I have 4 beautiful sprogs (1 of whom is currently passed out on my chest).
I have an amazing husband, who truly completes me.
I want for nothing.

None of these have come by my works/deeds. They are all gifts from God. I am an undeserving sinner, saved by His grace. I make mistakes and sin daily. Yet, He continues to bless me and most importantly, love me unconditionally.

I don’t need people to approve of me. I don’t need to fit in. I don’t need to be popular. All I need is God, His Son, His love, His grace and my awesome family. With those, I’m whole, content and at peace.

Its a huge moment for me to grasp this. (I’m probably going to be grasping it for a while). He truly loves me and everyone else. I don’t have to earn His love, He gives it freely. He blesses me because He loves me. WOW!!

From the second I tweeted that I was indeed in labour, the love, support and encouragement started coming in. I could actually feel everyone’s thoughts and prayers. They bolstered me and helped me through when things got rough. Twitter was also an awesome distraction when things got sore

Everytime my little red light flashed, I smiled. In fact my little red light flashed so much that my phone died! I had been chatting with Mel on bbm, so B added her to his and they bbm’d throughout. Between B and Mel they did a fantastic job of keeping everyone up to date with everything.
B gained a number of my followers and he was kept very busy relaying all the messages from all the amazing people I’ve met on twitter.

Mel is 1 of those people. We have yet to meet in real life, but she has become a wonderful friend. She gave both B and I so much support over bbm. It was like she was in the room with us. We chatted a lot leading up to labour and she gave me the extra encouragement and inspiration I needed. She has given birth to a 4.5kg baby and she affirmed that I too could deliver a baby of that size. When many others were telling me I couldn’t (too big, too risky) she told me I could and that we (baby and I) would be fine. I will always be grateful for her support Mel, you rock!

I’m struggling to put my thoughts into words on this. The outpouring of love and support was incredible! And it didn’t stop, it still hasn’t. I still have a couple of those awesome ladies checking in to see how we are doing. I can still feel all the love and support.

To all of you who were “there” with us on the day that Jaydon was born,
I’m incredibly grateful to you for every single message. You are all amazing! Thank-you for being there with us and for sharing in an very special day.
Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you!

I had been saying that I would keep my legs closed so that baby was not born on 29 January. We’ve had some drama and the 29th is the birthday of someone who has issues with us. But it turns out, God gave us a reason to celebrate the day, to overshadow those who harbour ill feelings towards us and to help us heal

At 3am my contractions started. I felt the first 1 and thought, “oh! I wonder if this is IT”. 10 minutes later when the second contraction hit, I knew that this was indeed “it”. I told B that we were in labour and then left him to sleep. I got out the pilates ball, walked and bounced and tried to rest. At times the contractions were 8 minutes apart, other times they were 1 1minutess apart. I sat on the ball and rested my head on the bed and managed to get a few minutes sleep every now and again.

At 5am, I was feeling a little lonely and went to wake B (he was sleeping with Jack as he had woken up wanting daddy in the night). We discussed him doing his race. The swim was to start at 9 and was a 5km sea swim from Table View to Big Bay. It looked to be an awesome swim and the weather was perfect. My contractions had slowed to every 20-30 minutes, so my mom came down to our house and B went off to register for the race.

We met him at the start just before the race. The race started and we then went off to Big Bay to wait for him. My contractions were still coming, but I was able to drive and talk and carry on, so it was fine. B nearly won the entire race, but fell off a wave. The winner beat him by 5seconds. I was (still am) so proud of him.

Once he was back with us, my contractions sped up again! I actually told him to go away as they were back to every 10minutes. after prize-giving we came home to get ready for lunch at moms house. My contractions were getting stronger all the time. We packed bags for the kids in case we went to hospital and they needed the pjs and clothes for the next day. We had no idea how long labour would go on for and wanted to be ready. I thought we had until the next day to deliver #4. I think I was in slight denial

After an hour and a half at moms house, we decided to head for hospital. Contractions were every 3-5minutes and were stopping me talking. I was determined to wait it out a little longer, but B said it was time to go.

I was only 4cm when we arrived and a little disappointed. The contractions were big, sore and long. My gynae couldn’t be reached, so they called Dr. Sarel Brandt. He is amazing! He arrived within 10minutes and I was 5cm. Due to my history with my waters breaking late (broke with Kyla just before she came out) he broke my water and I went to 6cm. I was sore but still handling without pain meds. By now it was 4:30-ish.

The contractions got serious! I was very very sore. Between Bryan and Sarel they spoke me through them. My mid-wife arrived. I call her mine because she’s been at the birth of all our sprogs and she’s fantastic! Sarel (the doc) offered to fetch coffee for B, made sure we had cold, iced water and kept us entertained with stories from his travels and experiences as a doctor. There were lots of laughs in our delivery room. At times, it felt more like a party than a birth Sarel also never left us. I’ve never known a doctor to do that. He even asked B if he wanted to catch baby. B’s face was hysterical! He went white, regained colour and said the he’d stay head side with me. Next time, I’m going to try convince him to catch baby

I hit 8cm and was struggling. I couldn’t cope with the pain and was begging for an epidural. My “team” got me through another 20minutes or so, but I couldn’t do it any longer. The anethetist was called just before 5:45pm and my epidural was done within 10minutes. It was kept light, so I could still move my legs and feel pressure from the contractions, just no pain. My contractions continued to get stronger as I entered transition. The pressure was intense and I was incredibly thankful that I couldn’t feel the pain. At 6:35 I was ready to push. My gynae arrived after the first push.

They let me push whenever I felt the urge to, I just gave them warning of the building contraction and they counted for me. I struggled a little to get his head down and forgot to breathe at times. But it was going well, and a mirror was fetched, so that I could see what was going on down there.

Seeing my baby crown was quite an experience! It was amazing to see how the pushing, pushes them out I could not have done it first time or even third time around, but it was awesome! I’m so thrilled I was able to see and experience it. While pushing out the head, I could feel that he was big. We were warned again about his size and about what would happen if his shoulders got stuck. God had heard my prayers and Jaydon’s shoulders came out without a hitch. I was told to stop pushing and the rest of him slid out.

Everyone marveled at his size and they started guessing his weight. He was placed on my chest and he was heavy and beautiful. I had “known” he was a boy, but was thrilled to see that he was indeed a boy! He was perfect and gorgeous. The 2 doctors and 2 mid-wives were still throwing weight guesses around. He was thought to be 4.5-4.7kgs if not bigger.

The “team” couldn’t wait anymore and took him to be weighed. Sarel placed him on the scale and turned towards us with his hands over his mouth, giggling. Tania asked for the weight and was told, “you have to see this!” Jaqui went and looked at the scale. “4.975kgs” (even typing that I start giggling) we all just giggled and were shocked. I had delivered a 5kg (25grams shy, so I’m claiming it) baby with no tearing and no medical intervention.

He latched well and started drinking. Jaqui said I should get used to having him there, as he’d probably be attached to me for the next 6months at least.

When I saw Tania the next day, she said that it was a good thing that we didn’t know his weight. She said she never let’s people deliver naturally if baby is over 4.5kgs. She said that there’s no way she would’ve let me deliver him, had she had any clue. She did acknowledge that I’d managed just fine with everything intact, so clearly it could be done

To me, Jaydon’s birth is nothing short of miraculous. These days gynaes are very quick to cite baby’s size as a reason for cutting. He didn’t get stuck, I didn’t tear, he came out perfectly!

I had prayed a lot (read: A LOT) about being able to deliver him naturally without complications. I prayed that he would be healthy and that we would be in and out of hospital quickly. God answered all my prayers regarding his birth. It blows me away. Jaydon Kai means thankful and rejoice. His name is fitting already. I’m very thankful to God for answering my prayer and am rejoicing in it! We are thankful for our new baby boy and are rejoicing having him as part of our family!

The day I went for my 40 weeks scan, I was still feeling very comfortable. I was struggling a bit in the heat but it was nothing that an hour or 2 in the swimming pool couldn’t cure. That and munching lots of ice
I still felt as though birth was a while off. And was telling everyone as much.
My blood pressure was still good even by non-preggy standards.

When I went in to be scanned, baby was so big that the machine couldn’t give us a weight. My gynae just laughed. Then we measured the legs, and as normal, they were 2 weeks behind. All our babies have had my short legs.

Tania felt baby and said she thought that baby was around 4.2kgs and that we *might* hit 4.4kgs, but she doubted it. She warned me about the delivery and what they would do if baby’s shoulders got stuck. Then she mentioned that sometimes, baby’s shoulder is broken while becoming un-stuck. That made me a little nervous and panicky. Nobody wants there baby to come into the world and experience pain right off the bat!
She did say that is was unlikely, but she wanted me to be prepared in-case-of.

I left the scan a little worried. With all our other babies, she predicted them to be 300g-500g smaller than they came out. But everybody said that she was in the habit of over-estimating these days, by 300g on average. So I felt a little better. The thought of birthing a big baby scared me.

Mel did wonders on bbm to convince me that I’d be ok. She was awesome! A huge, huge support. Ill be forever grateful for her advice and encouragement. Mel, you’re amazing, awesome and such a fantastic friend!

#4 is doing great. There’s still lots of space to grow and everything is looking good. B got such a fright when my doc measured #4′s head. His (I’ve picked a gender) head is measuring at 9.4cm and is the size of a 38weekers. Tummy is measuring at 37weeks. Legs – well if you’re a long time reader or know us, you’ll know that all our babies have had short Lolly legs . This time is no different! Legs measure at 33weeks. Weight is currently estimated at 3.1kgs. So we are on track for another big baby I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m doing well. Blood pressure is looking good, weight gain is tracking well, I’m still comfortable and loving all the movement. I’m feeling very grateful that summer thus far, has been relatively cool. On the hot days I tend to swell up, which can be uncomfortable but its bearable.

I haven’t even begun to think about packing a bag or anything. After B’s big race in January, I’ll get around to that. although, I think I may just throw things into when I’m in labour. NOT!! I’ll pack after the race is done. I like to know that I’ve got everything I need for baby. I can wing it for my stuff
My biggest thing is making sure I have my shampoo and conditioner for afterwards.

So I’ve decided that in every situation I’m going to look for things to be thankful for. I’m sure I’ll be tested and that at times it will be hard, but hopefully God will help me to keep being thankful.

Like today, I was grumbling to myself about how I’m constantly doing laundry. I gave myself a swift kick on the behind and started looking for things to be thankful for instead.
- we have clothes that need washing
- which means we have money to buy clothes
- we have a washing machine to wash them
- I do lots of laundry because we have sprogs!

Suddenly, the laundry was no longer a chore and I started enjoying hanging it all up. I gave thanks to God for all of the above and felt much lighter and happier! All because I changed my attitude.

I’m thankful that God has opened my eyes to this. I pray that I will continue to look at my blessings and all I have to be thankful for, instead of moaning about petty things.

Jessie has always been a pretty good night-time sleeper. She struggled during the day and has never slept as much as other kids her age. But I’m ok with that, I don’t need as much sleep as the average person. (Ok, when I’m pregnant its slightly different) Kyla seems to be pretty similar to Jessie in the sleep habits, unless she’s teething. But Jack… Jack has always been different. He would nap well during the day as long as he was held. But nights have always been another story!

At the age of 1, he was still feeding anywhere from 8-14times a night. (yes, I became obsessed for a while and counted) he struggled to fall back to sleep. At 19months he stopped feeding. At this stage, he began to cling to B at night. He wanted sweet-nothing to do with me in the middle of the night and would scream for B. (he still does) So for the past 18months, B has had to put up with being punched, kicked, head-butted, pushed and man-handled at night. B and I have both suffered with this. See, I can handle lack of sleep, B struggles. He needs his sleep!

Things did improve after we had his tonsils and adenoids removed. Suddenly he was sleeping better. He went from waking 8+ times to waking 2 or 3 times. This was amazing for us! We were thrilled! But he still continued to need B at night. We tried a host of night-time tactics from discipline, to special sleep toys, nothing worked. All he wanted was his daddy.

We’ve been debating and preparing to put him in his own room for a few weeks now. Somehow we just haven’t gotten there. We went away over the weekend and we pushed 2 beds together for the older sprogs to sleep in. They both slept all night! Jack woke once, b went through and patted him and he went straight back to sleep! It was phenomenal.

We decided to try the same approach here at home. Its been going pretty well. B has had to sleep with him once, but on the whole he seems to be handling the transition pretty well So jessie and jack now share a room but are each in their own bed. They’re going to sleep a little later, as they play for a while before falling asleep. But isn’t that what sharing a room is about?

I don’t know what will happen from 1 night to the next. But we will keep on keeping on. As long as we all sleep, and are rested it doesn’t bother me who sleeps where.

Kyla is now in her own bed and she’s doing pretty well. She is highly possessive of it. Don’t even think about lying and cuddling somebody else on her bed! She will shout at you and tell you no, off (which in Kyla speak is “mo! Ooohhf”)

Our room feels rather empty without jack and his bed here. Luckily #4 is on the way. And we can sneak into their room anytime we want to for a little night-time snuggling

***update***
Exactly 3 years and 1month since the day Jack was born, he slept through for the first time . We know it won’t happen every night, but it does give us a beacon of hope

Most often they want to know the age-gaps between the kids and if we are completely mad. This is invariably followed by the finances question. I’m thinking of handing out a pamphlet to people with FAQ’s to read before they ask me things (not really, but its a rather amusing thought) Sometimes people give me the 3rd degree and want to know exactly how we plan on sending them to varsity, overseas, buy them cars, etc. When I tell them that we will sort things out when we get there, they sometimes get a little upset that we don’t have a “plan”. Apparently we’re supposed to have all this figured out already. Clearly I missed that memo!

My best is when they start talking “school” to Jessie. She’s quite quick to tell them, “We do homeschool!” Then the curious person just about falls backward. Its makes me giggle everytime! Then the questions come even thicker and faster. and don’t get me started on her telling people that Father Christmas is just a story and that we should only believe in God classic!

Where am I going with this? I figure that our life, our kids, the choices we are making. They’re all a great ministry tool. I need to and want to point everything back to God. None of this would be possible without Him, we wouldn’t be who we are if not for Him. And having people come up and talk to us, its the perfect time to praise Him and to share about Him. I just need to stop being so shy about it! I’m starting to get quite cross with myself. He is awesome! I need to trust Him and be bolder.

So here’s to pointing everything back to Him and to clinging to His truth and proclaiming it loud enough for all to hear.

Jessie responds: “a little baby called Jesus. He grew up and had disciples. He died on the cross to save us from our sins. One day He will come back to earth and take everyone who believes in Him to heaven.”

My little evangelist at 4 years old Definitely not what granny was expecting!

I always knew I wanted lots of children. Although, when I had Jess, I was so ridiculously in love with her, that for about 2 seconds I thought “if she’s all we have,
that’s ok”. About 4 seconds later we discovered we were 8 weeks pregnant with Jack . This was quite something, as Jessie was still fully breastfed and I’d been told “you can’t fall pregnant while exclusively breastfeeding” ummmm, apparently you can

I was initially very scared as Jessie was only 8months old. But I knew we’d be ok and that God had a plan. My pregnancy was easy and wonderful. I breastfed jessie throughout and waited for jack to arrive. (He went 11days overdue). Suddenly when I went into labour, I stressed about jess coping with having a sibling. I stressed about loving them both. I worried about not being able to love jack as much as jessie… Etc etc etc.

Then Jack was here and my heart exploded with love! As soon as he was placed in my arms, I knew that I loved him as much as I loved Jessie. In fact, I think I loved them both more because of Jack being born. I had so much more love to give! I think the fact that I was fed them both together really helped Jessie with the adjustment of having a sibling. She took it all in her stride.

We really don’t give kids enough credit. We forget just how adaptable they are. Within a few days they’re settled and used to a “new” way of life. Its us parents, mostly moms, who struggle.

We feel guilty for spending less time with #1. We feel guilty for cuddling #2 too much. We feel angry with ourselves when #1 displays jealousy. We feel sad for #1 that we are not as available as before. We feel guilty that we put #2 down more than we did #1. The list goes on and on for as long as there are moms who’ve added to their families

We do it to ourselves. We need to let go and not stress so much. Stressing makes having a newborn and learning to share your time, very hard on the whole family.
The truth is, its hard. Its hard because we’ve never done it before. Its by no means impossible!

Having #2 and more is an awesome blessing. Watching the bond and love grow between siblings is truly something to treasure. Seeing how they learn from each other, celebrate each other, play together and yes even fight… Is beautiful. They will learn more from each other than from any play group or friends.