There seems to be a baby boom on Facebook. Almost everyone I know is having a baby. Most people I know are still on baby #1, a few have lost their marbles enough to spring for baby #2. I'm one of the only people I know who is crazy enough to have three children. So, in honor of all of you newly pregnant mommas, I am going to grace you with a few tidbits of parenting knowledge. You're welcome in advance.

1. Sometimes that "mother's intuition" just tells you to cry. Or panic. Or both and that's ok. I think it's a myth created to make you feel bad about not knowing what to do, actually. This is especially true during the newborn phase.

2. Babies cry. It doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. See #1. Feed, change, burp, etc. and then just love and comfort the best you can. It'll be ok.

3. There will be moments (or days) when all you want is a break. Those are usually the same moments when your baby/kid is feeling really clingy. "This, too, shall pass."

4. Rock your baby. This is a no brainer to me, but there are going to be a whole bunch of people who tell you not to spoil your baby. Those folks are cray cray. Rock your baby every single chance you get. One of the best feelings in the world is a baby sleeping on your shoulder.

5. Stop judging other mothers. Hello, "Mom on the iPhone" blog lady, I am talking to you! You never know someone else's circumstances. Before you go judging the mom on the iPhone (who has seen her kid swing high 19,320 times, has witnessed her precious daughter twirling an equal amount of times, and who has given an enthusiastic "good job!" even more times) put yourself in her shoes. Maybe she was up all night with a baby. Maybe she is a single mom with no help. Whatever she is...she probably just needs a break. Same goes for the mom who lets her kids watch tv or the mom who isn't making baby food from scratch. You worry about your kid and leave everyone else alone. Just remember, judging other people doesn't make YOU a better mom...so get over it.

6. When people ask if you need something, tell them what you need. If someone offers you help, accept it! Ask for help when you need it.

7. Learn to nap. This one is self explanatory.

8. Never say never. I used to laugh at people who dressed their kids in matching outfits. Funny, I know. I pretty much buy three of everything now. Even jammies.

9. Sometimes you just have to laugh so you don't cry. This is especially true if your husband is out of town, one kid poops in the floor, and the other two spill the last Diet Coke everywhere...not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.

10.  Make memories. It all goes by too fast. Remember that you'll never get a day back. The next day your kids will be a little bit older. They'll need you just a tiny bit less, so tell them you love them and kiss them 100,000 TODAY. You're not going to wake up when you're old and wish that you had spent less time with your kids. I promise.

I am finally sitting down to write about the third part of my "kid testimony." Truth be told, I could probably go on and on about different people in my life and the impact they've made on me. Maybe I'll do that one day but for now, it's on my heart to write about my kids, so that's what I'm doing.

Mitchell and I first started talking about another baby around the end of October or the beginning of November. That alone was a huge step because from the time I got pregnant with Cooper up until that point when he was 14-15 months old we had said we were not having any more kids. We were downstairs in the playroom and the four of us were piled on a little loveseat. Kaylie and Cooper were playing together and I think we may have been watching Elf. Anyone who knows me will not be surprised about that. :) We started talking about another baby and pretty much came to an agreement that we felt we needed one more but not for a little while longer.

Then God probably laughed. I was pregnant with Cannon within a month and even though we had been talking about another baby... I panicked. Anyone who got a phone call from me that night can attest to the fact that I was in shock. Thankfully that wore off quickly and Mitchell did not fall out of a tree stand after hearing the news.

I was due on August 23 which we found out was three days after school started for Kaylie. The entire time I was pregnant I swore up and down that I *would not* have Cannon early. I had stuff to do. I was a sales rep for Chez Ami and I had parties scheduled the first week in August, Cooper's birthday is the 16th, and the first day of school was the 20th. I had stuff to do and he was just going to have to stay put.

We made it through Chez Ami parties, Cooper's birthday, and meet the teacher, but on August 19th, less than 24 hours before school was going to start...I was in labor. I am guessing that God laughed again. I had my first contraction around 5:00 that afternoon. I am so flipping hard-headed that I convinced myself that I was going to wait until the next day. Yes, my plan was to wait it out. Can we say stubborn?! At some point it became apparent that was not going to happen and we finally left our house after 7:00 and got to the hospital around 8. Let me just tell you that it's not very comforting to think that you might give birth at a gas station off 1st Avenue in Birmingham because you might not make it all the way to the hospital. Not a fun thought at all, friends! Long story short, our 9lb 6oz baby boy was born about an hour after we got to the hospital. After a short NICU stay (that's a story for another day) we were discharged from the hospital on his due date.

Our timing is not our own. Plans are great, but it's really not up to us to plan. If I had to pick one thing that Cannon has taught me--that would be it. It is definitely something that I struggle with DAILY. I am an obsessive planner, list maker, etc. and that's just not how God rolls. In hindsight, He probably gave us Cannon a little earlier than we planned because he knew we wouldn't make it through all of Cooper's antics and still want a third baby. ;) Thank you, LORD, for being the ultimate planner.

   
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
Proverbs 16:9

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.
Ecclesiastes 3:1

This better be a good post since it has taken me over a week to sit down to write again. I have three kids. Forgive me.

Cooper...anyone who has ever met this child (or read about his antics on Facebook) can attest to the fact that he is a mess. A hot mess. He teaches me a whole lot about patience pretty much on a daily basis. He is the sweetest mean kid that there has ever been. As I sit here right now, he is putting smiley face stickers on the wall in our playroom. He's being quiet and nice, though, and the stickers will come off. Thankfully, he hasn't learned the fine art of pressing down on a sticker to make sure it's on good. "Perfect. I done." How can I get mad at that? 

The biggest and best thing he has ever taught me has been about trust. When he was about 15 months old he got super sick. We were in and out of the doctor's office for about a week with a fever that would come and go. One Sunday afternoon he spiked a fever of over 104 that would not come down with Tylenol or Ibuprofen. He was shaking with chills and lethargic and I panicked. We took him to Children's hospital and they still thought it was "just" a fever virus. They sent us home and told us to follow up with his doctor the next day.

After a sleepless night I had to drag that pitiful boy to the doctor for probably the fifth time in a week. I took him in his pajamas. That's a red flag, y'all. We don't leave the house in our jammies around here. At that point he was dehydrated, still running a high fever despite having a constant flow of medicine, and still lethargic. Our doctor at the time recommended that they admit him to the hospital for blood work and fluids at the very least. The poor, sweet nurses at the doctor's office tried to draw blood for the first round of blood work but couldn't get a good vein.

We got to the hospital and they took blood and started an IV. Mitchell was on his way from work but thankfully my mom was with me. If she hadn't been there, I don't know what I would have done. We had to hold him down in a hospital bed while they tried to get ultrasounds of his belly. We held him down while they took blood.  It literally took three adults to hold him down. I have a knot in my stomach just thinking about the way he cried. I think he had a ct scan and maybe even some xrays, too. I have blocked the rest of that day from my memory. All I remember is crying and praying. 

That night they moved us to the ICU where we felt horribly uncomfortable because we they were not set up for children. After some deliberation with Mitchell and my dad (who I have never seen look so scared), we requested to be transferred to Children's hospital. That night Cooper got his first ambulance ride. Good times. We arrived at Children's and immediately felt at peace with our decision. We got set up in a room, did more bloodwork, and talked to more doctors and nurses. 

After two nights at Children's Hospital and about a hundred million tests, we still didn't know what had been going on with him but his fever was finally coming down and he seemed to be feeling a little better. We were discharged and they told us to follow up with our doctor later in the week. By the time we went back to the doctor that week Cooper was feeling much better, but still not 100%. While I was talking to the doctor we realized that Cooper had never been tested for mono. It was one of the things that they were supposed to test for in the original blood draw at the doctor's office that they weren't able to do. St. Vincent's and Children's both thought he had already been tested so they didn't test him either. He was pretty confident at that point that was what the problem was, but we still don't really know for sure. 

We did a lot of trusting during that ordeal. We trusted God to heal our baby boy. We trusted countless doctors and nurses. We had to trust our own instincts and feelings and pray that we were doing the right thing for Cooper.

7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Psalm 31:14

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

I officially have a blog. Let me just start by saying this is not my idea of fun. A one-liner Facebook status is one thing...but a blog? I'm not so sure. However, lately I've been praying for God to use me in a way to reach people in some way. The idea of a blog keeps coming back to me so I guess it's time I listen. I will go ahead and tell you all that I haven't taken an English/writing class in probably 5 years. Grammar Nazis, y'all be kind.

First on the list--my testimony which will come in three parts (one part per kid--how convenient!). I've read a lot of different testimonies from other people.  Most people that share seem to have some kind of huge event happen that leads them to the Lord. While that does sort of apply to me, I've always considered myself a Christian. I've always loved God. I've always felt Him in my heart. My actions have sometimes been horrible, but that's not really what this is about. 

Mitchell and I had Kaylie when we were both 18 years old. We were two incredibly imperfect people who did not deserve the huge blessing that we had been given. The night she was born, Mitchell asked me to marry him. About a million blessings later and we are still here today, thank the good Lord! :) Anyway, several months after she was born one of my friends told me about another friend who didn't believe in God. Here in the Bible belt, this is not something that I had ever encountered before. I was shocked, to say the least. This friend had a baby. I wondered for a long time how she could look at her baby and not see God. I wondered how she thought that she and her husband could possibly make something so perfect without God...this is not something I could have ever comprehended without having a child of my own.

Let me just go ahead and say that this was NOT about me judging her. I was hardly in any place to judge. I was not married, had a baby, and lived with my parents. I promise... I was just genuinely shocked. I'm still not judging her or anyone else...but the shock is still there.

This is really where things took a turn for me. I began to pray more. I tried to let my actions speak for what was in my heart. I still fall short daily. I still fail, but now I have three blessings. I WANT them to feel that same shock the first time they encounter someone who doesn't believe in God. I want that to be so far from their realm of understanding that the thought of not believing in God knocks them into next week. Lord, help us raise our children that way.

"But he said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”"
Luke 18:27