The birth of Hosanna Eden

Labor is like nothing I have EVER endured, but I've never really challenged myself until then. I never joined sports or signed up for marathons or really stuck to a challenging workout regimen. Nor did I know my tolerance for pain, because I have never broken a bone, sprained or tore anything. It was the most physically, mentally and spiritually trying event of my life to say the least, but ABSOLUTELY worth it.

My labor began Tuesday (1 day past Hosanna's estimated due date) around 2p. I had gone swimming at the YMCA per midwife orders. 2 weeks prior I had gotten the case of edema and my midwife wanted me to get that fluid back in the right place and swimming was the cure (: My contractions were far apart and not painful at all, but consistent. Swimming helped to get me comfortable and relieve some tension I had in my back, neck and shoulders. After, I took a very long hot shower (which I would soon find out offered much more relief than I could imagine; I LOVED hot showers during pregnancy and during my labor). At this point I still was not aware I was in real labor. I had been having contractions like this off and on for weeks, but those contractions were also not consistent and as close as these were (these were every 10 minutes). When Samuel got home, I had confided my anxieties about our labor. I had deeply wanted a natural birth and we had prepared for such for more than half our pregnancy. Because I was 1 day post the estimated due date, I started doubting I would go into labor naturally before the 42 week mark. This scared me, because that meant our birth plan would be completely void and I would have a labor and delivery in a hospital with interventions I did not want. Of course it was only a day after the EDD, and we were taught to expect to be late since I was a first time mom. BUT I WAS SO ANXIOUS!

I then remembered our Bradley Method instructor sent us a list of how to induce labor naturally. Some of the things included acupressure points, massage, teas, and of course sex. And so I was DETERMINED to try all the things I had access to do. All the while, I'm still having those nagging contractions every 8 to 10 minutes. That night, Samuel and I ended up falling asleep around 1:30a. Wednesday morning around 6:30a I awoke to stronger contractions. These were every 5 to 6 minutes apart. I went to use the restroom and I had some spotting and my mucus plug had passed!!!! I was flooded with joy! I kept thinking, 'this is it! this is it'. I then immediately went to wake up Samuel because we had some work to do. My first priority (which now I look back and think how ridiculous) was to go to target to get some last minute hygiene things like witch hazel, pads, cotton balls, alcohol, a brush for the baby (like I said, ridiculous:) ). And so, as I'm getting ready to go to the store, Samuel starts spring cleaning our house! I'm thinking in my head, 'what the heck?! He had all week to clean the house and he chooses now to start'. I remember being grouchy towards him because of that and right before leaving he held me and said, "honey, we're about to have a baby. Let's make this enjoyable". I melted...and realized how mean I was actually being! We packed ourselves into the car and off we went to target (: While at Target, I realized just how ridiculous it actually was to be there while in labor. You see, I am such an introvert. I like to keep to myself. And I'm EXTREMELY private. Privacy is a BIG deal to me. So when I would feel a contraction come, I would hide in an empty aisle. It was quite comical. I quickly grabbed what I needed and soon we were home again. When I got home, I started packing for our soon departure to Blossom Birth and Wellness Center (this reveals how much of a procrastinator I really am ).

Coincidentally, I had an appointment to see my midwife at 4p that day (Wednesday, April 24th). As time passed, I became more and more excited to visit the midwife and see how far along I had progressed. When 3:30p arrived, my contractions were still 5 to 6 minutes apart but they were getting much more intense. At the appointment, my midwife had said I was 3cm dilated and could stay if I liked, or go home and rest. She strongly advised us to go home, take some Tylenol PM and rest. And so we stopped at a CVS, bought some Tylenol PM and went home. At this point, I needed to rest but my contractions were so intense (or so I thought) that I couldn't. I desperately wanted to take the Tylenol PM to knock me out, but Samuel and I had strong convictions about taking any type of medication that I didn't. Soon it was 10p and the contractions were increasing in intensity. I was so tired that I could not bear it anymore. I took 2 Tylenol PMs and took a warm bath to help me relax. Well, that didn't work. Our tub just made me feel constricted and the water just could not get hot enough! So I then tried to lie down in bed and fall asleep. Samuel said I was able to fall asleep in between contractions. And just a little tribute to Samuel, all this time he has been the MOST supportive and encouraging light to me; he nurtured me and did everything in his power to make me as comfortable as possible.

Then it was 6a Thursday, April 25th. My contractions were VERY intense and were every 2 to 3 minutes apart. These contractions were my worst during labor until transition. Not only did they feel like strong menstrual cramps in my pelvis and lower back, but now my hips felt like they were being stretched. It hurt! Poor Samuel was exhausted and had only been able to sleep maybe 2 hours when I woke him up and told him we needed to call Mary, my midwife we had seen the day prior. As Samuel described my contractions to her, I felt SO relieved and reassured. He was so in tune with me that I didn't need to reach for the phone and have to talk to Mary, he knew exactly what to tell her. The conversation was short and within minutes, Samuel was packing our stuff in the car and we were on our way to Blossom! During the ride, I started to relax more and more. Knowing that I was going to be cared for was so reassuring. Literally, I could feel my shoulders and neck relax as we got closer and closer to our destination. When we arrived, Mary (my midwife) and Sommer (my doula) ushered me into the private room where they had already drawn a bath for me. After checking my progress, Mary had said excitedly, "Your cervix is so ripe and paper thin. Although you are still 3cm dilated, don't be discouraged by that because your body has done all the hard work in stretching your cervix. Your bag of waters is bulging beautifully and will help to dilate your cervix slowly". I was so happy at that news. She then assisted me into the tub, where I was able to finally relax all my muscles. Once I felt relaxed enough, I went to the bed to try and get some sleep. Sommer, massaged my feet while Samuel caressed my back and I was thankfully able to get 30 minutes of deep sleep.

When I awoke, my midwives had switched shifts and instead of Mary and Sommer, I was blessed with Nichelle (midwife) and Jacqueline (doula). Throughout my prenatal care, I had developed a relationship with all three midwives employed by Blossom and Nichelle was just the perfect one to birth Hosanna. Mary and Diane were very nurturing and peaceful. I think had they attended my birth, it would have gone much longer and I would have ended up in the hospital. Nichelle, however was very determined and deliberate. As soon as she arrived, she wanted to get things rolling, since my contractions had significantly slowed down and were now 6 to 8 minutes apart. She had Jacqueline feed me oatmeal with berries and honey (YUMMMM) and tea and water. Then she said, “it’s a beautiful day out! Let’s get dressed and take a walk”. And so I got dressed and Samuel and I took about an hour and a half stroll.

 It was so pleasant outside, unlike normal Arizona weather. There was a cool breeze and because blossom is located in a coldesac, our walk was very private and peaceful. With each contraction, Samuel would assure me that God was with us and that our labor was perfectly normal. He would distract me with encouraging scriptures and asked me to watch the birds. Every time we passed Blossom, I wanted to go back in and be in the comforting presence of my midwife and doula, but Samuel encouraged me to walk down the cul-de-sac one more time. This got my contractions going again and soon they were back to every 3 to 5 minutes apart and the intensity picked up once again. Samuel asks me, “do you think we’re in late first stage yet?”. I didn’t think so, because I was able to talk during my contractions and was still walking around (our instructor had told us I wouldn’t be able to do those things in late stage). We then went back to Blossom and Nichelle checked my progress. I was 4cm dilated! This made me SO sad, because I knew we were in for a very long night. She then had me eat roast beef with mashed potatoes and green beans. I’m thinking, “this is crazy! I can’t eat this! I’ll throw it up! I don’t even eat these portions normally”. But Nichelle was very stern in telling Samuel to get me to eat all of it so that I would have energy for later. Meanwhile, my doula is kindly holding a straw to my mouth and encouraging me to drink more tea and water (I had never drunken SO much liquid in my life! There were cups everywhere ).

Laboring after coming in from our stroll.

My contractions were getting intense again and I could feel my hips stretching again. With each contraction I would run to the bathroom and lean over the sink, for some odd reason I felt more comforted being in the bathroom. Samuel would recite scriptures to me and sing along to the worship music he had playing for me (we had a special playlist specifically made for our labor and delivery). Soon, it was 5p and Nichelle wanted to check my progress again. Samuel was hesitant because he didn’t want me to get discouraged again, but I wanted to know! This time I was 6cm dilated and with this check my bag of waters burst. I was so elated, because this meant I could get in the tub again. With our birth classes, they informed us that getting in the tub before your amniotic sac broke could slow down labor significantly, but could speed labor up after it broke. So my doula rewarmed the water for us and Samuel helped me back into the tub to help ease up the intensity of my contractions.

All I wanted to do was sleep! I was SO tired! And so I lay back with Samuel supporting me from behind and I was able to relax a bit. All the while, my doula is giving me more water and tea.

After a couple hours, Nichelle encouraged us to try other positions to get my pelvis to open up and move things along quicker. And so I moved to the squatting bench in the shower. This would be the most relief I felt throughout my pregnancy. The hot water on my back relieved much of the tension I felt with each contraction (Hosanna was occipital posterior and so I had back labor and felt most of the pain in my lower back and hips). Sitting on the bench was comfortable too, but soon my legs went numb and I had to stand to relieve yet another uncomfortable feeling. My contractions got much more intense, and these were definitely the worst of them all. I started crying and Samuel again would hold me, caress me and apply pressure to my back (which relieved a lot of the pain – these were the ones I could really say were painful). He would tell me how strong I was and how beautiful I looked. He would tell me soon we would meet Hosanna and that uplifted me and reminded me that what I was doing was normal and possible (unlike all the feedback I had received during my pregnancy). 

Sommer had come back and I was so encouraged to see her; her presence was so comforting and reassuring. I started to make high pitched-small noises with each contraction and she told me to deepen my voice. I did and it helped a bit by distracting me. Nichelle then wanted to check me again and by this time it was almost midnight. I remember stepping out of the shower and looking at Sommer’s feet. She had these really cool tattoos of her baby’s footprints and I said, “I love your tattoos” (which later she would confide was comical to her because I was in such deep labor and the one thing I noticed was her tattoos ). After checking me, I was 8cm dilated. I thought, ‘my goodness Hosanna is gonna be born tomorrow night at this rate’! I was progressing so slowly! And I was extremely tired at this point. Immediately after I went straight to the shower. With each contraction I moaned deeply and loudly while facing the corner of the shower as if to hide away from the world. I didn’t want anyone to see me in pain and it was embarrassing for me to be so vulnerable. I started crying again with Samuel and I alone in the bathroom. I looked at him and felt so sad because I knew how tired Samuel was, and how much I needed him! I knew he needed rest but I just could not do labor without him! 

Jacqueline told me when I started to feel like pushing to go ahead and do so. I went back on the squatting bench. Maybe an hour later I felt like I needed to pass a bowel movement and went to the toilet. Jacqueline said this could be my ‘urge to push’ feeling but I didn’t trust it. I then went back to the tub and tried pushing to see if it would bring relief, and it did. So with each contraction I started pushing while in the tub. Nichelle then entered the bathroom and wanted me to lie flat on my back in the restroom to try and get Hosanna to pass under my pubic bone. This hurt me so much! The pressure on my lower back and tailbone was so intense that I could not stand lying on my back. We then moved to the bed. At this point, my contractions spaced out a lot and were every 15 minutes. I was exhausted. Nichelle asked Jacqueline and Samuel to hold my legs so I could conserve as much energy as possible. She then suggested I drink black cohash tea to speed up my contractions. Samuel, as my protector and advocator, said no. He saw how exhausted I was and told her, “look at how tired she is, she needs the break in between”. To my surprise, Samuel said I would pass out into a deep sleep between each contraction and pushing and would snore! I had no clue…I was so tired and delirious that everything became a blur to me.

My eyes became so swollen from pushing that my vision was blurry and I was unable to see much. My jaw was also swollen and sore from clenching down with each push. After each contraction, I feared the coming of the next one because I didn’t know where I would get the energy to push. I started to doubt my ability to birth Hosanna. After 3 hours of pushing I heard Nichelle tell Samuel, “"her contractions are very far apart and per protocol, after 2 hours of pushing we are to transfer to the hospital". I started crying, because I knew if they transferred me, I would be an emergency c- section. Then she said, "but baby's heart rate is beautiful and mom's vitals are great". Then Samuel petitioned for more time for me. 

That's when my doula said to talk to Hosanna. To tell her we love her and want to meet her and that everything is OK. I couldn't talk because my jaw was so swollen from pushing so long and so I just cried. Samuel started singing Hosanna and my midwife and doula joined in. They encouraged me to reach down and feel Hosanna’s hair. I sobbed with joy and mustered the energy for the next pushes. Literally, 2 pushes later Hosanna was born.

The moment after she was born!

 They placed her on my chest and from moments before I had absolutely no energy to now, I felt like I was on cloud nine. My energy shot right up and I felt SO much relief and joy. The happiness that flooded me was UNBELIEVABLE AND UNWORLDLY. I had my baby girl and she was healthy! I held her for a long time just saying, “my baby, my baby. I hear you. I see you. YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL”. I kissed her everywhere and did not care that she had mucus and blood all over her, she was perfect! Then I turned to Samuel, who was sobbing and staring at us. I thought, ‘oh my gosh he hasn’t held her! How selfish of me’. But he was happy to watch us. He cut the cord and then held her while I birthed the placenta and received care from tearing. After, Hosanna latched on and we were able to successfully breastfeed. 

Nichelle, our midwife I greatly appreciated her knowledge and direction. I felt she had Hosanna's and my best interest at heart throughout my pregnancy and labor.

Jacqueline, our doula for most of Hosanna's labor and delivery. She was such a light. When I felt like I was facing a mountain and started to feel an inkling of doubt, she would sense it immediately and start praying aloud for strength, protection and endurance. She kept telling me I was a warrior, when I felt the exact opposite. I am so grateful to have had her support and encouragement!

 

Right before we departed from Blossom

 It was 3:43, April 26th when Hosanna was born. We then rested and at 10a we awoke again. Jacqueline made me breakfast and served me orange juice, tea and water. After eating, Hosanna received her newborn assessment by Nichelle. Samuel packed our car and soon we were in the comfort of our own home. My mother came over to finish ‘spring cleaning’ the house while we slept and adored our precious daughter. Everything was perfect.

Samuel adoring Hosanna shortly after arriving home.

Hosanna at 13 days old

Hosanna at 3 weeks old!

A Letter to my Mom

Mom-

There is nothing that can bring you such intense joy and sorrow in the same moment as motherhood can. I find that I am constantly overjoyed when my daughter does something new, but it quickly turns to sadness when I think about the fact that she will never again NOT do that. I am finding that I am finally beginning to understand some of the things that you have always said and taught me, because I now face them myself.

I know how you felt the moment I was born.

I know how you felt when I smiled for the first time.

I know how you felt when I said my first word and took my first steps.

I know how you felt on my first day of school.

I know how you felt when I experienced my first heartbreak.

I know how you felt when I found Jesus for the first time. and the second time. and the third time.

I know how you felt when I had new discoveries and revelations.

I know how you felt watching my walk down the aisle on my wedding day.

I know how you felt when you watched me deliver my daughter.

And I know how you feel now reading this letter. Although I have yet to experience many of these things with my own daughter, the feeling cannot be that much different. Just maybe more severe. I am so excited to guide my daughter through these events, but I am also terrified that my heart may burst into a thousand pieces in the process.

Motherhood is the only thing that can crush your heart and then mend it all within one sentence. I know that now. The only thing closer to this love is the love that Christ has for us. And you taught me that. Motherhood is intense- there is no other way to describe it.

You are a brave and strong woman. You have endured many hardships and challenges in your last 27 years of motherhood, but they never broke you. You constantly turned to Christ, and turned us to Christ. I am forever grateful to you for loving me, teaching me, nurturing me, and not throwing me out the window when you felt like it.

I love that I can now share motherhood with you, and I hope that one day my daughter feels the same way about me as I feel about you. Thank you for carrying both of us, me and Piper, before you even knew who we were. We would not be here without you, and I would not be the person I am today without your guidance.

“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master.”- Matthew 25:23

Because you have been such a “good and faithful servant”, God has already blessed you with 6 (almost 7) grandchildren- and many more to come. Your legacy will live on.

I love you, Mom. 

Happy Mother’s Day.

How Did You Choose Baby's Name?

This past week I was so amused as I read through a little post on one of my “mommy group” pages. My friend, Michelle, asked about how each of us came up with our child(ren)’s name. It was so fun to read through all of the comments! So I asked permission to share some of their baby names and reasons here. If you are still searching for baby names (aren’t we always!?), maybe this will help to get the ball rolling! 

***Mamas- I may have added a couple words to have your comment make sense!***

Carly- It was the only boy name we could agree on that no one that we knew had! Cameron is the first name and his middle name is Christopher. His initials are CCC, just like Chris's (his dad).

Terri- We both really liked the name Lily but wanted a more "formal" name in case she chooses a profession where a "serious" name might be helpful. Add to that our love of ‘Doctor Who’ and mutual crushes on Billie Piper's character Rose Tyler and we landed on Lillian Rose.

Diane- Lysandros was conceived in Greece. . .and it's a Greek version of my grandfather's name.

Megan- I loved Grace but hubby wanted 2 syllables. We finally agreed on Hannah and he was ok with Grace as the middle name. When I looked up the meaning of Hannah, what do you know...."God's grace." Then my sis guessed the exact full name the next day! Meant to be, and I got my Grace after all.

Kasha- Joshua is my husband’s name and then I heard the name Luca- looked up the meaning which said "man from Lucania(a province in Italy), and my husband’s grandmother’s family is from the province of Lucania...it seemed perfect!

Melinda- Our new baby's name will be Kailis. My husband likes Kai, and I liked Silas.

Jennifer- We had 3 names narrowed down: Henry, Logan & Ethan. When he was born, my husband and I looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Logan." He just looked like a Logan! It was such a sweet moment. (and the name Logan came from Wolverine, X-men. we're nerds that way! haha).

Leah- My son's name is Axel, its Danish (as is my husband's family), and it's his great great grandfather's name. I wanted to name my daughter Isabelle, so I could call her Izzy, but after 53,652 people asking if I named her after Isabella/Bella from Twilight, I had to change it. I had a client whose daughter's name was Lilah and I fell in love with it, so Lilah it was!

Alex- We wanted to include one of our names as a middle name but were determined to give him his own first name. We love traditional names, and I've loved 'James' since Day 1. So he is James Alan, which I love since it includes his father's name.

Susan- I have a degree in English Lit and I've long been obsessed with John Steinbeck. (One of my dogs is a black standard poodle named Charley from "Travels with Charley.") I wanted a name with meaning, so my son John was named after John Steinbeck. We used my maiden name of Elliott as his middle name, and I also have a grandfather named John Elliott, so I liked that connection as well.

Murphy- In my husbands family, it's been a tradition for the first born son to name his first born son his middle name. I have always liked Daniel from the Bible, so that was an easy tradition to carry on. His middle name is Samson. Which means ‘strong man’. My labor was a week long, and my son was a champ through the whole thing. He was 10lbs, 14 ounces and we knew we had given him a name he was already living up to.

Michelle- Ruby Michelle- Ruby is from this song. There are a few other Ruby songs we also sing to her, but her name came from this Kaiser Chiefs song. My husband's family has the tradition of giving the first name of the parent as the middle to the baby- so Michelle it is.

Erin- We had about ten girls names we loved and zero boy names. I suggested Oliver early on but Brent wasn’t a huge fan. Every other name we liked our families hated. We decided he would be Oliver unless the name didn't fit but then he came out looking like a perfect Oliver. Brent chose James (for a middle name) because it flows well.

Jessica- We wanted to give our kiddo a blessing in her name, so we [very systematically] whittled down the list to three sets of options for her to choose from. When she was born & we presented them to her, we got to "Moxie" and she exclaimed, "aaaahhhh!" and so she became our wit & wisdom: Moxie Sofia.

Leesha- We didn't have her name picked out till a few weeks before she came. We had thought she was a boy in the beginning and had several boys names that we liked. Liam, Colin, Aiden, and Vincent, but then at her 20 week ultrasound it all changed. (I made the tech check 3 times because I was SO sure she was a boy! We wanted to have 3 names and then decide when we met her, but we ended up only having one and being certain it was her name while I was still pregnant. We really liked the idea of a spunky girl nickname and a ladylike name. The lead singer of one of Wesley's favorite bands was Edie (pronounced eedee) short for Edith, which he loved. I thought the name Edith was a little old lady-ish, so then we liked Izzy, short for Izabella, but we had a similar ‘Twilight’ experience. We settled on the nickname Evie (eevee) but couldn't decide on her full name. On a date we walked by a magazine rack with Evangeline Lily from ‘Lost’ on the cover. We liked it and then in the car later I said Evangeline Rose Willard, and we both started crying. We just knew it was her. Rose is my cousin (and best friend's) middle name as well as his Grandmother's middle name who helped raise him. And it was her grandmother's name as well so we liked the idea of Rosé as a middle name for a while. It flowed and was both ladylike and spunky. We call her Evie Rose most of the time. It suits her.

Kevyn- We wanted to keep a Celtic theme going from my husband's side, we both agreed on William but I just imagining nicknames Billy and Willy which I didn't want so, Liam stuck. Nikolas came from his favorite uncle who's been a huge part of his life but the spelling is after a hockey player. But I love it.

Trinette- I was in labor and we still hadn't decided on a name. We were on our way to Babymoon and my husband looks over and asks the same question we had been asking each other the whole pregnancy: "so what are we going to name this baby?" I told him I still didn't know and he threw out the names we had discussed - Anisa and Naomi, and added a new one: Anaya. I loved it and upon looking it up found out it means "God answered." So our oldest is Terrance, named after dad. Second is Amani, and third is Anaya, both of whom were named by dad.

Kassie- Fell in love with the name ‘Emma’ after seeing the movie "Emma" when I was 10 years old...I still watch the movie over and over and never get tired of it....

Amy- Michael: "what do you think of the name Timothy?"

         Me: "...I like it!"

Timothy was just random and we liked it’s meaning (one who honors God). For the middle name, we read Eric Metaxas' biography about Dietrich Bonhoeffer while I was pregnant, and chose Timothy Dietrich soon after.

Stephanie- We looked through 1 and 2 Chronicles at names and saw Hezekiah. We both liked it but thought it was a little old school so we made it more unique by taking out the "He" so it was just Zekiah. It means ‘God strengthens’. Zoey-Noel got her name because we wanted a Z name to match her brothers. Heith was watching a show called Terra Nova and there was a little girl on there named Zoey. We decided to add Noel to her name to make it more unique and because we liked the meaning. It means ‘life at birth’.

Kandice- Web page titled ‘Superhero Baby Names”. His name is Logan.

Amber- Nameberry.com...I wanted a less simple name and Seth wanted a simple name (one that’s common)... We decided on Corinne (because daddy actually liked it)... Her middle name Lindsay came from Seth's side of the family.... Hayden was a name that we could agree on, and his middle name William came from my late father's first name (May he rest in peace ).

Chelsea- Before my husband and I were married he had a dream from The Lord that he would have a daughter and her name was TOO BE REBECCA!

Abigail- #1 Lilliana (Lily's are my favorite flower) Faith (cuz it took a lot of faith to get through her pregnancy). #2 Sophia ( the only name her daddy and i could agree on) Michelle (my second oldest sister’s middle name). #3 Elizabeth (Josh has always loved this name and it was his grandmother’s middle name) Evelyn (Josh's mom’s middle name). #4 Elijah ( He was the priest who came to pray with Hannah in the temple when she asked God for a baby) Patrick (He was born on St. Patricks day). #5 Amelia (A name I have LOVED for ages and I finally got my way) Genavieve (the french version of Gwendolyn who is my little sister and Amelia's Godmother!) Wow, I’ve got a long winded set of stories!

Andrew- I'm a bible geek and Zoe is the Greek word for life. "ζοε"

Miguel- Believe it or not, the day that we found out the sex of our child, is the day that his name came to my mind. I believe it was from God when 'Tobias' entered my mind. My wife is big on having a meaningful name for her child. I looked up the meaning before suggesting the name to her and in front of my parents that day. Tobias is greek for 'God is Good'. Funny, people won't even realize what they are calling out when they say his name.

Jessica- #1 Gabriel is because of Nate's (my husband’s) brother (who passed away shortly after we were married). Eric is my dad's name. #2 Austin is the only name we both could agree on and James is Nate's middle name.

Virginia- Cecilia was my confirmation name. St. Cecilia is the saint of music and music has always played a large part in my life (I hope it will in hers too). Also, Cecilia is a classic name (last time it was popular was the 20s.) Marie is my mom and my middle name, I thought it was nice to have a piece of my family in her name.

Jeff- Made a list from baby name books and the Bible. We had it picked out and when he was born, we changed it to Samuel. The middle name is a family name.

Aubrey- I wanted to name her Poppy, but my husband didn't love it. I liked Piper, but it seemed too strong for a sweet little girl. We got Piper from John Piper, a very respected author and pastor in Minnesota that we love. We agreed that we would wait until the birth to decide, and if she just "popped out" it would be Poppy. 67 hours of labor later... She was Piper. Her middle name is Renee, passed down from my mother to me (first-born daughter) to Piper (first-born daughter). 

Catt- Duhhh!! From Saved by the Bell!! My hubby and my favorite show growing up was Saved by the Bell and when we started dating we talked about baby names and we both said 'Zak' from Saved by the bell and that's what it is...just spelled different.

Cleaning Your Washing Machine

It's Monday... Back to the daily grind and the chores that seem to always be calling us...

I am a little ashamed about this post. Again, this is another thing that I found Pinterest that looked intriguing. Maybe it’s because I was a young, naive wife, but who knew that you had to clean your washing machine!?! I didn’t. I’m not sure why I didn’t though, because I always say “you can’t clean dishes in a dirty sink”. So this should make sense.

I have cleaned my washing machine a few times since I first found a post about it. So, it’s probably every 6 months or so. And by 6 months, it NEEDS a good cleaning. Can you tell? Here is my before:

Yuck. Yes, I kept the pictures small for a reason.
 Here is what I did:

1. Set washing machine to largest load and fill with HOT water. Add 1 quart of bleach to water. Let machine agitate for a minute or two, then open the lid and let it sit for 30-60 minutes. Then drop lid and allow machine to go through a full cycle. 

2. As soon as cycle is done, again fill machine with HOT water. Add 1 quart of distilled vinegar to water. Let machine agitate, then open lid and let it sit 30-60 minutes.

3. While water is sitting, take a rag, sponge, scrubber, etc. and wipe and scrub down every nook and cranny on the machine. I use a sponge with a scrubber side. Dip sponge in machine water and scrub inside, outside, knobs, crevices, and the removable bleach tray. Yuck again. I usually also take the sponge to the doors, door handles, walls, light switches... whatever else needs a good wipe down!

4. Once everything is spotless, Drop lid and let the machine run through it’s cycle again. The bleach and vinegar will kill bacteria and help your machine to run better, smell good, and sparkle!

Now you’re ready to go! Easy right?

 Look at those beautifully clean machine! Have fun cleaning :)

Now go clean your washing machine. It needs it and wants it.

 I won't judge you if you don't judge me :)

The Trouble with Technology and Parenting

I recently saw a commercial by Kindle that made me feel pretty angry! Apparently, children LOVE to play with tablets, so there is a feature on the new Kindle called FreeTime. This feature is used to set a time limit for your child and then locks them out with a pop-up that says “All done for today!”. This timer can be set differently for books, games, and videos. The end of the commercial states “it let’s them know when they’re time is up... so you don’t have to”. Can we phase ourselves out as parents any more!?!?

I am not a super strict mom when it comes to technology. Pipsqueak watches Mickey Mouse some mornings and occasionally may glance at Four Weddings on the tv while we play on the floor. I have the PBS Kids app on my phone, and some mornings when I feel exhausted, I bring her to bed with me and let her watch a few minutes of it while I close my eyes. She’s a baby, so 5 minutes is a long time for her! Sometimes when I check my email, I put her on my lap and let her play with the desk and the keyboard. I am not worried about her watching too much tv or looking at screens too much because she doesn’t have the attention span- but mostly because I am always monitoring it and always with her! Why? Because I am her parent, and that is my job.

Technology is making it wayyyy too easy to ignore our children. Although my child is still so young, she knows when I am looking at my phone and not paying attention to her. As soon as I drop it and look at her, she stops fussing and smiles at me. They are so smart!

I will NEVER allow myself to be the mom who sits at a restaurant and puts a tablet in front of my child to “entertain” them. They are sitting in a restaurant with a hundred different people, noises, and smells to discover- that can be their entertainment. How are we going to raise well adjusted, friendly, and people/world conscious children if we are always sticking a screen in front of their face? How will they ever learn to sit still and wait quietly at the dentist’s office without screaming that they want to watch a movie?

These technologies are brand-new to society, so we have obviously been thriving without being entertained every moment. My mother had 5 children within 8 years, and we had no choice but to be well-behaved. I remember going into the bank QUIETLY, the youngest child being only a year old. We were expected to sit on the floor against the wall (in birth order) and wait patiently and quietly while she did her transactions. And we did. If we happened to get a little rowdy, she would give us the “evil eye” and that would shut us down. It’s not that she never allowed playing or silliness, it’s just about an appropriate time and place. We would go to the park afterwards and run and yell our wiggles out! But my mother was constantly monitoring and intentionally teaching us to become well-adjusted and well-behaved adults. Isn't that our job?

So I BEG YOU, please don’t allow technology to run your life, cause you to ignore your child, or let it parent your child. We should HAVE to tell them how much, when to stop, and provide them with other fun activities, because we are their parents! Can I say it enough? IT’S OUR JOB. If I had a Kindle set with a timer, how would I ever know where my child was or what she was doing? We need to be INVOLVED in their lives, not distant and bothered all the time. Remember- we chose to bring these little ones into the world- it’s only fair that they receive an attentive and caring upbringing. There are so many other reasons I feel this way, but we will leave those for another time :)/

And just for accountability reasons- I am writing this blog post as I listen to my husband play guitar to our child in our bedroom. He is focusing on her and enjoying her presence- I have no intention of using this blog to interfere with my child’s well being!

Here’s to being involved, caring, loving, and never ignoring our wee ones.