Griffin's Birth Video

One of the best gift's my husband ever gave me was the video he made the day our first son was born.

I have watched it so many times over his short 2 year life and it is so special to relive that day.

So, when our second son was on the way, he assured me he'd do the same thing so that we could have one for him. He's got a quite a knack for editing video and compiling songs to correlate.

This video is such a treasure to me.

Griffin's Birth Video from Josh Goodman on Vimeo.

While Josh has the video skills, I've got the graphic skills. So, I was in charge of designing his birth announcements. I had designed this birth print for his room and decided to combine that with a photo for his birth announcement.

We are so in love with this new addition to our family!

Griffin Michael Goodman - September 9, 2014

On Monday, September 8, I woke up and started to go about my day. As the day went on, I started experiencing all over cramping and tightening in my abdomen. It wasn't like Braxton Hicks or even regular contractions because there was no start and stop. It was just constant. By 5 p.m. that evening, I was in so much pain that it hurt to walk and my abdomen was sore to the touch. I started running  a fever of 100* + and that lasted into the night. Finally at around 2 a.m. we decided, we'd better just go get me checked out since I was running a fever and in so much pain.

We called our good friend Brittany to come over and sleep at our house so we didn't have to wake up our soundly sleeping 2-year-old. Once she and her husband arrived, we left for the hospital.

At the hospital, they monitored me and I started having irregular contractions on top of the constant abdomen pain. Finally, around 6 a.m. the doctor decided to admit me for fear of an infection around my placenta and the only way to rule it out was to deliver.

I was only dilated to 4 cm when they admitted me, so they decided to give me pictocin to try to speed up my labor. After about an hour on pictocin with no real change, they broke my water. They asked me about pain management and warned me that the contractions would start to get strong, but I remembered from my last delivery experience with Grady how much the epidural slowed down my labor so I told myself I'd power through them for at least an hour. And they weren't kidding about strong contractions, but Josh was amazing and he would watch the monitor and talk me through each of the contractions. After an hour, the contractions brought me to tears, I finally asked for the epidural knowing how tired I was and that I still needed to push.

The epidural came fairly quickly and the nurse that was with me for labor and delivery was amazing. She held me still as I had to endure getting the epidural through intense contractions. Once the epidural was in they checked me and I was 9 cm dilated! So I had gone from 4 cm to 9 cm in just one hour after  having my water broken! I was so relieved that all that hard work was not in vain, but this relief soon turned to panic when the nurse called out a code and the room was flooded with 8 hospital personnel. I couldn't make eye contact with Josh and they shoved an oxygen mask on my face and  beside me was a table full of surgical tools ready for emergency delivery! Griffin's heart rate had dropped to 80 bpm and mine was very low as well. They moved me from side to side and asked me to take big deep breaths, and were able to get Griffin's heart rate back up quickly, but it was a very intense few moments. I cried tears of relief when they told me that everything was fine and they didn't mean to scare me. I was happy to know that they could tell he was in distress and were ready to deliver him at a moment's notice to keep him safe. After all that, I was able to rest for a little over an hour before it was time for me to push.

The epidural I had this time was SO much better than the one I had with Grady. I could still move my legs and I could feel uncomfortable pressure, but no pain when having to push. It only took about 30 minutes of pushing and I had myself another sweet baby boy. When his shoulders were out, the doctor told me to reach up and grab him, it was an amazing feeling to pull him out and bring him to my chest. He was born at 1:48 p.m. He didn't cry very long when he was in my arms. We had beautiful, sweet first moments together. And the Lynchburg College nursing students that I allowed to watch my delivery thanked me with tears in their eyes.

At this point they were still concerned about infection because Griffin's temperature and heart rate were elevated and I was running a fever. The NICU team came and evaluated Griffin and determined that he just needed to be monitored to make sure his temperature went down but they thought he seemed perfectly healthy. My fever quickly left soon after delivery.

They're still unsure what caused my intense abdomen pain and fever but I am so thankful that there was no infection found.

Griffin weighed 7lb 1oz and was 19 inches long at birth.

Praising the Lord for a safe and healthy delivery and baby!

Sweet as Pie: A Baby Shower for Baby Pavao

It's so much fun to dream up a shower to celebrate a sweet friend due with her first baby.

What's even more fun is have the help of great friends and to get to do it all together. 

And the icing on the cake is getting to host it in a killer space like Toolry in downtown Lynchburg.

We opted to have a dessert spread and what better dessert than pie?

Like, every kind of pie you could want.

Black and white with touches of green and metallic made for a great palate in this space.

   

And leftover pie to double as favors. Yes.

We had the best time celebrating this beautiful mama-to-be!

All photos courtesy of the fabulous Adam Mullins Photography.

Some easy DIY projects from this shower:

Tissue Paper Tassel Banner

DIY Pie Boxes

Photo Booth Chalkboard Talk Bubbles

Balloon Fringe

Book Review & Giveaway: Enough: 10 Things We Should Be Telling Teenage Girls by Kate Conner

My RA and friend from college, Kate Conner, is now a published author. And I totally saw this coming. She's thoughtful, witty, and a phenomenal writer. She's been writing a blog for years and her stories and writings about life and motherhood/parenthood always keep me coming back for more. I have several of her posts bookmarked in my reading list that I come back to and reread on the hard days. 

About two years ago, she wrote a blog post called, "10 Things I Want to Tell Teenage Girls." Well, this post blew up and rightfully so! In a matter of weeks, this post got millions of views. And thus created a launching pad for her to write books where she could fully delve into these 10 things we should be telling teenage girls and reach and even broader audience. 

On August 1, two of her books were released: one for the adult audience and one directed to teenage girls.  She breaks down these 10 things from her original post, chapter by chapter, and talks about relevant subjects like modesty, social media, and boys. The way she writes makes you connect with what she's saying. She speaks language and about subjects that people relate to and understand. Like about watching The Bachelor, and caring about what other people think of you, and writing Facebook statuses.
And she's not afraid to tell it like it is:

"Facebook doesn't cause drama, people cause drama. Facebook doesn't isolate you, you isolate you. Twitter doesn't waste your time, you waste your time. Twitter doesn't make anyone narcissistic, it gives people an outlet for displaying their previously existing narcissism." 

But most importantly, she incorporates the relevant, living Word of God throughout her book and reminds the reader of what God says and the truths we can stand on. 

And while I am no longer a teenage girl, I loved this book and found that the truths scattered throughout it stand the test of time and age. 

"Just because a thing is true, doesn't mean it's necessary. Not all truths are kind or loving or anybody's business." 

"Smoking is not cool." 

"The opinions of friends matter for one big, gigantic reason: relationships matter."

"Love people well - and know that in doing so, there is no room for manipulation." 

And maybe the perfect mantra for the book and also a truth I need to solidify in my own heart over and over:
 "We are enough because God declares us so. This is the great scandal of the gospel."

So, make sure you read Kate's original 10 Things post, and then go get your own copy!!

Or better yet, win one here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are ways you can follow Kate Conner and her writings:  blog  |  facebook  |  twitter  |  instagram  

Quit Your Day Job

I did it. I quit my day job.

For the past 5 years I've worked part-time outside of the home.

But I've traded that in for a higher calling: stay-at-home mama of two boys.

I cried when I put in my notice. Honestly, I'm terrified.

It's that fear of the unknown. The uncomfortable feeling of leaving something safe and familiar.

The discipline of having to stick to a new (and much smaller) budget.

The anxiety of losing bits of my sanity and my creativity as I fill my days with the needs of my little boys.
It all scares me.

Even scarier is my hope/dream of being a stay-at-home/work-at-home mama.

Is this really possible with kids so young? I keep asking myself.

I've worked hard over the past 5 years to also build my business, Honeysuckle {designs & things}.

I do freelance graphic design work (logos,  branding, advertisements, custom invitations, etc.) and I also have a line of art prints and vintage items in Pastiche at Main in Downtown Lynchburg (also available through my etsy shop and Pastiche at Main online).

I'm struggling with worrying how to juggle doing both. And do both well. But if you never try, then you'll never know, right?

I'm either on the verge of something great, or a mental breakdown.

I'll report back on that one.


Dear seasoned stay-at-home/work-at-home mamas, 
do you have any advice?

Mother's Day Photoshoot

Thoughtfulness comes very naturally to my husband. And I never want to take that for granted.

He knows how much I love having nice pictures, but don't get them very often, especially of me and Grady. He's got a naturally artistic eye and has gotten confident in using my DSLR.

So for Mother's Day, he scouted out a nice scenic spot and took the sweetest photos of me and my boy.

And my boy on the way.

 

And here are a couple out-takes to show you how we take pictures with a toddler.

Feed him crackers.

Distract him with sticks.

Thank you for the sweetest Mother's Day gift, Josh Goodman.