Camping With Little Kids

We just got back from an amazing weekend spent camping and hiking at a state park close to our house. As I was posting all of our pictures, I started getting lots of messages asking questions about taking little kids camping so I figured I'd take all of the little tips I can think of and put them all in a blog post! I'll sharing pictures if I have them and linking to products as I come to them. I hope this can be helpful and encouraging to families who have been wanting to try taking their little ones camping! Parts of it can be hard, but staying home with little ones is hard too! Why not take the show on the road and into the woods, right? It's a whole heck of a lot easier to clean up snack spills in the woods and noisy playing doesn't actually seem so noisy after all when you take the walls away! So, go for it!

My first tip is to keep it simple. Resist the urge to Pinterest camp with all sorts of planned arts and crafts, fancy meals, and activities. I'll admit, some of the camping crafts and whatnot I've seen on Pinterest look so cute and fun! But if I pin them, it's so I can come back to them when I'm camping without sippy cups or diapers! For now, we keep it extremely simple with very low expectations! Even without very little kids though, you don't need all sorts of gadgets and extra just.... stuff to go camping. Just what is necessary to meet everybody's basic needs. A place to sleep, clothes to wear, food to eat. Good to go!

One big struggle with camping can be keeping everything you need for meals organized. I'm lucky to have been raised by a very organized mother who took us camping every summer, so packing intentionally and functionally for a camping trip feels like second nature to me! We pack one big rubbermaid tub with non perishable food, and another with kitchen supplies. In the food bin, we try to put loose things in jars and containers whenever we can because they're less likely to get stale. If I am going to be making something like pancakes while we're there, I mix the dry ingredients in a gallon bag and write instructions on the outside for adding the wet ingredients. For recipes that call for milk, I pre measure it out and pack it in jars. That eliminates the need for fitting a whole gallon of milk in our cooler. I pack the jars for recipes, and then just a half gallon for the kids to drink and James to put in his coffee.

We pack very little of our home kitchen supplies because we have some camping specific things, so packing the supply box is a breeze since it is mostly always packed. A set of pots and pans that nest inside each other saves space. We have this set and really like it! The camping box is a good place to send old, non breakable plates and utensils that you don't really use anymore. We prefer not to use disposable dishes and cutlery while camping, so we have a mishmash of camping specific plates we bought at an outdoors store and old utensils we stopped using when we got a new set as a wedding gift. We have a set of cups, but everybody mostly drinks out of water bottles, and then a set of mugs is a necessity! Besides all of that, your needs will vary depending on what you plan on cooking and eating, but we always have a roll of foil, some baggies, a cutting board and knife, and propane for our camp stove (can't go wrong with this one!) Also very helpful for the eating part of camping is an extra table. Campsites usually have a picnic table (bring a plastic tablecloth!), but a small folding table is so nice to have for food prep and dishwashing!

For meals we try to strike a balance between really easy and really yummy! We could just eat cereal and sandwiches all weekend (nothing wrong with that!), but we like to get at least a little fancier! Things that can be cooked over the campfire are really fun and we try to include the kids in the prep work as much as possible. The bigger kids anyway! Prepping meals while camping with babies brings me to another really big tip, babywearing. Bring at least one carrier. Even if your baby or toddler loves playing on the ground, you're going to want a safe place for them when the fire or stove is going and your full attention can't be on them. We have a high chair that folds pretty flat which makes it easy to bring with us (this one), a folding booster seat or chair that hooks to a tabletop would work too. If you don't have any of those things, an umbrella stroller could work for feeding a baby too. A big drink cooler with a dispenser, filled with water and ice, saves cooler space and makes it easy for even little ones to get their own drinks! The kids like to help make a big batch of trail mix (pretzels, different kinds of goldfish, bunny grahams, raisins, m&ms, we do something different every time!) before we leave and that serves as a great snack for everybody throughout the day. I usually also bake one or two treats and of course there are marshmallows and s'mores after dinner!

This is a really easy and really yummy campfire mac-n-cheese recipe that I found on Pinterest and modified a bit.

1lb cooked elbow noodles (I cook them before leaving home and pack them in a gallon bag)

1 jar alfredo sauce

2ish cups of shredded cheese (I use mostly cheddar, but a little parmesan too!)

Mix everything in foil pans, cover with foil, and set on a grate over the fire. Depending on how good your fire is going, they might just need a few minutes! They're done when the cheese is getting nice and stringy! We like to have this with sandwich melts (turkey or cheese sandwiches on hoagie rolls, wrapped in foil, and sat on the grate as well until the cheese is melty) and veggies with dip.

For mealtime clean up, we have baby wipes and paper towels. We have these amazing silicone bibs that are so easy to clean and have a nice deep pocket so they keep the baby pretty clean to begin with. We use them every single day at home and they're also amazing for camping! We have these, but there are a lot of different brands on Amazon. Baggies and/or the jars or containers I used for pre-prepped food that are now empty work for any leftovers.

Another concern when camping with kids is keeping them occupied. Depending on where you're camping, you might have a lot of activities available outside your campsite. We used to camp at a KOA campground growing up and loved using their pool and playground! Where we've been camping with our kids there is a playground and also miles and miles of hiking trails! For keeping occupied at the actual campsite, like I said before, I don't pre-plan any big things (as tempting as it is sometimes!) We pack two small plastic bins. One has a board game, a couple card games, drawing pads, and a pencil case full of crayons and pens. The other bin the kids pack themselves with toys that can get dirty and can get wet. I usually ask them to pack from 3 categories; animals, trucks, and people. They just need to be toys that I can throw in the sink when we get home before they go back into the playroom. These trucks are our absolute favorite for camping (they also work well as cake decorations BTW 😉 ) because they're so fun to play with in the dirt and they wash up super easily. With less kids, it might work for each one to pack their own individual backpack, but in our family it works best to just pack one bin of toys. Less fighting and we don't end up with way too many things to keep track of!

These are 3 of our favorite games right now and they're camping friendly! Uno, Spot It (there are lots of different versions, but we have the original), and Let's Feed the Very Hungry Caterpillar (toddler friendly with some help!)

One thing you can absolutely never have too many of when camping with kids is glow sticks. Buy all the glow sticks. The dollar store has fun bracelets and necklaces. We put the little connectors on for the bigger kids to actually use them as intended, but leave the connectors off for little ones who like to put everything in their mouths, they're plenty happy with just the straight stick! If you're really lucky, your daddy might have an entire ammo can full of military grade 'chem lights' leftover from his Marine Corps days 😉 None of our kids are huge fans of the dark (I'm not either!), but glow sticks are a super fun way for everybody to feel more comfortable! They're also very helpful for keeping track of anybody who might wander off. Give them each a different color to make it even easier!

In the tent we have a few different bed situations. Sam and Kate (7 and 5) each have a sleeping bag, pillow, and extra fleece blanket. Henry (3) has what we call a 'nest' which is just a couple thicker blankets folded up to lay on top of and two blankets to cover him. Anna (1) has a pack-n-play, but prefers to share my sleeping bag. James and I both have sleeping bags and he has an inflatable sleeping pad under his. For ease of packing and keeping organized, I pack one "night night" bag with everybody's special blankies, stuffed animals (they may choose 2 to bring, otherwise the tent would be overrun!), pacifiers, and a battery powered white noise machine (we use white noise at home so this is a comfort measure, but even if we didn't I would consider it for camping, especially if its a busier campground and your kids have early-ish bedtimes, it can get noisy at campgrounds in the evenings!) If you happen to go camping in the absolute pouring rain, and you get some puddles and/or little rivers in your tent, your pack-n-play will be a great place to throw things that absolutely need to stay dry like books and your white noise machine (ask me how I know this 🙁) We bring a broom for the inside of the tent and a doormat for the outside of the tent to minimize dirt on pillows and blankets. Shoes stay on the mat outside when anybody goes into the tent during the day, but we bring them in overnight so they don't get damp or become a home to any little creatures. 

We haven't ever worried about trying for a nap in the tent since Sam was a baby. When we went camping then and didn't have any other kids, we put him down for a nap in the tent at the normal time and just did our own thing out by the fire while he slept. With lots of kids to worry about now, we just hope for carrier naps on a hike or cat naps on somebody's lap during a quiet moment. 

For clothing, diapers, and toiletries, utilize your car as sort of a "staging area" of sorts. We just got a new tent from James' parents, an early Christmas present, that has an attached screen room where I was able to set up all of our clothes and things, but without that, I use the trunk of the van. Added bonus of the trunk is that the door will shelter you from the rain (again, ask me how I know...) I prefer to pack just one bag of clothes for us (James packs his own bag because his clothes take up a lot more space!) When we go on other trips, like to the beach, everybody gets their own duffel bag of clothes because I unpack when we get there, but when we're dressing straight out of our bags, I pack just one. I roll everybody's clothes to save space. Pants, shirt, socks, and underwear in each roll. I do one outfit per day, 1 extra outfit, and then 1 outfit opposite whatever season we're camping in (so shorts and short sleeves when we camp in the fall) just in case. We normally wear pjs for 2 nights before getting new ones when we're at home, but if your kids like to keep their pjs on until after breakfast like mine, their pjs will get dirty so one pair per night is a good idea! I also pack 1 pair of either warmer or cooler pjs, just in case. 

I keep all of our diaper-related things together. In 1 diaper box I pack diapers (we don't use cloth when camping), wipes (bring extra!), plastic grocery bags, a cloth wet bag, and extra undies and pants for a new potty trainer. Keeping it in one box makes it easy to transport from tent to car, depending on where you end up needing to change diapers.

For toiletries, something small with handles is best in my opinion, since you'll be walking at least a little (but it could be quite a ways!) to and from the bathroom while also herding all of your kids (again, babywearing is your friend!!) We keep it really simple with toiletries. Unless it's pouring rain and everybody needs to be both warmed up and rinsed of allllllll of the mud before going into the tent for the night, we just clean everybody up with a washcloth at the sink and skip a full shower until we get home. I bring one bottle of body wash. Not really the time for a huge assortment of products. Toothbrushes and toothpaste of course and I never travel with kids without a thermometer and Motrin because you just never know! I do bring a hairbrush, but tightly braid Kate's hair before we leave the house. Unless it gets snagged on the tent's zippers (often does) her braids will last from Friday until Sunday.

We generally take many, many, many walks to and from the bathroom throughout the day, but do also bring a small travel potty for emergencies. We haven't had to use it yet, but I'm afraid to be caught without it if somebody wakes up desperate at 2 in the morning! Glow sticks come in handy again for those nighttime treks to the bathroom. I lead the way with an actual flashlight (and a baby on my back!) and have the kids line up behind me, youngest to oldest, so the oldest is bringing up the rear. I get really anxious hiking back to the bathroom (the campground we go to has trails through the woods to a bathroom in the center of the site loop) in the dark, but lining them up like this gives me peace of mind!

Obviously keep an eye on the weather beforehand so you can plan accordingly, but take this very important advice and pack a bunch of extra tarps, string, and stakes, plus some umbrellas anyway. You can survive a sopping wet camping trip and still want to go again if you have some tarps and umbrellas. Just keep reminding yourself that you're making memories and a really hot shower is waiting for you at home!

Above all else, just relax and have fun. Your kids are going to get spectacularly dirty. Somebody (everybody) will eat some dirt, on purpose or accidentally. You honestly might not get a whole lot of sleep (or maybe you will! be optimistic!), you probably won't be eating the healthiest meals you've ever had, there's going to be a lot of bugs, and it'll take a fair amount of work to organize, pack, and set everything up. But it is so worth it. So worth it! If you used to love camping before having kids, or maybe you've never camped before but it's something you and/or your kids have been interested in lately, I hope this post encourages you to give it a try!  I am of course happy to answer any other questions, so please feel free to send them my way! I may not have the answers, but I can at least tell you what has worked for us. Happy Camping!

The 4th Time

4 times now I've ridden home from a hospital or birth center in the backseat of our car, not taking my eyes off of a tiny, squished faced little baby. 4 times now I've spent at least a few days keeping track of diaper output and how many times we nursed. 4 times now I've set alarms overnight to make sure my baby ate enough to get back up and over their birth weight. 4 times now I've folded diapers down so as not to irritate an umbilical cord stump. 4 times now I've changed tiny, peed on nightgowns in the middle of the night. 4 times now I've watched my body sort of... deflate (for lack of a better term). 4 times now I've snacked and sucked down entire bottles of water at 4 am because at that moment my hunger and thirst from nursing overcame even my deep need to sleep for at least an hour. 4 times now I've cried because a newborn sleeper was suddenly too tight and then fell into a fit of laughter at just how far a baby can shoot poop when they're without a diaper.

4 newborns. 4 trips through the maze that is postpartum. The past few weeks I've been reflecting on how different this particular time is from all of my others, especially the first time. When we first brought Sam home (and stood in the middle of the apartment looking around for several minutes, having no clue what to do next) there was a lot of fear. A lot of fear and so much anxiety. Was he sleeping enough? Sleeping too much? Nursing okay? Was this noise normal? Was that face normal? Was that poop a weird color? A weird consistency? Is he pooping to much? He hasn't pooped in a few hours, what's wrong? Will we ever sleep again? Will he ever sleep anywhere but on top of me? Do they make bigger swings because he's going to sleep in this thing until high school. How about swaddles? How big do those get? He'll never sleep without one. We enjoyed him. We enjoyed him and soaked him in. We really did! But the enjoying and the soaking wasn't without plenty of worry, plenty of questioning.

4 babies later, there's still some questioning. I think everybody with a newborn questions and second guesses themselves every now and then. But the enjoying and the soaking in is so much easier. If Anna suddenly wants to nurse every hour, instead of panicking that I'm not making enough milk, or that this is going to go on forever and I'll never sleep or have my body to myself, I refill my water bottle, grab a handful of pretzels, and feel grateful for an excuse to park it on the couch and turn on the tv.

Obviously, first time mom Sarah knew, realistically, that newborn Sam wouldn't be so tiny forever. She knew that newborn Sam wouldn't go off to college still needing to sleep on her chest. But first time mom Sarah's body wasn't yet used to functioning on so little sleep. First time mom Sarah didn't always think realistically. First time mom Sarah didn't know what to expect in the future, with an older baby, which made it hard to see farther than the next couple days. And the next couple days looked like a lot of center of her chest naps, cluster feeding, and many, many diapers. 

But now. Now Anna falls asleep on my chest and in my mind's eye she's 2 and we're moving her out of her crib into a 'big girl bed'.  I change her diaper for the 15th time that day, but I know that tomorrow (basically) I'll be folding her underwear and making sure she takes a potty break before we leave the house. She cluster feeds through the evening and I can hear her asking for a snack 50 times while I'm making dinner. 

Things that used to make me anxious are now my favorite parts of having a newborn. All the things that I used to worry I'd never be able to 'fix', I now wish would last just a little longer. I look forward to watching Anna hit all of the fun milestones that come in the first year. I can't wait to see her smile, hear her laugh, watch her learn to crawl, help her learn to walk... but I'm already feeling nostalgic about the huge chunks of the day I've been spending with her curled up, seemingly just as she was in my belly, sleeping on my chest. I can feel them already slipping by so quickly. I was just holding Henry this way. And now I'm watching him run back and forth in the playroom, kicking a soccer ball and yelling, "Look at me kicking mama! Look at me!" He still falls asleep on my lap, but he's spilling out of it now, long legs dangling over the side of the chair. 

Newborns are hard. They're really really hard. Having a newborn is exhausting, draining (in every sense of the word), and, at times, frustrating. That doesn't change, no matter how many times you do it. But what does change, or, at least what has changed for me, is the way I feel. There's such a great sense of calm and peacefulness that wasn't there when we brought home our first squished up little person, or even our second. Somehow, in the course of bringing home 4 very different babies, the hard, exhausting, draining, frustrating newborn phase has become one of my most favorite phases. Spit up stained nursing tanks, meals eaten one handed, fussy, gassy babies and all.

Menu Planning and Bulk Shopping

Have you ever gone grocery shopping with 3 kids 4 and under? If you haven't, I'll let you in on a little secret, grocery stores are about 25 degrees hotter when you have small children with you. I don't know how they keep the perishable food cold. Maybe it's just me, but even when everybody is behaving, it's a stressful situation. I'm lucky. For the most part, my kids are pretty well behaved in the grocery store. But, for whatever reason, it always feels like we're a walking time bomb. At any moment somebody could completely lose their you-know-what and then I'm just stuck there with a cart full of food. So yeah. Not my most favorite activity.

I do get myself treats though. Coffee, Noosa (you haven't tried Noosa?! Get you a Noosa yogurt ASAP my friend!), maybe a nice bar of chocolate. So, not all bad.

I have always made weekly menus and grocery shopped once a week. I did go through a phase when we were living in North Carolina were I would do a bigger grocery shop every other week, with a smaller one on the in between weeks, but I've always been a once a week shopper. For a while now though, I've been wanting to give monthly shopping a try. Besides the fact that I end up feeling stressed, grocery shopping also takes a huge chunk out of our day. A huge chunk taken out once every week gets frustrating. And once we moved, my favorite grocery store went from being 5 minutes away to 40 minutes away. I did try out a couple other grocery stores, but I just couldn't quit my old favorite (Wegman's!!) Monthly grocery shopping was making more and more sense. So I gave it a try.

I. Love. It. Love. So much love. And every time I've posted anything about it on any form of social media, everybody has lots of questions. So hopefully here are some answers.

First part of monthly grocery shopping (ok so I actually do 3-3.5 weeks at a time) is making a monthly menu. This SOUNDS very daunting, but I promise you it's not. Theme days make it a lot easier. If I cook a full dinner every night, we end up tossing so much food. So Saturdays are always a leftover night, and Fridays are a takeout/homemade pizza/eggs/leftovers/fend for yourself night. So there's a good bit of the month planned. Wednesday nights the kids and I leave around 5:30 and aren't home until after bedtime, so every Wednesday I plan for an easy crockpot meal or soup and sandwiches. Tuesdays Kate has ballet until 6:00, so on Tuesdays I plan meals that can be made during naptime and either kept warm in the crockpot while we're gone, or heated up easily when we get home. Bigger, "nice" dinners on Sundays since I have more time and to restock our leftovers for the week (James takes leftovers to work for lunch). So all that's left are the Mondays and Thursdays! Themes! You could do Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Casserole Wednesday, Crockpot Thursday, Pizza Friday, whatever themes you want. Promise it makes monthly menu planning so much easier!

I get a LOT of my recipes from Pinterest, but also from 100 Days of Real Food. Seriously amazing blog and fantastic cookbook.

I print blank calendar pages to fill in with meals and keep them in my home management binder. They could be easily kept in a folder or written out in a notebook instead of a calendar page.

I do try to plan meals that have like ingredients to save money. Things that I'll buy in bulk to use for multiple recipes include:

chicken broth

canned tomatoes

frozen vegetables

shredded cheese

pasta

meat (of course)

Wegmans sells bulk packs of chicken breasts, ground turkey, and ground beef so the majority of our dinners come from that. I like Wegmans' quality and prices on their bulk items, but you can also use a membership at a store like Costco or Sam's Club.  I portion out the meat when I get home (or at least within a day or 2 of shopping), wrap tightly in plastic and foil, and keep in labelled freezer bags. I've found that the combo of plastic and foil keeps the freezer burn away the best. Someday maybe I'll have a vacuum sealer...

When my menu is finished, I make my grocery list. I write it out by aisle which makes shopping a million times easier and FASTER. I first write out everything needed for the recipes I have planned out for dinners. I obviously can't buy fresh produce for the whole 3-4 weeks, but pretty much everything else I can. After I'm sure I have all the ingredients for the dinners, I fill in what we need for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks. I don't plan those for each day, but I do keep a running list of things we normally eat. I usually stick with snacks that I can buy in large portions or snacks that I can make homemade (granola is one). A big bag of pretzels, another of animal crackers, and a few boxes of cereal bars (making these homemade is another goal) will last us through the month. After that I go through my pantry and check my staples like flour, sugar, coffee, etc.

A note on pantry staples. We are very lucky to live right in Amish country and so we are never far from an Amish bulk foods store. They have all your dry goods, including spices, sold in bulk for super low prices. I try to go every other to every 3 months to stock the pantry. The only pantry staple I consistently buy at Wegmans and not the bulk food store is my white whole wheat flour. The bulk food store doesn't carry it and Wegmans has it for the lowest price I've found. I go through it very quickly, (and I'm about to go through it even quicker since I've made it a goal to start making most of our bread homemade), so a low price is very important to me.

 A bulk food store and farm stand haul from this past summer!

The last portion of my list includes things like plastic wrap, baggies, etc. I try not to get any cleaning supplies or toiletries during my big grocery trip.

The day I go, my kids are bribed heavily prepped beforehand. They eat something in the car on the way there because hungry kids are obnoxious kids and Kate (who sits in the cart) is allowed to bring a little toy in. Henry gets wrapped.

Getting so much food all at once does make our trip a little longer, but since I take the time to organize my list by aisle it's really not too bad. I do sometimes go before the kids have Awana at church, and I end up running through the store in order to finish in time, but it's worth  it since we're out that way anyway. Saves gas.

If I've gone shopping before Awana, I pack the cold stuff away into coolers in my trunk. Regardless of when we go shopping, I only put the cold stuff away when I get home. I just cannot face getting it all away at once. Cold stuff goes away and shelf stable stuff gets all set out on our island to be put away later. I've also been known to put away the cold stuff, leave the shelf stable stuff in the bags during the kids naps so I can unwind, and then put it away later while I'm making dinner.

Once I'm actually ready to get it put away, I take everything that can be taken out of boxes, out of boxes. I have all sorts of jars and bins that I keep things in. When you buy so much in bulk, it can get really hard to organize. Emptying boxes into jars and/or bins helps keep things in order. Keeps it all fresh too!

So what about produce? Milk? Eggs? That stuff I do have to buy weekly. But during the spring, summer, and early fall I can get all of my produce at farm stands and our town's grower's market. In the spring I run to the closest store for a quick trip. Half an hour tops. Next summer and fall we'll hopefully be eating a lot of produce we grew ourselves. Couldn't manage to do that this year since we moved in July.

I don't know if this post has made monthly menu planning and bulk shopping seem any less complicated and daunting, but I promise it really isn't. It does take more thought and planning, but it is just so worth it! Besides saving me a lot of time and stress, it's been saving us quite a lot of money! And who doesn't want to save money right? ;)

I'm sure all of this will grow and change as time goes on. I'm hoping to start making a lot more of our snacks from scratch (I know we can do better than the boxes of cereal bars), as well as our bread, and if we can manage a good garden next year that will make a big difference as well. Stay tuned for how all of that goes!

Henry's Birth Story!

This past Wednesday, October 7th, we officially became a family of 5 when we welcomed our third baby, Henry Philip, to the world! 

My official 'due date' was 10/4 and in the week leading up to that day I was SURE that I was about to go into labor at any moment. I was feeling a lot of pressure and the strength and frequency of the braxton hicks contractions I had been feeling all throughout pregnancy started to pick up a little bit. I went out on lots of long walks with the kids, and tried my best to stay patient, despite starting to feel a little antsy. Despite all my 'feelings' though, my 'due date' came and went. 

I had an appointment at the birth center on Tuesday the 6th. At the appointment we talked about my 'post dates' plan. I made an appointment for an ultrasound to check fluid levels and a non stress test to check on baby for the following Monday. Even though I knew I had almost a full week before those appointments and that a LOT could happen in that amount of time, I couldn't help feeling a little discouraged. Particularly because my midwife said the baby felt a little posterior with his or her (because at that point we didn't know!) back listing towards my back. The logical part of my brain knew that there were plenty of things I could do to encourage baby's back to turn more to my front, and that baby could even turn all on their own even during labor. The hormonal part of my brain though was going through all the what-ifs of a posterior baby. Head not engaging, very difficult back labor, very long pushing phase. I started to have panicky feelings that the reason I was having all these contractions that didn't turn into anything was because baby was posterior and I started to feel fearful of going all the way to 42 weeks and being unable to deliver at the birth center. I spent the whole rest of the day crawling around on my hands and knees and sitting on my big exercise ball to encourage baby to turn.

When I went to bed that night I wasn't having any contractions, but was feeling a lot of pressure. What I was mostly feeling though was anxiety. I knew that feeling anxious and panicky could actually keep my body from going into labor. Not to mention it could keep me from getting some sleep. So I went to bed and sat reading through the positive affirmation cards I had written for labor and delivery while working on deep breathing. Going through them already made me feel calmer. When I was finished with them I turned out the light and laid down to go to sleep. As I was falling asleep I thought of all the fears and anxieties I had surrounding going into labor, avoiding an induction, and baby being posterior. I acknowledged them and then started praying. I prayed for my fears to be calmed. I prayed for patience. For wisdom. For peace. For strength. For clarity of mind. For TRUST. Trust in God's timing and trust in my body's ability to bring my baby at exactly the right time. I prayed myself calm and fell asleep.

I woke up once or twice early in the night to pee and noticed I was having a somewhat painful contraction each time I woke up. Then, shortly before 2am, I woke up and actually laid in bed through maybe 2 strong contractions or so before thinking, "Oh! Those feel real!" I opened a contraction timer app on my phone and went to the bathroom. I noticed I had had my bloody show and my app was showing my contractions coming every 7 minutes. I had to stop what I was doing for each one so I knew they were 'real' and decided to give the midwife a call. Since this was my third baby and since we live about a half an hour from the birth center I was told not to wait too long before going in. I had no strong need to labor at home like with the other kids since the birth center was just like home and there would be nobody pressuring me into interventions. The midwife on call only needed to hear "3rd baby" "7 minutes apart" and "bloody show". She said she would gather up her stuff and head right over to the birth center and told me to do the same. 

This was happening!

I went upstairs and woke up James, "We need to go to the birth center." Confused and half asleep he asked, "Why? Are you in labor or something?" which made me laugh a little. "Well yeah. It's 2am..." So he got up and started getting dressed while I called my mom (she and my dad started getting their things together to meet us at the birth center) and started gathering things for the kids. My bags were already packed, but I hadn't put anything together for the kids since I didn't know what exactly they'd need without knowing what time we'd be heading in. I pulled together food, clothes, and books for them. I knew they'd probably end up watching movies most of the day and I had put together big brother and big sister goodie bags for them with a few new little toys, coloring books, and treats. As I moved around the house getting things together I was still having contractions and they even got closer together the move active I was. Once everything was together we woke up the kids (both of them were very excited!) and loaded up the van to go! By now it was 3am so we were looking at arriving at the birth center around 3:30.

Contracting in the car is AWFUL. I don't like sitting through contractions and all the little movements of the car just felt terrible. I was contracting about every 6 minutes during the drive so I didn't have TOO many, but the few I had were rough. I wasn't "in the zone" yet either which just made them that much more difficult. I felt like crying tears of joy when we pulled into the birth center parking lot. I knew I was due for another contraction very soon so I hurried out of the car to breathe through it on the sidewalk. The midwife on call, Gazelle, met us at the door with her trainee, Hannah, and we went in to get settled. Mom and Dad got there shortly after us and sat in the living room with the kids while James and I stayed in the bedroom so I could get a cervical check. I was pleasantly surprised to hear I was 4cm! I was 50% effaced so I still had a good bit of work to do in the department, but I was on my way. Gazelle and Hannah left us alone at this point and said they'd come check baby's heart rate in about a half an hour or so.

Through the rest of the dark hours of the morning I hung out in the living room while the kids watched movies (I thought they'd go back to sleep, but no luck there). My contractions weren't especially consistent. They were following a similar pattern to what I had experienced in early labor with Kate. They were coming about every 4-5 minutes, but only every other one would be especially strong. The ones in between were short and not very intense at all. My mom, James, and I (with Kate in the stroller in hopes sh'd sleep a little) went for a walk down the street around 5:15 in the morning.. Hannah was going to check me again at 5:45 to see if I was making progress and truly in active labor. Walking didn't make my contractions any more consistent, but the strong ones did get stronger so that was good!

At my check after the walk I was at 6cm and about 80% so that was good news! I was feeling tired at this point and my contractions took the hint. They spread out to every 10-12 minutes and I spent some time eating and snuggling my big kids. How awesome to be an environment where nobody was rushing me or watching the clock!

We went for another walk, but my contractions were still hanging out around every 10-12 minutes. They were definitely strengthening though and I felt a lot of pressure.After our walk my back was feeling really sore so I spent some time leaning over a counter in the living room letting my belly hang. It felt AMAZING, especially when coupled with James rolling a wooden roller along my lower back. Contractions were still quite manageable. I was using some hypnobirthing visualization techniques and deep breathing. As long as I was able to hold my focus through the entire wave I felt pretty great. There were a few where I lost focus and they were completely different contractions. Focus was obviously the key.

At this point Gazelle and Hannah had gone home as their on call shifts had ended and Sheila came in. I was so excited to see her. I had just seen her the day before at my prenatal appointment. The one where we made that 'post dates plan'. It was nice seeing her while in labor less than 24 hours later! Plus she just has a personality that really clicks with mine. She wanted to check me again at 9:45 since my contractions weren't getting any closer together and hadn't gotten any stronger. I was still at 6cm so we chatted a bit about some options to move things along. She said that my water bag was bulging and she'd break it if I wanted, but that would possibly take my dilation back a centimeter or even 2. That's exactly what happened during Sam's labor and I definitely didn't want that. Sheila was trying to be diplomatic and just lay out my options without influencing my decision, but I could see in her eyes that she didn't think breaking my water was a good idea. She said we could also try a little nipple stimulation, that hopefully 15 minutes on a breast pump would maybe get things moving along a little more. This was exactly what I had done with Kate and it had worked great so it was definitely an option I felt comfortable with. She also said I could absolutely just keep doing what I was doing and see what happened. No rush. I loved that. I loved how comfortable and not rushed I felt the entire time I was there. Sheila left the room then to let James and I talk about what we wanted to do. He and I both agreed that nipple stim worked in the past, so why not give it a try again. My contractions were already starting to regulate a little more just sitting in the bedroom. I told James I thought I needed some time away from the kids. That maybe relaxing a little, just him and I in the bedroom, would help things move along. I felt a little weepy at the thought of not hanging out with the kids, I had been feeling really clingy to them, but it really did seem like some time away would be a good idea. This was only reinforced when Sheila came back in and suggested some time away before even asking how we had decided to move forward. So we all agreed on taking some time away from everybody out in the living room, and trying some nipple stim. Sheila recommended I eat some more too. James went and got me some pretzels and filled up my water bottle. He came back in with Emily, our nurse who left us with the pump. At 10:29 I started on the pump, planning 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off, and then 15 minutes on again if it seemed like I needed a little more. About 2 minutes into pumping I felt a contraction starting. James rubbed my back and shoulders as I went through it, like he had been with a lot of the other ones, but this one was different. It was super strong and there was a lot of pressure. It lasted a long time and I started to lose control a little. When it ended I was immediately shaky and covered in sweat. James got in my face and said, "That was very intense. Are you ok?" I said, "I feel like I'm in transition, but that can't be right. I'm 6 centimeters. How many minutes have I been on the pump? I don't know if I can do another contraction on the pump if it's like that." Just as James was telling me I had been on it for about 5 minutes another contraction hit me, "Hit me" is really the only way to describe it. "Turn it off turn it off turn it off!" was all I could say to James. He turned off the pump and I threw the flanges and bottles onto the floor, standing up and grabbing onto a windowsill. I felt even more pressure and vocalized through the contraction for the first time. I was struggling to hold my focus. James asked if he should call Sheila in and I told him if I had another like that then yes. I was feeling that panicky, shaky, transition feeling, but not fully believing that's what was happening since I was still thinking I was 6cm. I told James I had to pee and he insisted on coming with me. I got halfway down onto the toilet and said, "I can't sit down." Another contraction came and I grabbed the wall, "Call Sheila now." but James was already getting her. She came into the bathroom and asked how I was doing. I told her my body was pushing and another huge wave came over me. She helped me walk back to the bed and she and her assistant started getting things ready quickly. Emily, our nurse, had gone upstairs to the offices and they were trying to get her back down there. My mom said she saw the nurse come running down the stairs and through the living room and that's when they knew something was happening. James went and got her right then so she could take pictures for us. Sheila was trying to get me onto the bed, but I couldn't do it. I went onto all 4s without even thinking about it and Sheila told me to stay there if I was comfortable. The crazy waves that had been crashing over me this whole time were easing off and I was feeling intense pressure. That's when it actually hit me that this was it! We were about to meet our third baby!

When the crazy waves were calming down I was able to regain my focus and use some hypnobirthing techniques again. I started to feel really calm and let my body do it's thing. I could feel the baby moving down without me doing anything but deep "birth breathing". Somebody brought James a cool cloth for my head just as I was opening my mouth to ask for one. Contractions started again, this time with a very distinct purpose. I was still just letting my body do what it wanted to do, not actively pushing, just breathing baby down. I did this for maybe 2 or 3 contractions, sipping water that James brought over to me in between each one. Then I wanted to push into the pressure a little. For the first time I was feeling 100% in control of the pushing phase. With both other kids this part felt totally out of control. This time was no less intense, but the amount of control I felt was so amazing! I was able to rest in between contractions which was wonderful. I'd keep my eyes closed, take deep breaths, sip water, and repeat positive affirmations to myself in my head. "This is it. My body is doing exactly what it's supposed to. Trust in that. I will be holding my baby so soon." Then when I'd feel the next contraction starting I'd say out loud, "Ok." and dig down deep.  I continued to breathe the baby down, just with a little more intensity now. Sheila broke my water then after asking if that's what I wanted. When she broke it I felt the most immense relief! I did hear somebody say, "Meconium." And I laughed a little and said, "Well we're 3 for 3. All our babies pooped." And then promptly forgot about it. I had already asked about the birth center's policies as far as babies born having already pooped. In the hospital that meant I couldn't have immediate skin to skin because they wanted the baby to be suctioned first. At the birth center though, they just keep an eye on the baby in those first couple minutes before determining whether or not they need suction. Knowing and trusting this, I was able to focus on getting the baby out and not worry about the meconium. The next contraction I felt baby's head coming out. I tried to breathe the head out slowly as best I could. That contraction faded just as Sheila told me, "Great job Sarah. You can reach down and feel your baby's head. The hardest part is over." That pause between contractions, knowing baby's head was out and being able to reach down and feel it, was sort of surreal. I felt really suspended between two worlds almost. I've never had a pause like that after my baby's head had been birthed. It was a very calming feeling somehow. With the next contraction, everybody helped me flip onto my back so that Sheila could assist the shoulders a bit. This was the one moment I felt any anxiety. My baby's have not always gotten their shoulders out very easily and I know that has the potential to be dangerous. I barely had time to dwell on that though because Sheila was saying, "Sarah. Reach down and catch your baby."

Having a baby born into my own hands, and being the one to pull this new little creature onto my chest was one of the most amazing experiences of my life so far. I cannot put into words the feelings I was having right then, but pictures almost capture it.

There was no crying from baby for a little while, but I didn't feel even a second of worry. Because I could feel everything. I could feel the baby's moving, I could see the baby looking up at me (oh what a precious, quiet moment!), and I knew that everything was absolutely fine. After a few minutes baby did cry, but only a little, and that's when I said, "Oh! Wait! Is it a boy or a girl?" Sort of really cool to hold our baby for several minutes before even knowing this important bit of information! James, who was sitting right next to me took a peak and called out (with obvious emotion), "Oh! It's a boy!" And I just kept repeating, "Henry! Hi Henry! Hi baby boy!" And just like that our family grew.

We waited for the cord to stop pulsating before James cut it, and around then Henry started rooting so I got him latched on while birthing the placenta. I had a small tear that required a stitch or two and once that was taken care of everybody helped move me up on the bed propped up on pillows. Henry stayed latched and nursing the whole time. Once I was situated my mom went to get my dad, brother, and kids. Sam and Kate climbed right up in bed with me and started loving on their brother. I couldn't believe I was sitting their with all *3* of my babies. Sam especially had such a sweet reaction. I was a little worried because he had been SO sure my whole pregnancy that he was getting a sister, but he accepted a brother with so much love. We counted all of his fingers and toes together and Sam exclaimed over how, "Tiny and cute!" they were. After a few minutes my parents and Tommy took the kids back out to get their Big Brother and Big Sister bags of goodies. 

Sheila was a little concerned at this point about the amount I was still bleeding an hour after birth, so I handed Henry off to James for some skin to skin while Sheila checked me out. Henry slept peacefully on Daddy's chest for an hour while we got my bleeding under control (thankfully it was never overly alarming, my uterus was just being a little on the lazy side which is apparently common once you've had more than 1 or 2 kids). Everything was perfectly fine and behaving the way it was supposed to fairly quickly.

After an hour sleeping with Daddy we got Henry's official stats (8 lbs even and 20.5in, our smallest baby!) and James gave him a sponge bath. Henry got to go to meet his Nana, Grandpa Bob, and Uncle Tommy for a little bit then while I ate. My mom had made my 'birth meal' (french toast, eggs, sausage, and fruit per my request!) while Henry was being weighed and bathed. Best french toast I've ever eaten! I showered after that and then everybody except James and I headed home. My mom took Sam and Kate back to our house. Henry had his official newborn checkup now and did great. Barely even fussed. He latched on again after that and James, our sweet baby, and I dozed off in the bed for a while. It was so peaceful. 

We woke up to get our discharge info. Just a couple sheets to keep track of Henry's and my vitals for the next couple days (nothing major, just temp and respirations/pulse) and clarifying the day and time for our home nurse visit to do Henry's hearing test and have him weighed again. After that we were cleared to go! So about 6 hours after our boy made his appearance, we were loading up in the car and heading back to our big kids in time for dinner and bedtime. So wonderful to be able to sleep in our own bed that very night!

I am so grateful to have been able to have a birth center birth. The entire experience was so relaxing. There was never a moment were I felt rushed or pressured. I truly felt that the experience was 100% MINE. There were no negotiations, no compromises, just complete trust in my body from everybody in attendance. I love that our family was able to stay together. I love that Sam and Kate met their brother when he was only minutes old, and that we were all able to snuggle in bed together. And I just love how calm the entire thing was. Such a beautiful way to grow from a family of 4 to a family of 5. We are truly, truly blessed.