Current Top Favorite Oil

Current Top Favorite Oil:

Panaway

Okay so let's be real...I have always struggled with really bad menstrual cramps. Like on the floor in a ball, crying in pain cramps. If I didn't catch it in time with Pamprin or some other type of similar medicine it wouldn't work and it would last for about an hour. I hated having to take medicine, especially Pamprin because it would make me feel like a zombie afterwards (I don't do good with medicine) and I knew it was awful for me. I hoped that after having a baby they would go away, but alas they have not. I will say it seems they are not quite as bad though!

I'd been waiting to use this oil for awhile! I'd heard about other people using Panaway to help with cramps and wondered if it would actually help. Well, I can tell you that it did for me! I've used two drops rubbed on my stomach, as often as I needed. For me, there's a warming sensation and then they're gone... Happy dance! I love my oils!! Therefore, this is OBVIOUSLY my current favorite oil!!

Panaway is an essential oil blend by Young Living. If you're interested in learning more, let me know!

Distributor #1929094

DISCLOSURE: The information on this site is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice.

Wildflower

It's the end of the day, and I am sitting on my couch thinking and enjoying the silence that fills my home. Maylea has hit a stage (or I suppose it's from here on out) in which she feels the need to make noise constantly in her waking hours, whether it be babbling, whiny, the occasional "ma,ma," or crying. It's in these moments that I wonder how I can be enjoying the silence as she sleeps and yet still miss her presence. Oh little girl, what have you done to me? I'm simply so in love. I suppose it's this love that keeps me going, makes me forgot my lack of sleep, the thing that has given me more patience than I've ever had in my life. What a gift God has given us in children. And oh such vulnerability. It's like your heart is walking around outside of your body. I pray that I have the wisdom to know when to hold her close and when to let her go. I pray that her heart will be drawn to the beauty of our Father.

For as long as I can remember, I have always felt the closet to my Father through flowers. Mostly through wildflowers along the side of the road. Such little things, but I see Him in them and in the wind that blows through them. So free. So perfect. Like they were placed there for me to see, simply because He knows they make me feel loved.

Our little Maylea's name means "wildflower," and guess what I see in her every day I get to be with her, every time I look into her big, brown eyes, and see her beautiful smile? I see my Father and His immense love. Oh how blessed I am!

Oh my little wildflower, I find such joy in being your mother!

Maylea's Birth Story

40 weeks and 5 days...I went to bed Friday night after coming to the conclusion that I was never going to have this baby. I awoke at 4:15am Saturday morning with stomach pains that came and went. Not wanting to get excited, I tried falling back asleep and was in and out of sleep til 6:00am. At this point they had become much stronger than before and I was pretty positive I was in labor. I believe it was at this point I finally woke Luke up to let him know I thought I was in labor. The contractions were timing 6 1/2 minutes apart. I rocked on my birthing ball for awhile, called my doula and our midwife, took a shower (which felt wonderful), put some makeup on (crazy I know)... By this point, the contractions were getting closer together 3 1/2 to 5 minutes apart and I could no longer talk during them. Luke was there for each contraction, squeezing my hips, which helped so much with the contraction pain! We called our midwife, Michelle, again and were set to meet her at the Birth Place at 10:30. Luke finished packing our bag and food and we were off!

For weeks before, I had been dreading the car ride there. But once we left, the contractions slowed down. I only had about 3 or 4 the whole way there. We ended up getting to the birth center around 11am and got there before our midwife got there, and decided to walk up and down the hallways there to get the contractions going again. She arrived shortly and we went into one of the patient rooms to get checked. I was 5-6 cm dilated at that point. We headed into the birthing room and got comfortable. My doula arrived at some point and Luke left to go get us some Chipotle, as I was pretty hungry at this point and so was he. While he was gone, we started some relaxing music and I talked with my doula (I think we talked about essential oils...lol) and rocked on a birthing ball. Luke got back and we ate together. It was rather enjoyable ;).This whole time the contractions were getting stronger but still bearable, especially with Luke and my doula taking turns with hip squeezing. If I wasn't on the birthing ball, I had the ball up on the bed and would lean on it while standing and rocking back and forth. I honestly don't know what time it was but it didn't feel like it was too long after we ate that the contractions started to get pretty painful, so I was checked again and about at 7cm. At that point I was allowed to get into the birth pool. I waited for what seemed an eternity for it to get filled up! When I finally got in, it felt so wonderful!! The water helped to speed things up I'd say, as I wasn't in there for too long before the contractions got even stronger. I tried getting in different positions in the tub but nothing really helped anymore. I remember one of the assistants trying to get me to drink more water and/or coconut water. She held a full quarter of water in front of me and asked if I thought I could drink the whole thing...lol. I may have looked at her like she was crazy. Oh! And, I was eating frozen grapes...those were pretty good. I was checked again after being in the tub awhile and was at 9cm. My water still had not broken at this point. I was asked if I wanted to have Maylea in the tub or if I wanted to be on the bed. I honestly couldn't decided and so they decided to have me get out onto the bed. Okay, so the contractions were really hard now! I tried rocking on the bed for a bit and was checked again and almost at a 10 and I was asked if I wanted them to break my water to help speed things along. I decided to go ahead and have them do that. I imagined there was going to be a lot of water but there really wasn't a whole lot. And once it was done, those contractions...oh my!!! But there was only a few of them before I was ready to push! I took me awhile to figure out the whole pushing thing and it took about an hour before she was out. But when she finally came out it only took one final push and her head and entire body came out. Luke was sitting behind me, and Maylea was put on my chest and all I could see/hear at that point was her and Luke softly sniffling behind me. It was the sweetest moment of my life! Oh the moment you first see your child, it is unlike anything else in the world! She was born at 6:30pm and weighed 8lbs and was 21 inches long. Chubby, dark hair, and a tiny button nose. The most perfect thing in the whole world! Our little wildflower.

Oh and can I say, I absolutely loved my birthing team! They were so wonderful!!

Maylea Rose

The next morning, going home!

1 day old!