Living as a mom

Archive for May, 2010

I have been thinking about how I have changed since becoming a mother.

As I become a more experienced mom, I continue to lean more and more towards holistic/attachment parenting ideas. I like to feed my family whole foods as much as possible. I strive to get my family to exercise regularly. I used a sling with my girls and “wore” both of them as much as possible. I nursed my two girls until they were 14 and 18 months respectively and plan to nurse our third baby for as long as the baby and I want to. I even let A3 sleep with us if she wakes in the middle of the night, which I never would have done in the past. I am also considering eco-friendly diapers this time around. And the choice that sets me apart where I live is that I gave birth naturally twice, once with an OB/GYN and once with a midwife, and I plan to again. This time I am considering a water birth, too. In fact, I have always wanted to have a home birth, but E doesn’t feel comfortable with that idea.

I guess what surprises me is that I wanted so much control in the beginning and now I’m not expecting nearly as much control. My plan was to be an incredible mom. I was going to stay at home so I could focus on raising our children. I would cook delicious meals and bake with the kids. My children would be well-behaved and polite. I would have a clean and orderly house. Our kids would have a strict bedtime routine, go to bed without any fuss, and sleep through the night every night.

Then I met our kids.

I learned quickly that I can’t have all of the control. I can set the routine, but I have to be flexible. Sometimes the kids need something different than what was planned. Sometimes I need to change it up so I can make it through the day. There is a pile of clean laundry in my house all of the time because, quite frankly, I have lots of things that I need to do, and I don’t always have the interest or the time to get to the clothes. I now understand that I can teach my children right from wrong, but ultimately, they are responsible for their own choices. There are days and nights that my children need to be close to Mommy and Daddy, so they snuggle in our bed with us. There are also nights that Mommy cannot be a mother for another second and Daddy is expected to take over nurturing duties for a while.

So my kids have taught me how to be a good mother, the mother that they need instead of the mother I imagine I should be. And here I thought I was going to do all of the teaching!

Photo courtesy of frielp

With baby #3 I am looking into environmentally friendly diaper options. There are so many choices today that are reasonably priced, seemingly easy to use, and super cute. It has my head spinning since I only used disposable diapers with my 2 girls. I am interested in gDiapers (cloth and flushable), FuzziBunz, and bumGenius. I am looking for your feedback since I’m sure there are many experts on environmentally friendly diapering. Have you used cloth or flushable diapers? If so, what are the pros and cons to the brand you prefer? Remember that I have to convince my skeptical husband that the diapers we choose are indeed better for the environment as well as convenient and easy to use. I need compelling arguments!

Photo courtesy of simplyla

Today my sweet girl turns 6! I can’t believe it. Where has the time gone? It was a fun day full of celebrating with family. She ate all three meals out today. Who gets to do that?? She was just cute as a button telling us how happy she was and that this was the best birthday ever!

Now C6 has this Fancy Nancy tea party with her friends coming up. I have great ideas for that celebration that I’ll share with you soon…

Photo courtesy of D Sharon Pruitt

Being pregnant with baby #3 has been tough. I did this on purpose, right? Of course it is all worth it in the end! I have morning sickness, but it isn’t as bad as it was with the first two pregnancies. It’s harder, though, because I have two active, precocious children to educate and care for. I am tired and cranky, but I don’t have any fight in me these days. I’ve let a lot of things go lately, including the house. The kids are on to me, too, so they are getting into lots of things these days. It sometimes feels like I’ve lost all of the control here. I can’t wait to start feeling better so I can be in charge!

Photo courtesy of meemal

I am embarrassed by how long it has taken me to get back to my blogs! Please accept my sincere apologies, dear readers!

I hope you noticed the new ticker on my sidebar.

Yes, I am pregnant with baby #3!

We are so very excited about the news. What a blessing this baby is! If you have been following my blog, you know that we have wanted to grow our family for a long time, but we just weren’t sure if we were willing to take the risks that come with that decision. I have a  history of postpartum depression, and I have been medicated for about 3 years now. It is likely that I will have trouble with another pregnancy. We have spent the last couple of years praying and seeking advice from various health professionals and finally decided to take the leap of faith.

After considering the advice from my doctor, we decided that it would be best for me to stay on my antidepressants through this pregnancy. This was a difficult decision for me as I know that there is a slight risk of birth defects. We are trusting God on this one, though. “Every good and perfect gift is from above” James 1:17. We both are at peace with this choice now, knowing that in the end, I will be a better mother for it. We are praying for a healthy baby, a healthy mom, and a healthy family.

I can’t believe that we are having another baby!! It feels great to share the news now!