Baby Preparation: Room and Prayer

Sunday evening . . . I am still with child and Shawn made it home safely last night.  :-)  Those are definitely two blessings I am thankful for.  I was able to attend Sunday School and our Worship Service this morning, which I had not been able to do in the past 3 weeks either due to teaching Children's Church or kids being sick.  We also attended the service this evening and the youth shared testimonies from camp this past week and a bible verse that spoke to them.  Several kids, and I mean probably close to 20 kids shared and it was such a blessing to hear how God is moving in their lives.  Tonight as a family we prayed for all the youth to continue to stand strong in their faith and for God to give them the strength to fight temptations and trials as they are back at home now.  Crazy to think that Jase, Allyson and Finn will one day go to youth camp!

So we have hit a major road bump block with potty training.  :-(  It's like her "want to" has left.  This evening before bed she did potty just a drop in her potty, so she got to put a sticker on her poster and she got a reward for putting a sticker on #5.  I am hoping her princess crayons and stickers will ignite the potty training flame again.  Tomorrow is a new day!  Trying to stay positive here!

The baby's room is coming together . . . finally!  I am almost finished with his name letters for the wall.  They are definitely not perfect, which bothers me some, but you know Finn will not mind and they are almost completed and there are other things to check off the list!  I'll take some pics of the finished product and post later this week.  After church this afternoon we ran some errands and I found a large carpet rug for his room at Lowe's.  It is huge (5'x7') and was only $25!!  Very excited about that purchase.  I also found some things for the walls there and I can't wait to get them painted and mounted this week.

My next appointment is Wednesday morning.  I am definitely not in any rush to have him, but I am anxious to see if I am still 2-3 cm dilated and 80% effaced or if I progressed more . . . time will tell!  We are praying for a safe delivery and a healthy baby boy.  We also are praying for God to be with the doctor and the delivery team and my body and pray that all goes "routine" as possible.  This may be TMI, but we are also praying for an abundance of breast milk.  I breastfed Jase and Allyson, but my flow was so low and it became a struggle (especially with Jase - he was crying, I was crying, Shawn was crying . . . memories!).  I tried just about every tip and home remedy I came across: herbal tea, fenugreek, blessed thistle, warm compresses, massages, adjust their latch, pump then nurse, drink water nonstop, contact a lactation consultant, rent a hospital-grade pump.  I'm sure I am missing a few other things from the list.  I nursed both of them for a year and had to supplement with formula as well, which I know is fine and doesn't make me a "bad mom", but I was just so head strong about breastfeeding that it was a huge tug-o-war battle in my mind at first.  So to go along with my previous statement of staying positive: 3rd time's a charm!!