Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Guest Blogger: Rachel From Our Havenhill
Hey Everyone, I'm very excited to announce that I have a guest blogger posting on my blog today! Meet Rachel, first time Mom and fellow blogger over at Our Havenhill. I feel so honored to have Rachel posting on my blog today, she is such a sweet and beautiful woman who has such a deep love for her family. Rachel's passion to be the best wife and Mother she can be is so inspiring to me! Rachel's guest post is about how Motherhood has changed her in such a profound way. I really enjoyed reading it, her words are beautifully written and I'm not going to lie they made me tear up just a little bit. I love reading stories about the impact Motherhood has on someone! Hope you enjoy, and make sure to stop by Rachel's blog to learn more about her sweet little family!
Hi, I’m Rachel from Our Havenhill. My husband Josh and I have been married 5 years now (together for 9 1/2 years!) and we welcomed our first child Lillian Eve into our hearts and lives on May 28, 2011. We also have a grey kitty Shadow at home who is Lillian’s “big sister”. I am so excited to be here as the guest poster at Jen’s blog today!
Today I’ll be writing about how motherhood has changed me. Besides the obvious and outside changes, there are some subtle and some profound changes that aren’t visible to the eye. Anyone can see (well maybe not just anyone since I don’t walk around in a bikini every day!) the physical marks that proudly proclaim to the world that I’m a mother. I have large deep purple stretch marks on my hips, my butt, my breasts, and my inner thighs. I was lucky and escaped having any on my stomach! I know that in time they will fade to a silvery white color, hopefully barely noticeable. They don’t bother me too much though.
Anyone can see my “mummy tummy”. I still have a little pouch of poochiness in my belly that doesn’t seem to want to go away! Granted, my baby has only just turned 5 months old. I know I need to give my body time. Like my Mom tells me: 9 months to grow the baby, give your body 9 months to heal! I try to keep that in mind.
It is the changes INSIDE me that are the most profound. I am a MOM. I am someone’s mother. And not just any someone – she is the most wonderful, beautiful, sweet daughter that we could have ever dreamed of. She is everything we prayed for! I want to be the best for her. Previously I wanted to be the best wife I could be for Josh (who deserves the best wife in the world!). I STILL want to be the best wife to him, but that’s not my only goal anymore. My goal is to be the best wife and mother possible. They both deserve my best.
I now put another’s needs before my own without even thinking about it. I have always tried to put Josh’s needs before my own, but as a mother it is now second nature, and instinctive. It is second nature to stop what I am doing and breastfeed, even if she just nursed only 10 minutes ago. Now we put her desires and needs before our own.
Josh and I have always had the strongest bond and the most love imaginable for each other. Now that we’ve created a child together our need for each other and our concern for our family’s safety and welfare have increased exponentially! I always worry. But now I worry even MORE. I need my little family to be safe and happy. I worry if Lillian coughs. I worry if she has a rash. (Even if for only two minutes!) I worry if she looks sad. I have an almost crippling fear sometimes of anything happening to my loved ones or even me, now that someone depends on me so completely. I have always had these fears. What would Josh or I do without the other? We know how it would devastate each other and our families. But now it is unimaginable. It is terrifying. We need to always be here for our precious daughter.
My heart is so full of love and protectiveness towards my daughter. I know Josh has changed in the same way. Where previously we could watch movies or tv shows where a child is abducted or hurt in any way, now it physically pains us and brings tears to our eyes and makes us hold Lillian all the tighter and kiss her with all the love we can show. I can’t and won’t watch things like that anymore. I can’t even see commercials of starving children anymore without tearing up and feeling protective. It is so clichéd, yet I now know exactly what everyone who became a parent before me has been talking about. Before, it was only stories of abandonment or abuse of animal that had me feeling that way. Now it is the animals and little children of the world that have my sympathy.
My daughter has grown and increased the love and fierce protectiveness of my heart. I have always had the most to live for, and now I have even more to live for. The most! I am so blessed and happy and fulfilled!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
She Finally Likes...
After months of not liking tummy time my daughter finally seems to really enjoy it now, so much so that I never even have to put her on her belly anymore, she does that all by herself! I just spread out a few toys around her and she goes to town trying to reach for them! I just love how excited she gets about everything!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Dear Chloe: Oh The Things You Do
Dear Chloe,
You bring your Daddy and I so much joy! To watch you blossom right before our eyes is one of the greatest treasures we've ever received. You have such a beautiful and sweet personality my little love and you can be so silly at times!
The way you....
:: Always have your cute little feet in your mouth while lying on your back
:: Are constantly rolling over onto your belly even while having your diaper changed
:: Make high pitch squeals of joy when you are happy
:: Flash everyone you see your beautiful gummy smile
:: Laugh at Daddy and I when we are being silly
:: Grab my glasses off my face a million times a day
:: Turn your head and entire little body to see or grab something that has caught your eye
:: Sound like a baby bird when you are so very happy and filled with wonder (the only way Daddy and :: I could describe this ridiculously adorable sound that you make)
:: Look up at me and smile while sitting on my lap ::sigh:: oh those beautiful blue eye's of yours, they make my
heart swell with such an overwhelming love
:: Fill our hearts with so much love, and joy, and excitement.
In one short week you will be five months old, FIVE MONTHS! and in these five months you my sweet Chloe have taught us so much about the love that Jesus has for us. Its incredible to me that he has shown us a glimpse of the deep love he has for us by giving us you, by becoming parents God has given us the chance to understand just how much he loves and cares for us, his CHILDREN. It's just all so beautiful!
We will never stop thanking Jesus for the gift that you are to us!
Love you always Chloe,
Mama
Friday, November 4, 2011
Babywearing 101: All About Carriers and Where to Buy
Finally, here is my overdue post about baby carriers and where to buy them! Searching for the perfect carrier for you and your little one can be an overwhelming task. There are so many choices of styles and brands to choose from. My best advice is to take your time researching the different carriers out there and to connect with other babywearing parents. Hope this list can help you in some way! Good luck in your search!
Pouch - These are tubes of fabric that you fold in half and wear like a sash. Your baby fits into the pocket made by the fold. Pouches need to be correctly sized to work properly and come padded or unpadded.
Best for - Can be used for several different carries for an infant and a hip carry for a toddler.
Pouches are good to use for quick trips.
Not recommend for - Long carries with a heavy baby.
Image Via
Ring Sling (RS) - A carrier that is similar to the pouch but with adjustable rings. Ring slings come padded or unpadded.
Best for - newborn through toddler, and great for nursing.
Not recommended for - Some ring slings are not comfortable to use with heavy toddlers.
Image Via
Wrap - A long piece of fabric that you wrap around you and your baby.
Stretchy - Worn on the front only. Not safe to use for a back carry.
Best for - Newborns and up to about 15-18 lbs (except for the wrapsody which is more
supportive).
Not recommend for - Heavier babies, back carries or hip carries.
Image Via
Woven - A woven piece of fabric that you wrap in various ways around you and your
baby
Best for - babies of any size.
Not recommend for - They take a lot of practice and patience to learn how to use them.
Mei Tai - A Large piece of fabric with long straps that you can tie on. Can be used on the front and back. Does not need to be sized since it ties on. XL straps are available on many carriers. Variations include contoured body, hoods, and headrests.
Best for - babies to toddlers.
Not recommend for - tiny newborns.
Image Via
Wrap conversions (WC) - MTs made out of woven wraps.
Image Via
Podaegi (POD) - A carrier similar to a MT that has a blanket instead of bottom straps. Only the top straps are used to secure the carrier.
Image Via
Onbuhimo - Similar to a MT but without the waist straps . This carrier also uses rings on the waist to thread the shoulder straps through.
Image Via
Soft Structured Carrier (SSC) - A similar carrier to the MT but uses buckles instead of ties. These carriers are really comfortable to wear and can be used for both front and back carry. These carriers are perfect to use for a heavy toddler. Can be adjusted for different users and is also very Dad friendly!
Best For - babies to toddlers.
Not recommended for - can be difficult to fit depending on body shape and some SSCs can
be difficult to use with a newborn.
Boba Classic Carrier, Image Via
Good places to buy used:
:: TBW FSOT
:: Ebay stick to known brands!
Good places to buy new
:: River Bugs
:: Zerberts
:: Frog Mama
:: Paxbaby
:: Metro Minis
:: QuirkyBaby
:: Amazon stick to known brands!
:: BabyHawk
:: Moby Wrap
Thursday, November 3, 2011
New Design
All new layout and design is complete! I'm so happy with how everything turned out. Over time I'm sure I will make a few minor changes but for the most part I would say its finally finished!
Here's whats new:
:: Changed template
:: Colors are now white, black, dark purple, and gray
:: Made a Collage banner for my title
:: Grab my button
:: Added two new pages, a Contact Me page and the Birth Story: In Pictures page
:: Chloe's Birth Story and the We Fell in Love page will be up soon!
Thanks for stopping by and if you haven't already, become a follower of this blog!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
On My Heart: Blogging
I don't want to write about baby food, or babywearing, or products that I love and cant live without or really anything along those lines, I don't want to write about all the research that I've done. That's not me or something that I want my blog to turn into. I honestly don't even know what came over me to think that, that's something that I had to do.
Last night after dinner Mike and I were talking, and I shared with him that lately I have been feeling really frustrated with this blog. I want to write so badly but the words just wont come out and I have no motivation to even try. I said "take yesterday for example, I was trying to right a post about homemade baby food and baby led weaning literally all day long but I couldn't do it. I got maybe a paragraph down before I finally threw my hands up in defeat". Mike 's answer was profound and yet so incredibly simple...
"well maybe you just don't want to write about baby food"
I said "no I do"
but then I started to really think about what my husband said and this morning it finally hit me that he's right, I don't really want to write about things like baby food.
I want to write honestly and openly, to share a piece of myself .
To speak freely about:
my imperfect life
my feelings
challenges of a new Mom and wife
my past
my faith and relationship with Jesus
my intense and deep love for my daughter
my hopes and dreams, and fears
and my passion for love and all things beautiful!
This blog has been such an incredible blessing to me. A home for all my memories, love letters to my daughter, a way to be creative, and a connection to other Mom's. This is why I want to do so much more with this blog because it means so much to me. I know that not every post I write is going to perfect and filled with beautifully written words, and that's ok with me. I simply just want this blog to reflect who I am and the things I love most in life.
*note: I will still be writing informational posts from time to time I just don't want that to be the main focus of my blog. Also I will be finishing the babywearing series that I started, there should be a new post up for that by Friday!
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