our hunch was right

We're having another...

What an awesome privilege to raise boys in a world that needs a few more good men! And... I'll still be able to sign our family letters "love Adriel & the boys" which I've grown quite fond of. Bonus.

We're so excited to think about the bond of brothers and how much fun they will have together. No doubt they will keep me busy (and in the kitchen!), but I am genuinely glad to be welcoming another little dude into the family and let his tiny heart invade mine own. Levi has made me fall in love with little boys in a way that I never thought possible. And of course Ryan is thrilled to have another member of the soccer team. Or basketball team. Or football team. Whatever. (Joke, people! They can join the ballet for all we care.)

Now it's onto the challenge of thinking of boy names, which we find much harder than girls names!

Baby is 19 weeks along and we look forward to my doctors appointment next week to hear all of the results of the scan. Can't believe this pregnancy is nearly half finished already! Yikes. It is flying by.

We love our baby boy Booker and thank God for his precious life.

Dear friends, that's all from me today. Just wanted to share our wonderful news! Do you have any advice for being a mom to boys?? And in celebration of one year of the Memos (and boys all around!) make sure to check out my pregnancy and baby-related giveaways below.

love, adriel & the boys xx

Yay! YOU get presents in honor of 

MY birthday! How fun is that??

Enter to win The Pregnancy Companion. 

Win it for yourself or to give as a gift to an expecting friend.

Just leave a comment here. Giveaway closes May 15, 2011.

Enter to win a Peekabooby nursing cover!

Leave a comment here. Giveaway ends May 20, 2011.

Are you an expecting mama? Link up with the 

Bloggin' Babes and Babies of 2011 here.

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
do not reproduce without written permission

enough is enough

How do you make room in your life for baby number two?

As much as I feel my heart is big enough for another child, I sometimes feel as if my head is not. (Not to mention my energy supply.)

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about our new baby and how carrying her* is so much different to carrying our first.

{24 weeks pregnant with baby #1}

When I was pregnant with Levi, so much of my little internal world revolved around thoughts of him, thoughts of impending motherhood, thoughts of how our world was turning upside-down.

And yet with the new baby it is so different. So much of my headspace is already taken up with thoughts of how to care for Levi: How can I get him to eat his veggies? Is it possible to make him sleep in a little longer in the mornings? (9:00am would be good *wink*.) When should I start potty training him or moving him from a crib to a bed? How do I discipline well and how do I keep my cool when he’s having a tantrum? How will I take care of him while meeting the demands of a newborn?

So many thoughts and questions… and so often pointing back to him.

And then I feel guilty. Guilty that I think of him far more than I think of my new baby. Or, more accurately, that I don't think of my new baby the same way I thought of Levi throughout my first pregnancy.

I feel like perhaps I should be more aware of my pregnancy… more in tune with my growing baby… more something.

And yet I know that baby is tucked up in my womb receiving everything from me that he* needs, and at the same time God is forming and fashioning him to be the person who he is and will be. It’s all happening just right, just perfectly, despite where my headspace is during the whole process.

I know there will come a time when she* is my arms and I will struggle with guilt in the same way related to Levi. I will be breastfeeding her around the clock, changing her diapers a thousand times more than Levi’s, ooo-ing over her little infant milestones like her first smile, holding her head up, and rolling over… while Levi, no doubt, will be vying for some of his old attention back.

It will be a tension to work out then, but it is not one to worry about now.

And I guess parenting is like that. Being a mom is like that.

There will always be a tension between all that I desire to do and the reality of what I actually can do.

I will never think of my babies enough, pray for them enough, nurture them enough, train and teach and coach them enough, listen to them enough, spend time with them enough.

But this I know – I will always love them enough. My love will be as deep and as wide as is humanly possible from a dedicated—yet imperfect—parent. And where I fall short there will be others there to fill in the gaps: their daddy, extended family, dear friends, even God himself.

And that is what gives me comfort when I have those “I will never be enough” thoughts.

Because the amount of my headspace taken up by thoughts of my new baby is no indication of how I feel about him*. As simplistic as it sounds, it really is just a casualty of a very busy, very emotionally and physically draining, and very intense (yet still precious and fun!) season of life that I'm already in as a new(ish) mom of a toddler.

My new baby is loved, incredibly loved, and that—combined with my commitment to parent to the best of my ability—is enough.

Dear friends, do you ever feel like your ‘enough’ isn’t enough? If so, what do you do to tame the negative, guilt-ridden thoughts running through your mind?

loving my babies, parenting as best i can, and believing it's enough,

*Since I don't yet know the gender of baby #2 (and since I don't like to call him/her "it") I have alternated between masculine and feminine pronouns by paragraph. Hopefully it's not too confusing.

Are you an expecting mom? Have you linked-up yet?

Join the Bloggin' Babes and Babies of 2011.

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
do not reproduce without written permission

the cadillac of all double strollers

I have been on a mission to find THE double stroller.

Since our kids will only be about 20 months apart, I want to have the option to strap 'em both in without feeling like I'm driving a steam train from behind or trying to move a double-wide mobile home through the aisles at the shops. And since it's our second baby, we won't need much in terms of "gear" this time... just some more cloth diapers (I'd like another 10-15) and a double stroller. (And of course some cute dresses if baby turns out to be a girl!)

So the double stroller - our baby #2 big ticket item.

Pretty sure I've found it... my dream stroller: the Baby Jogger City Select.

Check this high-roller out:

Holy moly.

This stroller boasts sixteen different options for the seats - facing toward each other, away from each other, both forward, both backward, using a car seat, using a bassinet, and all sorts of variations and combinations. (I highlighted my favorite ones.)

I tested one out in our local baby store and it is a dream. One-handed steering? No problem. Quick, easy fold? Check. Amazingly huge sunshades (a must for life in Australia)? Bingo. Massive shopping basket underneath? Yup. Nice wheels for a smooth ride? Done. Easy to move the seats around? Unbelievably. Good fit for both my 6'3" husband and me? Yes! Packs down well to easily fit in the small trunk of our car? Uh-huh.

I could go on and on about this stroller. I'm totally in love... and Ryan is too.

It looks great as well - comes in black, diamond (kind of like a silver/light gray), red, or deep purple.

Another thing I love about it is that you can remove one seat and use it as a single and it still works beautifully. (And doesn't feel like a double stroller "missing something.") It's just so incredibly versatile.

I can envision using this stroller not only with Levi and the new bub, but also if we have any more kids down the road (which we most likely will).

The only problem? The price tag! Here in Australia it retails for $1200. I'm not even kidding... that's nearly the price of my first car back in the early 90's!!! And that's not even including the car seat adapter or any extras.

The good news is that I found it online at a baby boutique in America for $476 with free shipping. Yes, nearly 1/3 of the price here!

Looks like I may be asking my parents if they want to stuff that gigantic stroller into their carry-on when the come visit the baby (and us!) later this year.... We'll see what they think about that.

Dear friends, are your kids close in age? Have you found your dream stroller yet? Any tips you'd like to share about choosing one?

a girl can dream, right?

p.s. This is not meant to be a product review as I don't own it and haven't used it enough to give a complete review. It is not a sponsored post either... Merely a mom's opinion as I shop around, research, and compare.





Are you an expecting mom? Have you linked-up?! Join the Bloggin' Babes and Babies of 2011 here.

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
do not reproduce without written permission

are you pregnant? link up your bump!

I have lost track of how many of my blogging friends are pregnant - there are just so dang many!

To celebrate all of the beautiful babies of 2011 (and their mamas!), I thought we could do a link-up! All you need to do is link-up your blog below and then visit whoever you'd like. (Everyone loves to have buddies to journey through pregnancy with, right?!) Just link-up your blog's url, don't worry about linking to a specific post (unless you'd like to). That way your visitors will get whatever is fresh!

I've left lots of space in the linky for you to enter your title... so when you do so, enter your name, blog title, AND your due date so you have the option to visit people who are going through pregnancy at a similar stage as you.

Feel free to let your other expecting bloggy friends know about this link-up too - I will leave it up until the end of the year. Let's see how much of the pregnant sector of the blogosphere we can round-up!!

Also, while we're on the subject of pregnancy and babies... here are a few of my best pregnancy and birth posts from the archives in case you are new here, or in case you'd just like a refresher:

• A practical and helpful post: A girlfriend's tips and tricks for mamas-to-be
• A mushy and sentimental post: Birth is holy, treat it as such 
• A snarky and sarcastic post: Dear Natural Birth Club
• An all-in-one post: 100 things you've just got to know {about pregnancy, birth, and becoming a mom}

Alright my beautiful mama-to-be friends, happy linking! Here's to healthy, happy pregnancies... and lots and lots of amazing, adorable babies in 2011!! 

glowing with you,

p.s. Feel free to right-click and copy the image url from above if you'd like to use the image in a post. I'm not going to make a button at the moment! :) And if decide to write a post, please make sure to leave the link in a comment and let me know so that I don't miss it!!

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
do not reproduce without written permission

Please leave your name, blog title, and due date:

example: Adriel @ the mommyhood memos (due Oct 7)

i love getting kicked in the gut

I thought I was imagining it.

About a week and a half ago I thought I felt the baby kicking. But no, surely 12 weeks was too early, right? Right?!

I googled "how early can you feel the second baby kicking?" and found all sorts of answers from all sorts of moms professing their experiences. Some claimed they felt it early - very early.

So... maybe, just maybe I did feel it.

But I really wasn't sure. It was just too early to tell.

{this is the most recent photo i had to go with
the post. it was two weekends ago when my husband
and i went out on a hot date for our anniversary.}

And then last night that all changed.

We were at a friend's house ooo-ing and ah-ing over their precious little newborn son and - while I held this prefect bundle of joy to my chest - I felt it again.

Clunk, thump, bump, pop. 

This time I was sure it was my little one kicking. (Maybe s/he was just so darn excited to meet a future playmate?!) I've since felt the kicking four times throughout this evening. LOVE!

What an amazing feeling when your little one begins making his/her presence known in ways that don't involve fatigue, indigestion, and insomnia!

Talk about Special. (Yes, Special with a capital.)

There is nothing like a little kick in the guts to get a pregnant woman swooning.

*Swoon*

I'm now 13-and-a-half weeks along and feeling this baby much sooner than I felt Levi's first kicks. It's incredible. Truly.

I am so in love.

Dear friends, when did you feel your baby's first kicks? If you have more than one child, did you feel the kicks of subsequent children sooner??

getting a kick out of being kicked,


p.s. I wrote this post last night and scheduled it for today. Not that y'all care, but just so that the record is straight for me when I look back and fill in the details on baby's personal blog. First kicks felt on Monday, April 4th at 13 weeks and 2 days along! :)

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
do not reproduce without written permission

the tired monster ate my... self

My husband assures me that I felt the same way during my last pregnancy. And by “same way” I mean dog-tired, highly emotional, and basically feeling like a train wreck on thin ice.

I don’t remember it that way at all.

I remember dreaming about tiny fingers and toes, diligently looking through baby name books, and making lists of things I wanted to stock the nursery with.

This time around is different though. This time around, I have tiny little fingers grabbing at me non-stop, tiny little toes running in circles around me, and no motivation or energy to look through lists of names I already know I don’t like.

And of course the nursery is already fully stocked.

But feeling like a walking zombie who—at any given moment—is ready to turn into a werewolf and do some serious damage to anyone in my path? That I don’t remember at all.

Apparently I just don’t have a great memory. (And I don’t have a blog to go back and refer to since I didn’t start blogging until Levi was close to four months old.)

My memory fails me.

I can’t remember feeling like if I couldn’t get a nap somewhere in the day I just might keel over and die. (I’m not trying to be dramatic here… I seriously feel that way often at the moment.) I don’t remember feeling overwhelmed with exhaustion to the point of tears every other day. And I certainly don’t remember wanting to a) bite someone’s head off on a regular basis or b) burst into deep sobs of frustration at any given moment in time.

when you're this tired... even airport floors look appealing

So this is a post in which I am whining. It’s so unbecoming isn’t it? I know. (I tell my one-year-old that all the time, though he doesn’t completely understand how unbecoming just yet. And—no doubt—I’m giving him a shining example.)

I feel like I’m failing, like I’m not being my “best self”. No one is getting my best – not my husband, not Levi, not friends, not my work, not God, and not even myself. Everyone’s getting the scraps that are left-over from the savage Tired Monster that’s sucking away all my physical and emotional energy.

The tank is low folks, and the fuel light is most definitely on.

“This will pass,” my husband reassures me, and of course I know he’s right.

But in the meantime I’m having a hard time keeping it all together.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a great life. I have support. I have an amazing I’ll-cook-dinner-AND-do-the-dishes sort of husband. I have plenty of moments of laughter and amusement during my day as I watch my sweet toddler grow and discover and work his magic on me.

I’m just kind-of wanting to fast-forward another four weeks or so to that golden second trimester. (Yes, I think most of my pregnancy memories are from the glorious middle.)

And yet I don’t want to be that lady either. You know, that lady who whines and complains and basks in self-pity. I don’t want to be that lady that thinks that because I’m pregnant the world should suddenly start revolving around me. And most of all I don’t want to be that lady who takes for granted the miracle of carrying and growing babies in the first place.

So, admitting that I’d give almost anything to just pack it all in and have a good, long, uninterrupted nap… I’m gonna buck up. I’m gonna be a grown-up. I’m gonna tidy up the house and change over the laundry and think about what to make for dinner.

I’m gonna give thanks for the nice home I sit in, the over-the-top gorgeous and hilarious and healthy kid that calls me “mama”, and the dream boat I get to curl up with every night.

I’m gonna look on the bright side, remember how privileged I am to get to carry a baby in the first place, and thank God that he trusts me enough to give me a second Gift in the form of a child.

I’m gonna dream about my little raspberry and love him or her without reservation from the very depths of my heart.

For every moment of exhaustion and every over-exaggerated emotion I will try to remind myself that these are very, very, very small sacrifices that many women would gladly accept in a heartbeat if it meant growing and birthing a child of her own.

And hopefully I can keep my fangs under wraps for just a few more weeks… until this short little phase passes.

Dear friends, do you remember feeling like this during your first trimester? I know it’s normal… yet I still struggle to feel normal! How did you cope during those first few months when you feel so miserable and don't even have a massive belly to show for it all?

yawn,

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011 
do not reproduce without written permission

two stripes means positive

Yes, it's baby-growing season in the Booker home.

Thank you so, so much for all of your congratulations and comments and emails!

The most fun part of my announcement was that after I posted I got four emails from other pregnant moms who've yet to announce publicly, but wanted to let me in on their secret. Soooooo fun!!! (And don't worry ladies, your precious secret is safe with me. *wink, wink* I can't wait until you're "public" and we can all track together.)


And to answer your questions:

No, it wasn't an accident.

Yes, we were trying... or not, not trying to be more accurate. (Only this last month by the way - we aren't completely crazy... just a little.)

Yes, we were still incredibly shocked that it happened SO FAST this time around.

Yes, even though we were shocked we were also RELIEVED that it didn't take months of tracking and trying and waiting. (We are so, so blessed and we know that and don't take it for granted.)

My due date is October 7th. That means I'm seven weeks along.

Yes, I'm aware that it's early to be sharing our news... but we'd rather people know about our little one and be praying for him/her and me through the early days.

Yes, we will find out the gender when we can.

No, we won't keep it a secret.

Yes, we have a girl name picked out.

No, we don't have a boy name decided yet. (We both think boys names are way harder to come up with!)

No, we probably won't share the name. (I would, but Ryan prefers to keep it for the big day - you know, to have a Lion King moment - and I'm totally okay with that. Give the man his moment - he deserves it!)

Yes, it would be sweet to have a girl... but I love Levi so much that the thought of having another boy is very appealing too.

No, I don't know "how" I will have the baby yet. I only know that my (unplanned) c-section disqualified me from future births at my local birthing centre. BUT I can still receive partial midwifery care through our regular hospital. (I still have much to learn/research... so let me just digest the fact that I'm pregnant first. *grin*)

Yes, I am totally freaked out by the thought of having two babies twenty months apart.

Yes, I like the idea of having children close together in age. Very much.

No, I wouldn't change a thing... even though I am a little nervous.

Yes, I am glad to have the next several months to try and prepare myself... and to try and take a nap.

Yes, naps have moved waaaaaaay up the priority list as of late. (I should be taking one now in fact.)

No, I can't possibly begin to imagine loving another child as much as I love my first born treasure... but all those more experienced than me tell me that my heart will grow with my belly. And I believe them. :)

Yes, I totally looked at the baby clothes section when I was in Target this weekend. (Looked, just looked.)

No, I'm not done pinching myself to make sure that it's true.

No, I don't feel sick. Just a little tired and a couple of headaches. And hungry. Always hungry.

Yes, we are ABSOLUTELY THRILLED.

Dear friends, thank you again for all of the congratulations you've sent my way via comments, facebook, and emails. It's meant a lot to me and I'm so glad you're excited with us! Now, did I cover all of your questions??! ;)

letting it all sink in,

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2011
do not reproduce without written permission