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Kaius – Labor & Delivery a Home Birth

Kaius – Labor & Delivery a Home Birth

Rejoice in the Lord’s Redeemed. This is the story of how I had a home birth with my second son, Kaius.

From before even the moment that Kaius was conceived, God told me that things were going to be different. In August of 2017, God began to speak to me about His blessings that He would pour out in our life. That thing would be different from the past with Gabe.

If you read my post about getting pregnant with Gabe, you know that we used metformin to help us conceive. Also, if you read the next post, you know my labor and delivery with him was anything but pleasant. In August, I felt like God was telling me that I was going to get pregnant that month and I had finally (thought) I had figured out what was causing my liver issues. I stopped the metformin and was trusting God for the right timing on me getting pregnant again.

We were already trying and it had been several months of nothing at that point. I got excited! I knew when God said things were going to happen they did! So, as that cycle came and went with a negative pregnancy test I questioned whether I heard right. I continued to hope and I continued to trust that when I heard God say I would get pregnant that I would.

In the meantime, my sister got a positive pregnancy test. I was slightly excited slightly jealous. She started investigating midwives and birth centers for her pregnancy. I decided to go with her since I knew it was only a matter of time before I got mine as well. I had been contemplating what to do about my labor and delivery because of the ICP. I was 90% likely to get it in my next pregnancy, which generally means an induction at 37 weeks. I had already visited one or two other birth centers in town and was also considering going with the dr and hospital I had ended up with Gabe at. Or, would I risk it and go for a home birth with the chance of being transferred again?

On the day we went for a tour of one, God showed me the verse Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

We went to the tour and immediately fell in love with the patient midwife. She was our age, also pregnant and personable. She answered all of my questions even ones relating to ICP. This was it. Joy surged in my soul because I knew God was going to use her to birth a new hope in me that I lost after labor with Gabe.

Around mid-September, God showed me the verse Isaish 43:19,

“See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.”

I was beginning to wonder if I should start some type of natural supplement to help or if I should just keep waiting. I prayed and told Kyle we would wait and see one more month then try something. By October 1st, I got a positive pregnancy test! I was elated. I knew this was going to be different. That this pregnancy was from God and things would be completely different from Gabe’s. It was such a glorious answer to prayer and new hope of what God was going to do in this pregnancy.

The whole pregnancy I just felt peace and joy about the upcoming home birth. Things were different because I was resting in the promise that God was redeeming something in me. I took progesterone the whole first trimester, as I had with Gabe, due to low progesterone because of PCOS. Other than that, things were smooth sailing.

By the middle of my pregnancy, I was itching a bit and got worried. I asked my midwife to test me for Cholestasis. I was ready for anything. Surprisingly and not surprisingly, even with the slight itching, everything came back normal. I had started some liver support supplements and vitamins to keep everything running smoothly.

Leading up to labor and delivery with Kai, I was extremely nervous about going to 42 weeks and not going into labor. In TX, legally midwives cannot delivery babies prior to 37 weeks or after 42 for home births. So, starting in my 38th week I began a supplement that helps your adrenal gland. By 39 weeks, I added 3 red raspberry leaf capsules 3x a day to help with effective contractions. In addition to those, I pumped several times, bounced on a ball, and added in 3 (1000 mg) evening primrose oil capsules vaginally two nights in a row.

When I went for my 39th-week appointment on Tuesday, I was a bit discouraged because my midwife said that his head wasn’t engaged at all and I wasn’t dilated at all. She also warned me that second-time moms sometimes had really quick labor and to let them know as soon as possible so they didn’t miss getting there.

On Friday, for the majority of the day, nothing happened except for some house issues that we had to call a plumber in for. Our ac had backed up and caused a huge amount of flooding underneath it. It was stressful and not the right time for us to be dealing with it because the baby would be here any day. And that would cause some complications with having a home birth with no air conditioner in the middle of June! Thankfully, the plumber unclogged it and got everything working correctly. I noticed while he worked that I was having some tightening in my uterus but nothing painful or consistent so I just ignored it.

That night, as we got to bed around midnight, the tightening seemed to be happening regularly but still not painful. Around 1:30 am I woke up to Gabe kicking me and I was pretty irritated and went to take a bath. I realized while I was in the bath they were coming to every 5 min but still not painful or even anything.. around 4 I started to feel them but not in a painful way just there. I was back in bed trying to sleep but would be woken up with every tightening. Not because of pain, but more like an awareness that things were happening.

I went back and forth about telling the midwife but since they weren’t painful. I didn’t want to be the girl who cried labor and really I hedged on waking people up. So, I rested through them and text my birth people at 6ish… Kyle and I were up with Gabe most of the night. For some reason, looking back now I think maybe he knew something was happening too, he wasn’t sleeping well. 

When we got up that morning, Kyle was supposed to go to work even though it was Saturday. He also had planned to take our mower to get fixed. I was still on the fence about whether this was false labor or real, but finally decided it was better he stay home rather than risk him missing everything. We decided we would go out for a nice breakfast and go ahead and send Gabe over to my sisters to be watched. 

Kyle took Gabe to drop him off, and I decided to stay home to prep for the home birth by taking a shower plus put on makeup. Who wants to have a baby and not look great?! 🙂 After the shower, it was like 9sh and they were picking up in pain. But still not unbearable. I was putting on makeup, listening to music and stopping with contractions to dance around through them.

When Kyle got home, instead of going to breakfast, we decided to go to Walmart since we needed groceries and I thought the walking would help. At the rate I was progressing I thought it would be this evening or tonight or even tomorrow cause it seemed slow. I had talked to the midwife several times and assured her that based on the pain that I had with Gabe, I couldn’t be more than a 2 to 4 in dilation.

As I danced and stopped with contractions, it ended up taking me an hr and a half to do my make up because I’d have to stop and dance or squat through the contraction. I was blasting the Greatest Showman soundtrack and having a good time. Finally, we left the house and headed to Walmart around 11:07 am. I had hired a doula for this birth, and the plan for her was to join us at noon back at our house. 

I had a contraction in the car, which seemed to kick up the pain level and intensity but I still managed to sit through it and get to Walmart. When we got there and right as we walked in, I had another contraction. The thought crossed my mind that I should’ve stayed home and this wasn’t the best idea. Why did I come to Walmart? But we needed groceries, so we carried on and I determined that we would just be quick about it.
Around 11:35ish, I start thinking I need to get home I need privacy to get through the contractions. I had been finding empty aisles with every contraction and trying not to have everyone stare at me. Kyle, who had started timing them at Walmart, asked if we shouldn’t call the midwife and have her come? I said Nah, this must just be like a 5 or 6 cm. Walking around they were getting pretty intense around 2.5 to 3 min apart but only lasting 30 seconds so I thought I had plenty of time. I was told that as you progress in labor, the “real” contractions start lasting longer and in transition, you shouldn’t have any break between them.
Finally, I decide I need privacy and start to panic a bit in my head. I communicate to Kyle we need to go. I need to get home. I’ll walk if I have to. I felt a sense of urgency for privacy and getting home at this point. We were done with grocery shopping anyway and head to check out. On the way, I had like two more contractions and the one while Kyle was scanning things and checking out, I start to walk away to deal with the pain and feel this pop.. my water broke.
It was the strangest experience. I was like ah oh and felt it start soaking my pants like a trickle but no puddle on the floor or anything. In Walmart! Like a movie.. I panic a little and laughed a little. I turned around and walked past Kyle telling him that we need to go now that my water just broke.
I am immediately dialing my midwife and heading for the door thinking that Kyle stopped what he was doing and was following me. The midwife says she is on her way and asks a few questions. I feel a little better with her on the way and my contractions had stopped. I stopped to stand where you get a cart trying to calm down realizing that Kyle hadn’t followed me out and waiting on him to come. While I wait, I attempted to see what my pants looked like but couldn’t see past my belly, so I decided to head outside to the car. 
Kyle finally comes out and has the groceries. I realize while I am standing there we didn’t bring anything in case my water broke so I pulled something together to use as he loads the car. The car ride back was extremely painful. My contractions had become something on another level, especially sitting in the car, and all I wanted to do was get on the toilet and try pushing a bit plus get in a hot bath for some pain relief.
Thankfully the house is all but 5 minutes away. I rush inside to the toilet. I’m having a lot of pressure so I was trying to relieve it and had heard if you sit on the toilet and push a bit it helps. As I do this, I am attempting to Start the bath up, but burn my foot cause I couldn’t adjust it while I was I with the pain and on the toilet. Kyle comes in and helps me. I finally get in. It barely helped though. It was now about noon, and my doula shows up right on time. She begins helping with counter pressure and making sure we didn’t need anything. Thankfully, even though they were painful, the contractions seemed to be 5 minutes or more apart now. The training midwife who would be helping with my birth was the next to show up around 12:10 or 12:15. She started getting set up and brought a doppler in to check on baby. 
Finally, around 12:33 pm my lead midwife arrived. Between contractions, I was still laughing and talking and had a rest period between so I thought maybe I was only a 6 or so and headed into transition. Of course, I hadn’t been checked yet. The lead was talking to me about where I wanted to birth. Then she asked if I wanted her to check me. I was like sure and had to turn around in the bath for her to get access since the toilet and Kyle were in the way otherwise.
However, as soon as I turned I was like no I need to push. My body just took over. It felt like the exorcist and it just started pushing. At first I fought it because I wasn’t ready thinking that I still had to go through transition to be ready. It really surprised me and threw me off guard, and (TMI) it hurt my butt so bad. As I fought the push, I was saying, “my butt, my butt, my butt”. The contraction ended, and the midwives immediately had come over to help encourage and guide me through it. She said, this is great you can do this. Okay, now push or it’s okay you are going to get through it, only 10 more minutes then your baby will be here. I remember distinctly thinking when she said that how I pushed for 2 hours with Gabe and didn’t believe that it would only be 10 minutes this time. Sure enough though, I pushed through the contractions and he was born at 12:46 pm. The third and final assistant midwife didn’t even make it before I gave birth. The one who had warned me about second time moms not giving them enough notice to make it in time. 

God Is so good. I was worried about going 42 wks and worried I would have to induce myself. Instead everything unfolded in just a magical way and I was able to have the home birth I thought I would have had with Gabe. It just so awesome how it happened because I didn’t even know I was really in labor for most of it and then it went so fast. He was born healthy at 6 lbs 13 oz, 21 inches long. Every time I think about his home birth I smile and see how God did completely redeem all the negative things I experienced in Gabe’s labor and delivery.

As Psalms 18:30 says, “God’s way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.”
It was everything I could’ve wanted and more. It gave me renewed hope and trust in God to see his promise fulfilled in such a magnificent way. I know that no matter what happens in this life when God gives you a word and you cling to it not letting fear dictate how you react, you will see God’s hand stretched out.
That leads me to the labor and delivery story of the third. It has been a mix of good and bad and holding on. I don’t know the ending yet, but I do know that I leave it in God’s hand and trust him to write a beautiful story it too will speak of His love and His mercy. It will glorify him whether it turns out as miserable as Gabe’s did or as wonderful as Kai’s birth. If I continue and wait to see Him move, he will move mountains and I will praise him either way!
Stay tuned for the third and final story.
The Labor and Delivery of Gabriel – a home induction and ICP story

The Labor and Delivery of Gabriel – a home induction and ICP story

My labor with Gabriel begins early on the morning of August 16th at around 6:30 am when I drank 2 oz of Castor Oil. From there, Kyle, my mom and I headed to the birth center and met with the midwife. My labor had not began as I was not having any contractions. When we got to the birth center, the midwife was late to meet us. As we waited, we walked around the birth center to see if walking would help labor begin.

Check out the beginning of this story of how I got pregnant on my last blog post.

When the midwife met us, we had my membranes stripped and headed to an acupuncturist to try acupuncture to begin labor as well. Our appointment wasn’t for a couple of hours, so we had planned to stop and eat lunch but ended up walking around Kohls because the place we were going to eat was closed.

Acupuncture to Induce Labor

At the acupuncturist, he put a few needles in me and begin to stimulate my uterus with electrotherapy, it was now around 1 or 130 in the afternoon. With the castor oil and acupuncture, I began to have horrible stomach cramps and (TMI) diarrhea.

No one had told me that this is what the Castor oil and acupuncture do to get labor going. That I was going to hurt from this as much as the labor itself and get hemorrhoids from it. We left there and had to stop along the way so I could get to a restroom.

We headed to a mall to walk the rest of the afternoon to continue to stimulate labor until my chiropractor appointment.

***
Let’s flashback a week or two. I had been itching incessantly for weeks, well over 7 weeks at this point. I was told it was likely PUPPS but the itching had increased and then had begun to manifest itself in my hands and feet, as opposed to all over my body where it had been.

My midwife finally thought to test me for ICP or cholestasis of pregnancy. [Find out more about ICP here] Unfortunately, the tests for this usually take 5 days to come back. When I got the call from her, my heart dropped. I was scared, discouraged and at this point 41 weeks pregnant with no signs of labor. I went in for monitoring at 41 weeks and 5 days to see how the baby was doing. I sat on the monitor with my mom for well over an hour and a half, during which there was one really long deceleration of his heart. When the midwife saw that on the chart, she immediately sent me to the hospital for longer monitoring.

monitoring the baby

They monitored him for the rest of the day and there were no more decelerations but they wanted to induce me right then and there. I refused and reluctantly they sent me on my way with an appointment for induced just two days from then.. the day I turned 42 weeks.
***

Kyle and I walked, headed to the chiropractor, and then back to the mall to continue walking. We ate in the food court then carried on our march. I was determined to start labor and avoid the hospital at all costs. Contractions had started coming around 2:45 pm but were very irregular.

Finally, around 10:30 pm, my labor seemed to be full fledge. Contractions were 2 to 3 minutes apart and running together or coupling. I called my midwife and headed to the birth center to have her check me and hopefully get the baby out sooner rather than later that night. I was excited, hopeful, and ready to get this baby out.

In my head, I had this idea that birth would be beautiful. It would be painful, but I would have this great support team telling me how to deal with the pain. They would be there to encourage me and show me different things, and then in the wee hours of the morning, I would push this beautiful baby out and all the pain and heartache would be worth it!

I walked a bit around the birth center, but for the majority, I was in a very hot bath because the pain was very intense and the contractions were on top of each other. My birth team, rather than sit and talk to me slept in various locations around the building. The midwife and nurse came in and out of the room to check on my labor or force Raspberry Leaf Tea down my throat.

All the things that I had dreamed this birth would look like, nothing was unfolding as I thought. I felt alone and discouraged. I felt irritated at the surprise of the nurse that I was never told was going to be there. I felt nothing but negative things and pain.

The midwife checked me several times, and thankfully I was progressing. At around 6 or 7 am the next morning, she checked me and I was at a 7 cm dilation. She began to talk to me about transferring to a hospital because she wanted me to get an epidural and rest. This was the last thing I wanted. Yes, I wanted pain relief, but I did not want it from a hospital. My mom and Kyle because to discuss with her and were told that she thought it medically necessary.

I started to act out on my pain a bit more like a toddler hoping for attention; hoping for someone to support me and encourage me like I thought they were there to do. To no avail, I was a lost cause in their eyes.

Finally, after feeling like no one could help me, I agreed to transfer. Discouraged and angry, hurt and betrayed, the midwife gave me a shot of nobane (5 ml) to get me to the hospital and help with the pain. I rode with my mom, while Kyle rode with the midwife. I was too angry and hurt to ride with either of them. My poor mother later explained how terrifying it was for her to drive me because of the rush hour traffic and what if I started pushing on the way.

Overall the drive was calmer than the last two hours seemed to be. Music played and I sat in silence trying to not think about any of it. By the time I made it to the hospital, I had dilated another cm. I was encouraged by that but still irritated by the lack of support and ending up at the hospital. I became bitchy and angry. With getting to the room, I demanded the epidural saying, “Well, we came here for an epidural, where is it?”

My epidural was in and I was in the bed resting by 9:30 am. The morning went by in a blur because of my sleeping state, the haze of the drugs, and my lack of sleep for the past several weeks. By noon, the nurse checked me again, and I was still only an 8. The dr decided to break my water to see if that pushed me to the end. He left and I rested more with nothing else to do. My legs were massively swollen and I was very uncomfortable, but with the epidural, there was no pain.

The nurse checked me again at 3 pm and said I was fully dilated. She asked if I wanted to try pushing, and I agreed excited and thinking this would be over in just a few more minutes. They held my legs and I began pushing, but my contractions were several minutes apart. I would push with contractions and then wait. Nothing seemed to be happening. After 45 minutes of this, they called the dr and we tried a different position. By the time the dr got there 30 minutes later, he checked and the baby wasn’t stuck so I continued to push. He was in and out of the room while I pushed. Finally, around 5 pm, the room began to buzz with excitement as Gabriel began to emerge!

He was born at 5:08 pm, 7lbs 7oz and 21 inches long. After a long, grueling and disheartening birth, Gabriel joined the world. I was relieved, exhausted and done.

It took me months to process this birth. I was sad, depressed and angry at how everything had turned out. I asked God why and what I had done wrong. I investigated my liver issue that didn’t resolve after birth as it should and wondered what was wrong with my body that I didn’t go into labor on my own. Was it stress? Was it a lack of sleep? Was it the ICP? Why and where had it all gone wrong?

I still don’t have answers to many of those questions, but I have a few answers from God on some things. He redeemed this story through Kaius’ birth. He redeemed all the abandonment and pain that I experienced with Gabriel’s birth story. One main thing God told me through it was that I had this plan in my head of how things were going to go, and I wanted it to go a certain way, but I hadn’t consulted God in any of it. I hadn’t asked God to help me. It was all going to be in my own strength. All I needed to do was endure, and it would be beautiful.

But birth is a gift from God. A gift that we can only endure by God’s precious hand and by His strength. We can try all we want to be strong but without God, we can do nothing.

Stay tuned for Kaius’ birth next!

My Holiday Gift Guide – gifts everyone will love

My Holiday Gift Guide – gifts everyone will love

I have sat down and put together this Holiday Gift Guide for after Christmas sales that you will want to check out! These are items my family and I received for Christmas that we are loving and look forward to using all year long!

This post contains affiliate links.

Maternity/Post Partum Wardrobe Holiday Gift Guide

I am currently reaching the end of my pregnancy and clothes have all become constricting and uncomfortable. So this year for Christmas, I asked for several different items to add to my wardrobe.

This is one of my favorite items that I can’t wait to try! It is a nursing nightgown. With no energy in the middle of the night, it is crucial to have something that is easy access for the baby and you. With my first child, I just word my normal shirts and the bottom half of me would freeze. Then, if I wore a nightgown, my shoulders would be cold.

This will be the perfect mix to keep my shoulders warm and easy access to breastfeed in the middle of the night!

I got four of these, they come in pairs. They are so comfy! If you want comfy yoga pants to lounge around your house in with the kids, these are the ones to get. The band can be folded under your belly or you can have the band up over it. Definitely going to be living in these for a while!

Lastly, I got these super soft and comfy Cardigan Sweaters. If you know me, you know I am always cold. I live in the sweater that I got from Target last year, and I am happy to add this one to my wardrobe to switch back and forth from.

This second cardigan will definitely look better after pregnancy, but I am still very happy to have it in my wardrobe now!

Around the House Holiday Gift Guide

The boys got an outdoor playset for one of their Christmas gifts. They love to play outside, but I do not like to sit out there. So, this year I added some patio furniture that I could be comfortable sitting in while they played. This is the one I got and I couldn’t be more excited to get it set up and start enjoying it. Especially since on Christmas Day, it was 70 degrees here.

Kyle got this as one of his gifts and I feel like it was one of mine! One of the first things I did when we got home was to create a space for it and get it set up. Unfortunately, It was the middle of the afternoon by the time I got it in its place so I haven’t tried it yet. But, you better believe tomorrow one of the first things I am going to try is a latte or cappuccino.

With this Keurig, we will be able to sell our old Keurig coffee maker and my espresso machine since it makes coffee, cappuccinos, and lattes. My espresso machine is nice but it is a pain to have to clean it like I do every time I use it. This new Keurig machine will make cleaning a breeze since it is top-rack dishwasher safe! Who doesn’t love a frothy coffee in the morning!?

Gifts that Little Boys will Love

These are a few of the toys my boys are loving that they got this year. Perfect to add to your kid’s birthday lists or even buy now and save for later.

These are their favorites from what they got. The lion blankets are hooded and perfect for play or sleep. They are also very big, so they will last a long time as they grow.

Kaius loves the linkimals that he can play with individually or they will sing and dance together in unison. If you follow me on Instagram, @momma_of_dragons, you will have seen Kai dancing with them as they sing.

For Gabriel, he loves building things so the domino train and the k’nex pieces are entertaining him for hours. As well as the leapfrog backpack, he can practice his letters and play games with them on the go.

Finally, the two scooters are so fun! For now, they are using them as ride-on toys, but I am sure as they get older they will be used more like scooters. The perfect transition toy that grows with them for their outdoor play!

These are just a few of the different items that we were able to receive this year. We are so grateful for what we have and I wanted to share with you our favorites! Thank you for following along! Did you get any similar items, and which are going to be your most used this coming year?

My journey to Motherhood Pt 1

My journey to Motherhood Pt 1

Let’s talk about how I became a mother to two boys and another baby on the way. My fertility journey from PCOS to two boys and another baby on the way. I might have to break this story up into several posts because it spans my lifetime. However, I know a lot of people can relate to having difficulties getting pregnant so I wanted to share my journey. Let’s start with 5 years ago, in 2014.

The Beginning

I had been on birth control for a couple of years but knew it would probably be difficult to get pregnant when my husband and I were ready to have kids. I knew this because my periods before I got on birth control, were 50 to 75 days apart. Sometimes they were even 80 days apart sometimes less, but never regular.

When my husband of several years and I were ready to start trying, I got off birth control. At first, it seemed hopeful because things seem to start off on a good foot with my first cycle only being 48 days long. But the wait then began to elongate. ..

I got off birth control in May, and by October nothing had happened, and I had only had two cycles. I began to look for an answer to what I figured would be a diagnosis of PCOS.

PCOS is Polycystic ovary syndrome. Basically, it means there are cysts on my ovaries that interfere with fertility. I began to track my periods and track all of the signs of fertility.

What was my body and its fertility doing?

As time ticked away, I began to learn a lot about fertility and my body. I started charting and tracking all my fertility signs. I began learning that my body didn’t have a problem after I ovulated except for a low progesterone level. In addition to that, my main and most glaring problem was that it took forever for me to ovulate. I would have a period, then 40+ days would go by before my body even thought about ovulating. Then I would ovulate, and 13 to 14 days later I would have my period.

This made it difficult getting pregnant because it was so long between ovulations. For other people, they can try once a month. Mine was once every 2 to 3 months. Besides this, I was experiencing low cervical fluid levels and low progesterone levels after ovulation.

I was discouraged but not giving up because I knew that everything was in God’s hands. He is the ultimate authority to my fertility, and no matter what happened I would learn to trust him with this. If you are feeling discouraged, I wrote this blog post about some ways to deal with it.

What do I do?

The first thing I did after temping and learning more about my body was looking into natural remedies. I stumbled upon a herb called Vitex via a facebook group I was in. After learning about it, I began to dig dipper into vitex. I learned what it was, what it was thought to do, and possible side effects and how it might help me. In the research, I found that Vitex had similar properties to the prescription Clomid and I became hopeful this was the answer.

PCOS Cycle

Throughout this journey, my husband and I were seeking answers from God. Asking for His guidance, and trusting that in the right time all things would come together. Whether that be through natural remedies, or through a doctor’s help.

Here is a screenshot of my cycles from 2014 to present.

My Fertility Journey with Vitex

After getting vitex and adjusting the dosage to be what I thought was a good amount, I hit my first stumbling block. 4 days after ovulating, I got super dizzy. I ended up going to the ER. They gave me some medicine to help me with the dizziness and nauseous but didn’t have a specific reason for why I was dizzy. I knew, though, based on the fact that I had just started the vitex and ovulated, it must have been caused by the vitex dosage.

I laid on the couch for 4 days miserable and unable to go to work or stand because of the dizziness. Finally, the problems seem to subside and things returned to normal. After this, I adjusted the dosage down a bit and did not experience another dizzy spell. I hit another wall though.

My next cycle was 100 days long. With things not seeming to be getting better I finally decided it was time to see a doctor and figure out what they could do. I made my appointment and describe the symptoms I was experiencing.

She was very nice and ran some tests but almost immediately diagnosed me with PCOS. She prescribed Metformin to me and mentioned Clomid. After discussing both options with her, I decided to hold off on Clomid and see how the Metformin worked. I knew from my research of the Vitex that I couldn’t take Clomid and Vitex at the same time. In addition to that, She mentioned that I could only take Clomid for a couple of cycles because of possible cancer risks.

That scared me and I decided to wait and do more research on the Clomid. I thought it would be good to start with Metformin before jumping to something that drastic. I say drastic because of the limited use options and possible cancer risks.

Fertility and Adding in Metformin

I continued to take my vitamins, the vitex, but now I added in the Metformin. It was February/March. I had been off birth control since May of the previous year and had only a mere 5 cycles in that time period.

Metformin is a diabetic medicine that doctors will prescribe to people with PCOS as an off label use. People with PCOS are shown to be insulin resistant and medicine helps reduce the insulin levels in the blood, thereby assisting infertility issues that are caused by high insulin levels.

Finally, after just two weeks on Metformin, I got a positive pregnancy test. I was over the moon! Now all I had to do was get through the pregnancy and meet my new beautiful baby. Or so I thought…

Continue the journey with me next week in the next blog post…

PCOS cycles

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Heirs of Love Study

This month my sister and I have put together a devotional-scripture letter study called Heirs of Love. It is based on what we have been learning in our other devotionals. I would love to share with you more about it and invite you to join us!

The Topic

We are discussing what the meaning of life is in this study. In Ecclesiasties, Solomon asks some really deep questions and tests things out with all his resources and power. We look at that then dive deeper into the word and the Godly broard view to discover what the meaning of life is and answer some of his questions.

Then, from there we are going to discuss what this means to us as Christians and the calling on our lives. I don’t want to give too much away here because I really want to show you the scripture and walk you through it step by step. So, please join us. You can sign up here.

Freebies When You Sign Up

When you sign up, you get a planner page with what verses and lettering we will be going through. Also, you will get a free fashion illustration download.

Looking Forward to the Journey

I hope that you will join my sister and me on this journey. It will be a great discovery and hopefully be a balm to some of life’s deepest questions. In addition to the study, we will be calligraphy lettering each day and sharing via Instagram out lettering. Here is my lettering from Day 1:

Join us on Instagram, @sharrette.co and @sharretteco_design to see the lettering we are sharing through-out the month and a few notes from the study. Feel free to tag us and use #heirsoflove.

See you there!

xoxo

A Boutique I’m obsessed with and why you should be too

Have you ever fallen in love? Yes? What about Fallen in love with a store or boutique? I have, I’ve found one I’m obsessed with. I love 90% of their clothing. I’m going to tell you about why I am obsessed with this boutique and why you should be, too.

“A man will never love you or treat you as well as a store. If a man doesn’t fit, you can’t exchange him seven days later for a gorgeous cashmere sweater. And a store always smells good. A store can awaken a lust for things you never even knew you needed. And when your fingers first grasp those shiny, new bags…”
― Sophie KinsellaConfessions of a Shopaholic

First of all, can we talk about how amazing Confessions of a Shopaholic is as a movie? It is such a fun and light-hearted movie! I love movies that inspire me so much that I end up reading the book. That movie was one that I read the book after seeing.

The Boutique

Vici Collective – How I found them

I found Vici Collective through a Fashion Blogger on Instagram. They were wearing some of their clothing and tagged the boutique in their post. Of course, I followed the link over and after scrolling through their feed I was hooked!

Since I have started following them I have made several purchases of clothing.

 This winter my go-to top has been this button down thermal. I wear it every week at least once. I feel in love with it from Urban Outfitters but I actually bought mine in a Mulled Wine color from Vici Collection. It is very soft and comfy, and the price was more affordable than at Urban. 

Other items I’ve purchased from Vici Collection are a pair of jogger pants, some dresses, an off the shoulder oversized cardigan sweater, and a pair of leggings. 

Why I love them

One reason I love them is that their Instagram Feed is always legit. They are always adding new items to their store, and so they are posting new items to their Instagram feed daily. Just go check them out here, and you will see what I’m talking about. 

I guess that is what keeps me coming back to them. They post high-quality photos and make their clothes really appealing to my style and aesthetic. 

Things to Watch For

The first time I purchase from them, I got these super cute zipper leggings. I was so disappointed though. When I received them, I had expected them to be a beautiful blush color and they were very brown. 

I’ve seen other complaints on their Instagram that the filters they are using are very deceiving on what you will receive. So, be cautious when purchasing! 

The good thing is they have a lot of influencers and you can see a “truer” version on the clothing item from them. 

When I buy

I usually buy clothes from them when they go on sale. They have flash sales that they will put clothes at $20 or under. That is when I have gotten most of my clothes. Shipping is pretty fast and not too expensive. 

All in all, I would recommend them but make sure to just buy with caution because of the color changes. 

If you would like to check out other clothes I’m obsessed with, check out this blog post about shein.com. It’s a review I did on ordering from them. 

Until Next time!

xoxo

 

 

Devotional Corner – The Beginning

I’ve been consistently spending time doing quiet time the past two weeks, and I thought I would implement a Devotional Corner every now and then on my blog.

Welcome! Thanks for joining me!

Here is a little background on what I’ve been studying:

I’ve been inspired by Amanda, @movethemountains. She had a January Lettering and Devotional challenge that my sister and I joined in called Daughters of Promise. I’m still going through all the days and listening to the devotionals she did as a companion to them. They are so powerful and really speaking to my heart, as well as my sister’s heart.

In addition to that devotional, I’ve been going through one called The Call by Amy Groeschel, She is Pastor Craig Groeschel’s wife. She put together this study for something called Sisters. I’m not quite sure the entire background on the study, but I started going through it with my sisters. We watched one video together, and then I started on the daily devotionals.

Wow, God spoke straight to my heart through this study! It’s been answering some questions I’ve been pondering the past couple of years. Let me share my questions with you.

My Questions

I love the book of Ecclessiaties. I often wonder the meaning of life. What is my purpose, what is the point of making money? It never satisfies and nothing I’ve done or seen can satisfy me because inevitable I always want more. How can this be all there is to life? Always wanting more?

I discussed this and more with my friend, and we just basically go around in a circle. I knew in my heart that my purpose in life is to know God and make him know, but why does that feel like it isn’t enough? What does that even mean? It sounds so cliche to me, and I felt like I was still missing something. I told this to God and decided to also do a study on Ecclesiastes, maybe I was missing something.

More to Come – Stay Tuned

Have you ever felt like there was more to life and you were missing the meaning of it all? Here is a post I wrote about feeling discouraged that might help you. I hope you will Stay tuned for my next devotional corner, I’m going to share exactly what God’s been saying to me and how he has been answering my questions.

Feel free to subscribe so you get a notification when I post the next one! Comment below some of the questions you have had about life, I’d love to pray about them for you.

xoxo