Ramblings from the new (again) mom

It has been six weeks since our little miracle entered the world and what a six weeks it has been! This "advanced" age mom has learned and had to relearn many things along the way. It's surprising to me just how much I've forgotten! One thing I didn't have to relearn is that babies are awesome :-) How can you not just adore them?

But in practical matters, a few random thoughts.  Who knew that a baby could be so finicky with regards to carriers?  I am currently the owner of a Moby, Wrapsody and Infantino and she hates every one of them! My inner hippie adores the Wrapsody  but she will have none of it! and in the back of my mind, I think of all the diapers I could have bought with that money! lol

Pampers still beat Luvs without question, no matter what the Luvs commercial would like you to believe! (and diapers.com has an amazing deal going on for first time customers. Check it out!)

Sleep deprivation never did kill anyone and it doesn't look like it will any time soon.

Where did this worry come from?  After three other kids, you'd think I wouldn't obsess over ever snort, grunt, moan and cry but think again.

Speaking of grunting, I never knew a baby could make so much noise and still be asleep!  She does not cry at all at night.  She grunts! And in her sleep no less...loudly!  When she does wake up, it's more grunting, squirming and kicking off her blanket.  No cries. Weird, huh?

Babies have a way of making you really prioritize things. Shower or sleep?  Brush your teeth or go to the bathroom?  I mean, you have to decide what is really important and roll with the rest!

There's always enough love to go around and seeing the older girls dote on the baby only makes treasure them all the more!

There have been lots of "firsts" in the past month and a half.  We've experienced our first:

• bath 
• smile
• trip to the doctor 
• out of town visitor (miss you Grammy O)
• ...and five hour stretch of sleep (thank you Jesus!)

Of course, there are many other things I could list but you get the picture.  I absolutely love being a new (again) mom.  There's  a woman that that likes to remind me just how o-l-d I'll be when baby M is a teenager.  She says it like she feel sorry for me but I kinda feel sorry for HER :)  She doesn't know what she's missing out on!  lol  I'm having so much fun!

If I had to spill my one anxiety, it is that school needs to start up again for our other three children.  I do a lot of mental preparation but not a lot of physical.  I'm just having to trust that once again, the Lord knows what He's doing and will make a way for it to all work out in the end!

 

6w1d

There's so much more but hey, there's that "prioritizing" thing!  Until next time...

© Adorning Grace 2013

~~~~ BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT ~~~~

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly

 above all that we ask or think... 

Unto him be glory..." 

 Ephesians 3:20-21 

ANNOUNCING:

(for blogging purposes)

*baby M*

~~~

July 6, 2013

@1:09pm

7lb  15oz

What's in a name?

            *** is a Hebrew name that means "one who is like Jehovah God."  It is certainly our prayer as parents that each one of our children would grow to resemble Jesus Christ and be more like Him each day of their lives.  

               Phillips is in loving memory of my grandmother.  She passed away a few short hours before we found out that we were expecting M and she is  greatly missed. 

 

© Adorning Grace 2013

Let the countdown begin....16 days

Someone pinch me. Only 16 days left in this pregnancy (my guess is less). I am still in awe at the goodness of God in allowing us this miracle.He has worked all things out for good and turned ashes into beauty.  God is good and I am so undeserving.

 

My family is driving me a little bit crazy with the "how are you feeling?" and "do you think you're going into labor?" questions!  Truth is that I didn't know I was in labor with either of my other pregnancies and I don't anticipate this one to be much different. So, I tell them that when I know, they'll know ;-)  My husband keeps a watchful eye on me, acting like I may explode at any second.  It's actually pretty funny. 

A couple of prayer requests:

• Pray for clear bloodwork. I have been having periods of intense all-over itching which can be associated with a liver problem related to pregnancy. I am currently waiting results.
• Pray for strength in these last days. I am feeling overwhelmed with my inability to do all that my brain wants to get done!

• Pray for my children. They all plan to attend this baby's birth.  They want to be there but I also don't want them to be frightened by anything (they are 15/11/11).  I worry about one of them deciding they don't want to be in the room and ending up by themselves in the waiting room. Because of our being at a birth center an hour and fifteen minutes away, it's not likely we'll have anyone around to be with them.  You know how a mama's brain cannot tune out the needs of her children, no matter what is going on at the time!!!
• Lastly, please pray for a successful and safe VBAC.  The Lord knows that I want to avoid a repeat C-Section if at all possible. Pray specifically for the fear that occasionally takes over my brain and that the peace of God would reign supreme. 

Will be updating here just as soon as something happens!  

 

37wks

© Adorning Grace 2013

Decisions, Decisions...(and a family update)

With so many changes right around the corner for our household, it is kind of funny that the question of "to blog or not to blog" should even cross my mind!!! I believe my lovely pregnancy ticker declares that there are only 24 days left to this pregnancy.  Amazing how quickly the time has gone by!  So, you might wonder why I'm even considering the whole blog thing. I received notice about a month ago that my domain name was about to expire. I have this blog and one that I registered but have never used. So, not only is the question about whether to continue blogging or not but also, in which domain to do so. 

Such silly things that are weighing on my mind when my hospital bag isn't even packed yet.  Maybe it's all about avoidance ;-)  In the interest of sorting out my brain, I'll say that the thought of packing it all up and closing the blogging door is really not something I want to do.  This is my seventh year and looking back over my earliest posts is such a sweet trip down memory lane. On the other hand, this blog has gone in a direction (or lack of direction) that I don't particularly like.  Back and forth I go. I sit down to write and have nothing to say. I go to hit "delete" on the whole thing and get a knot in my stomach.  I think about switching to my other domain and I think "ahhh....fresh start!"; then I think about not renewing this one and cringe because it feels like running away.  Hmmmm....

Oh! and then there's the, "in the grand scheme of things, does any of it really matter???". My, my, my :)

So, I guess while I'm weighing options and procrastinating on preparing for my trip to the hospital, I'll give you a family update!

1G15 just finished drivers ed!!!  It was quite an experience for both of us!  In our area, there are not private driving schools so she had to take the classes at our local public school. Having never dropped any of my children off at a public or private school, the first three days were far more traumatic for mom than for daughter.  She did so well and her instructor came out to my van on three separate occasions to tell me how nice it was to have her in class. 

She is maturing and changing so quickly!  I often wonder where my baby went!   She's just about done her 9th grade year. Unfortunately, her dislike for history has left her way behind and she'll be working on that all summer. 

2G11 (or twin number 1) just turned 11!  She's still mama's helper and is absolutely in love with her unborn sister.  She continues to excel in reading and grammar and loves to play with baby dolls, write stories and draw.  She is celebrating her first spiritual birthday today and this past year has shown tremendous growth in that area :)

3G11 raced into her eleventh year a minute behind her sister.  She's still my crazy child, always "experimenting" with something.  She loves to cook and swim.  She excels in math and struggles in reading/spelling.  It's amazing to me how two children of the exact same age, taught the exact same with in the exact same environment can be so completely different.  This child used to be my shy one but she has started singing with her sister and a friend in our church of 400+. 

And lastly 4G?....we are eagerly awaiting her arrival!  This pregnancy has been my easiest and least complicated yet, which really blows a hole in all the reasons not to have a later-in-life pregnancy. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have another child!  We are anticipating a VBA2C and have our birth center/midwife/doula in place.   If you think of it, please keep her impending birth and the safety of both mother and baby in prayer.

Having said all that, I think I know what I'm going to do :) Thanks for helping me sort it out! Have a blessed evening!


 
© Adorning Grace 2013

To Everything There is a Season...

The hint of spring has sprung literally overnight in North Carolina! It is a short-lived season here, all to quickly replaced by soaring temperatures that drive me indoors! However, for the moment, I'm going to enjoy every second of it! The windows are open, I can smell someone's barbeque and I'm sitting here planning my garden :) It's funny how every year, when we "spring forward" with the clocks, I feel like someone flips a switch in my brain that says, "It's time to wake up!"

So, I've been making plans for my garden, which may be a little over zealous considering I am currently 6 months pregnant.  Will be interesting to see how the energy levels hold out when the real work begins ;-)  I discovered that burpee.com has regional specific gardening advice, which is exceedingly helpful to someone who still can't wrap their head around planting in March instead of May!

Also on the agenda has been pricing privacy fence for our corner lot yard.  Seems a new trampoline and 10yo twins draws every kid in the neighborhoods attention.  I think this may be next weekend's project! 

Oh! and the nursery is getting walls today!!! Eeek!  Our basement is partially finished (the master bedroom/bath is downstairs), but the nursery's outer walls were block.  So, very soon I'll have walls to paint and furniture to set up. So very exciting!!!

My mind is whirling....bird feeders, flower gardens, vegetable gardens, I need a grill!!!  All this with two days of nice weather.  It's a crazy little thing that I call spring ;-) Does it too me every year!

 
© Adorning Grace 2013

A Woman of Beauty

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ejoyce,ink/211180/

The
more headlines I read, the more magazines I browse through, the more I
see of life in general, the more I am convinced of the verity of this
quote I found on Tonia's beautiful blog. (Used with permission)

"The
world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender.
There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind.
There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We
have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We
have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we
need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity." ~ Margaret D. Nadauld

© Adorning Grace 2011

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
(Psa 127:3)

This is probably one of my favorite verses in the Bible!  The older my children get, the more I see what a treasure they are!  They bring joy to each and every day - not because they are perfect but because they are mine :-)  That is why it saddens me to hear other mothers complain about their children.  It seems more often than not, "Christian" moms do nothing more than express what a burden and headache their children are.  This aught not to be!  God's word says that children are an heritage, which is defined as an inheritance.  Have you ever stopped to think about that?  Children are an inheritance passed on from our Heavenly Father to us!  They should be treasured as such.  

Perhaps it may help to consider that our children are products of OUR parenting.  If we do not like what we've created, the blame starts in the mirror. There are many things that I really wish that I could go back and do differently, because I can see that while my intentions were good, they were not the right choices in training our daughters.  

When God gives us a little gift from Heaven, He hands that bundle of joy to us with a nice clean book.  It's pages are white with absolutely no writing or markings on them at all.  Every experience, every word, every image that is recorded in your child's book it what YOU allow to be written.  That is a big part of why we chose to home school.  See, you can take that book and hand it over to the daycare worker or the babysitter or the school teacher, but it doesn't change the fact that God gave that precious child to you, his parent, and that is who will answer to the God of Heaven for what is recorded in its pages.  It's a very sobering thought.  

Treasure your children.  They are ours for such a short time and what you do with them today will matter for eternity.

The following was written by a lady on a message board that I visit and is quoted with permission.  She (like myself) suffers from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which among other things, causes infertility.  Here are a few things she expressed that she wishes she could say to others who may not be so appreciative of their heritage.

To anyone who has [several] children:

YOU ARE TRULY BLESSED! There are millions of women who would give anything in the world to be in your place. Every frustration and aggravation that your child provokes comes along with an infinite amount of unconditional love your child gives you. And it comes with the miracle of bearing your own child, and bringing your own child home and tucking your child in at night, and hearing your child call you mommy. And when you go on and on about how tough it is and how I do not understand, it only makes me feel worse and worse. Like you are a member of a club I can not break in to no matter how hard I try. I WANT to have your frustrations. I WANT to know how hard it is. I WANT to understand, but for reasons that do not make sense to me, I have not been able to. And it is NOT because I haven't tried...... It is NOT because I haven't taken medicine that makes me ill, gone to appointment after appointment for bloodwork and tests, or changed my entire diet giving up all of my favorite foods in hopes of altering my insulin levels... and it is NOT because I haven't prayed every single night for God to give me the gift of another child... you know, the same gift you are complaining about and going on and on about how I can't understand. So please, next time you start to vent, please consider how lucky you are and consider who you are venting too.

{edited for blog appropriateness}


© Adorning Grace 2011