Holiday Traditions

Christmas is just around the corner - 10 DAYS LEFT!!!!

This year, we are looking on the holiday season as a bittersweet time.  We LOVE our traditions that we do together, and we know that next year some of them will change due to Little Miss being with us.  PLEASE don't misunderstand!!! We are beyond excited that Baby Loness is finally making her appearance - especially considering we were under the impression that she would never happen... But we have also thoroughly enjoyed our time together, just us.

Christmas time starts for us at Thanksgiving - we alternate between eating dinner with my family or his family, and then eating dessert with the opposite.  At his family dinner, during dessert the ladies of the family congregate in Aunt Betty's sun room with maybe 3 newspapers - we pass the ads around the table and everyone plans their Black Friday Shopping.  The guys congregate around the tv for football and usually naps... It has become one of my absolute FAVORITE traditions of the day.  So much so, that this year we introduced it to my family!!  At first, everyone was like "Um... ok?" and then the ads came out and everyone was on board. 

After we have eaten too much, we head to Walmart with both sets of our parents and take our time through the Black Friday on Thursday madness.  Walmart has it figured out man!  It's always organized chaos, and we have never had a bad experience!

Friday we set up our Christmas tree and other decorations.  It always makes me a nervous wreck because the house is basically destroyed until we finish.  Brandon gets everything down from the attic, and while he sets up the actual tree and some of the decorations, I make dinner.  The dinner has been the same for the last few years - Thanksgiving Roll Ups  We look forward to it every year!!

Our Christmas tree is the same tree Brandon's parents bought the year he was born!  When they replaced their tree, they handed it to him.  Last year was the only year it hadn't been used because we had the bright idea of getting a real tree... Our dog, Lucy, didn't bother it or try to drink from it or anything, but we are still finding needles in the carpet... The house smelled great, but dear Lord what a MESS!!

Saturday is spent either shopping, or this year - NAPPING!!  Sunday is pretty much the same, but with some football thrown in for good measure.

Christmas Eve starts the gift giving madness!  We spend the evening with his parents, eating dinner and exchanging presents.  It's always a wonderful and CRAZY time! :)  His sister and I have a tendency to prank each other by wrapping something literally 100 times, though this year she gets a reprieve from it because I am too exhausted to do that much wrapping...

Christmas morning starts at like 6am, because I am worse than a little kid!  I know what I got him for Christmas and I can't wait for him to open his stuff! After we do our required "first thing in the morning Christmas picture" and open our gifts, we go back to bed for a little while most of the time.  Then it's off to my parents house!  My God Parents, my cousins, and sometimes my grandparents fill the house and the madness begins!  After presents, we usually eat a dinner that has WAY TOO MUCH FOOD!! This year, we are planning to reign it in a bit and try a brunch style menu.  After the craziness with my parents, we go to his family gathering.  We do a white elephant gift exchange and the most hilarious gifts show up!

Now, neither of my parents families get together for Christmas anymore.  Mom's side never really did that I recall, and Dad's side hasn't since my grandparents passed away.  Brandon's Mom's side still gets together - which is nice because we are super close (same peeps we see at Thanksgiving!) and his Dad's side gets together at a restaurant at some point too. 

Once we get home, we are absolutely wiped out... but it is so much fun!  We have a blast and look forward to the madness all year long!

We finish up the holiday season on New Years.  Since we go all over the place for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we decided to spend NYE at home together - just us.  We order a crave case of various White Castles and sit at home watching movies.  Sometimes we go to sleep before the ball even drops... yep, we have a tendency to party hard.

Next year, this all might change for us having a baby to bring around.  I am super excited though to see how much more fun the holidays will be with her!!

What do you do for your holiday traditions??

Breastfeeding… see it doesn’t hurt anyone…

Warning:  This post may or may not be NSFW.  It is also my opinion and based on my own personal research – legal rights and benefits.  No one else is responsible for this post by ME.

Facebook has made me extremely mad recently… More and more, I am seeing posts about moms shamed in public AND private for feeding their child.  More importantly, BREASTFEEDING or NURSING their child.  It has sparked both outrage against mothers AND support for mothers as well.  It’s a touchy subject, mainly because people seem completely uninformed OR society has seriously over sexualized the female body to the point that what we are NATURALLY made for is now seen as unnatural and immoral.

                                                           

LEGALLY

Per the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 (29 U.S. Code 207), which was amended in 2010, companies are now required to allow reasonable break times for new mothers to express (or pump) their milk for up to 1 year after their baby is born.  The employer is not required to pay mothers for this time, but they are required breaks for them.  The employer must also provide a place to “pump in private” Per the wording in the code – this does NOT include a restroom! 

Break times can vary, but the times and breaks cannot be limited.  For example, a mother CANNOT be told “you will pump at 10am and 2pm for 10 minutes only”.  This is against the law.  If a mother is fired for “taking too many breaks to pump” a lawsuit can be filed – a mom cannot be fired for pumping breast milk for her baby.  A mother is ALSO protected from retaliation, or firing, because of filing a complaint!  Basically, if my manager tries to give me a hard time for taking 3 breaks at 20 minutes each for pumping, and I am fired for filing a complaint to the Wage and Hour Division, I am protected.  **Side note, my manager and the company I work for are amazing when it comes to pregnancy, mothering, and families.  It has been said to me numerous times through the duration of my current pregnancy “family comes first” and they are being incredibly accommodating.  So, any example that I make using myself and my company are NOT how things actually have been or will be for me.**

A really cool thing I have also learned in my research is that support, supplies, and even lactation counselors are to be completely covered by health insurances!

Moving on…

49 out of 50 states, even Washington D.C. and the Virgin Islands protect women, allowing them to breastfeed in ANY public or private location. – Idaho is the only state not included in this list…

29 states, D.C., and the Virgin Islands protect breastfeeding mothers from indecency laws. States included:  AK, AZ, AR, FL IL, KY, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NY, NC, ND, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VA, WA, WI, WY

28 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico protect mothers to nurse while at work.  States included:  AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, GA, HA, IL, IN, LA, ME, MN, MS, MT, NM, NH, NY, ND, OK, OR, RI, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WY

17 states and Puerto Rico allow women to postpone jury duty while breastfeed.  States included:  CA, CT, ID, IL, IA, KS, KY, MI, MS, MO, MT, NE, OK, OR, SD, UT, VA

For further information, and even state by state statutes related to breastfeed, please visit http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/breastfeeding-state-laws.aspx

Health Benefits

There are actually MANY benefits to breastfeeding your baby.  Breastmilk is more nutritionally balanced, lowers the risk of SIDS, and can even boost your babe’s immune system through their first year of life!  Not to mention the skin to skin benefits for both momma and baby!

Considering that it is the absolute most natural food for your infant baby, and not man made, breastmilk provides complete nourishment for your baby.  All of the required proteins, sugars, and fats are provided in breastmilk. 

Breastmilk has been proven to not only boost your babies immune system, it also can help fight against illnesses.  Apparently, even kiddos who go to group day cares have a better chance of not catching someone else’s cold because of the breastmilk. 

Breastfeeding also helps your baby feel safe and comfortable once they are earth side.  Think about it… for 9 months, all they know is momma’s heartbeat, the dark closeness of the womb, and the voice of momma and anyone around frequently during the pregnancy.  Then, they are thrust into a world of bright lights, loud noises, and life that is not a 24-7 Jacuzzi… I don’t remember being born – obviously – but the thought of life changing THAT drastically sounds kind of scary… Breastfeeding has shown to comfort a baby and reassurance.

And from a weight loss standpoint for momma… breastfeeding has shown to release oxytocin – which helps your uterus go back to its normal size, help you lose the “baby weight”, and has even shown to lower risk of various cancers such as breast and ovarian!

For more info, please visit

https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/breastfeeding/Pages/default.aspx

What does the Bible say about it?

When I think about the time the bible was written, I don’t think that bottles or formula was readily available… I also don’t think that God would have created anything on or in us that didn’t serve some sort of purpose (the appendix doesn’t count… I am sure it is used for something OTHER than trying to kill us when it’s infected…)  Here are some scripture I have found that reference breastfeeding:

Luke 11:27 – As He said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed – English Standard Version.  Now, to put the scripture into perspective, this is from when Jesus was teaching about how to pray (you know, the Lord’s Prayer?) and talking about casting out unclean spirits.  It sounds to me that Jesus was breastfed.  I don’t think ANYONE reading this would EVER go up to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and say “STOP!  This is indecent and you don’t need to do this here”  ESPECIALLY now that most of the whole world knows who Jesus is…

I can go Old Testament too:

Psalm 22:9 – Yet You are He who took me from the womb; You made me trust You at my mother’s breast – English Standard Version.  Sounds to me like King David was breastfed too.

Let me go on:

Genesis 49:25 – by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb – English Standard Version.  Jacob said these things over his sons… and I don’t think he was referring to any sexual blessing from the breast here…

To me, it sounds like breastfeeding was pretty normal in biblical times… and yet now it is looked as a shameful act.

For more references, please open your Bible that is sitting on your shelf – probably collecting dust.

“But Shanna, it’s only shameful when a mother doesn’t cover herself up while she is breastfeeding”  Um… would you please take a blanket and put it over YOUR head while you eat?  I don’t even like my head covered when I sleep, why would I like it when I eat? 

“But Shanna, a mother can take her baby to a restroom to breastfeed”  Please, take your food into the bathroom, have a seat on a toilet that you don’t personally clean (so can you be sure of the germs on it??) and eat up!  Doesn’t sound to appealing or appetizing, does it?

“But Shanna, people get arrested at Mardi Gras for taking their breasts out for beads”  Last I checked, feeding my baby is completely different than showing off my goodies. 

“But Shanna, I don’t want my husband to see another woman’s breasts, or my kids to see breasts before I am ready to talk to them about sex”  Tell your husband to grow up and not over sexualize the human body, and remember what it is made for.  Breast may bring sexual pleasure to some, but ultimately… they are designed and created to nourish a child… and as far as your kids asking questions – tell them truth!  Teach them it is just a mother feeding her baby like they are sitting there shoveling too many calories, or way too much sugar into their mouths.  It’s natural and shouldn’t be treated as anything less.

Now – before I close, I want to make something perfectly and abundantly clear.  There are momma’s in this world who want desperately to breastfeed, but for a number of reasons they can’t – due to my PCOS, I may very well BE one of these momma’s.  There is nothing wrong with you.  You gave birth to a human being and you are just as beautiful not breastfeeding as the momma next to you who is!  Women are amazing!  We can grow human beings without even trying! 

Women, especially, need to STOP shaming mothers and start empowering them!  They are doing exactly what they are created to do!  You don’t have to be pro breastfeeding, but you sure do need to encourage mothers!  You need to stand up for what is naturally and legally and biblically right – ESPECIALLY if you call yourself a Christian. 

There is absolutely NOTHING indecent, or unnatural, or immoral about breastfeeding.  In public or in private.

#NormalizeBreastFeeding #FeedOnMommas #WomenRock

Musings from a Pregnant Lady

Today, we are at week 22...  That means that Diana is currently the size of a spaghetti squash.  I have finally started to feel her move on a regular basis, but Brandon hasn't yet been able to.

For a quick update, per one of my last videos, I had been tasked with the wonderful job of... collecting my urine for 24 hours... and I HAD TO KEEP IT IN MY FRIDGE SO IT WOULD STAY COLD!!!!!!!!!

This is going on my list of "Things no one tells you about pregnancy"

I gave them 1750mL... which my doctor friends can tell me if that is enough, too much, or whatever.  Either way, everything came back normal, so I am not worried about it.  But talk about embarrassing!!

Today, I realized that at 22 weeks, that means we are almost done!  I mean, we still have about 18 weeks to full term, but still... according to our babylist.com we have 125 days until her due date.

125 days is approximately a little over 4 months!  Or 3000 hours!!  Now, while I am not freaking out as much as I was a couple of weeks ago - my anxiety has been REAL - we have the nursery almost completely painted, I am actually finishing up the edges tonight.  After the holidays are over, Brandon and our dads will be refinishing the floor.  Then the nursery will be 100% ready for all of her stuff.

I have about 2 pages worth of questions for the doctor, which I go see tomorrow.  Mainly about delivery and the benefits of certain medications and such... I never in a million years thought there would be this much to consider about growing a tiny human and THEN bringing them into the world!!

I haven't made a video in a couple weeks, because honestly I feel completely silly making videos.  Usually I feel like I am talking to myself... which is weird... and I feel ridiculous!! But seriously, most of the time the updates are because we have family all over the country - so it's easier to make video updates than lengthy text messages - or writing a blog here.

Nothing much else to update, which is also why I haven't made a video... I HAVE been going to the chiropractor - the same awesome doctor that hooked me up with sauna bed treatments and is now helping keep my hips in place.  My hips have decided that since everything is stretching out and getting ready to squeeze a human being out, they don't want to stay where they are designed to be - resulting in some serious pain in my hips and lower back.  After 2 adjustments, I can honestly say that I feel 100% better than I did before!  I can actually sleep without pain, which is real nice.  As we all know, sleep is a valuable thing, especially since the majority of you have warned me that I won't be getting any sleep for the next 20 years...

I got nothing else... CYA!!

Almost a Year, and New Things to Come!!!

It's been almost a year since I have written... and SO MUCH HAS CHANGED!!!

2017 has been a very weird year... but it is wrapping up to be one of the best year's of my life!  I am excited to announce...

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!!!

DIANA MAR-JEN LONESS is due 04/17/2018

We started an additional youtube channel - Loness Crew - which updates different things about the pregnancy.  And once baby Diana get's here, I will also be getting back to judo and my weight loss journey.  I want to be able to keep up with her.

As most of you know, we were having a HORRIBLE time getting pregnant.  Here is the blogpost about my diagnosis of PCOS and my feeble attempt to explain where I was with it at that time - I am still fighting the effects of this horrible thing called a disease (with no explanation of causes, or even cures!! Treatments for the symptoms only...) 

However... after family vacation to Florida this year, I wasn't feeling 100%.  I was tired, no food sounded good, and I even threw up out of the blue one day in my office... that was fun!  My birthday was on a Sunday, and I kept thinking to myself "maybe I am pregnant?  No!  I am NOT!"  After too many let downs, I had basically stopped allowing myself to think it.  After discussion with Brandon, we decided to take a test.  For some reason, it made sense to test on my birthday - I really didn't think it through all the way:  If it was negative, it might ruin my entire day.  

I woke up early, because I was actually excited to test!  For the first time in the almost 3 years of trying, I actually felt excited to test... Immediately, the 2 stripes appeared.  I couldn't believe my eyes!  In fact, I DIDN'T believe my eyes!!  I didn't have to wait the 2 minutes for the test to show positive... it was immediate! 

I fumbled around for the box, because SURELY I was only seeing things.  My eyes were blurry from sleeping in my contacts, or I wasn't reading the results correctly... Sure enough, the box AND the insert of directions confirmed - WE ARE HAVING A BABY!

Brandon, still in bed, could hear my rustling around in the bathroom.  He fully admits that he was waiting for me to start screaming - he thought I had seen a spider and was freaking out trying to get away from it... Little did he know, I had just learned he was going to be a daddy!!

I came out of the bathroom - test in one hand, box with directions in the other - and said "we did it!" He just looked at me, since he was also half asleep "did what?"  I jumped on the bed with him, my excitement too much to contain at that point "we are pregnant!!" We laughed, cried, reread the directions and results about a thousand times, and then had to get ourselves together... Today was my birthday, and we decided not to tell anyone until we went to the doctor to confirm... 

4 hours, 15 people, and 1 birthday dinner and cake party later... we had contained ourselves long enough to make it through!!  I didn't even slip ONCE!!  

The video above was our announcement to the world.  We told our parents on Labor Day Monday, and they had absolutely NO idea!!  It was one of the greatest surprises EVER!!  We gave our parents a gift:  A onesie that said "One day I will make history", some socks, football pacifiers, and a copy of the first ultrasound in a frame that had grandkid words all over it.  You can tell by the reactions in the video, all 4 parents are EXTREMELY excited!!

Now, I am at 21 weeks and have had a few struggles along the way.  First, let me just say - Diana is growing just perfectly!  She is weighing in at 12 ounces, which is right on track.  Our anatomy scan was last week - which confirms the growth of limbs and organs - everything is perfect.  She was wiggling around like crazy, and even got the hiccups while we watched her on the screen.  It has really been a magical time in our life and in our marriage.

I am having to take insulin shots, as I have been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes - but after weeks of feeling guilty, I have finally come to the realization that it is NOT my fault.  It has nothing to do with my weight, or lack of weight loss.  It has everything in the world to do with the fact that my pancreas is just completely unable to keep up.  A pregnant woman's pancreas has to keep up with almost 3 times the amount of insulin to keep 2 humans alive during pregnancy.  A woman weighing 100 pounds may not have a pancreas up to the task... a woman at 300 pounds may not have a problem keeping up with the insulin demands.  Everyone is different.

Obviously, because of the pregnancy, my judo and kickboxing training are on pause right now.  I do plan on getting back in though, once she is here and I am cleared by my doctors to get back.  Diana doesn't know it yet, but as soon as she is 4, she is also getting into the judo program.  Too many kids are being bullied for me to NOT have her in some sort of self defense.

So, that's all that is new.  I have decided that while I am attempting to vlog on youtube our amazing journey, I also want to get back into blogging.  I feel like I can get my point across with written word easier than on video - but we shall see what happens.

Have a great day everyone, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!