Kimber's Navy Family

  Sitting down to write a post on feeding newborns, I was surprised at how raw some of those feelings were for me, even years later. Having attempted to breastfeed each of our five children, my experience has taught me that each child is different and that each breastfeeding journey is different. Discovering what worked best for me  as the parent and for each of our newborns in regards to feeding-- breastfeeding, bottle feeding, or a combination-- was not always an easy or simple solution and it often was laden with guilt that I wasn't living up to certain standards, worry that I wasn't making the right choice, and frustration when things didn't live up to expectations I had put on myself. We welcomed our fifth baby to our family this past summer so you could say that I am well-versed in the newborn days. With our first son, I was so nervous about if I was "doing it right." I worried about when I should be nursing him and for how long the sessions should b...

I was reading some blog posts recently and they were discussing how we as parents should be more vocal about our miscarriages and open about whether or not we are trying to conceive. There were a lot of points in these posts that I agree with-- how isolating miscarriages can be, how heartbreaking a negative pregnancy test feels, the emptiness and longing as you pass your due date without a baby in your arms. But some of the other points made me think about my own experiences with miscarriages and my current pregnancy. I think I have finally sorted out my thoughts into a blog post... So, first of all, I'd like to clarify that we do not struggle with infertility; my fertility is normal. When I talk about trying to conceive, all of this is within a year of trying to conceive without fertility treatments. I am adding that only because I am not trying to misrepresent myself or to represent a journey that I have never taken. I have many friends that struggle/have struggled wi...

As luck would have it, the Navy brought an old friend back into our lives! I love that aspect on military life, the possibility of being stationed with friends again! Our neighbor from Hawaii just moved to South Carolina and now lives basically down the road from us. The last time I saw her, my oldest was about the age of her little 1-year old son. Now I have a 5-year old and 2-year old twins. She has a sweet, bubbly 1-year old who was content snacking on Plum Organic Puffs in a high chair while her and I caught up. As you can imagine, my boys were less than agreeable. 2 and a half is just a straight up hard to manage age. It is difficult to deal with when you have one child. It is even more difficult with two 2 and a half year olds. Even more difficult than that? When you also have an older sibling in the mix. The toddlers want everything their older brother touches. They take his toys, they try to climb in the chair he's sitting on. If he's playing on the floor, th...

Here we are... Asthma Management Plan in hand for one of our toddlers. Last February, O had a severe case of RSV that put him in the PICU for four days. Shortly afterwards, we were seen by an asthma/allergy doctor who told us that O has "reactive airways." We actually had not noticed his retractions , induced by simply walking around the room. She asked, "Does he always breathe like that?" She was very helpful and put him on Singulair, but I left that appointment feeling like a horrible mother . The big question running over and over again through my mind, "How did I miss that?" He stayed on Singulair for a couple months, into the summer. We-- thank the Lord!-- managed to avoid catching any summer colds. The summer passed easily and O finished his prescription on Singulair. I watched his breathing and didn't feel that it was "out of control." I still noticed those retractions, but they didn't seem that bad. Maybe he was doing fine? Sept...

"I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Acts 9:16   Okay, maybe a bit dramatic. But we have had a heck of a week. It's just been one thing after another. We've had our cat for two years and he has always been mean, attacking mainly me. He did attack our oldest a few times. But then his aggression escalated (even attacking the toddlers!). Combined with his other behavior issues, we worked with the vet for over the last month trying to get him under control. Over Labor Day weekend, we had our final straw. He viciously attacked me and we had to put him in the bathroom. Monday night at dinner, dishwasher humming away, our preschooler pointed out the "lake" in our kitchen. Lake? What lake? The dishwasher leaked out into our kitchen! The sinks were both filled up with water. Of course this was the night that I did not wash dishes before sitting down to eat. Ugh. My husband did everything he could, but he didn't have all the tools for th...

Motherhood teaches you a lot about yourself, about character flaws you didn't realize you had previously. For one, I've had to develop a thicker skin. I know, more than once, I had to consciously not take it personally that our son decided to say "Dada" before "Momma." Ironically, when he said "Dada," he wasn't even spending anytime with Daddy. Daddy was out to sea! As a logically thinking parent, it is wonderful that your son is saying Daddy. As a tired woman balancing a toddler, the Navy, and living away from family, why can't your son recognize all the hard work you put in and say "Momma"? Not only have I needed to put small things like that in perspective, but the larger things have forced me to thicken my skin and stand my ground as well. We recently went to parent orientation at my son's preschool. The teacher explained that on the first day, the students will be given a card to write their name on that will sit on the...

Picture taken by A McTaggart I just finished reading this book called When Mother's Pray: Bringing God's Power and Blessing to Your Children's Lives by Cheri Fuller. Wow. Inspirational book that I highly recommend to every mother, grandmother, godparent, aunt... anyone who has a child in their life that they pray for.What I loved about the book is how it helped me go from random, all over the board prayers, "Please help my babies to sleep tonight" or "Please help my son grow in your word," to focused prayers with a purpose. She gave specific prayers for young children, school age children, grown children... I just loved this book. It lit a fire in my prayer life and has led to even deeper prayers in other areas of my life. For instance, a friend of mine asked me to pray for her as she makes a big decision. I have been exercising the four steps of prayer for her: praise, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession. As for these Moms In Touch groups ...

When you are pregnant with twins, people are full of advice on "how to do it." I did not join my local twin chapter until after my twins were born (they were about three months old), though I wish that I had. I would have loved the discussions on how other mothers of twins "did it." Throughout the whole pregnancy, I tried to go with the flow. I had a birth plan, but was prepared to throw that out the window. I had a feeding plan ( breastfeeding ), but kept telling myself I was prepared to throw that out the window as well (had a very hard time ending that chapter). As for scheduling, I felt that we would see what we decided to do when the time came. I did not schedule my first. He breastfed on demand. He ate meals on demand (I'm a natural "grazer" and I think I passed that down to him). He slept in our bed. He napped in the car or at friends' houses. It was much more day-by-day. I knew that twins would be different. However, when you are pregnant...

Three boys holding still for a picture? I don't think so. Maryland May 2012 There are a lot of different blogs and articles out there about how there isn't a "perfect mom." Still, we flood ourselves with expectations, the need to cook visually amazing food that is organic and locally grown (shame on you for buying grocery store strawberries out of season!), homemade baby food with complex ingredients and frozen in BPA-free containers (always mixed with breast milk because of course you are breastfeeding ), amazing little systems around the house to not only make life easier, but also recycles household waste (who doesn't cut toilet paper rolls in half and use them to organize a junk drawer?). On top of having all of the above under control, we are supposed to regularly have girls' nights out, complete with cocktails and dry-clean only dresses. Our husbands brag about what is for dinner that night and always have the best packed lunches and never leave ho...