Happy 3 months!!

My little princess is 3 months old today!! It feels like time has flown by. She is so sweet and precious, and I just thank God everyday for blessing me with a new little gift.

Last night she slept 9 hours through the night!! I was amazed. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was trying to implement Babywise to a degree, but with no crying it out. Basically, I just try to keep her on a similar routine each day, and feed her a bit more than usual before bedtime. The other night she slept 8 hours.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she will continue this. This is a first for me, because my other children never slept this long at this age. But, they may have if I had tried to work on it.

She's a pretty quiet baby who enjoys sitting back watching her brother and sister play and be rambunctious. She absolutely loves when they hug and kiss on her, which is all. the. time! She just smiles and laughs when they get all in her face. It's so cute!

I'm amazed that my older children are so in love with their baby sister. I thought the "new baby high" would have worn off by now, but they are just as excited as when she first came home! It really warms my heart.

Interestingly enough, they continue to talk about when I'm going to have a boy baby in my tummy. Ummmm. . . Not right now kiddos! Let's just enjoy our sweet little baby girl for now!! :)

Linking up with Women Living Well

Regretting children

Yesterday I happened upon a website about being child free. The blog author's goal for writing is to share the beauty of living a child-free lifestyle. She wrote about how the U.S. is such a family and child centered country, and how being child-free is really a wonderful option for couples.

I didn't find anything totally wrong with that if a couple chooses not to have children or they simply cannot have children, it's ok to cheerfully embrace being childless.

But, what made my heart sink was reading her guest posts from mothers who regretted having their children, and wished that they had remained child-free. These posts were to serve as "inspiration" to other women of the "reality" of being a mother. It's mainly a regrettable decision.




The main reasons many of the women cited for regretting their children:

1. Lack of time to themselves.

2. Compromises with their career.

3. Drain on their finances.

4. Missed their carefree, before children lifestyle.

I thought about a previous post I wrote about teaching our daughters to love motherhood.

I shared my struggles with motherhood. Have I had moments when I wanted to go back to my before children life of having an abundance of free time? Sure. Did the moment last? No.

I think many mothers have had their moments of wanting to have more time to themselves, and miss their pre children life. But, to just say you regret being a mother period is a huge statement. Yes, motherhood can be quite hard. It's challenging, and yes it's hard work to instill values, be consistent with discipline, and have the patience of Michelle Duggar while raising children. But, it's a wonderful job that I wouldn't trade for anything.

It did make me think about the fact that in Titus 2 the Bible admonishes the older women to TEACH the younger women how to love her children.

That would imply to me that it's not as natural as breathing to love your children, as in loving the day in day out task of mothering them. When you're exhausted, overwhelmed, frustrated, you need someone to talk to who has been in your shoes, and can offer you a glimmer of hope that everything will be alright, or offer tips for how they handled discipline, whining, maintaining patience, maintaining sanity(?),etc.

Motherhood requires selflessness, and when you're really selfish, it is a lot HARDER to love being a mother. Praying daily, developing a servant's heart, and having mothering support is crucial.

I'll contine in a later post with great links to encourage mothers in this mothering journey.

Linking up with
Titus 2 Tuesday

Titus 2sDay

Cute Girly Book for Little Girls

My daughter loves this cute girly book, Summer Jackson Grown Up, by Teresa E. Harris. It is a picture book with beautiful illustrations, featuring a 7 year old girl who wants to be a grown up. It's so cute!



I like to read all types of books to my children, but I get especially excited when I can read them books featuring African American characters, because I think it is affirming for children to see positive reflections of themselves in books and television.

I searched for girly picture books along the lines of Fancy Nancy and Pinkalicious, but with an African American girl, and I found Summer Jackson Grown Up. Just like I thought, my daughter absolutely loved the book and has often imitated some of the things Summer Jackson does in the book.

If you're looking for a cute, girly book for your little princess, be sure to check out this book.

The Client List

I have to say that I enjoy watching The Client List. Last night's episode was. . . wow. Finally, Riley and Evan kissed. Honestly, it's been so long since I've watched a TV show that was not a reality show that I almost forgot how wonderful watching a real show can be.

The season finale is next Sunday, and I'm a bit sad. Although I hate what Riley does for a living, I like that she's a very feminine woman. And, I just knew her estranged husband who deserted her would show up as soon as Evan finally showed his feelings for her! The background music during their kiss was perfect. Is it sad to say that I rewound that scene like five times? . . . Yep, it probably is.

I just love romance. Sorry. :(

Mommy Socialization

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I'm thinking of joining a local Mocha Moms chapter. Mocha Moms is a support group for African American stay at home moms.

I really want to join a chapter, because I really want to connect with other stay at home moms.

For most of the day I am in the house with my children, and that's great most days, but sometimes I just want to get out and let the children play while I socialize with another mom with children.

And, I don't have that.

When I take the children to the park and other kid activities I don't have another mom to regularly socialize with. I think it will boost my morale to join a group and meet other local stay at home moms, since I'm not really meeting others on my own.

I think it will be a great opportunity. I will update on how it goes in the next few weeks.

Pretty Pink Dress

Found here


I absolutely love this dress! So beautiful. It's hanging on a tree for a wedding. Gorgeous.

Another Non Hormonal Birth Control Option

I'm amazed at learning about the various non hormonal birth control options out there. Things that I've never heard of before. I'm wondering why they aren't promoted more.

I learned about VCF(Vaginal Contraceptive Film) on a forum, and I was intrigued by it, and googled it. It is a film that is inserted into the vagina and dissolves in seconds, and lasts for hours.

There are no side effects.

Supposedly you or your husband cannot feel it.

Requires no prescription to use, and can be found at any local drugstore.

You can go to their website and get a free sample and coupon. I just received my samples in the mail, and I will see how I like it, but it sounds like a wonderful product.

I've never heard anyone say that they have used this for birth control, but it sounds like a great option.

Using Babywise

Yesterday my little princess had her 2 month check up. She weighs 13 lbs, 5 oz. The little chubster!

She continues to sleep better at night. She usually sleeps around 5 hours straight before waking. I haven't read Babywise, but I've read the blog Babywise Mom, and I've gleaned a lot of information from it about establishing a sleep schedule and such.

I haven't rigidly followed it, but I have to some degree. I do not have the heart to let my baby cry it out, so I'm not going that route. But, purposing to encourage her to stay up longer during the day and feeding her more in the evening is my way of helping her to sleep through the night.

I found a great resource for using Babywise with no crying it out at Jess's blog Making Home. You can go here to read her posts on using Babywise. It's a great series!

My first two children didn't sleep all the way through the night until around 13-14 months old. They always woke up at least once through the night. So, I'm giving this a try to see if I can get little princess to sleep through the night in the next few weeks or so.

Fingers crossed. . .