Preparing for a Little One- Birth Stories

My friend Kaitlyn and I came up with a great idea that I absolutely love. 

As you know, Kaitlyn is expecting her first child. This can be so overwhelming and I know that other first time moms probably feel the same. She has so many questions and would love to hear the opinions of moms who have already been through this a time or two before.

Because of this, we are hosting a weekly series for a few weeks to try and get some answers to some of the most common questions.

We divided the series into two mini 4 week series grouped into questions Pre-Baby & Post Baby. The first mini series will be:

Friday, April 5: Registering (Everything you need to know, Must Haves, Don't Bothers, etc...)

Friday, April 12: Nursery Organization & Ideas

Friday, April 19: Packing For The Hospital: For you & the baby

Friday, April 26: Birth Stories (The good, bad, and ugly) / Birth Plans (yes? no?)

The second series will focus on bringing the baby home, new mom obstacles and losing the dreaded baby weight. We will schedule that as soon as we see how the first series does. Even if you are a first time mom, you may have posts or input on this first series especially!! I know some of you are due any day now, so I'd love to get your input as well.

If you decide to participate on any of the weeks, all you have to do is write a post answering and discussing the topic/question that week and link up to the main post on my blog. I think it will be a great resource for tons of moms to be!

Below you can grab a button to use on your posts and it will be helpful if you link back to Wifessionals or Five 27 Jones so that others can get the details to link up as well. I really hope some of you will share your secrets with us!!!

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Onto the fun, this week's topic is Birth Stories!   In case you don't already know I have two boys.  Noah is 3 and Carson is almost 20 months and their birth stories are very different and I love that I have had two completely different experiences with each of them.   Going into my first, of course I wanted to try and go natural and not get or do anything but let him come.  However, I also told myself to keep an open mind so that way I wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't happen as I wanted to.  I had recently had lots of friends who didn't exactly have their ideal birth and their birth plans just were not an option so my goal was to stay open because of that.   I just wanted to give birth to my healthy boys.  With Noah ( my first)  they had suspected he would be a big baby and after being dilated to a 1-2 for 4 weeks we scheduled an induction for 2 days before his due date.  I went in on our day at 7 that morning I was to be induced, got checked in and then headed to my room.  Around 9:00 they broke my water which was the weirdest feeling ever.  I'm a neat freak and sitting in a bed after they did that was not comfortable and made me a little grumpy.  Well all morning I didn't go any farther because I was still at a 3.  I believe it was around noon, since I wasn't progressing they gave me some Pitocin.  I didn't really want Pitocin because I knew if I had to get that, it would really intensify the contractions and I would end up getting an epidural but since they suggested I took it.  Then shortly after around 2:00 I requested for the epidural.  I was terrified of that epidural but the contractions were so strong, I didn't even realize they had put the needle in until they were done.  It wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought it out to be.   After a few hours of contractions and about 30 minutes of pushing Noah was born at 4:39 pm.  I will never forget as I was pushing everyone told me how much dark hair Noah had.  I'm blonde and my husband hair isn't that dark so I wasn't expecting a black headed child.  Also my thoughts were well if you can see his head so much why don't you get him OUT!  It's crazy the thoughts you have during childbirth.  You just do not always think like your typical self or in some cases talk normal.  Noah was my chunker at 9 lbs 3 oz. and yes I did get lots of stitches.  I didn't think I would ever recover from that but I did.  Overall I was so happy with his birth. He was born safe and sound and it was the greatest day of my life so far!  He was such a cute little chubster.   Here was our first family photo right after he was born and our family got to visit.  I gained 47 pounds with him and it shows!  I had a head cold and couldn't breathe right so that part was challenging.  I had to be on oxygen for a little while.  I also pushed way too much with my face because I burst a lot of blood vessels in my eyes and a few on my face.  I noticed them later that night and was like "what the heck happened to me?, I look like I got hit by a truck! "

 Chubby boy Noah

A short 20 months later we did this again with our sweet little Carson.  

Carson was due September 7th and on August 29th early in the morning about 7:30 I started having contractions.  I wasn't quite sure if they were the real things so I started timing them and they were about 7 minutes apart.  That continued for over an hour so I thought they must be real.  I started making plans for Noah in case I really was in labor, got together our things and headed to town.  I dropped Noah off at my sister in laws and told Matthew to stay on standby and I would let him know if/ when I needed to go in.  Not long after I got to my sister in laws, the contractions started to get stronger and stronger and closer and closer so I called my mom who worked nearby to have her take me to the hospital until Matthew was done with patients for the morning.  We got to the hospital, got checked in, headed up to my room at 10:30.  They checked me to see how far I was dilated and I will never forget  those words "hun you are at a 8 to 9!"  Say what?  I couldn't believe I was almost ready to have a baby.   I panicked a little, had mom call Matthew to get him there right away.  Everything intensified fast and I decided I wanted to do something for the pain and let them now.  Then I heard those awful words "sorry hun it's too late.  You are too far!".  I was mad but knew there was nothing we could do and I was close to having a baby.   Even though I was that far my water still hadn't broke and they thought maybe if they broke my water it might make me go backwards so they decided to let me push when I thought I was ready thinking my water would break and there would be some time before the baby would come out.  They were wrong, I pushed, my water broke and Carson came directly following.   Just a little over an hour after we got checked in Carson was born at 11:37 without a doctor present.  Carson laid on my chest, and we waited about 5 minutes until the doctor got there.  It just happened too quickly for him to get over and prepped.  It was a picture perfect delivery and the best part.  He had such a sweet little head and body at 6lbs and 4 oz.  I couldn't believe there was such a big difference in my two boys but I was thankful for it that day.  We knew he would be smaller just didn't think it would be almost a whole 3 pounds!  

Here is my sweet LITTLE baby Carson

And my first picture with Carson.  I gained 33 pounds with him, so quite a big difference than with Noah.  I felt so much better afterwards for the obvious reason that it was a much shorter labor and didn't have any drugs making me feel anything weird.  

I don't plan on having any more children but if we were I would definitely try to wait it out.  Inductions are not fun and I wouldn't do it if I didn't have to. I know with Carson I got lucky too, because I know not all natural labors don't happen that quickly or as mom eventful as ours did.   The after birth was much, much better without the epidural and the next day as well.  My back was really sore from where they put it in.  I could get right up and move around after Carson was born  where with Noah and the epidural they keep you to the bed since they don't want you walking with them until it completely wears off.   

I got to get cleaned up right away with Carson which is all I wanted to do afterwards, that feeling is just ugh!

Both stories are so different, both my babies are the biggest blessings I will ever know and  they both got here safe and sound which is the most important thing. 

My biggest piece of advice for future mommas is to be open.  It's okay to have a birth plan but be open to change it if need be.  Know that it's not glamorous at all having a child but so worth it.  Bring big comfy clothes for afterwards.  Be ready for the modesty to go out the window.   That was my biggest fear just other people seeing me during labor and I can say is in that moment I didn't care nearly as much as  I thought I would. Your focus is getting that baby here and as quickly as possible!  

I wish you future momma's luck and look forward to reading some other fun birth stories! 

If you have any more detailed questions I would love to answer them.  I left out a lot of the eww and yuck stuff  since not everything wants to read about that but don't mind sharing if there is something in particular you want to know.  

Favorites Toys

The stores are filled with oodles and oodles of toys.  Our house is filled with tons of toys.  I got easily bored and when Noah was younger I figured he was the same way and we started early collecting way too many toys.   I have learned more as they grow that they aren't content with 1/4 of the toys they have.  They play with a lot of the same ones each day and some days Carson doesn't really play with them at all, he just wonders around climbing, haha.  Noah is more of my player and I'm sure Carson will grow into that more as he gets a little older.

It never fails that my boys end up loving things I thought maybe they wouldn't have. Or I have seen the opposite multiple times in that they didn't love something we got that I thought would be their new favorite.

I always love seeing new and neat toys.  I love the different toys that people find so today I thought I would share the favorite toys in our house that we are using right now for  the 1 1/2 to 3 age.

If you have a toddler boy who likes trains, a train table is a must.  Noah plays with this every day!  We have lots of different tracks and pieces and it  can be done so many ways and this one happened to be one I made which are always boring.  My hubby is the track master and always is the one who spends time and makes them really cool.  

Wooden Blocks, Our boys both love them.  We stack, we build towers and knock them over.  Carson loves to dump them out, pick them up and repeat.  None the less, they are fun and something they always like. 

Shape sorter-  The classic must have.  Noah is a pretty much over it but great for the 1-2 age.  

This toy is so random but I loved it and bought it for a good travel toy.  It is by Leap Frog and it's a cute little house with different things to do on each side.  You can push bells, open the fridge and the front door.  There is a light switch, it reads stories and sings songs.  It was one of the those toys I thought was neat and different and was awesome on our long road trip not too long ago.  Carson loves flipping switches so that was the biggest reason I bought it and it has turned out to be a good one.   

Melissa and Doug Wooden Puzzles.  I love Melissa and Doug anything and we have a lot of their stuff and like it all but their puzzles are awesome.  We have different stage ones for the different ages, they start out with huge knobs on the pieces than go to little pegs.  The top middle one each picture opens  and has a corresponding magnet which Noah has always loved and mastered when he was so young.  

Their stuff is great for learning, and good quality.  They last and last!

We have had quite a few different Little People toys and this one has been Noah's favorite.  I love the toys that put their imagination to work and this one really does that for him.  

Another great classic.   Loud but they love it.  This ball popper gets pushed around every day by both of our boys.  Noah started using it when he could walk and it hasn't stopped getting used since, now we have 2 fighting over it.   My sister got this one for us and you bet I will be making sure my nephew gets one as well.

Carson got this for Christmas this last year and it's such a neat ride on.  It's a Vtech train.  In the back under the seat it houses letters that you can put on the top of the yellow engine, then it shoots them back to the seat.  You can also put the letters in the side of the yellow engine and it has all sorts of interactive learning things that go along with it.  Carson loves to ride it and Noah has loved playing with the items on the front.  

Everyone told me our boys couldn't have a kitchen so they have had a shopping cart and play food instead.   This cart has been a hit.  It's loved by both of our boys.  Noah has played with the food a lot but Carson not as much.  However both of them love to push this around the house.  A toy that lets them move and be wild, and it's a good one in this house!  

 When I first saw this I loved it because it reminded me a doctors office.  It has the fun thing on top and then each side of the cube has a different activity.  It's mostly all wood and been a great quiet toy.  ( I think every house needs a balance.  All the new types of toys have sound, I love  the traditional ones that don't and make them think just as much)

We got this for  the boys for Christmas and it has been a great indoor toy this winter.  It gave them something to climb on while we have been cooped up all winter.  It's something they both really like.  

This one is little and random but one of those I didn't expect to get played with as much as it has.  It's a mini CD player and sings songs and the discs get put in the top and then the yellow hatch opens and closes.  Noah knows all the songs and Carson is so cute copying it and saying open, close and trying to sing along.  

What are some of your favorite toys?  We would love to know!

Day In Our Life

This topic is going all around in Blogland and I have been meaning to do it for awhile but finally  getting around to it.

We have very different looking days.  I work 2 days a week and stay home with the boys the rest so obviously those are very different than my working days.

For the most normal and soon to be full-time days we are doing a day that I'm home.

Around 5:30, I wake up, work out, and begin getting ready

Anywhere from 6:30 to 7:15 boys wake up.  They share a room so it's usually at the same time.  If one's awake the other will be in a few minutes.

7:15 Boys eat a slow breakfast.  They usually sit at the table for awhile.
I make beds, lay out clothes, unload dishwasher, start laundry, just get everything tidy'd up and ready for the day.  I'm a bit of a freak I can't relax until it's all done.

8:30
Lately on Monday's I've been doing most of the weekly cleaning, so if it's Monday I start cleaning and the boys start messing.  Then on Fridays we usually get groceries so we would get get ready to head there.  If we have any errands to run this is when we normally would leave for them as well.  They other days we mostly just spend the morning at home, playing and hanging out.

Around 9:30 or 10 the boys are ready for morning snack.

More Playing until lunch.

11:30 is lunch time in this house.  My kids are usually ready because they never want much breakfast and are so active all morning.

After lunch we clean up, if it's nice we have been going outside if not more playing inside usually head to the basement for a change.

1:30-2:00  Boys go down for a nap, I tidy up the house to have it neat while they sleep.  Naps are my sanity time, I love the quiet time, I love the messes put away and I love to sit on the couch and catch up on social media, blog, pretty much become a computer couch potato.

2:00-4:30 Boys nap.  Noah always wakes up first.  Some days it's 3:30, some days it's 4:30 you just never know with him.  Today they both slept until 5:00, it was really weird having it quiet for that long.  When he wakes up he is usually cuddly and wants to smile, hug and kiss on his momma.  Yeah I love it.  It's nice to get some time with just him.

5:00  Start working on dinner for Matthew and I.  If the boys are up they are in the kitchen too.  When I'm in there they think they need to eat something and be right there with me.  Usually Noah has already snacked when he got up from nap.  I try to hold them off as long as possible but usually end up feeding them dinner before we eat.

5:30  I have usually given in by now and the boys are eating dinner.

6:00 The hubs gets up and him and I eat.  Someday we will all eat together most nights.  It's something we are striving for, it's important to both of us that we all eat together so we will get there someday!

6:15-7:15 Clean up kitchen and family time playing.

7:15  Boys head to take a bath
After bath we all chill on the couch for a little kid TV or movie and some nights with popcorn.  I love that they will both sit up here with us.  Each one of us usually gets a boy to snuggle with.  It's usually my favorite part of the day, love unwinding with them!

8:15  Bed time for boys

I make sure mostly everything is picked up and nothing needs finished.
Once the house is decent, I get lazy and hang out on the couch with the computer or a show until bed.

On average I would say I head to bed around 10:30.  Some weeks it's much later and some days it's later but that would probably be my average.

Head to bed, get a good night's sleep and then start all over!

When we have normal weeks our days are pretty simply and to some boring.  But lately I have been more and more of a homebody.  I used to make up errands for the boys and I do every day because I didn't want to stay home, now it's pretty much the opposite.  I stay home whenever I can.

That's our day!  What's yours like?  If you have done a day in the life, let me know I would love to check it out!

Tuesday Topics

This week we are on #4 and it's an easy one!

4 Sites I Check Daily

1)  Bloglovin/ Blogspot-  Ever since the big announcement I switched mostly all my blogs to Bloglovin and check my daily reads from there.  I love how they are all there and I can quickly see the title, a picture and a blurb about the post.  I can mark them already read if it's one I'm not going to read so that way it won't be hanging up on the list for me.  But I also can make one unread if I want to remember to go back to it.  I'm way too addicted to blog reading and can't go to bed until I'm caught up for the day.  It's a slight problem.

I also use Blogspot every day to check my stats, make sure I didn't miss any comments and write new posts.  I have been trying to do at least 5 posts a week so some weeks I have been writing each night, others weeks I have been doing a few on days here and there and scheduling them.  I love having posts scheduled! 

2) Instagram

Love looking at pictures, would much rather see things in a picture rather than a status...Which brings me to my next one.

3) Facebook

If everyone I cared about Instagrammed or blogged the important events I would quit Facebook immediately but since they don't I still check it daily and multiple times daily to see what's going on.  I'm always afraid I will miss something if I don't check it before bed each night.  And for the record, I never hardly miss anything.  It wastes so much time scrolling down through all the junk to see one thing I actually wanted to read.  So, my recommendation is for all my friends to Instragram or blog, thank you!

4) Tie between Email and Pinterest.  

Some days I care about my email, some days I don't.  

Some days I care about Pinterest and some days I don't.  

So my mood decides which one is more important on that day I guess!

And yes, I am slightly embarrassed that my entire list is Social Media.   I don't watch much TV, so that is my downtime/free time time waster!  

What are 4 sites you check every day?

Weekend Recap

Another great weekend come and gone.

Friday I spent the day with my cuties and in case you aren't following me on Instagram then you missed these  pictures.

 Our night wasn't too exciting.  Matthew got home and we all as well as my sister Kate went out for dinner.  Then rented a movie and got some movie snacks.  Any night that ends in a candy is a good one in my book.

Saturday my Aunt got married.  It was a nice short and sweet ceremony.  She was married and lost her husband to cancer not long ago and the man she married was a widower as well.  They have a cool story and I'm glad I got to witness their special day!

Saturday night we got to hang out with some friends that recently moved to a different state.  Their families still live here so we are guaranteed that they will be passing through over the years.  We have missed them and they have two young kids so it's fun to get the kids together as well.  Steph is a blogger too.  You can check her out over here!

Sunday we headed to Springfield where our nephew was having his 3rd birthday party.  My little Noah was so excited, him and his cousins are such cute little buddies.  They are only a few months apart and their dads are twins it's like they think they are supposed to be close.  We love it!
Here is the birthday boy !

They also had a little bounce house for the kiddos to play in.  It took  Carson a little while to warm up to it but Noah loved it instantly.  

The weekend was quick as always and our week will be short again this week, as we are heading to Las Vegas Wednesday for an optometry convention.  I have a lot to get done the next few days before we leave!  Busy, busy!

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Linking up with Sami for....

 

Sunday Social

What is your shopping weakness?  Ugh... Everything.  I just like to buy a little bit of everything.  Handbags, scarves, jewelry, tops, dresses I usually never wear, and cute flats.  I have a problem!  To try and be more specific I could narrow it down more  to lately it's been mint.  I have bought a purse with mint all over it, mint bracelet and earrings, mint shorts, mint jeggings, and a few mint tops.  I am so loving that color this year!  

What is your food weakness?  Chicken Alfredo, Candy- anything gummy and fruits.  Somedays chocolate just depends on the day but I usually eat candy over chocolate.  

 

What is your go to movie when nothing else is on?  Not a movie watcher, I a lot of nights don't even turn TV on just go straight to computer when it's time to relax.  

What is your go to breakfast food?  I normally eat 2 eggs, or This awesome granola with almond milk.

Do you drink coffee?  If so how do you take it?  I'm not a coffee drinker.  Never have been never will be most likely even thought I love the smell.  I do really like hot chocolate though.  Instead of coffee my caffeine comes from Genesis Pure, Pure Energy.  Take it every day with a little bit of water.   You can ready more about it here if you would like.  

Have a great Sunday!