What's this all about...?

I have a very dear friend of mine who is about to have her first child.  She invited me to go to a jewelry party with her this past weekend.  As we were talking about it; she said she wanted to give her husband a list of ideas for a "push gift."  A what???  A push gift.  I'm a mother of 2, one of whom is under the age of 2.  And I had NEVER heard of this.  So, I had to ask, although based on the name, I had a pretty good idea.

To my horror, my assumptions were confirmed.  It's a gift from the father to the mother for delivering the baby.  Are you kidding me????  Is this what we've come to???  I've had 2 children - one was induced and the other was done totally au naturale.  So believe me when I say I totally understand the hard work of carrying and delivering children.  But is the gift not that new life you're holding in your arms???  The life that the love between your husband and yourself created??  Is it not an honor to create, carry, and birth that life???

Do we see it as such a burden that we're now expecting gifts from our husbands as "compensation???"  Especially to those of us who are Christians, that child is a blessing. The best gift you will ever receive.  And as a Christian woman, it is also our duty to carry and deliver any children we are given.  (Queue the feminists...)

Don't get me wrong.  If your husband decides to give you a gift as a sign of gratitude and respect, I think that's wonderful.  But apparently, we are now flat-out demanding a gift.  And I just think that is so, so, so sad.  This is what our world is coming to.  A world of entitlement and a world where we expect rewards for something we're supposed to be doing anyways. Another material item to overshadow the biggest miracle there is.   And it just breaks my heart to see the downward spiral we're in.

Babies, babies, every where it's BABIES!! :D

Whoa.  I know 9 mommas-to-be.  N-i-n-e.  I guess it's true; it does come in 3's!  In this case, a set of 3, 3 times. Yes, I realize I'm a number nerd...

Almost all of these lovely expecting momma's are first time momma's.  Such an excited, joyful, happy time.  As a mother of 2 precious little girls, it brings back all sorts of memories.  And lessons.

I've been a stay-at-home momma.  I've been a single momma.  And then, a new momma all over again (because when there's 7 years difference between babies; a LOT changes and you forget sooo much!)  While each of those seasons had it's own set of struggles,  I've learned so much because of those struggles. 

I'm not even close to perfect. Far, far, far, F-A-R from it.  And my children are just as far away from perfect (tho they are pretty adorable).  Having been asked for tips and then struggling for answers, I decided to write them down as they came to me.  So...here they are!

1.  Buy diapers during your pregnancy.

Clip those coupons! Buy different brands and different sizes! When you're at the store and see a brand on sale; pick up a pack even if it's a small one.  This will allow you to save money and try different brands to see which you like / don't like. Keep in mind, you'll likely get lots and lots of the newborn and "1" sizes as shower gifts, etc..  I did this with both my girls and we didn't need to buy diapers for over a year!  It was amazing!!

2.  His & her diaper bags

I have my "pretty" diaper bag.  My husband has his "manly" diaper bag with his favorite football team logo on it.  I keep his fully stocked and in the back of his car; because he always forgets something.  Or, if we're all together we usually take his car, so and having an extra, extra change of clothes has come in handy more than I'd like to admit. ;)

3.  Plan on nursing?  These are a MUST!

Milk Storage Freeze Trays

Sadly, I didn't find these until my second was halfway done with nursing.  But they were phenomenal and one of my favorite "must have" baby products.  Reusable.  Cheaper than constantly having to buy storage bags.  They thaw quicker and easier because they're even, 1 oz sticks.  You can make 2 trays and throw them all in a ziplock bag after they're frozen instead of having 500 bags in your freezer.  And, if your little one was a "snacker" like mine, it made making those extra 1-2 oz bottles so much easier and resulted in less wasted milk.  And trust me, you work hard for that milk.  Wasting even a drop makes you want to cry. lol

4.  Sleep

Ok.  This is where I'm rather proud of my girls.  Both have always put themselves to sleep from a pretty early age.  We have our bedtime routine and stick to it no matter what.  For us, it's bath, book, and then bed.  From an early age (say 5-6 months old), I started putting them in their bed while they were still awake.  It took maybe a night or two for them to get used to it; but only fussed for a couple minutes and would be out.  Now, it's not an issue.  Friends & family alike are amazing at my ability to walk my 18 month old to her room, read her a book, and put her to bed.  And that's it.  No screaming. No climbing out.  She might sit and jabber to herself for a few minutes, but then she's asleep.  It's pretty awesome.

The other thing when it comes to sleep is get them used to noises!  I learned this from my mom when my oldest was first born.  I was the typical new momma who would tip-toe around the house and "shhhhhh" someone who closed a door too loudly.  One day, she told me she used to run the vacuum under my bed when I was an infant to get me used to noises.  WHHHAAAAT???  Yup.  So, I started doing it.  Not just running the vacuum; but no more "shhhhhhh's."  And I kept it with my 2nd.  Both my girls, but most impressively my youngest (18 months old) will sleep through ANYTHING.  Anything. And always has.  Because she's used to it.

While I'm on the subject, I think noise machines for infants are just silly.  For the same logic.  You're making them rely on noise for sleep.  What happens when you travel?  Gonna pack the noise machine??  What about when they're all grown up?  They will likely always rely on noise to fall asleep.  Just my 2 cents on the subject.

5.  Some "baby gadgets" are worth it.  Some, are not.  

To each his own on this one.  What works for our family's rhythm & way of life may not fit yours.  Just make sure you do your research and think purchases through logically.  Probably my #1 "not worth it" gadget is the diaper genie.  Love the idea behind it.  But having to buy specific cartridges on top of diapers, wipes, and all the other baby expenses?  MMMmmmm....pass.  We use a regular (lidded) trash can and use the scented diaper disposal bags.  Way cheaper.  Plus, we use them for travel anyways.  So 2 birds, 1 stone.  If you just really have your heart set on a diaper pail; I'd recommend getting one that allows you to use any bag instead of "their brand."


6.  Baby Sign

Again, both my girls learned baby sign.  But my youngest started it a about 10 months and picked up a lot of it.  It makes life sooo much easier.  The basics of "milk," "more," and "eat" alone made it so much easier because she could communicate with us what she wanted.  She ended up learning more sign than I could list here, and at 18 months has an oral vocabulary of about 30 words!  Highly recommend.  

So there ya go.  Some of my top "tips" for new mommas.  Do with it as you wish.  ;)

RISE UP

My heart is heavy.  My convictions are strong.  And for far too long I've been silent because I was afraid to offend someone.  And now I realize, that's the problem with our society.  We live in a place where we have taken the Bill of Rights and totally spit on them.  Sure, we theoretically have our freedom of speech.  But only as long as what you say doesn't offend someone.  This is especially true to those of us who are Christians - but that's another post for another day.

If your newsfeed is anything like mine, it's been blown up with the ALS ice bucket challenge.  You probably even did the challenge yourself.  Now, before I "dive in," let me be perfectly clear here.  I pass zero - ZERO - judgement on anyone who has done or will do the ice bucket challenge.  I'm all for raising awareness and helping to find a cure for this terrible disease and any other diseases out there.  

BUT, I cannot and will not support the ALS Association.  How could I be for finding a cure and raising awareness, but against an organization committed to finding a cure??  Well, the ALS Association is not the only organization out there trying to cure ALS.  But, I'm sure you already knew that. The reason I won't support the ALS Association is because they conduct embryonic stem cell research.  I know, I know.  Another hot topic.   But like I stated at the beginning of this post.  My convictions are strong.  I believe life begins at conception.  Therefore, using embryos (or, in my terms, babies) for research and then discarding them is, well, abortion. AKA: murder.

Did you know stem cells can be taken from bone marrow?  Or, the same research can be done using adult tissue samples??  Why, then, are we murdering unborn children "in the name of science?"

But let's take a step back.  ISIS.  Outside the major news networks; how many posts on your newsfeed have you seen about what's going on in Iraq?  None?  Maybe a few??  Not even close in count to the number of posts about dumping buckets of water on our heads.  I find that so shameful.

We cut one another down in this country when it comes to "human rights" issues.  Gay rights.  Race equality.  Gender equality.  All worthy causes, I agree.  But, when it comes to innocent men, women, and children being slaughtered; we look away.  In my book, you're either for human rights or you're not.  There's no gray area.  And what bigger, more urgent, and more obvious violation of human rights could there be???  So my question is simply: Where are all those "human rights" activists now??  

Where is the outrage? Where is the disgust?  Where is the "challenge" to raise awareness and do something???

Post something regarding gay rights and WHOA.  Be prepared for comment-central most likely leading to a war via posts.  Post something regarding ISIS and....crickets.  I even got a message that my post "struck a cord" and offended her.  GOOD.  At least I got you thinking.  Maybe it made you uncomfortable because I called you out.  

So, let's relate these two totally different issues.  Why does nobody seem to care about ISIS?  Well....when we've got our own genocide going on at home how can we expect anyone to care about human life in a seemingly far-away country?

We pay entertainers millions while our veterans are on the streets.  We have normalized sexual immorality, objectified women, and flushed the Holy Sacrament of marriage down the toilet.  We have welcomed the worship of pagan gods into our land and have insisted that people adjust to their traditions, beliefs, and practices rather than the other way around.

It is time we take a stand.  For something. For ANYTHING.  Country singer Aaron Tippin once sang, "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything."  That us!  That's U.S.  We have fallen for anything and everything. We stand for  n o t h i n g.  We have willingly discarded our foundation.  And if we don't get our priorities straight and RISE UP, we're going to see our country crumble. It could be too late...