This video was too funny not to share.

Here’s another cool resource for those of you that would like to earn money from home and have some talent for writing. Press Releases are needed by business owners all the time, and you can make a decent amount of money by offering this and other assistant-type skills for others.

Check it out!

Hey gals!

Do you love magazines? How about ones that make cooking quicker, easier, and more fun? You can sign up here for a FREE subscription to Kraft’s Food & Family magazine. They also have email newsletters you can get with lots of great ideas.

I always love looking through cooking magazines that have lots of ideas that are practical for my life. I hope you enjoy this tip!

Hey Moms!

My kids love to have stories on CD to listen to at bedtime. I recently told you about Homeschool Radio Shows and their free weekly downloads. Those are great, but with six kids in my home, we had already listened to all of them! I did a little internet hunting the other day and found StoryNory which is a really sweet web site with lots of free stories for you to download to your iPod or to make CDs for your kiddos. My children are enjoying them very much. Check it out!

I don’t know how many readers I have that are moms of many youngsters, but this tip can also be a help to you anytime you have extra kids in your home for meals.

For several years I struggles with trying to serve food when our table was primarily occupied by young children, toddlers, and babies. I’d get the table set (pretending we were a civilized bunch!) and then struggle to go around the table serving food, cutting meat, and constantly being interrupted by requests for leftovers, etc. It was tricky to reach all around the table when I’m not an octopus!

One evening we had some friends visiting. The husband was born and raised in Belgium and was one of six siblings. (or possibly more–I’m not entirely sure any more) As I struggled to serve the food I asked him what his mother did when she served food to so many little children. His simple response changed our meal times!

He said that she put all the plates in a pile in front of her, along with silverware, etc. and had the food all within her reach. She then made up each plate right in front of her and passed it along to the children.

Isn’t it funny how the simplest ideas can revolutionize our life?

Tonite I remembered this because I realized that now my children are old enough that we could probably just set the table and pass things. Wow. You think you’re never going to get out of a stage, and then time goes by, and you do. Amazing!

I wanted to share a simple massage trick that can help with both constipation and diarrhea. Here’s how it works.

Look at your child’s belly button and think of it as the center of a clock. All you have to do is a gentle circular stroke around the belly button area going clockwise to get the system moving, and counter-clockwise to help slow down diarrhea.

Please remember, this massage does NOT require any pushing, kneading, or pressure. It’s what’s called a “nerve stroke” which means that you are just stimulating some nerves near the surface of the skin.

I learned about this from a massage therapist when my 6th baby was newborn, and it sure has been a help! I wish I had known about it for all of my babies! I have shared this tip with many moms and have gotten tons of feedback about it helping them a lot, so hopefully it will help you too.

I just love this great little accessory. The Icy Bag is a smart new innovation that every woman will appreciate! This stylish, insulated bag comes with a tethered ice pack that you can freeze and then use to keep your cosmetics, sun screen, lip balm, snack bars, and other little essentials safe from excessive heat or sun exposure. I already have my very own Icy Bag and can see that it is going to come in handy for me for most of the year. (even in the spring and fall it gets really hot in cars while they are parked)

You can check out the Icy Bag here.

For those of you that already have a home-based business or plan to start one, learning more about copywriting is an invaluable education! Copywriting is the way to get your customers interested in learning more about what you have to offer, and the way to get them to give you their business! This ebook gives you a wealth of information, great for beginners or those that just want to improve their current business:

Product Name: Amby Baby Hammock
Submitted by: Amy Jones; Austin, TX
Rating: 9
Where to buy: here

Review: The Amby Baby Hammock is a soft cloth baby bed/hammock that hangs from a steel stand on a spring. Your baby is nestled inside, and if she wakes up, her motion will cause the hammock to gently sway and bounce which lulls her back to sleep. Her body is snuggled in a slightly upright position, so this bed is great for babies with reflux or colic. My first 5 babies all slept in bassinets and in my bed, and were up every few hours until they were 1-3 years old. My last 2 babies have slept in the Amby Baby Hammock at least 5 hours a night as young as 2-3 days old. At 2 months old they are sleeping 8-10 hours a night, and NEVER did I ever listen to the baby cry to “train” her to sleep at night. The baby sleeps cozy and happy in her hammock.

Criticism: Baby doesn’t stay in one place in the hammock any more than she does in the crib– expect to find your baby creatively positioned in this thing. I woke this morning to find my baby’s leg hanging over the rail like your college roommate in the shotgun seat on a road trip. Sleeping soundly and happily, 10 hours since I’d put her down. My first experience with the Amby, I found that at about 7 1/2 months, my baby figured out how to sit up in it, and lean forward until she somersaulted forward out of it and crawled to me. Smart little cookie. This wasn’t a huge problem; I adjusted by paying even more attention to her and getting her up as soon as she woke up so she wouldn’t have to come looking for me. She slept in it until she was about 18 months old (then she kept getting out and coming to my bed, where she still sleeps now at almost 3 LOL)

Tammy was sweet enough to share this little tidbit from her life. You can visit Tammy’s Coastal Vacations business here. If you’ve got something totally sweet to share, send it to me at erica@TheBabyBoutiqueAtWombsWindow.com.

My 3 year old little boy, walked up to me the other day, (while I was busy working on my laptop), he was holding a birthday party invitation and a tissue paper rose, and he held them up to me, and said “Mommy, will you be my best friend?” I had to stop everything I was doing and pick him up and just squeeze him, while tears of joy filled my eyes. I am so thankful that I am able to be home with them and enjoy every little moment.

I made these yummy cookies for my family yesterday because I had some bananas getting over-ripe. They were a BIG hit with the whole family. Try ‘em!

Preheat oven to 350. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (use the kind without aluminum in it)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cloves or cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans — I used mini chocolate chips instead

Mix it all up and drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 10 min. Cool on wire racks. Yummy!

Recently there was a discussion on an egroup I am a part of. The topic had to do with requiring children to take piano or other music lessons as a regular, required part of growing up. It was interesting to see how many mothers had the opinion that musical training was essential for their child’s life and that they would require a certain level of musical training for their children even if the child did not have an interest in it, was not musically inclined, or even hated having to take lessons.

I think we’ve all known of people that were brought up being forced to take piano lessons. My guess is that this was probably more common when people that are now in their 40s and older were children. I never could see the sense in that, and now that I have six children of my own I still don’t.

Although I think musical training can be a good thing, I cannot imagine “forcing” my child to take music lessons.

I think team building is a great thing, but I would not force my children to be on a team sport.

I think healthy eating is a great thing, but I am not going to force broccoli down my child’s throat.

One thing that I have noticed in my own life and with my children is that, with exposure to many things (music, sports, foods, whatever) the children get to “nibble” on things and see what stirs their heart and soul. When someone’s heart and soul is stirred toward a thing, they are much more receptive learners, and more able to learn. When the thing is a chore…..well, they may learn it eventually, and they may even appreciate it eventually…..but it’s still drudgery.

I have noticed that if my children thought we were going to force them to stick with something (a sports team, for instance) they are much less willing to even give it a nibble. They do not feel free to give something a look-see, knowing they are not getting saddled with something they are not sure about. Now, obviously, I am not talking about not following through on commitments to teams, etc. If my child decides he wants to play basketball on a team, we let him know up front that his decision means he will have to follow through and play all season long. Now, this is good because they learn about commitment, and he has to give the thing a good, solid try, plus the child will get enough time with the sport to see if they ever want to play again. They are not going to have to play basketball for the rest of their life until they are 18!

If I was interested in knitting and had learned about it’s various virtues from those that love it, and I wanted to give it a try, I’d want to be able to try to make a scarf without thinking that now I have to knit for the rest of my life. I would not be willing to try that! Life is too short for me to get saddled with a “hobby” that I may not enjoy, no matter how much others love it or find it’s virtues edifying!

Overall, I want my children to be able to explore things until they find the ones that connect to their “bent.” I am not so bold as to think that I already know what these things will be. My children’s lives are planned by God, not by me. I am not going to force their time into something optional when it may in fact be crowding out God’s best for them….whether I see the specific value in that thing or not.

My grandmother was a proponent of requiring music lessons for children, and often told my mother that her children (me and my sibs) would live out the ill effects of not having been forced into this.

Well, I played cello for a couple years as a child and then stopped. Now, I would like to play cello again…and I am going to! Do I wish I had been forced to stick with it? Nope. But I am glad I had the time to get familiar with cello enough to later in my life know that I would like to do that again.

My brother played saxophone as a kid for a couple of years and stopped. Later, in his 20s, he became interested in guitar, ukelele, and many other instruments and ended up teaching himself to play all of them! He is now a professional musician that travels worldwide with his music. Obviously he is not suffering from lack of piano lessons or whatever he might have missed in his youth.

I want my children’s memories of me and our life together while they grew up to be full of thoughts of how they got to nibble and explore, that their parents were humble in realizing that God’s plan is unique for them, and that we were willing to put our own dreams aside in favor of helping that child cultivate their ability to listen to God and follow where he leads. If the child thinks they are lead to car repair and later find out they should become a music minister, nothing has been lost, but my child’s knowledge of listening to God and trusting his parents has been built up. My children know that if we really, really feel strongly about a particular path for them, they will listen because we are not just forcing things on them all the time.

Obviously singing at church or devotions, and some basic music understanding is part of a well-rounded education. Past that, I would not force a child into heavy musical involvement.

I think it helps when we ask ourselves

What do I want them to learn?

What do I want them to carry with them?

What do I want them to remember?

Lorri Colbert was kind enough to share this little tidbit of helpful information with us! I agree with her–there are so many surprises in motherhood that you never read about in books! If you’ve got a “Things They Never Told Me” tip, send it to me at erica@TheBabyBoutiqueAtWombsWindow.com.
In the meantime, you can visit Lorri’s Mary Kay web site here.

My experience as a new mom in my mid thirties included something I didn’t read in the ‘mom to be or your first child type books’! Giving my son a bath and gently washing his head was usually an enjoyable experience. Imagine my horror as I removed the washcloth from the back of his head and it was covered with his beautiful hair! I was sure I injured him or at least something was terribly wrong! No, new mom, it is a very natural thing for the soft baby hair to fade as stronger hair follicles come in. It may not happen as dramatically as being removed all at once with a washcloth, but whether you see it or not it is ok!

Homeschooling is getting to be more and more common these days. If you are considering homeschooling, or if you already homeschool but are still looking for a great curriculum, you might enjoy listening to this FREE online workshop featuring my friend Jill Evely (she’s also the creator of our Healthy Living products!). Jill and another gal discuss how Sonlight Curriculum has made a difference in their life. Sonlight is a really wonderful curriculum. You can sign up to listen to the workshop here.

Hey gals! Check out this great new site! Here’s the info:

We would like to announce the Grand Opening of www.craftylilmomma.com. The newly formed team of Jennifer Harris & Jodie Gentile bring you the site which features custom invitations, photo announcements, stationary, favors, and more. We are very excited about our new venture and hope you will take part in our message board and subscribe to the blog. We will be giving away door prizes to the first 5 people who do so on April 15th, which is our official opening to the public! Visit us online by clicking below and pass this email to anyone you think might be equally interested.

When you go to their site click on “Club Crafty” to find their blog. There are many cute ideas for things you can do on your own at home!

Hey gals!
Here’s a little free goodie for you to enjoy with your children. This cute coloring book download features the letters of the alphabet and pictures of animals and plants.

ABC Animals Coloring Book

It’s really pretty and will be a fun activity for your little ones. Even your older children will probably enjoy this since some of the pictures are of unusual animals, and the illustrations are very detailed. I know that my artistic 11 year old daughter will love it.

You can print out as many copies as you need, and you are welcome to share this with your friends and egroups.

Enjoy!

When my fourth child was born 3 months prematurely, I jumped into the wide world of breast pumps. Having a GOOD pump can make a huge difference. Here’s one woman’s impression of this one:

Product Name: Medela Pump in Style Original Breast Pump
Submitted by: Dana Irwin; St. Louis, MO
Rating: 8

Description: A hospital-grade double electric breast pump with electrical cord and battery pack.

Review: Great electric pump. Much better than hand held ones! Quite a bit faster. Lets you adjust the suction level and speed for maximum comfort. Does well at expressing all of your milk in not a lot of time. Is an expensive item. Buy only if you are going to use it. If you plan to be away from your baby frequently, definitely spend the extra money on this pump verses a handheld! The battery pack also makes it convenient to travel with if needed. You can even pump in the car on long car rides! The only problem I have had with mine is that I sometimes have to adjust the front piece to get suction. I bought this item used though so I have no idea of its history.

Tammy has sent another sweet story from her life as a mom. You can visit Tammy’s Coastal Vacations business here.

Here is another story straight from the mouth of my brilliant 3 year old son Robert. I was tucking him in bed, we said our prayers and I began to leave the room. I heard his soft voice coming from under the covers,”Mommy, If Jesus lives in heaven how can he fit in our hearts?” Stunned I thought for a few seconds and said “we just have to believe.” He came back quickly with a response. “Well Mommy,” I believe in you.”
I softly spoke,
“Good Night, Little one. I love you”. He smiled, and said “I know you do.”

Brooke Shields was just 11-months-old when she launched her career in
an Ivory Soap commercial while Jodie Foster took her first wobbly
steps to fame as the adorable bare-bottomed three-year-old in the
Coppertone suntan lotion ad campaign. It’s almost a given that many of
today’s superstars started honing their craft before they could speak
in complete sentences.

If you think your little diva or prince is an Academy Award winner or
cover girl waiting to happen, be forewarned that there is no magic
formula for success. It’s a combination of luck, persistence and
commitment and when you’re young, looks will only get you but so far.

Does Your Preschooler Have
The Personality for Showbiz?

Judy Battista of Parkside Talent in Florham Park, NJ has been a
personal manager for 10 years. She grooms children between the ages of
4 -12 for musical theater and commercial opportunities. She got her
start as a stage mom guiding her own daughter through stints on
off-Broadway, Broadway and television. “I look for a child who is
outgoing, has personality and they can not be shy,” says Battista.

Photographer Linda Bohm echoes those sentiments, “Personality is more
important than looks because it gives you great expression,” says Bohm
who specializes in children and animals. “I don’t shoot fashion, I
shoot consumer. I’m looking for heart.”

Does Your Preschooler Want To Be In Showbiz?

Before you even get to a Battista or a Bohm, you have to decide is
this what your child wants?

For Allison Colaluca, the decision was a no-brainer. Her son Austin
was 5-years-old when he expressed an interest in performing. “I feel
that you should only do it if your child wants to do it,” says
Colaluca, a Morris Township resident.

By age 6, Austin, who is also a client of Battista, was on Broadway
performing in the role of Michael in Peter Pan. He has appeared in
numerous print ads and commercials for Aquafresh toothbrush, Tiger
Toys, Tommy Hilfiger, Macys, Rugrats and others.

“He’s always been a confident child,” says Colaluca about her son. “He
goes to one audition to the next, sometimes 2 or 3 times a week and he
doesn’t care about the part, for him the audition experience was the
acting experience. He takes rejection very well.”

Accepting Showbiz Rejection — Can Your Preschooler Take It?

Accepting rejection is a major part of surviving the Showbiz Shuffle.
“The biggest misconception [parents have is] they all think that their
children are going to make it and the truth is very few make it,” says
Battista. “The kids have to know how to handle rejection. That is 99%
of this business. I tell them that even the best get rejected. There
cannot be any tears if you go into the city and you don’t get the part.”

Being involved in other activities not only helps to have a
well-rounded child, but it also helps when coping with rejection.
Carly Seyler, 11, landed the role of Grace in A Christmas Carol
playing at Madison Square Garden, she also participates in competitive
ice skating.

“She’s fine with not coming in first,” says Carly’s mom, Debbie, “we
celebrate for the fact that she gets on the ice and she does it and
it’s great. With the auditions it doesn’t break her heart if she
doesn’t get a part because she’s used to it with the competitive ice
skating.

Does Your Preschooler Have The Temperment for ShowBiz?

“The child must be well behaved, the child must be intelligent and has
to understand that it’s [modeling] another activity. If you’re going
to have a healthy child emotionally, not winning all the time is ok.
Modeling is no different than going into any of these competitive
levels, you have to have that attitude,” says Bohm of the
Monclair-based Bohm-Marrazzo Photography Studio.

Even after the rejections start turning into jobs, it’s not one way
down easy street. When in A Christmas Carol, Carly had performed in 30
shows while being tutored in a classroom in the basement of Madison
Square Garden. The Mendham residents temporarily moved to an apartment
in New York to cut out the stress of commuting. Fortunately, Carly’s
father works in Manhattan and the family can spend time together.

It’s a different story for Loreen Jacobson, also a Mendham resident
who coincidentally lives 10 blocks from the Seylers and they share
Battista as a manager, she’s on the road with her 9-year-old daughter
Nadine as she tours in the national production of Les Miserables.

Can You and Your Preschooler Deal With the Hectic Showbiz Schedule?

“[It’s a] pretty grueling schedule, five shows from Friday night to
Sunday evening, you have to be dedicated,” says Jacobson who’s living
out of six large suitcases as they travel from hotel to hotel.

When her husband and 12-year-old son come fly out to different cities
to visit. “It’s tough to say goodbye. Nadine has to go on stage and
she has to shake it off quickly,” says Jacobson. While on the road,
Jacobson has missed her son’s first goal in lacrosse and his
performance as Joseph in the church play.

“I don’t think they [people] realize how much work it is for the
parents,” says Bohm. “They have to go to the go-sees, you have to have
time, lots of it. It becomes your career.”

Sibylla Nash is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and author of
Baby Modeling & Beyond: From The Stroller To The Red Carpet. Nash has
been featured in Vibe, Essence, Upscale, The Chicago Tribune, and her
daughter has appeared on Saturday Night Live, Nickelodeon, and Dave
Chappelle’s Show and in ads for Tommy Hilfiger, Babytalk magazine,
Babies R Us, Sears, K-Mart, Imaginarium, Macys.com. Both Nash and her
daughter can be seen on TLC’s Ballroom Bootcamp. For more information
about Sibylla Nash, visit www.tribecahouse.com, or contact her at
sibyllad@earthlink.net.

Hey gals!

I wanted to let you know about another great resource, and this one’s FREE!

You can get your own FREE copy of the book Front Porch Attitude by going here. This is a free gift from the same folks that are offering that great $25 collection of ebooks and mp3 story downloads. I thought that many of you would enjoy this so wanted to let you know.

I know that a lot of you are probably interesting in baby shoe bronzing. Here’s a great contest for you:

Win Free Baby Shoe Bronzing at Chicks & Cubs. Enter our MomPack Raffle,
where the tickets are FREE and everyone is a WINNER.
Grand Prize is $130.00 gift certificate for Baby Shoe Bronzing.
Contest ends 9/30/07.

Hey gals!

Today I wanted to let you know about a really great deal that’s going on now.

For quite awhile now I have been getting a free weekly email from HomeschoolRadioShows.com. Each week I get a free mp3 download of some good story for kids and families. I like to download these and then burn them onto CD and give them to my kids to listen to for bedtime stories. The kids love the stories, and you don’t have to be homeschoolers to appreciate it!

Well, the same folks that send me those downloads each week are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary with a huge collection of 70 different ebooks, mp3 stories, and so on. It’s only $25 (including shipping!) for the whole collection! Mine arrived the other day and I am really pleased with it. I have already made a whole bunch of CDs for the kids and they have loved their new stories.

You can go read all about it and get your 25th anniversary collection here. This deal is good for the whole month of April.

Lisa shares this tip about potty training your little boys. You can visit Lisa’s web sites here and here.

I was having a hard time potty training my son, as I
was
doing everything I thought I needed to do. even
getting
up throughout the night and everything. so it was not
that I was being lazy and not wanting to do what I
needed
to do. It was him being lazy. I used to pray to God
to “please let my son learn how to potty on his own”

So one day we had went to Wal-mart and he grabbed some
m&m’s, so I bought them for him. he loved them. He
dropped some on the floor in the bathroom and I told
him to put them in the toilet. he did, but the most
ironic thing happened:

When he put those m&m’s in the toilet, I told him to
go potty and what he did was Potty on the m&m” as if
they were a target and he was trying to hit them, he
thought it was so fun to shoot at the m&m”s. So
I started to buy them and save for him to shoot at
them, therefore everytime he had to potty , he would
tell me to give him some m&m’s to shoot!!!!! and I had
some everytime too. It’s funny and may sound crazy,
but, that is how I potty trained my son (Sorry!!!only
work with boys) go figure LOL!!!!

Today we are celebrating my son Isaac’s 7th birthday. This is the story of my pregnancy with him, and his premature birth and hospital stay. (I wrote it way back when he was a one year old. Isaac now has two younger brothers, ages almost 6 and 4.) After such a rocky start in his life, it is so wonderful to see him so healthy, strong, and smart. He is my miracle baby, even if he is a big seven year old now.

Let me tell you a little about my husband and me and the way we are as parents. We have always been close to our children. We hold our babies a lot. We do not leave them to cry. We do not leave them with babysitters when they are babies. We carry our babies in a sling. Our babies have all slept with us, and so have our toddlers and older ages who feel the need to be close to us at night. We try to be careful in our considerations of how to do things with and for our children. They are very precious to us and we see our role as parents as a Holy commission from God. With our 4th pregnancy and birth, we were about to find out how hard it would be to have so much of what is important to us disrupted and threatened.

When our third child, JP, was 15 months old we were thrilled to become pregnant again. Hubby and I had talked a lot about having an unassisted birth this time around. We felt very confident in our abilities to work together and have a baby without outside help. Hubby had caught babies #2 and 3 and loved that, and I never felt that I needed any other support than that from him. He was the only one I could be real with and that brought me peace.

When I was 2-3 months along I suddenly had some bleeding. I was alarmed at this and immediately began to pray for my baby. I did everything I knew to do to help, and the bleeding did slow down and by the next day had stopped. I was very careful after that to do no heavy lifting, etc. It was right before Christmas and I let a lot of errands and activities go undone. Two weeks later I had an odd episode of a sudden blood pressure surge. After that we went in to see our family doctor. He had no idea what to think of the blood pressure surge, but was able to put our minds to ease about the health of our precious baby, since we were able to hear his heartbeat.

One other puzzling thing at this visit was that I was measuring 4 weeks farther along than I thought I was. The doctor suggested we come back in a few weeks for an ultrasound to check for twins. Although we did not normally consent to ultrasound, because of the bleeding, blood pressure thing, and my much larger than expected self, we decided to go ahead. What we found was that I was actually a month farther along than I thought I was! I would have been less surprised to find that I was carrying triplets! But, still, not many women get to shave a whole month off of their pregnancies in a day, so I wasn’t about to complain! One other odd thing we found was a sort of strange blood bubble right over my cervix. The doctor was not sure what it was all about, but supposed that could be the cause of my periodic bleeding. (I had bled 2 or 3 times between our first visit with him and the ultrasound.)

In the weeks to come I had more bleeding episodes. It usually happened on a Friday, so it was not a time when I could get in to see my midwife from my third pregnancy or the doctor she works with. By Sat. or Sunday it was usually stopped again. I felt very precarious about things. Then, at 21 weeks I started bleeding on a Friday and it did not stop. I went in to see my doctor on Monday, and we decided to do another ultrasound. The blood bubble looked a little different, and at that point my doctor thought I may have placenta previa. He sent me on my way to a high-risk OB that had a more advanced ultrasound. On my way there I felt like I was in a fog. I had never been healthier going into a pregnancy than I was for this one. I had been eating a whole foods diet, no sugar, no meat, no dairy. I felt great. I was expecting to have the very best pregnancy I had ever had. So how could this be happening to me?!

My husband and I went on to the high risk place and had very kind treatment by the staff and doctor there. The baby looked great and healthy in every way. We were asked if we wanted to know the baby’s sex. We had never done this before and I immediately said no. But my husband said to me, “Let’s just have some good news right now. OK?” We have never had a preference about the sex of our babies, and we would have been thrilled with a boy or a girl. Somehow it seemed that it would be encouraging to know who we had inside there. It was very clear that we had another precious son!

We could not tell for sure what the blood bubble was about or if I had placenta previa, but clearly there was a problem and the doctor recommended that I go on full bed rest until further notice. What a shock! Bed rest?! I had 3 children at home, ages 1, 3, and 7. I homeschoolled then. My husband works 24 hour shifts! Oh my…

The drive home was surreal. I was in shock. I was suddenly in a high risk pregnancy. Wow.

We had been considering a few different names for our baby. Once we knew we had a son, there was no doubt in my mind what his name was. Isaac Elijah. Isaac means laughter, and when facing a scary pregnancy, I felt we should name him on faith that he would bring laughter to our lives. Elijah means gift from God. No need to explain that, eh? So, Isaac Elijah was his name.

I was on bed rest for 7 weeks, during which I experienced hemorrhaging 3 different times and was rushed to the hospital. In the hospital I was put on magnesium sulfate and turbutaline to keep my uterus calm. Uteruses are very smart. When they have something foreign inside of them they contract in order to expel it. Unfortunately for me, I kept bleeding, it kept irritating my uterus, and my uterus kept contracting…..which was putting my baby in jeopardy.

When I was 28 weeks I made my final emergency trip to the hospital for my worst hemorrhaging ever. I was found to be dilated to 4 cm. and was bleeding all the time (as I had been for the entire bedrest). We were told it was best for me to plan to stay in the hospital for the duration of my pregnancy since I lived nearly an hour away and things were so precarious. If I had thought bed rest at home was bad, being separated from my children was worse! I had never been away from my children until these hospital visits, and I missed them so badly and was just aching thinking of 3 long months of hospitalization and separation. I had already had to wean Jacob abruptly because of all the contractions I had been having. Now I could not even share cuddles and security with him throughout the day and night. When the children would come to visit me, Jacob refused to sit with me, touch me, or let me touch him. I am sure that all of my tubes and wires looked pretty scary to him.

I had to have the external uterine and contraction monitor belts on me at all times in order to keep tabs on my baby and whether or not I was having a placental abruption. I was told that this was the single most helpful indicator of danger. I hated knowing that my baby was constantly being bombarded with ultrasound. But I felt I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was getting to be a familiar feeling.

I was given steroid shots in order to help my baby’s lungs develop quicker. I had reservations about the wisdom of such shots, but with no time to research this, we felt we had to go with this recommendation in the hopes that it would help our baby.

Because of all the bleeding I continued to have, I ended up with a catheter. They did not want me to get out of bed at all, as any movement I had seemed to make the bleeding worse. It was such a humiliating and painful experience to have the catheter put in, and it was so very uncomfortable to have in. But, once again, it really did seem to be something reasonable that had to be done.

After a few days (maybe 5 or so) I started having contractions that I recognized as real ones. Despite all of our efforts, labor could not be stopped. We had increased the medications all that we could, and yet it was happening. Our baby needed to be born. My uterus could not hold him in any longer.

Once the doctors realized what was going on, they told me they wanted me to have a c-section. WHAT?! A c-sec for a 2 pound baby? I was indignant! My third baby had been almost 10 lbs. But, they explained to me that my baby was breech (which I already knew) and for preemies, their heads are more disproportionate to their bodies than full term babies. Apparently, sometimes when a preemie is breech, they will begin to be born before the mom is fully dilated, but then their head gets caught. I did not feel at all convinced that this was a big enough risk that I should submit to a c-section. I had done enough reading to know way more than I wanted to about the risks of the surgery, plus the risks of whatever pain relief I would choose. The doctors stressed that the combination of the breech risks, plus not knowing what other issues my baby might be facing at such an early gestation, that a c-sec would be the best thing. They were very respectful of our concern about having unneeded surgery. We told them we needed some time to pray about this and think it over. They left the room.

We called a few friends (at 5am!) and asked them to pray for the baby to turn out of his breech position so that I could have a vaginal birth. We prayed. Hubby and I decided that if the baby had not turned within 15 minutes that we would go ahead with the c-sec. The baby did not turn. We got the doctors back in and told them we would accept the c-sec. I made it clear that I was very concerned that I get a low transverse incision and that I hoped to go on to have more children and so they better be careful of me! The doctor was very kind and said that they would definitely do all they could to keep my body in good condition for future pregnancies.

The room went into a whirlwind of activity. I was getting an epidural, having my IV redone, signing papers, drinking nasty sour stuff to neutralize the contents of my stomach. Oh…and having contractions. The OR was brightly lit. I hated being in there and going numb and not having my husband with me. They were shaving some of my pubic hair. Everyone in masks. It made me feel like I was in outer space or something. But I had to do this for my baby. Hubby was then allowed into the room and the surgery began. It wasn’t long before Isaac was out. Hub exclaimed, “He’s breathing, honey! He’s pink! He looks great!” Then our baby was passed off to the NICU team without anyone having the decency to even let me look at him.

That was so painful. I was so saddened by that, I couldn’t even form the words to ask to look at my son. It seemed like it should have been so obvious to one and all that I needed to see my baby—the one I was sacrificing myself for! And yet nobody seemed to notice.

Isaac Elijah. 2 1/2 lbs. 13 inches long. Miracle baby.

Hubby went along with Isaac and ran back and forth to tell me what was going on. He was breathing and surpassing the NICU teams expectations. He did not need a ventilator or a central line. He was going to be a low-maintenance preemie.

The surgery was finished up with me being given some heavy drug that knocked me out for hours. I had never consented to such a thing and am still really bothered by that to this day. I can remember being so desperately thirsty and not being able to ask for water or ice, nor to reach for it myself, nor to find the call button to get help. My husband was off to the NICU to supervise what was happening with Isaac (which is exactly where I wanted him to be).

I later found out that when the doctors removed the placenta they found the real source of our problems in the pregnancy. I had a 50% abruption. It was along the back where I guess it could not really be seen by the ultrasound.

Knowing about this abruption has brought me peace about having agreed to the cesarean. If I had gone on to labor and attempt a vaginal birth it could have cost me my precious baby, and possibly even my own life.

The following pictures were taken when Isaac was about 1 week old.

I

Kangaroo care

Feeding through a tube

Isaac spent 40 long days in the NICU. I could tell you a lot of things about those 40 days.

I could tell you how awful it is to be in so much pain after surgery that you can’t even hitch yourself up to see your tiny baby who is inside of a plastic incubator.

I could tell you how bad it is to not be able to hold your baby for the first 5 days of his life. And I could tell you of the joy of finally getting to hold my baby and getting to feel **just a little bit** normal during that short first hold.

I could tell you how utterly sad it is to have strangers determine how long you can hold your baby for….and how soothing it is to get an experienced nurse who knows that my baby does best next to my skin for as long as possible.

I can tell you about the outrage we felt as so-called experts wanted to inject our just-born 2 1/2 lb, baby with a hepatitis shot because I did not have labs proving that I did not have it. (My husband battled this one while I was unconscious, and our son did not get poisoned by those people.)

I could tell you about pumping my breasts around the clock to be able to feed my baby. And the joy of having way more milk than he could possibly use.

I could tell you how I felt to be on a death walk every day as I left my 3 older children with friends, to go to the hospital, and then felt like dying again as I had to put my baby back in his box so that I could go home again. I could not be what I wanted to be to any of my children! Misery.

I could tell you how utterly awful it feels to have to walk away from your baby and leave him with a nurse who has been referring to other tiny babies as “spoiled brats.”

I could tell you how sad it is to not have been able to protect your baby from someone giving him the wrong medication.

I could tell you about the day that I decided to keep on trusting God only because the alternative was too painful for me to deal with.

I could tell you of the joy of walking out of that hospital with my tiny 4 lb. son and bringing him home where we could give him love and protection all day long…. Of the joy of seeing my older children meet their baby brother for the very first time….

Together for the first time.

I could tell you about the joy of finally getting my baby to nurse after 3 months of pumping….and the sadness of losing my milk supply completely when I became pregnant a few months later.

And now Isaac has been with us for 15 months. He is a wonderful, healthy, happy, smart, and loving boy. Despite his hard start in life, I do believe that he is as secure and happy as any of my other children. Our new baby is due at any time now, and I am hoping to reestablish my nursing relationship with Isaac once I have milk again.

Going through this experience with Isaac has given me a whole new understanding and appreciation for life and for understanding that things do not always go as we think they should. I am sure that I am now a much less judgmental person and more compassionate to those who have found themselves in situations where they were stuck choosing between two very poor alternatives. I don’t think I will ever be quick to assume why someone is bottle-feeding their baby ever again. I know I will never experience pregnancy the same way again, as I now have seen and held a tiny little guy who should not have been in my arms for 3 more months. My husband and I have grown so much through our experience with Isaac’s pregnancy and birth. I hope we never have to endure anything so difficult again.

I am so thankful to have laughter each day with my precious gift from God, Isaac Elijah.