Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We had some awesome links last week as usual. 

Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

 The top viewed link this week belongs to Laura from Story Book Reality and her post Kelsey's Birth Story Part One! Doesn't she look great? I always love reading birth stories. They are each so different and special!

The Life Of Faith

 The Not Quite Military Wife


Beautiful Family Affairs, 

 Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee

Now, link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

Then, explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

Please, pretty please, we'd love it if you would tweet or share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

We would also love it if you could add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/mommymoments" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank">http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/cfa5ba11752f4e898055d03d33cf24e0.jpg

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

Colossians 3:17 
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An InLinkz Link-up

One Year and Beyond: Taming the Tantrums

Bug is 15 months going on two (sometimes 16). She has all of a sudden developed such personality. A lot of the time, this personality is great. She laughs and giggles and plays, and it is so much fun to watch her grow. But then there is the other side of this personality. The tantrum. And boy can she throw a royal one.

These tantrums stem from two different things:

• She isn't getting her way and is being told "no".
• She's frustrated and tired.

This little girl is stubborn, and she comes by it honestly. So when she doesn't get her way with something, whether it be a toy or she doesn't want to eat what she's been given, she lets you know. Most of these times it's screaming and throwing her hands in the air and covering her face. 

She's also now at the stage where she's trying to develop her independence. She wants to do things by herself, and when she can't accomplish what she wants, the tantrum ensues. A lot of these tantrums end up with her throwing herself on the floor and kicking and punching the ground. It can get pretty rough.

We were spending the evening with my parent's last night, and Bug was in rare form. When my dad (her Papi) walked in, she had just thrown herself on the floor and wouldn't even look at him. The first words out of his mouth, "Are you two?"

I'm still learning on how to deal with her tantrums, but for now, a few things work for us:

• Ignore her - sometimes, she just needs to cry it out. That's okay. Once she settles down, she's more apt to listen and calm down. Ignoring her also gives me a chance to gather my bearings and see what the route cause of her tantrum might be.
• Distract her - sometimes she just needs a good ole distraction from the things that she's not allowed to have.
• Help her - if she's frustrated because she wants something done and can't do it by herself, it's best sometimes if I just dive in and help her. But I'm not allowed to do it for her. I have to show her how it's done, and then let her do it on her own. 
• Rest time -  a lot of times, she's just plum exhausted and that is the reason for her tantrum. The best thing to do at this time is cuddle and turn on Mickey Mouse. It's a win-win situation for both of us. She gets to rest, and I get extra cuddles.

I'm still figuring things out with the tantrums, but for right now, these four things have come to help us when Bug decides to throw a tantrum. 

Do you have any other tips on taming the tantrum? Link up with us below! I'm always looking for new ways to help ease the tantrum.

Come link up with us every Thursday and share your wisdom. Also, come check out our mamas who have some wisdom of their own.

Like A Morning Cup of Coffee               The Not Quite Military Wife

From Here To Eternity               Words About Waverly

Pardon My French             Beautiful Family Affairs

My Delicious Adventure                  The Life Of Faith

Running From The Law             The Olive Tree          

May 8:          Taming the Temper Tantrums

May 15:        Weaning from Breastfeeding or From Formula to Cow’s Milk 

May 22:        Dealing with Mommy Guilt

May 29:        When People Share Their Opinions and How to Lovingly Handle it

June 5:         Traveling with your Toddler

June 12:       How to get your toddler to eat their veggies…or their food at all

June 19:       How to make time to blog in the busyness of motherhood

June 26:       Bedtime Battles (nap or bedtime)

Now it's time to link up your posts with us!

An InLinkz Link-up

Our Journey to Homebirth

I've been writing and rewriting this post for a while now. I really just don't know how to get this post started. It's not that I'm ashamed and scared that we're doing a homebirth, I'm actually quite excited, and it's probably that excitement that keeps me from getting my thoughts together.

This decision does not come out of the blue for me. I wanted a homebirth with Bug, but the hubs was not comfortable at all with that. So to the hospital we went. I am happy with my hospital birth, but it didn't go at all like I "planned" and really just wasn't comfortable there. Also, I would claim that I had "first time mom glasses" on. Everything was rose colored and I didn't  really know better. So when we got pregnant this time we went straight to the same OB we used with Bug and got the ball rolling (so to speak).

But something was different this time. I didn't have my "first time mom glasses" on anymore. I noticed that the practice was treating me differently now that I had been there done that. Something just didn't feel right. I started to entertain the thought of finding a midwife and having a homebirth. At first the hubs was against it again. He wanted to go with a hospital birth again. It was easy. It was safe. But it was no longer what I wanted.

There's a lot more emotion that goes into pregnancy and birth than you would think. And I wanted more. I wanted more support. Someone I could be friends with and trust and love to deliver my baby. I wanted someone who would support me completely, not a bunch of nurses in a white sterile environment. I wanted someone who I could trust completely to do what was best for me and my baby. And I didn't feel like I was getting that from my OB.

After talking with my husband, and my best friend who just delivered her first baby at home, I started researching midwives in the area. My wish was that I would find a Christian midwife that believes what I believe to deliver my baby. But Christian midwives are hard to come by! So we interviewed a midwife from the area, but there was something off. We just didn't click and the hubs was hesitant. The best thing that came from the interview was that the hubs was fully on board with a homebirth. But he still wanted to see who we could find. Through searching some more and a call to another midwife, I find that she's booked for my due date so we couldn't go with her, we find Margaret. God was looking out for us when He led us to her. She is everything we wanted in a midwife. And the best thing, the hubs is comfortable and likes her too!

So yes, halfway through my pregnancy, we made the switch from OB to midwife; from hospital birth to water birth at home. And you know what? I couldn't be more excited about it! I feel a different anticipation and a different excitement surrounding this pregnancy and birth. It feels so much calmer and filled with less anxiety.

This is our journey to homebirth and I'm excited to share it with y'all. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I'd love to do a question and answer post, so if you have a question feel free to email me at beautifulfamilyaffairs{at}gmail{dot}com.

Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We had some awesome links last week as usual. 

Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

 The top viewed link this week belongs to Amy from Wife Hat, Mom Hat and her post The Results Are In! Make sure you stop by to congratulate Amy on the addition of a "minnie" to her already adorable family!  

The Life Of Faith

 The Not Quite Military Wife


Beautiful Family Affairs, 

 Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee

Now, link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

Then, explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

Please, pretty please, we'd love it if you would tweet or share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

We would also love it if you could add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/mommymoments" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank">http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/cfa5ba11752f4e898055d03d33cf24e0.jpg

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

Colossians 3:17 
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An InLinkz Link-up

One Year and Beyond!

Hey mamas! Boy do I have a really exciting treat for you. Starting the 8th of May, I will be getting together with ten amazing mamas to bring to you the "One year and beyond" Link up.  In this link up we want to share with you what we've found that has worked for us as new mamas to toddlers. Because we're experts  after being moms for a few years or so, right? Not really, but we have some experience and want to share what we've learned.

Like A Morning Cup of Coffee               The Not Quite Military Wife

From Here To Eternity               Words About Waverly

Pardon My French             Beautiful Family Affairs

My Delicious Adventure                  The Life Of Faith

Running From The Law             The Olive Tree          

  Last month we got together and discussed questions that moms have not only asked us but questions we've asked ourselves and put them together and now we want to share them with you. 

May 8:          Taming the Temper Tantrums

May 15:        Weaning from Breastfeeding or From Formula to Cow’s Milk 

May 22:        Dealing with Mommy Guilt

May 29:        When People Share Their Opinions and How to Lovingly Handle it

June 5:         Traveling with your Toddler

June 12:       How to get your toddler to eat their veggies…or their food at all

June 19:       How to make time to blog in the busyness of motherhood

June 26:       Bedtime Battles (nap or bedtime

We're making this a link up because like I said we don't know it all and we don't have all the answers. Therefore we'd love to see what you do/did. Don't forget to check out all of the mamas each week for their post and then link your own up your own post with us!

Will you be joining us? I'm so excited!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.thenotquitemilitarywife.com/search/label/One%20Year%20and%20Beyond" title="The Not Quite Military Wife: One Year And Beyond"><img src="http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh484/sarbearbenson/Oneyearandbeyond-blogbutton250x1490.jpg" alt="The Not Quite Military Wife: One Year And Beyond" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Surviving the First Trimester with a Little One

Those two pink lines are game changing. When we first saw them with Bug, we were beyond ecstatic. And very nervous. This was a new thing for us. Something we had never gone through before. A new chapter was opening. 

image source: Wikipedia

Fast forward 18 months later, two more pink lines appear. We are once again ecstatic and so excited! Bug was going to be a big sister! But we weren't nearly as nervous as we were the first time around. Unfortunately, those two pink lines didn't last and we lost our precious babe. We weren't going to give up hope and so we decided to keep trying.

The next month...two more pink lines show up on that stick! This time the emotions were raw. There was so much excitement and so much anxiety all wrapped up in those lines. So much anxiety in fact, that it took me a week to tell the hubs and even longer to share with my family. We were very cautious with our excitement. 

Weeks continued and my pregnancy progressed. With this progression came the beloved exhaustion and morning sickness - or should I say, all day sickness. At least that's how it was for me. It was brutal. Having a little one to chase around did not help the situation. 

Here are a few things that got me through my first trimester (and beyond...because it's taken forever to get over the morning sickness and get my energy back):

• Nap when baby naps: Sound familiar? It holds true for being pregnant with a little one. If you have the opportunity to nap, take it! The chores can wait, it is important for you to get that sleep in!
• Accept help: Sound familiar once again? I'm very blessed that my parents live not too far away. On my sickest of days, I was able to call them and they could come over and play with Bug for a little while to help me get over it.
• Don't be ashamed of medicine: I personally hate taking medicine for anything. It's just who I am. But when I was offered Zofran, I jumped at the chance. It helped me a lot. Running after Bug is already hard, it's even harder when you're pregnant.

Most importantly...

• Give yourself grace: Don't beat yourself up over the little things. It's okay to let it slide! You are now pulling triple duty: taking care of your little one running around, taking care of growing your baby, and taking care of you. Your body, mind, and spirit are being pulled three different ways. It's okay to let things go every once in a while and to turn down events and invitations as well.

I hope this helps anybody out there going through pregnancy again. I'm finally (at 22 weeks) starting to feel like myself. But it's moments that are few and far between. It doesn't help that Bug isn't sleep well at night now and is extra, extra clingy (which I have read can be a pregnancy side effect). I'm doing my best to enjoy every minute of this pregnancy just like I did with Bug, and I know that I'm very blessed that this little boy is happy and healthy and cooking just as he should be!

Now to get a certain Bug back to sleep (see what I mean? It's 9:30 and she's still not asleep right now...but at least she's not coughing!)