Pictures of Jake Owen

Here are some pictures of Jake Owen Wisley, born on Sept 13th at 10pm. I will post a blog on my home birth experience soon!

Update on WHY Baby Wisley isn't here yet!

Hey everyone! I know, I know you are all wondering if I have had this baby and if not, why it hasn't happened yet? Well, these things take time and obviously the baby isn't ready to come yet. There are several reasons for this. I shall explain so you can all relax and work on your patience as I have been trying too.I had an appointment with my midwife today. It went very well. We did a non-stress test to make sure the baby is healthy and that the placenta is still working properly. After laying down for 10 minutes. She checks for the baby's heart rate and then bangs a metal pan with a metal spoon right next to my belly. She then checks the heart rate again to see if the baby's heart rate increased any. Well it went from 128 to 140. So that was a postive test that things are going great. We have bascially determined that we have my due date off by 7-10 days so that puts me at only a week or so behind my actual due date now. I am also measuring at 40.5 cm which also means that we are very close to baby time. I am very glad that I have not decided to induce. I am a firm believer in God's timing and really wanted things to happen when he wanted them too vs. my timing. My midwife also said that babies who go to 40 wks plus are better nursers because they are more developed then an early baby. That sounds good to me since I want to nurse. So just a little bit longer, maybe tonight. I appreciate your excitement and your prayers. I will post an update as soon as labor starts! I promise!

When desperate drink castor oil. Yum!

So here I sit on day 13 past my due date and suffering the symptoms of castor oil. Okay, I wouldn't call it suffering but it certainly isn't comfortable. I slept well until about 3:30am this morning and decided to get up, drink some milk, watch Family Matters and check my email. I finally got an email from a girl who is using my midwife. She was due on the 9th and went into labor on the night of the full moon. The night I thought for sure I would be in labor. Well, she had her baby after 24 hours of labor. Another girl had her baby Saturday as well. She was due on the 1st. Then there is me. Due on the 24th of August and still no baby. How annoying! I think I may have my due date off by a few days but who really knows. So in my desperation for make something happen I have had many people tell me that castor oil can do the trick but be very ugly and painful. I told Joe that if I did it he would have too drink it too. That didn't work.
He went to church this morning and I stayed home to avoid all the gasps from people who were hoping to see me with a baby in my arms and not in my belly. Joe comes home around 12pm and asks if I am going to drink the stuff. I broke down and drank 4 tbs with 2 oz of orange juice. 30 min later drank another 2 tbs and then another 2 tbs 30 mintues after that. It wasn't nasty at all, but what was to come could be very nasty. One of my birthing books said that if it works I would be having contractions within half a day or may start sometime tomorrow.
I took a nap at 330 and woke up around 415. Joe decided to go for a run with Maximus and I decided a walk might help get things rolling a little. I didn't get more than .3 miles away from the house when I suddenly realized I wasn't going to make it home in time to get to the bathroom. Luckily, a thicket of woods were just to my right and I was able to duck away and take care of business without embarassing myself with all the cars driving by. That happened 6 hours after drinking the oil and nothing has happened since then. So I guess we will see if I wake up with contractions tonight or not. I am guessing it's not going to work, but I only say that because I am starting to loose hope in that this baby will ever be ready to come out. I had Joe measure my uterus and it's at 40-41cm which is about 1cm more than last Tuesday. I am praying something happens before Tuesday because that is when I see the midwife again. Our next step will be to sweep the membranes. I really don't want to go that route,but if I must then I must. I am still feeling great. The baby is still moving around a ton and I am sleeping better at night. Now if only I could have some sort of sign! Joe is leaving for a trip with a friend to climb Mount Rainer on the 23rd, so as each day passes he gets a little less excited about having to leave us for five days. I am glad that he gets the chance to go and it was me and our friend who arranged the trip as a surprise, so don't think that it was all Joe's idea to leave his wife and new baby. I am totally okay with him being able to experience this adventure. I'm guessing by the end of this week we will have a baby so check in and I will post when something happens. You can also check my facebook. Be praying for me! I am loosing my mind and my patience!

It's just a Different Viewpoint

I feel like I need to clairify a few things I have posted in previous blogs about my different way of thinking in regards to my choices to have a home birth, to use a midwife and not a doctor, avoid a medicated birth, and not be induced as well as several other topics I don't need to mention to protect myself. I know that I am the minority in these decisions. 95% of the people I know don't do things the way that I do and I am okay with that. When it comes to my difference of opinion on any subject matter I do not want people to think that just because I have choosen a different path that my way is better than your way, that I am right and you are wrong, that because I have a difference of opinion that your opinion doesn't matter. Does that make sense? When I feel strongly about something I want people to know why I believe the way I do, but I also know that in the past I have sent a false message that if you don't do things the way I do, I think you are stupid and irresponsible. That couldn't be further from the truth, especially since a majority of the people I know may not agree with my way of thinking.
So if you have read my blog in the past, and been offended by anything I said, or felt attacked, demeanored, or that I was trying to tell you the way you do things is wrong, I apologize to you for causing you to feel that way. My intentions are not to hurt people. I simply want to explain why I do the things that I do because I am usually in the minority in the choices I make. I also want to raise awareness on the many different options that are out there for having babies that can work better for you. I don't judge those that have hospital births, have epidurals or inductions etc. Whatever works for you isn't going to change the way I think of anyone. It just isn't the way I want to do things. It is as simple as that. Don't take it personally please!

No Baby Yet!

I am getting so tired of waiting for this baby to come out and join the family. Every night is a whirl of mixed feelings. Is is going to be tonight? Will I get up to pee and find that my water breaks? Surely something will happen tonight? Oh well, I guess that means I am not ready yet, or that the baby needs a few more days to develop. I am really tired of my routine right now. I think I am ready for a little stress in my life! I say that now, and two weeks from now I will be dying for relaxation instead. You never can win, can you!
Poor Joe has to go into work everyday and is bombarded by the same questions he gets asked everyday. Any changes yet? Has she felt any contractions? Etc Etc Etc! I feel for him. I just don't answer my phone unless I know it is someone that won't ask me those annoying questions. Even though I am only three days away from the due date I still feel like it will be ages before it happens. I having felt a single contraction, or been super tired, or super energetic. I feel like I have been in my nesting stage for the past 4 weeks now.
I feel like when I do go into labor I will probably cry out, "NO, not today! I am not ready!" :)
Summer Camp is over til next year. Joe is glad to have some extra freedom and more rest at night. We already miss the summer staff and aren't prepared for a long boring winter. Actually, it probably won't be boring with our baby around to hang out with.
As of right now Joe is out on a run with Maximus training for his hike up Mount Rainer. It started pouring about ten minutes ago. He He He! They are going to be soaked! Joe leaves on the 23rd of September with our friend Todd Rielage from Anderson. They will be gone for 5 days. My mom will hopefully come stay with me for the time he is gone.
That is pretty much all I have for now. I hope to have more interesting things to blog about after the little one is here.

Thoughts on Being a MOM!

The picture to the left is of some wonderful women from Beford IN. Most of them are sister-in-laws, mother-in-laws, and neices and one nephew. The others are from Joe's home church, Popcorn Christian Church. We drove down to Bedford a baby shower given by these wonderful ladies. We had a great time eating and opening gifts. I received a lot of great items that I can't wait to use.

I've been getting restless during the past week. I often walk into the baby's room and pace around wondering if I am missing anything, or if there is something I can do to get my mind off what labor is going to be like. It has been hard not having much to do since I am prepared for this home birth. I got my birthing kit in the mail at the beginning of last week and bought the list of things my midwife wanted to me have at the house.

I often spend most of my time thinking about being relaxed and releasing any stress that I may be feeling in the present. My goal during the past month has been to focus on all the positives, to feel strong and confident, so that when the time comes I know the labor I experience is going to be normal and the pain is only temporary.
During my last appointment with my midwife she asked if there was anything I feared. My only fears are the point at which my contractions are so close together and the pain so intense that I will not be able to focus on using the relaxation techniques I have been practicing over the past two months. I have no fears of pushing what so ever. She said she is very curious to know how I will handle labor versus the way I handled hiking up and down mountains for 6 months. She seems to think that it won't be much different. Hiking up mountains all day long was no easy task but I don't think it wil compare to having a baby. So far hiking for 6 months is the hardest thing I have ever done but I'm guessing that will change once I experience delivering a baby.
As far as my feelings about being a mom I am indifferent. Two weeks ago I would have told you that I was not excited about being a mom at all. The last 7 years with Joe have been amazing and it is hard for me to picture our life being interupted with a new member of the family. Joe and I love the time that we get to spend together. We have spent a lot of time talking about how we will juggle time together and time with our kids. We understand the importance of nurturing our childrens' needs but also see the importance of nurturing our marriage. We both feel that in order for us to have a better than stable, crazy in love and meeting each others needs marriage, it will require us to make "Joe and Mel Time" a big priority. I want my kids to grow up seeing Joe and I madly in love with each other to be a good model of a healthy marriage. I don't want my kids to feel our stress because we put our marriage on the back burner. When kids see that their parents are in love with each other that gives them a confident and secure feeling in themselves and the life that they live in.
Being a mom is such a big idea for me to wrap my arms around and understand at this point. However, I know God gave me all of the abilities I will need to be the mom that he intended me to be.

Baby's Room Preview and more Belly Pics

Well, there it is, your sneak peak. I spray painted this table back to a new white finish and bought the baskets at Walmart.

I love how I don't look pregnant from behind!

Oh my belly! Can't wait to do this same pose again except without the belly!

Is it really the middle of July already? Summer is passing much too quickly, although I am partly glad for that since it means I am only 5 weeks away from my due date! Who knows? I could go much sooner than 5 weeks which would be awesome. I am so ready to be a mom and not have this basketball belly anymore (please keep your comments to yourself about why I shouldn't wish away my belly). The one thing that has probably annoyed me the most about being pregnant are the comments I get after I share my feelings about pregnancy. I have had it very easy, but that still doesn't mean I need to love being pregnant like some people think I should. My least favorite comment has been, "Oh just you wait until the baby comes and you have sleepless nights, then you will wish you were still pregnant." Really any comment that starts with the phrase, "just you wait" irritates me to no end! Maybe, just maybe I will have a baby that sleeps well through the night, or I just happen to not stress out about stuff like that and am able to get enough rest to keep me sane. Alright, dismounting my horse and moving on.

The babies room is started and will not be finished until after the baby is born. I registered for curtains, bedding and a few other things for the room and won't be having any other showers except for one until after the baby comes. So for now you just get a little sneak peak of my black and white theme.

I am going on my 36th (?) week and still feel great. The ol' bladder likes to send me to the bathroom about once every hour and I toss and turn during the night to stay comfortable. My lower back hurts if I am on my feet for too long but I am still very mobile and stay as active as I possibley can be at this stage in the game.

My midwife is making a house visit this coming Monday to become familiar with our home so she is ready for action when the time comes. She is the best thing that has happened to me during this pregnancy! I am so glad that God sent her my way!

Joe is still working incredibly hard at the camp. We only have three full weeks of camp left and then he will get some down time before lil Wisley shows up.

I made a random trip down to North Carolina to visit with my sister Heather. My youngest sister Kim picked me up on her way down from Chicago and we had three wonderful days of sister time; our last before the lil terd makes its' appearance into our lives. We had a great time a laying out at her pool, going to watch "My Sister's Keeper," which instead of crying our eyes out, we actually laughed so hard Heather and I peed our pants. I know it sounds so insensitive because the girl dies at the end but I ended up thinking of something so funny I busted out laughing and got the other two on the laughter train with me. All three of us had our shirts over our mouths pretending we were crying so the other movie watchers wouldn't be disgusted with our insensitive response to a very sad movie. Anyway, my sisters and I are one of a kind and a lot of people don't get our sense of humor.

I think that covers it all for now. Hope you all are having a great summer!