How I Prepared for a Natural Birth

Oh so soon our little girl will be ONE! I usually work on this day but I requested off because even though she won't remember this first birthday, I will and I want to make sure I get to enjoy every moment of it! So obviously on her birthday it will be 1 year from when I gave birth to her, and in lieu of that I thought I would share with you all how I prepared for a natural birth. Even before we got pregnant I knew it was my goal to give birth naturally.

How I Prepared for a Natural Birth

1 | Know your goal // The number one thing I did throughout my pregnancy was making sure I knew this was my goal. I told myself it was 'my goal' instead of 'my plan' because I'm fully aware birth plans can go 100% the opposite way and sometimes you have no control over that. It was my goal to birth this baby naturally, but ultimately what mattered to me was 1) a healthy baby and 2) a healthy mama. Personally, the drugs that are involved in induction and epidurals freak me out. I also did not want to deal with the side effects of those. I wanted to do it without drugs, but I also told myself if I needed medication it didn't mean I wasn't strong, it didn't make me less of a woman, and I wasn't going to feel guilty about it. It really doesn't matter how your baby is brought into this world, just that it happens!

2. Prepare your body // There is plenty of research out there for you that shows pregnant ladies who workout during their pregnancy have an easier time giving birth and getting back into things after the baby is born. I didn't go crazy over working out every single day. Instead, I listened to my body and I worked out when I was able to. Sometimes, I would skip a week at a time, but I told myself, "Hey mama that's ok! You're doing incredible things and every workout your do do is beneficial for you and baby!" I didn't beat myself up over not working out every day, I encouraged myself. I followed my regular workout videos as well as some pregnancy workout videos that gave different different workouts every trimester. Research also shows having a healthy core, and doing squats makes pushing easier so towards the end of my pregnancy I focused more on squats and planks. On the day I went into labor I did 100 squats, and I'm positive these moves helped me push!

3 | Write down birth affirmations // I had a stack of about 20 different motivational phrases and verses written down on little notecards that I had my mom and husband read to me throughout labor. They would read me them during or after a particularly difficult contraction or when I was just so exhausted and wanted to be done. Each one was a reminder of my strength, God's promises, or encouragement. They were so helpful to me that I'm going to create a little printable for you all to have! Come back next week for that!

4 | Communicate your goals with your support team // My husband and my mom we both in the room for our delivery. They both knew it was my goal to birth this baby without drugs. I told them ahead of time everything I wrote in #1 and that I would let them know if I needed pain relief. I also communicated this with the nurse who worked with us when we were admitted. While we were being admitted I made sure to tell her I was not planning on using any pain medication and that if I needed it I would ask for it. She wonderfully communicated this to the next nurses at the shift change that occurred during our labor. The nurses didn't ask me a single time if I needed an epidural and I am SO SO SO thankful they respected my wishes!

There you have it! Those are my top tips to you pregnant mama friends!

Do you have a tip for birth? Share below!

Kayty

Coconut Pecan Date Bars

Halfway through our Whole30 we tried Lärabars for the first time. They were delicious & definitely a dangerous thing on the Whole30 if you don’t watch yourself but they were what I needed to keep at work if I forgot a snack and I’m serious need of some food. Basically, they’re a great thing to keep on hand as an Emergency Food. However, the prices are a little too high for our budget to be buying them all the time. We came home and looked up copycat recipes and there are lots of options out there on Pinterest. The first recipe we made was a winner, but we’ve made some of our own adjustments to make it how we like it. The next task we had was to compare prices to see if it was actually cheaper to make them at home. Fun fact: they are! But more on that later.

We like to keep one box of Lärabars at home because they do not have to be refrigerated like our homemade ones. This makes it easier to take Lärabars on hikes, picnics, and car trips. Plus, there are so many flavors they have created that are Whole30 approved! It is fun to work our way through the flavors.

This recipe is in no way made to try to copy Lärabars! We would never want to take away someone’s hard earned work. These bars are just similar in ingredients and taste.

Coconut Pecan Date Bars

makes approximately 12 bars

Ingredients

2/3 cups raw pecans
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 & 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

10 ounces pitted dates (about 20 dates)

Instructions

1 | Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

2 | In the bowl of a food processor, process the pecans until finely chopped, leaving a few bigger chunks.

3 | Add the shredded coconut, coconut oil, and dates.

4 | Process until well blended.

5 | Press the mixture onto the prepared sheet pan. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and top with another sheet pan. Press down firmly to spread out bars until smooth. You can also be like my husband and stand on top of the two pans.

6 | Refrigerate 30 minutes before cutting with a pizza cutter.

7. Store in the refrigerator for up to several weeks.

Price Comparison to Coconut Cream Pie Lärabar

Amazon // 16 count $15.97 = $1.00 per bar

Target // 5 count $5.29 = $1.06 per bar

Walmart // 5 count $4.98 = $1.00 per bar

Walmart // 16 count $22.80 = $1.43 per bar

Homemade version // $0.46 = per bar
$1.39 pecans
$1.64 shredded coconut
$0.24 coconut oil
$2.43 dates

Do you have a favorite granola, energy, or snack bar recipe? Share below, it is always fun to try other peoples' favorites!

Kayty

Five On Friday 6.1

It's Friday! It is going to be another PACKED weekend for us. We at least one thing planned every weekend for 7 weekends in a row. It must be summer! Here's a little snapshot of some things going on in our life...

1 | Memorial Day weekend // What a weekend. Baby's first time in the pool, homemade almond butter, a birthday party for our neighbor, cookout with friends, visits with family, whittling gnomes, lots of time to do whatever we want as a family, but most importantly remembering those who have served and have died for our freedom. This weekend was a great one.

2 | Dishwasher // I don't even know how long it has been since our dishwasher broke, at least 4 weeks based on where we were at in our first Whole30. However, our new one is being delivered this Monday! I am so excited to be able to use this little convenience again. If you've completed a Whole30 yourself you know all the dishes that come along with it. I'm seriously impressed we've survived this long hand washing dishes.

3 | Graduation // My little sister is graduating from High School this weekend. She's my youngest sibling and the one who I most remember being born as she is 9 years younger than me. I simply cannot believe all my siblings are adults! We’ll be spending lots of time at graduation parties the. Extra two weekends helping these graduates celebrate this important moment in their lives!

4 | Pool time // Over last weekend we got Cora's baby pool out and let her splash around. Since she is obsessed with bath time it was no surprise the pool was a hit. It hit 90+ degrees quite a few days in a row recently so we've been spending a lot of time on the patio. Do you have any good pool toy recommendations for kiddos around 12 months? Let me know! We've been using cups and tupperware lids but I'd like to have a few designated pool toys.

5 | Nursery // Well, we weren’t expecting to do it this Sunday but we walked into church last Sunday & decided to put Cora in nursery for the first time. At first she was so little she didn’t make a peep during service & then it was cold and flu season so we decided to wait until closer to summer. I got a little testy eyes as we walked away because our girl has hit another milestone. It was no shocker to us that she loved it. She’s  loved daycare since the first day she went. She even had to get moved up into the walkers decimation because she looked to bored in the crawlers. All the kids at daycare are 2+ years older than her so she’s used to playing with bigger kids. She’s pretty amazing & we’re so proud of her!

What have you guys been up to this week and what are your plans this weekend?

Kayty