, and laundry room) laminent flooring, its much nicer and cleaner. We finally finished painting- except now I have the urge to paint up the kids rooms. PJ and Daisy now share a bedroom, so I have been thinking of a butterfly garden room for them. And I will be repainting Weston's room before he comes, the top half of the wall will be cream and the lower half a kind of vintage dusty blue. I haven't quite figured out Baylie's room, but I don't want to get much on my plate before jr. gets here. We got the crib (a $20 find!!) put up this weekend, I am reupholstering the rocking chair I found at the community garage sale in burgandy and cream this upcoming weekend, and we found a large dresser with rails around the top so that it can be used as a changing table. Outside of that I will be doing a TON of work on the outside of this place this summer. Re-landscaping, pruning, planting, paving anything and everything to make this place have some curb appeal. The awesome spring we are having is lending itself to these outside projects and its LOVELY!!

We hope everyone is having an amazing spring!

Baylie Renee

I have said for a while now how proud of Baylie we are, and how well she's doing in school. Well we got a packet home from the school on Monday. Imagine how surprised we were to open it and fin the contents were for Student Of The Month!! Baylie's teacher (regular classroom) nominated Baylie to the the April Student of the Month for her class. Some people think that doesnt mean much, but it does to us. Its based off of attitude and willingness to try AND its only given to one student a month for each month of school. So, only 9 out of the 21+ students in her class recieve the student of the month. We are so very proud of her and her progress. She continues to make progress in all areas, and she truly is an amazing little girl!

Baylie's 6th birthday...finally

Sorry its taken me a week or so to post this.

On March 9th Baylie Renee turned 6!! I just can't believe its been that long, she has come so far and we are so proud of her!!!

We had her party at home on March 10th, it was a nice quiet small birthday party for her.
Admittedly, not a very pretty cake, but it tasted good just the same!!
She got lots of fun presents, and had a few cousins over to help her open them! (That's Ian btw)
She got a super cool rocking horse. Which is a little small for her, but it really is neat. It neighs, clip-clops, and shakes its head and tail- it even has metal stirrups on the saddle.This is mermaid Barbie. She has a magic seashell necklace that lights up her tail. And she can go in the water!

She got a neat new Barbie bicycle, this summer the goal is to learn to ride it without the training wheels! Good thing we live on the perfect cul-de-sac for that!

Baylie also got a ton of new spring/summer clothes and some "new" Disney classic VHS's.

No birthday princess is complete with out her birthday crown lol.

A big thank you to everyone who came out to help her celebrate!!

Snakes, and snails, and puppy dog tails...

Thats what little boys are made of!!! And on that note we will welcome Weston Allen Soesbe into our family sometime in late June or early July!!!

the oddball

Ahem, yes that would be me. I am the oddball. I plan on birthing at home as long as humanly possible, infact I would be cool with walking up to l/d and just pushing a couple time and calling it a day. I have hired a doula, who is also a friend. I plan on cloth diapering, those little sh*t catchers are expensive!!! So for $200 i can get 20 diapers + 40 inserts that i can use until my little poop factory is potty trained, OR i can spend $40/month X 12 months X 3 years= $1440. Yeah, I think I will just live with the extra load of laundry a day. And then there's my wanting to eat the placenta after jr. is done living off of it. No I dont mean I want to fry it up and eat with ketchup and collard greens- you sick person!! I want to have it dehyrated, powedered, and put in pill form. The benefit way out way the eww factor- look it up.

In other news our big 20 u/s where we find out if jr is Dally Grace or Weston Allen is this Saturday. My ob is making special time for us so James can be at it. He's only been to one other one, when I was pregnant with Baylie. We won't be telling the gender just giving out the names that we've picked out. And when baby is born we will obviously tell people what baby is.

And now that I've totally made you gag- have a good day!

Snap shot

Hi all! Well it seems we have made it half way through the first month of 2012 and I haven't given any updates from Christmas or anything since after Daisy's birthday. There's a reason. I got a new phone. I finally upgraded to the 21st century and got a smart phone. The Iphone 3gs is a wonderful thing, it does so much. Except send pictures to my email quickly...it takes the stupid thing forever to send one gosh darn picture, so I dont have much to show you. But a quick update on the family is in order I think.

Baylie: is so funny. She makes me laugh every day. She's doing very good in school and is really coming along. She has begun to identify small two letter words like "is, to, be, we" etc. Which, half way through kindergarden may not seem like an accomplishment for most, but for her its huge. Reading is something she loves but word/letters/number are hard for her to process and understand. We are very pround of how she's doing. She's developed quite a sense of humor and is just funny to listen to. Her reasoning of how things work is amusing...its how she sees it BUT its an acurate description even if its slightly skewed. We are now gearing up for her 6th birthday in a couple months!

Daisy: continues to do well in school. She loves school and has several friends. We continue to stuggle with her attitude at home and will soon be speaking to a counselor about it as its becoming overwhelming to everyone in the house. That being said, she is still very sweet when shes not being very naughty/whinney. She just celebrated her 4th birthday, and it doesnt seem possible that she is already 4.

Pepper: is the sweetest naughty child ever. She's so loving and affectionate and cute that its hard to be mad at her for long. But she tries to get into EVERYTHING!!! And if she can't get into it, she wants to climb on it. She gets in trouble several times a day for getting on the dinning room table or for getting into my bathroom. She's a bright child that loves to explore. She was doing motor skills early enough that her language skill are lagging a little, but she's started making up for it. It doesnt help the she has two big sisters to be her voice for her. But shes starting to come along, and is very polite. She always says Please and Thank you. We are so grateful she is ours. And she has her 2 year birthday coming up in May...where did that time go!?!!?

James: just celebrated his one year for working at L&H. And he still loves it. He works in Mega Door (the big cloth doors you see at the mines are mega doors) Hes crew lead, and really enjoys his job. We are doing well as a couple. We just celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary, and I am so glad he picked me to spend his life with.

Me: I am chugging along. As I write this I am almost (tomorrow) 17 weeks along with baby #4. We have names picked out for him/her. We will find out in Feb. if jr. is a he or a she. I would love a boy, but I am almost certain that jr. is girl. We dont want to tell our families what baby is until its born. But I will give you the names we have so far. Girl: Dally Grace. Boy: Weston or Wesley Allan. those are subject to change before the baby arrives in late June/early July, but for now thats what we've picked. I like either boys name so it will be on James to pick the final. I think he's leaning more towards Weston.

Thats it for the Soesbe family in January! I will leave with my most recent ultrasound of jr. taken at 14 weeks (the end of December).