Hey all! I live in Alaska, oh yes people live there! I was raised here. I met my husband in High School. Yes, one of those! We proceeded to have four sweet boys. Well, mostly sweet; little boys have their moments.

I always wanted to be a mother. More than anything I wanted to have my own little babies. I started out in a very different place. I was a go-with-the-flow kind of mom. Circumcision was “what was done,” vaccinations were “what was done.” Disposable diapers, the norm. Formula feeding, just like breastfeeding, right? I tried to breastfeed my first son and due in part to health issues (his) and my lack of perseverance, I put him on formula at 6 weeks old. I suffered from postpartum depression, but I stuck through it.  Brennan was born at 10lbs even, a natural childbirth in a hospital. I had thought I needed an epidural. No such luck, it didn’t take hehe. After he was born my doctor pulled the placenta out, causing me to hemorrhage.  It was all very frightening.

When Brennan was almost two, I wanted another baby. I say I because I had to talk my husband into it (and the third time, too). We started trying, but it took another year before we got pregnant. In that time, I did a lot of research. Circumcision felt wrong, how could I hurt my newborn baby that way? My first was done, the rest of my boys are not. Like-wise with vaccines. It seemed alien and unnatural to me to inject virus’s into my newly born babies.
My second son Conner was the most amazing birth. He was 11.5lbs when he was born. I had a natural delivery, with no tearing, and a wonderful midwife. My labor was only two hours long. I woke up ready to push.  Yes, you can hate me now, I’m very lucky when it comes to labor and delivery! I did everything that felt right with my boy.  I breastfed him until he was 19 months old and we both were done.

When Conner was  17 months old we started talking about having another baby. Again, I pushed for it. My husband was a one kid kind of man. Not me! I wanted four, or six, or even ten! At least enough for a team! The month I quit breastfeeding I got pregnant with our third son, Chase.

Chase was a special kind of pregnancy. I had a lot of bleeding and lost his twin within a few weeks. Somehow I managed to hang on to him. He was born at 7lbs (the smallest of my babies). His birth was terrible. He was noosed and with every contraction his heart rate would dip to 20. Those were the scariest moments, when I could hear the monitor dipping the way it was. They eventually gave me an epidural so they could turn him and he was born in one push.  Just seven hours total of labor, and only four of them were hard. He needed oxygen after birth but he was O.K.  Recovery from an epidural birth was so much harder than a natural one!

Logan is my fourth son. He was our surprise baby. I got pregnant just 15 months after Chase was born, while breastfeeding. My pregnancy was easy and my big boy was born at 36 weeks at 10lbs! Logan is exclusively breastfed, delayed vaxing, and intact like his brothers. His birth was one of those more life-changing experiences. My long time OB was out of town and they called the on-call doctor to deliver me. I had been open to another epidural after pushing out my third son pain free (who wouldn’t be) this OB had NOTHING to do with that. He came in in jeans and asked how I was, saw I was talking through contractions at 8 cm’s and said, “Hey, you got this. You don’t need any kind of help.” I could laugh at that point! Twenty minutes later when I was ready to deliver, the doctor sat at the edge of the bed in a rocking chair. He barely touched me, and I pushed then pulled my son out myself. This doctor’s wife is a midwife and he believes woman are made to do it themselves. I was really excited and happy that I had such an amazing birth with a doctor that I didn’t even know, and had only met the day of my delivery. If I do have any more babies in Alaska, I will be seeing him!

Since having my fourth son, we’ve taken measures to prevent a fifth baby at this time. Natural Family Planning had failed on us when I had a double ovulation cycle and conceived Logan in what had seemed to be a safe period. So, I had an IUD put in. While we are open to having more children in the future, my husband is still in college and right now is not a good time.

In the next few years, when my husband graduates from college we are hoping to move out of Alaska. While it is beautiful, we lack in opportunity up here. He’s studying Internet Technology while working for our city government.

 

If you can’t tell, I like hats. I like hats so much I started my own hat business, Over The Moon Hat Design. It’s a thriving work at home job that I can do while taking care of my kids. It started out as a hobby and has turned into a full time job! One thankfully that I love. From crocheting my own, I’ve moved on to spinning and dying my own wools as well. I love being crafty and making fun things. Recently my husband and I tackled making our own buttons!

I’m a photography nut. I adore taking photos. I can’t leave the house without a camera… or two…. or three. Three? I think I only have three now. Well, four if you count my camera phone, haha. I’m constantly behind one taking photos, documenting every aspect of our lives. One day I can look back and remember from those photos what it was like to be there.

I’m also a bit of a gardener. Living in Alaska, it’s not always easy to grow everything. So, I have plants. Lots and lots of plants and vines all over my house. It’s beautiful. In a world where a good 75% of the year is white or brown, seeing that green inside really brightens your spirits. This year we decided to try out container gardening. We planted some potatoes and strawberries in pots and are enjoying their rewards this fall. In one pot, we got 10lbs of potatoes! Next year we expand!

So that’s me in a nutshell. Or a not so small walnut shell! I’m a natural loving, hippie style mama who loves creating and remembering. And I never forget to smell the roses. How can you pass that beauty up!