The Beautiful Birth of Baby Pearl

I went to bed last Tuesday thinking I would blog the next morning about the guinea fowl, Pumpkin and Banjo, or my mom and dad's 35th wedding anniversary party. I spent the evening getting all of my favorite pictures ready. Little Pearl Kathryn decided she would be arriving instead. I woke up at four in the morning with contractions every seven minutes and I knew we would be having a baby in the next few days. Here is a picture I took of Oliver kissing my belly the day before I went into labor.

My experience giving birth to Oliver four years ago was pretty traumatic. For the two of you who haven't heard about Oliver's birth, you can read about it here:

Oliver's Birth

I had a miserable surgical birth and I was praying for a normal birth experience this time around. I spent the day at my sister's house in early labor. My contractions were regular and strong, but didn't appear to be getting any worse after 14 hours. My sister decided we should try to move things along, so we went for a walk down her block. I felt a pinch during a contraction and then felt my water breaking all over her neighbor's driveway. We laughed and Kate (my sister) vowed to bring back a hose later. Once my water broke, I knew we were going to be meeting the baby soon. We headed to the hospital where I was hoping to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean section).

My mom met us there and knew I was in active labor when I politely asked for some f****** water. I always hoped I would be "zen" and quiet during labor-a birthing goddess if you will. I was more of a birthing drunk sailor, loud with a foul mouth. No more "fudge crackers" for me, it made it hurt less to just say f***.

We arrived at the hospital at 7:30 PM. The nurse checked me and told me I was three centimeters, then patted me on the knee and left. She was assuming I would be laboring for the next 12 hours or so. Luckily my mom, sister and Glenn were all there to be my support people, because I was left alone by the hospital staff. They were all so helpful during my three and a half hours of active labor, cooling me with cloths, squeezing my hips, staying calm and letting me hang on each of them. I can't imagine how anyone could labor naturally without proper support. When I felt as though I might split down the middle, I insisted the nurses call my midwife. She came in to check and I was six centimeters. An hour later I had to push during a contraction, then thirteen minutes later Pearl arrived.


I thought I would save you from having to see the crowning pictures. It wasn't even close to being orgasmic (thanks Ina May Gaskin for that shred of hope), but it was painfully wonderful. I would do it all over again to meet my daughter in such a peaceful way, surrounded by the love of her family.

Oliver came to meet his little sister at the hospital the next day. You can see how thrilled he is to finally meet her. We were released from the hospital later that afternoon (thanks to our groovy postpartum nurse) and have been enjoying our quiet time at home together as a family.





This morning we had a placenta burial in the garden. My mother/baby blessing gift was an apricot tree to plant over Pearl's placenta. I'm sure next year we will have the best tasting fruit in town.



So, that's it, the perfect birth of our daughter.

Oliver and Mommy's Day at the Beach

Ninety degree weather and women in the seventh month of pregnancy do not mix. I feel like a sloth in this weather, moving slowly from one resting place to another. Glenn had to work today, so Oliver and I decided to have a Mommy/Son day at the beach. I considered packing my book in the beach bag, but quickly remembered these one on one days are numbered. I made it my mission to focus only on Oliver today as he will be sharing virtually every "Mommy" moment with another starting sometime in the next ten weeks. We packed up the car and said "later" to all the animals and headed to cooler weather.

As usual, Oliver had me laughing all day. His ability to make friends with strangers amazes me. Oliver is a bit more scared to approach kids because they often do not share his willingness to be fast friends. Oliver slowly built up the courage to show these girls his boat. You can see his smug expression as he proudly walked back to our towel. I think the girls liked his boat.


Walking the pier with Oliver also cracked me (and everyone walking by) up. Oliver's legs were shaking and he said "scary step" each time he walked over a crack in the boards. He was convinced (like many kids) that he would fall in. Somehow we made it back to the beach without slipping through the cracks.

Although I can't wait to meet my new baby, I am trying to appreciate this short time in my life while my son is still my one and only.

The Beneficial Bee Sanctuary?

I was doing dishes and thinking the other day about bees. Word has gotten out around town that Glenn is a beekeeper and we have received several calls over the past two years from people needing help with bee swarm and hive removals. The calls are generally from people who love bees and wouldn’t consider exterminating them, but who cannot afford to spend two hundred dollars for live removal. Unfortunately, bee boxes are expensive and Glenn has been unable to help remove bees in many cases because he has nowhere to put them.

For Christmas, Glenn’s parents bought him two new bee boxes. Glenn used one box to capture a swarm from one of our hives and the other was sitting empty waiting for a bee call. Our neighbors up the street are renovating an old school house for a wedding venue and needed to find a new home for the bees that have made their home in the school house for the past six years. Glenn was intrigued by the challenge and agreed to help move the bees out of the school house.

Later that same week, we got a call from the county. Bees had made their home in a gas well head on a county work site and had to be removed. I initially said we would be unable to help, as we were out of bee homes. When the county found out it would be cheaper to purchase a bee box for us than paying an exterminator, they called back with an offer.

The county transaction led to my deep bee thinking. What about starting a bee sanctuary? We could offer to remove bees and move them onto our property if we could get a donation for a bee box ($60). Bee lovers could “sponsor” a hive that would have otherwise been exterminated. They would receive a picture of their hive with an annual update or something. Glenn and I would donate our time doing something we love: helping honey bees. Hmmm, now how can I set up a nonprofit in my spare time?

The calls made for a stimulating and sticky week of bee removals. Glenn and Oliver removed the bees from the county site first. As soon as I could leave work, I met them at the site to take my honey covered three-year-old home. Oliver had a great time helping his dad. When he wasn’t being chased by angry bees, he was watching hawks and finding snakes.




We scheduled the school house removal on a weekend so I could be "the assistant to the beekeeper." Grammy and Pop came along to help keep Oliver busy and take photographs. My mom gets the photo credits for (most of) these pictures.


The Assistants


Hive Removal

Smoking the Hive

Removing Comb

Brushing Bees

The Final Touches

Oliver's Favorite Part: The Honey!

Oliver is our preschool bee ambassador. On his share day he brought in a section of comb collected from the county site. The children were fascinated, but mostly wanted to smell the honey. Oliver did a good job trying to describe the process to his classmates.

After the hive removals, several bees were left stuck to honey covered hives in buckets on the porch. Oliver and I set up a M*A*S*H unit to revive the survivors. Grammy came to help with the bee saving efforts and we were able to get around 100 bees total back in the air next to their new hive. Each bee was carefully lifted out of the honey, dunked in water and dried. The bees seemed angry, but I'm sure they were thankful inside.


Can you guess how many stings we endured over the week of removals and revivals? ZERO!

Three Goats, Three Alpacas, Two Swarms, One Livestock Guardian Dog, and a Fetus

I have several farm updates! I planned on blogging last week, but I got sick with a gallbladder issue and spent the last part of the week throwing up, going to the ED, and eating a liquid diet. (By the way, I promised myself I would not mention poop or vomit anymore in my posts, but here I go again, sorry). So, the good news is that I have lost a few pounds over the past few days. I was starting to get a little big around the middle. So here are the things that have happened around here over the past two weeks.

1. SWARM CAPTURE

Glenn was working in my parents' greenhouse last week, when he heard a swarm of bees fly into one of their oak trees. Glenn excitedly called me, so I rushed home from work to help him capture the swarm that landed 15-20 feet off the ground. I didn’t do much but take pictures and curse when the swarm landed on my head under the tree, but I can’t miss an opportunity to watch a swarm removal. Glenn went up the ladder countless times to collect all of the bees. The bees are satisfied with their new home and now live in our front yard.


2. ALPACA, DOG, GOAT

The three alpacas, dog and goat have all managed to work out their differences and seem to live in peace with each other. Our goat, Leche, thinks she is an alpaca, and has been seen grazing, sleeping and frolicking with the alpacas. When Lotta gets a little too rough for her, she runs to the alpacas for defense and they actually seem to take care of her. You can see Leche in the shelter eating with the alpacas, while Lotta is forced to stay outside.

Occasionally, Lotta will do something silly, like wake Mic up from a nap. Below Mic is giving Lotta a good warning spit in the face.


3. BABY BB

We decided to have an ultrasound this time around for some peace of mind (mine, mostly), but we did not find out the sex of the baby. Both grandmas came to the appointment as we were lucky enough to schedule it when Glenn’s parents were in town visiting. Here is a peek at her profile. Glenn is already claiming she looks like him. He’s probably right, Oliver was born looking like a miniature version of him (and that’s a good thing; Glenn is pretty cute).

4. NEW GOATS

Glenn brought home the new babies! We have been working with them, trying to get them on the bottle, but the male in particular seems to like eating alfalfa instead. Here are both Grandmas, each holding a new baby goat. In the second picture we are attempting to lure them back to the house with an alfalfa “carrot.”



5. WILDFLOWER BIKE RIDE

The annual Wildflower bike ride rode through again this year. As usual we woke up early to cheer on the bicyclists. Our alpacas and goats were quite a hit. Oliver served as the alpaca guide, taking photographs with the bicyclists and alpacas, and correcting people when they called Remmy or Mic a llama.

6. BACKYARD SWARM

Yesterday I heard a loud buzzing sound in the back under the oak trees. It turned out to be a swarm in action. I have only seen swarms once they have settled onto a tree, so this was a real treat for me. The air was thick with bees. It was beautiful! Just look at how many bees were in the air at the time of the swarm.

Happiness Is....Throwing Up a Banana?

I have a good excuse for not coming up with any amusing blog posts for the past month-I’ve been puking. I spend most of my waking hours worrying about when I'm going to vomit, dry heaving, or being thankful that I am not vomiting. It leaves little time for me to come up with something “cute” about chickens or snakes.

This morning I had a breakthrough. I ate a banana before my morning shower (knowing in advance I would be spewing shortly after getting out of the shower). This was my first banana morning. I had tried nuts, fruit bars, cereal and bread. Well, the banana came up like a dream-smooth and somewhat delicious. I actually smiled and said, "Not bad!" when it was over. Who knew that puking up a banana would be the highlight of my day?

I should start feeling better in three short weeks. Until then, please excuse my absence (or presence with a lack of creativity).

Sincerely, Jessica

PS-This is just my weird way of saying I'm pregnant.