have you ever noticed how purposeful we can be with our time when we know that there is only a little bit of it left? i would venture to guess that we military families understand this better than most people. when you know that a loved one will be deploying soon, you make the most of every moment. things like facebook or shopping or watching pointless shows on tv just don't have the same appeal as say, doing laundry with your loved one and packing their bags with them, or cooking dinner together or going for a walk as a family.
moms, we also understand the value of time pretty well. the minute you get that little one down for a nap, you know your clock is ticking. every second counts, and if you haven't prioritized in advance it is so easy to get off track and distracted (at least it's easy for me to do it). it is so disappointing to hear my son* waking up from his nap and realize that i've wasted an entire naptime reading nonsense on the internet and have accomplished nothing.
i'm trying to make a concerted effort to be more purposeful with my time now. it certainly isn't easy, because i will be the first to admit that i am the queen of distraction, but i have memorized these verses to help me stay on track: "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Ephesians 5:15-17. making the most of every opportunity... i love that phrase. here's my challenge to you: be purposeful this week and see if you notice a difference in your life somehow, whether in your relationships with family, or in your performance at work, etc. and then let me know about it.
*i don't exactly like calling my son "lucky baby." it just doesn't fit him... we have a nickname for him that starts with the letter Z, so i think he's just going to be Z on my blog from now on. and no, his real name does not start with the letter Z.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
baby story time
i realize it has been over a year since i posted anything here, but i have a reason! our son. he has to be the busiest boy ever born, and he doesn't need much sleep. thankfully, i don't need much sleep either, but that leaves me with precious little time to take care of necessities while he is sleeping, and blogging obviously hasn't fallen under the necessary category.
however, i have a little extra time on my hands due to LH's current assignment and so i think i'll try to write a little more if for no reason than to keep myself amused. first and foremost, it's time for me to finally tell the story of lucky baby's birth.
i don't think i've ever met a woman who hasn't enjoyed sharing her labor and delivery story. let me start mine by saying that i truly hope God allows me to repeat pregnancy and the whole birthing experience one day, because i cannot wait to do it again. to me, there always seemed to be a sort of dread among women when it came to the all so important point between pregnancy and motherhood: childbirth. i too, felt that way, but deep down inside, i believed that God wouldn't want us to dread something that he created, something that leads to such joy afterwards. a friend loaned a book to me called supernatural childbirth, in which the author laid out God's promises concerning pregnancy and delivery. i immediately began praying for my delivery, and also for our developing baby. even though satan wants to steal our joy, our God is so much bigger and more powerful than he is.
for weeks leading up to lucky baby's birth, i had been having the usual braxton hicks contractions. on this particular sunday, however, i woke up at 4:30am and thought that this would be a perfect day to have our baby, even though it was a week before my due date. i began praying and talking to God before i got out of bed, and then i remember sneezing. after the sneeze, something was definitely different about my contractions. around 5:30 or so, i rolled my enormous body out of bed and realized that i was leaving footprints... definitely a good sign! rather than wake up lucky hubby from his deep sleep, i began cleaning the kitchen, getting bozeman's stuff ready to go to a friend's house, and anything else that i felt needed to be done around the house. at one point, LH woke up and asked if we needed to go to the hospital, but i declined.
finally, around 9:30, we called labor and delivery and since there had been no "gush" of water, they wanted me to wait another hour to see if my water really had broken. LH and i took bozeman for a mile walk and then ended up at the hospital around 11'ish. i'm a little fuzzy on the actual times, but LH could tell you exactly. anyhow, by then my contractions were 5 minutes apart, but the doc on call said that i was only dilated 1 and 1/2 cm. he wanted me to go on pitocin since my water had in fact broken (or begun leaking), but i believed that God was going to give me a fast and easy delivery and didn't want the pitocin. try telling that to a doctor who isn't your normal doc. the nurses were great and held off on the pitocin until the doc pretty much made them start the drug and just like i had prayed, everything went super fast after that.
i played solitaire, texted friends, and ate the ice chips and popsicles LH kept bringing to me and before i knew it, i was telling him to get the nurses because i was actually trying not to push. it still amazes me how God designed our bodies to do this wonderful thing so naturally... i mean, no one has to tell you to push or what to do if you don't have fear to hold you back. anyhow, LH was the most amazing birth coach and i totally didn't listen to the doctor or nurses on how long to push because, like i said, i could feel exactly how my body was working and how hard i needed to push and when.
i have to interject here and say that i kind of had a one-up on other first time mom's because years ago, i had the wonderful privilege of being by a friend's side when she gave birth. i truly believe every mom should witness a birth firsthand before going through it herself.
okay, so, the pitocin was started around 1:30 or so and the doc turned up the dosage once, and then lucky baby was born at 4:03pm. i have to give big thanks to God for answering so many prayers i offered up about this birth. i was able to deliver without any pain meds, no episiotomy and NO tearing! even 17 months later, i'm still in awe of God's design for the whole thing. yes, it was painful at times, but it certainly was bearable and immediately after lucky baby was born, and we discovered that he was a boy, i knew that i couldn't wait to do it all over again. what a privilege!
however, i have a little extra time on my hands due to LH's current assignment and so i think i'll try to write a little more if for no reason than to keep myself amused. first and foremost, it's time for me to finally tell the story of lucky baby's birth.
i don't think i've ever met a woman who hasn't enjoyed sharing her labor and delivery story. let me start mine by saying that i truly hope God allows me to repeat pregnancy and the whole birthing experience one day, because i cannot wait to do it again. to me, there always seemed to be a sort of dread among women when it came to the all so important point between pregnancy and motherhood: childbirth. i too, felt that way, but deep down inside, i believed that God wouldn't want us to dread something that he created, something that leads to such joy afterwards. a friend loaned a book to me called supernatural childbirth, in which the author laid out God's promises concerning pregnancy and delivery. i immediately began praying for my delivery, and also for our developing baby. even though satan wants to steal our joy, our God is so much bigger and more powerful than he is.
for weeks leading up to lucky baby's birth, i had been having the usual braxton hicks contractions. on this particular sunday, however, i woke up at 4:30am and thought that this would be a perfect day to have our baby, even though it was a week before my due date. i began praying and talking to God before i got out of bed, and then i remember sneezing. after the sneeze, something was definitely different about my contractions. around 5:30 or so, i rolled my enormous body out of bed and realized that i was leaving footprints... definitely a good sign! rather than wake up lucky hubby from his deep sleep, i began cleaning the kitchen, getting bozeman's stuff ready to go to a friend's house, and anything else that i felt needed to be done around the house. at one point, LH woke up and asked if we needed to go to the hospital, but i declined.
finally, around 9:30, we called labor and delivery and since there had been no "gush" of water, they wanted me to wait another hour to see if my water really had broken. LH and i took bozeman for a mile walk and then ended up at the hospital around 11'ish. i'm a little fuzzy on the actual times, but LH could tell you exactly. anyhow, by then my contractions were 5 minutes apart, but the doc on call said that i was only dilated 1 and 1/2 cm. he wanted me to go on pitocin since my water had in fact broken (or begun leaking), but i believed that God was going to give me a fast and easy delivery and didn't want the pitocin. try telling that to a doctor who isn't your normal doc. the nurses were great and held off on the pitocin until the doc pretty much made them start the drug and just like i had prayed, everything went super fast after that.
i played solitaire, texted friends, and ate the ice chips and popsicles LH kept bringing to me and before i knew it, i was telling him to get the nurses because i was actually trying not to push. it still amazes me how God designed our bodies to do this wonderful thing so naturally... i mean, no one has to tell you to push or what to do if you don't have fear to hold you back. anyhow, LH was the most amazing birth coach and i totally didn't listen to the doctor or nurses on how long to push because, like i said, i could feel exactly how my body was working and how hard i needed to push and when.
i have to interject here and say that i kind of had a one-up on other first time mom's because years ago, i had the wonderful privilege of being by a friend's side when she gave birth. i truly believe every mom should witness a birth firsthand before going through it herself.
okay, so, the pitocin was started around 1:30 or so and the doc turned up the dosage once, and then lucky baby was born at 4:03pm. i have to give big thanks to God for answering so many prayers i offered up about this birth. i was able to deliver without any pain meds, no episiotomy and NO tearing! even 17 months later, i'm still in awe of God's design for the whole thing. yes, it was painful at times, but it certainly was bearable and immediately after lucky baby was born, and we discovered that he was a boy, i knew that i couldn't wait to do it all over again. what a privilege!
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