Fresh Cut Grass :)

Here's my boy enjoying hanging outside with Mama. Wasn't too sure about the grass, he kept looking back to see my reaction.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every purpose under the heavens: 2 A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot 3 A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build 4 A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance 5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain 6 A time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away 7 A time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak 8 A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

So I'm not a religious person but I love this passage from the bible and yes my favorite song of all time is "Turn Turn Turn" by the Byrds :) I play this song or read this passage when things seem so unknown or final. For me, this passage is a reminder that there is a rhythm and a pattern to life even amongst chaos. Changes are what make life beautiful...even when life gets ugly there is always a more beautiful counterpoint.

New Pictures of Connor

He's getting so big so fast!

Trying to get the camera cord, lol

I crocheted the blocks and bunny myself :)

All tuckered out! Belly time is hard work!

Bicornuate Uterus

I thought I would put a post up about this in case anyone diagnosed with this would stumble across my blog. I had a hard time finding information of women that were diagnosed with this so hopefully this might help someone. Sorry if this post is TMI for anyone :)

When I was about 9 weeks preggers with my son my doctor had me go in for an ultra sound to confirm the due date since my last period wasn't regular. The ultra sound tech asked me if I had 2 cervices, my response was "ummmm....I don't think so, is that even possible?". The tech blew it off like it was no big deal (probably to keep a new mama from worrying) and so I was surprised when I received a phone call the next day from the Doc. office. They wanted me to go see a specialist so see what was actually going on in there. I asked if the baby was going to be alright and she said 'there's a possibility the baby won't make it'. Scared me to death!

Through some testing they determined that I had a Bicornuate Uterus (divided uterus or heart shaped uterus). Apparently its a birth defect and kidney issues usually go along with it, I was fortunate to not have that problem. The baby was in the left horn and they weren't sure if the baby would make to full term or make it at all. They pretty much guaranteed me that I would have to have a c-section if he did. I would have to be carefully monitored. I had ultra sounds every two weeks for eight months to check growth and cervix. Most of them were internal ultra sounds :( (I really don't think its possible to keep your modesty when your pregnant. I lost count of how many different people saw me naked, by the end I just didn't care anymore :P) It was a really scary that first and second trimester. They doc said that with this condition, the further along in pregnancy the more dangerous it is for the baby. He is a very smart baby and made good use of his very little space.

I felt great throughout my pregnancy until the very end. I had severe back pain due to all the weight on one side and at around 7 months preggers you could tell I was lop sided ;P It was really obvious when I was 9 months along. I really regret not taking any bare belly shots to document the lopsidedness of my belly.

Luckily, my cervix held strong and Connor was able to grow to full-term without any complications. I was no longer considered high risk at about 8 months. In fact I had a normal delivery and he weighed over 7lbs!! Pretty impressive considering he only had half a uterus to grow in.

We do plan to try to have another in a few years and have been told that the next pregnancy should easier since once you have a baby your uterus stretches much easier. They do want me to have a dye test just to have a more accurate picture to ensure that they didn't miss anything. Connor's future sibling(s) owe him big for doing all the work of creating more room to grow :)

He is one cool guy!

Crafting and Mommyhood

Before Connor was born, I was a big crafter. Love to sew, crochet, knit some, alter boxes and books, all kinds of stuff. I expected that once he came that would be on hold for awhile and that I would be ok with that. What I didn't expect is that I would miss it sooooo much! I've been able to do some since he was born but not near enough that I would like to. Connor is starting to no longer be content sitting with me while I crochet or sew, he wants to up and about with me. I really try to find little times during the day that I can easily slip into something and then pick up where I left off without trouble. I'm working on finding a good balance.

I'm a big blog reader and have read plenty of blogs of Moms who have three or more kiddos that are able to make all kinds of things. How do they do it? I guess I will learn more about the art of multitasking as I get more experience with Mommyhood. Although, I can type, feed Connor, and feed myself all at the same time. Those are some mad multitasking skills right there!

Speaking of feeding...Connor is already showing an interest in food! He's barely 4 months old! He loves to watch my husband and I eat and tries to reach or bat at whatever we're eating. 2 more months to go on that one though. He's going through a big growth spurt right now and is eating constantly. He's been waking up twice a night to be fed, he has done that since he was three months old. Its been a little rough the past four nights, he had me so spoiled with sleeping through the night.

Will post some new pics of my boy soon.

Ahhh spring...

Yesterday was a lovely, lovely day. It started off with a walk outside with my favorite baby boy. It got around 73* here yesterday and I made sure to really soak it up. Just when I didn't think it could get any better...it just kept getting better and better.

Let me go back a bit....I'm breastfeeding and it has been really really hard, well that's an understatement. Connor wouldn't latch at all (not even really close his mouth) and lost a pound within the first four days of his life. And at the recommendation of his doctor, I've been pumping and feeding. We met with so many lactation consultants but just was unable to get him to latch. There were some really good ones and there were some really bad ones, but that's a whole other entry. I've continued to work with him on his latch but hadn't made much progress. Boy did I feel like such a failure as a Mom. Let me tell ya, pumping and bottle feeding is a lot of work and makes going out and about by myself extremely difficult. I really wanted this to work...I had to make it work for financial reasons and of course health benefits for my boy. I've come so close to quitting so many times but kept telling myself I'll just continue till March. Well March is here and my boy must of been listening because now he CAN latch!! Yesterday he nursed for 20 minutes!!!! I couldn't believe it! (He still prefers the bottle because its easier but I'm working on getting him to take the breast more.) 'I thought then this day can't get any better'...

With it being spring weather and all, I had to do some cleaning. I decided to clean the kitchen floors. My floors were a bit dirty, ahem. I was wearing Connor on the front and leaned over to get a good scrub (making him lean back, don't worry he was securely in there :P ) when he started to giggle. I don't mean just a small chuckle, he was cracking up which got me to laughing and made him laugh even harder. That's the first time he has really laughed like that. Then I thought, 'ok this day really can't get any better'....

Then I get a call from my husband while he is at work. He tells me that he has some news and I think 'oh crap' (his work has been down sizing like crazy lately). He tells me that they want to promote him and give him a very significant sized raise! Which is a lifesaver since I'm now staying home and don't plan to go back anytime soon. It has to get officially approved of but fingers crossed.

I really love being home.

I'm giving the blog thing a go...

Not sure if I'll like it but thought I would give it a try. Don't get me wrong, I love to read other people's blogs, I'm just terrible at journaling or keeping up with my son's baby book and this is quite similar. I do like the idea of having a place to write about whatever I want and keep up with old friends or possibly making new ones. This will probably be a very boring place just to warn anyone who decides to read it. I plan to mainly just write about my experiences with Mommyhood (which I'm am new to) and crafting. My two favorite things to talk about!

I had the joy of becoming a mommy three months ago today at 4:04pm to a beautiful boy Connor. He has been a wonderful baby and growing so fast! He loves to smile, giggle, and recently examine his hands so intently he will fall asleep. Oh and I do have a lovely hubby who I adore, too. We will be celebrating our first year of married bliss on St. Paddy's day.

Before I became a full time mommy I worked as a social worker. A job I both loved and hated! I got my Bachelor's of Social work in the summer of 2005 from good ole BSU. Moved to Southern Indiana in the summer of 2007 and for the most part like it here. Not sure if we will stay here forever but like it enough to stay for now.

In case anyone is wondering about the blog name...its kind of a long story but in short my husband lovingly nicknamed me hippie when we were dating (how I got that nickname is a long story). One day, a friend of ours wrote "Stay tuned for another exciting episode of Hippie and the Bean" on my myspace page (back when I kept one) referring to us ('the bean' I'm guessing refers to my husband's hairless head or as I call it bean) and I thought it was really funny.

Oh and in case you can't tell I have a tendency to ramble and switch subject matter whenever. I'm a bit scatterbrained at times but hubby convinces me that its an endearing quality.