Birth Story: Preparations

    We're pregnant! Now what? 9 months can seem like a very short time to prepare the arrival of a newborn, but thankfully we learned it doesn't all have to be perfect for the baby to arrive! Your child will come when the Lord says, regardless of whether or not you've completed all your pre-baby to-do lists (trust me, I know!). I realized that I was making myself a bit crazy with my lists and was spending time on tasks that weren't quite as important; like telling my husband we HAD to go buy the hanging closet organizer for the little guy's extra clothes, instead of sitting down and talking through our plans for labor and delivery (note: you should definitely plan for the birth of the baby before planning how to organize the baby's size 12 - 18 month clothes). Once I prioritized, I was able to devote more time to what really mattered most to us... having a safe, healthy birth of our son, not the ordering of clothes in his drawers or whether to shelve his books by author or genre :)

    As new parents, Matt and I wanted to be confident that we were preparing for our baby in ways that we felt would be best for him as this was most important to us. We prayed, researched, and spent many hours in conversation as we eagerly awaited our son's birth day. It is my hope that anyone reading this who is expecting a baby of their own will be encouraged to re-prioritize their to-do lists, dig a little deeper when it comes to making decisions about labor and delivery, and above all, spend more time in prayer with the Creator of your little one. Below are what we considered the more important things we did in preparation for baby Matthew.

*The Bradley Method - Natural Childbirth

     This was one of the best decisions we made that educated and prepared us for a natural labor and delivery. I happened to be watching an episode of The Duggars (don't judge - I'm a huge fan!) and learned about the Bradley Method when the show featured JimBob and Michelle taking one of the classes. I googled it, read about it, and was intrigued with the 12 week class content. I bookmarked it in my favorites several months before we even got pregnant. I'll be honest and say that natural childbirth was not a road I thought I would originally take - contractions sounded scary and painful - until I began doing some research that began pushing me in the natural birthing direction. Like I said, it intrigued me and something deep inside of me gave me the feeling that it was possible and it was the best way. I was still riding the fence though when I registered us for the class as I wondered whether or not I could handle a natural childbirth. Matt was very supportive of taking the course (it is very husband-centered which also appealed to me), and we soon learned to look at labor and delivery in a whole new way. We saw natural childbirth as the absolute best way to bring a child into this world and the Bradley Method prepared us through research, techniques, exercises, and support of instructor and classmates. Contractions were no longer "scary" and "pain" had a completely different meaning. It was a lifestyle change for us and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone - whether you're set on having a natural birth or just beginning to consider it.

                                                       *A Birth Plan

    One of our classes was spent on writing a birth plan and this is an image of what was in ours (part of the image was removed because it had personal info). It is important to remember that just because you have a plan, that does NOT mean everything will go according to what is written :) You definitely need to remain flexible in case emergencies arise. It is very helpful in letting the nurses and doctors/midwives know what you want and value in your labor and delivery and it helps you keep your perspective too. We thought carefully about each of the desires listed under Labor and Delivery/Post and they are what we felt was best for our son. You can also click here to see a powerpoint I had to put together for Bradley class one week that has info regarding circumcision, IVs, and cord clamping. If you have questions about our birth plan, or want to know where we found research for certain items on the plan, let me know and I'll be happy to pass it on.

*Breastfeeding

    There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to breastfeed my little one (breast is best!). I remember babysitting different babies while I was in high school and as I would hold them close to feed them their bottles, I would imagine what it would be like to feed my own child one day. I was aware of just how amazing it was that God designed a woman's body to provide all the nutrition her baby needs and I couldn't wait for that experience. I knew it could be hard work to nurse a baby and in preparation I had the full support of my husband (so important!), breastfeeding items here at our home, bookmarked great breastfeeding websites, and noted when the local La Leche League met each month in case I needed extra support. I could probably write an entire post on breastfeeding alone because I feel so strongly about it and most likely will in the future, talking about my personal challenges, the myths, and benefits of one of the greatest gifts you can give your child. And while I realize breastfeeding isn't always attainable for every mother due to certain circumstances, much of the time it is possible with the right knowledge and support. Check out these sites for more information: Reasons to Breastfeed, Dr. Sears, KellyMom, and Best for Babes.

*Cloth Diapers

     I remember specifically telling Matt in the car one day while we were dating that I was not going to cloth diaper our children because I didn't see the point in going through the extra hassle they caused. You see, we had just come back from visiting his family in Ohio where I met his sis and sis-in-law, both who cloth diapered their little ones and I didn't see why they went through the trouble. Let me just clarify that what I said back then was in complete ignorance. Diapering is just another area of our life where we've come to question why we do things a certain way and ask ourselves, is there a better way for us? In our desire to live a simpler life, cloth diapers just happened to be a smart choice after we took the time to get past our lack of knowledge in the area and research for ourselves. Both of us knew that me becoming a stay-at-home-mom was a strong desire we shared and saving money on disposable diapers was one way to cut costs to make that desire a possibility. We also wanted to forego any chemicals contacting our baby's skin and keeping diapers out of the landfills was a bonus. I had so many questions prior to the baby being born about cloth diapering and am very thankful for both of my sisters-in-law who were open to answering and sharing their diaper knowledge. I love cloth and hope to post one day soon about what we've saved since we made this personal decision.

   As I mentioned before, we felt these items listed above were what was most important for us in our preparations for Matthew's birth. When researching we made sure to look at both sides of things before reaching decisions and felt peace as we waited on our little guy's arrival. I'm not saying go out and do what we did, but I do encourage you to make yourself knowledgable of what choices you have when it comes to having a baby of your own - as they can greatly impact the well being of your child. Choosing to learn and ask questions is always a good idea! Seek the Lord's wisdom first as He already knows all about the new life you're birthing into the world and save those silly to-do lists for after you've tackled the important tasks :)

The Arrival of Our Sweet Boy

On January 1, 2012 at 3:03pm our baby boy arrived! Matthew II was 6 pounds and 13 ounces, and measuring 20.5 inches.

This is the birth announcement we chose for our New Year's baby. We took the photo here in our office :)  

I'm working on typing out his birth story (11 weeks later...better late than never right?) Part 1 should be coming soon! 

DIY Nursery Progress...

I am happy to say that the nursery is coming along nicely! It's a good thing too, considering our due date is only 7 weeks away (wow!). Along with the crib and dresser/changing table that we recently placed in the room, we received the bedding from Pottery Barn Kids, got a navy blue rug from Target (thanks sisters!), put some color on the walls, and I was able to tackle two DIY projects this last week in my free time that were on my "Nursery To-Do" list. The room is starting to have character and I can't wait to share photos later on of it being more complete. In the meantime, I wanted to share the "art" I created for little Matthew's space :)

Knowing that we wanted to create a room that wasn't too "themey" and overpowering, yet didn't lack color and boyish touches, we thought (okay, I did most of the thinking) quite a bit about what kind of feel we wanted to have in the room. We prefer old and vintage over something new, yet we like to mix the two for something unique. We kept coming back to using transportation as accents in the room because we felt we could incorporate both old and new in ways that would give the room character. Of course, decorating a nursery takes $, and we realize that while we may have a nice vision in our head of what we desire the nursery (or the house for that matter) to look like, it all takes time. Also, our sweet little boy will be just a baby and I don't think the design of his room will matter to him just yet, so long as he has a place to sleep and lots of love from his mama and daddy. My list of fun "Nursery To-Dos" was prioritized based on what we have money and time for - hence the two DIY projects below.

Here is some art from Pottery Barn Kids that I fell in love with after searching for something to go on the walls that just "felt" right. Unfortunately at $69 a piece, we knew it was out of the question so I opted for a DIY version instead.

I knew that I had one 16x20 canvas laying around from a couple years ago and made a list of what I thought I needed to create my own version of transportation wall art. After sketching it out on paper and printing off outlines of a plane, truck, boat and car from the internet, I headed to the store to get the rest of my supplies. Here's my finished piece - the empty corner is where we'd like the rocker to go whenever we get one.

Cost of supplies:
    canvas - free
    transportation print outs - free
    5 sheets of scrapbook paper - $0.88 (1/2 off sale at Michael's and with 25% off coupon)
    2 bottles of paint in cream and white for background - $4.66
    black paint pen - $2 something (I'll say $2.50)
    mod podge - free
Total: $8.04 

How I Did It:
I began with painting the canvas a tan color by mixing the white and cream paints, then proceeded to take a rag and wipe it off, giving it a grunge/rustic look. While that dried, I traced my printouts from the computer onto the scrapbook paper I felt would look the best. Cut those out, centered them onto my four sections I had measured and penciled onto the canvas, and mod-podged them on. I then painted the white lines (note to self: don't keep trying to make it "better" - stick with simple!), used the black paint pen to write the letters and words, and lastly covered the entire canvas in mod-podge for a more finished look. I did it in two days so it would have adequate time to dry. Matt was surprised at the finished product, as was I, although when I see it on the wall I do get bothered by one imperfection in particular. I just tell myself it's hand-made and that makes it unique!

My second project, a hanging branch mobile, was inspired by this photo found on the blog Dear Lily. She has a tutorial there and this is one of the many inspirational projects you can browse through. Not to mention, her photos are beautiful! Anyway, I attempted to create my own hanging branch and headed out into the yard to go on a stick hunt. Thankfully, our niece and nephew visiting a while back had collected a nice pile in the yard that Matt had been adding to as he picked up after some storms. I just dug through the pile holding up this stick and that, breaking off little pieces here and there until I decided on two that I really liked together.

Matt and I love it! It only cost us $5.28 because the branches, spray paint, acrylic paints, and string were all things we had on hand. The little wooden transportation pieces were something I lucked in to at the local store for $0.88 a piece - don't you love when you find something perfect at the store and you weren't even looking for it at the time?

How I Did It:
For this hanging branch mobile, I lightly coated the two branches with yellow spray paint and then a dusting of white. I painted the wooden airplanes, cars, etc. with acrylic paints we had in our craft container. Using a light blue string that would blend in somewhat with the wall, I tied it carefully onto the pieces so they would balance evenly. Next, I baked my sweet hubby some brownies. You see, he was working hard editing weddings for Taflan Pictures, and I knew a break was just what he needed. A break that included brownies and hanging up the branch for me ;) He screwed the 2 branches together in the position I liked, held them up to the ceiling (being 6'5 1/2" has that advantage) and then carefully placed screws into the ceiling. We made sure to tie string onto each screw, connecting it to the branch and it all went up nicely. Together we tied and wrapped the strings holding the wooden pieces in place and ta-da! We have a hanging branch mobile! (If you want more details, just ask and I'll share).

So there you have it - some DIY nursery projects that have been crossed off the list in the last week. We're pleased and are anxious to get some more things crossed off before our little one arrives!

**I must mention: My lovely youngest sister came over a few weekends ago to help me paint two coats of Ships Ahoy! blue onto the walls of the nursery. I couldn't have done it without her! Thank you Meredith! At first it took a while for Matt and I to get used to considering we've never really had color on the walls of any home we've lived in aside from tans and whites (the joys of past rentals). Now we love the happiness of the color and are pleased with what life it added to the room.**