On June 15th, Baby Gwen was baptized and we were thrilled to have another little Catholic under our roof. The smell of the holy oil on a newborn's head has to be the best smell in creation. Gwen and Father. And she doesn't know it yet, but Gwen has the world's sweetest most wonderful Godmother ever! On the Homestead: It's a good thing we like peppers because they're coming out of our … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2013
Women Speak on NFP: Michelle on the Marquette Method
This is a guest post by Michelle of Endless Strength in the Women Speak on NFP series. In this series you will hear from women using various methods of NFP, some to avoid pregnancy, some trying to conceive, and their experiences. Disclaimer: This series is not meant to be a substitute for any method of training in NFP! If you are interested in one of the methods introduced in this series, please … [Read more...]
Growing a Family on One Income: Part I, Being a One-Car Family
I get all riled up about claims that raising children costs millions. Could you spend a million dollars on a child? Sure. You can also spend over $100,000 on a Versailles-inspired Neiman Marcus chicken coop. But that would be unreasonable. Yes, kids aren’t cheap, but having a large family doesn’t have to be a financial impossibility. Granted, each family's situation is different and living off … [Read more...]
This Week’s Miscellany: Vol. 55
It's been forever since I've done a This Week's Miscellany so feel free to skip this if you don't want some long-windedness! And if you haven't switched over to Bloglovin' or Feedly from Google Reader, be sure to add Carrots to your new reader so you don't miss any posts (or subscribe via email on the left sidebar). Life at the Stewart household is slowly transitioning from the chaos of adding … [Read more...]
Melissa’s Journey With NFP and Infertility
This is a guest post by Melissa of Faith in All Times in the Women Speak on NFP series. In this series you will hear from women using various methods of NFP, some to avoid pregnancy, some trying to conceive, and their experiences. Disclaimer: This series is not meant to be a substitute for any method of training in NFP! If you are interested in one of the methods introduced in this series, please … [Read more...]
Seasonal Eating Thoughts
Find me over at Mama and Baby Love today talking about our journey toward seasonal eating... Ever wonder how to take your enjoyment of food to a new level? The answer might be a major shift in your food lifestyle to embrace seasonal eating. Until college, a tomato was a tomato to me. It certainly wasn’t a food I would ever want to bite into all by itself. You pick them up any ol’ time of … [Read more...]
Gwen’s Birth Story: Part III
Catch up on Part I and II before diving into Part III :) It was almost 4am and it didn’t feel like we were anywhere close to meeting our baby... After 9 hours of active labor I was exhausted and discouraged. Since I had to get back in bed for my penicillin dose and to be monitored for a few minutes, I asked the nurse to examine me to see what kind of progress I’d made since I was 4.5 cm in … [Read more...]
Gwen’s Birth Story: Part II
As I shared in Part I, I was dilated 4.5 cm in triage, so they got us set up in a labor and delivery room with our wonderful nurse Christine just after 7pm. My mom (my unofficial doula) arrived and started heating up socks filled with rice to place against my lower back to relieve some of the pain from the back labor while I got my penicillin drip. Socks with uncooked rice, guys! Helps … [Read more...]
Gwen’s Birth Story: Part I
How Gwen Stellamaris came into the world. If the details of labor and birth gross you out, feel free to stop reading now (I can hear my brother clicking away from this post!). This pregnancy was by far the hardest of my three. The endless weeks of morning sickness, the exhaustion, the acid reflux. I was more than ready to put it behind me and meet my new little daughter. As with Lucy, … [Read more...]
Breastfeeding and a Prayer Request
We are just falling in love with Baby Gwen (who's making things very easy on mama by sleeping in 2-3 hour stretches all night between feedings!). Thank you for all the well-wishes and love for her! Today you can find me over at Mama and Baby Love sharing about my breastfeeding struggles with our firstborn and how everything changed the second time around! And please keep my sweet friend … [Read more...]
