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    The Champions, My Friends

    ByHeather Bailey

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    How about I announce some winners? Has it been long enough? Har, har.

    As always, you’ve made picking giveaway winners extremely difficult for me. That’s a good thing. Thanks for the great comments! It took a bit of effort not to fret over this decision disproportionately. I love you all. (I might need a Decision Therapist.)

    Jen from Backwoods Wife, give me a holler, along with Naomi from Nome’s Brag-a-Long. Come on down! You can each have your pick of travel mugs and Pocket Posh books. Thanks for making my birthday bright.

    Jen: “Our 4-year-old daughter asked her Grandma to go to the park with her, to which Grandma replied, "Not right now, Grandma's pooped." Wide-eyed, Riley replied incredulously, "In your underwear?!"”

    Naomi: You’ll have to navigate to Naomi’s hilarious story. I’ve chickened out of posting it on the main page. It involves a diaper change. (comments, p.6—at the bottom)

    And because I’m a total softee—and I’m moved that hundreds of you took the time to add your thoughts to the birthday soup—I’m also handing out a gaggle of gift certificates to the following (I wish I could send every one of you a gift):

    Becky W. – for expanding my vocabulary with the term, “The Skoots.” (p.1)
    Megan – for her awesome banana slug / turtle joke (p.3)
    Mary Beth – for having TWO 14-year-old boys at home & enduring it (p.3)
    Liz Mouse – for weathering a baby’s birth the same week as selling one home and buying another (p.3)
    Brittanie – for this fantastic quote: “Cleaning and sorting while you and kids are growing is like shoveling snow while it’s still snowing.” (p.5)
    Julie – for a kind, gushing compliment that made me smile (p.6)
    Carrie McW. – for not knowing she was pregnant till 24 weeks into it (p.4)
    Marcy Mahle – for her ‘winning store display’—go read this one! (p.5)
    Seanna Lee – for helping her mom deliver a baby on the couch when she was only three (p.4)
    GG – by mistaking my remark about shaving my legs to read,“It is far easier to HAVE swollen ankles”—and her disappointment at not learning more (p.5)
    Julie B. – for needing cheering up after being called an “Old Fogie Mama” for having a baby at 38. (p.5)
    Chanel – for needing cheering up after shoulder surgery and enduring the hairiness that accompanies having your shaving arm in a sling for many weeks (p.5)

    And to the following new mamas, all with babies that were due about the same time as my little guy. I am your Mid-Night Commiserator; we are sisters is sleep deprivation.

    Kim (ChefMessy)
    Ashley (love that green bunk bed, btw!)
    Celeste
    Bianca G.
    Elizabeth Jeanne
    Shannon
    Sarah Cap

    Thanks, everyone, for the birthday wishes, stories, laughs, etc. (Have a look—great stories!) As I have said before, I wish we all lived in one, weird, modern town where we could get together for sewing bees on Sundays and dance parties every Friday night. Thank you for your friendship.

    Winners, I will email each of you with instructions. If you don’t hear from me in the next two days or so, assume my email got lost in the VooDoo Net and send me an email (link in sidebar).

    * The collage shown above was made by the lovely Lynette Carroll using HB papers & such.

  • Teensy Little Bird

    ByHeather Bailey

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    When the hospital called on August 17th to schedule a C-section for September 3rd, I got off my computer, and walked and walked and walked. Every day, for days. My best shot at avoiding surgery was to go into labor naturally. (My oldest was born by C-section, so the doctor didn’t want me to go full-term at the risk of uterine rupture.) It was over 110º each of those days, so I would head out at 8pm after the sun went down and make laps around the neighborhood in my fluorescent-orange shirt — the Great Pumpkin.

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    I did it! With four blisters on my left foot and three on my right, our new little bub was born at 1:59pm on Thursday, August 25th. No C-section required — phew. My feet only stopped aching this week.

    I had never gone into labor before on my own, so I stayed in bed that morning longer than some might have, timing my contractions on my iPhone (standard clock app, lap function – awesome). Once I could no longer sleep, I started posting my progress on Twitter; it was a fantastic distraction. We got the kids ready for school and called in my mom to make the rounds, then headed out to the hospital. Of course, we had to make a stop at the store for an SD card for our camera. (I wanted photos!) At that point, my contractions were a minute long and three minutes apart, from start to start.

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    At the hospital, when I walked from triage to the delivery room, my doctor announced that I was at a 7 or 8 and everyone at the nursing station stood and clapped, saying “Wow, you’re still walking!?” I wonder if that’s such a big deal or if they stand and clap for everyone. “You’re dilated to a 1? And you’re still walking!?” “You’re dilated to a 3? And you’re still walking!?” Might be a good protocol.

    I had a big, goofy smile on my face — between contractions. The staff was baffled by me. Sure, it hurt. Of course! I was just ecstatic that I beat the scheduled surgery and that I’d get to meet my new kiddo. Good thing I was in an excited stupor too, because my doctor had to attend to three emergency situations in the course of my labor. She held off on me a little bit so she could help the other mothers get through their ordeals. After she broke my water, everything went very quickly and the baby was born within the hour.

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    And here he is! The inventory is complete. He’s all here, with all his teensy parts. And everything appears to work as it should: cooing, gooing, squeaking, squawking, spitting, squirting, grinning, grunting. He’s so new and tiny that all of these functions still have us mesmerized.

    I’m saving his name for another post — as that’s it’s own story. When it comes to names, I’m a waffler. Why can’t we all go by three for four different names — that would be so much easier! (Well, maybe not.)

    Two days after the baby was born, Isaac and our talented friend, Jared Platt, met up to take pictures. These lovely shots were snapped by Jared. Jared is a professional photographer who travels the U.S. teaching photography workflow and file management to other professionals.

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    Isaac has typed up his thoughts on little bub’s birthday as well — more revealing perhaps than my polite assessment. Here’s his take…


    Read More “Teensy Little Bird”