mothers are amazing

I am beyond privileged to know many amazing mamas and women. I believe God has given all women a mothering heart. I think He has created women to love and nurture life whether we actually give birth to children or not and therefore I hope that all women who mother in any sort of capacity feel honored today. I see women all the time who are selfless, nurturing, brave, hopeful, strong and beautiful, and mothering... many of these women have children but definitely not all of them. I hope that no woman feels like any less of a woman today just because she does not have children.

I have been blessed with two amazing babies, and I know being their mother is by far the most important job I have even had. Nothing else in my life has been more wonderful or made me depend on Jesus more. I need to be more like him, so my children can see Him. This journey makes me grateful for those in my life that are a great example for me as learn more and more about being a mother. I am especially thankful for my sister, who is a great mommy to her amazing kids, my mother-in-law, who did a great job raising my incredible husband, friends and family, who are a step or two ahead of me, and friends who are in the trenches with me as we are mamas to babies and toddlers. Most of all I am thankful for my own mother, and since I failed to get her anything this Mother's Day, here's a little tribute to the woman I am honored to call Mom.

Anyone who knows my mom knows she is amazing. I have had the privilege of watching what it means to be a great mom every day of my life. Just by being who she is, she has taught me how to be a great mommy to my own kids. From the day I was born and she became a mother, she has continuously and selflessly given whether she was changing diapers, cooking meals, cleaning house, buying us clothes, driving us around, making our house a home, or the million other things moms do, she always put us before herself. My mom has bravely let her children grow up, letting us travel (even to other countries) and watching us move around. I'm realizing more everyday just how much courage it takes for her to support us through everything, even when it takes us away from her. She is nurturing and motherly to her core bringing life, joy and beauty wherever she is. My mom is great with people. She is very disarming and makes those around her feel relaxed and at ease. She is always hopeful, always encouraging us that things will work out and be okay. Even if things aren't okay at the moment, she knows they will be. I believe most of that comes from the trust she has in the Lord and the eternal perspective she has. My mom has great strength and has faced some tough times, never wavering in her love for God or others. I have never known anyone to love like my mom does. She loves her husband, children, grandchildren and all who come into her life fiercely,  deeply and unconditionally.

My husband often laughs and says, "You are your mother's daughter." Many times he says that because she's passed down some quirks to me too (I hate goodbyes, love Starbucks and have a hard time making decisions, especially when shopping), but I take it as a compliment. She has raised three children who are all following the Lord and passing on the love she has given. I hope and pray I mother my kids as well as my mama has mothered hers. Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all the beautiful women in my life.

My lovely mom and the little girl who made me a mom too. 

the birth of our son

When just over two years ago, our darling Little Lady was born, and I became a mommy, I felt that a part of me that had been missing was now complete. From the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew God called me to and created me for motherhood. I'm far from the perfect mother, but I know that it is the perfect "job" for me. So, when we found out we were expecting our second child, I was thrilled! Getting pregnant this time around was so much easier than the first time, and the entire pregnancy was, for the most part, easy too. Though I might complain about some minor aches and pains, I really do love being pregnant and marvel at the miracle of it all. I feel privileged to carry and bring forth a new little  life.

This pregnancy really was easy for the most part, but I must have created a cozy home for our little man because he didn't seem to want to come out. My due date came and went, but he just stayed... for 11 more days. We tried every old wives tale out there... even some really silly ones, but in the end, he just came when he was ready. And once he decided he was ready, he was really ready...

On March 18, ten days past my estimated due date, I had a doctor's appointment. Our doctor is a wonderful man who is very supportive of natural childbirth and letting babies come on their own time. He did, however, want to make sure everything looked good and that both Baby and I were healthy. He was a little concerned about the baby's heart rate (there wasn't enough fluctuation in his heart rate), but our little man must have just been sleeping because after a little more monitoring, everything looked great, and we went home.

Later that day, I went to get Little Lady down for her nap and decided to try to sleep myself, but I started having some contractions. After about an hour, I decided to start timing them, but I was in no way convinced this was the real deal. I was definitely feeling the contractions, but they were nowhere near regular. A few would be around 7 minutes apart then I'd go 15 minutes or more before another one. They weren't stopping though, and this continued on all evening.

At this point, I was fairly certain I was really in labor, but since my contractions weren't too strong and still not regular and based on my first labor, I thought this might take awhile. We put Little Lady down for the night, and I told Matt we should probably try to get some sleep ourselves. My contractions were intense enough at that point that I couldn't really sleep, and around 11, I woke up my wonderful coach and told him I needed him now too. We called our doula who encouraged me to labor in the bathtub off and on, which felt really good. Matt was amazing at helping me through contractions (I don't know what I would do without him during labor or otherwise for that matter).

We labored together for a few more hours, and other than a bit of back labor, things weren't too intense yet. Though I need to stop and deal with them, my contractions were very manageable. I kept waiting for things to get worse. I thought this labor would be very similar to Little Lady's, but it was quite different. It was just Matt and I in the middle of the night... it was very calm and peaceful, and I felt a sweetness from the Lord through it all.

Around 2:30 a.m., we decided to call our doula and have her come over. We really wanted her to help gauge when we should go to the hospital as we wanted to labor at home as long as possible. I was also very worried this little guy was posterior like his big sister since I was having some back labor. Our sweet doula came over about an hour later. We were able to listen to Baby's heartbeat, and she helped me do some different labor positions to help him turn in case he was posterior. I honestly think he was, but the different positioning did help him turn. Around 4:30 or so, I had our doula check me... with Little Lady I was stuck at 4cm for a really long time... so I was praying I was at least at 5cm. When she said I was 8, nearly 9, I could hardly believe it!

We decided it was time to go to the hospital, but we didn't want to be to frantic about it. As we were putting things in the car, waking Nana and about to get Little Lady up, my water broke. After that, things got really intense. We knew I was in transition and now we needed to get to the hospital quickly! With a quick prayer of blessing, a call to our doctor, a blanket just in case, and a promise of being there in 15 minutes, we were off. The car ride was not a fun one, and Little Lady kept asking if Mommy was cold... but we made it in a little over 15 minutes.

Once we walked into the ER, I was overwhelmed by the need to push, but I don't think the man at the desk knew just how urgent the situation was. As I was squatting in front of a chair, scared my boy was going to be born into my pants, another nurse saw me and told OB we would meet them on the way. I did not want to sit in a wheelchair because of so much pressure, but I was convinced to let them run, literally run, me up the OB floor. Once we got up there, and I was on the bed, I knew he was coming right away. One of the nurses was trying to tell me not to push and just blow her hair because the doctor wasn't in the room yet, but I told her as kindly as a woman at that stage of labor can, that I couldn't not push... this baby was coming! Matt confirmed this by letting them know the baby was crowning, and he could see the head! Another nurse, who was incredible, told me it was alright to push, and after one push, his head was out. The cord was around his neck three times, and it had to be cut right there, but after one more push, our Little Buddy was born and in my arms. I know for sure we were still in the van at 5:30am, and his birth time was 5:42am on March 19. It was a little crazy. He was also very, very pale, so they took him right away to make sure he was ok and try to get him to pink up, which he did and in about 5 minutes he was back in my arms and started nursing like a champ right away. His big sister and Nana came in right away too, and they were both smitten by him immediately.

After he was born, the nurses finally asked my name, we signed all our consent forms, information was put into the computer, and our doctor showed up in time to stitch up my small tear. If we had been there a few minutes earlier, the birth might have been a little less frantic, but other than that, I could not have asked for a better hospital birth experience. After laboring for about 24 hours and pushing for 3 1/2 hours for Little Lady, I was in complete shock how quick and honestly fairly easy this delivery was, and part of me kind of wishes that since the birth center wasn't open yet, we would have just stayed at home. Oh well, there's always next time :)

We've spent the last month loving on Little Buddy, trying to find our new groove and enjoying watching Little Lady love on her brother... we've also had some challenges with her, but that's to be expected. Plus, she's terrifically every bit of two right now. I love our family to bits and am enjoying the growth. I cannot believe we've been a family of four for a month already. Happy one month birthday, Little Buddy!

a new blog?

I've decided to start a new blog... not that I don't like the old one... it's just that it is a bit girly (life with a lady) and now we've had a little man join our family. Plus, as long as I can remember, my sweet mama had told other young moms to, "savor, savor, savor" because the little years pass so quickly. I want to do that. I want to savor every precious moment can.

I'm not so naive to think that every moment is perfect and wonderful. Some days are tough. Some days I feel like Daddy is never going to get home from work, dinner isn't what I want it to be, I've cleaned up pee on the floor ten times just that day, and the house looks like I've just been sitting around watching tv and eating bon-bons... but even though days may seem long and life can get messy, the months and years are already passing quickly. I want to keep things real and acknowledge when I'm struggling or having a rough day, and those times are important to remember too. However, those aren't the moments I want to dwell on. I want to remember and focus on the good days or even the good moments in a challenging day. I want to find joy, especially in the little things that make up each of our days and fix my heart on that... hence the title "moments worth savoring". Who knows what all I'll end up writing about here, but my goal is to breathe deep, enjoy this life and savor as many moments as I possibly can in this life I am blessed to live.