My natural birth story {Levi James}

    

January 25,2016 I woke up at 8:00am with light contractions and I just knew that it was for real. There is just this overwhelming feeling that comes over me  feelings of excitement,joy and lthrill that tell me that it's the day I will meet my baby.

I made breakfast and got the kids set up with books and crafts that I had planned. While they were occupied I put the last couple things in my hospital bag and got through some contractions on my birthing ball. Now I am known to have super quick labor and delivery so I called the sitter to come over right away and made sure  to call my husband to come home from work . I told my five year l old that her baby brother was on his way and her excitement was contagious. "Just breathe mama, that's what I do when I am hurt or upset." Is what she would say ( the girl surprises me everyday).

Though the plan is to have a hospital birth laboring as long as possible at home is best for me. It's where I am most relaxed and comfortable  and when it starts getting bad we head to the hospital. 

 So for 3 hours i labored with my husband upstairs in our room while the sitter and kids were downstairs. We used the birthing ball , I got in the shower and tried moving into different positions. The contractions were 3-5 min apart when we decided it was time to go to the hospital. When I got there the contractions had slowed down and when the nurse checked me I was 5 centimeters dilated. The contractions started to pick back up and I asked for intermediate monitoring where the nurse comes in periodically to check mine and the baby's heart so I could still be up and moving around . 

I labored standing up putting all my weight on my husband in what is called the slow dance position for the next 2 1/2 hours. The staff was pretty awesome they knew we wanted a natural birth and they respected that.They left us alone , dimmed the lights and said y'all let us know what you need . I started to get the urge to push but my water hadn't broke so I asked my midwife to break my water because I knew that was all that was holding baby back .She checked me and I was fully dialated .She broke my water and immediately I pushed two big pushes one after the other and before I knew it ...Levi James came into the world! 7lbs 11oz 19 1/2 inch long straight hair and puckered lips I was holding my baby boy. So many emotions came flooding in . I am blessed!

   Giving birth truly is a labor of love

"If I can do this I can do anything" 

Character is greater

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This year before we jumped into our homeschool year I had all planned out some goals ,themes and milestones that I wanted us to focus on and accomplish. The main ones are reading, handwriting skills, and mastering basic math. 

But as I prayed and continue to pray about what God wants us to focus on he always points out character training,household chores and setting a consistant and firm discipline system up .

  Wow! Is what I think to myself I didn't think of these areas as the MAIN focus. I realized I  kind of put these areas off as side things that I thought we could touch on here and there ,but he reminds me that the heart and character is the most important part! If she can read and write well but has bad character traits and doesn't love and honor others then it's meaningless. This is what it is all about and I have had to continuely remind myself of what's really important at this age. 

Now is the time to begin to instill the qualities ,traits and values that are so important into my children. This is the training time this is when habits are being formed and personalities are being molded . "Train your child up in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it"

He always knows best and I can see on a daily basis why now this is what he says to focus on. The attitude of a five year old girl is no joke! How easily habits are being formed in the children are crazy (like tv and iPads) they love consistantcy and when something is different it throws them all off. 

We have been doing morning ,afternoon and evening chores at the same time everyday .Everybody has a part and at such a young age they all think it's fun :)  I am instilling in them practical life skills that they will need to succeed in life and also a love to help and serve others. 

Same with discipline .We have established a good system and everybody knows what is expected of them and the consequences that will take place if they cross the boundaries. The training I believe is the hardest part it takes consistantcy, repetition and strength not to give up or in ,but it will be so worth it I just think of the peace that will come with it all. "The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days." -Charlotte mason- 

So if this year all that my children walk away from our first official year of homeschooling with is knowing how to do chores, good habits ,attitudes and character traits then we have done well. 

I

33 Weeks

Im Ready to have this baby, plain and simple. My body Just feels Ready. I  have In the back Of My Head everyday that today could be the day. i feel like i could Go into labor. I Know i Still have about 7-9 more Weeks left but maybe not..

Iam eating like a pig, My body aches and All i want to do is sleep. On the flip side i can feel her every Move and as She becomes more  and more real to our family and i,  My Heart beats a little faster. I cant stop imagining How it will feel to hold and nurse and love On a newborn baby again. And.words cannot describe How much joy it brings me to Hear Mariah ask "can i Help Change baby Alayna`s diapers, and feed her and Hug her. " 

33 Weeks pregnant with life, with our third little person and fith member of our growing family. I cant Wait to give Birth to Another Beautiful, healthy bundle.

Her name & 26 week update

I am excited to share our baby girls name. I am so in love with her name and its meaning. It didnt take long for use to decide on this name, as soon as it came to mind i knew that this was the name for our baby. It just felt right.

Alayna Nicole { Alayna: Precious, torch, fiery one, a burning light} {Nicole: Victory or Victorious }

These are the pics i used to announce her name just some shots my husband took that turned out amazing!

26 weeks pregnant
baby girl is kicking around, i am eating EVERYTHING and my belly is itching( don't scratch).
I have been having the hardest time sleeping through the night and i have rearranged the house at least 100 times in the last week. Been daydreaming about what she will look like and imagining myself rocking my tiny little newborn. I cant wait, but i can wait. I just ordered some fresh new cloth diapers to add to our collection. We have more than enough hand me down, practically new clothes from my 3 year old ,that praise the Lord I couldn't ever get rid of and now i know why ;)

Love motherhood 

10 Pregnancy Must haves!!

Items I cant live without this pregnancy!!

1. Prenatal one : Prenatal vitamins{ love the energy these give me}
2. Water bottle with ice{ all day}
3. Cooler snack pack{ pack healthy snacks for  when your on the go}
4. camera/android phone{ take pics of that growing belly}
5. flip flops { comfy}
6. body pillow{ the best sleep at night is with my body pillow}
7. paper plates{ no dishes, heck yea}
8. crock pot
9. baby center app.
10. yoga pants/Capri{ comfortable, easy to grab and  mostly black so they go with everything}

Its A …[Gender reveal ]

On June 20, 2013 At 3:30 pm we had an ultra Sound appointment for the.Gender reveal. We did decide to find  Out ..the anticipation was just too much. Then When i really thought about it with My personality,that Likes to plan Ahead ,and two Other small Needy Children, i thought aint Nobody got Time for that.

Anyway i am Proud to announce we will be welcomming on November 9, 2013 Another Beautiful... Baby GIRL!!!! Yaay  more Pink ,more bows and Another Little mini me. So excited for our Little princess.

Update : wk 24 {Baby#3}

Its Been 5 Weeks since iv blogged and i really wanted to  consistantly Post and document this pregnancy Week by Week, but its Just not happining for me so Im not even gonna promise a Weekly Post. I will.Update as frequently as possible .

Well iam 24 Weeks pregnant today! I Just cannot Believe How incredibly Fast This is happining. I am amazed and excited. How have i Been Feeling? Thats the big and Most frequent question these days and the Answers is..Great! I Méan Now that  i am in My second ( Almost Third) trimester Things have Been Going smooth. I have tons Of much needed energy and have Been nesting like a mama Bird. Still no Real Cravings and Feeling This Baby dancing in My Belly 24/7. I Bought My Fist  Baby buy the cutest Little outfit i couldnt resist and we decided on a Name to be announced later ;)

These Hot Summer days are Flying by but will definitly always be remembered , cherished and loved.

week 18 & 19

Woah ,Woah, Woah, okay time you can slow down now!
Everything is happing so fast I can't keep up.   update on the past two weeks; I had a mid wives appointment and everything agent great we got a pic. of our little person which is always exciting. I have been feeling baby move around a lot and my belly is really growing.
Caleb has been rubbing my belly and reasting his head on it. he def knows somebody is in there  :)

I bought some maternity clothes although I still fit a lot of my regular clothes. Still.trying to.decide if we are gonna find out the sex or keep.it a surprise. Feeling great for the most part

untill next time

Week 16 {baby #3}

This week flew by and I must say it was a pretty good week. Energy has finally kicked in and my belly has really started to pop. I am loving the prenatal vitamins that I'm taking this pregnancy their Called prenatal one by rainbow light their all natural and I can really feel a difference in my energy level when I take them. Still having minor break outs and still pretty grumpy and emotional ( poor hubby). Not too much has changed this week feeling good and baby is growing.

week 15 {baby #3}

This week has been a rough one... I have felt very lethargic, lazy, overly tiered and even faint. During my other two pregnancies around this time my body had an iron deficiency and I felt the same way so I started taking iron supplements and trying to eat more foods that have iron in them. Also this week I have been breaking out on my face :( not too bad, but with me having for the most part naturally clear skin one or two zits freaks me out so I have been washing my face like crazy and trying to drink plenty of water.

I felt a faint, but for sure, kick this week so exciting. Love when the baby moves it just reminds me that I am a life carrier and how amazing this whole process is.

Week 15  belly shot:

Baby #3

A 2 1/2 year old, a 15 month old and 14 weeks pregnant with baby number 3! Will be documenting along the way: )
Peace, love and Jesus

Girl where have You been?

I know its been a while and to be honest with you I gave up on blogging.. I mean quiet, alone time in this house is very rare and I didnt really see a point in using it to sit down and blog when there are tons of other more "productive " things i should be doing . Until my husband reminded me that writing is a gift of mine and something that i love to do and by blogging i get to write and improve on my skills and not to mention it makes me happy .. so im back at it :)

Update ; Mimi is 27 months old and is thriving in everything from learning ABC and 123s to learning to share and love people,but we are working really hard on discipline methods and potty training is coming soon..again (looking forward to it, but not looking forward to it)

Big Boy is is 9 months old and is so much fun! He loves to laugh, smile, dance and clap his little hands. I can honestly say that this little boy truly has my heart <3

As for me, being a SAHM of two definitely has had its ups and downs. There have been days I have wanted to throw in the rag and call it quits, but  that's pretty much impossible,  and there are days where all i want to do is hangout around the house with my babies. I am still learning and am happy to know i always will be. All in all life around here has been quit an adventure with still a long journey ahead!

Merry Christmas 2011

Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!
This was our first Christmas with just us ; my husband, daughter and I. All of our other family had plans to go to Florida this year and since I am 34 ,about to be 35 weeks pregnant on tuesday, I cant travel. So I made Christmas dinner for my family for the first time .We made cookies opened presents and just had a nice relaxing time no rushing around or family drama lol


Proud of myself stuffing, green beans, chicken, and mac and cheese


The food!



A happy Christmas baby

summa time

Excuse all the annoying screaming yall, we had too much ice cream and cake lol

Mariah and jon jon 

This is Gigi (my mamma)



yaaay so glad summer is here!!!

Mothers day!

My first official mothers day was great I ate some great home cooked southern food , was surrounded by my amazing family and got to just kick my feet up and relax ahhhh I love being a mommy :)

hope all you mommies enjoyed your day

Resurrection Day!

I love my little family!!! this was Mariah's first easter we celebrated the ressurection of Jesus

Thankful

We went to the lake and had a picnic 

i Love my hubby

This was the veiw ahhhh 

We had so much fun and just enjoying his beautiful creation :)

love yall

Whats for Dinner?

This weeks Meal plan!!

Monday: Lemon peppered Talapia brown rice and steamed veggies

Tuesday: Chicken and spinach Florentine (I got this recipe off the back of a rice package..it will be my first attempt)

Wednesday: Dinner Out ( we go to a couples night at a friends)

Thursday: Bean, beef and cheese burritos add your own toppings

Friday: Chili with black beans and rice

Tonights Meal: Lemon pepper Talapia, brown rice and steamed mixed veggies

thaw talapia and then season with black pepper, season salt and lemon pepper. Oil pan with olive oil and then   cook fish until it has the texture you desire ( i cook it for about 10 min). cook brown rice  for 7-5 min and then let it stand for 5 min. I used frozen mixed veggies so i justed boiled some water and then added the veggies i let them cook for 7 min. and then added salt and pepper :) 

The Talapia is all broken up, it got stuck to the pan :( but it still tasted good 

 Happy Monday!!

Whats for Dinner?

I got some good feed back on my meal planning post so i decided i will share weekly whats on my menu :) and i would love to hear some of yall's recipes and meals

Monday: Veggie Burgers and waffle fries

Tuesday: Shrimp pasta and tossed spinach salad

Wednesday: we go to a couples night at a friends house and we eat there!!

Thursday: Butternut squash stuffed with chicken and rice

Friday: Blackened Talapia , Veggies and seemed red potatoes

Saturday: Tacos

Sunday: Grilled chicken, corn on the Cobb and mashed potatoes

 Tonights meal!!! Veggie Burgers and Waffle Fries

we are going out after dinner so I planned for a super quick meal. I bought frozen veggie burgers at the whole foods store they are all organic, really healthy and yummy. so just stick those on the stove for about 7 min and then dress them up with lettus(we like using spinach) tomatoes and cheese(feta). Then I got some frozen waffle fries also organic from the whole foods store and all you gotta do is put those in the oven on  320 degrees and bake for 10 min.

This is a favorite of ours.

Happy Monday

Georgia Aquarium

I took Mariah to the Aquarium for the first time for GiGi's birthday! She wasn't really interested in the fish as she was at all the people... but i snapped alot of pictures and we had a blast 

petting a sting ray

God is an amazing creator

Mariah with Pawpaw 

she loved all the bright colors

cant remember what these things are called 

huge crab! i would have a feast eating these

jelly fish

sleepy head

check out the Ga aquarium if you haven't its awesome!