The Midwife

Happy New Year everyone!!

I have enjoyed a wonderful holiday season. I told my husband that having young children brings the excitement back into Christmas. Christmas from around the teen years and beyond isn't quite as exciting as Christmas when you are little. It seemed magical as a child, because I believed in Santa Claus, and there was so much anticipation to see what was under the Christmas tree.

The older I got the more the magic faded away. I still enjoyed Christmas very much, but there was no magical element there. But, having children brings that magic back for some reason. I guess because you get to witness their excitement.

Something I have also enjoyed for the past week or so has been reading an excellent book! Prior to getting marrried and having children, I was a voracious novel reader. After having children I cut back a lot on my reading. A lot. Mainly because when I get into a book I like to keep reading, and it was frustrating to read and have to stop continuously.

Another reason was because I just had not found a lot of good books that were worth trying to continue reading. But, I recently read one of the best books that I've read in a long time.

As I'm approaching my sixth month of pregnancy, of course I have been reading anything related to pregnancy. Mainly nonfiction works. But, I found a great fiction novel, called The Midwife by Gay Courter. I found it at my local library and I was hooked from the first few pages. I loved this book! Childbirth is fascinating to me anyways, more so right now of course, because I'll be giving birth in a few months. The writing was excellent, and although it was a very long book, I savored each moment of reading it. I just finished reading it, and I have to give a full review of it in a few days at least. I'm also going to get the sequel tomorrow and begin reading it.

I can't wait!

Back Home

I'm finally done with my teacher certification program!! This is my first week back home full time with my children, and it's been great. My husband had been home during the day with them, but he started school fulltime, which the military pays for, last week.

The children are excited about the baby in my tummy. At least once a week my son asks me if the baby is going to come out now. He's anxious to meet his new sibling.

I'm five months along, and I'm deciding on whether to switch to a more VBAC friendly doctor. The one I chose, I thought was VBAC friendly, but she said that she only supports vaginal births after one c-section, and I have had two.

I'm nervous about trying for a VBAC, and I'm nervous about possibly having another C-section. I try not to think about it too much, and stay positive. I have been reading a lot of great posts through ICAN, specifically I Can of Atlanta's message board. It has been inspiring to read so many VBAC success stories.

30

Today is my 30th birthday. (Sigh. . . ) No, really, I'm happy to begin a new decade of life, and I am thankful for all that God has blessed me with. Even unexpected surprises.

A while ago I blogged about yearning for a baby, but in my head I knew that it was not a wise time to have another child. I guess God had other plans, because I'm expecting number 3. I honestly can't believe it, and writing it here makes it seem more real.

I've read biblical womanhood type blogs for quite some time now, and have read about how women should joyfully anticipate the birth of any children God chooses to bless them with, and allowing God to plan your family and so forth. I think there is some merit to that.

But, can I admit that I am both happy and anxious/nervous about having another child?

I feel mostly confident that I can handle it in stride, but a part of me is nervous that parenting three children will be very overwhelming. The other part of me can't wait to hold, snuggle, and nurse this new little person.

Anyways, I'm thankful for all of my children on my special birthday and my entire family for their support and love.

My goal this year is to really work hard to accomplish my dreams of being a published author, to become a better cook because I'm really bored with my repertoire of meals, and to remember to enjoy each and every day to the fullest with my loved ones, and not waste energy on trivial matters.

Have a wonderful day!

Each Day is Important

It's a rainy Labor Day here, and I'm savoring this relaxed time at home with my family. Sometimes I forget how important my job is as mother to my children, and my responsibility to train and mold them. Sometimes I get in a rut, and feel like I'm going through the motions. But, today I just thought about how powerful my role as mother is.

I am so blessed to be their mommy. My daughter just turned 3 a few days ago, so for three weeks I will have two three year olds! My son will turn 4 at the end of September. It's funny that they are the same age for exactly three weeks every year.

I was reading a few weeks ago about Marian Robinson, Michelle Obama's mother, who was a full-time homemaker until Michelle was in high school. She taught both of her children to read before they entered school. They were allowed to watch 30 min. of TV while they were young children, and spent much of their day reading and playing board games.

Reading that inspired me, because Marian Robinson and her husband laid a strong foundation for their children, who both ended up very successful. I love hearing stories of women who were homemakers and proud of their role, and the fruits of their labors.

It gives me more motivation to be the best wife and mother that I can be. Even when daily life seems mundane, it really is not, because each day, every routine, everything I teach, is helping to shape and mold my children, and it is important.

Back to TV

My family and I recently moved to a new place at the beginning of the month. We got TV and internet connection this past Saturday. We went three weeks with no TV. For my husband and I it was a lot to digest. But, we got used to it.

I've said before in this blog that I am a reality tv fan. I love watching The Real Housewives shows, Teen Mom, Cupcake Wars, Top Chef, and a few other shows. Mainly Bravo shows. I thought that I would be completely bored without tv to watch during my downtime when the children were sleep.

Interestingly enough, I rarely missed tv. It almost feels weird to watch the shows that I once could not miss. I feel out of the loop. I guess it's a good thing. I still enjoy watching TV, but I realize that it's not the absolute best way for me to unwind and relax.

I've always been a bookworm, since elementary school, and I had the chance to rekindle my love for reading. I've been reading more books as well as spending more time organizing our home in my down time.

Although it's been awhile since I bought a book, because I usually check them out from the library, I was so sad when I found out my local Borders was closing. Like, actually sad. I really enjoy browsing through bookstores. But, I guess a lot of people are choosing to check books out versus purchase them, or buy them off of Amazon.

Preparing Girls for Career and Children

I just read an interesting article about Jill Berry, the president of the Girls' School Association, discussing how important it is to give young girls a realistic view of balancing careers with children. She said that it's important to let girls know that it's ok to not work when they have young children or to work part time.

She feels that it is a disservice to young ladies to make them believe that they have to do it all. Of course, some women can, but they need to know that it's okay if they do not try to do it all.

The article states:

A lot of our girls want to have it all. That is perfectly acceptable and anything we can do to prepare them, we will. But we need to make them realistic. At different stages of their lives, they may want different things.

"There is nothing wrong with them saying 'I need to work part-time' or 'I need support in order to enable me to do my career and have children'.

"Women can feel very guilty, whatever path they choose. It is as if they have somehow compromised their principles. What we can do as teachers is prepare them to have aspirations, but not aim for perfection. We can help them recognise that life is about balance."

Berry, who does not have children, said that unless girls were taught this, teachers were "in danger of betraying them".

She said: "There is an unprecedented pressure on girls and more women are going back to work early after having children now. It can all work fine, until their child is ill."

Berry said a top-quality education gave girls the skills to "generate options" for themselves, which could be used both in the workplace, and the home.

You can read more of this article here.

I completely agree that women should be honest with young ladies and let them know that they do not have to be perfect and try to "have it all." I thought it was an excellent article.

This post is linked with:

Raising Homemakers

Women Living Well

Tandem Nursing

Welcome, Carnival of Breastfeeding readers! I've linked up with the June Carnival of Breastfeeding at the site formerly known as Blacktating.

I wrote an article a few years ago for Associated Content about toddler nursing. I've been reading various articles around the internet about the much lower percentage of African American women compared to other races that breastfeed their babies, and I was sad to hear that news.

I have enjoyed breastfeeding for the past almost four years. I related in a previous post about how much I have loved breastfeeding, and I do! My son is three and my daughter is 2 now, so I don't really nurse that much now. My three year old weaned himself around 2 years old, and my daughter occasionally nurses now.

When I first had my daughter, my son was 11 months old, about to turn one in three weeks. He nursed throughout my entire pregnancy, much to the chagrin of various family members, who felt that nursing him would somehow deprive the baby I was carrying of nutrients.

When I had my daughter I couldn't bear the thought of refusing him if he wanted to nurse. I already felt kind of guilty that I had another baby so quickly after having him, so I definitely wasn't going to stop nursing him if he wanted to.

It proved to work out just fine. Nursing pretty much works along the lines of supply and demand. If there is a lot of demand, the milk supply goes up. This explains why mothers of twins and even triplets are able to successfully breastfeed their children.

I allowed my daughter to breastfeed as much as she wanted, and only allowed my toddler to nurse after she was finished eating. I did not want to deprive her. Sometimes my son would whimper and whine to nurse, but he adjusted and he was able to nurse pretty much as much as he wanted, which wasn't a lot by that time. He basically wanted to nurse before naptime and bedtime and sometimes in the morning.

It worked out just fine. I enjoyed nursing my daughter just as much as I enjoyed nursing my son. Breastfeeding makes newborn motherhood SO MUCH EASIER in my opinion. To me it seemed to cure everything for babies; tiredness, hunger, comfort, if they hurt themselves and I nursed them, they IMMEDIATELY stopped crying. I was actually astounded at the powers of nursing. I even wondered why some mothers didn't even try to breastfeed. It's definitely worth trying, and even continuing for at least a year.

If I have another baby, I will definitely breastfeed again, and I look forward to the special bond that is created by doing so. Breastfeeding my first two children was one of the most special and awe-inspiring times in my life. Their sweet little eyes looking up at you with such trust and love.

So sweet.

So precious.

Other mothers sharing their breastfeeding story:

Caramel Chica: Breastfeeding the Second Time Around

Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog: Reasons why breastfeeding is usually easier the second time around.Takisha:

Takisha: Lessons Learned