Natural Birth Plans for a Hospital Birth

I did a lot of research trying to find a birth plan. I believe birth plans are important for many reasons. A few being that when you research and plan ahead, knowing what you would do in certain situations. Most of the time just knowing and having knowledge of what could happen helps you to be so much less fearful. I am so glad we had a birth plan for Levi.

Mundane Monday

So today is Monday again! What a great day. :) What are you thankful for this Monday?

1) The cooler weather

2) The sunshine AND cooler weather

3) Raspberry herbal tea

4) Double strollers

5) Birth Plans

6) Sleep

7) God-glorying conflict (seems ironic huh? lol How about conflict that in the end sanctifies and grows each other closer to Christ and to each other?)

8) Maternity clothes a friend is lending me

9) Ab exercises

10) 3 more months

11) Healthy diets

12) Steady weight

13) Laughs from Levi

14) Family time

15) My husband who has been working extra hard the past month

16) Fun times with my hubby

17) A husband who is great at planning and helps something that seems stressful a breeze

There are so many things for us to be thankful for. This is just a simple list, but I am thankful for so many other things. These are just a few of the "special" things that I am thankful for this week. :)

Ultrasound pictures week 26

We had an ultrasound yesterday and it was cool. With Levi, we had a 3D ultrasound done at 18 weeks and that was the only 3D ultrasound we had with him. With this Baby Brines, we have had a few of them, but they haven't been too exciting, but this ultrasound yesterday at 25 weeks was cool. The baby had more fat under the skin, so it was way less skeletal and creepy. lol Even John was amazed at how it looked, but he said the baby looked grumpy.

Gossiping Lies

I'm nervous to write this post because I know this is going to come across as harsh, but I don't mean it to. Just know my heart isn't to be harsh and judgemental.

Sometimes the way the world thinks saddens me. And by the world, I don't necessarily mean unbelievers, some things believers say is also very saddening--sometimes more so because they should know better....but then again, God is the one who opens our eyes, not us. I just recently overheard an older couple talking about someone they knew who was getting married.

The "N" Word......

Message

Show Details

The word no is a frustrating word for anyone to hear. No one really likes to hear it. John and I had talked about how when we had kids, we were going to strive to not use the word no. I'll explain in a minute. Now, since having Levi we have added to that list phrases that associate a negative meaning or outcome. Those are things like "if you don't stop eating candy, you will end up sick," or "if you don't shape up your life, you are going to go to jail!" Things like that. Your mind can't help but think of the negative outcome and that starts to become the reality that your mind creates. So, we are trying not to use those phrases with Levi as well.

Mundane Monday

Why do you think Monday's can be so tough? I am not sure. But, I believe it has something to do with the fact that we have idols. Shocked at that answer? Let me explain and see if I can help you understand where I am coming from. We all would admit we have idols in our life. Or maybe we wouldn't, but we know that we do. I heard a quote the other day that stated "What we idolize, we demonize."

Is your husband getting that lovin' feeling?

Okay, well we can't avoid it much longer so let's just get to it. And, this is something that I need to work on big time. Most of my posts are written not because I have mastered this area and am an expert, I write them because I want to share what I'm learning and hope that as women of God, married couples, wives, mothers, friends, we can all grow together because I am definitely still growing.

Picture Update for weeks 25-26

Okay, I was able to take pictures of my belly!! Here are the updates. I finally got some up!! :)

Rutabaga week 25

Cauliflower for week 26 :)

25 Weeks 7 months!!!

I have been doing poorly with my weekly belly pictures and my facebook profile pictures. The facebook one is because the fruits/veggies are getting weird and I don't normally buy them, so I forget when I'm at the store to pick them up. It's lame though! And, we are without internet at home. I will strive to take some belly pictures tonight or tomorrow though. But, until then, I figured I could at least update my blog on what is going on.

Mundane Monday

It's Monday again and typically it's a blue-ish type day. Especially today. It was gloomy and very stormy here, but not gonna lie, I LOVED it. Except running errands in it. I ended up accidently going when it poured the hardest and had to make multiple stops....with Levi....and a lot of bags...and an umbrella. Difficult, but I finished it! lol But, whether you like the rain or not, we have reasons to be thankful today. Here are some of mine:

Sleeping Theories and Book Reviews

I love to read, I always have, but I realize not everyone is like me. There are some who love to read, there are some who hate reading, and there are others who are indifferent. Regardless, if you are a parent of a child of any age, I would highly recommend the book "Healthy Sleep Habits for a Happy Baby" by Marc Weissbluth M.D. This book is absolutely amazing and how we got Levi into such a wonderful sleep habit. And, honestly, I think it has a lot to do with his disposition. I realize that personality is a big key, but one of the big points in this book is that if the child isn't getting enough sleep, they will get over tired and not be able to sleep nor function well. Then they get irritable and don't learn or adapt as well. 

4th of July Fun!!

We had such a fantastic weekend celebrating the 4th and John's birthday. He was born on the 4th, so he's lucky and gets fireworks on his birthday! I wanted to do a quick picture update. Belly pictures along with pictures from our amazing weekend. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday celebrating the freedom of our country and what our soldiers fight for daily.