Baby Josiah Is Here!

On Monday of this week, we welcomed our fifth child into the world.  His conception was a complete surprise and miracle, which you can read about here.  In light of this, we chose to name him Josiah, which means "God has healed."  Josiah was born on Monday, March 25, 2013, at 1:04 pm weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces and measuring 21 inches long.  Certainly, he is the heavyweight of the Mobleys, weighing almost as much as Matthew and Jonathan combined at birth!

I always like to chronicle the birth of our children, so if you'd rather not read the gory details, you should stop reading this post now!  I was particularly excited about this birth experience because I was finally going to be able to deliver a baby at home!  I've always been a strong supporter of natural childbirth, simply because I believe God designed the birth process, and we don't ordinarily need to interfere with God's perfect design.  Women have been giving birth naturally for years, but the idea that birth is a medical emergency requiring medication and tools and monitors, etc. is a relatively recent concept.  These convictions are what led us to pursue a home birth.  (I will write another post at a later date about the benefits of a home birth from my perspective.)

And now for the gory details:
Palm Sunday marked the tenth day past my official due date, so many people at church wanted to know when, if ever, the baby would be evicted from the womb.  Good question.  At 42 weeks (Thursday), the midwives would have to try to induce labor, by breaking my water. On Sunday, I was content to wait a few more days.  Monday morning, I was not!  I woke up feeling incredibly uncomfortable after a not very restful night's sleep.  I think my first words to David that morning were, "I (sob) don't (sob) think (sob) I (sob) can (sob) make (sob) it (sob) until (sob) Thursday."  And, David, who knows me so well after almost twelve years of marriage said, "Well, let's just see what the midwife says at your appointment today, okay?"  We didn't even make it to that appointment.  I started to feel more pressure than normal just after breakfast, so I adjusted our schedule of Easter week activities and made resurrection rolls with Mary and Maggie, anticipating that I might be busy with a newborn later on.  By the time the rolls were out of the oven, I was sure that I was in real labor.  David's parents, who have been visiting for two and a half weeks eagerly waiting on this baby, arrived and took all the kids outside to pace up and down the cul-de-sac.  David paged the midwife on call and began to fill the birthing tub.

Mary and Josiah

The birth team arrived at about 10:30 am and found me already in the tub probably looking too comfortable.  The warm water had actually slowed down the contractions, so I got out and moved around a bit.  This got things moving again, and I really wanted to get back in the tub, but they encouraged me to keep moving and changing positions.  I walked.  I stood, leaning on the exercise ball.  I laid on my side.  I squatted.  I showered.  I vomited.  (I have to say that vomiting during labor is really unpleasant.  Your body is pushing up and down all at once!)  Finally, I got into the tub again with David sitting behind me.  Up until this point, I was apparently uncommunicative, so no one else even knew that I was continuing to have contractions.  I was praying a lot, silently, asking God to help me relax with each contraction and not to resist.  I was thanking him for the baby about to be born.  I was asking him for strength.  In the tub, I leaned against David and squeezed his hands every time I began to feel a contraction coming on.

Maggie and Josiah

I felt some really strong contractions, like I seriously thought my back was going to break.  I looked at the midwife and told her, "It feels like it's so out of control!"  She was so awesome and confidently assured me that I was safe and that I didn't need to be afraid.  Instantly, I knew it was time to push, so the labor assistant called for Mary and Maggie to come in.  They came in quickly, sat on our bed, and witnessed Josiah's birth.  I gave a really strong push (accompanied by really loud groans) and Josiah's head was out.  I rested.  I gave another really strong push (again accompanied by really loud groans) and he was born.  I cannot even describe the mixture of emotions at that point.  I was so happy to finally meet my baby boy.  I was thankful that God answered my prayers.  I also felt a big sense of relief that it was over and that my almost nine and a half baby was out of my body!

After spending a good bit of time cuddling with Josiah, who was not at all happy about being born, I moved from the tub to the bed and delivered the placenta.  Afterwards, the midwife quickly repaired two small tears and gave me a shot of pitocin in the leg because I had experienced excessive blood loss.
After cuddling with Josiah again for a good bit of time, the labor assistant helped me to take a shower, while the midwife examined Josiah and the placenta.  Josiah was born at 1:04 pm, and the birth team left our home around 2:30 pm.  We spent the rest of the day together as a family celebrating Josiah's birth in the comfort of our own home without the intrusion of  even well-meaning doctors and nurses.  And, my March goal is now complete!

Our midwife, Brooke, labor assistant, Ashlee, and Josiah

Spinach Quiche

Since we started getting our produce from a local farm, the menu at the Mobleys has changed a bit.  I'm starting to branch out a little more.  Last night, I tried a new spinach quiche recipe that is a keeper!  Everyone liked at least part of the quiche--my picky eater favored the crust and cheese, but I think a bite or two of spinach may have found its way into her belly, too!  I found the original recipe at www.epicurious.com, but of course, I had to vary it!




Ingredients:
2 pie crusts (either homemade or store-bought)
2 T butter
1 large onion (Costco size)
1 T bottled minced garlic
1 big bunch of fresh spinach (CSA box size)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
12 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper

1. Melt butter in skillet. Add onion and garlic and saute. Add spinach and cook until tender.
2. Grate cheddar cheese and divide among pie crusts.
3. Top with spinach mixture.
4. Beat eggs, cottage cheese, salt, and pepper and pour over spinach mixture.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes or until done.

This is delicious without any additional condiments, but I added Tony's to mine.  After all, some people say that spicy food is for helpful for kicking labor into gear!

P.S.  Sorry about the lack of picture, but I really didn't know it was going to be so good!

What We've Been Reading: February

In the month of February, I read two chapter books aloud to Mary and Maggie: Five Children and It and Rascal.  As usual, both books were recommended in Hand That Rocks the Cradle: 400 Classic Books for Children.



We chose to read Five Children and It because we enjoyed The Railway Children, also written by Edith Nesbit, so much. This book is about a family of five children, Robert, Anthea, Jane, Cyril, and Baby, who find a sand fairy (called a Psammead).  The sand fairy grants them one wish per day, which the children are super-excited about, but always leads to more trouble than any of them would have ever imagined.  In the end, the children learn to be thankful for one another and what they have and no longer wish for anything more, especially the trouble that accompanies the wishes!  We did enjoy reading this book, although I think if you are going to choose one book by Edith Nesbit to read, I'd go with The Railway Children first.



Rascal is a book about a boy who finds and adopts a wild raccoon to be his pet.  As you may imagine, a wild raccoon's mannerisms are very unusual and unexpected, especially to civilized folk.  After one year, the boys gives the raccoon the opportunity to return to the wild.  Some parts of this book were incredibly humorous, while others were somewhat long and drawn-out.  I definitely would choose to read the Lad books over Rascal unless someone really has a particular interest in a raccoon. 

June's Goal: Complete photo albums for 2011 and 2012

Okay, so I was totally the student who started the project on the day it was assigned. So, I guess it's not surprising that it's the beginning of March and I have completed my goal for the month of June! Actually, I just got started going through the photos when David went gallivanting through Europe and couldn't stop until I finished. Many thanks to David for keeping the kids entertained while I worked on laying out the 2011 photos! This time around, I ordered the albums from Costco. We are pretty happy with the final product, although the binding did end up cutting off some of the photos. If we end up ordering our 2013 album through Costco, I'll just avoid the page layouts with lots of pictures to circumvent this problem. (In case you are wondering, we generally make one photo album for each year.)  The annual photo album is always one of those projects that I totally love once I get started, but getting started is a little difficult for me because it is such a huge task.  I am so glad that we are caught up, and I really plan to make every effort not to get this far behind again!

Happy Birthday to the Male Mobleys!

Today was the male Mobley birthday celebration! Matthew and Jonathan turned two today, and David turns 34 on Thursday.  We had a small family celebration with chocolate cake and presents!

Two things make Matthew and Jonathan very happy: chocolate and trucks!

I made a Texas Sheet Cake with chocolate frosting and attempted a blue truck decoration.  The cake received the highest praise from Mary, who said, "Mama, this is the best cake I have ever had!"  I think I'll make it again sometime:)

Matthew was really happy with his cake.

Jonathan was happy but didn't really try his cake until he finished his milk!

The red tricycle has been a hot item and the source of much contention, so I found one just like it on Craig's List for a joint birthday present!  Now, we have two red tricycles!  Thanks Gramps and Grams and Grandma Nancy.  There was no fighting over the red tricycle today!!!!

Mary made David this beautiful eagle for his birthday out of pieces left over from our symmetry lesson.  Totally her idea!

We also bought David one of his favorite cheeses at Costco: Dubliner!

Also from Costco a new white polo shirt.  We got lots of chuckles from fellow shoppers as I was trying to gently steer the girls away from the pink, purple and neon green options!  I finally promised to keep the receipt and tell David about the different color options and offer to exchange it for a different color if he would like!  I think he's going to stick with white!