Funny #2

A common saying I have is just get rid of it and buy new... My brother always catches me and hates that I say this. He's the kind to keep something forever.... I LOVE to decorate and clean!! I will go to anyones house to help them clean & decorate. Because of this love of mine I enjoy things to be pretty to my eyes. So when I have something very old and dirty or just plain ugly I desire to buy one pretty and new.

The funny thing lately, or should I say NOT so funny is that I am using 2 VERY old electronics because my new pretty ones broke. UGG. I dropped my awesome purple phone 2 weeks ago and am using my old chocolate that is so old and difficult to use. I complain about it almost everyday. :( Then 2 days ago after my loving husband moved our computer to a convenient place to blog our monitor broke. I LOVE that monitor. Actually I use to love looking at it. LOL... Now I'm blogging on this hideous monitor that is hurting my eyes. So that's my rant for the day. I am so looking forward to upgrading these items and Fast. For now we wont, because I don't enjoy spending money that wasn't planned on. :(

I find these things funny, so hopefully you will too! :D

Funny

I decided today that each day this week I will post some of the funny comments, traits & goofy things that I do. Let me tell you there are some good ones... My brother likes to point them out. :p Okay, no promises, but I will try.

The one for today is: I never know what to put in the recycle bin, so pretty much I put everything in there... Hopefully the people who sort that stuff don't want to kill me. :D I do know it has to have a triangle, but the numbers don't mean anything to me...

Marriage

I got to talking about this un-spoken rule we have here at our house... I was talking to a friend and explaining how we never say no to each other. LOL. Okay let me explain. :) I was thinking about it and Aaron and I have this desire to truly care about the wants, needs and desires of each other. So because of that when we ask each other to do things it's an automatic yes. I don't even think about it. Some examples are getting one another a drink, food, taking the kids for a walk to give the other a brake, changing that poopy diaper, starting a load of laundry, giving each other time with friends, dressing in a way that pleases the other, and massages. It may sound funny, but it's true. I can always count on Aaron and he can always count on me. :)

It's taken some time to get to this place (6rs to be exact), but it's wonderful since we've arrived. I really can count on this un-spoken rule. The only problem is that sometimes that independent spirit of mine can get in the way. :/ I have always had a hard time asking for help. Luckily I have a husband that has taken the time to understand me and can read me like a book. Therefore when I'm in my independent mind set he can see it and just step in without me asking. This is truly a beautiful picture of Christ's love working through him and blessing me.

So my challenge is humble yourself, ask for help and in return never say no. Treat each other with the same servant hood you would desire.

Nursing tips

Myths, truths and everything I've learned about nursing.

Myths

1) nursing doesn't hurt! This is not true. Out of all my friends and most of them nursed their children only one said she never had pain. Most women will experience pain with their nipples for the first week or two. This pain will go away I promise. It was 2 weeks for Mercedes and a week of pain for Isaiah. You typically will have pain with every nursing experience. It takes time for your nipples to get used to it. Do not assume the baby is not latching on correct just because you have pain.

2) my baby is not getting enough milk. This is a common thing that doctors and nurses will tell a nursing mom if your baby is not growing at the pace "they" want to see. Do not give into supplementing right away. If there's one thing I've learned with having a premature child it is that ALL babies grow at different paces and doctors are quick to tell a nursing mom she needs to supplement, but 9 times out of 10 this is not true. You should always give weight gain time. A couple of days of low weight gain is not enough time to make an assessment. In the NICU they looked at a week of grow. THE BEST THING TO DO IF YOU'RE BABY IS NOT GAINING A LOT OF WEIGHT IS TO NURSE MORE, NOT SUPPLEMENT! Nursing baby's can tend to eat as frequently as every hour and a half to every 3 hours.

3) Your baby is fussy a lot so you must not be feeding enough or have enough milk) If your baby is fussy there could be several reasons and the fact that you would not be making enough milk would be last on my list... Breast fed babies tend to like to suck a lot, so I think it's very important to give them a pacifier for none nutrient sucking. (however very important to establish a good breastfeeding and latching on before you give them one) Maybe 5 to 7 days after birth try introducing a pacifier. Another reason for fussiness could be they have gas or that something your eating in your diet is bothering them. dairy, nuts and any foods that cause you gas are the biggest foods that babies can be allergic to or that are causing them gas.

4) Pumping is the same as nursing. This is not true. Pumping is great if you have a situation like I did and had a preemie that couldn't nurse for weeks or you have to go back to work, but it's really important to nurse exclusively for as long as possible. Pumping most of the time will not bring in the full milk supply that your baby needs. Only nursing can. If you have to pump or want to pump wait until you have established a good milk supply and a good breastfeeding experience. About a month!

5) supplementing with formula will make my life easier. It could, but it should only be done after you have established a FULL milk supply. Also I have noticed that the most successful nursing mom's are those that nursed exclusivly. Having to buy formula, mix up bottles, make sure you have formula everytime you go somewhere and having to clean bottles really isn't easy. Several problems that can arise from using formula & bottles- one is that sometimes you can become engorged and develop things like mastitis, your baby can become lazy and prefer bottle over breast.

6) I don't need help to learn how to nurse. Even if you've nursed before every baby can have it's own difficulties with nursing. There are SO many lactation consultants and nursing pro's out there that can help you. Ask for help if you need it. They are at most hospitals and can figure out what the problem is.

Nursing is one of the BEST ways to bond with your baby. It's an amazing feeling to know that your body is making all the nutrient to grow your baby. Once you get over the painful first couple of weeks and establish a full milk supply it's really an AMAZING experience. Even if you can only nurse for a month make the effort. It's the best start you can give your baby. God designed our bodies to provide all that our babies need in our milk. Studies have proven over and over that breast is BEST! In studies babies who are breastfed are typically healthier, smarter and have less ear infections. Also mom's who breastfeed reduce their risk of developing breast cancer. There's lots more benefits, but I don't have time to write them all down. Do your research and learn for yourself all the benefits.

This is not meant to make anyone feel bad for not breastfeeding, but is meant to encourage those who are having a baby and want to breastfeed. I want women to have the best breastfeeding experience. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way with my first. I spent a lot of time with the lactation consultants (two and a half months to be exact) with Mercedes being in the NICU and learned a lot. Breastfeeding takes some time to learn, but it's the best thing for your baby. It's worth all the hard work.

minestrone soup recipe

Tried a new recipe yesterday. Put it together myself.

ingredients:

10 cups of water
1 1/2 cans of tomato sauce
10 bullion cubes
1/2 box of small shell noodles (or whatever you have, but make sure it's a smaller kind of noodle)
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can kidney beans
half bag of corn
half bag of peas
half bag of green beans or a big bunch of fresh (washed & cut into small pieces)
4 large carrots (quartered)
2 onions
3 TBSP of minced garlic
4 small to medium potatoes

Seasonings that I decided to add also: pepper, Italian seasoning, celery salt & garlic powder

Add all, but beans & noodles to large pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20 mins. Then add beans & noodles and continue to cook for about 30 mins. Enjoy.

Also could be added to a crock pot, which I will try next time. Makes about 9 servings Enough for dinner, leftovers and you can freeze some too.

The birth of our son, Isaiah

It started out Monday morning. I woke up not feeling the best and having back pain and it would come around to my stomach. I was thinking "oh my today is the day"! Called the hubby at work and told him he might need to take a half day. By lunch time I was feeling pretty crappy, so Aaron came home. Aaron and I headed to the hospital that evening only to hear that all my back labor had done nothing to further my dilation.... They sent me home.

After not sleeping all night and waking up in even more pain. I showered and tried walking the mall. That afternoon we headed back to the hospital. I thought for sure I would be almost ready to have a baby... They checked me and I was still only 2 centimeters... They sent me home with some percocet to help me sleep. I was so tired by this point and needed to sleep.

I was able to sleep that night from about 12:00am til I woke up @ 4:00am in even worse pain. The contractions were not to bad, but it was the back pain labor since Monday that was really hurting. If you have ever had back labor you know what I'm talking about. It's painful and it never stops even when your contractions do. So now it's Wednesday and we headed back to the hospital at about 3:00pm. When I got there I had finally dilated more, but it was only by 1 centimeter... I wanted to cry. At least this time my midwife suggested I stay and check in! I was so happy!!

So about a couple hours later my brother, mom in-law and best friend Sherrie came to see the action. Sherrie got me up and walking and my contractions really started coming and the back pain too. At about 10:00pm they check me and I was only 4 centimeters, so they suggested braking my water at that point. So after they broke my water I tried to rest for a little bit.

Soon after that I went into what they call transition stage. I was rocking myself back and forth and had my eyes closed. At about 2:00am I started having this un-controllable urge to push. They checked me and I was only 8 centimeters, but my body was ready to push! I tried to not push, but by 2:30 I could not stop the urge and began to push little Isaiah out!!

I had my friends and family there and it couldn't have been better! About an hour or so before pushing my back labor was gone and my pain was pretty much gone. God gave us amazing bodies and amazing things they can do. My body was releasing natural pain killer and it was working.

While pushing I had my eyes closed the WHOLE time. I think it's pretty funny looking back, but I was just in the zone. If you've had a natural delivery you know this crazy zone you go to. :) As my team yelled for me to push, push, push and push some more after 3 hours my little man was here!!

It was the BEST birth and really experience of my life! It was such an amazing and powerful feeling to push that baby out. God really blessed women by allowing us to give birth to life! This experience not only gave me another glance at the love Jesus has for me, but really grew my faith in him even stronger. I knew once I got pregnant this time around it was going to be a good and healthy pregnancy. I knew in my heart that God was calling us to have another baby (Isaiah) and that he was going to be a healthy full term baby and God never failed that promise he made to me. I also knew I wanted to have a natural and v-back delivery. In the back of my mind I never really thought I would be able to tough it out and not have medicine. Neither did my family.. I've always been a baby when it comes to pain. But I was gonna try. God really helped me and gave me the strength to go natural.

It's funny cause I've always put up a mister tough girl act since I was a little girl. I think with how I grew up I always felt I had to be the strong and tough one, but on the inside I really felt weak. It's amazing just how much God continues to show me just how tough I truly can be when I lean on him for strength. It's a great feeling.

The birth of my son was amazing and I couldn't ask for a better outcome!

My story

So for the last month I have been thinking about writing my life story/testimony. It came to me after sharing it with some great friends. I think about it almost daily... Sometimes multiple times in a day. It makes me nervous, but I have finally started it.

I don't know if I will ever get it published or anything... All I know is God told me to write it down and I am going to. I'm the kind of person who must finish what I've begun and this will get finished. Unfortunately that part of me can hold me back from starting new things, but I've decided in won't hold me back this time.

I decided last weekend that I would start writing it by the end of this year and started it today. I've always been an open book, so the thought of having all my business out there is not to scary. The biggest scare is having my family's business out there. I know people in my family will be hurt by this book, but I can not write my story without their lives out there too. The trials I have endured include my family. My hope is that they will know that I have truly forgiven them and have no anger towards them. I know they gave me the best they had and sometimes that's just not that great.. So hears to writing my book. Feel free to ask me how it's going.