The post Would You Buy a Taxidermy Bat? appeared first on Nashville Wife.
]]>When we went down to Gulf Shores, Alabama, last fall, we visited a festival. It was your typical festival, complete with music, food, and craft booths. But one booth was selling something that didn’t seem like the type of thing you would typically see at a festival (or anywhere, for that matter). Framed taxidermy bats. I mean, who would buy one of those?
The tent also had other framed decorations, like snake skins, beetles, moths, and animal skulls. I got out of there as quickly as I could. Have any of you seen that kind of thing for sale? Or do you happen to know anyone who decorates their home with such things?
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]]>The post Baby Girl’s Birth Story Part 2 appeared first on Nashville Wife.
]]>If you enjoyed the first segment of our daughter’s birth story, here is part two…
At the four-hour mark, my contractions were becoming extremely painful. I tried standing while holding onto something to see if that would provide any relief, but it only made the pain more overwhelming. I also attempted the age-old mooing like a cow trick, but that did nothing. During contractions, I couldn’t handle anyone touching me (other than squeezing Mr. Handsome’s hand very tightly).
The nurse told me that women describe naturally occurring labor as extremely intense cramps, while they describe induction labor as being stabbed by a knife. I have never experience natural labor, but I can relate to the feeling of being stabbed by a knife.
Five hours in, I was ready for the epidural. By that point, I could hardly sit upright from the pain. The first two didn’t go in well. The third one did, but the process was extremely painful. I screamed so loud that the midwife ran in and asked if the baby was coming. Even though the process of the epidural was traumatic, once it was in, it was great–definitely a “better” epidural than my first two. For the first time, I could still feel my legs a little, which is apparently the “goal” of an epidural.
After a couple hours (about seven hours after the start of the induction), the midwife broke my water, and the baby was born about 25 minutes later. She arrived “sunny side up,” which I later learned is fairly uncommon. Only about 5% of babies are delivered face up. I also learned that the chance of negative outcomes–including hemorrhaging, a longer “pushing” phase, severe tearing, C-section, a low initial Apgar score, and NICU admission–is higher with these deliveries. I experienced none of these complications, and I am so grateful to God for keeping both baby and me safe. I did feel some pretty strong pain as the baby was born, but it was short.
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]]>The post Making a Sun Compass appeared first on Nashville Wife.
]]>From Mr. Handsome:
For those who are looking for ideas to entertain kids that are both fun and educational, making a sun compass is perfect. Apparently the Vikings used them for navigation, so you can add in a history lesson as well.
Basically you put a 2-3 foot stake in the ground on a sunny day and put a rock on the ground where the tip of the shadow from the stake lands. Mark this spot four different times at 15 minute intervals. If you then connect those dots, that gives you the east and west direction. Draw a line perpendicular to those dots moving away from the stake, and that points north.
We happened to have snow on the ground, so we just marked the spot with dots in the snow (assuming you live in the northern hemisphere). We pulled out the compass app on my phone to double check, and it was right on. Later we pulled out a globe and explained to Little Buddy why the sun compass worked. Honestly it was a good refresher for Ellie and me on how the earth moves around the sun and at what angles.
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]]>The post Sledding with Little Buddy appeared first on Nashville Wife.
]]>It’s rare that we get enough snow in Tennessee to go sledding, but last month we actually had enough to show Little Buddy how to sled. We usually have a few small snowfalls–mixed with sleet, which makes it hard to play in–scattered throughout January and February, but on this occasion, we apparently got one season’s worth of snow in 24 hours. It turns out that Little Buddy, like most children, loves sledding. He was trying to figure out how to go faster.
I was thankful I had bought him a multi-layered ski-style jacket and a thick pair of snow pants because he played in the snow all morning. We eventually had to pull him inside because we were concerned he would get too cold, but within minutes, he was begging to go back out again. And as I write this, he is trying to convince me to let him slide down the stairs so he can “sled inside.”
I was also thankful that Mr. Handsome had a few days off work to play in the snow with Little Buddy. Mama has yet to get herself a good pair of snow pants, so this was a good Daddy activity. Littlest Buddy was ready, too, but after getting all dressed and walking out the door, he looked at me and said, “I go inside.” We tried again later and got the same reaction. He also asked me to “clean up the snow.” But I remember this happening with Little Buddy at age two, and most of my friends have had the same experience with their toddlers, so I’m sure by next year he will love it.
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]]>The post Baby Girl’s Birth Story Part 1 appeared first on Nashville Wife.
]]>A week before the delivery, Baby’s movements suddenly became frantic. This was concerning to me because until that point, she had been very calm. My provider scheduled an ultrasound to rule out any complications. Everything looked great, which was reassuring. Her size was estimated to be seven pounds, with a 10% margin of error.
As I did with my second son, I had started eating about five dried dates per day at 36 weeks. Besides containing folate, Vitamin K, and iron, dates are thought to reduce the length of labor and decrease the need for induction. This claim might sound a little hokey, but it is actually backed up by multiple studies and is something that doctors and midwives have started recommending to patients. Also at the suggestion of my provider, I started drinking red raspberry leaf tea just before 38 weeks. And a few days before my scheduled induction, I did quite a bit of exercising (lunges, deep squats, stairs, and walking).
On the morning of the induction, we left the house at 4:30am. The registration process was very quick, and we only waited a few minutes before the nurse came to take us to a room. We have delivered all of our babies at the same hospital, so it felt very familiar.
For the first time, the IV process was not smooth, likely because I wasn’t well hydrated. I was so focused on eating a healthy snack and getting out the door that I hadn’t thought to drink much. The nurses were all very kind and felt terrible that it went so badly. After the first attempt, the nurse told me that it was her first failed IV attempt in three months. Apparently she is known throughout the labor and delivery ward for her IV success streak.
She tried again in the other arm and also didn’t get it, so she brought in a different nurse. On her way out, she said, “I’m so sorry. Feel free to hate me.” I told her that she didn’t need to feel bad–I understand that things like that can happen. They had me chug some water and then brought in another nurse. Thankfully, the IV went in.
The induction process started with a mild drug, with the idea that Pitocin would be started four hours later. Within an hour, I was feeling strong, painful contractions. I ordered breakfast from the kitchen and was very much looking forward to eating bacon, but they were struggling that morning, and it never showed up. The nurse was surprised by the slow service and called the kitchen multiple times to remind them, and she kept me well stocked with high protein snacks. I eventually had Mr. Handsome walk down to the cafeteria to buy bacon, but by that time, the breakfast hours were over, and the kitchen was closed to prepare for lunch.
By the time the first four hours were up, my contractions were coming in waves at a rate of about two minutes apart and were very painful.
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]]>The post Baby Girl’s Arrival appeared first on Nashville Wife.
]]>As we shared a few days ago, our third child is here, and we are thrilled. My last couple months of pregnancy really took a toll on my body, but within a few hours of delivering the baby, I was feeling much better physically than I had in a long time. She was born at 39 weeks and weighed just over 7 lbs. My boys (the second arrived a few days before 39 weeks and the first came just before his due date) were both close to 9 lbs, so this delivery was much easier.
I was mentally prepared for a larger baby, as my provider had told me that while girls can be smaller, that is not true for all women. For that reason–as well as my past problems with blood pressure and the issue we had with our second son being born blue and not breathing–my provider and I decided to do an elective induction at 39 weeks. My first two inductions were very smooth, so choosing this method of delivery brought me a lot of peace. Would you like me to share my birth story?
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]]>The post Baby Girl is Here appeared first on Nashville Wife.
]]>The post Mr. Handsome Has a Mustache appeared first on Nashville Wife.
]]>It seems like every man, at one point or another, has the desire to grow some facial hair. Unfortunately for me, Mr. Handsome has decided to express himself by growing a mustache. I have asked him to please have it gone before the new baby is born because I do not want that thing in the baby pictures. I adore his usual 5 o’clock shadow, but the mustache has just been too much. What do you all think of the new look?
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]]>The post A Rustic Baby Shelf appeared first on Nashville Wife.
]]>With the new baby on the way, I decided I needed a new shelf for the nursery. I thought it would be neat to have a shelf made from wood off our own property. A couple years ago, we had to take down two dead trees that were at risk of falling on our house. Mr. Handsome used a chainsaw and an Alaskan chainsaw mill to rough cut some of the logs into boards. It was a huge project that took hours. I decided to ask him to use one of these rustic pieces of wood to make my shelf, and he happily obliged.
My dad had given him an old-fashioned hand plane that he used to smooth out the wood. It was oak, which is a really dense wood, so it took a lot of elbow grease to get the job done. He purposely left it just a little rough to give it a rough-sawn appearance. We ordered the brackets on Amazon to create the modern floating shelf look. What do you think?
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]]>The post Toys or Little Brother? appeared first on Nashville Wife.
]]>For the most part, Little Buddy is very good about sharing with his younger brother. The two of them enjoy playing together, and we have loved watching their relationship grow. Recently, however, there was an incident where Little Buddy chose not to share something, so I sat down with him and had a conversation about the issue.
I started out by asking Little Buddy what he thought the most important thing in life was. I was ecstatic when he replied, “The most important thing is God.” Apparently he has been listening in Sunday school.
“Good job, Little Buddy!” I proudly proclaimed. “Now what is the second most important thing?”
“Toys!” he shouted excitedly.
I realized I still had some work to do, so I calmly asked, “Little Buddy, if we walked into the woods with your toys and your little brother, which one would you be more sad about losing?” He thought about it for a minute and conceded that he would be more sad about losing his brother. I then explained that God is most important, followed by family, and because family is more important than toys, we should be willing to share our toys with our little brother. “Okay, Daddy” Little Buddy sighed.
I felt like I had really done some fantastic parenting and decided to celebrate by pulling out my phone and checking up on the daily news (my favorite time waster). As I was scrolling through the latest political scandal, Little Buddy piped up, “Daddy, I have a question.”
“Of course, son. What’s on your mind?”
“Daddy, is family more important, or are phones?” At that moment, I realized my five-year-old had just outsmarted me.
“Well of course family is more important than phones,” I replied.
“Well, Daddy, could you put down your phone and play with me?”
Of course I put down my phone and played with him. I also took a moment to realize that keeping priorities straight can be just as hard for adults as it is for kids.
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