Zzzzzz's

Sleep is so important. I don't think anyone realizes how lucky they are to get consistent nights of sleep. Until they have a baby. I can't complain too much because Juliana is a fairly good sleeper. She will go through rough patches,  though, and I am once again reminded that sleep is a luxury. One of the biggest difference between my two babies has been their sleep habits. Lucas did not sleep well. He only took naps in my arms or in the boppy next to me for the first six months of his life. That just wasn't going to work for the second baby so thank goodness she is a good napper! She takes normally two, sometimes three, naps a day. It just depends in the length of the naps and when she woke up. But when I put her down for her nap, I generally wait until I know she is tired and ready. and she is out in about 2 minutes. Max. Sometimes its like 10 seconds. And I'm not waiting until she's screaming or fussing to put her down. I wait until she's rubbing her eyes and looking sleepy. Then she's just ready to go down.

I know that, as her momma, I know her tricks. I know she likes her head rubbed a certain way, and to pat her butt if she's fussy. I know that she likes to bounce a certain way, while swaying back a forth. But I knew allllll of Lucas's tricks. And it did not make him go to sleep quickly. It would take fifteen minutes of doing certain things to get him go to sleep for naps and bedtime. So it makes me very thankful for the ease with which Juli goes down.

Back in my post about Lucas's sleeping when he was a baby, I mentioned that I would do things differently with the next baby, and I have. I put her down for her naps every day. I never really tried that hard with Lucas until he was six months old. I don't go get Juli every time she makes a peep. If she starts crying, I go in. But if she's just rolling around or babbling, I don't go in. I let her try to go back to sleep by herself. It doesn't always work, but I give her the opportunity. She also has to sleep through more noise than Lucas did. I would essentially be silent while he took his naps. There is no such thing as silent at my house anymore. And that's ok. Because Juliana will just adjust to the noise level.


I am so thankful that Juliana is as sweet and happy as she is. But I am also thankful that Lucas has the little personality that he has. He is my perfectionist. He is the one who will remind you that you need to do something you said you would do. He is the one who will make sure you are ok if you sigh or he thinks you look sad. He is the one who gives me Eskimo kisses and butterfly kisses, and giggles. I wouldn't change his quirks for having an easier first child. He is just the way he is. And I love both of my babies more than I knew I ever could.

The Truth About Birth Control

 



This is a topic that has been on my mind for awhile, and I finally decided to tackle it on my blog. Birth control is such a personal decision. I don't need to know what you use, if you use it, or what you think about it. But I have come to the realization that most people that use birth control DO NOT actually understand how it works. I was one of these people, until I became educated during a Natural Family Planning seminar. First, let me say that I am not judging anyone. Everyone has to make these decisions by themselves, and it is not for me to tell you what to do. But I hate the idea that women are using something that they don't fully understand. If you have all the information, you can make an informed choice.

The scary truth: Birth Control pills, IUD's, anything with hormones like the ring, and shot - they are designed to make you miscarry. Didn't know that? Neither did I. Let me explain what this means, based on the different types of birth control.

Birth Control Pills: They work in three ways.

1. They thicken your cervical fluid, so sperm has a harder time reaching its destination. (contraceptive)
2. They prevent ovulation, so that there is no egg to fertilize, if the sperm gets to that point. (contraceptive)
3. Last ditch effort: If the egg is fertilized, it is unable to implant in the uterus because the lining is thinned and not suitable for implantation. (abortive)

The reason that birth control companies can say that they don't abort a pregnancy is because of semantics. They label a pregnancy as beginning when the egg implants in the uterine lining. But they prevent this from happening in the first place, so, in their words, they don't cause pregnancies to terminate. 

I, however, label a pregnancy as beginning when the egg is fertilized. From that nanosecond on, it is a baby. Not 5 to 10 days later when it implants in the uterine lining. So, in my mind, birth control would cause a pregnancy to terminate. 

Inner Uterine Devices (IUD's): Same kind of problem, just a different way about it. There are two types of IUDs. The copper kind, and the plastic, hormone kind. The copper kind creates a hostile environment for sperm, making fertilization difficult. If an egg does manage to be fertilized, the uterine lining is irritated by the copper, and makes implantation difficult. The plastic, hormone kind work like the pill, in three parts. 

1. Thicken cervical fluid.
2. Prevent ovulation.
3. Thin uterine lining, making it difficult for fertilized egg to implant. 

Again, both types are preventing the fertilized egg from implanting. Therefore, they are stopping a pregnancy. But not to the drug companies and pro-choice groups. Because to them, pregnancy hasn't started yet.

The hormone patch, the shot, and the ring are all essentially the same. They try to prevent the egg from being fertilized, but also make it difficult to implant, just in case the other two parts don't work. 

All of these forms of birth control are not 100% effective. This means that sometimes, all three steps fail and a fertilized egg is able to implant. There is data that shows how often this happens with each type of birth control. But there is no data that shows how often a fertilized egg is unable to implant, because there's no real way to know. Obviously, it happens. If fertilized eggs are still able to implant, even with the measures preventing them, then there must be more that are unable to implant and are aborted.

When I started taking birth control pills, I was completely unaware of how they worked. Everyone used them, so I never stopped to question the morality of them. I know that lots of my Pro Life friends probably don't know these scary facts. I don't want to debate with everyone about what kind of birth control they use, and why. I don't even need to know. I just want women to know the facts, and take them to make an informed decision.  I believe life begins at conception, and that every life is precious. So, I cannot, in good conscience, use the types of birth control that terminate pregnancy.

Don't just take my word for it. I would encourage everyone to do their own research to learn more about this topic.

Here are a few sites that I used to learn more. 

http://www.epm.org/resources/2010/Feb/16/longer-condensation-does-birth-control-pill-cause-/

http://thelostgenerations.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/does-the-birth-control-pill-cause-abortions-in-a-word-yes/

http://www.thesurvivaldoctor.com/2013/02/23/abortion-and-the-pill/

http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/which_birth_control_methods_cause_abortion/