The Baby Blues

     Ugh... The baby blues. I put them right up there with the awfulness of labor itself. And they get worse with each subsequent baby. They, along with the thought of another miserable pregnancy and labor, tempt me to ask God to be done with me in the baby making department. Surely there's another use for me! I mean surely!
     I think 90% of my emotional drama is none other than- you guessed it- Jim! The thoughts of not having him here with me to keep things focused and on task just drive me batty! The doubts of not being able to actually do anything outside my house, in civilization makes up the rest. I don't think I'd be able to breath without my BFF right by my side! My emotions have been so rampant this week, the night before he was to return to work, I gave him permission to snore! {not that he needs my permission, he freely does it every other night!} but I wanted him to know that I'd rather have his snoring skinny-legged self than not have him at all... Yah he was just going back to work 10 minutes from our house, not the moon, but seriously, at that point, to me, he was already strapped to the rocket and headed to the moon- forever! Yes, I know, I'm nuts, but this is what having babies does to you!
     I know, I know, this too shall pass, I have survived it twice before, I'm not gonna die over it. However, I might die from dehydration from all the tears. But as long as I stay in the Word, curling up in my Father's lap for His peace and not shutting myself off from my friends and life beyond these four walls- I'll live!

     And yes, Jim did snore that night! I thanked God for keeping him breathing, then kicked him in his skinny leg to shush him up. Ooh, that sounds mean when I read it. Really it was more of a nudge.

~~Sweet Carrie Ann~~

     I had every intention of writing this during my little mini-vacation in the hospital, but I didn't even turn my computer on until the day before yesterday. It's been a whirlwind this last week and by now, Carrie Ann is a week old. Here's how it all started out!
     Monday morning started like many other mornings over the last few weeks...waking up to contractions at an obscene hour in the morning, {3:38 on this particular morning, to be exact} timing them, and then finally heading to the tub to soak to see if they would go away. On this particular morning, however, they did not go away, they just slowed down. They were very sporadic, going from 15 minutes, to 6, to 3, then back to 8 minutes apart. By the time Jim was ready to leave for work, I felt awful, had straigtened up the entire house, made all the beds and had Carrie Ann's and my bags packed and sitting on the foot of the bed. As Jim put on his tie, I sat in the bedroom floor, folding a load of laundry and through tears, told him I was DONE! That I couldn't take not having any sleep, I was done with pregnancy, I hurt, I was miserable and I miss getting to be all that I could be to the boys. {sounds like an army ad!} I was giving up having painful contractions that seemed to me to be in vain. I had a doctor's visit scheduled for later that morning and I asked him if it was alright if I asked the doc to induce me if I wasn't in labor...seeing my bags packed and my pitiful self almost in tears, he abliged!
     When dropping the boys off at our friend's house, I cried as I drove away, thinking that I might not see them for the rest of the day. Low and behold...I really was in labor! See, not every pregnancy is the same! I had dilated to 2cm and had every other signal that labor had begun, so to the hospital I went! Nervous, anxious and scared to death. Doc told me not to go get Jim, go straight to hospital to get IV started and all the other drugs that speed along labor...Guess she was thinking I would go fast since it was my third baby to send down the shute.
     At 11:30 I got my IV...bunch of fluid the epidural guy wants you to have so you don't dehydrate or something. Then they started the P-tocin {sp?} At 12:30 the doc came in to break my water and from that point on...I wanted to die! Literally!
    I had to intake the entire bag of fluid before I could get my much anticipated epidural and I must say, it wasn't an easy-peasy wait like I had planned! To help me along in my pain, my nurse gave me Stadol...all I knew is that it was a narcotic, it would not take away the pain, but  it would help me not care about it.....All I got to say is...now I know how people can get hooked to pain meds....not sure why they would want to feel like that all the time, but oh my goodness was I so incredibly loopy, beyond the normal point.
     When the epidural guy got there, oh, was I ever glad to see him, he said...oh, we'll give you this such and such type of epidural...you'll go fast...third delivery...yah, gotta get it started quick...sign your life away right here and by the way, this is our student epidural guy right here, he'll be administering this such and such type of epidural today...okay, let's get started....Remember, I'm on Stadol...and thought I was dying....next thing I hear is, tell me if you feel a shock....ouch!!! I did! Oops, sorry, I hit a blood vessel. Oops? OH MY WORD....I know at some point I asked the student epidural guy what was taking so long...he seemed to be taking forever...he responded--you have some tough ligaments back here...Yah right dude...get on with it! We were great friends by the time the such and such type epidural began and I had forgiven him for hitting a blood vessel...I even had the nurse take a pic for you to see the student epidural guy's nice handy work! {really, thinking that this might be my last pregnancy ever, I wanted to make sure I remember it all}

     Finally, relief!!! I could relax!!!

     Ya'll this was like two hours after the doc had broken my water...in the mean time, I threw up, heart rates went up and down, a lot. I actually had to use that pink pan.

     As long as it was, I do have to say, it was one of the more relaxing sweet, deliveries I've had. There was just the doc and my nurse and just before Carrie Ann came, her own nurse came in. Then there was Jim, my friend Melissa and my mom.  Now, Melissa has a super duper camera and took some pictures to document this for me...I mean, she really captured the essence of labor and delivery! I am so glad I got my hand on the delete button before Jim saw any of the pics.  

     The star of the show took her own little time coming out. She was turned face up and when I began pushing at 5:30 p.m., she had no intentions of budging below some bone of mine.  When I had no energy or grunt left to push, the nurse and doc tied two knots in a sheet and we played tug-of-war...really...the nurse pulled one end and I the other with each contraction. I pushed every minute or so for like 55 minutes before the doc was able to get Carrie Ann turned face down and wouldn't you know it, once she was turned, she came out with only 2 contractions...go figure!

Beautiful, I know, but gross.

Carrie Ann Marie Brown, born Monday, February 1, 2010, 6:26 p.m.

7 pounds, 7 ounces and 18 inches long

 

 

 

I survived! 

And look a there!

 

We're home...today Carrie Ann is 1 week old, sleeping and eating well. My lovely varicose veins are taking their precious time leaving, with all that pushing and stuff, so I am healing, resting and enjoying my very blessed little family.

I was one of Dr. Turner's first patients here in Tupelo. I am so blessed to have had her deliver all three of my precious babies.

 

 

 

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement throughout this pregnancy, labor & delivery and the time since. We covet more of your prayers as we enjoy this new glass of lemonade the Lord has made for us!

  

 

Whew...It's been a busy last 7 days.....

I'm sorry...I had to take a short break from the Lemonade Stand. But, oh, how I have needed it's releasing powers! We've had a busy last seven days....to start, last Saturday, we

Completely Re-Did the playroom (it's not finished...we got interrupted)

Before:

After:

On Sunday, I successfully made a chocolate pie! (tutorial to come)

Then on Monday...February 1, 2010 at 6:26 p.m., God blessed us with this precious little girl--

Carrie Ann Marie Brown

Weighing in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 18 inches long.

This little girl took her time, and no matter what anyone tells you, just because it's your third delivery doesn't mean it will happen any faster! Needless to say, after a 14 hour labor and pushing this daisy out for an hour, I am still exhausted, still healing and still crying my eyes out! So between nursing, sore everything, Taylor & Andrew (who love her to death), staying close to my Father, trying to sleep and a thousand visitors (which I've really needed and enjoyed), I am slowly getting my story together! It'll be here before you know it! Til then, enjoy these pics I've captured over Carrie Ann's first few days!

Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging words...keep 'em coming!!!

Easy-Peasy Labor Delivery (I pray)

     The massage therapist laughingly said, "Candise, it's sad that you are looking forward to labor, just for the break!"
     Some of you might be thinking...she is soooo impatient, that  baby girl will come when God is ready for her to come. I agree, you are exactly right!
     However, I will elaborate a little on why I am ready for this precious little gift to be here!
     First of all, I've been having contractions on and off and sometimes for an entire day since week 34...I am a week and half from my due date today and have only progressed to 1cm...She's at the -2 station so she's entered my pelvis thingy and therefore preventing me from bending, walking or sleeping like any normal person. If I am going to be in this much pain, I want it to be for something...seems like we are getting nowhere!

     Then, I am definitely looking forward to that break! Yes, I am actually looking forward to labor!!! It's our third time around, we know what to expect. The decision for pain management has been made for me, eliminating the stress of knowing I will have to make that decision. My plan {God might have different plans, but I am praying we are on the same page} is to labor at home til a certain point, then head to the hospital...get shot up with a sweet epidural and then relax! Easy-Peasy-Lemon Squeezy...maybe I'll even get a nap in! ha....then, that precious little girl will come and we'll be in the hospital for a few days, peace! ahhhh....The amount of chaos and noise that goes on in a delivery room and the few days that follow are no where near the activity that goes on at my house on any given day! Then, once we go home, Jim will be home for a week, loving on his favorite little boys like no one else can and I can just relax and enjoy my little girl. Like our little mini-sleeples-vacation!

     And finally, a lot of my impatience is simply due to anxiousness in meeting this little girl. We can't wait to see who she is going to look like, Jim or me! Taylor is the spitting image of Jim (with my personality), Andrew has a few of my traits, complexion, eyes, but looks a lot like his brother (with Jim's personality). Now get this...if Carrie Ann comes out with a head full of dark brown hair---you are for sure to hear about it! I'm the odd ball out in my family, being the only Filipino (half). I don't look like anyone I know or that I am related to. Andrew's my closest resemblance, and well, he's a boy! 
    So maybe now you can see that I have the same anxieties and reasons most of us have when we are trying to speed up labor and delivery.
     Today we finally got to finish the playroom. Only have to get our chair and do wall accessories. I'm keeping the laundry caught up, just in case we are caught off guard. The boys' lovebugs are on pins and needles, texting everyday wanting to know how we are doing.
     I'm headed back to see the doc on Monday, and on Wednesday, CA will be 39 weeks and at that point the doc will do what she can to help speed things along.
     I have a million blog posts that are just waiting to be jotted down....i.e. recipes, Cooking Club, my boys!!! Stuff like that. Pray for us as we head into this, the final stretch. We will be a family of 5 in the next few days or so and we are beside ourselves, anxious, tired and a little exhausted as well.

Cheerful laugh for the day!

Another perk of pregnancy I will miss...my own personal little food tray!

3 things I WILL miss after pregnancy

     Okay, maybe 4...or 5!

1.   I will definitely miss keeping Carrie Ann so safe...well as safe as a mother of 2 toddlers can! I've only fallen 3 times.  I'll miss taking the Lord's Supper while pregnant...I've gotten emotional everytime we do this at church while I am pregnant, knowing that this will be the last time they get to partake until they are Believers....I think too much!
2.  Sympathy votes...people are prejudice towards pregnant ladies...most of the time...there are exceptions to this, but I remember sticking out my barely 6 month pregnant belly as far as I could to the parking guard at the Nashville marathon in hopes that he would feel sorry for me and let me park up next to the stadium...it worked...or when you are in LensCrafters and they break your glasses and you burst into tears and they want to do whatever they can to make the pregnant woman feel better and to stop spewing like a hydrant so in a tizzy they give you 50% off a new set of lenses and frames.
3.  I will definitely miss the extra 3 seconds the big belly bump allows you to add to the 5 second rule...you know, the food falls, hits the bump, bounces, goes air bound and then....the 5 seconds begin!!!
4.  Sucking in my stomach to make people think I actually do ab workouts like my husband!
5.  The great excuse for everything that goes awry....oh..officer, I'm pregnant and I think my water just broke, or yes, Insurance agent, I forgot to pay our insurance this month, did you know I was pregnant? and then the very next month... Jim says-hey hun, got a call from ins. agent...said you paid the insurance twice this month...hey honey, why is there a gallon of milk in the pantry? CANDISE!!!!....upon monitoring our online banking...YOU PAID OUR MORTGAGE TWICE THIS MONTH... to which I respond, shocked myself--I'm sorry Jim, it was a tough day, being pregnant and all!--gotta use the pouty lips with this one and it usually helps if you are looking pretty cute at the time too!

Location, location, location

     As I sat in front of the full-length mirror in my bathroom this afternoon, piling on the concealer and mascara, in preparation for my sweet date with my hunky husband this evening, I noticed something... If I slouch, the girls rest on the top of my protruding belly. If I sit up straight, and hold my shoulders back, they are in somewhat of a decent location. If it's a good day, and I have on a good Vicky support holder, they are almost back to where they were on my wedding day! Oh Joy!

Week 36: outies, a tire iron and 1 whole cm

     I'm a wimp, a big ole wimp, especially when it comes to pregnancy. I moan and groan the entire 10 months-making it seem like pure agony. Poor Jim, he has a horrible outlook on pregnancy all because of me. He constantly says, "I can't wait to have my 28 year-old wife back." Thing is, he's never going to get her back!  I'm scheduled to turn 29 just 3 days before my predicted due date! Ha! Pregnancy isn't for the birds, I could handle that. People like Pam, Allison and Michelle Duggar---those ladies who fully embrace and enjoy every single minute of their pregnancies-I've decided, must be made of steel.

     Today I had my weekly checkup for week 36---I decorated the specimen cup for the ladies in the lab. Thought I would give them something to smile at while they were messing with my----.......

    I've dilated 1 whole cm {woohoo} and thinned out 50%, but my cervix is still high....Have no idea what that means, but, the doc says she will be out of town next week but doesn't think I will have her next week anyway....Glad she's so optimistic! I guess she sent Carrie Ann a little sonographic memo with her little doplar thingy she uses to hear her heartbeat every week---don't come til I get back!  We can't believe that in no more than 3 and a half weeks our little daughter will be here! Taylor is so exited! He keeps asking if he can tackle her when she gets bigger. Andrew, well, he is still as spoiled as ever, with absolutely no clue that his world is about to be rocked like never before!

     I've been thinking about some things that I will NOT miss after these 3 and a half weeks are up.... my OUTIE belly button. {I'd show you a picture, but I just don't like pregnant bellies} It's funny to say that because I didn't have an outie with the first two babies and I was telling my doctor today, this thing hurts!!! She told me that your belly button is the weakest most sensitive something or the other....she lost me with her first big word...but none the less....I keep hitting it on everything....feels like a huge bruise in the middle of my stomach! Andrew thinks it's a toy button, there on my belly, just for his entertainment. Whenever he is in my lap he will lift up my blouse to find it and press it in, over and over and over! Giggling all the while!

     Jim will certainly not miss the {figurative} tire iron he has to use to roll me over at night! It's tough to get this little girl from one side to the other. I get all snuggled in on my side, comfy, no organs being smushed, yet...ahhh.....then "Hey hun, will you scratch my back?" I can tell by his voice that he asks this with a smile on his face, knowing I'm a sucker for a genuine smile from him! {This is a nightly request}  ARE YOU SERIOUS??? I just rolled over and you want me to rolll back over, scratch your back that you can reach better than me, and then roll back over and hopefully find that comfy place in the pillow again....that would burn like 350 calories to do all that!!!! Someone get the guy a back scratcher, please!!!

     I definitely won't miss accidently turning off the shower water with my big protrusion. Nothing like really enjoying the hot steaming water massaging your face, when suddenly, it stops because your belly has pressed against the knob and turned it off!!!

     My boys and I will definitely not miss me not being able to play and interact with them as I have always been able to do. Jim misses our family walks around the block. Andrew just wants me to hold him...And how I long to hold him without having to immediately put him down because I feel like this baby girl is going to pop right out! ha! All the lumpy and dark patches of varicose veins will not be missed at all either!!!

     There's still lots to do...finish the nursery...her sheets came in today, got her fabric for the bedding and curtains on Monday...the tour will be posted the second I finish!!! Make her door hanger, order her diaper bag at the monogram place, oh, and pack the hospital bag...I keep forgetting that! I did, however, get a new night gown for the hospital. I have worn the same white and blue gown with the boys, but a pink/purple one from Vicky'S is better for this occasion! I can't forget my pink slippers, don't let me forget my pink slippers!!!

It is Well with my Soul

"Oh Lord, please don't let me die during labor!"  That's what I was praying while the choir was singing "It is Well with My Soul" at church this morning. I love our choir. I love it when I can close my eyes and imagine it's angels singing in Heaven all around the Mighty Throne singing HIS praise. As tears welled in my eyes, the emotional crazy person I am, I began thinking about the condition of my soul and that I knew that if something were to happen to me, it's okay, because IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL-Jesus has been the Lord of my life since I was 19 years old.  But then my thoughts switched to labor and how, if something were to happen to me during childbirth, like if I bled to death for instance, it'd still be okay because I know with Whom my soul lies. I guess I cried because I thought of how much Jim would miss me! And who would nurse my baby, Lord, I really wanted to give nursing another try this time! And would their new mama be as fun as me?

     I know ya'll think that I am nuts, which is partly true, I know I am not the only person who has ever prayed this! I know I have put this request before the Lord at least 2 times in the past! Death during childbirth used to happen all the time back in the day. With modern technology, really educated doctors and lots of cool tools at the hospital, death during childbirth is not as common these days. However, my good friend Lauren did go through this when she gave birth to her little girl last year. It was one of those instances where if it had been back in the day, she wouldn't have made it. She began hemorraging and they had a difficult time getting it to stop. But she was at the hospital and the Lord gave those doctors great wisdom and they knew what to do. So, if you don't mind, when I let you  know that I am in labor and headed to the hospital, pray that I won't die! And that the doctor and nurses will have wisdom when helping deliver this precious gift into this world!

     {This pic is of Lauren & me at our 10-year High School Reunion this past October, isn't she just gorgeous}

All this and a whole 1/2 cm

     After contractions every single night, a Dr. Pepper every morning, over doing it-taking apart 1 crib, 1 twin bed and assembling 1 crib and 2 twin beds, fitting a twin mattress set into my SUV, taking the boys to the mall, putting a bedskirt on my queen pillowtop bed, painting two little boys' room a cute shade of blue {the 5th shade of blue to be added to my house! Guess we love blue}, totally redesigning a former little boy's sports themed room into an OH SO chic and feminine nursery for our soon to arrive little girl, moving out a queen set of mattresses, its' frame & rails and moving in an antique-ish love seat/chaise lounge {I didn't lift these, justs bossed others around}, shopping for some new stylish black boots {not once, but twice-hehehe}, a fun fun fun baby shower with my peeps, oh and taking care of 2 very very very hyper-active little boys and finally some sweeeeeettt quality time with my oh so handsome and wonderful husband, I have only dilated 1/2 cm. {For those of you who are clueless as to what this means, you have your baby at 10 cm}
     You have got to be kidding me! I am at 35 and a half weeks. So today, I nested ALL day long! It was so fun and Jim and I got so much accomplished. We cleaned our house from top to bottom, cleaned out every closet and nook and cranny possible. You should have seen the loot we found beneath the couch cushions...Survivorman would have had a feast! I hand sorted and organized every single piece of clothing either of my boys have ever owned and withdrew what I thought could be used for their little sister. I have 3 Sterlite boxes of outgrown baby boy clothes, 2 boxes of baby book collections that are probably never going to make it into a baby book, a vaccuumed sealed bag of baby boy hats, gloves and mittens, sheets and blankets all waiting for my stronger counter-part to chunk up into the attic. I completely re-organized both the boys' closets and the other is all set for a precious little girl! {If you ever wanted to stop by for a visit, now is the time, less likely chance you'll break your neck on a toy car!} Almost done with 6 loads of laundry and as I walked to the couch to begin this blog, Jim looked at me and said...Wow hun, you must really want to have this baby!!!!
    You better believe it!!!! I am a wimp and I complain, A LOT!!! And yes I know what causes babies! I know exactly how I got myself into so much pain. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If we continue to progress well...as I sure hope I did after ALL we did today, my doc will help me along at 39 weeks! That's only like 4 weeks people!!!!!!!!! Can you imagine my anxiety? Guess you'll be seeing a lot of posts from me until then!

And the hormones keep comin'

     I remember when I realized I was pregnant {this time}- I was reading the newspaper and a little 2 liner about some firefighters who had hoisted a flag in honor of a past colleague made me sob. I couldn't stop crying! It's been worse this time around and I have decided it's because I have a double dose of hormones. Jim and I are in for it!

     Tonight is just another example. I had just felt Carrie Ann moving down around my hips, she was sending shrills down the front of my legs...she's literally working her way out I think! I crumbled onto the bathroom floor, Andrew quickly hopped into my lap to hug me. Jim and I were sort of laughing...I'm pitiful I tell you!  My hero helped me up. I sat down on the love seat in our bedroom, that was as far as I could make it. Jim said to the boys, "Okay, bedtime." And let the water works begin!!! I mean spewing tears, uncontrollably! Never had I not liked bedtime before. Taylor had a look of fear on his face...What's wrong mama, are you sad? Jim quickly sat down beside me. All I could think of was that the boys were going to bed and I was going to miss them. Once Jim said they could stay up a little longer, Taylor and Andrew ran to the kitchen and came back with spatulas and spoons and began to bang on the bottom of the clothes basket, saying, Mama, we'll cheer you up! It was so sweet, so precious, and only made the tears more steady!

     Jim didn't know what to think. He just hugged me. I think he was trying to figure out what he had done! Poor guy! Then I explained everything that was on my mind through sobs and tears! I wouldn't blame him if he doesn't remember a bit of it because I don't think that I was making much sense at all! The boohooing lasted about 15 minutes, until our ears really couldn't take the plastic serenading any longer.

     The boys are finally in bed, I'm tear free, now I want a Dr. Pepper ice cream float! This might just be a long night!

I'm 28 and I can't get up...

     Our church had a special at Mother's Day Out today...$12 a family....8:30-1:30...it is usually 3 times that for my two so I jumped on this special and pulled up at 8:31! Sad, I know. I saved the rest of the boys' Christmas shopping and the gifts that I didn't purchase online, for this day...I thought I'd be so quick without them, like superwoman, breezing in and out of stores, getting what I needed in a snap. By 11 a.m. I realized, I'm no faster without the boys than I am 8 months pregnant. I really could have used that stroller to hold me up a few times too! Then I noticed I had to plan my store visits by the ones that had public restrooms, closest to the entrance. Lovely.
     I was in Belk, asked this older gentleman if he could help me pick a tie for Jim's uncle, he looked at me, then at the older lady who walked up behind me, ignored me, and asked her what he could do for her! Age over beauty for sure!
     Way back in the back I crowched down between the turning displays of Fossil wallets...when I realized, I can't get up. REALLY! I couldn't stand back up. I attempted to pull up on the racks, noticing I weigh A LOT more than 20 wallets. I was going to have to ask the elderly lady on the other side of the rack if I could borrow her cane! Should've just knelt and prayed then, because that WAS my only hope! I found a sturdy rack on the other side and as I wobbled out of the store, I was discouraged. This was supposed to be an easy day for me. I actually felt as pitiful as I looked. However, across the street, as I left Walmart with supplies for a playgroup craft project, two gentlemen hooligans obviously didn't think I looked all that bad...as they were whistling at me and asking if my baby was theirs. OH, if I only had a gun, yes, seriously. I had every intention of wanting to call the cops on the creeps and teach them a lesson or two about sexual harrassment, but I was too exhausted and wanted to just get the heck out of there. And btw, the Baconator at Wendy's really is all it's cracked up to be and oh so worth every single calorie!
    1:30 came quick. I missed my two precious boys. And when we got home, I crashed. I had really overdone it. Thank you, Lord, for naptime!

As if a pregnant Girl wasn't stressed enough, Part 2

     This is the second of two posts {see Part 1 here} regarding a magazine I picked up for FREE at the reception desk of my OBGYN last week. If you don't like soap boxes or get offended easily, the little X is located at the top right corner!

      I never stressed about what bottle to use for my baby when I walked down the Babys R Us aisle with the registry gun or whether or not my child would get a disease from microwaving his milk...however, magazines such as Fit Pregnancy presents Mom & Baby's Fall 2009/Winter 2010 edition, would like you to think about such things and then stress over them, among other things! I just used the bottles that were given to me, they worked for Anastasia, her kids were still living, growing and just fine! I'm pretty sure that my mom never sanitized a thing we owned and I didn't even know what antibacterial was til college.

     My soap box for this part of my series on this magazine comes from one particular 4-page section of the magazine titled: news to use: Your Health-Your Family-Baby Care-Breastfeeding-Style & Stuff. Besides the fact that these excerpts are absurd, I think they tend to make parents stress more about their kids development. I was literally raised on the farm running cows, working in the barn with my daddy and watching Murder She Wrote with my momma at night, can't remember ever owning a single book until the 1st grade and I like to think I turned out just peachy!

     I'll start with their leading news-{TV time won't make your baby smarter} I think we all know this, it's common sense. But the article goes on to say {a study of TV habits from birth to age 2 found that watching the boob tube didn't improve babies' language and visual motor skills, no matter how good the programming} First of all, what in the world is a boob tube? And second, I beg to differ, a little. I used to babysit a little girl who, at 18 months old, could sign every letter of the alphabet, more than 20 animals and count to 20 using sign language that she learned from Baby Signs videos her mother rented from the library. Then it goes on to say {a previous study found that for each hour of TV babies under 16 months watched daily, they learned six to eight fewer words than those who had no screen time at all} Apparently, they have never met Taylor! I'm not defending TV at all...just sayin' is all! But the most absurd comment was {What made the most difference in accelerated learning were the mothers' age, education and household income. This was a predictale finding because older moms and those with more means and schooling tend to interact more with their babies} OH MY WORD.... now stop me if I am wrong here, but is this saying that my child's visual and language skills are affected by my age, education level and the fact my husband isn't a millionaire? Or is it saying that because my sister who only has a high school diploma, became a mother at 18 and whose husband is currently unemployed is going to interact less with her child than does the Master's lobbing, workaholic who brings in 6 figures? I'm just saying...

   Oh ya'll, it just gets better...

    The excerpt on the next page is titled {Fast food negates breast-milk benefits} basically the article reads that fast food is partly to blame for the increase in childhood asthma! Yah, it really says that. It was contributed by Carol Potera, Clinical and Experimental Allergy. Remember that next time you drive through Chik-Fil-A!

     and better...

     This one made Jim's jaw drop-titled Post-Baby Harmony, contributed by the Council of Contemporary Families. It's about how relationships tend to be more rocky after the baby comes...It's a very short excerpt, but the majority of it says this about the lack of happiness between couples {Another contributor to poor marital quality: backsliding into traditional gender roles after baby is born. On a more reassuring note, couples who learned to resolve their differences were happier in their marriages, and their children did better socially and academically} here it comes...OH MY WORD! So, let's see here,  because I have backslidden and take the more traditional role as a MOTHER, the nurturer, nurser--all of the above, and my husband- um let's see, works to support our family, provides a roof over our heads and is the spiritual leader among us, my children are going to lack socially and academically.....All I gotta say is, they've obviously never kept the 3-year old extended session at our church.

    can we say propaganda?....

    This one takes the cake, really! It's the Book Beat. They have reviewed a $27 book, Finding our Tongues: Mothers, Infants and the Origins of Language. It starts out: How moms invented civilization. It says that the baby talk we have with our infants, motherease,  laid the foundation for human development. {Author Dean Falk explains that the need for verbal interaction between mom and baby arose once our ancestors started walking upright and mothers needed to put their babies down as they gathered food. The babies undoubtedly fussed, she writes, "and busy prehistoric moms would have tried to soothe them."} {Without "motherease," Falk contends, "our species' intellectual and artistic talents would not have blossomed."} Fit Pregnancy gave it 5 out of 5 stars. I don't think I even have to say anything about this, it speaks for itself.

    I wanted to throw the magazine when I got to this one at the bottom of that page...

     The American Anthropological Association (say that 3 times fast!) contributed this excerpt titled Why we are so many. Basically it compares us humans to primates, monkeys. Well, their exact words were, {such as chimpanzees}  Basically it is distinguishing the reasons why humans tend to bear more offspring than do nonhuman primates. They bring it all down to the fact that monkeys, if you will, can't trust others to be kind to their babies, like us humans do.....and did you know...that us humans recover more quickly from pregnancy and lactation than do our nonhuman primates.....food for thought, huh! I'm so glad they could draw this comparison for me, I have been wondering about this for a while now. First of all, I'm not a monkey. I'm a human. A full blooded homosapien...right?

   This last one just adds unnecessary stress...

     The National Literary Trust believes that infants who ride in strollers where they face their caretaker {have a developmental advantage over babies who ride facing forward...they also noted that babies who faced forward seemed to exhibit more stress.} Can you see the trend in these -News to Use- excerpts in the Fit Pregnancy magazine....they want you to believe that because your child sits forward facing he will be more stressed and if they watch more TV than Sally Sue next door then he will be short a few words. And don't you dare take them to McDonald's, or that full year of nursing you did will be down the drain...

    In conclusion...

     You may believe this stuff, but I don't buy a bit of it. It's sad, however, that this magazine was in a stack of free magazines being offered at my OBGYN office. Some poor pregnant girl is going to pick up what she thinks is going to be a great read, encouraging, and helpful, just as I did. Instead she is going to be blasted with constant worries of her weight and body mass index, about the dangers of not choosing the right bottle or not exercising the minute she is wheeled out of the delivery room or that if she lets her child sit forward facing in a stroller or watch too much TV that they won't develop as well as that child who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Or even worse, that if she and her husband take the traditional family approach, letting him be the head and leader of the household, that her soon to be arriving son or daughter will suffer socially and academically.
    Okay, I'm done. I'll get off the soap box, for now....I think a little bit of Jim is rubbing off on me!    

As if a pregnant Girl wasn't stressed enough, Part 1

     This will be the first of two posts regarding a magazine I picked up for FREE at the reception desk of my OBGYN last week. If you don't like soap boxes or get offended easily, the little X is located at the top right corner!
     My computer died today, literally died, so during naptime I overflowed the ol' jacuzzi tub with bubbles and took the plunge with a stack of baby and pregnancy magazines that my OB had stacked up at the cashier's desk last week. I don't get magazine subscriptions, but I'll gladly take a free one! I only got through one magazine because I was so shocked at the audacity of Fit Pregnancy Magazine to think anything they were offering in their publication was FIT...
     As if a pregnant girl wasn't stressed enough, they throw magazines like Fit Pregnancy presents Mom & Baby right at you. We stress enough already as non-pregnant ladies about our looks, size and the daunting number on the scale, we don't need magazines that scream GET YOUR POST BABY BODY BACK on every page while we are growing to be the size of buffaloes! They act like you are supposed to be on the yoga mat and back to your wedding day weight the day you sign your discharge papers from the delivery room. UGH! It just un-nerves me that the media, i.e. Hollywood, can so easily make us believe that we are overweight or unfit if, first of all we eat fast food, eat anything non-organic or don't do pilates or yoga at least 3 times a week....come on...reality people!
    I know what some of you might be thinking...that's easy for her to say, she's skinny and petite, she doesn't have weight issues....Well my dear, my mascara clumps just everyone else's. Size is relative. What is small/skinny to you, isn't what I view as small or skinny. You might think you look fat, but I think you look healthy, happy and beautiful. I stress about my weight and size just as much as the next girl. I currently have pants that range in 4 sizes in my closet and all have been worn in the last year, not including my maternity clothes! Jim and I are very healthy people, he more than me, we exercise regularly, well he does...okay, Jim is a very healthy person. I am forced to watch what I eat. Have you seen my family lately? Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol...this includes all my blood sisters, my biological mother, her mother, her father...all of them...gotta love my gene pool! With this in mind, I eat modestly and stay away from a lot of fried foods. It's very easy for me to gain weight. We don't eat organic, I tend to choose the healthier, least amount of sugar, of the two cereals. We eat ground turkey, mostly because it's way less expensive and if we didn't, we'd eat extra lean ground beef. I stay active, I don't live a sedentary lifestyle, that's impossible with my two little boys.
     My point being, I just don't understand why there needs to be a magazine specifically for staying fit during pregnancy....exercise and eat healthy...isn't that all that is needed? Instead of the constant reminder on every page that we are ballooning as we read each article title, can't it just tell us how beautiful we are, no matter how big our 'cankles' are and regardless of the amount of weight we have gained? How hard would that be?
     In this particular issue, the Fall 2009/Winter 2010 one, I came across one article that I thought might actually be interesting and useful...Milk Mates: Nursing Bras You'll Love to Wear-Really! I browse through them, ah ha, there's one I have, what do they say about it...{Room to Grow-Medela Comfort Maternity Nrusing Bra-Your breasts can swell to pornstar proportions when your milk comes in...} OH MY WORD...My jaw dropped. I read this to Jim this evening and he said, what kind of trash are you reading? Exactly!!! What mother in their right mind wants their breasts, nursing ones at that, to look like a pornstar's...UGH! I mean, as if! Right....am I the only person who finds this appalling...Don't you dare compare my chest, what God uses to meet the nutritional needs of my newborn child to a pornstar. Seriously, people think this stuff?
     I don't know, maybe it's my conservatism or just my faith in knowing I have a God who loves me no matter how fit or fat I am, but I find the public obsession with a woman's weight and size absurd. Even at my heaviest weight and plumpest size, I found assurance in Scripture that I am beautifully and wonderfully made. That's when I have felt the best, the skinniest and the most beautiful!

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

CA is 30 weeks....only 10 more weeks!

     Carrie Ann & I had our 30 week checkup today. In the last two weeks I've gained 5 lbs. According to the Dr.'s office, that's a total of 15...yah, we'll go with that! hehehehe  All seems to be in order. With the exception of  pain due to my 'variscosities' as Dr. T puts it, this has been a relatively fast and uneventful pregnancy. Let's pray it stays this way! I am getting more and more excited about this precious little girl arriving every day! I thought I might share this little pic with you that my friend took today. This is only the 3rd pregnancy profile pic I have taken in all 3 pregnancies. You can consider yourself blessed! haha! Can you tell how low this girl is! Because of this I walk like a crippled penguin!  She weighs about 3 lbs....hmmm...about the size of my Thanksgiving Cornish Hens....

A list of lists of lists

     I've been motivated and encouraged, but mostly, caffeinated this evening and I've been thinking. Yep, at it again! I did the blog thing, and I'm addicted. Not only to mine, but to other blogs. Now, my friend Amanda has gone and made a list of things she wants to accomplish...mostly short-term goals, and now the wheels won't stop turning.  You know me, crafty mind with a husband who likes to keep tight reigns on the finances, I am bored with my decor that I picked for my master bedroom (I was pregnant with Andrew at the time, now pregnant with Carrie Ann....it'll change this time next year because the hormones will have hopefully settled out, a little). Wow, I'm already on a tangent and still in the first paragraph.
     I have decided I needed to make a list of my goals I'd like to accomplish, either by Carrie Ann's arrival or shortly thereafter. Yah, I know, I'm dreaming.  But, first things first, I have got to nail down my decor decision for Carrie Ann's room. My friend has offered me this chaise/couch...plus a reem of the fabric to match.

     I have loved this chaise since the first time I laid eyes on it and it would just look so adorable in CA's room, dontcha think? So my idea is to put red and brown with it. I can rework the bedding I have had for the boys by making duvets for the pieces and making her curtains. But, I haven't fully, 100% decided. I'm like 99%, but I need to get movin' because I only have a little over 2 months! But today, I went to Babyland and found this bedding decor "Delilah" by Cocalo Couture that could possibly go well with this chaise, or I could just not do the couch and do this bedding with a rocker that I already have too....hmmmm....

1. 
   
   So, that's first on my list....Decide on Carrie Ann's room.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Second, I need to get to work on her curtains, bedding, decorations, etc.
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Spice up my room. I want to make a bedskirt, dress up my curtains and add some prints to the bedding decor overall....I can do this inexpensively just by finding some cute fabric on sale at my fave fabric stores, it's convincing Jim that is the problem!
   
   
   
4. 
   
   I have some canvases to finish for some people. They are just gifts so they aren't really expecting them, I have gotten all the materials for them, just gotta sit down and do them.
   
   
   
5. 
   
   I need to organize my craft closet. It too was put together while I was pregnant with Andrew, in the process of unpacking and putting stuff where ever I could fit it.
   
   
   
6. 
   
   Then I need to finish repainting my patio furniture. This past Spring I decided to give it a face lift. We have 4 chairs, a table and well, just an umbrella stand now, since the umbrella broke in half this summer. I have successfully unassembled and reassembled 3 of the chairs and painted them brown. I have one chair, the table and the umbrella stand left to paint. Looking at my list, this might turn into a year long project!
   
   
   
7. 
   
   I had made a previous list elsewhere that included these goals, plus four others, one was to make a scheduled time for studying the Word. Not just the devotional or workbook Bible Study stuff, I mean, time when I am really studying the context and references of Scripture, getting to the meat and bones of It. I would normally do it during the day whenever I could find alone time, but I realized that I needed to make my meeting time with the Lord specific and put it on the schedule, it's like naptime...it's gotta happen! So check, I have that one down. I can't wait for that time everyday! The second was to branch out in the kitchen. We were tired of having the same ole meals every week. I made it a point to read more cookbooks, get more ideas, broaden our taste bud horizons....I joined a Cooking Club, so check...done that. The third was to look into blogging....check :) and the fourth, well that one can be added to this list. God has placed it on my heart to begin meeting with some ladies each month to pray for our husbands and marriages. It is becoming more and more apparent each day that marriages are becoming less sacred. They need all the protection they can get and I want to be on the front end of any temptation and obstacle that satan throws in the path of my marriage. Yah, haven't done that yet....I've been acting a lot more like Moses than Joshua on that one. Lord, give me courage. Help me to be fearless.
   
   
   
     So, all these things I want to do, plus Thanksgiving, Christmas, varicose veins, a ripening pregnancy, cob webs and dust and oh yah, the mommy and wife thing...no wonder I forget and pay the mortgage twice in one month! Good thing I make lists of lists of lists that seem to go on and on and on...

She totally Floats!!!

     She floats!!! Carrie Ann floats!!! That spells relief!!! Most of you know that Carrie Ann is sitting very, very low, I mean so low I can acutally breath and eat during this pregnancy, even at 7 months! Since CA has camped out on my pelvic floor, she has been causing some pretty extreme pressure, pain and unsightly and not to mention, painful, varicose veins from my belly button down. Doc told me to get off my feet, but you know how that goes. I was also told to wear a maternity girdle...but you know how that goes as well. I've made recent comments that I never swell until I deliver, but this weekend I've taken advantage of the beautiful weather and our little family have stayed outside playing the whole time and taken lots of walks. So now, I'm swelling! No biggee, it's to be expected. But I am also in some very bad pain too!
     On a whim, I decided to soak in the hot bathtub this afternoon. While sitting in the tub, that I have intentionally decorated to make me believe I am at a spa, sipping my Dr. Pepper and reading a cookbook, I realize, CA's floating and I'm not hurting!!!!! Hallelujah!!!!! She was totally elevated...felt like an episode with Criss Angel, the blood could actually flow again!!! Oh my goodness, I haven't felt this good physically in about 6 months! Thank you Lord. I've taken plenty of baths with the other two pregnancies, even labored in the tub with both boys til we went to hospital, but it hurts to sit or to even be on my back already with CA, so I hadn't even thought of it. I read an article in a baby magazine the other day about a new mom freaking out because she took a hot bath, forgetting "pregnant women should only take lukewarm bathes/showers to prevent baby and mommy from getting too hot." LOL! Maybe that's why Taylor's so hyper and Andrew's so laid back... Anyhoot, my skin might look like microwaved asparagus, and our water bill is going to be out of this world, but I think I'll be enjoying this therapy everyday til CA decides to grace us with her much anticipated presence!!!

Sitz Minerals & Massages

     When I think back to my 1st pregnancy, I laugh at two major misconceptions I had. I totally blame all you wise ladies who air on the side of caution trying to be modest---take it from me and the following two instances, give full details please!
     I don't remember which week or visit it was when my OBGYN told me that I needed to start doing perineal massages! I had a list every week of things I needed to ask about and apparently I had asked what were some things I needed to do to be prepared for labor and delivery. So at her suggestion I got all excited-I couldn't wait to tell Jim that the doctor told me to get a p---- something massages! She told me to look it up online for more information. I went back to work, told a co-worker she told me to get some kind of massage. It's her fault too, she had 2 kids already and she didn't even clue me in. I was wondering where I could go in Tupelo to get one of these massages. I wonder if it's considered like a prenatal massage of some sort...hmmm. Called Jim, told him...he asked, well, hun, how much do those cost? You're laughing at us aren't you? Don't feel bad, I'm laughing about it myself!  So if you are still in the blue as I was, here's the link to WebMD and you can look up Perineal Massages up for yourself! Yah, can you imagine my surprise when I realized how un-informed I had been!
     Then, a few of my great and wonderful, wise, older and very experienced mother friends were divulging about labor and delivery to me and kept going on and on about how AWESOME the sitz bath is. And Candise, if they ask you if you want one, you tell the yes, yes, yes!!! I was getting excited. In my naive mind a sitz bath sounded like a spa like rub-down, I could just lay there and they bathe me in sitz minerals, or something like that. Stop laughing! So I'm all hyped up..I get a sitz bath, I get a sitz bath! WooHoo! I settled into disappointment and confusion when I asked about it and the nurse brought in this ugly mustard colored pan and tubes and a bag and asked if I needed any help to the toilet...Okay, I said sitz bath, maybe you didn't hear me clearly the first time. Nope, she heard me alright. How in the world could I have messed this up in my head so badly??? Yah, the sitz bath was great alright, but...not at all what I was expecting. Never got that spa-like rub-down either, hmmm.

Drama Queen

The world is coming to an end!!! Well, not really, but I'm allowed to be a little dramatic, right? So I've realized my pregnancy condition has worsened...apparently I'm really supposed to get off my feet! I found myself sobbing to God in the shower to just help me feel better. I thought, Father, I just need to get through this weekend, then I'll sit down, I promise. You know you've made those promises before too, don't hate. Then I remembered, Tebow plays at State next weekend...Okay, maybe next weekend too God!