It has been an embarrassingly long amount of time since I have last blogged. Who would have thought having two kids, 14 months apart, would fill up most of my time?! I know, me either:-).
Well, I miss it so much and had so many intentions of starting it back up, but something more “important” always got in the way. Even today, I highly debated putting our overflowing dirty laundry in the coin machines instead of writing a post. Ahh, the joys of urban apartment living. Well, I am done with excuses, I am going to make this a priority. I truly love being able to share little pieces of our life and I love having a place to put/keep our memories. Sooooooo, wish me luck!
While I get back in the groove of things, here is some highlights of what our little family has been up to the last YEAR (ugh, so embarrassing)!
-I ran my first marathon in Kalamazoo and WON it! (Probably because I had the best cheering squad out there! My dad biked the whole thing so he could get to every spot of the course. My mom ran the 5k race and then biked all over the course cheering. My husband somehow got our two boys in and out of the car/stroller multiple times, just to see “mom” run by! And I definitely couldn’t have done it without our Mother Mary, who kept me motivated during all the mysteries of the Holy Rosary!)
-Mike finished up his first year of business school and crushed it, obvi!
-I was lucky enough to go to LONDON for one of my best friend’s bachelorette party!
-We moved to St. Paul, MN for Mike’s internship this summer.
-The boys and I loved exploring a new city, especially since we will be moving there full-time in July! I think the boys would argue that visiting their Great Grandma Lew Lew was the best part of being in MN (William still pretends to drive to her house).
-Our sweet Goddaughter was born in June and became a member of the Church in August!
-Celebrated Jack’s FIRST birthday!
-We found out that we were going to be parents to a THIRD little babe!!!
-One of my best friends got married to the man of her dreams and had an ice cream truck at her wedding! (Did I mention I was pregnant?! Me and our 6-week little babe took full advantage of that!)
-We celebrated 3 wonderful, exhausting years (remember we have 2 boys under 15 months) of marriage! There are still so many days that I cannot believe I am a WIFE!
-We moved back to Evanston!
-We went to the ER for the first time…with children!
-We were fortunate enough to have family watch our kids for back to back weekends, so we could go to weddings in Nantucket and Denver.
-My brother got engaged to his best friend!
-We got a mini van!! Helloooo socccceerr mom life! (But seriously, it is the BEST)
-Can you guess who we were for Halloween?!
-We found out the baby we are growing is going to be a sweet baby GIRL!!!—sidenote: we have never found out the gender of our kids before, but my mom is a sonographer and since we are living close to them during this pregnancy we thought it was the perfect time to have her find out for us! It was so much fun and I am still in complete shock!
-We celebrated the holidays with family
-Went to Hawaii!! I miss it every day! We’re thinking about moving there for the winters…just kidding.
-Currently dealing with sleep regressions (who knew there was an 18 month one?!!). I will delve more on that at a later date! In the meantime, please send prayers!
Well, clearly too much has happened since my last post, but if you stick around I promise there will be more posts soon! Happy Wednesday!
A year ago from today was when we found out we were going to be a family of FOUR. We woke up early, took a test and I swear Mike snatched it from me exclaiming we were pregnant before I even set it on the table. For that reason, I find it very fitting to post Jack’s birth story today.
**Side note: William and Jack’s birth stories could not be more different! And I am so very thankful for that! Alright, here we go. Birth story numero dos:
July 6th…hospital trip number 1
First of all, we had William at 38 weeks and this baby was sitting MUCH lower than Will was, so naturally I thought labor was going to occur around the same time, if not earlier. Well, 38 weeks came and went and I was still pregnant. Kind of a bummer but this just meant I was able to spend all MY time one-on-one with William. This was such a blessing because I will probably never have alone time with him again, at least for awhile. Unfortunately, we also had sort of a tight deadline…the baby was due July 10th, we had a baptism scheduled for July 17th and we were moving across the country on the 20th. So, I may have been trying to get things going, if you know what I mean;-).
Ran all the way up to the day I delivered…slowly.Last photo taken together! ha
Well lo and behold, on July 6th I started feeling something (and honestly everyday before that at some point I felt “something”). I thought they were contractions, but honestly was not sure. When they started getting consistent, I decided to call Mike and let him know.
Now, we had a doctor’s appointment scheduled later that day (so I felt a lot of comfort in that), however we decided that Mike didn’t need to come to this doctor’s appointment because it was his last week of work and already had a happy hour scheduled for that evening (I was also secretly hoping that I would never even make it to this appointment). Well, since things seemed to be progressing Mike decided it would be best if we went to the appointment together, just in case the doctor thought we should head to the hospital.
When she checked me, I was only at about 2.5CM, still had my bag of waters in tact and contractions weren’t that close together yet. She stripped my membranes and told us that things could progress quickly and we could end up having a baby today or it still could be a few days…Ugh! The uncertainty in pregnancy kills me! Anyway, she did say that since I was due Sunday and she really doesn’t like her patients going too far past their due dates, she would induce me on Tuesday. Ok, phew! At least I knew this baby was going to make it to his/her baptism!
When we got home from the appointment, we went for a walk (to get ice cream). I continued to time my contractions and they seemed to be getting closer and closer. So, we decided it was time to head to the hospital! Unfortunately, when we got there I was only 3cm (.5 more dilated than earlier in the day…womp womp) and my contractions only seemed like they were getting closer because I was dehydrated (double womp womp) . They gave us the option to either a. go home and rest or b. stay in the hospital and see if something happens. Well, feeling discouraged and embarrassed, we decided to go home.
Throughout the whole night, I was in and out of sleep, fighting each contraction that came my way. They were super intense, but about 15, maybe even 30 minutes apart, so in my mind not even close to active labor. By the time morning came, my contractions were maybe 10 minutes apart and still super intense to the point where I was googling “contractions 10 minutes apart but super intense.” Surprisingly enough, nothing came up on Google (haha) and since we had already done the whole hospital thing (and I felt super embarrassed by it…aren’t you suppose to know when you are going in labor, especially when it’s your SECOND go around?!!) I was pretty much at a loss of what to do. Well, very quickly (as in the next contraction) they started getting a lot closer together and continued to do so for the next few minutes.
At this point, I think Mike could tell we needed to get moving because I could no longer speak or carry on a conversation during a contraction. He called our sister-in-law to come over to watch William (which she and her husband so graciously did the night before) and then he decided it was also time to call the nurse. Mike had her on speaker phone, while I jumped in the shower, and the conversation went something like this:
Mike: “My wife has been having pretty intense contractions since last night and they are now about 3 minutes apart…”
Nurse: “I think you guys need to head to the hospital.”
Mike: “Alright, we’ll head over there pretty soon.”
Nurse: “Yeah, I highly recommend that you leave now.”
Mike and I both found her reaction to be hilarious. What did she think? This baby was about to come flying out? Clearly not, since I thought it was going to come last night. Well, we already had everything packed from the night before, so we left William with his Aunt Maddie and made our way to the hospital.
Hospital trip #2…
When we got to the hospital and checked in, the nurse came right away and brought us to a room where she hooked me up to the monitors and we talked very quickly about pain management and what the morning was going to entail. I was so confused at how quickly everything was progressing at the hospital (not like my first birth click here or our trip the night before). Looking back, I am sure it was a combination of my disposition, the fact that this was our second baby and my intense focus during each contraction that motivated everyone to move quickly. I mean they didn’t even check to see how many centimeters I was dilated!!
Another quick side note: My group strep B came back positive during this pregnancy which was something totally new to me since I didn’t have it with Will. They got me started on the first IV bag of antibiotics and informed us that I needed to get through two bags before delivery. Sounded fine to me….
Active labor 9:45 AM
When the nurse came back in the room to check on us a few minutes later, she asked how we were doing and if there was anything I needed. I told her at some point I would like to use the tub for pain management in hopes that I could do this birth unmedicated. I was also thinking we still had several hours of waiting around (Again, I still had a bag and a half of antibiotics to go through). However, she suggested getting in the tub right now since clearly I was in pain. My only hesitation was knowing that it could slow/stop labor if done too early. Well, I was in pain and a bath sounded wonderful. Before I got in I noticed some leakage on my underwear and told the nurse. She checked it with a pH strip to see if it was my bag of waters or pee. And guess what?! It was my water! It was slowly leaking which was much different than William (his was two big gushes). At this point, I was so thankful that I was heading to the tub because this is when things got real the first time around. In fact after my water broke with William, I immediately couldn’t take the pain and asked for an epidural. However, round two was a totally different story with the tub.
Ok, let me tell you about this beautiful tub. It was miraculous. I was still having contractions and they were painful, but it felt like a great weight was lifted. I even felt like I could laugh with Mike! Crazy! Well, as we were talking Mike noticed that my first antibiotic bag was gone and being the dutiful husband that he is called for the nurse to come back so we could start round two.
When she got in the bathroom, I told her I was feeling a lot of pressure (once again something I had never experienced with Will). She recognized all the signs of transition and was very eager to get me out of the tub. In my mind, I kind of thought she was being ridiculous. Good thing she is a nurse, not me.
Transition from the tub 10:30 AM
She helped dry me off and as she did I was getting a contraction. This contraction was unlike any one I had before. I had a huge desire to push right then and there. She got me back in bed and called to the nurse’s station to have the doctor come to our room. As she was doing this I went through another contraction to which point I couldn’t even control the grunting noises coming out of my mouth. Immediately the nurse recalled the station and said “this is a 911. I need the doctor in here NOW!” Again, in my mind I was thinking “what is she freaking out about?! We have plenty of time?” Again, good thing she is a nurse, not me.
She told me not to push, but if I really needed to, just do really small pushes. I know this is too much information, but it is a birth story. So, imagine you really needed to go to the bathroom and you were on the toilet, but someone was telling you not to go yet. That’s what it was like!
Time to PUSH! 10:40 AM
The doctor literally came running in the room changing into her delivery garbs as the nurse was quickly taking apart and prepping the bed. Within minutes (maybe even seconds) they told me with the next contraction I could do a real push! Just then a contraction came and I grabbed on to my legs and gave them one big push.
“That’s it! We see it’s head!” (didn’t believe them haha)
“Give me one more. Keep going..” “The baby’s shoulder is stuck. Lay her flat down”
They quickly changed the position of the bed and within seconds announced “it’s a BOY!”
During those 2 extremely painful pushes(…yes I pushed twice and he came out!!) I screamed like crazy and bore down with all my might. I kept thinking “is it too late to have an epidural?! Haha
Pushing this time around took three minutes and was my favorite part! I have never felt so strong in my entire life. I felt the greatest sense of accomplishment and oh my goodness we had this perfect little baby BOY to show for it!
John Francis (Jack) joins the party! 10:48 AM JULY 7
Mike was able to cut the cord and they immediately placed Jack on my tummy. It was the best feeling in the world! The next two hours we had alone as a little family of three before introducing our newest member to his big brother. Like we figured, Will was interested in him for about 5 seconds and then was mostly interested in all of the outlets and cords in our room.
Unfortunately (or fortunately) we had to stay in the hospital for the full 2 days because I only got half the dose of antibiotics and they wanted to be sure Jack was ok before we left. Even though we were eager to get home, it was such a blessing to spend all our energy and time with this new bundle of joy because soon it was going to be shared. It’s amazing how much your heart can expand as you have more children. It’s a love that is indescribable and oh so rewarding! We love you, Jack!
As I finally sit down to write this, I hear a 16 month old make his first humming sound. Whelp, this can only mean one thing…naptime is coming to a quick close. If I’m lucky I can squeak out about 30 minutes of “quiet time” before he starts hollering and banging his crib. So, lets see how much I can get down in the meantime.
Today marks the start of the fourth week of my new job…a stay at home mom and I must say it is my absolute favorite profession. Being able to stay home with my boys and watch them grow (and learn) has felt like a huge blessing. When reading today’s devotion, I couldn’t help but feel God’s plan speaking to me. In the Gospel we hear Saint Matthew’s story about how his discipleship began and how he came to follow Jesus. This was his calling and although my story is different than Matthew’s, I believe I have found the work that God has intended for me to pursue.
“But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13).
For the past two months (and maybe even more) I have been bracing myself for the moment that Mike would walk out the door for his first class and leave me alone with 2 under 16 month old boys?! Is that a thing??…probably not. I have had moments of panic and/or fear, but as that first Monday morning came I decided to offer it up to God and pray that everything would work out according to His plan. Well, it wasn’t a flawless day, but we made it through and in the end I felt so much joy and contentment in my heart. I knew more than ever that this was my true vocation (This must be how you felt, Matthew!).
Now, I’m trying to soak it all in because I know it is going to go by WAY too fast! It already has! I can’t believe William is walking and talking (does sounding like a minion count as talking?!) and Jack is already smiling, cooing and even sleeping through the night (keep your fingers crossed for us). They both keep me very busy and before I know it, we are all gathered in Will’s room saying our bedtime prayers and kissing goodnight.
As the days have gone by, my love for this opportunity has grown so much. Seeing their day-to-day interactions fills me with so much joy. That’s not to say that there aren’t moments in the day where I just want to sit down or go to the bathroom without a 16-month-old as my chaperone, but I have learned to slowdown the pace in which we do things (or get things done). At the beginning of each week and month, I put things on the calendar that we need to do (grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning…oh wait that happens after every meal) and would like to do (play dates, going for a walk, or the playground). I am careful not to put more than one (sometimes two) things on a day. The less commitments I have, the less stressed out I get on a day-to-day basis. However, I do NEED some sort of an engagement, to get us out of the house, talk to adults, and lets be honest pass the time until dad gets home. Depending on the type of person you are that might mean getting out once a day or once a week. Just commit to doing something that requires you to get out of the house. The best part about it is it doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment; it can be as little as 30 minutes. Here are a few things we like to do: go to the park, have play dates, walk around target (J), go for a walk or a run, go to the library, go to our kids’ group classes and pray the rosary with our friend. None of these activities take a huge amount of time, but they give us a change of scenery and sometimes a whole new outlook on the day.
Super weird picture of Jack’s head..but this is us on a walk!We’ve got a climber!William loves this boat!
Sometimes I even have time to bake cookies!!And some days look like this…While others look like this!
Whether you know your vocation or are still discerning it, remember that your path is unique and beautiful and is going to look so different than anyone else’s. But, that’s what makes this life so amazing! Listen to God and “follow Jesus” because it’s time to write your story!
P.S. This post was finished post-dinner…life of a stay at home mom 🙂
Since the time I had gotten pregnant with William I have worried about not knowing when I was in actual labor. In fact, I was having a tough time even knowing what Braxton hicks were. I could never pinpoint what was exactly happening in and around my belly. Were they the same thing as menstrual cramps? Where would I feel it? My stomach? My back? I had no idea!
However, I could tell something was different Thursday, April 23rd (at just 38 weeks pregnant) when I arrived at school. I was just feeling a little “off” and in reality I had been feeling this way since after my run the night before. I was definitely feeling menstrual-like cramps, but they were mostly in my back. And honestly, I had never heard of “back labor.” The only real clue I had that something was happening was how consistent they were. I would feel them and then they would go away for about 5 minutes. It was so regular that I decided to give my mom a call and see what she thought. (Side note: she is a sonographer and works in an OB/GYN office). I told her everything that was happening and her response was, “ I think you might be in the early stages of labor.” I had so many different feelings at that point. Thank goodness! I am so ready to meet this baby! But also, holy cow I am in labor! This is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
She continued to tell me to track my contractions and see EXACTLY how consistent they were. So that’s what I did for the next 2 hours of teaching. I grabbed a sticky note and tracked how long each contraction was and what the spacing was between them. Looking back, it was pretty comical how many times I stopped during teaching to see the length of the contraction. Nevertheless, the kids were such great sports about it.
Around 10:00 am I took my kids to specials and called the nurse. It was such an awkward phone conversation. Basically she asked me “if I had thought about not being at work?” and suggested that I go home. She told me not to go to the hospital until my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. I had no idea what to do! I knew she said to go home, but could I really be in labor?! I had scheduled to start taking my maternity leave the following week and had nothing ready to just get up and leave for the day, or the year! I called my husband and told him what was happening (later found out he too did not believe I was in labor) and we decided it was best if I went home.
After I sent my kids out to recess, I went to the office and told my principal that I was pretty sure I was going into labor (again not convinced that this was it). She immediately told me to go home and offered to drive me. I assured her I would be fine getting home, but was worried about my class (classic teacher move). She told me “not to worry, they would take care of everything!” I felt some relief in knowing this and packed up my computer and headed home.
When I got to our very packed up house (we moved in 5 days prior and everything was still in boxes) I quickly started packing a hospital bag (yup, did not have one). Once that was done I laid on my left side on the couch, taking note of each contraction. They seemed to be getting closer, so I called my husband and told him it might be a good idea to come home. Clearly you can tell what amateurs we are.
Once my husband got home we continued to track my minor, but consistent contractions. (I know they were minor now but I definitely didn’t think that then!) After an hour, they were intensifying and three minutes apart so we decided to head to the hospital. Looking back, it was way too early for the hospital but as first time parents we had no idea how quickly/intense it would get and we were tired of waiting around.
We checked into the hospital and they sent us up to our first room. This is where they monitored my contractions and checked my cervix. I was only at 3 CM and my contractions were further apart then we thought (about 4 to 5 minutes). Ugghhh. The nurse said that she would check on me in 2 hours and if my water didn’t break or my contractions didn’t get closer together, I would have to go home….WHAT? No way!
Clearly we have no idea where the night is going to take us!
5:00 PM: Checking into Labor and Delivery
Two uneventful hours later of walking up and down the hall, the nurse checked me again. Luckily I had gone from 3CM to 6CM and the nurse said we were good to check in to labor and delivery. Thank the Lord!
We checked into our room and a new nurse got us all set up. Here I sat for another hour while being monitored. Nurse shifts changed and we met the nurse that would get me through the most agonizing several hours of my life. She was such a sweetheart who did everything in her power for the next couple hours to make sure we were comfortable.
9:00 PM: Water breaking
Around this time, we were still sitting at about 7 CM and having contractions every 3 minutes. I was still feeling pretty “good,” so I told Mike to go to the cafeteria and grab some dinner. After he left, I decided to walk around the room a little bit when all of a sudden…GUSH! Water was everywhere! And of course no one was in my room at the time. I had no idea what to do, so I went to the bathroom to get some paper towels and I felt another GUSH! I grabbed my phone and texted Mike “um…my water just broke!”
Honestly, I was so excited at this point. I figured it meant we were so close to meeting our little babe, but boy was I wrong. Cue the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life (sorry to anyone who has not had a baby yet). The next contractions were absolutely horrendous. Not to freak anyone out, but I was a pretty hardcore division 1 athlete and I have never felt so much pain in my life.
When my husband got back, he did everything in his power to try and comfort me, but NOTHING worked! Literally nothing! He would say really motivating things to me or a Hail Mary and all I could think of was, “Why is he talking right now?!” or he would be completely silent and rub my back and then all I could think of was, “Why is he not talking?!” Basically a win win for Mike….HA!
Not the best picture, but an accurate one!
He was such a trooper and got me through the worst contractions. I got to a point where I physically did not think my body or mind could handle anymore and asked Mike if I should get an epidural (our original plan was an all natural birth). He was very supportive and we ordered one right after that. I was relieved to know that the pain was going to go away, but I had two obstacles in my way before then: first, I had to get attached to an IV and get about 70 % of fluid in me before we could get prepped for the epidural and second, I had to be perfectly still when they gave me the epidural and I would go through one maybe two contractions. Both of these felt like an impossible feat. The fluid seemed to take FOREVER and I was positive that I could not sit still during a contraction, I could barely remain conscious. Luckily, I was able to get through both and when that epidural finally kicked in, it was magical.
11:00 pm : Pushing
The doctor came in and checked on me, she told us that I was at 10 CM and 100 % effaced. It was time to get ready to start pushing. At this point we weren’t sure if we would have an April 23rd birthday or an April 24th birthday. We knew that the first birth normally takes longer, but we were hopeful that we would see our babe soon.
I was never more determined to accomplish something in my entire life. With every push, our nurse and Mike gave me the most positive encouragement. “That was a great push! You are so strong.” “Keep going…keep going.” “You’re going great!” I honestly could not have done it without either one of them.
Unfortunately, this went on for THREE AND A HALF agonizing hours. It felt like no progress was being made. With each contraction I felt like I was losing my mind. I had no idea how to cope with the longest workout of my life and internally was moving further and further away from reality. Every time the doctor came in, she would tell us the same thing. “You are so close!” “I need you to keep pushing.” But, we tried everything and I was past the point of not having an ounce of energy left. I was delirious, exhausted and oh so nauseous!
Another hour later, the doctor came back and checked me again. This time she gave us a few options due to William’s position (basically he was stuck under my pelvic bone and all the pushing in the world would probably not get him out). Our new options were: we could either do a C-section or use forceps to get the baby out. She explained both options and once I heard that forceps required more pushing, I had my mind made up…C-section it is. However, I am so fortunate that Mike was there to talk some sense into me. He made the doctor talk us through exactly what each one meant and knowing our original birth plan, we decided to go with the forceps.
(If you do not know what forceps are, they basically look like giant salad tongs that are used to literally pull the baby out…ouch.)
Delivery
While we were waiting for my second round of epidural to kick in, the nurses and doctor prepared everything for delivery. We had nurses, residents and my doctor in the room helping and watching this delivery and as long as this baby came out safe and sound, I couldn’t care less how many people were in the room.
It took them several tries to get the forceps around the baby’s head and when they did, it was time to push harder than I ever had before. It took us two rounds of pushing for them to finally pull him out. They announced “boy” and then quickly took him over to the nursing station to make sure everything was ok. Mike and I rejoiced in happy tears as our SON had finally made his way into the world.
Ahhh, the perks of having an epidural!
After they checked to make sure everything was ok with William’s vitals, they placed that sweet baby boy on my chest and it was the best feeling in the world. I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment, love and gratitude.
The next two hours we had alone with our little man. We held him and kissed him and soaked up every minute as a family of three. It was the best day of our life.
Because of William’s forceps birth, there were a few things that we were not able to do: I never heard the typical “oh, I see the head. Keep pushing.” And Mike wasn’t able to cut the umbilical cord. His birth was not normal by any means, but it brought us the most amazing little boy and we could not imagine our life without him. We love you, William Michael!
William Michael born on April 24, 2015 at 4:17 am | 7 lbs 2 oz | 19.5 inches
Yes, you read my title right! My husband and I do not use contraception. I have been debating writing about such a personal topic on my blog for months, but God has finally opened my heart to blog about such a controversial matter.
Before my husband and I got married, we made the conscious decision to use Natural Family Planning as our method of contraception. From there, we decided that we should wait at least a year after we married before having a baby. Yet, as we stood on the altar, with our hearts fully open, we answered the vow “will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?” with a wholehearted YES! This phrase continued to echo in our heads as we made our way to Costa Rica for our honeymoon. Knowing where our cycle was and what could happen; we decided to put our trust into God’s loving hands. And God is so good! Nine months later we were graced, so greatly, with the birth of our son, William.
Now, most of the culture has a perception that NFP does not really work. When it’s publicized as an effective alternative to “artificial” contraception, people can’t help but wonder: why do families who practice NFP have SO many kids? It may be natural, but it sure doesn’t look “planned.” They’re too often too polite to ask what’s going on here, not wanting to imply that anyone’s children were “accidents.” So instead, many of them come to the conclusion that NFP doesn’t really “work.”
And if you looked at my family, you might think that exact same thing! I mean our kids are going to be 14 (and a half) months apart. For me to say that they were perfectly planned that way would be a lie. However, I can’t help but feel that I am at a place in my life that I am living my vocation to fulfillment. I am a wife and a mother. That is my calling and I love my calling!
Ok, back to NFP. Although I’ve always had a pretty good handle on my own cycles, I didn’t get hardcore about it until just before we got married. And as I started to learn more, I realized the science behind NFP is sound. It DOES have the same success rate as most other forms of birth control—but it has a very high user failure rate, which is, I think, what we see manifested in the stereotypically large Catholic families.
While the couple may equally share the responsibility of abstaining from sex during the woman’s fertile phase, it’s the woman who must take the lead of responsibility for every other aspect of NFP and that can be really hard. It’s the woman who must spend hours learning how to interpret the signs of a normal cycle, and then memorize all the possible anomalies and how they affect chances of conception. It’s the woman who must wake up at the same time every day to take her temperature. It’s the woman who must examine and interpret all the other signs her body gives—which are NOT always straightforward (especially during postpartum), and which, if you’re trying to avoid pregnancy, can lead to longer periods of abstinence than the manuals predict. Which can be rather difficult, especially as newly weds. Have I convinced you to do NFP? Doesn’t sound too hard, right?
In all honesty, NFP is a lot of work and it is the woman who feels the burden of fulfilling this expectation. However, it is also the one contraceptive where you and your husband must work together as a team. You need to communicate often, work together to understand the female body, and go through the period of abstinence together. All of these things strengthen your relationship with one another and allow you to be more intentional, in a romantic way, with your love. And that is one of the things that I cherish about NFP.
NFP truly leads to an attitude of embracing fully each child born, planned or not. We accept that pregnancy and children are the “burden” that God asks us to bear. He works within our hearts, growing them and expanding them with a ravenous love and fire for our growing family. Humane Vitae says, “to experience the gift of married love while respecting the laws of conception is to acknowledge that one is not the master of the sources of life but rather the minister of the design established by the creator.” Using birth control causes us to think that the start of life is completely up to us, but in reality, God, is the one who determines when life should begin. He designed our bodies the way they are for a reason, and only He is the creator of life.
God blessed us with the creation of our William Michael and our soon-to-be baby D. I will forever remember the first time I was able to hold William. That moment is the closest thing I have ever felt to heaven. My heart felt such an overwhelming amount of love, gratitude and sense of accomplishment, as I looked into my husband’s eyes, cuddled inward with our 7-pound babe. It was during that moment that I knew God’s plan was, and is, so much greater than one I could have created on my own. It was in that moment that I knew NFP and our openness toward life was exactly what God intended for our family.
We are so blessed to have this spunky almost 11 month old! We love you to pieces William Michael!
As I was enjoying the rare silence in my classroom Monday morning, I had this realization…Mondays are the worst. You see the problem I have with Mondays are that it is no longer the weekend. I know, newsflash to me, people have felt this way since the beginning of time. But honestly I never used to mind them. That was until I got married and had a baby. Since then, I cherish every single one of them! I mean, seriously, we get to spend every waking minute together as a family! What could be better than that?! In fact, I’ve been feeling like lately life is as good as it gets.
To put it in perspective, this weekend was nothing out of the ordinary. We had a lazy Saturday morning of watching William pull himself up and walk/crawl around the house. Then, we went for a family run around our favorite park and ended at the rec center for a swim. The best thing about the pool is watching Mike and Will swim around together, as I feel weightless in my 20 week pregnant self. We Followed up our activities by lunch at our favorite sandwich shop. And ended the day grilling brats and watching a movie together. My idea of the perfect day!
Sunday was just as incredible. We went to mass and to this AMAZING bagel place, that had the best ruben! The sandwich was so decadent that when we got home we took a 2 hour nap as a family! After we got up, we went for a run and then to the grocery store to do our shopping for the week. Ok, I know that wasn’t the most exciting weekend, but to me, it was perfect.
William is also at an awesome stage. He is so joyful and curious! When I pick him up from daycare he gets the biggest smile on his face and crawls as fast as he can to me. He can pull himself up and hold on to the furniture as he walks around. He also can eat everything now! I am constantly amazed at how quickly babies change! I wish I could bottle up this stage and keep it forever. Don’t grow up, William!
2015 was such a great year for the Doran Family! It was the year we met our first born son; celebrated our first year of marriage + found out we were having our second little munchkin.
It was the best year yet as we continued to build our little family (two pregnancies in one year..booyah)! God has been so incredibly good to us this year. He has blessed us with two new lives! We are so excited to see what is in store for 2016.
We started the year off being 23 weeks pregnant with William!We ate WAY too many DiGiorno pizzas.We were so blessed to have a fabulous Denver Baby Shower!Grew a little bit more.Had ANOTHER amazing baby shower…feeling so incredibly loved!Enjoyed the beautiful Colorado weather in March!Celebrated Easter!Took our our last bump pic, little did we know…Will decided to grace us with his presence a whole 2 weeks early!Who’s excited to have a baby?? We are! (well maybe until my water broke…)April 24, 2015 @ 4:17 AM | William Michael Doran | 7 lbs 2 oz | 19.5 inchesOver the moon!Our jaundice babe got lots of natural Vitamin D.Took our first outing…to the brewery!Had great visitors who helped a lot!Took lots and lots and LOTS of pictures of William!
William got Baptized!We went for a lot of runs together!Mourned the loss of my Grandpa.He made this for William before his passing! What a blessing!Celebrated the Sacrament of Marriage with the most beautiful couple!
Celebrated our 1st anniversary!My sister (and Will’s godmother) finally turned 21!Vacationed with our family at Lake Powell!Took our first trip to the zoo!Paul and Maddie got engaged! We are so blessed to welcome Maddie into the family!We love you!Made it to a Notre Dame football game!Patched.Was a Pope Pumpkin for Halloween.(The day we) found out we were a family of FOUR!Saw snow for the first time and LOVED it!Met Santa Clause.
Celebrated our first Christmas!Made gingerbread houses with my 3rd graders.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!Celebrating Christmas as a family before heading out of town.Bill was WAY more interested in eating his presents than looking at them.
During the Christmas season, especially the past two years, I have found a natural connection with the Virgin Mary. I see myself with my son and I think of Mary and her son. And as I reflect on Christmas and what it means, I can’t help but ask myself, “How did Mary do it?”
How did she accept the news that she was going to give birth to the Son of God? What was she feeling as she fled to Egypt? Did she know what was to occur? Was she ready for it? Did she think she would be a good mother?
One word can answer all of these questions: grace.
She completely put her trust in God. Mary is a great example of perfect faith and joy for us, especially during the holiday season. Mary reminds us to renew, and always be ready for His coming. This is the best time of year to open our hearts and thank God for all the good he has provided in our lives already.
And he has provided so much good! We were so blessed to spend some time in Omaha (where my husband is from), as well as Kalamazoo (where my family lives now). It was so good being surrounded by so many loving and helping hands. There is nothing better than watching grandparents, aunts, and uncles hold, play with, and look after your child. It brings me so much joy to know how loved William already is at 8 months!
Enjoying bath time with Grandma and Grandpa Doran!“Mom, these peas are delicious!”The gang’s back together!Merry Christmas Eve!Sidenote: this little Christmas number was my older brother’s first Christmas outfit 30 years ago!
Merry Christmas!Enjoying quality time at Paw Paw Brewery.
We absolutely LOVED spending time with family and celebrating our saviors birth, but there is nothing better than a quiet night home with our growing family of FOUR!
**Yes, we are expecting another little babe, July 2016, and are over the moon with excitement! (P.S. I’m super pumped to blog about pregnancy round 2).
There is nothing better than seeing “all public schools cancelled.” Especially during the last week before break! Thank you Lord for giving my body and head a much needed rest, and giving me a day with my son!! I absolutely cherish the days where I can put on my “stay-at-home” hat and kick it with Will. Here are a few highlights from our snowy day together!
Started out the day “Offering it Up” and thanking the Lord for a cozy day with my son. Thank you Hatch Prints for the beautiful mugs!
Next, it was wrapping time!
Of course I had a helper!
After that, we took a quick trip to the store to grab stuff to make cookies!
Got some fresh air.
And finished up the day by baking some cookies!
Now I am officially ready to go back to school tomorrow and finish up this week! Happy Wednesday Everyone!
I first thought about it when I found out I was pregnant with our son. I found so much strength in reading about women who were going through similar situations (or have already been through these situations). Then I thought about it again when our son was born. I had this deep desire to share my experiences about the challenges and rewards of having a newborn. (Or maybe I Just had lots of time to think during those 2 am feedingsJ).
Whenever I thought about it, it just never seemed like the right time. We made the decision, as a family, for me to go back to work and keep teaching 3rd grade in the fall. I knew that with teaching, plus raising an infant, plus my relationship with my husband, plus my relationship with Christ, there just wasn’t enough time to sit down and write a blog. However, God works in mysterious ways and changed my plan.
On Thursday morning, I woke up with this strong feeling that I should start blogging. I couldn’t shake the feeling throughout the whole day and when I picked up my son from day care, I knew I needed to let go of my own plans and let God lead me. Each time I let Him lead me, I end up somewhere greater than I could’ve imagined.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2: 8-10).
This blog is my way of sharing the journey. I hope you enjoy this peek into my family’s day-to-day happenings, a few of my favorite recipes, and our journey of serving the Lord and each other, so we may get one another (and our children) to Heaven.
-Our sweet Goddaughter was born in June and became a member of the Church in August!
As I was enjoying the rare silence in my classroom Monday morning, I had this realization…Mondays are the worst. You see the problem I have with Mondays are that it is no longer the weekend. I know, newsflash to me, people have felt this way since the beginning of time. But honestly I never used to mind them. That was until I got married and had a baby. Since then, I cherish every single one of them! I mean, seriously, we get to spend every waking minute together as a family! What could be better than that?! In fact, I’ve been feeling like lately life is as good as it gets.
We absolutely LOVED spending time with family and celebrating our saviors birth, but there is nothing better than a quiet night home with our growing family of FOUR!
Running with Grace 