The other day I was finishing up something that seemed very important at the time when the baby woke up from a nap and started fussing. Chopping up veggies for dinner or writing the last sentence of an email, I can’t even remember anymore. In the moment I thought, “I’ve got to do this right now.” Hildie wasn’t all out crying. She was just starting to make “not happy noises” as my kids call … [Read more...]
“So Are You Done Having Kids?”
“So are you done having kids? Is this your last pregnancy?” I’ve been asked this after each one of my pregnancies. And until this one (my 4th), I have always responded with a resounding “no!” (with the caveat that none of us are entitled to a baby and we can’t always predict secondary infertility). But keep the babies coming! No plans to stop! Enough for a quidditch team! But this time my … [Read more...]
Finding the Value in Needing Each Other: Notes from an HG Pregnancy
“Any woman who knows she will have an HG pregnancy and chooses to get pregnant again is nothing but selfish. If she knows she can’t take care of herself and will burden others, she has no right to put her family and friends through that.” I blinked at the words on the screen. Battling extreme morning sickness for the fourth time led me to online support groups for my condition, hyperemesis … [Read more...]
Christmas Tree Joy: A Photo Post
It's been quiet at Carrots this week, friends. I got hit by another bout of serious morning sickness and have been out of commission for a couple of days. Thank heavens for my mom and my in-laws who took care of the kids almost all day yesterday so that I could rest and recover from some fun pregnancy vomiting. I spent the whole day in bed with ginger ale and Harry Potter audiobooks. Anyhow, … [Read more...]
Today’s Attitude Shift
I'll spare you all the details, but it's been over 6 weeks since all four members of our family were well at the same time. We've passed around a terrible cough, Benjamin's asthma has been bad, and now Lucy has the cough/fever. And here's the thing, having sick children completely exhausts me. Sure, the bajillion night wakings due to illness wear me out (I think last night's count was 4 wakings … [Read more...]
AFP: Awesome Family Planning
On the outside chance that you haven’t already decided that we’re completely nuts, this post will probably convince you. You may previously have figured out that we’re Catholic converts leaning toward the traditional, but now you’re going to think that we’re bordering on total lunacy. Who knows? Maybe you’re right. And this topic is going to be a hot button for controversy, but I’m gonna post it … [Read more...]
