Fredrik got these cute booties from his Auntie Anna. He also received a "Lucky Bamboo" live plant in the mail today from Auntie Anna, Uncle Shawn, and cousins Lachen and Aksel. What a great gift! Thanks guys!


Cute.


Everyone was pretty glad to see Fredrik.


Fredrik is a fan of his monkey blanket.


We saw the play Peer Gynt a month ago, and this pose reminds me of Ol' Peer. Thanks for the cute outfit Jeanne!

More Fredrik Gideon

Fredrik has a huge bum!


Fredrik's "going home" outfit was a sweater and brown corduroy ensemble from Hanna Anderssen.


We brought the little guy into the greenhouse for some sunshine.


Labor was painful.


I thought this was a great "new mom" shot. Cute little bloody head...

Fredrik and Company II

Grandma Barb with the two cousins, Madeline and Fredrik


Grandma Roz


Jessa, Bethay, and I shortly after the birth


Cousins Madeline and Fredrik

Fredrik and Company

Aunt "B" and little Freddy. She spoils him dearly.


Grandpa Richard


Great Aunt Bev


Katy's Godmother Wendy (she's getting a cold)


Cousins Jonah and Fredrik

Fredrik Gideon Hemberger

Suddenly, we are parents! Fredrik Gideon was born on Friday, February 22 at 8:41 PM. He is the cutest baby that has ever existed. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 9 oz. and measured 20" in length. We are really tired right now, so I will try to get some more pictures on the blog later in the week.

Gross but Good

It is two days past my due date and there was a good sign today, lots of mucus. I never thought I would get so excited over a bodily fluid. What does this mean? It means my mucus plug is out, and for that to happen, I must finally be dilating. Others have told me that they went into labor a day or so after this happened, so I'm pretty excited. If nothing happens tonight or tomorrow, at least I know that labor is progressing on its own. I was starting to get worried about never going into labor since there's been no real change for about 4 or 5 weeks. Induction methods don't particularly interest me. I was thinking about having a prostaglandin gel applied to my cervix, but then I read that it is derived from pig semen. YUCK! I would rather not... Another reason I decided not to use the gel (which is supposed to help the cervix ripen) is that I thought I may go down a road of multiple medical interventions. To "get" the gel, I would have to be in the hospital hooked up to a monitor for at least 5 hours, then, if anything did start to happen, my body wouldn't necessarily be ready for it and I might need additional drugs to get things going, and after that, probably pain medication because being induced can lead to a harder labor with more frequent/painful contractions. If all of these failed, I would probably get a C-section. I haven't spent 10 months reading pregnancy books and websites about natural birth just to throw in the towel the day after my due date! Hence, the mucus was a joy to see.
I'm still holding strong on my full-moon prediction, which is tomorrow. My cycle has always coincided with the moon's cycle. I think it's because I work outside most of the year and even in the winter we sleep without shades or curtains on our windows. It would only make sense that my body and baby will be ready when the cycle is complete. To top it off, there is a lunar eclipse tonight from 7:30-9:00 or so. That's only an hour away, so we probably won't be naming the baby "Eclipse". We have been looking up lunar related names for a middle name, just in case.
Today more than other days I am waiting for labor to happen. It's cold outside so there will be no nature walks, but I am bouncing on my big exercise ball, taking naps, eating simple foods, and drinking plenty of liquids. It's amazing how the hours pass and I'm really not getting anything accomplished. Yesterday I made quite a few meals for the freezer and I was thinking about making something else tonight.
Peter kicked it into high gear today and finished our Organic Certification paperwork, cleaned, ran errands, had a crown put on his front tooth, and now he is teaching guitar lessons downtown.
Come on Baby!

Due Date Looming

My due date is tomorrow! That went fast...NOT!
As you can all see, I am HUGE. The Herbal Pumpkin Patch lost out on the birth prediction, as have many others. I know someone predicted the 22nd, and I thought that was just ridiculous...I eat my words. The days come and go without much happening. It is mid February in Minnesota. Everyone I talk to seems pretty bored, so it's not just Peter and I. On the other hand, I think we are extra bored since we are nearing the end of our off season for the CSA. Once the baby is born we will start to get busy with greenhouse planting, but right now, we are going pretty stir crazy. I went for a nice walk yesterday outside since the temp reached 30 degrees. It was a workout, in some places on our "trail" I sunk past my knees in hard crusty snow. It was a struggle to get out, I thought it might put me into labor, but no.
I've read everything about labor induction, and it seems to be the general consensus that the baby is ready when he is ready, and nothing is going to change that. One source even talked about some studies that have been done that show the baby releases cortisol when his brain is fully developed which signals the mother's body to start pushing the baby out. Another source said the same thing, but it was the fully functioning lungs that send out signal. Yet another source told me that it was OK for babies to remain in the womb for 46-48 weeks. Ah, no. That was one source out of many.
I go to see the Nurse Midwife tomorrow and then we will talk about what to do next. I want to make sure the baby is still in the right position, he's been very active lately. I think she will try to strip my membranes again as well.

39 Weeks

I am 39 weeks and 3 days pregnant...and there is not much happening in my nether regions. I am stalled out around 1 cm and about the same amount of effacement has occurred. Today our midwife even uttered the word, "induction" which made me feel quite discouraged. Though I would like be induced today, I won't, I guess my body and baby just aren't ready yet. I am not even to my due date yet, so I'm trying to just enjoy my relaxing time. I went to the Herbal Pumpkin Patch to check out some natural labor promoters. A friend had recommended alternating black cohosh and blue cohosh in tincture form to get things moving along. They had both, but the owner of the store did an "assessment" of my situation and told me that it would be 2 or 3 days more, and that I don't need to buy $40 worth of capsules. How does she predict this you ask? Well, good question. She was just going to show me a pressure point to rub around my ankle when she asked if she could feel my baby. OK, I said, removing my coat. Oh, you can leave your coat on she said. So I did. Then she felt the energy around me (waved her hands in the air, I'm not sure exactly what she was doing), and asked me if I was having a boy. Yes, I said. She then "felt" the baby more and told me that he was close to being born, it would be just 2 or 3 days. So, Peter and I left without the herbs and without spending any money. Back home Peter rubbed my ankles quite a bit and then took off for guitar lessons. I'm thinking about going back to work tomorrow. I did decide to take my Gentle Birth tincture more often to help things. It contains some cohosh, so I am doing SOMETHING.

Each day I am convinced he will be born. Yesterday I was going a little nutty cleaning and working out at a turbo pace. The baby was also quite a bit calmer, so I went to bed just knowing that I would wake up with wild contractions. I did wake up quite a few times but it was "false" labor. It's gotten hard to lay down, too. I wake up and the baby is pushing on me in very uncomfortable ways. Also, my pulse seems to be racing when I wake up. Tonight I am going to try sleeping in a recliner. My midwife assures that it's fine if my pulse races like that, as long as it normalizes when I change positions. Still, I can't help but feel it is harming the baby in some way.

So, everyone that is waiting for this baby to be born, check with me in 2-3 days! That's Friday or Saturday, the 15th or 16th. We'll see...

On With Life...

I went in for my 38 week checkup on Wednesday. Everything is fine for the baby, who apparently wants to ripen a little further. It's like waiting for the first truly red tomato to ripen on the vine in the summer. It's always tempting to pluck the tomato off as soon as it turns slightly orange, but then you need to let it sit for about a week in the windowsill before it's edible, and even then it's not as good as if it were ripened on the vine. I've decided that I will go into labor on the 21st, which is the full moon. We will name him Moon. Not really. That's less than two weeks away. My midwife said that I will have this baby eventually, that is most certainly true.

So, Peter and I have decided to just go on with life as usual until I go into labor. I started to do "everyday"things until I realized that being hugely pregnant is a physical limitation to business as usual! Well, I at least feel better emotionally now that I'm not waiting for labor pains constantly.

It's our off-season, and we are REALLY BORED to top off this waiting game. We are both delegates for the county DFL caucus this Sunday. That's something to do. I've been visiting my sister and her cute-as-a-button baby about two times/week. Peter brewed a batch of beer yesterday. I made a flannel swaddle blanket, blue with monkeys on it, it's a little kattywhompis, but still snuggable. Today Peter is cleaning out some of the out buildings, taking advantage of the balmy 30 degree weather, I am thinking about getting my book making gear out, and we will go to Snap Fitness and run some errands after lunch. We recently say "Charlie Wilson's War." It was good. Philip Seymore Hoffman saved the show with his witty one liners. I need to get another book at the library today. I've rented every movie that I want to see. We have most of our CSA members, only 4 spots remaining, so that's taken care of for the most part. Everything is ready to go!

Going Crazy

OK!
I am ready to go. Today I started to wonder why I decided that I would be early going in to labor. I thought, if I can make it to 37 weeks, what's a few more weeks until my due date? Wow, was I underestimating what it is like to wait.
I had my last day at work (my winter job at the Clay Coyote Gallery), which I am glad for. Despite the fact that I feel stir-crazy, I really do not feel well enough to be at work. I take one or two naps a day and my braxton-hicks contractions last longer and hurt more. I'm really in no shape for customer service. What am I doing? Well, I am trying to make labor happen. This is how:
1. I am taking a "Gentle Birth" tincture to speed things along and make for an easier labor when it does come. It's an herbal tincture with raspberry leaf and all sorts of things in it.
2. I am going to Snap Fitness every day. Today I tried the stairmaster since a cashier at IKEA told me recently that steps help. It was hard. I only lasted 3 minutes, but I stayed on the eliptical for 30 minutes.
3. I am napping and taking relaxing baths.
4. I'm eating spicy foods, greasy foods, lots of fruit, drinking milk...all things that have been recommended to me.
5. Drinking lots and lots of water. My midwife told me that dehydration slows things up.
6. I am going into public with hopes that I will break my water and be in a predicament (labor bait).
7. I am doing yoga, which gets more limited each day.
8. I am continuing to listen to pregnancy podcasts and reviewing my labor notes.
9. I am nesting, I recovered a chair and ottoman today.
I don't know what I am going to do tomorrow. It's humorous how crazy this is.