Sybil's due date was Thursday, November 18, 2011 (my brother Nathan's birthday and my great-grandmother Newsome's birthday). I began contractions on the night of November 17th and we were sure she was going to make an appearance the next day so we called Seth's parents and told them to come on down. They came down and contractions stalled out. My mother joined us as well on that Saturday. That Sunday Seth's parents made the decision to go back home because labor would start then stall out. My mother continued to stay with us. That Monday night I was really craving sushi (the non-raw kind) so we went to our favorite Japanese restaurant and while I was there contractions began regularly. We finished dinner, came home, put the kids to bed and I tried to relax. Seth offered to stay up with me and I told him to go on to bed because he would need his rest and there was nothing he could do for me at the moment. At this point I was almost positive that this was the real thing. I could feel the baby moving down with each contraction. For the first part of labor I laid down and tried to get some rest. I would sleep between contractions. Labor began getting very active around midnight so I split my time by being in the tub and walking around. Seth was a great coach and would time my contractions and get me water or Gatorade as I needed it. During natural childbirth it is a good idea to eat snacks as well, but I can't remember if I ate anything but I kept hydrated. Contractions were painful but manageable. Throughout the labor they were about 3-4 minutes apart and 45 seconds- 1 minute long. At about 4:30 I told Seth I thought it might be time to go to the hospital but I was going to lay down and make sure. With the next contraction my water broke so we scrambled out the door and I called the doctor's office. The ride there was very painful and I started going through transition and started crying- partly from the pain and partly from my emotions being so raw. At this point I started moaning with pain. When we got to the hospital the lady at the front desk started asking me lots of questions and I got pretty short with her. I was thinking to myself, "Can't she see I am in pain here and I don't feel like answering stupid questions?" Another nurse could see my pain so she took me to a room and got me in the bed at 5:00 AM. They checked me and I was 8 1/2 cm dilated. I was in agonizing pain at this point and I progressively got out of control with my pain management. The contractions were so hard and on top of each other. While they were still getting ready I started screaming, "She is coming!" I pushed once without anyone ready and they started to rush around getting a doctor from another room to deliver me. FINALLY they got set and through my blood curdling screams I pushed out Sybil Elizabeth House at around 5:30 AM on November 23, 2011. She weighed 8 lbs 13 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. They placed her on my chest and then quickly whisked her to the baby bed. She was very blue. While they got her situated they fixed me up. I was not feeling well at this point so they gave me IV fluids and pitocin to help me contract. Shortly after I was holding my sweet baby girl. She was beautiful and I started nursing her immediately. What a blessing she is to our life!!!
We were anxious to get home so they let us leave the next morning which was Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We have so many things to be thankful for! The recovery was really easy and I was up making Thanksgiving dinner with the help of Seth two days after having her.

The labor was very manageable but I would be lying if I said the pain at the end was not VERY hard to bear. It was excruciating and traumatic. Apparently my placenta started to detach and that makes for a very painful labor. Towards the end I kind of felt like I was going through a car wreck and was completely out of control with the things going on around me. But even through all that I would do natural childbirth again. I know this sounds weird but I feel like it has strengthened my relationship with God. Through my pain I cried out to the only one who is in control of ALL things and He heard my cry. Not that I will ever experience the kind of pain He felt on the cross, but I feel like I had a taste of just a little of what He went through and it makes me even more grateful of His sacrifice because He loves me so much!

I had an epidural with both Ella Katherine and Reid's birth. Some of my friends have asked me if I felt the labor was better with the epidural or without. Here are my thoughts on it.
-Length of labor- I felt it went by faster without the epidural.
-Enjoyment of Labor- I actually enjoyed the first stage of labor better without an epidural. It was work but I knew with each contraction things were happening. Also, I was able to drink and eat and walk around. With an epidural I had to just wait in the bed and it got really boring. Through the pushing stage I would say I definitely liked the epidural labors better. I felt without the epidural I was so exhausted emotionally and physically that I really wasn't able to enjoy the first few minutes of Sybil's life. I still had to be stitched up and had to deliver the placenta so all my remaining energy was focused on that because I had nothing for the pain.
-Recovery- For the first two hours after Sybil's birth I was exhausted. I was dehydrated and I had no energy. After two IV bags and pitocin and some pain medication though I felt much better. I also was able to walk around a lot sooner and take a shower. The overall recovery was much better this delivery but I am not sure if it had to do with not having an epidural or the fact that this was my third baby.
-Pain- Obviously the pain was better with an epidural but the contractions without pitocin were much better than with. Pitocin contractions are SOOO painful and you always feel crampy even in between. With natural contractions you have them and then you have a break so they are a lot easier to manage.

Based on my experience (which is totally not scientific), there are not a ton of advantages to having natural childbirth but I still would do it again. Some websites and movies and books will make you believe epidurals are the devil, but I think that is simply not true. On the other hand, there are risks, albeit small, with having an epidural. Risks that can affect you years down the road. A friend of mine had a reaction and she had HORRIBLE back and neck pain for several months after and is still having some pain even though her baby is almost a year. So I don't want to take the risk again. Each woman needs to decide for herself which is the best method for them.

If I could just snap my fingers and pictures would be loaded then this whole blog thing would be a piece of cake, but that isn't going to happen so I have resorted to a blog post with no pictures.

Here is what is going on with us...

Seth started school and is lead teacher again this year so he has been really busy. He also celebrated his 32nd birthday yesterday! We are so grateful God has given us another year with him! Seth- Thank you for working so hard and for having faith that God will provide so that I can stay at home with our children!

I am doing pretty well. I have started getting a little more tired and that really frustrates me. I really can't complain because many women have much worse pregnancies but I do not like when my energy level is not on the same level as my "to do" list. I am 32 weeks pregnant with our baby girl. She moves a lot and I have A LOT of Braxton Hicks contractions which worry me somewhat but apparently with multiple pregnancies they happen more frequently. My body feels like a furnace, but thankfully the weather is somewhat milder.

Ella Katherine has started homeschool and is doing great! We go to our homeschool group Classical Conversations on Tuesdays and she loves it. While there she is introduced to the week's lessons in science, history, art, Latin, English grammar, geography and Math. Then at home we practice her work for the week and also learn Phonics and Math. I was a little overwhelmed at the Classical Conversations material at first, but am amazed at what her little brain can retain. I am using Abeka for both Phonics and Math and find it to be extremely efficient and user friendly. Many people wonder why we are homeschooling and this lady explains it on her blog much better than I could. EK is also playing soccer and it has been great (more to follow on that later). I am so proud of the person EK is becoming. She is thoughtful of others and is very caring especially to her little brother. She watches over him like a mother hen. Of course they still fight sometimes like most kids. She wants to boss him and he wants to be independent, but all in all they have a good relationship.

Reid is (as EK puts it) a Monkey. He is very curious, to say the least, and is mostly interested in things he shouldn't be, like the garbage can and the bathroom and kitchen cabinets and the electrical outlets. He is a very sweet boy but just VERY curious and active. Seth and I aren't sure he will have all of his fingers by the time he is 5 because he constantly gets them smashed or cut. He loves to make us laugh and has such a good natured personality. He loves play-doh and crayons while EK and I are doing school and is learning his colors. He loves his blankies, shoes, and balls. He says "ball" about 100 times a day. He is very affectionate and is a sweet Mama's boy.

Our third baby has a name! We are naming her Sybil Elizabeth. My grandmother's name was Syble (spelled differently) and we feel blessed that our baby will have her name. She truly understood and lived a life of self sacrifice so that others could be directed to Christ. We both like the name Elizabeth and she will share it with my sister-in-law Elizabeth "Michele" Outlaw. I have several different due dates within about 4 days of each other so I am going with the latest... November 21st. Her room is ready with all of EK's baby clothes and crib set. Ella Katherine and Reid now share a room with bunk beds.We can't wait to meet her and pray that she will be head down when delivery time comes. As of now, she is not and Reid was breach up until 39 weeks so hopefully she will turn too.

That is just a little update and hopefully I will post pictures soon.

The day FINALLY arrived. We have been anxiously waiting for my ultrasound appointment so that we could find out if Baby #3 is a boy or a girl. I am 22 weeks. EK and I were pretty sure it is a girl and we were right!!! We are so elated to have another precious little girl to raise! We have not decided on a name yet, but we have a strong contender. We have had a boy's name picked out for awhile but the girl's name has been difficult to decide on. Of course I have ALOT of clothes from when Ella Katherine was a baby, but she will be born in the fall, so some won't work. I can't wait to sew her some clothing like her "home from the hospital" outfit and her baptism outfit.

Besides finding out the gender we also discovered that she is 1 lb 2 oz. and is healthy as can be. She has all her parts and her heart is working well.

She has her arms above her head in this one.
Look at that muscle tone! She has definitely been working out in my belly.

Check it out!

http://asamccords.blogspot.com/2010/04/childrens-outfit-giveaway.html

Psalm 127

¹Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

²It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

³Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

⁴As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

⁵Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

If you haven't guessed it already, we are having another baby. I am due November 16th.

Besides being tired, I have felt pretty good so far. Sometimes I think it is going to be a boy sometimes I am not so sure. I have my first doctor's appointment next week, so more to follow.

Like this....

And this...


Thank you Lord for new seasons!

Pizza is a favorite meal around here. Most times we have pizza when I need a break from cooking so I pull a Red Baron from the freezer. Sometimes, I make it a little fancy by making homemade chicken pesto pizzas. On this particular occasion I made two pizzas. One for us and one for a family in church who just had a new baby. It is a great meal to take to new mamas. Here is a list of ingredients:

-Pizza Dough from Publix- You can find this in the deli/bakery section-They make it there. I have made my own a couple of times and it has turned out pretty good. You can find a really easy recipe by Mario here or this really complicated one here. The really complicated one I made not-so-complicated by skipping a lot of steps, but it still turned out great. It is better for a thin crispy crust.
-Pesto- I usually use Bertolli pesto that you can find with the spaghetti sauce, but on my last trip to Costco I found fresh pesto in the refrigerated section with all the salsas and dips. It was really good, but the shelf life is not as long, so I took the leftovers and spooned it in ice trays and froze them. Then dump the cubes in a freezer bag. I think it will probably last for a few months.
-Cooked chicken breasts- Typically I marinate the chicken in Balsamic vinegar then Seth grills it. This time I cooked the breast in the skillet. I took one large chicken breast and cut it in chicken-finger-size pieces. Seasoned with kosher salt and ground pepper and place in a hot skillet with EVOO. After cooking for a little while I added balsamic vinegar. And let that reduce some.
-Mozzarella cheese- I always grate my own. I don't like the powder that they put on pre-grated cheese and it cost more.
-Sundried tomatoes- Cut in small strips if too big. I really am not a big fan of this brand in the picture but our local Wally world only carries this kind.
-Can of sliced mushrooms- You can use fresh too if you like, but EK loves the canned type.
-Ground Pepper and Kosher salt

First let the dough rest on the counter for at least an hour. If it is cold it will be hard to work with. About 15 minutes before you start working with the dough, preheat your oven to 450 or 425 if convection. Go ahead and put your pizza stone or pizza pan in the oven. I highly suggest using a pizza stone. It gives the dough a crispiness.

To stretch the dough you can use my method or EK's method as seen in this video.

EK LOVES working with dough, so I usually cut a piece off of my dough ball for her to make her own pizza. She has so much fun doing it. Can you tell we watch a lot of cooking shows?

My method is this: Rub your hands in flour then take the dough and roll it on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Then I slowly stretch it by laying the dough on my fists and moving my fists outward. Try not to tear it because it is very hard to fix holes. I alternate rolling and stretching until I get my desired size. The rolling helps get out all the big air pockets.

I then take a piece of foil and grease it with olive oil and sprinkle a little cornmeal on top. Put the dough on the foil. Puncture the dough several times with a fork to prevent big air pockets that create bubbles in your pizza. Then spread the pesto, top with most of the cheese, add thin slices of chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms. After cooking this, Seth and I both agreed that it needed more sun-dried tomatoes. It is our favorite part. Then top with a little more cheese, kosher salt, and ground pepper. Place the tin foil with the pizza on your hot stone and bake for 10-12 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

I also like to add a little Parmesan after cooking it. I have tried adding shredded Parmesan before cooking and it didn't work well. The Parmesan got too crispy before the pizza was done. Let me know if you try this pizza. I would love to hear the results!