When Mommy Gets SICK

January 21, 2015 by Leave a Comment

When Mommy Gets SICK… keeping up the home, school and life with our children when we are sick can be a challenge. However, keeping our expectations in check and realizing that we can get on top of it all after we are a bit better will allow us to rest and get better faster.

There is never a good time for moms to get sick, but getting sick the first week back to homeschool after Christmas vacation, after a week with a sick baby and all other children having been sick? No, not good. When Mommy gets sick things can quickly turn to chaos in less than three seconds… or it seems that way…

When Mommy Gets Sick, part of the house may fall apart, but most likely, everyone will have food and survived.

However, I had somehow managed to get a new chore/routine system put together just in time. I had lesson plans made out and we were pretty much easing into the new semester…. but I DID NOT get our meals planned and well, that is where nearly 3 gallons of chili saved us… I started handing out chores to get that chili made… I tried to trust my hubby with the seasoning of the chili…

We didn’t end up resorting to our Mommy Sick Day Binder, or starving. Children all had clean clothes and managed to do a week’s worth of school even without my help. It is probably the beauty of having older children.

Now, I am not going to kid you… the house was quite chaotic… I was a little upset when I saw the state our bathroom was in… Yes, cleaning it was on that new chore chart, but you know what? The four who know how to clean the bathroom decided that someone else should do it… I think???

I know, that has probably never happened in your home, right? I mean, when you get sick, the house just runs itself?Yes? Well, please inform me how you have managed to get that accomplished!!!

Sometimes moms can get pretty sick. This was one of those times. I could barely walk on my own. I had a headache, but not just a headache, a migraine, but not just a migraine, a migraine caused by a sinus infection, that had my tummy out of sorts, and had gotten into my ears and had me very sick…

My husband actually had to come home to help. He stayed home except to check cattle for three days, and then on day four, took me to the doctor. He hasn’t stayed home with me sick that much in our nearly 17 years of marriage. Not even after a baby. Not after any of my three c-sections…

So, what did happen in our home? Well, honestly, I was out of it and I am not really sure. Everyone worked to stay caught up on the basics… except the poor bathroom. lol Something tells me everyone figured someone else would get tired of the yucky messes that take over a bathroom in nothing flat… I mean, we have three potty trained boys and daddy here… Sorry, in our home boys mess up a bathroom worse then my girls.

Baby didn’t starve, but refused every single bottle of milk that my family lovingly thawed out for him. Every. Single. One… When a breastfeeding mom gets sick and is unable to keep any thing down for two days, her milk production kind of drops to nothing… he was mad, but not mad enough to take a bottle…

2015-01-10 11.02.06 Here I am trying to hold him and calm him down after one of the bottle attempts…

When mommy gets sick, the family will survive, but things will be a little different. We have to hand it to our family for staying afloat while we were under the weather. We have to praise our family for taking care of us.

I am doing better now, still not 100%. Still wear down pretty easy and spend my afternoons resting with baby in my arms. I have been down for two weeks with this stuff.

Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Christian Family, Christian Home, Christian Mothering, Christian Wife, Health Tagged With: ,

Baby #7 is Here~ Birth Story

July 6, 2014 by 1 Comment

Well, it seems it is time to come back here and tell a bit about my pregnancy adventure, as Baby # 7 has been here for just over a month. I am sharing with you his birth story and a few pictures, and how God worked through this latest journey.

I never really planned to take a hiatus, but I was sick… sick for nearly 20 weeks, and then I got sick again at 30 weeks. There were days I just couldn’t eat. Some days I would make myself eat and be sick. So, I had to focus on just getting through the pregnancy and doing the best I could around the house. So, I am here to introduce y’all to Simon, our seventh blessing.

This pregnancy was one of those, nothing ordinary or typical for me type pregnancies. We were convinced he was a girl, until our sonogram in January.Those aren't girl parts

This ain’t no Maggie Faith

 

The Birth Story…

To really see how God worked through this pregnancy, you have to know his birth story. Our summer and wheat harvest began with a new baby boy, coming 10 days before his scheduled c section. I went into labor early Monday morning on June 2. After laboring at home trying to convince myself it wasn’t labor, my hubby came home, took one look at me, fed kiddos lunch and took oldest to a neighbor’s, then loaded the rest of us in the van for what should have been a 2 hour drive… ended up being 1 hour 15 minutes maybe.

A friend met us at the hospital to take our other 5 kiddos to her house for what ended up being 4 days.

After hooking me up to the monitors, they realized quite quickly my contractions were 2 to 3 min apart and lasting 45 to 75 sometimes 90 seconds. They gave me Benadryl to attempt to stop them as baby was transverse. They continued. About an hour later I started have terrible pain on my lower right side with each contraction, but it didn’t stop when they ended, it got worse with each. They did a quick sono, and called a C-section. Within 30 or 45 mins. (Lost track of time) I was on the table.

C-Section

During the C-section they discovered a weakening and beginning of muscle separation in the same area of my extreme pain. With contractions, his feet would get in there and cause further separation. They called it the beginnings of a hernia.

After they got him out, they did some minor repair to help it pull together and heal.

Simon weighed 9 lbs 6 oz., 20 inches long. He was 37 weeks 4 days. He spent his first night in the Special Neonatal Care Nursery due to him not being able to maintain his body temperature. By Tuesday morning he was able to room with us.

Simon Rodney's Birth Story. The Story of the Blessings of a c-section, and how God worked through the birth of a little boy to a farm family in the midst of the harvest season!!

We came home Thursday evening, June 5.

He dealt with some Jaundice, and on June 7th I ended up in the ER with Mastitis.

Here is how God worked through all this…

It rained the Sunday before he was born… Being that we farm, huge blessing because we are in a drought and my hubby couldn’t get in the field, therefore he didn’t stress about needing to be home when we were in the hospital two hours away.

Tuesday morning, after he was born a group of our neighbors and church family gathered together to bale up our hay that was ready, allowing my hubby to be able to stay with me.

It has rained off and on since, allowing hubby to be more easily around to help with appointments and such.

We have managed to work through the worst latch issues I have dealt with and I have nursed more months than not in my married life. He had to have is lip clipped for a lip tie, and may need further intervention in time.

Lip Tie in one month old before clipping

The week he was born, worked better than the planned week, for our child care help, for our farming and for our health.

Giving God all the Glory!!!!

Red, White and Blue Patriotic Diaper

Rockin’ his Red, White and Blue Patriotic Diaper on Independence Day at one month and two days old!!

Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Christian Family, Family update, Farmwife Tagged With: , , ,

From Cloth Diapers to Herbal Medicine, Help for the Natural Mother

June 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The longer I am a mother, the more I want to use better, safer, less chemically infused products in our family. The eBook bundle I am telling you about today, will offer you a great bundle of resources to get your started on moving your family to more natural, less chemical products in your home. For use for or with your children to using them to clean, cook, and care for your family, these eBooks will guide you along the way to safer, healthier ideas and recipes for a cleaner, happier, healthier home.

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Filed Under: babywearing, Breastfeeding, cloth diapers, garden, Health, homemade cleaning products recipes, homemaking, special needs homeschooling Tagged With: , ,

Christian Fellowship—Friends or Foes

April 3, 2010 by 2 Comments

Have you heard this song?

They\’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love

Do others know you are a Christian by your love?

Are you encouraging?

Tearing them down?

Making them wonder why they call theselves Christians because of the way they sees other Christian treat each other or themselves?

Do you fall into one of those?

Have you ever wondered why there are so many that are not Christians?

Does our behavior toward each other drive them away?

Are we showing God’s love?

Ouch!

I know I have failed at this. However, for every failure, I attempt to learn from it. As a mom who is home with her children all day, every day, verbal contact with other Christian women is essential to me. However, the constant judgment for following the path that God has led our family down, tends to drive me away from the relationship of other Christians. People in general tend to ask questions about our lifestyle, that is not considered normal:

  • Large Family, against most forms of birth control
  • Homeschooling family
  • Conservative both as a Christian family and in political views
  • Extended Breastfeeding past year and many times 2 years
  • Co-sleeping family—babies sleep with us in our bed.
  • Babywearing family—Mom wears the baby in a carrier more often then placing baby in a stroller.
  • We make our own laundry soap, bath soap, hand soap, dishwasher soap.
  • Cloth diaper
  • Cook from scratch
  • Do not use government assistance for our farm, health care, wic, food stamps or other such forms—we would qualify for most.
  • Have our own garden and preserve the produce
  • Turn to natural remedies for health before Over the counter or prescriptions
  • Wife stays home with children

See, we don’t need to be questioned and tormented about our lifestyle choices by other Christians, we get enough from others.

So, the next time you call, email, text, or converse with your Christian friend, don’t start in on the why they are the way they are. They may like things simple. Don’t ask them a question, only to judge them because they do things differently then you would. Is anything on the above list going against anything in the Bible?

Encourage the Christians in your life by praying with them for God to work in their life by His will. Pray that they are able to find the encouragement and strength to be the best that God desires of them. Pray that they are able to meet the needs of their family, children, and above all husbands/spouses. Pray that they can get the rest they need, to ward off the depression that so many Christians fight.

Have a great book that you have read that you believe may encourage them? Pass it onto them.

Have you ever advised a Christian woman not to submit to her husband? Do you realize that the consequences of that is detrimental to her family? Yes, if there is true serious abuse, neglect or such going on, there is a reason to advise, but seriously be careful here.

In a public setting, do you treat your friends the same in a public setting as you do in a private setting? Or do you ignore them? Do you know how many supposedly Christian friends call me, talk to me in private, but at church don’t even acknowledge that I am there? Nice huh? Is that showing God’s love? Do you know how that makes a person feel?

Did you congratulate your friends when they told you they were pregnant with baby number 5, 6, 7, 8 or more? Or did you laugh and act like they were crazy. Do you see ALL children as a gift from God?

I remember this type of behavior from Christians as a child too. I didn’t grow up in a going to church every Sunday family, I still noticed this. I believe fellowship with other Christians is necessary, however, if that fellowship is not building Christian character, then it is time to find Christian fellowship that is following Christ’ example.

Normally, I don’t blog on weekends. However, when I woke this morning this was all tumbling around in my head and all over my heart. I pray as many head to church tomorrow, that maybe this will help them see how their actions will make that visitor feel welcome, or the mother that has been struggling know that someone cares, what about the widow, or the family who is quiet? Reach out to others and demonstrate the love of Christ. Don’t stop once all seems to be well, don’t you always have something you are struggling with? Think it is any different for anyone else?

Filed Under: babywearing, Breastfeeding, Christian Family, Christian Mothering, cloth diapers, encouragement, Large Families, On my heart, Stay at home mom Tagged With: , ,

Joyfully Nursing Toddlers

April 1, 2010 by 17 Comments

I have been nursing a toddler for nearly seven years.  No, not the same one, but, five different children.  Right now, I am nursing a 28 month old and a 14 month old.  Honestly, I am feeling a bit of sadness.  Why?  I have not had a baby over a year old and not yet been pregnant.  However, this is GOd’s plan not mine, so I am really ok with it.  But, I do have it in the back of my mind.

Nursing toddlers is different then nursing a newborn or even a baby.  Honestly, I believe their latch changes.  Yes, I do feel a little teeth in the latch, but it doesn’t normally cause me pain.  I can just tell it is not the smooth gums of a newborn or young baby.  Another difference is the fact that toddlers tend to do gymnastics while they nurse.  How they manage to stay latched on without causing dire pain, I will never know.  The smell of their stool, seems to go from tolerable, to get it out of here fast before we all die, as soon as they start a few solids.  How formula feeding moms deal with the smell from the beginning, I have no clue.  One of my favorite differences is the fact that they tend to carry on a verbal conversation with me while they are nursing.  Yes, we talk a bit, they let go long enough to say a few words, and go right back to nursing. 

There are also a few things that are very near the same.  You get to snuggle with them a bit, really it is nearly the only time my toddlers take time out of playing to snuggle.  You are still bonding with them.  They still look up into your face and can make you smile.  You can see straight to their heart.  You are able to meet nutritional needs that may not be met with the newly eating toddler that tends to be a picky eater.   There is a bit of down time through the day when they aren’t into everything. 

Sometimes nursing toddlers can be a frustrating.  I have one who is demanding and will follow me around wanting to nurse.  So, I stop to nurse, they finish in less then two minutes, and get down, only to start all over again.  Some days this drives me batty.  Nursing a teething toddler can be painful.  Those molars appear to make them believe they can chew to nurse.  Umm, they can, but it won’t be for long!  However, there are so many more benefits and good things to nursing a toddler, that I have yet to “force” wean one of mine.  They have all weaned before the age of three.  We may have our first that goes past three, but time will tell. 

For me nursing my toddlers is mostly pure joy.  When my littles hit the toddler stage, it seems that daddy becomes the man.  But, he can’t nurse, so I still get to be there for them.  Cloth diapering the nursing toddler seems to be better too.  I am not sure why, but once they wean, I really dislike cloth diapering them. 

Do you have nursing questions?  Ask them here.  Leave me a comment and I am fairly sure either I or one of my readers can get you an answer. 

Joyful Nursing,

Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Christian Mothering, cloth diapers, Large Families, pregnancy Tagged With: , , ,

Cleaning House, with a Teething Baby-Babywearing Saves the Chaos

March 15, 2010 by 4 Comments

This past Saturday, like any other Saturday was our weekly homeblessing. We get down and get to the more then the daily basics done. Things like vacuuming under the tables, chairs, dusting under the few knick knacks, changing furnace filters, changing beds, really deep scrubbing the bathroom and clearing the kitchen counters and scrubbing them. However, last night very early this morning, sweet Hannah became quite distressed. As night turned to dawn-it literally dawned on me that she was getting more teeth. A couple of teething tablets and a cool teether toy got us through breakfast. However, 9:30 rolled around and that was the end of the easy fixes.

Between holding her, and trying to vacuum with the two year old standing on the cord, I was becoming a bit overwhelmed when the three year old spilled a gallon of water on the kitchen floor, dropping a bag of flour that busted as it landed. So, I grabbed my handy dandy mei tie, and strapped her to me. It was Hannah’s naptime, but napping was not on her list of ways to deal with her teeth. With in five minutes she was asleep, and I had both hands free to be able to tend to my little mess makers blessings. In just 45 minutes with the help of my four year old, seven year old, and ten year old we were nearly done with our homeblessing. I needed two arms, and both my eyes on our two and three year old toddler tag team. They are just at that age, they are wonderful little boys who will soon be great helps with our Saturday Morning Homeblessing, but they aren’t there yet.

I have used my mei tie nearly everywhere. Helping at Vacation Bible School, nature walks, homeschool field trips, gardening, working on equipment with my hubby, cleaning house, clean house at a friend’s, State Fair, County Fair, homeschool convention, grocery shopping, car shopping, while pregnant, backpacking a toddler while nursing a baby, hanging laundry-toddler on back, new born on front, feeding livestock, watching my older children play in a stream. You get the idea. Babywearing can be your extra set of hands. I still put my two year old in the mei tie.

I love using a mei tie to nurse in. Not everyone has figured out how to nurse in them, but I have been doing it for many years now. I use my mei tie with newborns too, I don’t separate their legs, I lay them in it in a cradle and position the straps around them and me for good support.

The new alerts and warnings on babywearing and so forth out, are very misguided. When you are babywearing, you need to educate yourself of the best and safest way to wear your baby in the carrier. Before needing to run after a little one, get yourself comfortable with the carrier. You should be able to bend your head down and kiss the top of your baby’s head. Of course there is much more then that, but that is a biggie in my opinion. If you know of some really good sites on the how tos and safety, please post them in the comments.

I have made three ring slings, and four mei ties, one of which I have given away to our babysitter to use when she needs it. My favorite carriers are the mei tie I made with minkee for newborn and winter use, and my hooded mei tie. I use my hooded mei tie all the time. If baby falls asleep, I can tie up the hood to support their head. The hood is foldable, and therefore can be rolled or folded to where it best is suited for your baby and you. I like my mei ties with extra long straps. One, I find they support better this way, and two I can use it while pregnant, even at term. My hooded mei tie is derived from many patterns I found through internet searches.

Happy Babywearing.

Filed Under: babywearing, Breastfeeding, household organization Tagged With: , , , ,

My Brown Eyed, Brown Haired Gift of Faith

March 1, 2010 by Leave a Comment
My Brown Eyed, Brown Haired Gift of Faith
 Deep brown eyes full of wonder and love.
Slobbery baby kisses and pinching hugs.
Silky brown hair and chubby baby cheeks,
A smile and a dimple are sure to be sweet.
Many a night spent meeting your needs.
Time that I treasure.
Time I will someday miss.
For now I will steal many a kiss.
As you grow and develop, 
I watch with joy and sadness
Praying I will plant great character seeds.
Praising God that He chose me,
To meet your sweet baby needs.
With two big sisters
Three big brothers,
You always have someone,
Doting on you.
We’ve seen your personality form
Since the day you were born.
Strong willed with a power to fight.
And fight you did, with all your might
The doctors told us to expect the worse.
We held on to God with many a verse.
You showed them up.
Have met every milestone, and goal they gave.
You are so brave.
God has big plans for you.
Remember that when you are blue.
Hannah Corrine.
Your beautiful Grin,
Will always melt your daddy’s heart.
We pray that we will never be apart. 

This poem was started during Hannah’s first summer in 2009.  During that summer we learned that she becomes very distressed before storms hit here.  As summer turned to fall, and fall to winter, it seemed that she out grew it.  Now as winter is coming to an end and we see hints of spring storms, it has again become apparent that she is still bothered by them.  Many verses of this poem were written as I met challenges trying to meet her needs.  From her distress with storms, to challenges with reflux and challenges with getting her started on foods, her life has been a blessing that has pushed us to a faith in God that we never would have found without her.  
When God throws you a curve, meet it with a furry of faith, that will surprise even you.  With God everything is easier.  Ask me how I know.
Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Christian Family, Christian Mothering, Large Families

Another Success Story-Hannah has Eaten Foods Four Days in a Row.

February 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Eating has been a struggle for Hannah from the beginning.  When she was born, she was met with some unexpected challenges.  Those challenges led to a few more, which led to fairly severe GERD.  At two months, Hannah, was not gaining well, and was started on Previcid.  She stayed on it for seven months.  We could have easily justified keeping her on them, but not with the expense of them, if I just carefully watched my diet and kept her on nothing but breastmilk.  Her monthly supply of Previcid was $387, our cost after insurance paid their share.  Granted we didn’t have the best prescription coverage, but is this stuff made from gold and diamonds or what.  At eight months of age, we felt that since she was gaining weight on my breastmilk, that it would be ok to wean her off the medication.  At the time, we didn’t think it would be many months before she would be able to eat any solid foods.  No baby food, nothing but breastmilk and a few attempts at a few foods, was all she was able to eat since she was born over thirteen months ago. 

During Hannah’s short life, I have not had a full night’s sleep, on average I am still up with her three to four times a night.  That has been our main reason for starting her on foods-she has been hungry ALL the TIME.  Since Christmas she has eaten on average every hour and a half to two hours around the clock.  I found myself not being able to deal with the stress of normal daily life, then add in after Christmas stress and other things around the house.  When you get to a point of true sleep deprivation, this happens and it can show itself as depression.  I have struggled with postpartum depression in the past, but knowing that I had gotten past it, I suspected my struggles were more a sleep issue then depression.

Last week, I had several days where I felt my skin crawling and was agitated and restless.  Even when I could have been sleeping, I wasn’t able to sleep.  Something had to change quick.  After much prayer and discussion with my husband, we decided it was again time to try to feed her something other then just breastmilk.  So, on Friday, I offered her some banana, she ate it and then only woke twice.  Saturday again fed her banana twice and she woke only two times.  Sunday banana twice and a grahm cracker.  She woke three times.  Monday banana three times, grahm cracker two times and cooked carrots once.  She only woke two times.  This morning, she wouldn’t eat any more then two bites, but she is still nursing the same amount through the day, but not during the night.  That was my goal.  To allow myself to be able to sleep more at night, and you know what?  Our home is running much smoother.  I am much more relaxed and better able to deal with things that need my attention.  I am sleeping at night and waking before my children again. 

She is not eating near enough to be able to wean her from my breastmilk, but that is not my goal.  I am an extended breastfeeding mama, and that is not going to change.  In fact, I feel a bit of guilt at having actually able to eat now.  Why?  She is my baby, and well, for the first time in seven years, I have started one of my children on solids, before I was pregnant again.  I am not ready to give up this baby stage, I want to treasure it all that I can.  I am holding on, by a thread, because no matter how tight I hold on, she is going to grow up.  In fact, just this morning, we hunted down all the twelve to eighteen month winter clothing, and have pulled all of the baby clothing out and put it away.  Honestly, this is sad and joyful all at the same time.  Sad-my baby is growing up.  Joyful-she is healthy and growing and developing well. 

Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Christian Mothering, Health, Stay at home mom

You Are Beautiful in His Eyes-Loving Your Body as a Mom of Many

January 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Some things were made to S T R E TC H, and then return to their near original form, such as a rubber band. Then there are somethings that when they are stretched, they do not return to their original form. I believe that our body’s fall into the middle of this. As our body’s stretch, as we grow a baby, it doesn’t ever quite go back to our original shape. Some Mothers, will come pretty close, but really our entire structure changes. Our pelvis gets wider, our skin loses it elasticity, and our face seems to take on a more often then not, rather tired appearance.

There are some of us that got very close to that original shape after baby’s one, and two, and sometimes, three and four. But, like a rubber band, if it is stretched to it’s near breaking over and over and over agian, that original form or shape is really gone. It (rubber band) will be come weak. I don’t know that we as mothers, become weak, but we definitely feel weak at times, and the stretching over and over and over again, changes us.

As I sit here, much rounder, and much softer then I was 15 years ago, at my not quite 100 lbs, now weighing much more, I am here to tell you that it is okay. I find it a small price to pay. My husband loves my more rounded body more then he ever did my slim and fit as a fiddle body. He teases me now, that from my profile 15 years ago, you couldn’t tell whether I was a man or a woman. Now, that is definitely not the case.

God made us in his image. So even in our roundness he loves us. He like my husband, finds us more beautiful, because we have submitted our bodies to Him to grow and birth and then nuture with his special forumla (breast milk) these babies. We grow them to become deciples for Him. This is one of our sacrifices as Christian women, serving our Heavenly Father.

However, having babies, is not a reason, to not take care of ourselves. In order to meet the demands that being a mom of many throws our way, we must be in good health. We need to eat healthy food-cut out the white flours, sugars, and over processed junk that is in your center aisles at the store. Get plenty of exercise, if you are playing with your children, and doing housework, you are well on your way. Also, feed your with His word. I have found that there are some medical reasons that your weight may stick to you like peanut butter. If you believe that is a problem for you, please visit with a health professional. Also, I find that I stay rounder while nursing. I seem to have a spare layer of fat to keep up with the nursing demand of my two nurslings. Your body really needs that extra fat to provide healthy milk that your baby REALLY needs. So, don’t fret over it.

If, God can love your body that he created in his image, you also need to love it. So, make the needed changes and then love your body as he loves it.

Some Scripture to support my thoughts:

Genesis 1:26-28 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, :Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on earth”

Ephesians 5:28 Husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;

Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.

Filed Under: Bible Study, Blessings, Breastfeeding, Christian Family, Christian Mothering, Large Families, On my heart

My Adventures in, Breastfeeding for the Long Haul

January 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment

As a mom of a large family, I have made it a priority to breastfeed from the beginning. There was never a question of what kind or if we would need formula. I believe that God designed our bodies to meet a baby’s needs, and that human breastmilk is the best food for babies.

Our first child, Philip (10), weighed in a 9 lbs 2 oz, had no issues figuring out what to do. He latched on with little help and for the most part we never looked back. I had a little trouble with overproduction and struggled with several bouts of Mastitis. Philip could not keep up for many months, but I wasn’t going to give in, so I pumped for a long time. He self-weaned at 10 months, much to my disappointment.

By the time Philip was two, Brad and I wanted another baby. Soon I was pregnant and Lora was bron just thirteen days shy of Philip’s third birthday. She again, was a great nurser. I did not want to have to use the pump, like I had with Philip, so I attended La Leche League meetings, where I was taught that pumping only increased my problems. So, with their guidance and help, I stopped using the pump. Lora nursed, and nursed and nursed. We didn’t start solids until she was 18 months old. She continued to nurse and just three months shy of her second birthday we were again expecting. I continued nursing Lora, but I was sick, very sick. I ended up needing gall bladder surgery and had it when I was 15 wks pregnant. Lora nursed for the last time the night before my surgery at 25 mos and 2 wks of age.

When Heidi was born she had hypoglycemia. This threw us off kilter for just a bit. She was on Ivs for several days, and then my milk came in good and strong. Her blood sugars stabilized and we were able to come home. She nursed very well, and we had no further issues. When she was just 4.5 mos old, I again was pregnant. Because she was so young, I became determined to nurse through the pregnancy. When she was just 12 months, 3 weeks, and 4 days old, Noah was born.

Noah was a big boy weighing in at 10 lbs 7 oz. He never did lose any weight after he was born. Heidi and Noah nursed together well. When Noah was just two months old, I developed a bad case of Mastitis that nearly landed me in the hospital with a 105 degree fever. I was sick off and on for several more months with various stuff, but continued nursing through it all. We again found out I was pregnant just as Heidi turned two and Noah was ten months. They both continued to nurse through a bad case of stomach junk. Shortly after that, they both weaned, Heidi 28 months, Noah 15 months.

Just three months later Isaiah was born by emergency c-section. I nursed him in the recovery room and he did great. At seven weeks, he became sick with RSV and was hospitalized. We nursed through his short hospital stay and through his struggles with failure to thrive, caused by sugar mal-absorption, caused by the antibiotics he received when he was so sick. We over came the failure to thrive just in time to find out that I again was pregnant with Hannah. Isaiah was just six months old. He nursed through her pregnancy and Hannah was born when Isaiah was just fourteen months old.

We left Isaiah with lots of milk at a friends house as we left for the hospital to have Hannah. Hannah again was born by planned c-section due to transverse presentation. She appeared to be fine and her apgars were 8 and 9. However, everything changed in the recovery room. She refused to nurse when I tried, she started grunting and it was soon found that she was in respiratory distress with low blood oxygen saturations rangin from 18-24 %-Normal is 97-100%. She was rushed to the NICU and would be unable to nurse for 2.5 days. I pumped like crazy to get milk stored up for her, for when she would be able to take milk through a tube in her nose. She would receive all I had for her, and only got 4 mls of formula. By day 3 I was able to begin trying to nurse her, but she was still VERY weak and could not take in a full feeding, so she continued to get breastmilk through the tube in her nose. By day four however, she was able to take full feedings through nursing, though it left her very weak between feedings. We were then moved to mother baby rooms, and able to room together. This gave us time to learn to meet her special needs. We spent six days here.

Eleven days after leaving Isaiah with our friend, we picked him up. I was unsure whether he would go back to nursing, but he did and is still nursing strong, with no end in sight.

Hannah is still just strictly nursing at just 12 days shy of 12 mos. I am not expecting yet, and we believe God knew that Hannah would need a nearly unlimited supple for a longer time then what my body can supply during pregnancy.

Filed Under: Breastfeeding, Large Families, pregnancy