I had the privilege of helping and welcoming my nephew into the world this last week. I’ve experienced birth myself, but this was the first time I was on the outside, watching a mother wait in pain for her baby to arrive. It was a magical mess of emotions and time. Like entering a dream land, where time in the outside world is completely  stopped until the little bundle arrives. The most astounding and impacting moments were those when my sister, now a new mother, found an insurmountable  amount of strength to push through fear and pain, and bring her baby into the world. You can truly feel God’s  presence and the Holy Spirit working through the room. The hospital rooms attempt to be cozy and warm, but it’s not until you really sense the baby is almost here, that a new light shines and brings warmth. “He’s coming, your…

I wrote about Benjamin’s  birth story, detailing the trauma and full experience  in the hospital. I was also in the hospital  with Jack, but his birth was so different!! Almost night and day, which makes me nervous  for this one to come. Seriously, each birth is a wild card, and I have no expectations  for the one coming. I think overall, Jack’s  birth was  a better experience. Pregnant the second time around, I was hoping Jack would arrive early. I felt more braxton hicks and noticed more twinges  this pregnancy, which made me think he might come early. He was also measuring bigger than Benjamin by a couple pounds, so I wanted him out sooner! As my due date was just a couple days away, I remember walking through costco, samples in hand, and feeling some sharper cramps. They were interrupting my snack-fest, and lasted the whole shopping trip, but…

I love a good birth story. As I draw closer to 38 weeks, I am obsessed with  reading and hearing birth stories. For some reason, I find each birth story so unique, empowering and magical. No matter what the method – I am a birth story fan. I appreciate C-sections, natural, hospital, un-assisted etc. They are all beautiful and God’s plan for your baby to arrive. I’m also reminiscing quite a bit on Benjamin’s birth, my first baby, which was actually fairly traumatic. It involved an arrogant anesthesiologist, me screaming bloody murder for hours (back labor), Benjamin losing his heart beat, and a time-stopping moment with no one breathing. Quite a scene. It started the evening, around 6:00 pm of Jan. 28th, 2013.  I was exactly 41-big-belly weeks. I was sooooo happy my water broke! YES! He’s coming, FINALLY!!! My mom and youngest sister arrived to our house with in a…

Benjamin was just 19 months old when Jack was born. He wasn’t even a year old when I became pregnant with Jack. I was totally nauseous and exhausted on his first birthday, and he was barely weaned! Now, I’m weeks away from adding another infant to my toddler craziness, and I’m probably in complete denial about what’s coming. But, I have to say, I’ve started emerging from the dark tunnel of toddler and babies into the light! Benjamin was talking a lot for his age, but still very much a baby-toddler when Jack showed up. He wasn’t potty trained, too little for preschool and wanted to be held still quite a bit. It was really hard balancing a baby and little toddler. I had to walk and nurse a lot. Jack was fussy at night, making it really hard for me to be anywhere near present or available for Benjamin.…