Sunday.

Gah, I don’t even know where to start.  I guess at the beginning.  Haha!  On November 14^th, 2011, I had the opportunity to hear Warren Buffett speak at Girls Inc’s annual luncheon.  During which he made some comment along the lines of “Find something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” – I can’t remember exactly how he worded it though.  Then I got to hug him...

The next morning I woke up and started thinking about my passions.  I started thinking about how I am kind of the “go-to” person within my circle for all things fertility/pregnancy/baby related.  So, I started thinking about ways I could build on that.  So, I started researching various avenues that I could take – including becoming a certified doula.

What is a doula, you ask?  Well a doula “is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth” (DONA International).  It just felt right, so I decided to head down that path – which is actually quite terrifying for someone who has only actually been present in her own births, which were c-sections!

So, I officially took a leap of faith and became a doula in training!  I began my required reading and attended the workshop.  But, then I got wrapped up in my pregnancy, licensing the daycare, and other things going on in my personal life.  So, the doula thing kind of went to the back burner for a while.

Then, my wonderfully supportive friend (step-cousin), Jenny, started talking to me about her friend who was pregnant and wanting a doula.  So, we talked about Jenny passing my info on to her friend, but I never heard from her, so I didn’t think too much more about it. 

But about two months ago, I received an email from her.  So, I met with her and her husband.  I’m not going to lie – I was not 100% confident in my abilities and kind of tried to sabotage myself.  And at my second meeting, they kind of called me out on it.  Fortunately, I had Jenny in my corner pulling for me.  So, they decided to take a chance on me.

We met one other time and discussed her birth plan.  They also informed me at this time that her OB said that she was dilated to 3 and that she had felt some contractions.  I got weekly text messages after her OB appointments informing me that there was no change in her progress.

Well, Sunday morning Russell left –with the van!- to go to Kansas City to watch the Chiefs game.  And as luck would have it, I got a call around 7:20 am from the Mama saying her water broke and her contractions were 1.5 minutes apart.  So, I panicked for a minute trying to think about what I was going to do with my kids.  I made a couple of calls and finally BEGGED my super awesome friend Kellie to watch them – even though she has her own feisty two year old and a set of 3 month twins on her hands…what’s 3 more kids, right?  (Have I mentioned lately that Kellie is absolutely one of THE BEST friends a girl could ever have??). 

Anyway, after dropping the kids off at Kellie’s, I raced to the hospital and got there around 8:30 am.  This Mama was already in active labor!  I’ll spare you all of the details, but this absolutely amazing Mama delivered her baby girl completely medication free at 11:46 am.  Her birth really went exactly how she wanted.  I am so thrilled for her.  I also am so grateful that she allowed me the opportunity to be apart of this truly incredible day.  Plus, I was done in time to eat lunch with Kellie and the kids!

Weekend Recap

This weekend was another fairly laid back weekend for us.  Russell started it off by having an outpatient procedure done Friday morning.  Everything went successfully, but he had to take it easy this weekend.  But, more on that later.

We had a pretty lazy Saturday.  We were able to sleep in.  After lunch, Kellie and the twins came over to watch the Husker game and then we ate dinner together.  And that’s about all we got accomplished.  It was GLORIOUS!!!  Every once in a while you need a day like that.

Sunday was a bit busier.  I ran around town getting some of the items we need for the daycare and for my doula bag (more on that later, hopefully).  Then, after lunch, Russell got ready for work while the kids and I went to a birthday party for a friends’ son.  Once we got home, we ate dinner and then I busied myself putting away my purchases from earlier.  Then, I let the momentum continue and I worked on some neglected areas upstairs.  And after all that, it was time to lay my weary self down in bed, reboot, and prepare for the next week.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Weekend Recap

Friday was a typical day. I went to Weight Watchers. I'm down another 1.6lbs. Woo hoo! So that means I'm down nearly 24 lbs! I went to work, came home, and hung out with the kids until bedtime.

Saturday, the kids had a photoshoot with our neighbor, Staci. The kids are going to be famous models, but there will be another post about that in the future. But, to tide you over, here's a teaser:

This picture was Staci's vision. We had Russell hopping around the garage (even though he didn't feel good and he was listening to the Husker game before work) to make D smile. After the photoshoot, we went to the zoo for a baby shower. This was monumental because it's the first time I've taken both kids to the zoo by myself. Kellie and Jon were also there. Jon and his friend (the father-to-be) took Jameson and a couple of other kids around the zoo while the ladies participated in the baby shower. Afterward, we wandered around the zoo for Maddie's first trip to the zoo. Poor Jameson got a bug in his eye on the way to the cat house! But we wandered around a bit before it was time to leave. And we even ran into an old friend from Ames (who now lives in Omaha) on the way out!

Sunday was another quiet day. We stayed at the house. Tonight was bath night. Delilah is getting crazy in the bath tub!! I give them a bath together. I put the baby bath in big bath tub. Tonight, D was leaning over edge of the her bathtub to grab toys from the big bath! She is getting so strong!

Another busy weekend!

My Step-Mom, Ione, retired on Friday, so there was a lot of celebrating to be done this weekend! :-) On Friday, The kids and I (Russell had to work) went to a retirement party at Grandma Onie and Papa Terry's work. We got to meet a lot of their co-workers and ate some delicious brownies. Jameson and his cousin, Hannah, were more interested in chasing each other around. They were a little wild, but they sure were cute!

That evening, we met up with Jon, Kellie and some other people at Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate Kellie's 30th birthday - which is actually today, Happy Birthday, Kellie!

For Christmas, I got my parents a gift card for a photographer to come out and take pictures of the whole family (all 15 of us!!). So, we did that Saturday morning since everyone would be in town. Christine McGuigan came out to the my parent's house to take some pictures. It was no easy feat to get everyone assembled! Jameson started off with a huge crying fit because he wanted to ride the motorcycle (a toy we passed on our way to the area we were going to take the pictures) rather than pose in a picture. So, we got him calmed down just in time for my niece Justice to start crying. She's a pretty particular child (anyone who knew my brother growing up can understand) and is pretty attached to her Mama. Fortunately, the two older grandkids, Hannah and Alaina, were cheesing it up enough for everyone! So, thanks Christine I know it wasn't easy! I'm so excited to see the pictures!

Saturday evening was a retirement party at the lake! It was good food and lots of fun. Russell was able to make an appearance for a little while, but he had his fantasy football draft that evening. (As you can see, he has his priorities...) So, most of the evening was spent with me keeping track of a wild 2 year old with a 6 month old on my hip. How many activity points do you think I earned?? :-) Tyler was teasing me that I had a Justice in the making because baby D would not really let anyone else hold her for very long. Speaking of Tyler, I asked him if he would take some pictures "of party stuff" for me since my hands were full. His wife, Nichole told me that I need to be specific, because if I ask him to take pictures "of party stuff" I will end up with pictures of a water bottle or his butt. So, here's the first picture he took:

He said "Look, there are THREE water bottles!" What a clever guy! Anyway, enjoy some photos of the party courtesy of Tyler:

Grandma Onie took Jameson for a tour around the lake in her golf cart!

A big thanks to anyone and everyone who helped me keep on eye on my wild man. Especially to those who sat in a car or the golf cart with him to let him drive (Uncle Tyler, Uncle Mark, the Schartows, the Fagans, Great-Aunt Denise...I'm sure I'm forgetting someone). It was a big help!

Sunday was a day to rest...well, mostly!

Quiet Week...

So, I guess it's been a quiet week at the *B* house. There hasn't been much to post about...until today, that is. :-)

First of all, I joined Weight Watchers. It has worked well for me in the past. I really need to lose some weight, but I don't want to do anything drastic to affect my milk supply. Weight Watchers has a plan for nursing mothers, so hopefully I can lose the weight gradually (but consistently) and keep my supply up. Oh and the BEST news? When I weighed in for the first time, I weighed 10lbs less than I thought I did!

Secondly, I got a text this morning that Kellie's (my BFF, former roomie, a Maid of Honor at my wedding, married to my cousin Jon, etc, etc, etc...) water broke. EEEEEEK! I couldn't be more excited! Delilah is excited to meet her new bestie!