Prayers of a Mommy

Before having Fisher I had no idea how much parenthood would change my life. I always knew I wanted to be a Mommy, but I wasn't aware just how much my heart would enjoy hearing "Mama" while looking into those dark brown eyes and reaching down toward those pudgy little outstretched arms. I praise God for the opportunity I have to spend 100% of my time raising Fisher and loving my husband. I've read a lot of books on parenting and although there are many with a lot of good information, I find that the information is only useful if it checks out with the Holy Spirit and in my own heart. With that said, I found that my heart was not okay with allowing Fisher to cry it out in order to learn to fall asleep on his own nor did I want to wean him from breastfeeding on my schedule. At 16 months, Andy and I spent just one night going in to Fisher's room each time he woke up and told him it was still time for "Night, Night," and that we loved him and went back in to our room. It was evident after a few times of doing this that he clearly understood what we were telling him because when we said, "Night, Night," he began laying himself back down and reaching for is teddy bear to go back to sleep. The following night he only woke up once and upon Daddy going in to tell him "Night, night," he went right back to sleep and we didn't hear from him until the following morning. The third night, he slept straight through. What an answer to prayer, I kept thinking that I wanted to parent like Christ would and the thought that kept coming back to me is that God shows care and compassion. My next prayer was that Fisher would wean himself enough before the new baby arrived that he wouldn't regress once the baby got here. Although I don't know for certain that he won't regress, Fisher has not nursed at all for about 3&1/2 weeks, nor has he asked to when he's seen friends nurse. I think that for a while I had been initiating nursing as a way of comforting him more often than he initiated wanting to nurse. I knew it was time to consider weaning when one night before bed I tried nursing him and he jumped off my lap and went to the refrigerator and asked for "milk." Again, God answers prayers both big and small. Though, part of me mourns the passing of Fisher's babyhood, I get a good laugh on a daily basis about something new he says or does in this amazing new stage we call toddlerhood. To all you Mommys out there, my advice- "Ask and you shall receive" and listen to your heart. (I'm not totally certain this works past 18 months, I'll keep you posted) :)

Easter Photo

This picture was taken at Easter so it's not exactly new but it made me smile as I was scrolling thorugh my memory stick, so I thought I'd share my little Easter Bunny with all of you in hopes that it would make you smile too.

Birthing Wisdom Class

I've shared with a few people that Andy and I are taking another birthing class to prepare for this baby, but this one is different than our first. I have high hopes for this birth experience, I'm not sure how many more times I'll go through the birth of a child and I feel a real desire to embrace this expereince. This class is meant to make us aware of our fears and desires from the birth experience and bring us face to face with them so we can better prepare ourselves with overcoming those fears. The class is based on a book called "Birthing from Within" and a concept called Hypnobirthing. By Hypnobirthing, they're referring to learning a skill to relax yourself to a point of relaxation on a cellular level. Though Fisher's birth was absolutely amazing, I felt somewhat detached from the expereince and felt like it was something that was happening to me and around me as opposed to something happening within me, this may be in part due to my lack of sleep (due to having contractions begining 32 hours before Fisher was actually born) and various medications. So this may sound awfully abstract to many of you, but I see this as an opportunity to expand my options as far as resources I'm able to use during the labor and birth process. Whatever happens this time is certainly in God's hands but He knows the desire of my my heart is to feel more present or aware for the birth of this baby and I'm praying He'll provide me the strength it takes for that to happen. I also am excited to spend the time in this class with Andy anticipating the arrival of our new little one. One of the great blessings that came with Fisher's birth (besides the obvious blessing of our amazing little person) was the closeness Andy and I felt to each other through the experience. I am so excited to have him by my side as we go from a family of three to a family of four. I can't imagine going through that process by myself like so many woman have because dads weren't allowed in the delivery room for the birth of their children.

Preparing for the new baby

We have about two months until our new little one arrives. We're in the final count down, I now go to the doctor every two weeks. AND the construction has begun! Andy was knee deep (almost literally) remodeling over the weekend, the bedroom that will soon be the nursery. Of course with an old house, nothing can be as simple as just painting, but we keep telling ourselves the more work we put into the house (who am I kidding, Andy does all the work) the more it increases in value (not to mention the fact that we like it better, too). The bedroom was previously occupied by me for scrapbooking, sewing, and was my walk-in closet. The room has a sloped ceiling and in the part that wasn't sloped some brainiac put a closet type system that was far too big for the size of the room, so Andy pulled that out and realized that the paneling covering the walls is nailed directly to the studs, so now we're talking drywalling the entire room. Next, he determines that someone had also dropped the ceiling for no apparent reason, and Andy would have none of that! We also decided that a small closet is necessary so that needed to be framed in and the window needed to be replaced. It sounds like alot you say, but it's no sweat for...The Andyman. So Saturday the demolition began and down came some of the insulation that Andy blew in two years ago. Talk about a mess, Andy was covered when he came out of that room, but he was able to re-use a lot of it and with the help of the neighbor got drywall up on the ceiling. He got the closet framed in too. This weekend the project continues, I think from this point forward, things will start getting cleaner, well, until he starts sanding the drywall seams. I guess I'll just keep my vacuum and dust cloth handy. I know it'll be worth it in the end. And to think all I really wanted was a space to be able to pull out and start sorting baby clothes.

My Brilliant Little Man

I'm not trying to brag I think it's just a mother's natural tendency to think that her child is the smartest on earth. Tuesday, I was reminded just how right I am. I had a 30 week prenatal visit with my midwife. For those of you who have been pregnant lately you know that upon arriving at the office it is normal procedure to get weighed, have your blood pressure taken, and then pee in a cup. Well, this time around I get to bring Fisher to all my appointments, which for the most part works well since they seem to like little ones at the OB's office. Fisher was his usual energetic self that day, running down the hallways babbling mostly things that only he understands, then it came time for me to use the restroom, I bring him in with me since although they like children at the office they don't expect to have to babysit. I did my business and then set the cup on a little shelf before sliding it through the secret window where someone mysteriously sweeps it away for analysis. In the mean time my little Einstein jumped down from the chair he had been sitting in to run to the shelf reaching with all his might for the cup while estatically saying, "juice, juice!" Fortunately, although I was laughing hysterically I was able to beat Fisher to the cup before he managed to reach it but, isn't he the smartest?!

My First Post

I think this will be a nice way of keeping friends and family posted on what's going on with us. So here it goes- my first post. This picture was taken this past Thanksgiving so it's not exactly new, but it isn't all that often that I get a photo of all three of us with our eyes open! Sunday was Mother's Day and Andy made me feel quite special. He wrote me a letter thanking me for all I do to support our family. Because all my time is devoted to a little guy who can't express his gratitude in too many words yet, it was very sweet of Andy to let me know how much he appreciates what I do for both he and Fisher. I think that you'll find that the theme to my blog will be about how blessed I feel to be able to watch my little guy grow and my big guy feel supported and encouraged through my love for them both!