What Pregnancy Has Taught Me

As I enter my 8th month (yikes!) it makes me think about all the things I have learned so far during this pregnancy. Thought maybe I would share some of these thoughts and use this as my 32 week bump date!


Your body will change and there is nothing you can do about it.
I will admit it, I like to be in control. In just about every area I prefer to have control and know what to expect. I also very rarely get sick or feel unwell. Since being pregnant, my body has changed in strange ways and I have had symptoms that were less than desirable. I can't control it and have no idea what I will feel like from day to day or what changes I will wake up to. While I don't love this about pregnancy I will gladly endure it for the precious babe growing in my belly!

People will tell you each and every detail of their own labor... just accept it. 
Let me be clear, this really doesn't bother me that much. I am truly not worried about delivery, this baby has to come out of me somehow and there is no use in worrying about how it might happen. But there is something about being pregnant that for some reason makes every woman who has given birth want to tell you their horror stories. Good thing I'm not a worry wart!

Priorities quickly shift.
I used to be all about my career as a teacher and would stay until 4:30 or 5:00 every night to work in my classroom. I still absolutely love my job and put lots of care and effort into my classroom and students, but I naturally felt my priorities shift. This baby and my husband are my little family and I will always choose family over career. I have been training myself to leave work earlier (while still getting things done) so that when the little peanut comes I can get home to it and spend as much time as possible with my sweet family!

Not everyone's pregnancies are the same
So many people will give advice and tell you about their experiences through pregnancy. There are also tons of things online that you can read. Sometimes it makes me compare my pregnancy to others and begin to worry that mine is not normal or something must be wrong. But every woman's body is different and every baby is different. Comparisons can only hurt. I try to just trust God first and my doctor second.

Momma and baby connection is almost instant
I could not have guessed how quickly I would fall in love with this baby before even seeing its little face. I feel so intensely connected to this child inside me that I don't think I can describe it to someone who hasn't also experienced it. It is such a unique feeling and I can't wait to see how much that bond grows when baby is on the outside!

There are so many other things I have learned during these past 8 months and so much more I will learn after bebe is here. I just never want to forget these thoughts and feelings while going through it all for the first time. Cause I will hopefully be doing it a few more times and I'm sure I will forget by then!

Merry Christmas

Christmas Spirit

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!

This holiday season really made The Hubs and I begin talking about what we want Christmas to look like in our home as we start our family. Christmas has been so commercialized in our world and the real meaning (Jesus!) has been forgotten.

We don't want our kiddos growing up thinking that Christmas is all about gifts, Santa and earthly desires. So here are a few things we plan to do with our kids to help them keep the true meaning of Christmas in sight.


1. Read The Christmas Story

What better way to help our kiddos understand why we truly celebrate Christmas than to read them the story of Jesus' birth? We may start out with a book like the one below and as they get older we will read from the Bible. We want this to be something we do every year as a family, snuggled together on the couch reading the story together and praying together to thank God for the greatest gift of all!  

Buy

2. No Santa

Sorry, this might bother some people but we will probably not have Santa in our home. The Hubs struggled with this because he grew up with Santa and thought it was so fun. But after talking it over we decided we will tell the story of the real Saint Nicholas, because he was actually a pretty cool guy. Our kids just won't think Santa flew around the world to deliver their presents. We will also make sure they are respectful of those kids who do believe in Santa. 

3. Minimal Gifts

Christmas in this world we live in seems to be so much about gifts and spending WAY too much money! When kids are little they will have trouble understanding the true meaning so if you are buying them tons of gifts that will naturally overshadow Jesus. It just will. So we are going to adopt the Want, Need, Wear, Read policy for gifts to our kids. We do not want to go overboard and spoil them or break the bank so we will use the following guidelines to get our kids just 4 simple gifts. 

Want

Our kids get one thing that they really want! That toy they have been begging for and we keep saying no. Whatever item they have been obsessing over (unless it is incredibly expensive) will be their fun gift!

Need

We will buy our kids something that they have really been needing. Maybe new shoes or a coat or backpack for school. Something we keep saying they need but haven't gone out and gotten yet. 

Wear

Something for them to wear. A shirt, hat and gloves or something anything wearable. 

Read

A book! Something they will really love and be interested in and will also encourage them to read more! 


4. Family Time

While Jesus truly is the reason for the season, the holidays are also a great time to be with family and have special times together that you may not normally have time for. We want our Christmas mornings to be incredibly special for our kids and us. We talked about doing some kind of special breakfast that we only do on Christmas morning and then read the Christmas Story and open presents and spend our morning together, just our little family before we head off to big family events.

Whatever your family does this time of year I challenge you to keep God at the center of it no matter what! 

Baby's Room ~ A Mini Tour

So disclaimer, I do not like calling it a nursery. Not sure why, I have just never liked that word much. So we always just call it the Baby's Room at our house. I really had dreams of having the most adorable decor in the whole world because I really care about home decor. However, this room was our guest room and is our only other room besides the master - #starterhome. So I went back and forth for along time about if I wanted to keep the guest bed in the room along with the crib. I ultimately decided that with all of our family living far away, we needed to have the guest bed in the room.

After making that practical decision I thought that I lost all chances to have a "perfect" room for our bebe. I think it turned out pretty stinkin' cute though! It is not finished, there are still a few boy or girl touches hiding in the closet that can't be put up until after peanut arrives. But here is what we have so far!

Also, quick shoutout to The Hubs who was actually very involved in the process of putting this room together! Best hubby ever!

Looking in from the hallway. 

We took the closet door off to make more room.

Still need crib bumper and skirt. A cute wooden pennant with baby's initial will go under the "Dream Big Little One" sign.

Bebe will really know its ABC's!

A big letter of baby's initial in a boy or girl color will go above the changing table. 

Dear Baby

Dear Baby,

Your dad and I don't yet know what your name will be. Sure, we have picked what we think are the perfect names for if you are a little lady or a gentleman. But we won't know for a while which name we will use. You dad is sure you will be his "daddy's little girl", while I think you will be a bouncing baby boy. No matter what you are, there are some things I want you to know.

You are already so incredibly loved, beyond what you can imagine. We know basically nothing about you yet, and we like it that way! And even though we don't know what parts you will have or what name we will call you for sure, we know that you are a part of both of us and a precious miracle from God. I am fully aware that you will keep me up for many nights creating pure exhaustion in both your daddy and I. You will cause me to get wrinkles from worry at my young age of twenty-five and you will test my patience daily. Will I be so emotional and frustrated once you arrive that I can't help but sob? Absolutely! But when I feel you kick and wiggle around inside of me, I really could care less about all of that. We prayed for you for a long time and we have so many dreams and plans for how we will spend our lives with you by our side! I want to make you some promises while you are still in my womb, it's always good to get these things in writing ;)

First, your daddy and I promise that we will raise you in a house that is full of God's love. You may not know much about God right now, but he is your dad and I's number one priority! Not only will we teach you Bible stories, songs and take you to church but we will try to model God's love in our home daily. In everything we do. Are we great at following Jesus all the time? No. We stumble and fall and will continue to do so, but in our daily walk with God we want you to see those moments, because you will have them too someday. We will strive to teach you about grace. What a beautiful gift we are given daily from our Heavenly Father, a gift that none of us deserve. Sweet baby, we promise we will make this the utmost importance in our home, no matter what roof we live under.

Precious little one, because we have the love of Jesus in our hearts our home will be so full of love! I promise that you will not go a day without hearing "I love you" from both your daddy and I. We don't want you to ever forget just how special you are to us. You are quite literally a gift from God and we will never stop telling him "Thank you" for your presence in our lives!

I promise that you will also always hear your daddy and I say how much we love each other. What does this have to do with you? Everything! You were created out of love and we want you to be raised in that same love your whole life. Someday we hope you grow up and will find a special someone to love, marry and start a family with. We want to give you the best example of a family that we can. In the beginning you might be jealous of daddy and my kisses and hugs for each other, then you will grow to be repulsed by them. But that won't make us stop, because someday you will appreciate the example we were setting in those little moments.

You won't understand this one right now and will later probably hate us for it for a time, but oh how important it is. Sweet child, I promise that we will discipline you! We will not make empty threats when you misbehave (and misbehave you will!), when we tell you to "stop or else" we will mean it! We will do this not because we want you to be unhappy and be denied your every heart's little desire. We will do it because we want you to learn respect, self-control and to not be entitled. We are preparing you to grow up and live in this harsh world. In all honesty, the rules and expectations we have will be because we love you so fiercely, and truly want to help you grow into the best little human you possibly can!

I also promise that we will not be perfect parents. We will make so many mistakes, especially with you since you're our first. Mistakes help us learn and we want you to learn that lesson too. And even though we will make mistakes, we will never stop trying to be the best we can be for you each and every day.

Oh little one, there are so many more promises I could make to you and as you grow and change through each new season, some of these promises will become more important. Just know sweet bebe, that God placed you in our care for a reason. He has big plans for our little family and you are the beginning of that! We love you so much peanut! Keep growing big and strong, we can't wait to meet you!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Dropped the Ball...

So I missed week 28 and yesterday was the beginning of week 29 and my week coming up is CRAZY! So this is as good as it's gonna get!

Notable changes/updates:

*I am officially in the third trimester! Home stretch people!
*I am now able to see the baby move. You know those weird alien-like movements? I love it! Along with that, baby's kicks are getting so strong!
*I'm getting huge!
*I am all about cereal right now.
*I'm starting to get antsy to meet this precious bebe!

Only 11 more weeks!!!!

Seriously?

Source: Stockphoto

Alright, time to get real!

Disclaimer:

Let me first begin by saying that I usually steer clear of voicing my political or controversial opinions because I think there is a certain time and place for all of that. Not to say I don't have opinions, cause I really do but I think social media is usually not the place to share those thoughts. But some things transpired today and I feel like my thoughts are just needing to spew out right now... so I'm gonna let them!

The "deadly" concoction that made me feel the need to share (in a nutshell):

1. 

Last night I read a horrifying article about a man who posed as someone else on a social media outlet and convinced a 14 year old girl to meet with him. When he met up with her, he kidnapped her, held her against her will and I am sure you can imagine the kinds of things he did to her.

2.

Today, I had three students bring cell phones to school which prompted all my students to talk about their Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat accounts.

WHY?

Why in the world do FOURTH GRADERS - 10 YEAR OLDS have
a). their own expensive smart phones and
b). social media accounts of any kind?

Now, I grew up in this technological age and got a cell phone (a bulky Nokia that could only call) when I was in the 7th grade. I had just started playing middle school sports and the bus would get home from games later than my parents got home, so they wanted me to have a way to call them to come pick me up or if there was an emergency when I was far away. My phone could do nothing cool because at this point smartphones were not even a thing. In fact I didn't even get my first smartphone until I was in my last semester of college and had been married for a year! Some of this fact comes because I am a wee bit anti cellphone, but mostly I just feel like I have some common sense!

Fourth graders are babies, they really are. They are growing up and are ready to accept more responsibility in some ways, but they are still just young, naive, sweet babies! Besides the fact that I am partially against all things electronic for kids (video games, excessive tv, tablets, phones, etc.) I know that those things can be okay in moderation. But for the love of pete, there is literally no reason on this earth that a child in the fourth grade needs to have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or any other thing like that! I know that the majority of children will use these things and never be taken advantage of, kidnapped or tricked, but why as a parent would you even risk it? What benefit is there to a young child having these things on their phone? I really cannot think of a single one! Kids should be playing outside, building forts, reading, coloring, playing with games or toys. NOT spending their time with their nose in a phone on social media!

As an adult I have all of these above mentioned apps (minus snapchat) and don't get me wrong, I love my Instagram and Facebook. They keep me connected to family that lives far away, help me document exciting moments in life and provide some relaxing entertainment after a hard day's work. But I am 25 years old and know how to be smart with these things. I don't friend people I don't know, I set my accounts to private, I don't post my address or other personal information. I can make wise choices. A fourth grader cannot!

When my students were having their conversation about all the social media they had I asked them to raise their hand if they had their own smartphone or tablet at home. Every single student except 1 raised their hand. Now this really didn't surprise me, I know that most kids today have these things. But then I asked them to raise their hands if on those devices they have Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. Three of the 18 who had raised there hands before did not have those apps and just use their phones for games and phone calls. But that is 15 children out of my class who are 10 years old and have social media accounts that are really not meant for people under the age of 18!

I saw this as an opportunity to talk to them about phone and internet safety. We discussed how there are bad people out there and they use those things to hurt people. We talked about how a person you don't know on the internet is just like a stranger you meet on the street. We discussed how their parents should be able to access all of their accounts to make sure they are being safe and how they should always tell someone if anything or anyone seems suspicious.

Many of my kids acted like this was all brand new information to them. Like they had not been told this by their parents before and some were even shocked to hear that some people pretend to be something they are not online to hurt others.

This broke my heart.

I know I am not a parent to a child on the outside world yet, and it will be years before I have a child that can even operate social media but I still cannot imagine allowing my child to use those things at all, but let alone without talking to them about the risks and dangers.

Some of my student's parents may not even be aware that their child has these things. They also may be new to certain social media outlets and don't know the risks. I give these parents a little grace, but as an adult who works with kids every day, I urge all parents to do some research, ask questions and get more involved with what your kids are doing on their phones! You can never be to careful with your precious children!

Now I have to end this by saying that I am not trying to offend anyone. How you parent your child or how you monitor electronics is your choice! I know many parents do set guide lines and are knowledgeable of what their child is doing online, but I also know that sometimes people can be blind to these things and it is important enough that I felt like I needed to say something!

Below are some articles about internet safety and kids that might be helpful:

Safe Kids
Digital Parenting
On Guard 

Be safe!

27 Weeks

Details! 

Sleep: This has not been so good lately. I am waking up super achey in my joints and a few nights I have woken up and not been able to get back to sleep :( 

Best moment this week: I have been feeling baby swim around and flip recently. The other day I felt baby distinctively swim to one side of my belly and so I felt around and there was a precious little round, hard bump that felt just like a head or booty (verdict's still out on which one it was)! It was so cool! 

Miss anything? Being able to bend down easily or sit/lay in certain positions.

Food cravings: Still just eating anything I can get my hands on! I have been really into smoothies lately. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Gender: Still clueless as ever! But The Hubs and I had our final "name" discussion and we are 100% settled on one boy name and one girl name. 

Symptoms: No new symptoms to report on. Same ol' same ol'

Looking forward to: Thanksgiving break, especially the FOOD!

How's Dad doing? Wonderful, he can't believe next week begins my third trimester! Home stretch! 

Baby's room: We took the door off the closet and hung a curtain and also hung a curtain in the window. Things are a mess right now from taking the door off but hopefully I will be doing some wall hanging soon and will have pictures to share!