Finding my Worth as a Stay at Home Mom

Figuring out the definition and application of being a Stay at Home Mom has been a little more of a transition than I thought it might be.  Amelia was born a week after school started.  I didn't notice myself missing school the first week because I was already a week overdue and about to pop!  After she was born though, and Josh went back to teach at his school, the strange feeling set in.  I was missing the start of a school year.  My career as a teacher has been put on hold and instead I was home to take care of an infant.  It felt like I lost my whole identity and gained a new one, all in a matter of weeks.  Josh would ask me what I did each day and my list consisted of changing countless diapers, feeding Amelia bottles, cleaning the house and cooking.  These things seemed so mundane and meaningless.  I told him that because I wasn't "working" I felt like I wasn't intelligent anymore and was kind of useless.  What are changing diapers and feeding bottles doing to make any difference in the world?  When I was teaching, I saw results of the change I was making in those students.  Then God reminded me that if I didn't feed and change Amelia, she would die!  Though it doesn't seem real impactful at the time, I am showing her that she's loved by doing those things.

Today I read a few blog posts about finding worth as a Stay at Home Mom and found so much encouragement. One blog said:

"By the world's standards, it might not seem as though we have accomplished much. However, the world's standards don't apply to the profession of motherhood. In this profession, the little things are the big things: snuggling an infant, playing peekaboo, changing diapers, nursing, giving a bottle, attending tea parties with dolls, driving trucks in the sandbox, playing catch in the backyard, having a snack on the porch, listening to the saga of a teenage breakup, picking up a sick child from school … the list goes on and on. These are the accomplishments of motherhood. They can't be checked off a list. They don't earn you a raise. They are rarely measurable. But they matter a lot.

You and I can't look for our sense of accomplishment on a daily basis. We have to look for it over the long haul … that's about 18 years or so. What I do today does matter, but it might not be noted or valued for a long time. A woman in the profession of mothering serves and cares for her family as an extension of her relationship with God: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these…you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). With that perspective, there are no menial tasks, there is much accomplishment and there is a higher sense of purpose. Understanding that perspective is the highest form of self-care there is."

Amelia Jane Andrews

Heading home from the hospital

Amelia's best friend, Jumanji

First doctor's visit

She (finally) arrived!  She was 7 days late, 8lbs 10oz and 20 inches long!  BIG girl!  She settled right into her new home :)  So far she's been a very easy baby!  She sleeps most of the time and only wakes up to eat three times per night.  We even slept in until 9:00 the other day!  Although, this could all change in a couple of weeks once she really wakes up, haha!

Jumanji wasn't too sure of his new family member at first...  He ignored her the whole first day.  Now though, he follows us around the house as we go to change her or feed her.  He likes to supervise :)  Whenever she cries, he whimpers too.  Now, whenever she makes a sound, he'll wander over to her and check on her to make sure she's ok.  It's pretty cute!

She had her first doctor's appointment yesterday and passed every test with flying colors :)  Can't wait for y'all to meet her!  More pictures to come!

Three More Weeks!

A lot has been going on this summer!!  Josh has been working a lot at the local golf course doing their grounds keeping for his summer job.  I taught summer school here in Allen Park for about a month and now we're just waiting for the baby to arrive!  I'm getting bigger each day!  Nothing fits anymore but there's not really any use buying clothes for just 21 more days.  I just wear skirts or dresses everyday because I don't have any pants or shorts that fit anymore :(

Josh refinished our hard wood floors a couple of weeks ago and they look great!  When we moved in last year, most of the floors were covered with yucky carpet and when we took the carpet out, the floors underneath were in really bad shape.  Now they are shiny and light and much, much cleaner! :)  I spend my days cooking, cleaning, taking walks, reading and pinteresting things about babies.  The closer we get to baby time the more we realize we have no idea how to care for an infant!  Thank goodness for the internet, haha.

We've got everything in Amelia's room set: crib, rocking chair, clothes, diapers, toys and all kinds of things.  My immediate family had a surprise shower for us at our family's campout, my school had a shower for me, Josh's family had a big shower for us and our church had a surprise one as well.  As far as we know, we truly have every single thing we need for this baby.  Friends and family have been SO generous!

Getting ready!

7 more days of school!  I was so blessed to have found a summer school job right in my neighborhood!  I wasn't able to find much of anything for the summer and then this Allen Park Summer School job just kind of ended up in my lap.  It's only about 20 days and ends in the middle of July (so I won't be too big yet).  Perfect!

89(ish) more days until Amelia arrives!  We have the crib, my mom painted the walls in the nursery and Josh's mom painted a tree mural on the wall.  Super cute!  We still have a long way to go, but it's been so fun getting her room ready.

We planted our garden last week.  We got a little carried away buying plants (got them all for just $20) and now our garden is nearly double the size of last years!  Ooops :)  That just means a lot more produce and a lot more weeding...  Things are going really well!

It's a girl!

It’s a girl!  We were quite surprised when we went to the ultrasound last week and they told us that “for sure” it’s a girl! J  Woohoo!  Her name will be Amelia Jane Andrews.  People are already giving us some hand-me-downs from their babies that have outgrown things.  It’s crazy that we’re still 4 months to go and are already getting a room full of her things!  How great! 

We started carrying around a stuffed animal, pretending that it’s a baby in front of our dog, Jumangi!  He is learning to be careful with a fragile baby (stuffed animal) haha.  At first he tried to chew on it, assuming it was a new toy for him but he’s doing better and when we put it away he goes and looks for it throughout the house!  Haha, he’ll be funny with a real baby…  They’ll be buddies.

A boy?

Last week we went for the 12 week screening ultrasound to make sure the baby looks healthy.  We had an ultrasound tech and her assistant helping with the ultrasound.  After the tech finished, she asked the assistant to play around and see some different angles.  Though she wasn't allowed to tell us girl or boy, she said that she did find something between the legs that was not the umbilical cord.  Sounds like a boy to me!  It's not for sure though, as the baby is still so small.  Next ultrasound we should be able to know for sure.  From the six week ultrasound until now there's a huge difference in size and detail!  He looks like a full size baby now with facial features and all, even though he's only the size of a lemon!  He even sucked his thumb while we were watching on the screen...

Baby on the way!!

Josh and I are so excited to announce that we will add a new member of our family in September!  We already went to the doctor to have the first ultrasound and heard the heartbeat!  Hard to believe there is a person growing inside of me...  I've been feeling great.  No morning sickness or anything!  Right now, it's only the size of a prune.  We are hoping to find out in two weeks, the gender of the baby.  Josh thinks it's a boy and I think it's a girl.  We'll see!  I can't help but stop at the baby spot in the grocery store even now, just to scope it out. :)  We started this weekend working on the nursery.

This was how we told our friends on Facebook ;)

More updates to come!