It is with hope in our hearts and a mind full of questions that we set aside our tears for now and report that on Dec 22 2011 at about 8 am and at 24 weeks 4 days that my water broke. Sending us to the hospital and from there I have since been sent 100 miles from home to be admitted to a hospital with a larger and better NICU where our son will spend the first few months of his life once he is born.
I don't have many words to say right now, But have found great comfort in the poem I have found today that I would like to share now.
It is my hope that maybe others , friends and family may find comfort in it too.
God gave me you!
Did you ever wonder how the Mothers of Premature babies are chosen?
Somehow, I visualize God hovering over earth, Selecting his instrument
for propagation with great care and deliberation.
As he observes, he has his angels to take notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong,Beth,Son,Patron Saint,Mattew.
Forrest,Marjorie,Daughter,Patron Saint,Celia,Rutledge.
Carrie,Twins,Patron Saint... Give her Gerard, He's used to profanity"
Finally he passes a name to an angel and smiles"Give her a Preemie"
The angel is curious."Why this one God?He's so happy"
"Exactly", smiles God" Could I give a premature baby a Mother who
knows no laughter? That would be cruel"
"But Does she have patience?" ask the Angel.
"I don't want her to have to much patience,or she'll drown in a sea of
self-pity and despair.Once the shock and resentment wear off, She'll
handle it. I watched her today. She has a sense of self and
independence so rare and so necessary in a mother.You see,the child
I'm giving her has a world of it's own. She has to make it live in her
world, and that's not going to be easy."
"But lord,I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles."No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect she has
just the right amount of selfishness."
The angel gasp, "Selfishness?! Is that a virtue?"
God nods, If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally,
she will never survive. Yes here is a women whom I will bless with a
child less the perfect. She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be
envied.
She will never take for granted a spoken word.
She will never consider a step ordinary.
When her child says Momma for the first time, she will witness a
miracle and know it.
I will permit her to see clearly the things I see-
ignorance,cruelty,prejudice-and she will never be along.
I will be at her side every minute of everyday of her life because she
is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side"
"And what about her patron saint?" asked the angel. His pen poised in
the air.
God smiles"A mirror will suffice."
This Blog is the brain child of the very Absent minded mommy of the Marken Family.formally known as Ecomarkenfamily Things may seem random but I hope that maybe some of the info I share from time to time may help or at least entertain someone......if not well thats ok to cause what mom can ever say they don't know what it is like to be talking to a wall. :) Guess who's back?, back again! ;) sorry stuck in my head
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Surviving Bed rest, My Top 10 Must haves in no real order...
Well its been 4 weeks on Saturday of being on Bed rest and let me just say its all for a good cause but it SUCKS!.
As I lay here day after day I feel like when all is said and done that I need to ask my doctor for a note to go through BCT( Basic Combat Training) Twice more just to get back in shape.
I give my family credit this cant be easy on them and I'm sure sometimes they may feel I have the easy side of all this,But really this is driving me nuts.
My survival kit for bed rest include :
My Favorite Pillow -A must have for all the naps I have been taking. Sometimes I feel like I am sleeping more then a newborn,To bad there really is no real way to stock up on sleep!
That would be great if we could you know sleep for an extra 8 or more hours and then your body uses it later when sleep is needed but a dream say when your bundle of joy comes home.
Not 1 but 2 remotes for the TV- I have to have one to turn it on and adjust the sound and the other to change channels on the cable box. Only I never can find anything good to watch these days.
I was very disappointed with Friday nights line up.Whatever happen to the day of TGIF when you couldn't wait for 8pm cause that's when all you favorite shows came on and for 2 hours you where glued to the TV.
My Case of water- Sorry to anyone who disagrees but I personally think Kansas water SUCKS!
DR says I have to drink no less then one gallon of water a day. I hate drinking water much less a whole gallon of it.
When I was kid I always thought water torture was dripping water on my brothers forehead while siting on his chest.
I now know I was wrong and that it really is making a pregnant women drink a gallon of water while a growing baby rest on her bladder.
This how ever is the only reason I am allowed to leave my bed is to visit my bathroom. So it is my only change of scenery so I must admit there has been a time or two that I have gone to the bathroom with out a full bladder just to get out of this bed.
My Laptop- The Internet is a wonderful think with a wealth of info at your finger tips.The millions of places to shop.Yet I spend my time on Farmville! In the year I have had Farmville on my facebook I am now in my own mind nominated for best neighbor of the year! I have nothing but time to sit on my Farm visiting my friends farms feeding their animals and fertilizing their crops.
My Housekeeper- I don't know what I would do with out her these days! She maybe the only thing I miss after I have my baby. I wonder if my husband will let me keep her: :)
My Crosswords and Holiday treats- My mother in law keeps me supplied in both.
My Poise Pads- This is an odd one for me but really anyone who has to wear a pad while on bed rest I highly recommend just using poise pads. There is nothing worse then the other pads that roll bunch and snag while your laying in bed. And if your on bed rest for reasons similar to mine it also means your on pelvic rest so don't be shy break out the granny panties and poise pads its all about comfort at this point.
My Darling Husband- Granted that's not always the word I choose to describe him, but who else do you think is going out at 12 am to buy my poise pads and the new Twilight movie for me ;)
My iPhone- I don't need my cell phone to call people, It is my feeling iPhone users get that. Instead my phone is filled with loads of apps( cause like I always say...."There is an app for that") to keep me plenty busy and leaves no time for calling people with it.
In fact I am having a hard time remembering the last time I answered a call on my iPhone not including my husband's calls cause if he is calling me then of course I am answering it not only do I love him dearly ,but chances are he forgot what I was craving and he is calling to find out what it was again.
And finally My Bed side basket- Full of things I swear I need with in arms reach of me with little projects I could do while lay here like finally filling out our son Lyric's baby book past just writing his name in it. Or little hand stitching jobs on things needing to be mended. My glasses in case I ever decide to read one of the many books also in the basket but really I just find a book my husband has left in the bathroom and start reading it and never remember to wear my glasses to do it.
That about wraps up my bed rest top 10 must haves , on any given day my list may vary but those things are consistently at the top of the list.
As I lay here day after day I feel like when all is said and done that I need to ask my doctor for a note to go through BCT( Basic Combat Training) Twice more just to get back in shape.
I give my family credit this cant be easy on them and I'm sure sometimes they may feel I have the easy side of all this,But really this is driving me nuts.
My survival kit for bed rest include :
My Favorite Pillow -A must have for all the naps I have been taking. Sometimes I feel like I am sleeping more then a newborn,To bad there really is no real way to stock up on sleep!
That would be great if we could you know sleep for an extra 8 or more hours and then your body uses it later when sleep is needed but a dream say when your bundle of joy comes home.
Not 1 but 2 remotes for the TV- I have to have one to turn it on and adjust the sound and the other to change channels on the cable box. Only I never can find anything good to watch these days.
I was very disappointed with Friday nights line up.Whatever happen to the day of TGIF when you couldn't wait for 8pm cause that's when all you favorite shows came on and for 2 hours you where glued to the TV.
My Case of water- Sorry to anyone who disagrees but I personally think Kansas water SUCKS!
DR says I have to drink no less then one gallon of water a day. I hate drinking water much less a whole gallon of it.
When I was kid I always thought water torture was dripping water on my brothers forehead while siting on his chest.
I now know I was wrong and that it really is making a pregnant women drink a gallon of water while a growing baby rest on her bladder.
This how ever is the only reason I am allowed to leave my bed is to visit my bathroom. So it is my only change of scenery so I must admit there has been a time or two that I have gone to the bathroom with out a full bladder just to get out of this bed.
My Laptop- The Internet is a wonderful think with a wealth of info at your finger tips.The millions of places to shop.Yet I spend my time on Farmville! In the year I have had Farmville on my facebook I am now in my own mind nominated for best neighbor of the year! I have nothing but time to sit on my Farm visiting my friends farms feeding their animals and fertilizing their crops.
My Housekeeper- I don't know what I would do with out her these days! She maybe the only thing I miss after I have my baby. I wonder if my husband will let me keep her: :)
My Crosswords and Holiday treats- My mother in law keeps me supplied in both.
My Poise Pads- This is an odd one for me but really anyone who has to wear a pad while on bed rest I highly recommend just using poise pads. There is nothing worse then the other pads that roll bunch and snag while your laying in bed. And if your on bed rest for reasons similar to mine it also means your on pelvic rest so don't be shy break out the granny panties and poise pads its all about comfort at this point.
My Darling Husband- Granted that's not always the word I choose to describe him, but who else do you think is going out at 12 am to buy my poise pads and the new Twilight movie for me ;)
My iPhone- I don't need my cell phone to call people, It is my feeling iPhone users get that. Instead my phone is filled with loads of apps( cause like I always say...."There is an app for that") to keep me plenty busy and leaves no time for calling people with it.
In fact I am having a hard time remembering the last time I answered a call on my iPhone not including my husband's calls cause if he is calling me then of course I am answering it not only do I love him dearly ,but chances are he forgot what I was craving and he is calling to find out what it was again.
And finally My Bed side basket- Full of things I swear I need with in arms reach of me with little projects I could do while lay here like finally filling out our son Lyric's baby book past just writing his name in it. Or little hand stitching jobs on things needing to be mended. My glasses in case I ever decide to read one of the many books also in the basket but really I just find a book my husband has left in the bathroom and start reading it and never remember to wear my glasses to do it.
That about wraps up my bed rest top 10 must haves , on any given day my list may vary but those things are consistently at the top of the list.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Coconut oil.........Yes its for white babies too ;)
Lol Sorry Tiffany I am telling the world but you know I love you xoxo.
OK Coconut oil it's great for all babies and their parents too.
In my family there is a long standing joke about coconut oil because of something my sister (Tiffany) said to me one day.
First a little about me,I am of mixed racial background my father was African American ,And my Mom is Caucasian and Native American.
I look like my mom is a lot of ways only I have ringlet curly hair and a year around tan. That said I'm one of a kind :) My siblings and I don't have the same father so we are all unique.My only sister is Blond, We give her a hard time about it but really she can be a smart blond.
So the first time I was told about Coconut oil was in 2008 by a lady who worked at my local bank(I love this about small towns where else can you go to the bank and not only know their first name but they know yours , and share your day or tips while doing your banking)
On this day we where talking about hair and how the weather was driving not only mine but my daughter(who was 2 at the time) nuts. She told me to give Coconut oil a try, She said that both her and her daughter make a thing of it once a week they just rub it in there hair let it sit and then wash it out be it that night or the next morning.
So I went straight to our local health food market to pick some up,I wasn't sure if I was getting the right stuff at first cause in the jar it was white and solid I took a guess that it was right and got it.
When I gave it a try I realized it was the right stuff and later learned that this is a very normal look for coconut oil it melts at about 78 degrees or simply put when you touch it.
I loved what it did for my hair and my daughters so once a week I would do our hair,One weekend My mom wanted use to come to her place for the day cause my sister was in town with her kids so I brought along my Coconut oil to do my daughters hair.
When my sister seen what I was doing she started asking all kinds of questions cause her daughter too has the ringlet curly hair. But the question that still to this day that has my family laughing is when she asked "Does it work on white babies hair too?'.............O.o Please don't take that the wrong way my sister is far from racist and this question didn't upset me at all I was taking back and then found great humor in it as you can see by my daughters picture on the right how could we not laugh at a question like that.
But funny aside since that tip I have learned so much about Coconut oil, from its many health benefits to its many uses.
From more info on the health benefits I really enjoy the web page Coconutreseachcenter.org (a link has been posted at the bottom of my page)
This page has an impressive list of things coconut oil can do.And on their Facebook page they share lots of tips and uses even a mouth wash with coconut oil tip!
In my house we have a couple favorite uses for coconut oil.
Number 1 would be for a rash cream for our 10 month old son.
He don't have that many rashes but giving our choose to Cloth diaper we are limited as to the things we can use so when I came across the information about Coconut Oil as a diaper rash cream and one safe for cloth diapers I was shocked and after the first time using it I was blown away by how well it worked.
My second favorite uses is in our home made wipes solution.Now that we have our cloth wipes warmer I use Coconut oil in place of things like Olive oil in my wipes solutions for a couple of reasons
the biggest being that coconut oil like Tea tree oil is a natural anti fungal, and antibacterial so I am not concerned by mold in my wipes if I make a large batch.I also add around 5 drops tea tree oil also for this reason. The other reason been that its a nice way to give our sons little tush a thin layer of coconut with out having to pull out the jar every diaper change.
Other household and babies uses we have found for Coconut oil are
Hair Gel/Defrizzier
Make up remover
Chapstick
Sunscreen
Moisturizer/Lotion
Aftershave
Deodorant
Nipple Cream
For Babies
Cradle cap
Lotion
For cooking
Use 1 cup to 1 cup ratio when replacing other oils/butter in recipes with coconut oil.
I have not tried everyone of these listed but are just an example of some of the many uses I have come acrossed and or have read about.
If you know of any other great uses or tips about coconut oil feel free to leave me a message or post below.
OK Coconut oil it's great for all babies and their parents too.
In my family there is a long standing joke about coconut oil because of something my sister (Tiffany) said to me one day.
First a little about me,I am of mixed racial background my father was African American ,And my Mom is Caucasian and Native American.
I look like my mom is a lot of ways only I have ringlet curly hair and a year around tan. That said I'm one of a kind :) My siblings and I don't have the same father so we are all unique.My only sister is Blond, We give her a hard time about it but really she can be a smart blond.
So the first time I was told about Coconut oil was in 2008 by a lady who worked at my local bank(I love this about small towns where else can you go to the bank and not only know their first name but they know yours , and share your day or tips while doing your banking)
On this day we where talking about hair and how the weather was driving not only mine but my daughter(who was 2 at the time) nuts. She told me to give Coconut oil a try, She said that both her and her daughter make a thing of it once a week they just rub it in there hair let it sit and then wash it out be it that night or the next morning.
So I went straight to our local health food market to pick some up,I wasn't sure if I was getting the right stuff at first cause in the jar it was white and solid I took a guess that it was right and got it.
When I gave it a try I realized it was the right stuff and later learned that this is a very normal look for coconut oil it melts at about 78 degrees or simply put when you touch it.
I loved what it did for my hair and my daughters so once a week I would do our hair,One weekend My mom wanted use to come to her place for the day cause my sister was in town with her kids so I brought along my Coconut oil to do my daughters hair.
When my sister seen what I was doing she started asking all kinds of questions cause her daughter too has the ringlet curly hair. But the question that still to this day that has my family laughing is when she asked "Does it work on white babies hair too?'.............O.o Please don't take that the wrong way my sister is far from racist and this question didn't upset me at all I was taking back and then found great humor in it as you can see by my daughters picture on the right how could we not laugh at a question like that.
But funny aside since that tip I have learned so much about Coconut oil, from its many health benefits to its many uses.
From more info on the health benefits I really enjoy the web page Coconutreseachcenter.org (a link has been posted at the bottom of my page)
This page has an impressive list of things coconut oil can do.And on their Facebook page they share lots of tips and uses even a mouth wash with coconut oil tip!
In my house we have a couple favorite uses for coconut oil.
Number 1 would be for a rash cream for our 10 month old son.
He don't have that many rashes but giving our choose to Cloth diaper we are limited as to the things we can use so when I came across the information about Coconut Oil as a diaper rash cream and one safe for cloth diapers I was shocked and after the first time using it I was blown away by how well it worked.
My second favorite uses is in our home made wipes solution.Now that we have our cloth wipes warmer I use Coconut oil in place of things like Olive oil in my wipes solutions for a couple of reasons
the biggest being that coconut oil like Tea tree oil is a natural anti fungal, and antibacterial so I am not concerned by mold in my wipes if I make a large batch.I also add around 5 drops tea tree oil also for this reason. The other reason been that its a nice way to give our sons little tush a thin layer of coconut with out having to pull out the jar every diaper change.
Other household and babies uses we have found for Coconut oil are
Hair Gel/Defrizzier
Make up remover
Chapstick
Sunscreen
Moisturizer/Lotion
Aftershave
Deodorant
Nipple Cream
For Babies
Cradle cap
Lotion
For cooking
Use 1 cup to 1 cup ratio when replacing other oils/butter in recipes with coconut oil.
I have not tried everyone of these listed but are just an example of some of the many uses I have come acrossed and or have read about.
If you know of any other great uses or tips about coconut oil feel free to leave me a message or post below.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
A work in Progress
I have thought abut doing this for a while.............. Is this for me? , Will I stick with it?, Do I really have anything to say?, Why am I talking to myself again?!?
So I guess now is as good as time as any to find out.
I am still getting the hang of this and still getting my page here set up so please bare with me.
I promise not everything will be as random as this post.I just wanted to get something up here so that friends and family know I am giving this a real try.
Several friends have suggested I start this because I have so many favorite topics from How to?, Cloth Diapers, Making homemade cleaners, Where to find the best deals online? , and More.And so many random thoughts to share.
So as I work on getting my thoughts,and this page together . Please feel free to send or leave me a message as to what you would like me to write about.
So I guess now is as good as time as any to find out.
I am still getting the hang of this and still getting my page here set up so please bare with me.
I promise not everything will be as random as this post.I just wanted to get something up here so that friends and family know I am giving this a real try.
Several friends have suggested I start this because I have so many favorite topics from How to?, Cloth Diapers, Making homemade cleaners, Where to find the best deals online? , and More.And so many random thoughts to share.
So as I work on getting my thoughts,and this page together . Please feel free to send or leave me a message as to what you would like me to write about.
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