Nov 30, 2012

Thanksgiving

     The whole month of November I’ve been meaning to join in on the 30 days of Gratitude, but I was always behind the power curb. Then I had a baby. So, today on the last day of November, I’m going to get all types of thankful on the bliggity blog.

1. Number one is always easy. Jesus Christ, God the Father, the Holy Spirit. My Catholic  Faith. The Holy Eucharist. Okay, that is more than one thing. I am so forever grateful to know, love & serve a Heavenly Father who created me, loved me and died on the cross for me.

feb photo of the day 110

2. The holy Sacrament of Matrimony with Marcus

LundyPhoto_L&M_99 LundyPhoto_L&M_277

3. The family God hand picked for me. It is easy to take them for granted, but I know how blessed I am to have two parents who love each other and a handful of helpful, fun, supportive siblings :)

LundyPhoto_L&M_346

4.  My loving & welcoming in-laws. I hit the in-law jackpot. I gained THREE more sisters, two great brothers..and the sweetest set of parents. Not to mention some adorable little nieces and the most handsomest of nephews

LundyPhoto_L&M_339

5. Nieces and nephews… They are the CUTEST!

photo-a-day 084

IMG_20120711_132226 

75722_10101249717732503_1595521423_n

479041_450551638288439_308030910_o

 

6. Our perfect little home

our home 003

7. The opportunity for an education and to go to college.

grad and fam reunion 025

8. Thankful to be an American

9. Grateful to always have had more than enough to eat

10. An incredible young adult community to encourage me in my Faith and provide me with an abundance of Christian fellowship

11. The years I spent lifeguarding

boys modeling

12. The seasons, namely…Autumn!

Camping 2011! 033 Camping 2011! 036

13. My grandparents :)

IMG_20120825_150633 ohio2011 141

ohio 2009 122 Ohio 2010 207

14. For summers spent in Ohio

ohio2011 108 ohio2011 105

15. For Marcus’ job

 marcus fire

16. Being a swim teacher!

RAPS Aug 2012 118RAPS Aug 2012 215 

17. Staying in touch with friends from high school

photo-a-day 006

November 2012 023

18. Alllll my friends!

bridal and bachelorette 226 photo-a-day 029 October 2012 029

19. Thankful for family and friends who serve in the military

n513137123_294236_7366

20. Music!!

summer 2011 090

21.  Photography

fineart edited SPRING 2010 003 fineart edited SPRING 2010 008 fineart edited SPRING 2010 012

22. Books :)

Uncle Brian 02-11 002October 2012 163

23. My health

24. The upcoming holidays :)

 our first christmas 2011 054

25. The ability to vacation

Charleston June 2012 119

26. All the kiddo’s I’ve babysat/nannied for over the years.

27.  So happy to live near the beach!

Summer 2009 082

28. Thanksgiving!

Tnaksgiving 2009 052

28. This bliggity-blog

29. Nostalgia and memories and old photographs

Scanned 002 Scanned 001

30. Last, but most certainly not least…my latest blessing. My sweet son, James Patrick

James Patrick Croft 140 

As you can see, my cup overflows :)

Nov 25, 2012

Writing From the Trenches..

     When my sister-in-law commented on my previous blog post, she mentioned I was blogging through the postpartum trenches.  How perfectly, perfectly accurate. I am most certainly in the trenches and I didn’t even know they existed, people.  If you need a good laugh, please check out the misconceptions I had about the postpartum days.

1) If you have a natural delivery, there is no recovery.  You simply get out of bed, shower, and then take care of your baby.  In your pre-pregnancy jeans.  Yes, I actually, literally believed this.  I was completely unprepared for not being able to walk on my own, being in a lot of pain from tearing/stitches, needing help in the shower, and the like. 

2) Breastfeeding is natural and easily established.  Well, breastfeeding is definitely natural.  And painful.  And frustrating.  And messy.  And you may need the help of a lactation consultant and be taught how to hand express. And you might cry when you find out your son has a bad latch, a tight upper-lip frenulum, and a tongue tie.  Then you might have to do deep breathing exercises to stay relaxed during nursing.

3) Postpartum hormones flood you with joy and love for your new baby.  There is A LOT of joy and love, I promise.  What I didn’t expect was the other side of those hormones. My tear ducts have had a good workout.  Feeling overwhelmed, incompetent, exhausted, physically sick and sad came along for the ride too. And I’ve learned that all those emotions are worse in the middle of the night.  One night I wanted to walk out the front door and never return {Except I would have had too, needing relief from painful, engorged breasts}. Another night I was convinced I was in a nightmare and I cried begging Marcus to wake me up from this bad dream.  Those feelings are scary, no fun and rob some of the joy of the first couple days.

4) You will enjoy being taken care of and focusing on your baby. Oh my goodness the guilt. I am so good at feeling guilty these past couple days. Guilt from watching my mom & husband work their tails off bringing me food, doing laundry, helping me go to the bathroom…just serving me and baby.  Guilt from ‘missing’ Thanksgiving. I ached to be watching the Macy’s Day Parade and being at my in-laws. Instead I practiced my nursing skills in bed and started crying during dinner when my baby fussed.  I also felt/feel guilty for not being able to handle visitors as much as I wanted too. Guilt, guilt, guilt.

5.) Your recovery will be the same as your friends. I often took meals to friends after they had their babies. And I always thought they looked and sounded great and completely recovered. So I agonized that something was wrong with me and I was not recovering.  Never mind that I visited them normally about a week after the birth, I wanted to be at that stage of recovery immediately.  I was not giving myself any grace.

 

     So friends, those are my trenches. They are not deep or dangerous, mostly just ridiculously high expectations I had set for myself.  And way too much comparing myself to what I perceived other’s postpartum days to be like.

     Postpartum is not all trenches, though.  Those joy and love hormones?!  I’ve got them too!! I am completely in awe of my son.  He is so sweet and loving and I melt every time he looks in my eyes.  Sometimes his gaze seems to whisper…I love you, Mama. You are doing just fine. I trust you…  And their are no words for the surge of love I feel for my husband. From his incredible support through labor & delivery to his the way he looks at his little boy. From the diaper changing duty to the encouragement he provides me. He has truly slipped effortlessly into his vocation and I am so thankful.  Another huge joy for me has been the incredible support of my family.  After giving birth, I looked at my mom in a completely new light.  I’ve always known she was selfless, but she truly opened her home and her heart and hardworking hands to see my little man enter the world. I’ll always have an amazing example of motherhood from her.  My older sister Mindy, in her 3rd trimester, has worked tirelessly to ease this time for me too. Whether she is reminding me I’ll feel better every day, calling/arranging/scheduling lactation consultation help or convincing me to put cabbage leaves on my engorged breasts, she is always ready to pitch in.  Kathleen has cooked around the clock, keeping my ravenous nursing self full.  My brothers & dad have been more than ready to hold a baby so Marcus & I can catch some shut eye here and there.  My mother-in-law sent the CUTEST fire truck flower arrangement and just showered me with love and encouragement. My sister-in-laws have been chock full of good advice for recovery  and nephew-gushing.  I have felt the prayers of so many friends and family. 

     Graces have abounded. In sweet visits from the midwifes, help from lactation consultants on Thanksgiving day, stitches from a trusted Dr. in the office rather than the ER, a baby with a calm and quiet disposition {for now!}, a walk on a beautiful fall day, a phone call from my big brother, a safe & uncomplicated delivery, the warmth of my mom’s home, Thanksgiving food and the Crucifix that hangs near the bed…reminding me of the love God has for me and the ultimate gift of self.

     Every day gets better. We are blessed over here.

 James Patrick Croft 068 James Patrick Croft 071

James Patrick, you are entirely worth EVERY moment of these postpartum days.

Nov 21, 2012

Life Changer…

      After insisting over and over that I couldn’t possibly be in labor, James Patrick Croft made his fatty little appearance into the world on Monday morning at 5:16 am.  He was born right in his own grandmother’s bed!  Obviously, we are head over heels in love with our 8 lb 4oz chunk.  I’m a little on the tired/sore/weepy side too but I’m hanging in there.   We are blown away by the support of my family, my in-laws, and countless friends.  Childbirth and postpartum are hard things, but God has literally soaked us with big and little graces during these last few days.  Here are a few pictures of our dark haired sweet little son!

IMG_20121119_170101IMG_20121120_063153  IMG_20121119_063040IMG_20121120_063127  IMG_20121119_063159 IMG_20121119_063223 IMG_20121119_102438 IMG_20121119_102453 IMG_20121119_123133 IMG_20121119_123304IMG_20121119_123228 

 

Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...