Five 27 Jones: preparing for a little one

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Friday, June 14, 2013

Preparing for a Little One Link Up

My friend Kaitlyn and I came up with a great idea that I absolutely love.

As you know, Kaitlyn is expecting her first child. This can be so overwhelming and I know that other first time moms probably feel the same. She has so many questions and would love to hear the opinions of moms who have already been through this a time or two before.

Because of this, we are hosting a weekly series to try and get some answers to some of the most common questions.

Here are the topics we still have for future weeks:

Friday, May 31: Cloth Diapers vs. Disposables

Friday, June 7: To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate

Friday, June 14: Tips For Quick Recovery After Labor

Friday, June 21: Struggling With Postpartum Depression

Friday, June 28: BabyWise vs. Attachment Parenting

Friday, July 5: What You Really Need In A Diaper Bag

Friday, July 12: Buying vs. Making Baby Food

Friday, July 19: Cord Blood Banking vs. Not Cord Blood Banking

Friday, July 26: Moving Baby To Solids: Ideas, Tips & Tricks

Friday, August 2: Shopping For A Little One: Favorite Stores & Shops

Friday, August 9: Introducing Your Child Into A Home With Older Siblings Or Pets

Friday, August 16: How To Stay Connected To Your Partner

Friday, August 23: Baby-Proofing Your Home

Friday, August 30: Baby-Proofing Your Marriage

So without further ado, let's get on with this weeks Topic

Tips For A Quick Recovery After Labor:

Hi, Wifessionals readers! I'm Hayley and I normally blog over at A Beautiful Exchange. I'm so excited to be here with you to share a few tips about a healthy, speedy recovery after the birth of your sweet one. Whether you are having a natural birth or a C-section, these tips can help you rest your body while adjusting to life with a newborn!

Accept help: It's so hard during the first few days to want to be the best mother you could have ever pictured yourself being. You can't get enough of the little miracle cuddling close to you in your arms and you want to be there for every cry, hiccup, grunt, and gurgle. While all of those things are absoutely fabulous, you need to keep in mind that your body has just gone through something pretty traumatic. Beautiful, but traumatic. Maybe so. Either way, you should allow family members or
friends to give a helping hand. Thanfully accept offers from people wanting to help--just not too much! My mom came and stayed with us 2 nights after my son was born. I only woke up to nurse and it really helped to get that physical and mental rest!

Don't feel like you have to entertain guests: Because let's face it, they are not coming to visit you. They may say they are, but we all know they just want to hold the baby. While it's nice to have friends and family to stop by, don't work yourself too hard trying to the keep the house tidy, or offering drinks and snacks to people. If there are too many people asking to stop in, say NO! Chances are they will see the baby at some point, even if it is just on Facebook.

Sleep when the baby sleeps: If you do not do this, you will be completely exhausted. Once you get towards the end of your pregnancy, it may help to start trying to go to bed earlier. Your rest is extremely important while your body is healing--everything else can wait! Sleep is one of the first things to go once you have a baby, but take advantage of the multiple naps your newborn will take throughout the day. If you have things that you feel like just have to get done, do it while the baby is awake, just close by in a bouncy seat or swing!

Drink plenty of water: This especially goes for you ladies that will be breastfeeding. Your body needs lots of water to keep your milk supply up and full of the nutrients that the baby needs. Get a cute water bottle or cup and add that to your hospital bag. Get in the habit of drinking plenty of water all throughout the day, if you haven't already.

Accept extra supplies from the hospital: Anything that is in your room when you leave (with the exception of the baby blanket and obvious hospital property) is yours to keep. When you are about to check out, load up any and everything that you have been using. This includes the SUPER SUPER size pads and ice packs, along with the stylish gauze underwear. You may feel like you are walking like a dinosaur, but you will be so thankful to have the supplies handy when you need them.

Ice is your friend! The hospital will give you a few extra of the "pad size" ice packs. Do not under estimate the power of those things. Before I gave birth, the thought of an ice pack hanging out in my underwear made me cringe, but I am so glad that I had plenty of them! They help soothe the pain really nicely, especially after the irritation of a shower or using the bathroom.

Eat well: Don't be in a hurry to shed that baby weight! Breastfeeding babies thrive off of the fat content that is found in breast milk. Keep in mind that just like when you were pregnant, everything that you ingest will somehow effect your baby as well! Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and protein! This goes for all of you that aren't breastfeeding, too. Your body needs plenty of vitamins and nutrients to properly heal. Continue taking your prenatal vitamins, as well!

I hope these tips have helped out some fellow mommas! I really appreciate Kaitlyn and Jennifer letting me hang out with you guys today and can't wait to read everything that is coming up in this little series! I hope you guys will come and visit me at A Beautiful Exchange!

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Friday, June 7, 2013

Preparing for a Little One Link Up

Friday, June 7: To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate

Friday, June 14: Tips For Quick Recovery After Labor

Friday, June 21: Struggling With Postpartum Depression

Friday, June 28: BabyWise vs. Attachment Parenting

Friday, July 5: What You Really Need In A Diaper Bag

Friday, July 12: Buying vs. Making Baby Food

Friday, July 19: Cord Blood Banking vs. Not Cord Blood Banking

Friday, July 26: Moving Baby To Solids: Ideas, Tips & Tricks

Friday, August 2: Shopping For A Little One: Favorite Stores & Shops

Friday, August 9: Introducing Your Child Into A Home With Older Siblings Or Pets

Friday, August 16: How To Stay Connected To Your Partner

Friday, August 23: Baby-Proofing Your Home

Friday, August 30: Baby-Proofing Your Marriage

So without further ado, let's get on with this weeks Topic
To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate

When it came to Vaccinations I was apprehensive when Noah was born which was 3 years ago. There was a lot of talk about Autism being related to all the vaccinations kids receive so he did receive all of his shots until his 1 year and 18 month ones I had chose for him not to get them and I felt confident in that decision.

I know in the last few years the beliefs on that theory are not as strong. However, I have heard lots of information on shots and read lots of good articles for them and against them. This is one issue I can totally see both sides and have never really made a good informed decision for myself or for our family. Carson our second has received all of his shots except for chicken pox because Noah and him already have gotten them. And when they both enter into kindergarten I will probably have them get current to what they are requested to have.

The cold/ flu shots I have never done and never will for myself or the boys. I just do not like the idea of them. I don't believe they work and I don't like that we don't know all of the future side effects of them. Those I do have a stance on.

I think it's important when making this decision for your children to get vaccinated or not to read up a little about from both angles. Take into consideration what jobs you and your spouse have? What kind of environments will your kids be in, daycare or stay at home? Then after you take those things into consideration and read some articles for you own knowledge you can make an appropriate informed decision for you, and your family.

Here are few articles that could be helpful
One against Vaccinations can be found here
One for Vaccinations here

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Friday, May 31, 2013

Preparing for a Little One Link Up

Friday, June 7: To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate

Friday, June 14: Tips For Quick Recovery After Labor

Friday, June 21: Struggling With Postpartum Depression

Friday, June 28: BabyWise vs. Attachment Parenting

Friday, July 5: What You Really Need In A Diaper Bag

Friday, July 12: Buying vs. Making Baby Food

Friday, July 19: Cord Blood Banking vs. Not Cord Blood Banking

Friday, July 26: Moving Baby To Solids: Ideas, Tips & Tricks

Friday, August 2: Shopping For A Little One: Favorite Stores & Shops

Friday, August 9: Introducing Your Child Into A Home With Older Siblings Or Pets

Friday, August 16: How To Stay Connected To Your Partner

Friday, August 23: Baby-Proofing Your Home

Friday, August 30: Baby-Proofing Your Marriage

So without further ado, let's get on with Week 9: Cloth Diapers vs. Disposables!

Cloth Diapers vs Disposables:

When we had Noah 3 years ago cloth vs. disposables was an easy decision for me. I knew I was going to do disposables hands down. Cloth diapering was really getting popular and even though that was the case I didn't really feel like cloth was for me.

A lot of my friends were doing them and still do and yes I do believe you save money but not nearly as much as what they try to advertise. Some people have used them successfully for multiple children and I know some people have chosen to buy new for their second children because they just couldn't get the smell out of their old ones. Another thing to think about it most cloth diapers have a certain weight they will fit, I have known multiple momma's who have either had to do disposables in the beginning until their cloth fit or buy a whole other set to fit their newborn. That's an added expense for sure on top of the normal starting cloth diaper set. Also not figured in on the price is the cost of extra laundry and special laundry detergent, it's not huge but it's added money onto your original investment.

Over the last year and a half I have really done a lot of research as far as the products used in our home and have really been a lot pickier when it comes to what we use. If I was just starting out with kids now I probably would be doing research on disposables to find out if everything I read about them is true and that may of swayed my cloth vs disposables decision but I can't say for sure. Carson will be 2 in August and we will be potty training soon so it's too late now I'm not changing.

But since we went with disposables, here are a few tips that can help save money in the diaper years.

1) Try out the different brands. We tried a few different ones and always went back to Pampers. Hands down I feel Pampers Swaddlers are the best for newborns but once they are out of the newborn stage, try some of the cheaper diapers or off brand ones and see if they work well for you. Every baby is different and sometimes certain brands just don't work so be careful if you are stocking up beforehand and make sure you can return / exchange them from where you are getting them if they don't work.

2) Sign up for Amazon mom. When I first had Noah Amazon mom was free and you received 30% off diapers if you set up a monthly subscription for them. It was awesome, I did it for diapers and wipes and it helped us save a ton. Sometime, before Carson was born I remember the rules changing to not quite as awesome of a deal but still a good one. Now you can get a free 3 month amazon mom membership and receive 20% diapers and wipes but after that to get the discount you have to have Amazon Prime which is a $79 /year membership. We did the math and it was still worth it to pay the fee and get the discounts when we had 2 in diapers. Now that we don't go through that many it's not quite as much of a savings. However we also order a ton off of amazon so the free 2 day shipping perk is great along with tons of free unlimited TV and movies we can stream through our Ipad or our Xbox. The stuff they have to watch is a lot like Netflix just not quite as good. So that is an option for you to look into, even if you don't do the amazon prime, at least do the 3 months, buy some extra diapers during your trial and then call it quits.

3) If you buy diapers/ wipes in the store always look online for coupons first. There are quite a few out there especially if you aren't brand loyal and could buy whatever the coupon if for.

4) Before I knew about and signed up with Amazon with Noah 3 years ago I went online a lot and would buy a lot of coupons on Ebay. You can't actually sell coupons on Ebay so you are paying for someone's time to clip and list them. You may pay a few dollars for the coupons but can save a lot more if you use them all. It always worked out well for me doing that.

Remember there isn't a wrong decision when it comes to cloth vs. disposables. You and your partner talk it over and decide what is best for you, your baby, your lifestyle, and your finances. You aren't a bad mommy to do either one. The decision is yours!

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Friday, May 24, 2013

Preparing for a Little One

Because of this, we are hosting a weekly series for a few weeks to try and get some answers to some of the most common questions.

We have finished the second series, but if you have missed them here are the topics below that you can go back and check out.

Friday, April 5: Registering (Everything you need to know, Must Haves, Don't Bothers, etc...)

Friday, April 12: Nursery Organization & Ideas

Friday, April 19: Packing For The Hospital: For you & the baby

Friday, April 26: Birth Stories (The good, bad, and ugly) / Birth Plans (yes? no?)

This week starts our second mini-series.

Friday, May 3: Bringing Baby Home / Surviving The First Few Weeks

Friday, May 10: Breast Feeding vs. Formula

Friday, May 17: Calming Your Baby & Sleep Methods

Friday, May 24: Losing The Baby Weight

The second series will focus on bringing the baby home, new mom obstacles and losing the dreaded baby weight. Even if you are a first time mom, you may have posts or input on this first series especially!! I know some of you are due any day now, so I'd love to get your input as well.

If you decide to participate on any of the weeks, all you have to do is write a post answering and discussing the topic/question that week and link up to the main post on my blog. I think it will be a great resource for tons of moms to be!

Below you can grab a button to use on your posts and it will be helpful if you link back to Wifessionals or Five 27 Jones so that others can get the details to link up as well. I really hope some of you will share your secrets with us!!!

This week Losing the Baby Weight

Losing Baby Weight isn't easy. Period!

Let me just start with the fact that I wasn't at my ideal weight when I got pregnant with my first.
This was just a few weeks before we found out I was pregnant.

Then throughout my pregnancy I gained 47 pounds. Yeah I know that's a lot, way more than I had planned. When I pregnant they said a good amount was between 25-35 and my goal was 30 I thought right in the middle was good. I passed that one pretty quick. Needless to say for me I was huge. I will never forget the day I gave birth when they asked me how much I weighed, I never wanted to say that number again.
Here is me 2 weeks before Noah was born. Yuck! I always show weight gain in my face so much. I always have cheeks but they just get bigger and bigger.

After Noah was born I had a lot to get rid of and honestly I didn't really do a whole lot about it. I was going through a lot of family issues, I was adjusting to my new life as a mommy. When I got home from the hospital I had lost 13 pounds so far, and then after about two weeks I think I was at 20, then shortly 30 down. Then the rest took awhile. I plateaued for a good 6 months. I did some walking here and there, tried to watch what I ate but didn't necessarily try very hard. I was uncomfortable with myself every single day but just couldn't get motivated to make any lasting changes. Then the week of Noah's first birthday I found out I was pregnant with Carson.

I was scared. I still had about 7 pounds on that I never lost from Noah and I had a hard time dealing with the fact that it was now too late to try and loose weight and I would see the numbers start to go up again. With Carson I did better but still not too great. I gained 33 pounds with him.
After Carson I knew I wanted to be done and again that day when I was getting ready to have him, they asked the same questions, what is your current weight... Grrrr... I vowed again to never say that number again. It was 7 pounds less than last time but still painful.

After Carson I was ready to loose the weight. Right after he was born as soon as I could I tried to go on little walks when possible. We have an elliptical and had a treadmill and as soon as I was able I tried to start doing those a few days a week. Carson was born August 29th and by December 6th I had lost all 33 pounds, which was just over 3 months. I remember getting on the scale and seeing that number, it was a huge victory. I was excited to see it but still had more I wanted to loose.

Over the last year and a half I have done multiple things, I have continued to work out, walk, more recently running, have done some Turbo Fire, Brazilian Butt Lift, and the elliptical. Last July I also started taking Genesis Pure which I know has contributed a ton to my weight loss and the ability to stay at my ideal weight. I have always been a yo-yo'er but since last summer have actually kept the weight off. I still fluctuate about 3-5 pounds every so many weeks but I blame that one on hormones and sometimes we all have those bad eating weeks because of stress, vacations or just busy schedules.

I'm not perfect and still have some weight/body goals I would like to achieve but also proud of where I have came from. I am in better shape now than before I got pregnant so that is a good feeling.

I hardly ever takes pictures of myself and I think I already posted this one a few weeks ago but for comparison here is a recent picture.

To all of you future mommies, here are some things to remember because I know you already know them!

1) It took your whole pregnancy to gain the weight, it's not going to come off as soon as your baby is born or shortly after. It will take time, but you will get there!

2) Drink plenty of water ( especially if nursing).

3) Get plenty of rest. Your body functions better with sleep. Sleep provides us with energy. Getting enough sleep helps us make better food choices. It is important and will help in the long run. I know sleep is always the first thing I can think of to give up when I'm short on time, but it's not always the best option.

4) Don't diet. Diet's don't work. Just eat healthy foods and try more frequent smaller meals each day rather than 3 larger ones .

5) Make some time for yourself and get your sweat on. Go for a walk, take your pick of workouts and do them! I can't tell you how good it felt to really work out after Carson. I had to get up really early and it stunk at first but once I got used to it, I really started to enjoy it. I love the quiet time I get to myself. I love the feeling of a good sweaty workout, makes you feel like you accomplished something. I hear it said a lot but love it "sweat is your fat crying".

6) Expect for weight to look different on your post baby body. You may reach your pre-baby weight but still look so different and that's normal. Things shift, around your belly will take longer to change, my hips stayed bigger for quite some time. That all took some extra time but again it can/ will get better.

7) Enjoy your baby and remember he/ she was all worth it!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Preparing for a Little One- Calming your Baby and Sleep Methods

Because of this, we are hosting a weekly series for a few weeks to try and get some answers to some of the most common questions.

We have finished the second series, but if you have missed them here are the topics below that you can go back and check out.

Friday, April 5: Registering (Everything you need to know, Must Haves, Don't Bothers, etc...)

Friday, April 12: Nursery Organization & Ideas

Friday, April 19: Packing For The Hospital: For you & the baby

Friday, April 26: Birth Stories (The good, bad, and ugly) / Birth Plans (yes? no?)

This week starts our second mini-series.

Friday, May 3: Bringing Baby Home / Surviving The First Few Weeks

Friday, May 10: Breast Feeding vs. Formula

Friday, May 17: Calming Your Baby & Sleep Methods

Friday, May 24: Losing The Baby Weight

Friday, May 10, 2013

Preparing for a Little One

Because of this, we are hosting a weekly series for a few weeks to try and get some answers to some of the most common questions.

We have finished the second series, but if you have missed them here are the topics below that you can go back and check out.

Friday, April 5: Registering (Everything you need to know, Must Haves, Don't Bothers, etc...)

Friday, April 12: Nursery Organization & Ideas

Friday, April 19: Packing For The Hospital: For you & the baby

Friday, April 26: Birth Stories (The good, bad, and ugly) / Birth Plans (yes? no?)

This week starts our second mini-series.

Friday, May 3: Bringing Baby Home / Surviving The First Few Weeks

Friday, May 10: Breast Feeding vs. Formula

Friday, May 17: Calming Your Baby & Sleep Methods

Friday, May 24: Losing The Baby Weight

This week's Topic Breastfeeding vs Formula

This topic has been a hugely debated issue, and I hate that's it's turned into that! Here is my two cents on the deal!

I did breastfeed with each of our boys. However, not for long. With Noah he got in almost 2 months of nursing and formula, then switched solely to formula. Carson had about 6 weeks. Noah was a super fussy baby, I was always worked up, he always seemed hungry and in pain. We tried lots of different things and combinations pumping and letting him take bottles instead, gas drops, supplementing and nothing seemed to appease him. It was just too much and I let it go.

With Carson, I had some postpartum depression and started resenting that time I spent nursing with him. I didn't handle that adjustment well, I always felt like I was missing out with good Noah time and I felt like it was just better for both of us, if we switched him so we did switch with him a little earlier. I do have to say that I regretted quitting so early with him and later wished I would of kept it up but obviously it was too late once all those post baby hormones were gone.

Another issue I dealt with is that I never seemed to produce enough, when I pumped I would hardly ever get over 2 ounces total. I couldn't even pump enough for a feeding.

With Noah I really wanted to do and really felt the pressure to be successful with it. Then I will never forget what my aunt told me when I extra upset and stressed one day. She said I needed to take care of myself too. If mommy isn't happy, baby isn't happy and I needed to do what was best for us. For each person the experience is different. I could of tried harder, I know there is medicine you can take to help with your supply, I have since heard of lots of natural methods to increase it and sometimes I wish I would of tried harder. But then at the same time I have 2 wonderful little boys who did have formula most of their first year and they are perfectly fine, healthy boys!

Now if YOU want to breastfeed by all means, go for it. It's less expensive, it is awesome for your babies health and immune system. It also helps with bonding with your baby in the beginning. I took a breastfeeding class by a lactation consultant and I highly recommend taking a class, or reading a book about it to prepare you for help with latch, and general knowledge about breastfeeding, feeding, and how to pump.

But on the other hand, if YOU don't want to, don't give in to the pressure to do it. You are not a bad mom for choosing to use formula. Each mom has to decide what is best for their family, their lifestyle and in general what works "best" for them and whatever that is, that is what is RIGHT for YOU! Formula has come along way in the last 20 years and does give your baby what he/she needs as well, don't feel like your baby won't be "healthy" if you decide to go that route.

If you are unsure if you want to, I would tell you to try it! Some people it really grosses them out to think about it but then what that little baby is in their arms they completely change their mind. If you go back and forth about it toward the end of your pregnancy, then wait and in that moment you can decide and it doesn't hurt to try. The hospital will have formula there for you, so if you decide to go that route after trying you won't have to worry about a thing.

Good luck future mommas!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Preparing for a Little One- Bringing Home Baby

Because of this, we are hosting a weekly series for a few weeks to try and get some answers to some of the most common questions.

We have finished the second series, but if you have missed them here are the topics below that you can go back and check out.

Friday, April 5: Registering (Everything you need to know, Must Haves, Don't Bothers, etc...)

Friday, April 12: Nursery Organization & Ideas

Friday, April 19: Packing For The Hospital: For you & the baby

Friday, April 26: Birth Stories (The good, bad, and ugly) / Birth Plans (yes? no?)

This week starts our second mini-series.

Friday, May 3: Bringing Baby Home / Surviving The First Few Weeks

Friday, May 10: Breast Feeding vs. Formula

Friday, May 17: Calming Your Baby & Sleep Methods

Friday, May 24: Losing The Baby Weight

Now for the good stuff, onto this week's Topic: Bringing Baby Home

I will never forget the ride home with our firstborn Noah. It seemed so crazy that we were taking our very own baby home and he would be with us from then on out. I remember getting home, getting him out of the carseat, looking at him and thinking " Now What??" I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to do, but it didn't take long for us to get used to our "new life" with our baby boy and for new to feel as though it was the norm.

I know all you future parents will figure it out just like we did but I did want to throw some advice out to you.

1) Make yourself and baby a priority. Make sure you are able to take care of baby, if not ask for help. Your baby will have needs and you have just experienced the rollercoaster of childbirth, if you don't feel like you are fully able to take care of your baby remember it's okay to ask for help. No shame in that, this is not the time to play superwoman!

2) Be ready to let go and lower your expectations. If you are a neat freak like me, be ready to lower your typical home standards, you won't feel like yourself and you will want to cuddle with that sweet new baby of yours. Those first few weeks productivity will not be in it's prime!

3) It's okay to tell people no! If your family is at all like mine you will have lots of people wanting to come visit, which I did love. However, there will be times when you are not up to it and you need to let them know! Suggest a better time or if you just don't want visitors for a few days that's okay too.

4) Accept meals! You will most likely have people volunteer to bring you food or meals, go ahead and let them. It's one less thing to worry about and they wouldn't offer if they didn't want to bless you in that way. Again, not time for superwoman!

5) Make sure to eat and drink when needed (especially if you are nursing, you will need extra food and fluids). I know it's hard after baby feeling the way you do and ready for the weight to come off and it will in time but make sure to get what you need.

6) Make notes and take lots of pictures. When babies are first born so much can change from week to week. We took soooooo many pictures with Noah and I love having all those daily photos to see his changes. I wish I had more of Carson but it was harder the second time around to think about taking them all the time.

7) Nap and don't feel guilty. I had a hard time napping with both of mine because I had so many other things I " needed " to do but trust me, you will need sleep. Enough rest helps us eat better, think more clearly, have more energy and just be more like ourselves which is just what new moms need.

8) Enjoy it and take each day one at a time!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Preparing for a Little One- Birth Stories

Because of this, we are hosting a weekly series for a few weeks to try and get some answers to some of the most common questions.

We divided the series into two mini 4 week series grouped into questions Pre-Baby & Post Baby. The first mini series will be:

Friday, April 5: Registering (Everything you need to know, Must Haves, Don't Bothers, etc...)

Friday, April 12: Nursery Organization & Ideas

Friday, April 19: Packing For The Hospital: For you & the baby

Friday, April 26: Birth Stories (The good, bad, and ugly) / Birth Plans (yes? no?)

The second series will focus on bringing the baby home, new mom obstacles and losing the dreaded baby weight. We will schedule that as soon as we see how the first series does. Even if you are a first time mom, you may have posts or input on this first series especially!! I know some of you are due any day now, so I'd love to get your input as well.

Onto the fun, this week's topic is Birth Stories! In case you don't already know I have two boys. Noah is 3 and Carson is almost 20 months and their birth stories are very different and I love that I have had two completely different experiences with each of them. Going into my first, of course I wanted to try and go natural and not get or do anything but let him come. However, I also told myself to keep an open mind so that way I wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't happen as I wanted to. I had recently had lots of friends who didn't exactly have their ideal birth and their birth plans just were not an option so my goal was to stay open because of that. I just wanted to give birth to my healthy boys. With Noah ( my first) they had suspected he would be a big baby and after being dilated to a 1-2 for 4 weeks we scheduled an induction for 2 days before his due date. I went in on our day at 7 that morning I was to be induced, got checked in and then headed to my room. Around 9:00 they broke my water which was the weirdest feeling ever. I'm a neat freak and sitting in a bed after they did that was not comfortable and made me a little grumpy. Well all morning I didn't go any farther because I was still at a 3. I believe it was around noon, since I wasn't progressing they gave me some Pitocin. I didn't really want Pitocin because I knew if I had to get that, it would really intensify the contractions and I would end up getting an epidural but since they suggested I took it. Then shortly after around 2:00 I requested for the epidural. I was terrified of that epidural but the contractions were so strong, I didn't even realize they had put the needle in until they were done. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought it out to be. After a few hours of contractions and about 30 minutes of pushing Noah was born at 4:39 pm. I will never forget as I was pushing everyone told me how much dark hair Noah had. I'm blonde and my husband hair isn't that dark so I wasn't expecting a black headed child. Also my thoughts were well if you can see his head so much why don't you get him OUT! It's crazy the thoughts you have during childbirth. You just do not always think like your typical self or in some cases talk normal. Noah was my chunker at 9 lbs 3 oz. and yes I did get lots of stitches. I didn't think I would ever recover from that but I did. Overall I was so happy with his birth. He was born safe and sound and it was the greatest day of my life so far! He was such a cute little chubster. Here was our first family photo right after he was born and our family got to visit. I gained 47 pounds with him and it shows! I had a head cold and couldn't breathe right so that part was challenging. I had to be on oxygen for a little while. I also pushed way too much with my face because I burst a lot of blood vessels in my eyes and a few on my face. I noticed them later that night and was like "what the heck happened to me?, I look like I got hit by a truck! "

Chubby boy Noah

A short 20 months later we did this again with our sweet little Carson.

Carson was due September 7th and on August 29th early in the morning about 7:30 I started having contractions. I wasn't quite sure if they were the real things so I started timing them and they were about 7 minutes apart. That continued for over an hour so I thought they must be real. I started making plans for Noah in case I really was in labor, got together our things and headed to town. I dropped Noah off at my sister in laws and told Matthew to stay on standby and I would let him know if/ when I needed to go in. Not long after I got to my sister in laws, the contractions started to get stronger and stronger and closer and closer so I called my mom who worked nearby to have her take me to the hospital until Matthew was done with patients for the morning. We got to the hospital, got checked in, headed up to my room at 10:30. They checked me to see how far I was dilated and I will never forget those words "hun you are at a 8 to 9!" Say what? I couldn't believe I was almost ready to have a baby. I panicked a little, had mom call Matthew to get him there right away. Everything intensified fast and I decided I wanted to do something for the pain and let them now. Then I heard those awful words "sorry hun it's too late. You are too far!". I was mad but knew there was nothing we could do and I was close to having a baby. Even though I was that far my water still hadn't broke and they thought maybe if they broke my water it might make me go backwards so they decided to let me push when I thought I was ready thinking my water would break and there would be some time before the baby would come out. They were wrong, I pushed, my water broke and Carson came directly following. Just a little over an hour after we got checked in Carson was born at 11:37 without a doctor present. Carson laid on my chest, and we waited about 5 minutes until the doctor got there. It just happened too quickly for him to get over and prepped. It was a picture perfect delivery and the best part. He had such a sweet little head and body at 6lbs and 4 oz. I couldn't believe there was such a big difference in my two boys but I was thankful for it that day. We knew he would be smaller just didn't think it would be almost a whole 3 pounds!

Here is my sweet LITTLE baby Carson

And my first picture with Carson. I gained 33 pounds with him, so quite a big difference than with Noah. I felt so much better afterwards for the obvious reason that it was a much shorter labor and didn't have any drugs making me feel anything weird.

I don't plan on having any more children but if we were I would definitely try to wait it out. Inductions are not fun and I wouldn't do it if I didn't have to. I know with Carson I got lucky too, because I know not all natural labors don't happen that quickly or as mom eventful as ours did. The after birth was much, much better without the epidural and the next day as well. My back was really sore from where they put it in. I could get right up and move around after Carson was born where with Noah and the epidural they keep you to the bed since they don't want you walking with them until it completely wears off.

I got to get cleaned up right away with Carson which is all I wanted to do afterwards, that feeling is just ugh!

Both stories are so different, both my babies are the biggest blessings I will ever know and they both got here safe and sound which is the most important thing.

My biggest piece of advice for future mommas is to be open. It's okay to have a birth plan but be open to change it if need be. Know that it's not glamorous at all having a child but so worth it. Bring big comfy clothes for afterwards. Be ready for the modesty to go out the window. That was my biggest fear just other people seeing me during labor and I can say is in that moment I didn't care nearly as much as I thought I would. Your focus is getting that baby here and as quickly as possible!

I wish you future momma's luck and look forward to reading some other fun birth stories!

If you have any more detailed questions I would love to answer them. I left out a lot of the eww and yuck stuff since not everything wants to read about that but don't mind sharing if there is something in particular you want to know.