2016 Goal Update, Week 14 of 52

The most important thing about this week is today is my Birthday!! 

Sadly, I kinda forgot about it. I knew it was coming up, but it just snuck up so quickly I was unprepared. 

The other day my mom said that she rescheduled her dental appointment so she and my grandmother could come down Wednesday and take me to lunch for my birthday, my response was "Why?" I think she thought I was wondering why they wanted to take me to lunch because she responded with "because its your birthday!" 

I didn't realize it would be my birthday...oops. 

1. Complete the 2016 Declutter challenge. 

2. Have the following things finished when Isaac arrives.
    I still need to finish hanging art on the walls in the Master Bedroom.
    Secure speaker wires, so Roomba stops trying to eat them. 
    Make sure birthing boxes are ready!
    Rehang laundry room shelves. 

3. Finish the following projects by end of year.
    Clean out the Garage.
    Cut down trees in back yard… Finally.
    Re-gravel paths.

4. Pay off some of our debt by end of year. 
    Pay of Credit Card #1 – 
    Pay off Credit Card #2 - 

Yay! That's the first thing that came to mind when we hit the confirm button. When I first made the goal of paying off two credit cards and half of one student loan I was hesitant on whether we could actually do that. So far we are ahead of schedule paying down the debt, so if we keep at this pace we might not only reach this goal but pay off more than we planned. 

    Pay off half of Student loan #1

5. If God sees fit, have Isaac at home.

6. Survive the first year with Isaac.

We made it two months! So far so good. 

7. Eat more meals from scratch, made with local foods.

8. Keep making the house less toxic. 

9. Get to and Stay within a healthy weight and get in better shape.

I told Vince I wanted a Fitbit for my birthday. Hopefully it will help, whenever we get the chance to go buy me one. 

We did just get Isaac a stroller and I enjoy taking him for walks because he loves them so much. 

I didn't originally get him a stroller because I intended to wear him everywhere, and I do when we are out and about, but after seeing how excited he was to ride in my mom's stroller and look at the sky I decided to get him one. 

10. Special Secret Goal

Two Months!

It is hard to believe how quickly two months has flown by. Isaac has gotten so big, and it is already making me a bit sad to see him grow up so quickly. 

Its so exciting because now he is responding and smiling at us. I am a bit bias, but he has the sweetest smile!

He loves to just watch us and smile at us. He also gives us huge smile when we compliment him. It seems he likes compliments and he loves looking in the mirror... so we might have a few problems when he gets a bit older. Oh well its cute right now.

At the six week check-up with the midwives he weighed 10lbs and measured 24 inches. Two feet long! I told Vince only four more feet and Isaac will be as tall as him. 

The six week check up was the last time we see the midwives until we have another baby, so that was a very sad visit. They told me if I wasn't handling things well then they would have us come back in two weeks, but unfortunately I was handling things well and there was no excuse for another visit. Instead they just told me to have another baby very soon! 

I found a better solution, a friend is seeing them for a few visits and she said I could tag along. 

With how quickly Isaac is growing I kinda want another baby soon, but then I want to wait because he is growing so fast. 

The one good thing is Isaac loves to be held. He loves it so much that somedays he will just cry if I put him down, so I have a very good excuse to just sit there all day and cuddle him. 

The little man has all the women in his life trained. 

We were at my mom's Easter weekend, and the day beforeI was sitting there nursing him and my mom was going on and on about how much she had to do and how much she needed mine and my grandmother's help. The second he was finished nursing, "Is he done? Come to Mamie!" All the sudden she was no longer busy. She and my grandmother then sat there showering him with attention. 

And then on Easter the whole family was there and Isaac had his aunt, both grandmothers, and two great-grandmothers showering him with attention. I don't think he got put down all day. The poor boy is going to grow up thinking every woman just worships him! 

His two grandfathers and one great-grandfather were also there but I don't think any of them got a chance to hold him at all. 

I look back at the photos from when he was born and I can't believe it was only to months ago, it seems like just yesterday. These have been the best two months of my life. 

Big Thoughts and Tiny Heads

Recently I have thoughts that I think I should write down and share, but then I realize two things. One: I’m too tired to find go get my computer. Two: there is another load of laundry to do.  

Not that I’m complaining too much about the laundry. I knew having a baby meant more laundry, but I thought it would be more baby clothes, or even my clothes (spit-up and all), but no Vince beats both us of for going through the most cloths and towels. I understand, he spends all day around middle schoolers so he comes home and changes and washes up so he doesn’t cover Isaac in nasty middle school germs. I’m not really worried about germs in general, but middle schoolers are gross… so I’m glad he does that. 

I kinda wish he had been doing that for a while. I’ve seen that school. Over the summer it was nice and clean, but you stop by after school and before the cleaning staff come through and there are no words to describe the nastiness. 

Like the time I took a few things up to Vince. I was still pregnant so I had to stop by the bathroom. Someone used the restroom and left without washing their hands. THIS IS HOW DISEASE SPREADS! I am not super germaphobic, but people need to wash their hands! 

And see when I do have the energy and time to write I get distracted by things. 

This all started with the thought that I like to write (even if nobody reads), but now I am deeply concerned about middle school germs and laundry. The thought of middle school germs makes me want to go sanitize everything, and the thought of laundry makes me kinda want to go finish the load of diapers in the wash, but instead I am going to sit here, finish typing this, and watch my sleep little boy asleep on his daddy’s chest. 

Thats the thing, the thought that starting me thinking and typing, the thought of how amazing it is to be the mom of that sweet little boy and the wife of that kind man. 

No matter how overwhelming it is to try to keep up with laundry and house chores, fixing dinner every night (why do people eat so often), and taking care of numerous animals… the most important job I have is to be a wife and mother. And something that means leaving a load of laundry in the washer to enjoy that wonderful job. 

Weekly 2016 Goal Update, Week 10 of 52

This week Vince and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary, and Isaac celebrated turning 1 month old! 

I can’t believe how quickly time flies. It seems like just yesterday Vince and I were getting married, but now we have our sweet little man to celebrate with us. 

So much has happened this past year and I am so very blessed!

1. Complete the 2016 Declutter challenge.

Isaac helped me get rid of a few more things. Mainly clothes he has already outgrown (he is super long!) that I don't love enough to keep for future kids. Also we got rid of a lot of socks. I found a type of sock that stays on his feet, so I got rid of all the others. This also means since they all look alike I don't have to try to match tiny socks. 

2. Have the following things finished when Isaac arrives.
    I still need to finish hanging art on the walls in the Master Bedroom.
    Secure speaker wires, so Roomba stops trying to eat them. 
    Make sure birthing boxes are ready!
    Rehang laundry room shelves. 

3. Finish the following projects by end of year.
    Clean out the Garage.
    Cut down trees in back yard… Finally.
    Re-gravel paths.

4. Pay off some of our debt by end of year. 
    Pay of Credit Card #1 – 
    Pay off Credit Card #2
    Pay off half of Student loan #1

5. If God sees fit, have Isaac at home.

6. Survive the first year with Isaac.
I cant believe our sweet little man is already a month old!!!

7. Eat more meals from scratch, made with local foods.
I signed up for Realplans.com and I'm giving it a month to give my verdict, but so far we love it. 

8. Keep making the house less toxic. 

9. Get to and Stay within a healthy weight and get in better shape.
Breastfeeding has become my best friend, I get to sit and snuggle my sweet guy and loose weight. This is my kind of exercise :)

10. Special Secret Goal

Samuel Richard Leatherman III

This last week has been a bit of a sad one. My grandfather passed away last Tuesday. 

It left me with mixed emotions, here I am overjoyed that my little man is two weeks old and healthy, but at the same time my grandfather never got to meet him. We were going to Memphis that Thursday for the two week check-up with the midwives and Isaac was going to meet that set of great-grandparents for the first time. Thankfully he still got to meet his great-grandmother, and he was able to distract her and she was so happy to meet him! 

Isaac's Birth Story

I am happy to report that David Isaac was born February 9, 2016. 

He weighed 8 lbs 6 oz and measured 21.5 inches long.

After 52 hours of labor we are overjoyed to have our little guy here. 

Thursday when I went to my final midwife appointment my two grandmothers joined us so they could be reassured about the home-birth. After the midwives assured them everything would go smoothly, we went to measure and listen to his heart beat. The midwife then casually pointed out that it looked like I was having a contraction… and with that the calmness was out the window. Since I hadn’t even noticed the contraction, the midwives again reassured them everything was good and I drove home. 

Of course the next two days were filled with many calls and texts to check to make sure I was fine and not in labor. 

Saturday night I noticed the contractions made me breathless and I texted our doula to ask if labor might start “soon.” 

11:30pm - I texted doula to ask about bloody show and give her a heads up that it was starting. 

3:30 am - Contractions were now waking me up and I was only able to nap the 7-10 mins between contractions. 

around 5 am - I woke Vince up, mainly because I was tired of being alone

We called the doula in about 7:30 am Sunday and that helped. 

My mom and grandmother came down later that evening because they couldn’t handle the wait any longer (Isaac made them wait longer). 

One of the Midwives also came down that night because she was excited and wanted to keep up with my progress. 

Im glad she did. she checked me and I was only 2-3cm, so she gave me some herbs to help me sleep. Sadly they didn’t help as much as I would have hoped. 

Monday was about the same. We spent all day in labor, that afternoon my dad and another midwife came, that evening Vince’s mom, sister, and the 3rd midwife came, and we all waited. 

We did figure out that for some reason I wasn’t dilating. The first midwife decided to try stretching me since i was almost fully effaced and still 2-3cm after 24+ hours, I immediately jumped to 4cm. A few hours later she did the same thing because I was fully effaced but still only 4cm, this time I jumped to 5-6cm. 

Monday night during a check we found that I was 7cm and Isaac’s head was angled into my hip so he wasn’t descending. We tried different positions and got him to straighten up, but he still wouldn’t tuck his head or flip to the optimal birthing position (I have already learned he is a bit stubborn). 

Midwife #1 is the comforting midwife and Midwife #3 is the one that tells you to do something and you do it (Midwife #2 is a nice mix). Any guesses who had me up moving so that Isaac would move?

At some point very late Monday night or early Tuesday morning they broke my water and then things got moving quickly (compared to the first 48 hours). 

Vince and I tried to rest. I wrote up to two strong contractions. Our sweet doula sat beside me and talked me through them so Vince could get some more rest, since we thought it was going to take quite a bit longer. On the third the doula saw Isaac flip in my stomach and I had to push. 

She called the midwives back into the room and I woke up Vince. 

I still had a small cervical lip but the midwife was able to get rid of that and then realize Isaac is coming now, we needed to call my mom into the room. 

After 52 hours of labor it felt like I only pushed for a couple minutes. 

It was the most amazing feeling holding Isaac for the first time. After so long I finally got to see his face and kiss him and it was magical. 

In full disclosure, after Isaac was born there was more bleeding than the Midwives were comfortable with. but they calmly and quickly gave me the needed medicine and delivered the placenta (which came very quickly! before the cord even stopped pulsing) everything was fine. 

Now a week later, we are all happy and healthy. Isaac has really got the hang of nursing and is already back to his birthweight. He has also already grown 3/4 of an inch! 

His pediatrician was very impressed with Isaac and the home birth. The pediatrician lives across the street from our doula and his wife babysat for our doula during our labor, so he already knew a little about the birth. You got to love small towns! 

Weekly 2016 Goal Update, Week 7 of 52

1. Complete the 2016 Declutter challenge. 

2. Have the following things finished when Isaac arrives.
    I still need to finish hanging art on the walls in the Master Bedroom.
    Secure speaker wires, so Roomba stops trying to eat them. 
    Make sure birthing boxes are ready!
    Rehang laundry room shelves. 

3. Finish the following projects by end of year.
    Clean out the Garage.
    Cut down trees in back yard… Finally.
    Re-gravel paths.

4. Pay off some of our debt by end of year. 
    Pay of Credit Card #1 – 
    Pay off Credit Card #2
    Pay off half of Student loan #1

5. If God sees fit, have Isaac at home.

6. Survive the first year with Isaac.

We survived the first week! 

Isaac is sleeping well and nursing like a pro. 

At his week check up he was back to birth weight, 8 lbs 6 oz, and had grown 3/4 of an inch. 

7. Eat more meals from scratch, made with local foods.

8. Keep making the house less toxic. 

9. Get to and Stay within a healthy weight and get in better shape.

I feel like I needed to update my 2016 goals a bit. Mainly in the area of my personal health. I set a goal of eating better with the hope that would help me be healthier and loose some weight. I don't hate or dislike how I look (but I was overweight for my height).In fact I like being curvy, and now that I've had a baby I am proud of what my body can do. However there is an issue I currently have. It's been a week since I gave birth and I weigh less than I did before I got pregnant and my stomach is flatter than before I got pregnant. That was not what I expected!

So my new goal is to get and stay within a healthy weight range and get in better physical shape, while keeping some of my curves 😊 I need to stay healthy for my little guy. 

I've made a great start, I lost 27 pounds in a week. 😊 However, I am still carrying around 8 lbs of that, but its a cute 8lbs. 

10. Special Secret Goal