Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Baby On The Way

Well, another little boy is on the way to make his entrance into the world. I'm not sure who is more excited. If that would be me, the Mother, or the Mother's Mother. It's an exciting time. Please make sure that you come back and see the post after he arrives. I will be going to the hospital shortly. I am sure that he will be beautiful.
Pray for me and for Mom. Pray for the Physician and the nurses. Pray that my hands would be just an extention of Him and His touch.

Keep in touch.
Pam

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Flash Back Friday!!!!!




Can you tell how much Kyle and Kaleb love each other!!!!!!!!

Mama's Little Money Man Has Arrived!!!!

CASH IS HERE!!!!!!!!

Well Good Afternoon!!!!
It's Sunday afternoon and it's COLD here in the Carolina's. Things have quieted down now but it was an exciting week. I got the call on Wednesday that Meg was going to be induced. YEAH!!!! Cash was on his way. That is such a cool name. His nick-name is "Mama's Little Money Man" That is just to cute. Anyway, Meg and Jason went to the hospital about 2:30pm. Things were to get underway with the induction fairly quickly. I was actually at home with a "sick" little one that day and was not at the office. I have learned to text REALLY good and REALLY QUICK with my old phone. Anyway, Meg and Jason were all settled in and I made it to see them about 6:30pm. We sat and talked and discussed this and that and the plan. Of course, she got a foot massage while we talked. Everyone was good. Cash looked great on the monitor and we were ready to see him.
Thursday morning came and we were still in induction mode. Meg was doing great. Didn't sleep to well but as well as to be expected in a hospital bed. We visited before I went to work and again at lunch. Still in induction mode. I arrived after work about 15 minutes before the doctor got there. Things were happening. The doctor came in and broke her water. The Miracle Man (the anesthesiologist) came about 7:30pm. Things were going well. Meg and Jason were calm and handling everything like pro's. When the Miracle Man had arrived, she was about 3 1/2 cm. At 9pm, we were 9cm. We thought the nurses eyes were going to pop out of her head. We were ready to do the happy dance. Cash would be here SOON!!!!!! After a VERY long time of pushing and encouraging, resting, breathing, and pushing even more, Cash made his entrance.
He got to lay on his Mama's belly and say hello to the world. The tears of joy and excitement, the wonder and the awe just filled the room. He had arrived and he was gorgeous. Dad quickly counted toes and fingers and then he and mom tried to figure out where ALL the hair came from!!!!!!!
He has a head full of hair!!!!!!!
I was soooo proud of Meg and Jason. They had made a plan of how they wanted this arrival to be. Right down to visitors, phone calls and aromatherapy. They stuck to it. They DID GREAT!!!!!!! I am so excited for this new family. Cash is a very blessed little boy. Of course these are the pictures of the day of his arrival. I will get to see him in about 2-3 weeks and we can add more then. To Meg and Jason- You guys did great!!!!!!!
I consider it a true honor and privilege that you allowed me to be a part of this precious and intimate day in your lives. This is what makes my job worth all the work!!!!!!! Congrats to you!!!!! Enjoy your new little blessing. Love him. Enjoy him. Snuggle him close. He will be grown before you can blink!!!! Thanks again for the honor and privilege to be your Doula.
Love
Pam

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Induction Time!!!!

Got the call today. A Mom has been admitted and a little boy is on his way into this wonderful world. I will go and see her later on this evening and see how things are going. Just be praying for strength for her and her husband as the anticipation builds and the excitement. Pray for me as I prepare to minister to them in the only way that I can. To be there for them, answer questions, encourage and share in this most exciting time in their life!!!!!!!!!!! BE PRAYING!!!!!!!

Pam

Friday, January 9, 2009

Flash Back Friday

I got this from another website that I follow. A precious family. Please visit their site. It is an awesome story. (www.goodtimesdelgadostyle.blogspot.com) Pray for them as you read.
With this being Kaleb's 2nd Birthday this week I thought it appropriate to do a Kaleb Flash Back


This is Kaleb one day old. He was starving and the bottle was what made him happy. How precious he is!!!! What a Blessing!!!


Daddy and Kaleb at One Year Old!!!!! How much he grew in a year....WOW!!!!!


This was on Tuesday this week!!!! Oh My Goodness!!!! He's such a big boy!!!!!
Love you Little Man!!!!!

Mom and Dad

I AM SICK!!!!!

Dear Bloggers,

I am afraid that I have come down with a severe case of the Doula-Bug. For those of you in medical profession, I don't think there is a CPT code or and ICD-9 code for such a virus/illness. I have discovered something VERY strange.
I can have a VERY busy day at work. Most days are great and a normal busy but we all have those days that you are just ready to close the door and pretend that you are not there. I had a good day yesterday (Thursday). It was the normal busy day. Several surgeries to schedule, one new OB patient and my head was completely stopped up. As the day went on, the head was getting worse. I went and had a visit at lunch with one of my Mom's who delivered before Christmas. That was sooo much fun. Her little girl is precious. She had her all dressed up, wide awake and ready. I got some great pictures. Visited with Mom for a little while and talked with her. Of course when I deliver the pictures to her on Saturday, I will see if I can share her with you here on the Blog. Anyway, back to my diagnosis. I was feeling pretty yucky when I left to go over but when I left their apartment, I had no feelings of yucky any longer. I didn't really think much about it until I walked into the building. BAM!!!! Can't breathe, my head has all this pressure in it and my eyes are watering. I made it through the afternoon and talked to my hubby a few times and knowing I needed to go and visit a new Mom right after work. I wasn't sure if I could make it. Do I call and cancel? Do I reschedule? What to do? Well, I decided to go. I got a bit turned around. I called her and found the house. Oh she is precious. I had actually seen her at the Childbirth Class that I attended. We chatted about this and that and her pregnancy and how she was feeling and setting up another meeting and when and what we needed to talk about. Exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses. In the back of my mind I am thinking...."I don't feel like I did, maybe I am getting better". Well, let's just say that when I left, I felt like a NEW WOMAN!!!!! No symptoms whatsoever. Now, I know that I am not a doctor, nor a nurse for that matter BUT I am convinced that I have the DOULA-BUG.
Symptoms-a strong desire to serve the expecting mother and her family.
a strong passion to do what the Lord has called you to do.
a strong passion for teen moms, young moms, middle moms and more mature
moms to have the birth experience that they will not forget.
a strong passion to be there, answer questions no matter what they maybe.
Treatment-Serve them the best way possible. Be there for them. Love them. Have compassion. A listening ear. Encourage them that this is what they were created for.

I have been officially diagnosed by ME. There is my passion. There is what the Lord is calling me to do. There is a certain sense that comes over me that I can not explain to anyone. It is just a sense of being in the center of His Will. It's ALOT of hard work. It requires MUCH sacrifice on a lot of people and yet, there is great reward when it's done for Him. I'm just overwhelmed at times at this adventure. I am going to start doing some research on how to make this a full blown ministry. I don't know how that is done. I have no idea of what that means. I don't know but HE DOES!!!!! Is that a blessing or what???????

I will pursue my "Treatments" and love the "cure". Pray with me. Please pray for the Mom's that call on me. May I be there for them and the He would shine through me.

Love and Prayers,
Pam

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!

Hello Fellow Readers, Family and Friends,


This blog is so much fun for me. I just can't begin to tell you how much!!!! It is exciting to see how the Lord uses it each and every day. It doesn't take to long to get it up but there is so much I want to add to it and I am not the most computer-minded person in the world but I am working on it. My wonderful computer-minded hubby is going to help me this weekend so I can put some slide shows of Kaleb and how much he has grown as well as the New Babies and the new arrivals that are on the way. I soooo can not wait for you to see them all. I got new updated pictures of Rylan and SHE IS GORGEOUS!!!!! Her mom sent them and of course, they are way to hard to pick one, so I am sure I will have to include all of them. Baby Elizabeth stopped by my office the other day to visit with her Mommy. Oh she is just beautiful. Such a precious little girl. She gave everyone a scare when she arrived but I happy to report that she is a happy, growing, and healthy little girl. She is just precious. She looks like her Mommy and Daddy. I have a couple of pictures of her but they have gone and had some taken and I can't wait to see those.

Please be in prayer for the 3 Mom's that have coming up VERY soon. They are all very precious to me of course. Two are having boys and one is having a girl. This is a very exciting time for all of them, but as the time draws close, they are tired and READY to have a baby. They are ready to hold these precious little one's that the Lord has blessed them with. This is such an honor to be apart of the whole pregnancy process. It's exciting for them I am sure. What a blessing!!!!!!!

Kaleb had a GREAT birthday. He is still overwhelmed I think by all of the cars that he has. I am amazed at how many he has. No duplicates I remind you!!!!! I find them everywhere. Whenever things are looking "Cleaned-Up" at home, there is always one more car in the cushion of the couch, the recliner,under the cabinet, the table, the chair, in the bathroom, the hallway, well,,,,you get the picture. WE ARE FINALLY CALLING A TRUCK A TRUCK!!!!!!! Not always but we are moving in that direction....YEAH FOR KALEB!!!!!!

I promise, the pictures are coming!!!! Please check back often to see them. If you are a FOLLWER OF THE BLOG, please leave a comment, a posting, SOMETHING just to let me know you have been here.

Have a wonderful and blessed day!!!!!
Pam

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KALEB!!!!!



Well, guess who turned 2 years old today?????? Kaleb William did. Boy, what a day. Bo and I got off work early and went and had "Snack Time" at daycare in the form of a birthday party. How exciting. 9 two-year olds running around. What fun!!!!!!! It was just great. For those of you that don't know, Kaleb is all about Cars. The movie and of course anything that 4 wheels up to 18 wheeler's on the highway are all "Cars" to Kaleb. He has made it his mission I guess to see how many he can collect. The amazing part is that with all the Bo and I have bought, all that family and friends have given him, he does not have one duplicate. HOW COOL!!! Me-Ma (in Georgia) bought his cup-cake cake for him. Moms, if you have not seen this yet, it is the coolest thing. The daycare teachers just loved it. Not nearly as messy and much easier to clean up.


This has been a VERY fast 2 years. Things have been moving at a speed that is way to fast for me. Sitting here at this computer, I would have never in a million years thought that at the age of 29 and counting I would be re-married, have a little one running around my feet and my oldest for dinner talking about "honeymoons" (of course that conversation was prefaced with "Don't panic Mom". They were just "talking" so he says. Anyway, to think that 2 years ago I was at Women's Hospital having a baby by unscheduled C-Section. He was scheduled for January 8th by C-Section. I had told Dr.D the entire time I was pregnant that I really wanted to have him on my Papa's birthday but that year it fell on a Saturday and of course you can't post surgeries on a Saturday (not at that time anyway-don't think I didn't try). Anyway, I remember that day like it was yesterday. I went to my friends babyshower who was due about 4 weeks after me. That was really cool. We were both pregnant at the same time. I was having a boy and she was having a girl. Anyway, C-Section was scheduled for Monday morning. My shower had been on Thursday night. Went to her shower and had a great time. Mom and Dad were coming into town so Mom and I decided we needed that one last thing from Baby's R Us. We planned to meet there. It was unusually warm because I didn't have on a jacket, sun was shinning bright that day and I had on a thin shirt and capri's and of all things, slide on sandals. That was all that would fit my feet. We got back to my apartment at about 4-ish. I got out of the car, had my hands full and SPLAT!!!! Hit the ground belly first. It was NOT a pretty sight. I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack. He threw his keys down so hard that it broke the remote lock, of which he has still not had repaired 2 years later. I finally got up after feeling like a beached whale. Went inside and called my favorite doctor. Dr.D was on call. I knew that because I follow the schedules at the office. I had his home #, his cell and his pager. Spoke with him and told me to relax and meet him at the hospital. We would monitor and follow with Monday. Another phone call, monitor and have C-S on Sunday. Last phone call before getting in the car. Come ready. OR is booked and will have C-S about 7-ish. What a whirlwind. One thing that always sticks in my mind was my Mom saying to me over and over- "Remember, you wanted to have him on Papa's Birthday. Oh what a day!!!!!!! He arrived at a VERY HEALTHY 7 pounds even. Gorgeous with everyone there. My parents, my oldest, my best friends, and of course his dad. Our family took up 1/2 of the waiting room at the Maternity Admissions Unit at Womens'. How awesome.



We have had the privilege of watching him change, grow, walk, start to talk, from bottles to sippy cups and now no lids at school, from 1st haircut, 1st tooth, to speaking words that no one could understand to his current favorites..."Oh No", "Uh-Oh", "No-Way","No", "Bye", "Hey" and a list of others. It has been an amazing 2 years. An amazing little blessing every single day. How precious is the time. What a blessing. The times with him are changing. He is a busy little boy. Constantly on the move , unless the movie "Cars" is on the screen. At this point, every moment that is available, he has it. If he chooses to sit in my lap or sit next to me or want to be held, the dirty dishes can wait, the laundry is not going to sprout legs and walk, the dinner might be a little late tonight or may turn into sandwiches but if he wants "Mine" or "Dadee" it all takes the back burner. There is coming a day MUCH sooner than we like to admit that he will be busy with homework, kissing Mom and Dad good night is not allowed, he will be on the computer and heaven forbid, have a first "girlfriend". Time moves way to fast. Love your little one. Love your big one if you have that to. They grow up way to fast!!!!!! OH HOW WE LOVE YOU LITTLE MAN!!!!!!! HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!
LOVE
"Mine"

Friday, January 2, 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

Well, It's about Time!!!!!!

Dear Fellow Blog-Readers,

I first want to tell you I am so sorry for not updating any sooner. When I wrote back in early December and said that my calendar was crazy, I had no idea exactly how crazy it was. It was at the point that we literally had something to do every single night, day, at lunch, after work and if I could have rolled out of the bed any earlier, I am sure there would have been something to do in the mornings as well. I was exhausted, worn-out, physically, emotionally, mentally and any other way you can think of. I can't tell you the last time I felt that way. It was NOT a good feeling.
We had a very quiet Christmas that started at 5:30am for the almost 2 year old in the house. The only thing he said when he first saw the presents was "Uh-Oh!". It was priceless. The first thought that came to his little mind must have been, "Who ever put all this stuff in here and messed up the front room, sure is in trouble". I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was precious. I am going to see if I have enough blog-computer smarts to put together a slide show on here so you can see what the focus of Kaleb's Christmas was.
Mothering The Mother welcomed a new little one to the world in the middle of the busy season. She is beautiful and I will be seeing her next week and will hopefully have permission to share some of her photo's. She is such a blessing and what an awesome Christmas present that came a few day's early to her mom.
I am in the process of getting more updated pictures from all of the babies and their families. They have all grown SOOOO much. I had the privilege of going and spending about 2 hours with Nate. Remember, he was the FIRST MOTHERING THE MOTHER BABY!!!! He has grown so much. He napped in my arms while Mom and I had the chance to sit and talk and visit. He is just precious. I will be putting them all in slideshow as well as soon as the pictures are available.
What is up for 2009 and Mothering The Mother???? First and foremost,Whatever the Lord wants to do with it. I have said from the beginning that it is His and not mine. It is a blessing that I get to participate in it. I do know at the present moment that I have 2 in January, 1 in February, 1 in March and possibly 2 in April. Of course, NOTHING is written in stone. As we have seen before, it can change in a moment. That is the exciting thing.
The Lord has really impressed upon me that in order to be the Doula that He wants me to be, that it will require some sacrifice on my part. I have the opportunity to get my Childbirth Educator's Certificate through Lamaze or through ALACE. Cost wise they are about the same. It requires a lot of reading, alot of studying and teaching at least one class free of charge and then taking a final exam. This is such an exciting adventure. I just want to make sure that I am taking the class that He wants me to take. One is studying at home with all of the manuals, handouts, information and modules to work thru. It's a study at your own pace. The other requires reading and more reading and then travel to a workshop for an entire weekend and then your time clock starts ticking to get it all done and sit for the exam. The pressure with that particular class is a bit overwhelming. Do-able but overwhelming. I'm just praying He will show me which one He wants me to take.
Mothering The Mother will be going and visiting more offices to offer services around the Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem area in the next weeks. This is exciting, scary, overwhelming and any other thought you can have with that. I know that I have a HUGE passion for all of these pregnant Mom's. I don't doubt that for a moment. I can actually watch myself change after talking with a "Client-Mom". There is a sense of satisfaction, a sense of excitement and joy. It is just amazing. Even in the environment that I work in at work, I LOVE THE MOM's. I am the "first meeting" when a Mom comes to our office. Is that exciting or what????? I get to see how is she doing with finding out she is pregnant? Is this planned? Was this a complete and total shock? Does she have support? Is she scared? Is she alone? Those are all the things I get to see, listen for and look at. If there are questions that remain in my mind, I try and follow them while they are coming in. Just checking on them to see how they are. Do they have a support person yet? Who is going to Childbirth Class with them? Are they going to class? Are they feeling any better about this new life they are carrying? It's exciting and Oh the ministry and prayer opportunities that I get on a daily basis. Isn't He GREAT!!!!!!
2009 is going to be a great year. A great year for the Kennedy Family and for Mothering The Mother!!!!!!
I promise this year to post at least once a week. I will keep you updated. Please feel free to post comments, questions, concerns, prayer request, updates. I would love to hear from you!!!!!!!
May He ALONE Be Glorified,
Pam