Introducing Micah Dillon Schwind

 This is Rebekah's own words and pictures of her labor and delivery of Micah Dillon Schwind:

Many things were planned for this week, but having a baby was not one of them! Nevertheless, baby Micah Dillon Schwind decided to show up 2 weeks early on 4/24/24 at 7:15 am. He’s a healthy little guy, weighing in at 6 lbs 12 oz and 20 ½” long.

I can honestly say his birth was a wonderful experience. I absolutely loved it and, while I feel like I say this everytime, I think this was my favorite birth so far!

It all began with prodromal labor Tuesday night that kept me up all night. By morning the contractions slowed way down, so I tried to have as normal of a day as possible. We went grocery shopping, did school, and cleaned the house. By dinner time, the contractions picked back up with a little more intensity. Around 8:00, we made the decision to have Jordan and Walter spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa’s as I was fairly certain this was for real and I didn’t want to have to wake them up in the middle of the night. The plan was for the girls to stay for the birth.

Before leaving I gave them both a hug and got a little teary when I realized this would probably be the last time I see Walter as the baby of the family.

I was able to sleep a little early in the night, but by 12 I got out of bed and labored in the living room. The house was so quiet and I enjoyed the freedom of managing the contractions in whatever way felt best. I enjoyed the peace and solitude until about 3:00 am when I started to feel a little lonely and ready for some support. I woke Brian up and gave Malory, my midwife a call.

Malory and Autumn arrived and got busy setting up the tub and supplies. It didn’t bother me one bit that they were there. I still felt like I could change position and do what my body wanted which is something I’ve never felt comfortable enough to do with my other labors. It was wonderful. I think I changed position or tried something different with every contraction! I was on the ball, the couch, all fours, standing, having Brian rub my back, my shoulders, holding his hand, hugging him, leaning over the counter, rocking, swaying, breathing, and whatever else felt right at the time. Most of the night I felt cold and shivered hard because of the hormones. I couldn’t wait to get in the tub and warm up, but it was taking some time to fill and get the water temperature up.

Blair woke up when Malory and Autumn got here. She settled on the couch and slept on and off the rest of the night. She said several times how excited she was! Riley stayed asleep in her bed until closer to morning. Blair was very concerned about her missing the birth, but I reassured her that we would wake her up when it was time. When Riley did wake up, came out of her room, and saw the living room turned into a birth center she looked very confused. I told them both they could help themselves to breakfast, but they were too excited to eat. Neither of them seemed phased by the way I was working through contractions and gave me little words of encouragement along the way. They were perfect little doulas!

Around 6:00 am the sun began to rise and I sat/kneeled on the couch under the big living room window. The view of the sunrise and dewy fields behind our house was spectacular. I focused on the sound of the birds chirping and praised God in my heart for such a sweet moment. I actually dozed off for a few minutes in between contractions with that scene before me. It was the rest and boost I needed at the exact right time.

Shortly before 7:00 the tub was finally warm enough to get in. It felt heavenly!

I felt like I could fully embrace each contraction and realized I was holding back before. It worked miracles, because about 10 - 15 minutes after getting in, I was ready to start pushing. I could feel everything in my back and am sure he was facing the wrong way. I could literally feel where he was in my pelvis and after several strong pushes didn’t feel like he was making any progress. Riley and Blair held one of my hands and Brian held the other. They were the perfect birth team! I could hear them whisper things like, “You can do this!” “You’re doing great!”.

I felt my water break and realized I was going to have to push harder to get him to go past where he was currently. It was definitely the hardest I’ve had to push with any of the kids, but it worked! There was a moment when I could feel him move down and in another push he came completely out at 7:15. I caught him in the water and brought him up out of the water.

I was so thankful to have Malory there as he was not breathing as strongly as he should. It wasn’t an emergency situation, but also not something to ignore. She had me get out of the tub to sit on the couch under the living room window. Once again, I marveled at the view and enjoyed my first snuggles with baby Micah. His breathing was improving by the minute and he was pinking up nicely.

The girls were immediately enamored and kept asking when they would get to hold him. Riley got to cut the cord, something I think she’ll remember for a long time.

It was probably an hour later and Malory set him on the couch next to me to take his measurements and cut the cord. He was 6 lbs 12 oz and 20 ½” long.

She gave him back to me and he nursed for the first time. He had a good strong latch, something I’ll always be thankful for after Jordan.

After that, Brian took Micah to hold skin to skin while I went to the bathroom and got settled on the bed in our room. It felt great to be in my own bed! Malory and Autumn cleaned everything up and were ready to leave by 9:00! I loved having them there, but I was so thankful they didn’t linger long and I was able to rest at home.

Dan and Donna brought Jordan and Walter back around 11:00. Walter just stood in the door and stared. I could just see his little mind trying to work out what was going on. He climbed in bed with me, but didn’t want to touch the new baby. At one point he sat up, pointed at my belly, and said, “baby brother kick me”. I tried to tell him that baby brother wasn’t in mom’s tummy anymore.

Overall, the whole birth experience was amazing! I loved being at home and would do it again in a heartbeat. It all felt so right. Brian enjoyed being at home as well, which is funny because he would have been adamantly against it with our first three. God is so good and I am so filled with joy.

I’m so thankful for Malory @yournestmidwifery! She was absolutely amazing!

We are so thrilled for Rebekah and Brian's family and of course we rejoice with Ruth and Fedi at the safe birth of their 6th, grandchild. 

Our day started early. Ruth could not walk as she had the 4 older children of Rebekah and Brian so Rebekah could get some rest after her labor and delivery yesterday. Diane and I walked and Mark joined us for a short time. Breakfast was after the walk and today Mark wanted a hamburger instead of sausage or bacon. Yesterday a 2 pound package was put in the fridge to defrost. 4 patties were made and Mark was given one along with an avocado, strawberries, eggs and toast. 

After breakfast the rest of the hamburger was browned then drained of fat and seasoned with taco season and set to simmer for a half an hour. That was then turned off to cool.

I left then for the new barn as I wanted to put the chairs back where they belonged from the weekend. I also found we are missing a couple folding chairs. Who knows when those disappeared. We still have 170 of them so I'm not worried. Mark got the hardware yesterday to repair the folding closet door at the apartment so we worked on that next.

We had finished replacing the broken parts and were just getting ready to put the door in when the man delivering the lithium battery for the golf cart called. He was in Farmington headed our way but was driving a semi so Mark left taking the truck to meet him at the water tower. When he got back we unloaded the truck and put all of the boxes on the back of the golf cart to start organizing the installation. 

Above he is opening the box with the lithium battery and below is the charger that will be installed on the inside of the car. 

Below is the cart with all the old batteries taken out. Mark even removed the old charging port as the new port just plugs in to any wall outlet.

Below is the plug that goes in the exact place the old charging port was removed.

I left then to start teasing mares. Rosalie is still in season and was covered by Evan. She stood well. Next the other Rosaleigh was teased she is still saying no. Missy was teased just to see if she would show but she also said no. Tatiana was teased next. She at first struck out at Valiant with her front legs but then winked so I thought she may be coming in. She was taken to the breeding stand and tied. Valiant wasn't so sure she was in and he was more right then I was. He was tentative coming up, was careful to stand back but she seemed to be standing ok then when he mounted she started kicking, he was determined to stay on, I'm pulling as hard as I can to get him off while Tatiana is still kicking and screaming at him. After a huge fight I was able to get him off and away without him getting kicked. You really do need to know how to handle stallions if doing this job. They are so strong and their minds don't work well when they are trying to do their job. The last mare teased was Lily and she stood very well for Valiant and he knew immediately she was in and ready. 5 were teased, 2 covered and one may or may not be coming in. 

Supper tonight was taco salad.

Skylines

 We got word that baby boy Schwind was born at 7:15 am. Mom and baby along with his 4 siblings are all doing well. I'll post pictures after the family officially announces it. Ruth, Diane and I walked. Right after the walk breakfast was cooked and today Mark decided an omelet would taste good. Since we have lots of veggies and plenty of eggs that was a good choice. 

Right after breakfast I went to work cleaning the campers from the weekend. The motorhome was done first. The tanks were emptied and the inside cleaned then it was moved into the barn.

The other camper was left where it was but the tanks emptied and the inside cleaned. We will leave it plugged in and can show it here. Next came the teasing of the mares. Irish is now out of season. Tatiana is also not in season. Rosalie still is in season but did not need to be covered. Lily came in season today and was covered by Valiant. I guess there will be no Lily x Evan foal. From there I went to mom's house. Below Mom is showing off the lap pad Jamie gave her.

While talking about that Aunt Jinnie brought out the quilt. This started with Aunt Sandra. She had the squares and put them all together. Aunt Jinnie and all the quilting ladies from church finished it.

Aunt Jinnie is going to get it back to Aunt Sandra now that it is finished. Aunt Jinnie also finished her needle point yesterday.

The day was sunny but cool and we thought it would be the perfect day to go down to Skylines to visit Aunt Bernie. We stopped first at Sam's club as that is on the way and thought maybe we would eat lunch there. After looking at the menu we decided nope we would go somewhere else. We were waiting for Diane when a man came up and asked if we were Meisters. This is Ron Kaufman and he knew dad, Uncle Ed, knows Skip and believe it or not is from Cisna Park. (We AC's say that is where the ark landed as so many of them settled there then when the kids grew up they moved to towns along route 24)

He mentioned that there was a Meister grandson who was really preaching the Gospel at the Peoria church. We told him that David spoke Sunday afternoon so he is going to look that up on AC Central and listen to that. Next we met Ramon.

While mom and Aunt Jinnie were visiting with him Pat Gomes saw me and of course we had to talk horses. She would like to breed her mare Whisper to Evan again. This would be the 3rd time. We finally got out of Sam's and stopped at Culvers for a late lunch. By this time it was almost 1:00 pm.

After a good lunch we finally left for Skylines and made it down there about 2:00 pm. Aunt Bernie was so glad to see us. It was a very emotional reunion for mom. These sisters in law were neighbors for years. 

By the way left to right Aunt Jinnie is 95, mom is 92 and Aunt Bernie is 95. After a nice visit there we went up to visit mom's other friend Evie who just happens to be 99. Diane is good friends with her daughter Ruth so I took the picture to send to Ruth. Evie was also glad for the visit.

As we exited Evie's room there was Rebecca with the ice cream cart. She gave us each a cone.

What a great treat. She told she brings it around each Wednesday afternoon. We may need to come back in a week.

On the way home we stopped at Sarah's house to see the puppies. They are Cavapoos and are 5 weeks old. Aunt Jinnie said she was very glad they were all spoken for or she would be taking one home with her.

We finally made it home just in time to make dinner. Tonight was a sweet potato, mushrooms, steamed broccoli and a cup of chili.

Right after supper it was time to get ready for church. Tim Roecker had the message tonight. To listen to that click HERE. Mark and I did not go with the group out to Culvers. They were going to celebrate Sarah's birthday and had a nice group going but we already had supper tonight. Today was another good day and I'm thankful. 

Rachel just posted AN EXCITING ANNOUNCMENT. 

Mark your calendars and invite your friends, neighbors, & church! Feel free to share this post! We would love to pack the gym at the Horsemeister, Inc. farm and fill it with the sound of voices raised worshiping Jesus! 

Philippians 2:10: "At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth"

Berean Day

It was raining today so no walk but that's okay, today is Berean Day. Each Tuesday we look forward to volunteering with the other volunteers that show up at the Berean office. When I arrived to pick up mom and Aunt Jinnie they were still eating their breakfast and in no hurry to leave.

I don't blame them. Karin had prepared a wonderful breakfast for them.

Karin has been busy drawing the cover for a book that Jackie is writing.

At the Berean office we went right to work.

We really do love to serve together and today was even better. We had 32 Bible requests.

We arrived home at 11:30 am which gave Mark and I time to get a little work done before leaving for Grandparent's day at Goodfield Elementary. 

The kids had a nice program for us grandparents and started that by singing to us.

After the singing Abe took us to the treat table and we had a just baked chocolate chunk cookie and lemonade.

Then he showed us his room and desk.

Then came the fun pictures.

When we got home we finished the ping pong table by hauling up another 8 foot table then putting the table top on top of the two tables.

Mike came over to help get Rosalie covered by Evan. She was showing well but again when he goes to mount she squeals and bucks up but no kicking out. It really does take 2 people with her. One to remind her to stand still and the other to handle the stallion. This evening Rhonda sent a beautiful picture of the full moon coming over the dam and reflecting on the lake.

Joan sent her picture of the moon over the palm trees in Gulf Shores.

Then Ruth sent her picture of the moon at her field.

She also shared that Rebekah is in labor and planning a home birth so we are all praying the birth goes well.

Rachel and Dave are camping in Maquoketa State Park and sent first the campfire picture with the moon barely showing through the huge pine trees.

Then sent the picture below as the moon got a little higher.

Of course Dan had to use his special high definition phone camera and took this amazing close-up of the moon.