Our Sunday Bests

While I haven’t been as good at updating this, I have remembered to take the kids sunday line up picture every Sunday so far. So here is May so far 🙂

❤ Brittney

Sunday Best

Can someone explain how we are almost half way through the year of 2015?

I know, I know, I have been absent from here for a few months now, but my new goal is to take a picture, every Sunday of my kids, so I can see them in their Sunday best and watch them as they grow, in their looks and in their personality. 🙂

Here is our first Sunday pictures. 🙂

❤ Brittney

2 months!

Okay, so this was suppose to be posted yesterday, I know. However I have been blogging at night time, and my kids didn’t go to sleep until almost 11pm O_o. So here is our two months update. 🙂

Last week my sweet Ollie turn 2 months! He can hold his head up pretty well. He nurses awesomely. He sleeps well at night, with usually only one wake up to eat. He is in size 0-3 months clothes. He smiles ALL time when someone is giving him attention, but boy, does this little guy have some lungs on him! He is LOUD when he is mad. His cheeks are big and just asking to be smooched 😉 (and we are talking about his cheeks on his FACE! haha) His eyes are still blue as can be. And his sisters ADORE him.

I really cant complain. Sure life can be stressful and chaotic with 3 littles, aged 3 and under. But I am in love with each one of them. Sure Rhem tends to whine about e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. and is so dramatic. But she is the sweetest, most polite, most nurturing little girl. She is always wanting to help mom care for her younger siblings, help cook meals, change diapers, never will say no to giving a hug, and constantly tells us that she “loves us so much.” That girl means the world.

And then their is Hadiley. Holy smokes, this child. She doesn’t listen, loves to tear e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. apart, and thinks everything is there for her to climb on top of it. But she has the best smile and laugh. and she gives THE BEST hugs. She is so hilarious, and always wants to make you smile and laugh. She loves to help put things away and throw things in the garbage. She runs to tell you if her baby brother is crying. And she loves to play and copy her big sister. That girl means the world.

And now our sweet Oliver. He has caulic. He crys. no. SCREAMS. a lot. He is the loudest of the three. He constantly wants to be held. He doesn’t seem to think I ever need to sit down and eat. But that boy, he knows my voice. He instantly lifts his head up to find me when he hears my voice. And as soon as he finds my face, he gets a HUGE grin on his face. He is so cuddly. and sleeps so amazingly at night. That boy means the world.

Recently there was a conference called Wild and Free, that was aimed towards SAHM who homeschooled. I wasn’t able to go, but I followed many of the moms who spoke there/ attended there. And I saw some post a picture they got that said, “You are the mama your kids need.” It is such a good reminder, on days where you feel like you failed as a mom, because you fed them mcdonalds because you were too tired to make them food, or you sat them in front of the t.v. all day because you were too tried and stressed to play with them, or you raised your voice more than you would like to admit. You are the mama your kids need. and my kids, well they are the kids that this mama needs. They overwhelm my heart every single day with their sweetness, their kisses and hugs, the way the sing as loud as possible, and dance around they house. and even though they drain every ounce of energy I have, and the end of the day. My heart is full.

One month later…

A month has passed since my sweet little Oliver was born. He is finally fitting in 0-3 month onesies, yet still swims in the 0-3 month pants. His head and belly seem to grow, while his chicken legs stay ity bity. haha. 🙂 His hair is a light, light brown. His eyes are blue, but some days appear like a dark gray. Today, for the first time, he smiled at me while I was talking to him. (Usually he only smiles in his sleep.) He nurses like a champ, still two small to fit in the cloth diapers, but I give it another month and he’ll be ready. He is very alert, loves to hold his head up and look around. Loves tummy time. (I never did tummy time with Hadiley, because I babywore her so much, and she HATED being on the floor on her stomach, but Ollie LOVES to lay on the floor. Odd child. lol)

The girls have adjusted wonderfully to having a baby brother. We have started preschool (homeschool style) with Rhemidy (And sometimes Hadiley joins in) and they go to bible school on Thursday mornings, and on monday nights Rhemidy has started doing tumbling at a local YMCA. We are busy busy around this house, but I love it. These kids can drive me crazy, deprive me of sleep, but they are my world. I am so blessed to be these littles mom and enjoy watching them grow and learn everyday.

I plan to update again SOON with pictures of our set up for homeschooling, but first I need to clean and organize the area. Ha! but until then, here are pictures of my sweet, little arrows. 🙂

Oliver’s Birth

Well, for the first time I am sitting at my house, on my due date, with baby sleeping in his crib. Ha. That is right, I had my boy the day BEFORE his E.D.D. 🙂

Friday I spent my day, running back and fourth between my midwives office, and walking around town trying to get this baby ready for birth. Finally around 7pm we were given the go ahead to come to the hospital since contractions were 5 minutest apart and we knew I was at least 5cm dilated. We got checked in, 6cm, and headed to our room in labor and delivery. The nurses and my midwife kept complimenting me on how well I was handling my, sometimes 3 1/2 minute, contractions. We walked. I used a birthing ball. I got in the beautiful, giant tub. I sat on the toilet. It was time. I knew it. I got in the bed on hands and knees. Holy cow, it was getting painful. For a second I thought why I was crazy and chose not to get a epidural this time like I did with my girls, but I took a deep breath. I told myself that I could do this. I wanted this birth. I wanted to show myself my body was MADE to do this. Natural. No drugs. I asked my midwife to break my water since we could feel it right there and it just didn’t want to break open. She got her tools ready, went to check how far I was dialted and as soon as her finger touched my amunatic sac, it busted open. No tools needed. The gush of liquid felt wonderful. It took some pressure off. You know, for a whole 2 seconds. It was time to push. I felt him right there. I was in a weird, on my side, position but I needed to push. No time to get on a birthing stool like I had planned, but right there in the bed on my side. I pushed for what seemed like forever, but really was maybe only 10 minutes. My beautiful boy was here. Perfect in every way. I did it. I birthed a baby. No pitocin to induce. No drugs or epidural to deal with pain. My body no only carried this perfect human, it delivered him by itself. I was exhausted. I was in pain. I was proud. Daddy caught him, and brought him straight to my chest. I kissed and loved on him while daddy waited for the umbilical to stop pulsing so he could cut it. It was cut, I brought little Oliver Xavier to my chest and instantly he latched on like a pro. I was so in love. But in that moment I knew something wasn’t right. I just didn’t feel good. I wanted that 2 hours of bonding, nursing, loving, but I didn’t feel comfortable holding him. I felt too weak. I saw my midwife jump into action after birthing my placenta. Pushing hard on my belly trying to get my uterus to harden up. She’d stop, then as she would get up I’d feel a huge gush of blood and clots. She’d check, change the pad, and starting pushing. I started to get nauseous. Then the room start to spin, my hearing was fading. A doctor was called in. More nurses. More pushing. The doctor and midwife took turns trying to scrape out my uterus with their fingers, trying to get out some placenta they felt in there. Oxygen mask went on. Pitocin and fluids were running through the IV in my arm. My husband watched in fear while trying to comfort our new, perfect son. I looked around the room watching what was happening, but so out of it. Knowing this wasn’t right. Scared to shut my eyes. I felt like I was out of my body, watching as I screamed at the top of my lungs as they kept pushing and digging for that little bit on placenta that was causing so much blood loss. They put some drugs in the IV. Pain was starting to lose its edge. I was still felt so out of it, but I could communicate a little better. 5th time is a charge. More clots and a tiny pit of placenta. Bleeding has finally slowed down.  After loosing at least 40% of my blood. Slowly color returned to my face. The drugs helped me fall asleep. I woke up 2 hours later feeling much better. Weak. but better. The IV drugs had worn off, but the pitocin was still pumping. I got some Motrin to help with the cramping. Hubby woke up, still looking worried. But once he saw I didn’t need the oxygen and had color to my face and lips he was put at ease. I sent him home to get some sleep, seeing as I wasn’t leaving the labor and delivery room anytime soon, and because I got a room with a tub, there was no bed for him to sleep on.  I sat there for a while just looking around. Baby was born at 12:19am. It was now 4:00am. It seemed like days had passed, but really all that in just 4 hours. It was scary. Not expected. But we made it. Oliver woke up and was brought to me. Finally I get my bonding time with him. He cuddled and nursed and I just help on tight loving on this perfect child. Thanking God for this perfect child and for allowing me to be there to love on him.

After that things went pretty smooth. Pediatrician came to check our little Ollie out. He confirmed, he was perfect in every way. My bleeding was light, and colored was good. Finally at 9am blood work came back saying that my iron was low, but at an ok level. No blood transfusion was needed or iron supplement. Due to the postpartum rooms being all used, we had to wait until Noon to finally move to a more spacious room. The girls came to meet their brother, as did grandmas. Around 4pm hubby left so he could spend some daddy time with the girls. I tried to get some rest in between feedings. Oliver just wanted to cuddle. I was thrilled with the fact the nurses didn’t seem concerned that I would have Oliver sleep with me, instead of his bassinet. (With Rhem, a nurse yelled at me that I was not allowed to hold Rhem when I slept, but I could not get Ollie to sleep in his bassinet, every time I laid him down he would scream because he was so gassy.) Around 7pm PJ came back to the hospital with the girls so they could love on their brother a little more and give mom some hugs and laughs. A little before 9pm they left, leaving mommy and baby to try and get some rest. In the morning they checked my blood again. My iron level dropped to 6. I was worried they wouldn’t let me leave today like I had wanted, but since my bleeding was very little and I wasn’t light headed and was able to move around just fine, they gave me 110ml of iron supplement and a prescription of iron pills to take this week to help me get closer to normal. Hubby arrived back to the hospital. Helped me pack up our things, we got some newborn pictures taken, and we were free to leave. It was an exhausting, frighting, 36 hours but we were heading home feeling pretty good with a beautiful, healthy baby. Thanking God for His goodness.

Rhemidy Loves having her brother and mom home. Hadiley seems a little mad at me, but slowly warming back up. Thank you every one for your kind words and prayers over me and baby Ollie.

Now for the good part, pictures. 😉

Oliver Xavier. 9lbs. 1oz. 20 inches.

-brittney

Sweet Potato and Curry Soup.

It has been way to long since I have written on here. Today’s entry is a delicious recipe that I have been obsessed with this week. Sweet Potato and Curry Soup. Perfect for these cold fall nights. Enjoy. 🙂

Ingredients:
3 POUNDS- Sweet Potatoes
1 Apple (I used honey crisp)
1 1/2 T Yellow Curry spice
1/2 of a Sweet Onion
1 t Pumpkin Spice
1t black pepper
Salt (I used about 1/2 T)
1 t Nutmeg
1-2 T fresh ginger (or use 1/2 T of powder ginger)
4 Cups of Broth (I used chicken broth, but you could use Vegetable broth to keep it vegetarian)
2 Cups of Coconut Milk

In a Large pot, put a little olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add chopped up onions and ginger as well as all the spices.
Cook until onions caramelize. (about 3-5 minutes)
While the onions and ginger are cooking, peel and chop apple and sweet potatoes into bite size pieces.
Add to onions. Then pour in broth and coconut milk.
Bring to boil and cook for 20-25 minutes. (Until apples and sweet potatoes are soft) Use a blender to mash together. (I didn’t have a hand blender, so I had to spoon out into my smoothie blender, works the same just takes a bit more time and be careful because it is hot!)

Top with a little greek yogurt or some spiced pumpkin seeds. Yum!

-Brittney

One & Twenty Three

Hello, time? Where are you going? Ahh. On Wednesday my little Hadiley turned a month old. On Thursday my little Rhem turned 23 months old. There are moments where I stop and think, “Holy cow, I am about to be a mom to a two year old!” while other times I think, “Wait, Rhem isn’t two yet? I feel like she should be turning 3!” She is just so vocal and smart I feel like she turned 2 forever ago! Everyday Rhem seems to have more to say, however when she is upset she is having trouble voicing her problems. She usually just covers her face, throws herself on the ground, and screams. Delightful. I have start counting to 10 with her, followed by taking a DEEP breath to collect ourselves, then I ask her what is the problem. So far this has helped her calm down enough that she isn’t kicking and screaming, but she hasn’t quiet grasp the part of telling me what is wrong. But hey, it’s progress! Hadi is wonderful. & I love her to pieces, however, that child sure loves to be held. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE cuddling her, but it is exhausting that she wakes up EVERY TIME I simply lay her down. During the day I usually am able to carry her in my Moby wrap or ring sling, but every now and then I like to try to cuddle with Rhem without the worry of her squishing her baby sis.

Confession, I started this entry like 4 days ago, so I totally lost my train of thought… haha

So to do a quick update, life is good. I could not be more in love with my two girls. Today Rhem started to use the word “awesome.” Every time she uses a new word I cannot help but smile in amazement at how much she is learning. She also has the color yellow down. And the shapes circle, square, heart, and star. Funniest thing is she now says, “Oh goodness!” every time Hadiley farts. (which is often!) Hadiley is a mama’s girl. She constantly wants to be held by mom. She will fall dead asleep in my arms, and as soon as I place her down she instantly wakes up and pretends she is starving. But oh goodness, she is SO sweet. She is always smiling and has started cooing a lot more. I love it. She is pretty strong at holding up her head already as well. I have put away all her newborn clothes and she is now filling out her 0-3 months. Girl has some crazy hair as well! It is so long and always sticking up! I love it though! Her eyes are also still very blue! (I am always attracted to colored eyes, one of my favorite features of my husband is his beautiful green eyes, so I was ecstatic that one of my kids had bright eyes… hoping they stay blue, but there is a good chance they will turn brown eventually.)

Time is just moving so fast. I feel like I am constantly running around, I am hoping things slow down soon so I can do more crafting with the kids, as well as crafting for some me time and possibly selling some of my things. I also want to do more fun entrys, some with DIY items, sharing a favorite recipe, and maybe some fashion. I also have been wanting to do a photoshoot with my girls, but like I said I plan and other things end up filling my time… such as changing diapers, cooking, cleaning, laundry, nursing, cuddling, cleaning, changing diapers, did I mention cleaning? lol

Well I am off to bed. It is midnight here, which means kids will be showing up in 7 hours. Hopefully I will be able to get my craft of sometime this week and have more interesting blog entrys!

peace. brittney

Great news and lots of running around…

Alright. So yesterday was an awesome day. It started early morning when the Doctor came around for his check ups and reports. They decided that Hadiley is doing awesome, so she was able to get off of her oxygen tube and they capped her IV line. Yay for less cords and a happier baby! (and mom!) The doctor said she was looking great, and everything was coming back awesome, but he was thinking that we would be staying until next Saturday. However, if the blood results came back later saying the the CRP levels had dropped, and if one of the spinal fluid tests they took come back looking good then we can leave on Wedn! Well the blood results came back saying the CRP is NORMAL. So happy. It was because of the CRP levels that we were admitted here in the first place, so that gives me a sigh of relief! We still are waiting for the lab to tell us about the spinal results, but that might not get here until tomorrow, but one of the nurses thinks that it will come back clean giving us the go for Wednesday! So prayers that she is right!

I have also been pumping like crazy which gives me a little more freedom, seeing that if I am gone for a feeding, they have my breast milk stalked up so she doesn’t need any formula. (I think as of right now I am 5 feedings ahead) Due to my awesome milk supply I headed home last night to cuddle with the hubs and Rhem. OMG I do not think I have seen Rhem so excited to cuddle next to mom. It was wonderful. I woke up at around 1 am to pump (so I don’t lose this awesome milk supply) and come to realize that my pump at home no longer works. BOOO. So I headed back to the hospital. I got back pumped, and laid down only to be woken by a very hungry girl. I fed Hadiley, then cuddled for an hour until she finally went back to sleep. We got 2 hours of sleep until I woke her up so she could get her assesment done. I weighed her (9lbs 8oz!), gave her a bath, the nurse switched out her IV, I pumped some more, then I finished feeding her and rocked her back to sleep. At 7 I headed out the door to stop at the grocery store to pick up some fruit, turkey sausage, and wheat blueberry waffles for breakfast. I also had to stop at Starbucks for some delicious coffee. As soon as I walked up the steps, Rhem rolled over and woke up with the biggest smile on her face. Seriously, I wanted to cry seeing how happy she was to see me. I got her up and dressed and we headed down stairs to make breakfast and spent and hour cuddling before heading back out. (I also taught dad how to write checks to pay the bills haha) I am now back at the hospital, all pumped out, and I hear little Hadi squirming around. 🙂

Even with the little sleep I have had, yesterday and today have been so wonderful. (I haven’t even cried about anything! lol) I am hoping things continue to go so smooth and I am able to keep up this energy and be productive. And maybe slip in a nap here and there. I have so much joy right now, and feel so at peace for once, hoping these feelings stay! Ah. God is good.

Oh, one complaint though. You would think the person in charge of buying the hospital supplies would be kind enough to realize what a woman’s private parts go through during labor, and invest in some soft toilet paper! Seriously, it is scary enough to wipe, but add in the texture of cardboard and you’ll find yourself trying to just hold it. (haha, but seriously, look into Charmin Ultra Soft. Birthing mothers around the world will thank you.)

Picture time. 😀


Hadiley (at 4 days old) Rhemidy (2 months old) and Me (newborn picture) 🙂

love & God bless.
-brittney