WayfaringStrangers

Ah, it's been a while since I've had a birth story to write about.  So, here's another episode of "Megan's Precipitous Labors." My pregnancy with baby N was overall very good, but also hard. Maybe because I'm getting older and my body has done this a few times. I was more sick in my 1st trimester than before (but nothing severe, thankfully). Later, I had awful restless leg at night, sharp rib pain, and was generally exhausted. Add that to already having 3 crazy boys and homeschooling - oh, and purchasing a house and moving- and I was kind of a mess. Still, I had no complications. My 1 ultrasound showed a healthy baby, and we had decided not to find out the gender. Working with Karen and Jen- my homebirth midwives- was great. My prenatal appointments were all an unrushed hour in her cozy home office. They asked how I was doing. They offered advice for my struggles and genuinely cared for me. There was nothing invasive or uncomfortable about seeing them....

In an attempt to catch up somewhat on all that happened this summer, here's the first recap. Williamsburg, 2016. Behn and I booked this little 4 day trip to the Williamsburg area in the spring, in anticipation that we would need some sort of kid-friendly getaway in the summer. Took a while to arrive, but it was finally late July and we got to go to Williamsburg. We stayed at King's Creek Plantation, which was great except for their hassling us to go to their presentation about buying a timeshare (we are so not in the place to do that, nor would we if we could). The great thing about a resort is they have a bunch of pools, which worked out because it was 100 degrees the whole time. We did a lot of swimming. We also braved the heat one evening for a round of mini- hockey  golf, also at the resort. Of course, we also went to Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown. Behn's a big history guy and we all enjoyed it, when the kids weren't melting in the heat. ...

Samuel is a whooping 11 days old. Which is really young. But I feel like his birth was ages ago...probably because I'm so tired. Actually, he's the e asiest  of the 3. Babies sleep a lot. And so far, he's an easy guy. I think I've heard him cry like twice. And that's saying a lot, because the big boys are ALL over him, smothering him in kisses and touching him and begging to hold him. It's been an adjustment. It's only been 11 days. That's what I keep telling myself. The big boys are struggling. They LOVE the baby, but the emotional adjustment is coming out as some negative behavior. And so, we press on and pray and know it will get better. Everyone's just a little 'off' these days. Having my parents help right after the birth and my in-laws here for a week was great. Seriously, it's so wonderful to have loving family help out. Not everyone has that. We are very grateful. And we've also been gifted so many good meals. I forget h...

Baby Samuel Behn joined us over the weekend on April 16 th ! He is just too precious and I am loving having a baby again.  And so, here is Samuel’s birth story, while it’s fresh in my mind. The stats: 14 hours of “labor” 90 minutes of active labor and actual pain Birth weight: 7 lbs, 14 oz Samuel’s birth was somewhat different than the other boys’, although in the end the fast pace of it did seem very similar. From early in the pregnancy, my wonderful midwife and I had discussed an induction at 39 weeks because of my very fast labors. Behn and I were a bit traumatized during Patrick’s 45 minute labor and wanted to make sure this baby was born in the hospital, not during a scary moment on the side of the road or at home. My midwife agreed and that was the birth plan. The induction was set for April 16 (39 weeks) and we were going to try and go a natural route of induction by stripping membranes or breaking my water to get things moving. The night before the indu...

Ah, springtime. Windows open, St. Patrick's Day, Easter. Flowers blooming, birds chirping, garden dreaming. My favorite time of year. I do love autumn, too. But spring is just so fresh. It wins. The boys are outside much of the time. We are walking back to the creek, on the lookout for toads and turtles. And they pick me flowers. I love my little, loving boys. We all worked together to dig up some of the garden last weekend. So far we planted spinach and carrots. I bought a bunch of new seeds and am eager to get things going. I told myself not to get too ambitious- I'm about to have a baby! But it's so fun, I can't help myself.  Plus, Behn  is helping and the boys are learning so much. We will see how the garden goes this year. My induction date is in exactly a month. Behn set up the crib, all blankets and tiny clothes are washed. Bag is packed. I'm ready to meet this little guy. The last couple months are the hardest, especially this tim...

The last few weeks, I've been spending more time with my little nephew, Jack. He is 8-9 months old and so cute. I love that age- sitting but not yet crawling, yet very interactive. I was able to babysit him both last week and the week before. Patrick reading to Jack: Being around a baby makes me realize how far we've come. Now, I know my guys are only 5 and 3 (and still a bunch of work), but there is such a big contrast when paired with a baby. I have 2 big boys out of diapers. Talking. Sleeping. In preschool. Riding bikes. Building forts.We just signed Graham up for his 2nd year of t-ball. Graham is also sounding out words and doing math in his head and engineering legos. Patrick counts and sings and plays with puzzles independently. Each stage is so fun and so challenging. When your baby won't nap or sleep at night, that is so hard. When your kid won't potty train, that is so hard. When your 5 year old still won't eat meat (ahem, Graham), that is s...

Back in the summer of 2014, we 5 Cathey ladies (my mom and the 4 of us daughters) all got together and spent a long weekend away. It was so fun, and we knew we wanted to go for it again. This time it was winter, not summer, but we still had JUST as much fun. Big thanks to my mom for her sweet generosity and my sister Emily who really helped with the planning. This time we ventured to Alexandria, VA on the coldest weekend ever. We started by meeting up for lunch and then shopping at the Outlets near National Harbor all day (Saturday). Being 30 weeks pregnant, I didn't buy any clothes, but really enjoyed everyone's company and watching my pretty sisters try on clothes. Later on, we got to our hotel and then took the complimentary shuttle to a fun Mexican restaurant. It was freezing out, so afterwards we pretty much just went back to the hotel for the night. Next day we took the shuttle to King Street for a long day of walking and shopping. There were so many fun boutiques, ...