Ahhhh. There is nothing like sitting in our new beautiful sunroom or I mean living room with all the windows open on a cool summer morning drinking my coffee. I love summer and the heat but I do like when it cools off at night and is a little cooler in the morning. Our summer has been pretty good so far. We are staying busy, having fun and creating lots of memories. On top of that we are dealing with a very strong willed almost 2 year old who wants to be independent yet needs her mama 90% of the time or look out. I am 23 weeks pregnant and doing well but still dealing with being tired most of the time, hormonal outbursts/meltdowns whatever ya want to call them, and trying to find a healthy balance of me time, me and Petey time, and family time. With all that there isn’t too much time to blog, which I miss.
Blogging is good for me. It helps me process, deal, and heal. So I have missed it. I want to make time to write. It helps feed the creative side of me that only gets fed here and there these days due to lack of time, energy and concentration. Anyway.
Im just thinking about this past week and how it was really really challenging. Noni had a fever off and on in the beginning of the week and then we both started with a cold. Stuffy nose, soar throat and deep raspy coughing. And as we all know sick kids are NO fun. They are not themselves, they are whiney, cranky, extra sensitive, extra picky, extra tired but usually can’t sleep, and well just over all very hard to deal with. There is only so much you can do to help them and then you have to just let it pass, wait it out and be grumpy with them. Sigh. (well u don’t have to be but that’s usually what happens for me) So that was our week. Challenging, tiring, and pretty cranky. But with Gods help we are finding joy in the midst of our weekend. (still sick but getting better) We are resting and playing and finding peace in HIM. God is so good and comforts me every day. He is why I can do this mama job. He is the only way I get through these crazy hectic days with any sanity or peace.
Im challenging myself this week to stay close to Him. To not let the distractions and many frustrations get me down and loose focus of the bigger picture of L-I-F-E!! I challenge you to do the same!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
~Why I chose Homebirth~
It all started back in 2008. I started getting the baby bug. We had been married for 3 years which was right around the mark we had said we would wait til. I was ready before Peter mainly because he was thinking about the financial side of it. We had just gotten back from a School of Ministry and were living in a camper at the time. We were trying to figure out what God wanted us to do next. Settle down and start a family or head out to another country to do mission work. While we both worked full time job and pursued Gods will on the matter I was talking to every friend, cousin, or sister in law of mine who had little ones. I was curious about pregnancy and what it was like and the birth, nursing etc. I heard lots of different stories. Some who birthed in the hospital and had all c-sections, some birthed naturally in the hospital, some naturally with midwife in the hospital or birth center and then some who had a homebirth.
{A little side note, my aunt had a homebirth with her 5th child about 9 years ago and I thougt it was so wierd}
Long story short God wanted us to settle down and start a family. We had gone through some ups and downs in 2008, some medical stuff, but then we bought a house and a couple weeks later I found out I was preggo. Yay. It took about 5 months. We were soooo excited. But I had to figure out what kind of birth I wanted to have. At this point after hearing all sorts of birth stories I knew I wanted a mostly to all natural birth. (Meaning no interventions unless needed and certainly no shot in my spine.) I knew I wanted to use a midwife. I liked the idea of one woman with me the whole way through. What I couldn't decide was if I wanted to birth at a hospital, birth center, or at home. At home still sounded too risky to me. In searching for midwives I really didn't find too many in the area but I narrowed it down to two. I decided to make a consultation with both and then go from there.
Well the first one we went to was Rising Moon Midwifery. She only did homebirths or you could come to her office if you wanted to. Well I had in my head "good we can go to her." Peter and I went with our questions and talked with her for about 45 min about how she operates, what to expect, her statistics and opinion, etc. We didn't have any issues what so ever with anything she had to say, she made us feel very comfortable about birth and laboring at home. She was everything we wanted. EVERYTHING! On the way home Peter said, "Lets have our baby at home; Its no different then being at her office." SO we decided that day to have a homebirth, with Rising Moon and we cancelled our other consultaion. (So glad I did b/c they stopped practicing mid way thru my pregnancy. i would have had to find a new midwife.)
We were super excited but I immediatly thought what is my family going to say. We already are the wierdos of the family and now we're going to have a baby at home. So we had to explain to people why this was the right choice for us. Which brings me to Why I chose homebirth.
I wanted to EXPERIENCE birth. I wanted to feel it, every bit of it, especially that baby coming out. I wanted to see it happen and remember it. I wanted to have the reward of pulling that baby up from between my legs and be the first one to look in to its little eyes. I wanted to be able to say I did it. I gave birth. I pushed my baby out. I wanted to have somebody with me who would listen to me, respect my wishes, consult me before doing things and who had the same goal as me. Getting the baby out as naturally as possible with NO interventions unless absolutly needed. Throughout my pregnancy I learned a lot about the different interventions and I learned that although in some cases they are helpful they usually end up doing more harm than good. I began to get a new perspective of birth and realize that it is a natural process that our bodies were made to do. It was going to be painful but its for a good reason. I knew why it was happening, where a pain from a stomach ache is not supposed to be happening. (did I explain that well?) It was going to be a good pain that I wanted to experience. I also learned about how so many different things can effect labor and prevent progression. Being at home would be the most comfortable environment for me to be able to labor the way I need to labor and move around and eat and just do my thing. Not having to be in the hospital setting with IVs and monitors attached to me was very appealing to me. And I wanted as little people there as possible. Me, Peter, my midwife and her 2 assistants were the only ones there. It ended up being perfect. Perfect for me anyways! Homebirth was the perfect way to bring my baby Nonah into the world and now baby #2 will come that way as well.
Check out Noni's birthstory here.
Check out this documentary on birth in America vs. other countries and how it has evolved into such a medical event. It share perspectives from both midwives and OBGYNs and moms who have had either both a hospital and homebirth experience or just a homebirth. Its really eye opening.
{A little side note, my aunt had a homebirth with her 5th child about 9 years ago and I thougt it was so wierd}
Long story short God wanted us to settle down and start a family. We had gone through some ups and downs in 2008, some medical stuff, but then we bought a house and a couple weeks later I found out I was preggo. Yay. It took about 5 months. We were soooo excited. But I had to figure out what kind of birth I wanted to have. At this point after hearing all sorts of birth stories I knew I wanted a mostly to all natural birth. (Meaning no interventions unless needed and certainly no shot in my spine.) I knew I wanted to use a midwife. I liked the idea of one woman with me the whole way through. What I couldn't decide was if I wanted to birth at a hospital, birth center, or at home. At home still sounded too risky to me. In searching for midwives I really didn't find too many in the area but I narrowed it down to two. I decided to make a consultation with both and then go from there.
Well the first one we went to was Rising Moon Midwifery. She only did homebirths or you could come to her office if you wanted to. Well I had in my head "good we can go to her." Peter and I went with our questions and talked with her for about 45 min about how she operates, what to expect, her statistics and opinion, etc. We didn't have any issues what so ever with anything she had to say, she made us feel very comfortable about birth and laboring at home. She was everything we wanted. EVERYTHING! On the way home Peter said, "Lets have our baby at home; Its no different then being at her office." SO we decided that day to have a homebirth, with Rising Moon and we cancelled our other consultaion. (So glad I did b/c they stopped practicing mid way thru my pregnancy. i would have had to find a new midwife.)
We were super excited but I immediatly thought what is my family going to say. We already are the wierdos of the family and now we're going to have a baby at home. So we had to explain to people why this was the right choice for us. Which brings me to Why I chose homebirth.
I wanted to EXPERIENCE birth. I wanted to feel it, every bit of it, especially that baby coming out. I wanted to see it happen and remember it. I wanted to have the reward of pulling that baby up from between my legs and be the first one to look in to its little eyes. I wanted to be able to say I did it. I gave birth. I pushed my baby out. I wanted to have somebody with me who would listen to me, respect my wishes, consult me before doing things and who had the same goal as me. Getting the baby out as naturally as possible with NO interventions unless absolutly needed. Throughout my pregnancy I learned a lot about the different interventions and I learned that although in some cases they are helpful they usually end up doing more harm than good. I began to get a new perspective of birth and realize that it is a natural process that our bodies were made to do. It was going to be painful but its for a good reason. I knew why it was happening, where a pain from a stomach ache is not supposed to be happening. (did I explain that well?) It was going to be a good pain that I wanted to experience. I also learned about how so many different things can effect labor and prevent progression. Being at home would be the most comfortable environment for me to be able to labor the way I need to labor and move around and eat and just do my thing. Not having to be in the hospital setting with IVs and monitors attached to me was very appealing to me. And I wanted as little people there as possible. Me, Peter, my midwife and her 2 assistants were the only ones there. It ended up being perfect. Perfect for me anyways! Homebirth was the perfect way to bring my baby Nonah into the world and now baby #2 will come that way as well.
Check out Noni's birthstory here.
Check out this documentary on birth in America vs. other countries and how it has evolved into such a medical event. It share perspectives from both midwives and OBGYNs and moms who have had either both a hospital and homebirth experience or just a homebirth. Its really eye opening.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Mamas hobby~
I love gardening! Picking out my own plants and flowers to grow and then watch them grow, bloom, and produce fruit is so fun! I used to hate having to help my mom in the garden when I was younger but now that I have my own I love it. So fun!!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Still Adjusting
Petey and I are still adjusting to parenthood. We are trying to figure out how to stay close and connected in the admidst of everyday life with a toddler. Noni is almost two and we still are not fully adjusted. I guess thats normal. Does anyone ever fully adjust? I don't know. Or maybe we are always adjusting to the different stages of life.
See before our sweet Noni came along Peter and I both worked but we had every single night together. We usually didn't do things apart from eachother. Atleast not too often. We also did not have cable or internet. SOOO... we would just hang out together. Watch movies, play games, go for walks, cook really yummy meals together, take showers together(I dont even remember the last time that happened), massages, ya know. Sorry is this too much detail. You get the idea. We did everything together. On weekends we usually went out to eat atleast once and had some sort of a date. Now we can't afford to go out once a week and a date? Whats that? Im just now getting to the point where I feel comfortable leaving Noni with a sitter but not for real long.
Now once we do have time together its late after Noni goes to bed and we are both exhausted and ready for bed. Or we dont know what to do. It feels like we have nothing in common any more. Peter doesn't like playing games, walks on our street are kind of boring, shopping with him is like torcher any more and we can't do much else with Noni. I am a people person and Peter is a home-body so thats an issue right there. I don't like being at home for long periods of time and he works everyday so when he can, he wants to be at home. ~sigh~
I just don't know what to do anymore. We have discussed the issue numerous times and haven't come to a solution. I try not to always compare present life to what it used to be because lets face it it will never be the same again. We need to adjust. I just dont know how. So here I am venting to you mamas hoping to find if not some advice maybe just simply some understanding. Thanks for reading!!
See before our sweet Noni came along Peter and I both worked but we had every single night together. We usually didn't do things apart from eachother. Atleast not too often. We also did not have cable or internet. SOOO... we would just hang out together. Watch movies, play games, go for walks, cook really yummy meals together, take showers together(I dont even remember the last time that happened), massages, ya know. Sorry is this too much detail. You get the idea. We did everything together. On weekends we usually went out to eat atleast once and had some sort of a date. Now we can't afford to go out once a week and a date? Whats that? Im just now getting to the point where I feel comfortable leaving Noni with a sitter but not for real long.
Now once we do have time together its late after Noni goes to bed and we are both exhausted and ready for bed. Or we dont know what to do. It feels like we have nothing in common any more. Peter doesn't like playing games, walks on our street are kind of boring, shopping with him is like torcher any more and we can't do much else with Noni. I am a people person and Peter is a home-body so thats an issue right there. I don't like being at home for long periods of time and he works everyday so when he can, he wants to be at home. ~sigh~
I just don't know what to do anymore. We have discussed the issue numerous times and haven't come to a solution. I try not to always compare present life to what it used to be because lets face it it will never be the same again. We need to adjust. I just dont know how. So here I am venting to you mamas hoping to find if not some advice maybe just simply some understanding. Thanks for reading!!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Co-Sleeping
I just read this blog about sleep and what has worked for this time. Part time co-sleepers. I think that is what I will be doing with our next baby.
I have co-slept with my Noni girl since day one. She was the kind of baby that did not sleep if she wasn't either being touched by mommy or swinging. Co-sleeping seemed to be the best solution. The easy access to my boob in order to put her back to sleep within seconds was really great at first. I got a good amount of sleep and woke up well rested. Then there was a gradual progression where Noni seemed to sleep less and less and nurse more and more. It felt like she was attached to me all night. All I wanted to do is lay on my back and I couldn't or I would disturb Nonah. I felt stuck. I wanted to do what was best for Noni but I also had to take care of myself. I put up with the lack of sleep for quite a while because I just didn't know what else to do without making her cry it out.
Then a friend passed along a step by step process to night weaning. (so helpful, thanks HB)
And so it began. My husband slept in another room while I began to not offer her the boob and just do other things to comfort her back to sleep. (water bottle, singing, cuddling, rubbing her back or belly, or just being there) The first night she cried for about 30 min til she fell back asleep, then 20, then 10. It was hard to hear her cry but I was at a place where I was just sooo ready. Being pregnant with my second I have gotten more sensitive to touch and just couldn't take it anymore. We did it for a week or so then went on vacation and took a break. Then started back again and have been done nursing at night for about a month now. She eventually stopped asking for it and just simply wanted me there. She would ask for her water often but then would just roll over.
Oh I forgot to say that she got her own twin size bed in her own room a while ago. She has been napping in it for a while now. I decided to see how she would do in her own bed without me there. I slept on the floor two nights in a row and she only woke once or twice. I wanted to be there to be able to hear her if she woke and be able to calm her quickly. She didn't even need me to touch her or anything. She let out a little cry and rolled over. SO. I decided to try it. I went and slept in my own bed while she slept in her own bed. She woke twice but again didn't need me to get back to sleep. She slept 8 hours in her bed without me!! It has been a week now and she is doing GREAT! Last night she literally slept 8 hours straight through. If she cried I didn't hear her. I of course didn't sleep 8 hrs straight through but thats ok. I am so proud of her!
Phew. all that being said, my husband wants to do things a little differently with the next babe. Which I wasn't sure about at first but I think he would be ok with part time co-sleeping. Sleep is an interesting topic when it comes to babies and I am so glad we have been gentle with Nonah and teaching her that sleep is a good and safe thing and that mommy and daddy are there for her any time of the day. That is very important to me!! Who knows maybe the next babe will be a great sleeper and not want to sleep with me, we will see!
this is one way we used to get her to go to sleep. She loved being bounced up and down. so funny!!
I have co-slept with my Noni girl since day one. She was the kind of baby that did not sleep if she wasn't either being touched by mommy or swinging. Co-sleeping seemed to be the best solution. The easy access to my boob in order to put her back to sleep within seconds was really great at first. I got a good amount of sleep and woke up well rested. Then there was a gradual progression where Noni seemed to sleep less and less and nurse more and more. It felt like she was attached to me all night. All I wanted to do is lay on my back and I couldn't or I would disturb Nonah. I felt stuck. I wanted to do what was best for Noni but I also had to take care of myself. I put up with the lack of sleep for quite a while because I just didn't know what else to do without making her cry it out.
Then a friend passed along a step by step process to night weaning. (so helpful, thanks HB)
And so it began. My husband slept in another room while I began to not offer her the boob and just do other things to comfort her back to sleep. (water bottle, singing, cuddling, rubbing her back or belly, or just being there) The first night she cried for about 30 min til she fell back asleep, then 20, then 10. It was hard to hear her cry but I was at a place where I was just sooo ready. Being pregnant with my second I have gotten more sensitive to touch and just couldn't take it anymore. We did it for a week or so then went on vacation and took a break. Then started back again and have been done nursing at night for about a month now. She eventually stopped asking for it and just simply wanted me there. She would ask for her water often but then would just roll over.
Oh I forgot to say that she got her own twin size bed in her own room a while ago. She has been napping in it for a while now. I decided to see how she would do in her own bed without me there. I slept on the floor two nights in a row and she only woke once or twice. I wanted to be there to be able to hear her if she woke and be able to calm her quickly. She didn't even need me to touch her or anything. She let out a little cry and rolled over. SO. I decided to try it. I went and slept in my own bed while she slept in her own bed. She woke twice but again didn't need me to get back to sleep. She slept 8 hours in her bed without me!! It has been a week now and she is doing GREAT! Last night she literally slept 8 hours straight through. If she cried I didn't hear her. I of course didn't sleep 8 hrs straight through but thats ok. I am so proud of her!
Phew. all that being said, my husband wants to do things a little differently with the next babe. Which I wasn't sure about at first but I think he would be ok with part time co-sleeping. Sleep is an interesting topic when it comes to babies and I am so glad we have been gentle with Nonah and teaching her that sleep is a good and safe thing and that mommy and daddy are there for her any time of the day. That is very important to me!! Who knows maybe the next babe will be a great sleeper and not want to sleep with me, we will see!
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