Our next adventure!

So I thought I should fill you all in on something... 

We're moving to Utah!

In January, we'll be making our big journey across the country. We picked a place on the map to have our next adventure.. and Utah was the winner. And to those of you who think we're crazy... we are ;) 

We're so excited to see what God has in store for us. 

Wish us luck as we clean and pack up our apartment in these next few weeks.. and for our trek across the country with a babe in tow ;) 

Thankful list

{via}

Thankful for... (in no particular order)

a husband who works (and studies!) hard to provide for us

a perfect, healthy baby boy 

clean water 

freedom to worship Jesus 

my mom, dad, and brothers 

my SIL, nephew, and (new!) niece 

Chipotle ;) 

clean diapers 

a big, exciting move coming up

new beginnings
people who stand up for what's right

a momma's bond and nursing

a Saviour who knows everything and yet loves anyway

Christmas lights

the excitement that the holiday season brings

family gatherings and games

a sleeping baby after a long day

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! 

Happy Tuesday!

Jude will be 6 months in one week! How did this happen?!

I'm hoping to slowly start getting back to posting regularly.. not sure if any of you are still out there?? :)

Happy Tuesday!

2nd Anniversary

We celebrated our 2nd anniversary on Tuesday! 

I can't believe it's been two years already! Lee planned everything and it was so nice to not have to worry about anything. My mom came over and watched Jude while we went out for a couple of hours during the day.. it was my very first 'real' time away from him! Ahh.. am I crazy or what?! He is nearly 5 and half months old and this was the first time I have gotten out! 

We had a ton of fun together.. it felt so weird not having a baby attached at the hip ;) It's amazing how refreshed you feel when you get out alone for a little while. 

Anyways, when we got back we hung out for a little while Jude finished his nap. And then we went out to Firebirds.. our town just recently got one and goodness it was SO good AND super fancy!

Then we went and spent the night at a really beautiful hotel on the lake! My man knows how to plan a fun day ;) We swam in the hotel pool, it was Jude's first time swimming .. he looked so cute in that big pool!

Love our life together.. and can't wait to see what year three brings!

My Birth Journey- part 3

Read part 1 here

Read part 2 here

Wowzers. It's about time I finish this up. Has this been drawn out or what? Ha. Life of a momma is buuusy.

I decided to not to go into too much detail about the day of Jude's birth. I want to keep some things just special for us .. but here is the main parts of the day.

My due date was May 31st. I guess everyone thought that I'd probably go late because my mom did with her babies.. and this was my first. Our little boy threw us for a surprise!

On the morning of Sunday, May 27th I felt weird. Something was different and I was having some type of pains in my stomach. Lee and I went to church and during the service the pains hurt, but I could deal with them. After church, I told Lee that we needed to go pick up some disposable newborn diapers (we were cloth diapering, but decided to have some disposables on hand for the first few weeks)

 If I remember correctly, the pains tapered off as the day went on. And I didn't think too much about them. For some reason, I don't remember what we did that day. I can't remember really anything about it. 

I woke up at around 6:30 am the next day (May 28th) to contractions. I was totally in denial.. I just figured I was having pregnancy pains or something (ha!). Lee wasn't convinced that they were 'just pregnancy pains' by the way that I was acting and how they came on exactly every few minutes.

Lee kept saying we should call Jen (our midwife), but I said no.. (still in denial!)

After a little while I think that it finally hit me that this was real! I guess I thought there would be angels coming down from heaven or something when it really happened. Ha.. no angels .. just some serious pain!

We called Jen, and told her what was going on. She told us that it sounded like this was it! We decided that I would labor at home with just Lee for a little while. I remember I was in so much pain as each contraction came. Lee got a bag of our stuff together (oops! so much for being prepared) and wrote a quick letter to Jude while I was laying there. It's something I will always treasure.  Finally we decided that we wanted Jen to come. I was really really anxious for her to get to our apartment.
Although they were still so painful, I felt calmer through the contractions with her there.

Toward the beginning of my pregnancy, we decided that we wanted to have the birth at my midwifes place (her practice is in a cute little country home) rather then at our apartment (a lot of her clients choose to have their births at home). I can't even really pinpoint why I didn't want to have the birth at our apartment.. I think maybe because it just didn't really feel like home.. (probably doesn't make much sense) but we just decided to do it that way.

So when Jen got to our apartment that morning, she told me that if we wanted to go to her place that we should leave soon.
So we got everything together, and I wobbled down the stairs in major pain. I was totally dreading the drive there, but Lee did a great job avoiding all the stinkin' pot holes in this town.
It was weird, even while we were in the car on the way there it still hadn't even really hit me that we were going to be meeting our son. I just really couldn't even believe it.

We finally made it and I went right into the back bedroom and laid on the bed.

I had extremely painful back labor and the only thing that brought me a tinge of relief was when they would apply a ton of pressure to my lower back. It saved me.  I labored for a total of 16 hours with my sweet Lee, doula, and midwife by my side in the sweetest little country home that will always be close to my heart. It just felt right and perfect to have a natural labor and birth in such a cozy and normal setting.

There were points where I felt like I just couldn't do it. But the awesome thing about our bodies is that they just keep on keepin' on- whether we think we can make it or not.

My mom came shortly before Jude was born. It was wonderful having her there.

At 10:05 pm our Jude Arroh was born.

I can't explain all the emotions you feel in that moment. It was unreal and perfect.
The little boy that I had dreamed about, wrote letters to, felt kick me throughout the days of my pregnancy was here. The sweet baby that I had shed so many tears for before he even existed because I wanted to be a mother so badly was really here.

There he was, laying in my arms, in all his sweet perfection.
And in that moment, with more love than our hearts could handle, we became a family of three.

3 months

Our baby boy turned 3 months yesterday! Goodness sakes.. I just love getting to know him better as time goes on. 

He's just the sweetest baby and his perfect smile never fails to bring me such joy. 

Still can't believe he's really ours.

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. 1Samuel1:27

A birthday

Happy birthday to...

my best friend 

and best daddy

in the whole world.

We love you

His smile

Jude boy and his many faces. 

this cute boy has got his papa and I wrapped around his little finger. 

Jude, 

You're smiling now. Like really smiling. Your dad and I melt every time you do it.

 It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. by far.

I didn't think it was possible, but I'm finding that every day my heart falls in love with you even more then the day before. 

I love you precious boy, 

Momma

My Birth Journey- part 2

Read part 1 here

We decided to move back to our hometown when I was around 12 weeks pregnant. We thought it would be nice to be close to family for the pregnancy and birth. And also, Lee had a more stable job here. I'm so glad we made that decision, because we seriously found the best midwife ever :) and of course, it's been great being close to family.

My very first appointment was at 14 weeks. I wrote about it here. I remember feeling so nervous- we hadn't had any other appointments up to that point .. and I was just so nervous that there would be something wrong with the baby ..and we wouldn't hear the heartbeat or something.
We got to her place (office, I guess you could call it). It was a small little home in the country. Super cozy and inviting. I loved it the first time I saw it.
Jen (our midwife) was so, so sweet. She offered us tea when we first came in (I feel the need to mention this detail ;)
Once we started talking, I was thrilled that we had found someone that really shared our same views about pregnancy and birth. It was a breath of fresh air.
While we were there, one of her clients came in to give birth. Lee and I never saw the couple.. but we heard their baby's first cry from the room that we were in. It was unreal and such a cool thing. In that moment, I was overwhelmed by how natural, calm, and normal birth could be.
It really solidified that this was how I wanted our baby to come into the world.

Our appointments continued throughout the pregnancy, and they were always something that Lee and I looked forward to (who doesn't look forward to baby appointments??) :)
I was never once harassed about weight gain/loss. In fact, I was never even weighed once! I never had any invasive tests done. It just felt right to let things be natural.
I felt so comfortable knowing that Jen trusted my body to handle a pregnancy all on its own. Really, there was no need to do anything, except just wait for our sweet babe to come!

Jen really and truly became a friend to us. I would call her anytime I ever had a concern or question. She was always so helpful and I knew she would always be there if I needed her. We never felt like a bother to her and she never once made us feel like just another patient.

Lee and I did decide that we wanted to know the gender of our babe. So at 21 weeks, we went in to a imaging center. It was really exciting to find out, but its something that I don't think we'll do again. I've learned a little more about the dangers of ultrasounds, and to me, its just not worth it to expose the baby to something like that for the excitement of something silly like a gender reveal.


Next up.. the day of Jude's birth!


Thank you so much for reading. I've really struggled with how to write all of this. I truly don't want to make anyone upset, but I realize that I need to stay true to what I believe and sometimes that means that people will be upset. And that's okay.
Regardless, I love you all and the blessing you are in my life!

Love

This little boy has our hearts. How is it possible to feel this much love?

My Birth Journey- part 1

So.. I've put off writing this, because honestly I didn't really know where or how to begin. It just feels rather daunting to express accurately my feelings surrounding birth and labor. Also, I know that my opinions are not mainstream and not necessarily popular..so there was fear of making people upset. But, I feel extremely passionate about pregnancy and birth, so I feel like it is my responsibility to at least share my thoughts and experiences surrounding the topic.

In order to really understand my birth story, you should know a few things. 

Disclaimer: Of course there is always exceptions to things revolving around labor and birth. Please understand that I am referring to healthy women laboring and birthing. I understand that medical intervention is sometimes very necessary, but I also understand that SO many of the times it is used in this country it is unnecessary.
On another note, I have my opinions about this and I respect that you all have yours too!

I believe that birth is a natural and normal happening, not a medical procedure.

I believe that America has a distorted view of birth and labor, and I think that women are constantly being fed that their bodies simply can't birth on their own. This results in women actually believing that this is true.

I believe that God knew what He was doing when he designed the woman's body and I don't question it's ability to labor and birth a healthy baby on its own.

I love how Ina May Gaskin puts it:
 "There is an assumption that we humans are inferior to the other five thousand or so species of mammals in our ability to give birth to our young. I have always found it hard to accept this notion, probably because my father was a farmer for years. Those who are used to the birth ways of other mammals know that it is easy to cause complications during labor by disturbing the mother. If we put horses, goats, and cows through the restrictions and indignities that most laboring women in U.S. hospitals are routinely subjected to, the animals would surely have as many complications as we do. The astonishing thing to me is that we have come to believe that our human bodies are not as well designed for birth as other mammals’ are. Really it’s our brains that can pose problems: we alone among mammals have the ability to scare and confuse ourselves about birth."
Read more of her interview here.
------------------


Before I found out I was pregnant, I hadn't given too much thought to the labor and birth part of pregnancy. I mean, in my head I definitely liked the idea of doing things natural. But, there was a fear that surrounded that thought. I mean you're told constantly that birth is scary, excruciating, awful even. And that you shouldn't dare do it without a epidural or you're just crazy. How would I not be freaked about doing things natural after hearing all of that for years and years?
My fear, caused me to start thinking things like 'well, what's it matter? as long as my baby gets here okay then I don't care how he gets here' 
Honestly, that thought disgusts me now.
It wasn't until I was actually pregnant for a few weeks that I really wanted to know more about birth & labor. So, Lee and I watched the documentary: 'The Business of Being Born'. 
And wow. 
My mind was opened to the sick reality of America's style of laboring and birthing. It really was a business. It seemed like women were viewed as cattle. Get them in and out as fast as possible. There was no regard for the well-being of the mother and baby. There was no respect for the beauty of what birth could be. 
I felt sick after watching it. I knew that I couldn't do things the way everyone else was doing it, just because a doctor told me that was the right way. Of course, it feels a little scary doing things so differently then everyone else. You feel like people will think you're crazy or weird. Or that they'll think you're bad parents for not having you're child in the 'safe-haven' of hospital walls.


But you know what, I decided that respecting my body and baby were more important then the negative thoughts that I may have gotten from others.


Part 2 will come soon! 
I'm guessing that there will be many opinions in the comments, and I look forward to reading them. 
Just please, keep things civil!! ;)


Read Part 2 here.

One month

Today Jude is one month old! 

I know all momma's say it.. but I can't believe it! I feel like I just found out I was pregnant.. and now my baby is one month old! Goodness! 

Everything about being a Momma to this boy is wonderful. I just love him so much. As I write this, I'm looking over at my sweet boy as he sleeps next to me. So peaceful. I think I could stare at him forever. 

This boy has made all my dreams come true by making me a momma. I enjoy even the harder parts.. because this sweet boy makes it SO worth it. 

I love the smiles he makes in his sleep. Seriously adorable! 

I love how calm and happy he gets when he's taking a bath. 

I love watching his Daddy and him together. 

I love how he falls asleep on my chest so perfectly. 

I love how he likes to lay in the nook of his Daddy's leg.

I love when he wakes up from a nap so I can hold him again. (seriously.. my heart almost aches when he takes long naps because I just want to hold him again!!)

I love riding in the car with him. I've been sitting next to him in the back seat and he almost always falls asleep when we drive or he looks out the window thoughtfully. Precious.

I love laying in bed with both of my boys and watching all of his adorable expressions. He always makes us laugh.

I love his sweet smell. 

(this post would never end if I wrote all the little things I love about this boy) 

It's amazing how much love your heart can feel when you have a little. 

Happy one month, Jude bug! We love you more then we can say! I can't even imagine how wonderful the months to come are going to be! 

Here's what you look like at one month old:

Also, I'm still trying to decide how I want to share my birth story. So, look for a post regarding that sometime soon!

A Father's Day post

This is late.. but better then never! 

I totally admire momma bloggers! How do you find time to be a momma and blog?! I guess I'll figure it out eventually ;) I'm still new to all of this! 

Father's Day was so great. This was Lee's first Father's Day and we had a lot of fun. 

We went with my family and camped out in a cabin for 3 days. It was Jude's first camping trip and he basically slept the whole three days ;)

This was one of Lee's father's day gifts .. hehe

Poor baby was a little irritated with me for waking him up to put a bow on his head. Little trooper.

Handsome daddy and baby :) 

It's hard to get three people in our pictures now!!! :) 

I couldn't ask for a better Dad for our little boy. So so thankful! 

And also, I'm so grateful for my Dad. He has been such a good example throughout my life. 

Hope you all had a good Father's Day! 

Jude boy

Sorry I've been gone for so long! Actually.. I'm not ;) 

Right now I'm soaking in these baby days. I don't want to miss a minute of being next to this sweet one. Lee and I are having so much fun with our boy. There is no way anyone could ever prepare you for the joy that motherhood/parenthood brings. 

I'm having the time of my life. 

Our boy

Our perfect baby boy has been born! 

We are so in love and so full of joy. We can't take our eyes off of him.

We are now a family of three:

Thank you, Lord!

Thoughts on being 39 weeks pregnant

So, today marks one week from this little man's due date. Goodness, where has the time gone? I remember like it was yesterday how we were trying so hard to get pregnant, how we lost our first sweet baby, and the pure joy we felt when we found out the next month that we were pregnant again. 

My heart is so full of thankfulness to the Lord that He has watched over this baby and kept him safe and sound for the past 39 weeks. Words can't describe what a gift Lee and I have been given. 

I can't seem to wrap my head around the fact that in around a week there will be three of us. No matter how many kicks I have felt or how much we have seen my belly moving around crazily, I just can't actually believe that there is a BABY in ME! You'd think that after being nearly 10 months pregnant, this wouldn't be the case.. but it is! 

Parts of me feel a little emotional. Which, I'm sure, is to be expected! I've got crazy hormones going on over here ;) 

For one reason, I'm going to so miss having my little boy dancing around my belly every day. Just me and him. That's how its always been.. it will be hard to share him. It's like me and him have a secret little bond that no one knows about. But I take joy in the fact that I have savored every single minute of this pregnancy. I have really tried to make a conscious decision to just soak it up and enjoy... and I'm proud to say that I have. I know, that having him out here will be a bazillion times better.. but I sure will miss his sweet kicks!

The other reason that has made my emotions run a little wild, is that this chapter of just Lee and I is just about over. This has been the best year and a half of my life, without a doubt. Never have I enjoyed life so much than when I have been married to him. We have had so many big and small adventures in our short time of being married.. and I love every single one of them. I will always treasure our time of just us, but I know that even more beautiful things are right around the corner. 

So goodness gracious, we are on the brink of starting a brand new adventure together. One that will change our lives forever and make everything so much better then it already is.

 Our baby boy is coming

and my heart is fuller than ever before.

{39 weeks}

My 21st Birthday!

This year my birthday was extra special because I was (and still am! ;) carrying our sweet baby boy! I still can hardly believe that on my 21st birthday I turned 38 weeks pregnant!!! Craziness.

On my last birthday, Lee took me to the zoo in Naples and we had so much fun that he just couldn't resist making plans to go to the zoo here in our home town again this year! I was secretly hoping we would spend the day at the zoo :) We're pretty dorky, I know. 

Anyway, we had so much fun. I think we may have spent more time looking at all the sweet babies and toddlers running around then we did the animals though. Haha. We just can't stop dreaming about our baby!!! 

Ha... I love this picture. And, yes! That is a real rabbit! The gorilla's hubby died and they decided to put the rabbit in with her to keep her company! Aww

We were fascinated by the rhinos! They are so huge!

I can't wait to bring our little man to the zoo!

For dinner, we went to a really delicious italian restaurant. I loove italian food!

We ended the night by watching the sunset on the lake. It was perfect.

I couldn't have asked for a more fun, romantic day. It will be one that I'll treasure forever. 

 My heart is so full of love for my two very favorite people. I am blessed.

Mother's Day

Lee made me feel super special on my first (I'm considering this my first even though little man isn't quite here yet!! :) Mother's Day. He brought me a yummy breakfast of eggs, hummus, pineapple, and blackberries. So tasty. And he was such a sweetie all day. 

{37.5 weeks}

It feels surreal that I am going to be the mother of a sweet boy SO SOON!

I'm so very thankful for the example my Momma has been to me. I don't take for granted all that she has done for me and the relationship that we have. Love you, Mom! 

Baby shower!

On Sunday, my mom threw me the sweetest baby shower. It was just so much fun. I feel so blessed to have such kind, giving people in my life. The party was a really adorable jungle theme.. pretty cool that my shirt matched and I didn't even know about the jungle theme! ;) 

   

Adorable sign that my dad and brother made. 

This dresser was mine when I was little.. my brother (I think) re-painted it and put new handles on it..  and now I'll be using it as a changing table :)

My aunt and cousins found this incredible little fruit baby on pinterest and made it! They really need to go into business :) 

 Such a cute cake to go along with the jungle theme made by my talented cousin!

So thankful to everyone that came and made my shower so memorable!
Baby boy and I feel so loved :)
Thanks so much momma for a perfect shower!


PS- I'll be 37 weeks tomorrow.. can you guys believe it?! Full term! :)

Pregnancy update!

I definitely need to catch you all up!! 

I just feel like we've been busy and I haven't made much time for blogging... but I have made sure that we've been getting pictures of the baby bump as much as possible! :) I know that I'll love having these pictures to look back on in future years. 

We've been bad at getting pictures right on the exact day of the week... but these are close enough :)

32 weeks

In between 34 & 35 weeks

And this was taken last Saturday, so two days after 35 weeks. (I know you all could probably care less about the exact dates.. but I know I'll want to know when I look back on these later!) ;)

He's getting so big in there! At times, it can be a bit uncomfortable (I imagine for him too!!) but I'm still just trying to enjoy every minute. I definitely don't take this blessing for granted.. I feel more than honored to get to carry this little man around :) 

I'm definitely running out of shirts that fit (I'm sure you've noticed some repeats ;) but it seems silly to buy too many things now since I'm so far along) 

Yesterday we had an appointment with our midwife.. and everything looks great! She says that he's in  a perfect little position :) and his heartbeat was so loud and strong. 

Lee and I are getting SO anxious to meet him. I can hardly believe that in a few weeks we'll have our sweet little man out here with us! 

Tomorrow, I'll be 36 weeks... eep! It's getting so exciting over here!