Summer 2016 Recap

I have to say, this summer was wonderful, although I totally slacked on blogging all of our adventures. I will attempt to recap some of the fun things we did for memory's sake!

March and April we mostly hunkered down at home as Maureya learned to sleep through the night and I overcame that tiredness that comes from having a newborn (and a 2 year old). Postpartum was so much better with Maureya though. I think part of it was knowing what to expect. In some ways I think I actually enjoyed the newborn stage more with her than Ansel. They were both pretty mellow as far as sleeping, but she didn't take near as long to breastfeed and did have as bad of fussy times in the evenings. During the days, I napped when they did in the afternoons and did some walks with friends in the mornings. A friend introduced me to LuLaRoe and I quickly became an addict, shopping online parties and trying all the styles.

As May came around, we planned for Ansel's "Turning Two is  Ball" birthday party. I'll have to do a whole post on that sometime. We had lots of wonderful friends and family over to celebrate. We went to Young's and used his free ice cream coupon. Ansel still hates the goats; just completely cries and is afraid around them. Needless to say, we didn't stay at the petting zoo long. We also managed to get to Newport Aquarium before his birthday so both kids were free. Yay!! I took the kids to Wegerzyn Gardens in Dayton and Ansel really like the sand tables and water play. This month we also started on the garden with basil, peas, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, kale, tomatoes, beans, onions, and peppers. I started an online class for the Ed. S. program at Liberty. I started running again.

In June we took a vacation to the Indiana Dunes, renting a house close to the beach in Michigan City. Bethany and the kids came up to visit us and go to the small zoo in town one day. We went to the lighthouse, the beach, shopping, and hiking at the Dunes, of course. I didn't cook dinner once which was marvelous. In a freak occurrence, the power went out for half a day and the owner ended up refunding us half of our stay, which was wonderful. I bought more LuLaRoe and started talking about maybe being a consultant. The garden was growing well, I was able to pick peas, cucumbers, squash, and kale. I made strawberry chia and blueberry jam. Justin and I had our 7 year anniversary and I surprised him with Red's tickets to celebrate. My mom watched the kids while we went alone.

July was hot like June and Maureya was already down to nursing just four times a day, which was wonderful for me to free up some time. She had been sleeping through the night since about 8 weeks, a mellow and sweet baby. Her eyes had stayed blue, which still surprises me that I have two blue-eyed children! Ansel was learning letters and loving his Letter Factory DVD that we let him watch a few times a week. We visited different parks, and Ansel loved the splash pads and anything water-related. It was wonderful to have an extended time at home just to relax. The garden kept growing but my big canning- beans and tomatoes, still weren't coming on very strong. Of course it would be the busiest for canning in August, when I had to go back to work. I went ahead and signed up to be a LuLaRoe consultant and began the 6-8 week wait to onboard with the company.

August was short in the sense that I was only home two weeks before school started up. Canning was busy, with mom and dad giving me beans and tomatoes to supplement my poor crop this year. I did have a ton of cherry tomatoes, which Ansel at about a dozen a day if he could! He is so active and healthy; he loves his veggies and dipping them in ranch if I give him some. Maureya (5 months now) was developing great, smiling and laughing, and Ansel started interacting with her a lot more since she smiled back. Ansel still loves to "read" but jumping on the trampoline is a favorite also. He still takes his 2 hour nap in the afternoon when Maureya does, or at least the naps usually align at that point. Maureya takes a morning nap and short evening nap as well. Honestly, they are great kids and I always feel like they are such a blessing. I pray every day that they would trust Jesus with their life when they grow up and be best friends, among other things. I love them both so much and it is a joy to watch them grow. I am so, so, so thankful to have been able to have so much time at home with them, even if I did take a salary cut to do so. It was totally worth it.

Prayer Jar for Kids with Craft Sticks

I can't claim the credit for this super easy and cute craft. I was inspired by my friend from college, Jessica (who writes an enlightening and reflective blog, by the way). In our busy lives it can be easy to push prayer to a back burner, so why not do this craft and make it a fun activity for the whole family to be involved in? Another big incentive: you either have these supplies already or can get them at Dollar Tree for less than $5 all together.

Supplies needed: 
Craft sticks
Tacky glue
Buttons or pom-poms (or both)
Sharpie marker
Jar

Directions:
To create the prayer sticks, simply dab a bit of glue on the end of a craft stick. Then the kids can place a button or pom-pom on the glue and press down. Even my 22 month old could do it, and really enjoyed seeing the button stick to the glue when held upside down. Let them dry thoroughly, then write the prayer request on the stick with a permanent marker. Place in the jar, and then kids can draw a few sticks out and pray for the request before dinner, before bed, or during family time.

Our Birth Story: Maureya

When I say I was at the hospital for less than an hour before I had her, people might think Maureya's birth was easy. That's not how I would describe it exactly. However, I am so thankful that after much prayer and preparation, this birth story was more of what I was hoping for.

(Quick recap... Maureya is my second child. Ansel was my first. You can read his whole birth story here, but for now, let me go over the highlights. I had back labor for 24 hours from one afternoon to the next. I dealt with contractions by natural pain management methods except for a few hours of morphine to help me rest in the morning. My water broke after that and I pushed for 2 1/2 hours until I delivered Ansel.)

With Maureya, I woke up around 5:30 am with contractions about ten minutes apart. Back labor again! This time around, I had been practicing yoga positions and breathing methods to use, and was able to employ those. I hung out with a friend in the morning since we had that planned and it got my mind off of things. After lunch, I tried to take a nap and got some rest, though I was still feeling the contractions. When I got up and actually timed contractions again around dinner, they were about 5 minutes apart and getting more intense, but I just stayed active. I would pause to squat or do another position to get through. Around 6 pm I was getting rather annoyed the contractions hadn't picked up in time or intensity since it had been going on 12 hours, so I went for a walk (in the drizzling rain). Mentally I was trying to prepare myself or another long night similar to what I labored with Ansel, and emotionally I was feeling worried but trying to trust my body.

I vacillated on calling my friend to take Ansel over to her house in case we needed to go to the hospital. Finally around 8 pm or so I started needing Justin to give me counter pressure in my lower back for the back labor and went ahead and called my friend to get Ansel. They left after 9 pm, and I kept pushing back leaving for the hospital until about 10 pm, trying to labor at home as much as possible and dreading the contractions I would have in the car on the way. It is very difficult to relax or do any type of yoga position in the car!!

We got to Miami Valley at 10:30 pm and parked, and walking in was tough. It was cold but I wasn't sure if I was shaking from that or trying to get through the back labor. We checked and got to our room (#3- same exact room I had Ansel in because we asked if it was open in Family Beginnings). When the nursed checked my and said I was a 5-6 but very effaced, I tried to stay positive. I really felt like I was farther along. Justin continued to give me counter pressure- really, I only felt the contractions in my back-for a half hour or so. I was in child's pose on the floor of the bathroom when my water broke and I HAD TO PUSH. It was basically instantaneous.

The nurse wanted to check me again before I started pushing and said I was only at an 8; but I really could not resist the urge. Missy, the midwife, just said, "Listen to your body." My body was screaming at me so there was no way to ignore it! :) Hands and knees on the bed, I pushed, rather loudly, I'm sure, for a couple of contractions before they told me she was crowning already. (Woah! Ansel took over an hour to crown, then crowned for another hour!) On the next push or two, her head was out. Then, somehow I didn't have an urge to push, but she was so close. So I took a deep breath and tried to focus on pushing again and she slipped out at 11:21 pm. What a relief. There is really nothing like that moment! I had been at the hospital less than an hour.

With her cord still attached, I was able to move back and sit against the headboard and put Maureya skin-to-skin right away. After the cord stopped pulsing, Justin cut it. The placenta came easily after that and I was able to look at it. Fascinating and gross at the same time, but amazing to see the life-force that God made to sustain her those 39 weeks in the womb.

Recovery has been so much easier this time, I think because of the timing of the labor. It ended up being about 18 hours, but since it fell during the day and I pushed for maybe 20 minutes, the exhaustion wasn't as great. I didn't have a tear to the perineum (last time I had a small one but no stitches). The lochia discharge reduced very quickly and I was able to move from a Depends to a large pad the second day postpartum, and it continues to reduce. The after-pains of the uterus returning to normal size are more intense than I remember with Ansel, but compared to labor pains they are manageable. I'm on 800 mg of ibuprofen every 8 hours and that has kept other soreness in check. Maureya  slept well at home last night between her feedings  at 11, 2, and 5:30, and I slept in after that until 8 or so. I got an hour nap this afternoon and will go to bed soon, but it's nowhere near the exhaustion I felt from last time. It will be interesting to see how things continue to play out, but this birth experience was just overall so much better than last time.

I'm so thankful to my husband for being so supportive. He was just perfect, giving me everything I needed to make it through. The yoga really helped too. And of course, I know I had people praying for me throughout pregnancy and I had also prayed that God would give me the strength to make it through. He is good.

2nd Baby, 3rd Trimester Update

Oh, geez. I'm already 33 weeks. Time is definitely getting away from me, and I don't think it's just because I have a toddler too. It's just keeps ticking away... Still, I wanted to take the time to write some updates on the pregnancy for the sake of remembering it.

As far as pregnancy symptoms go, I know I am lucky. (But I still don't like being pregnant, sorry). I am tired and never really sleep through the night without getting up to use the restroom or just toss and turn. Which, by the way, turning over is getting to be quite the ordeal. Justin laughs at me, but it really is so much harder the bigger my belly gets! I don't have heartburn, or back pain, or things like that. I have been experiencing a decent amount of Braxton-Hicks contractions, without much rhyme or reason to them, which I read is pretty normal to have this early on in the second pregnancy. They been going on since early December.  (With Ansel, I had them every 5-10 minutes the last two weeks of pregnancy. Talk about annoying and uncomfortable.) I've gained about 22 pounds already, which is less that my first pregnancy, but I'm just not a hungry. I'm hoping this helps in the long run.

One of my concerns is that baby girl will be aligned correctly, since Ansel was a little off and I believe it caused a longer labor, pushing, and his eventual torticollis and plagiocephaly. Because of this, I've invested significant time and money in yoga. I go once a week with a few friends, and then do some pregnancy yoga videos at home at least one more time a week. I also have visited the chiropractor twice. On the first visit, she confirmed that my hips were a little off-perhaps one leg is longer/shorter- and that the baby was also slightly to the right side. This was just like with Ansel. When I lay on my back I can seriously tell that my belly is lopsided. The good news is that on the second chiropractor visit, she said the baby was more in line like she should be. So, I will just continue with yoga and have at least one more chiropractor visit before birth. Then I'm just trusting that God sustains me through whatever the final position is.

We are going to Family Beginnings at Miami Valley again since our experience with the nursing staff and my midwife was so good last time. Any interventions really make me anxious, and therefore a natural delivery is the route that is best for me. One thing that I'm still fretting about is that I tested positive for GBS in a urine sample at the beginning of the pregnancy. GBS is a bacteria that can come and go, but if it present at all during the pregnancy they want to pump you (and therefore the baby) with antibiotics during labor. I'd really rather avoid an IV altogether, besides the fact that the chance of passing to the baby is very small- about 2%. I'm not really sure I like the baby being given all those antibiotics right away anyway, unless it really is needed. If I decline this, they will want to keep us at the hospital at least two nights to monitor. While this is how long we stayed last time, I'd much rather come sooner if I feel up to it, especially since we don't have to wait around for the Doc to do a circumcision. Less time at the hospital sounds very good to me! I am having a GBS swab test done in a few weeks, and if I test negative then, I feel like I have a good basis for declining the antibiotics. I've being taking garlic and probiotics as my midwife suggested to help in this.

Everyone is different, but we don't announce when we are going to the hospital. Shoot, last time it was in the middle of the night anyways, and I still have 18 hours of labor to go. I don't want people waiting around because that just stresses me and I have enough to deal with. Some people like the endless birth party, but in all honesty, I just want to be alone. Let me labor alone (besides my hubby), and once the baby comes I don't want a bunch of visitors. Heck, even when I get home I don't want visitors. Birth is tiring and all I want to do is rest and enjoy the new addition without added stress of company. I know, everyone is different, but that's just how I personally feel about it. So, a few more weeks, but the end is in sight. I can't wait to meet baby girl!!

2016 Goals

It's that time of year again! Time to set some goals. I'm first going to revisit my goals from last year:

1. Read a book every day to my baby Ansel.
2. Love my husband and show him in every way I can.
3. Lose 10 pounds. 
4. Pay off my car and Justin's school loan (about $8,500 all together).
5. Go somewhere beachy for our 6th wedding anniversary and wear a bikini again.
6. Finish revisions and send my memoir to a publisher until it gets accepted.
7. Make it a year breastfeeding.
8. Run a 10 K.
9. Start my Doctor of Education.
10. Add at least $10,000 to our savings.
11. Start investing.

I'm happy to say that while we didn't go somewhere beachy (#5) for our vacation this year, we did have a hot tub at the cabin and I broke out my bikini for that. I also have my last proofreader going through my memoir (#6) and plan to send it as soon as she gets back with me. Even though I don't quite remember how much we started with in our savings (#10), we have added quite a bit and will keep going with that. 

We've done everything else on the list!! Yay! Many of those will repeat this year. It's really rewarding to see Ansel play with his books. I read with him everyday, and not just at bedtime. At times it will be quiet and I'll think, what's he getting into? and he will just be sitting at one of his bookshelves surrounded by books, flipping through the pages. I just love it! 

Financially, we've come a long way. Justin was finishing school so we basically had no income from him and couldn't save much. Still, we were able to pay off all debts (my car and his school loan) by the fall once he started his PTA job. We also started investing- an ESA for Ansel, and IRA for Justin, and a joint mutual account for both of us. It felt really good to get that going for Justin (I already have my teacher retirement). Going into this year, we are looking to maximize our income since we are both working. We really want to build within the next five years, and that is going to take a major amount of discipline. My continued employment is almost solely for this purpose. We REALLY want to build in the country! 

So what's new for this year? We have baby #2 coming, so that will add a whole new dynamic. I also want to continue with more schooling while I have some tuition reimbursement from my employer. I hope to continue strengthening our marriage- I am so blessed by my man but know we can also grow closer to each other and God. So here's the 2016 goals: 

1. Stay healthy to have an uneventful labor and delivery of baby #2. 
2. Run a 5k or 10K in late summer/fall. 
3. Get my memoir published. 
4. Continue saving to buy a new AC, privacy fence, and possibly family car (if Justin's breaks) with cash. 
5. Teach a Financial Peace class at church. 
6. Save money toward buying a plot of land.
7. Continue taking classes toward my Dr. of Ed (or Ed. S.). 
8. Work full time at least through my 10th year of teaching (2016-2017) so I can transfer my California retirement. 
9. Show love to my husband in his love language. 
10. Love on my babies, giving them focused individual attention and care each day. 
11. Read my Bible through for the 9th time.
12. Keep a prayer journal a few times a week. 

There you have it! It will be interesting to reflect on this in a year!