Living INTENTIONALLY

(Thank you to my new friend Meg Miles for inspiring this post.)

Giving birth is quite honestly the most incredible and all encompassing experience I have thus gone through! It has stretched me in all the good ways and I am endlessly grateful for the sacred privilege it has been.

I have seen myself slip in the important things and I realized I need to live life more intentionally! Here are some simple things I have found that have helped me take control over my happiness and the peace that is in my life!


Prayer  

My sweet baby wakes up around 6:00 a.m. to eat, and after I feed him, I generally go back to sleep grudgingly that I *felt* like I was up all night. However, TODAY I decided to put him back to sleep and get on my knees and start my day with prayer. It's not like I have stopped praying, but since my daily routine has felt out of wack, I haven't STARTED my day with prayer. Expressing my gratitude to my Father in Heaven, conversing with Him about everything that I am feeling and experiencing, and seeking His guidance and counsel for the day that is ahead of me helped lift my spirits and got me excited to face the day head on!


Positive Affirmations 

While I was pregnant, my husband and I took a birthing class (which was AMAZING.) This class not only prepared me to labor unmedicated, but it introduced positive practices to do in our everyday life. One was positive affirmations. I would repeat positive affirmations about birth, my body, and my baby multiple times a day and have them posted around our apartment. I saw how powerful our minds are and that these positive affirmations were a game changer. So I decided to make positive affirmations for the stage of life I am in right now. I have them written down and posted around our apartment just like my positive affirmations preparing for birth. Mine today say, "I am confident and competent." There have been many times when handling with my baby's oxygen that I don't feel like I know what I am doing. However, I am his mom! I can do this! I have another that says, "I am loved and appreciated." Inviting the power of positivity in my life and mind space has been empowering.

Self Care 

I then showered! This may not seem like a big deal, but what a blessing it is do be able to shower. (New moms... am I right?!) Warm water is healing to my soul.

After a simple shower, I cooked a quick and nutritious breakfast. Once again, something so small. But if you are like me and literally had Top Ramen for breakfast yesterday..... 
you know what a difference this makes! Scrambled eggs with artisan bread. It takes a matter of minutes and my body and mind could feel a difference. (And while breastfeeding, it is SO important to get all the goods in for the goods to come out, right?)


Spiritually Fed 

 During this breakfast, reading a general conference talk was like feasting on spiritual food. I have put on general conference talks in the background of my day, but I hadn't sat down to truly study one for the past little bit. An invitation from our prophet says, "I exhort you to study the messages of this conference frequently- even repeatedly- during the next six months." -Pres. Russell M. Nelson April 2018.

Get Outside and Get Movin'! 

I then had a window of 15 minutes that my husband could be with the baby before needing to get ready for work. I am 3 weeks postpartum, and though I feel great, I am waiting to get cleared from my doctor to exercise. So I went on a walk this morning. Now, once again, this may seem small. But since my little one is on oxygen, we only use his portable oxygen tanks for doctor's appointments, so I haven't been out and about much! (Or..... at all!) We live in a beautiful neighborhood in the mountains, and feeling the peace and calm that comes with a spring morning was stunning. The birds were chirping, the sun was rising, and it just felt good to be in awe at God's creations.

{No I did not take this photo. Yes this is off google. :)  }

And that's it! I feel energized and rejuvenated on a whole new level!
What things do YOU enjoy doing to invite positivity and gratitude in your life?

Mother's Day

Mother's Day 

{I had a feeling I could not deny that I needed to write, however, my thoughts are so jumbled and seemingly not connected whatsoever.}


I find it difficult to muster all the beautiful and sacred emotions I am feeling along with postpartum hormones. This truly has been such an amazing two weeks and for the first time in a while, I am at a loss of words to adequately express how I feel. Nothing could have prepared me for the amount of love I feel for my sweet newborn son.

I don't want this post to turn into my son's birth story for a variety of reasons. I am totally and completely passionate about birth and pregnancy and motherhood- I just haven't found a way to best express our experience. Since my previous posts were so much about my pregnancy, and I have had so many ask, here is a little bit about how the birth went.

 I am grateful I experienced ALL kinds of birth on his birthday. I was medically induced due to having an 'unfavorable cervix' and a less than optimal heart rate for our baby a couple days after my 41 week mark. I then labored for 11 hours unmedicated which was the most empowering and incredible experience! I absolutely LOVED labor. My husband's counter pressure, the jacuzzi in the hospital, my birthing ball, and encouraging words from my nurse made my experience magical. It was not painful, it was very BIG and powerful. After pushing for two hours, Atticus' heart rate dropped and it was quickly decided to have an emergency c-section to get him here safely. I won't go into details for any part of this journey here at this time, but if you have ANY questions about Pitocin, going unmedicated (without any medicine to administer pain relief.. which was honestly incredible!!) or c-section, I am here to offer what I have experienced and learned along the way.

We all like having answers. My sweet baby is still on oxygen and we all would like to know why. The nurses say it was because his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice and he is still recovering from the trauma of both going through labor and a c-section. However, my doctor said about 25% of babies he delivers, the cord is wrapped around their necks, they are able to deliver vaginally, and do not need oxygen afterwards. They did every test and lab you can think of in our time in the special care nursery (a small hospital's version of the NICU.) Everything came back looking completely normal. My doctor thinks it could have been a mix between my baby's fairly large head and my pelvis.

Either way- I have come to a peace of not knowing exactly why things are the way they are. Today, I would like to celebrate what we do know!

I know that being a mother has softened and stretched my heart. I know that our sweet son is a miracle and a blessing to have in our family. I know that the family is ordained of God and that through His plan, we can be together forever! I know that my gratitude and appreciation for my mother has grown beyond leaps and bounds. Motherhood truly is the most rewarding job I have ever had. Instead of working 40 hours a week, I now work 168 hours a week for the absolute best reason.

I would like to celebrate ALL women. Because Mother's Day is for ALL women. When Adam was in the Garden of Eden, he called the woman Eve because she was the mother of ALL living. But Eve was not a mom when he said that. She had never given birth nor taken care of a child before! For this cause, I know that ALL women are to be cherished and celebrated as we offer a unique and beautiful contributions to this world.

So here is a celebration and dedication to the women in my life who have positively influenced me and lifted me to become who I am today.

My mother. Mom is the first to celebrate my joys, grieve with me in my moments of sorrow, and offer to hang out with me for all the in-betweens. She has always been my number one support and cheerleader. In everything. From dance recitals, dating (yes, she was always VERY involved in my love life, even ask my husband ;) performances, stressful days at college, rejection letters, acceptance letters, etc. She always wanted to be sure opportunities were available to me. She was willing to work hard to offer me a full life. She is an incredibly compassionate and experienced nurse who has blessed so many different families. She truly is a warrior. She has faced many challenges with her health over the years like a champion and has never lost her spunk through it all. I love her and I honor her. Thank you mom for everything you continually do for me!