Occasionally, young moms e-mail me or leave comments asking for more information about what we do with newborns and little ones. So here it is, all in one post-- all the things I've written (so far) about what we do to love and live life with the little people that enter our family:THOUGHTS ABOUT PREGNANCY:
- What should I be reading & doing when I'm pregnant?
- Readers weighed in-- do the meanings of babies' names matter?
- Here's how I prepared for the birth of our fourth child. (These aren't "must-do"s... these are just some ideas to spur you on.)
- Birth story #1-- with our first son, Summer 2002.
- Birth story #2-- with our second son, Summer 2004.
- Here are my three basic newborn survival tips.
- We use the Babywise routine to help our kids sleep well. Here's my journal of using Babywise with our fifth child (it's a 7-part series, this link is to part 1).
- Don't feel bad if you can't "do it all"! (No one else does either!!!)
- Bedtime Battles? Thoughts on getting newborns to sleep.
- Sometimes things aren't perfect. That's OK.
- Breastfeeding? Awesome!!! Here are some tips on nursing discreetly in public.
- Having our first newborn was the hardest life transition we've made.
- People still use cloth diapers? Seriously? Well, sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. If you want to learn more, (it's easier than you might think!) click here: cloth diapers, cloth baby wipes.
- Make your own baby food! Really. It's cheaper, so very easy, and much healthier!
- Remain "one" with your husband... keep pouring into your marriage!
LIFE WITH LITTLE ONES:- Don't read the "expert" parenting/child magazines. Seriously. But if you do, don't compare or measure your precious one by their lousy advice.
- What we do with little ones "pre"-homeschooling.
- How to live a balanced life as a young family.
- Begin parenting your children with the end in mind.
- The importance of the mid-day nap (for their attitudes and your sanity!)
- A few tips for organizing the young family.
- It's not easy-- but it's worth it. Teach your children to obey.
- Think more carefully about birth control options.
- Expectations matter. To a large degree, kids live up to, or down to our expectations.
- Why I like keeping toys in sets
- The Jesus-centered home-- a 7-post series filled with practical ideas about honoring God in your home with little ones.
- Basic principles about family straight from Scripture.
- Some thoughts on raising, teaching, and training our "little arrows" to honor God.
- A few of the reasons why we homeschool.
10 comments:
I had to smile at the 'little arrow' in your second to last link.
We had our third child almost five weeks ago and his name is
Jos (Short for Joseph = God will add)
Fletcher (arrow maker)
:)
Hi Jess,
I enjoyed all the links on this post, particularly your birth stories for Ethan and Baxter. Would you consider writing your experiences with Maranatha and Silas? I'm sure you, talented writer that you are, could make them interesting even if you think they're not!
Sarah Fiodorova x
:) Yup. I meant to write them back in March of last year, if that tells you anything.
I'll eventually type em up, just haven't done it yet. Long stories short: our third was induced... had bad back labor (worst of all 4)... and was born in 4 hours. Our fourth was entirely natural... labored at home... had him less than an hour and a half after getting to the hospital. Really great.
But I'll write up the longer versions some time. What made them most interesting was that both were born overseas-- our third in Thailand and our fourth here in Turkey. So we have a little Thai and a little Turk. (But really they're both Americans) :)
~Jess
Thank you - much appreciated!
My baby boy, Jonathan (means gift of God, and he so is!) is 7 weeks old. He nursed and cuddled with me as I read through these wonderful posts.
Thanks for taking the time to compile these links!
Oh my goodness! I *just* found out I'm pregnant, and your post was a HUGE blessing! Thank you so much for compiling all this information!
Kristi :)
What a great idea Jess; I'll enjoy reading through these during our ritual family 'rest' time over the next few days (I read that one!!). I'm also a cloth nappy/cloth wipes gal so had a peak at that post too...thanks for sharing all your wise words. Lots of AMEN's as I'm reading!
Thanks Jess for this post. I find it very helpful and I have added Boundaries with kids to the list of books to buy. May God bless you for being a channel of blessing to many. ~ Shade
Learning to nurse discreetly in public is so important. Women shouldn't feel like they have to either wean or go crazy being house-bound with their frequent nursers.
The more moms can live their lives while nursing, the less isolated we will be and the easier it is to commit to the extended nursing that has so many health benefits for baby and mom.
It's so much easier to be out and about with a nursling--no worries about mixing bottles or forgetting to bring formula or dropping a bottle on the floor or not being able to warm up your baby's food.
Laurie B
I am so enjoying these posts and ideas. Though I am still making my way through them all,there are many areas where we are so similar. Our kids go to sleep to Mrs. G stories or worship music but I love the idea of me listening to scripture through out the day. The one thing I miss so much is the time to study scripture during the infant phase.
We have used a loose version of babywise with our kids and it has been such a blessing for our family. I tend to steer away from talking about it due to the onslaught of strong opposition to it. Though I don't agree with everything in the book, it has been a helpful tool. The idea that people blame the book because they choose not to feed their baby when he is hungry is beyond me. It's simply one man's approach and even if he did say it's the only way that doesn't make it true. It ceritanly has made our family life...well, about the whole family and not the most recent addition.
I also enjoy reading your blog because of the focus on sound doctrine and scripture. We as women so need to entrench ourselves in truth. I often find many women leave this to the men. Thinking right, informs right living and those ever present emotions God blessed us with :o). Many more thoughts but my little people need their big person.
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