Stories with the Strickland's

 My pregnancy was really difficult and somewhat traumatic. When we first found out I was pregnant, the first OB I saw thought it was an ectopic pregnancy—it was quickly confirmed that it was a perfectly healthy pregnancy, I had just been earlier along than we thought and they couldn't see anything at that point. As my pregnancy progressed, my symptoms became much worse than I expected, including horrible tachycardia that would make my chest hurt and my head spin; fatigue that kept me from being able to do much of anything most days; nausea that persisted without causing me to actually vomit which may have been something of a relief at that point; intense sensitivity to smell that made anything being heated up repulsive, smells around the house bothersome, and even made it hard for me to kiss my husband because of the smell of his breath.       Then I got Covid-19 when I was 17 weeks along and travelling that made things even worse! Blessedly, my husband seems to...

 In the 8 weeks of my baby's life thus far, I've experienced and learned a lot! I was incredibly surprised at how fast recovery from birth felt—I expected it to be painful, difficult, and long, but it was actually very quick. After the epidural wore off, I was able to start getting up to walk to and from the bathroom with a little help. By the end of that first day, I was able to walk up and down the hall while pushing the hospital bassinet with my baby and I could take a shower by myself. I was on a lot of Ibuprofen, but nothing stronger. I felt surprisingly good.      On the second day, I felt even better and went on a longer walk in the halls and got discharged from the hospital that afternoon. I sat criss-cross on the couch at home with a padsicle on and held my baby with no issues. It was fantastic! In that first week, I showered and felt good and capable enough to even shave my legs! Even with a second degree tear, a dinner plate sized internal wound, and a ute...

Birth was one of the most fascinating experiences. I remember most of it, but as my husband could tell you, I was definitely delirious at some points and I don't remember much of the conversations I had then.        It was very fast. From the time my contractions started (that I was aware of) to the time my baby was born was a span of only 6 hours! I labored for 4 hours and pushed for 2 hours. It all happened so rapidly!       3 nights before my scheduled c-section,  I felt that I needed to go to bed early — which I now recognize as a prompting from God to prepare me for a joyful, although sleepless, night. So, I went to bed around 7pm and woke up to terrible gas pains at about 9:15pm. After using the bathroom, I hoped the pain would stop and moved to go back to bed when I got hit with another bout of pains. I told my husband I was going to go sit in the living room since sleep was unlikely with the aching I was having. The pains were primarily in...

I am in a state of transition at the moment, I've realized. It's honestly kind of scary, but I'm curious to see what happens. As I'm currently 6 months pregnant, my body is changing of course, but I've noticed a lot more than that changing.       For example, and it was the change that made me realize all of this, I'm pretty sure my favorite color is pink now. My favorite color had been purple for years--everyone I know associates me with the moodiness and gravity of a deep purple--but I think I actually prefer shades of pink now. I told my husband about this and he was incredibly surprised! He had just purchased me some pink Gerber daisies and I was noticing how much joy they brought me every time I looked at them because they're beautiful and happy and in bloom! He was glad I was happy, but we're both surprised by this new development!      This caused me to reflect a bit on myself. I am  changing.  I am listening to different music and get...

I have been working on developing new skills to prepare myself to be a mom one day and to improve my skills as a homemaker. I want to learn so much--gardening & seed saving, preserving food, bread making, making my own ingredients, creating recipes, ceramics, and many more things. There's always more to learn and it keeps things interesting.     For the past few months, I have been focusing on sewing and baking. My mother bought me a beautiful blue sewing machine for my birthday so that I could learn and it's been delightful — it's so much faster than hand sewing, which is the only way I knew how to sew previously.  So far, I have made 2 baby blankets and am planning some clothing items to make. I also want to make some place mats for our table and see how that goes! Sewing has been a bit stressful, but I think I can get the hang of it quickly. Here's a picture of the second baby blanket I made that has little ducklings bounding along streams.      ...

Now that I have been married for about a year and a half, I have a good idea on what items from our registry were actually helpful and what I wish I had added! So here's a quick list of my favorite 10 items to have as a married couple. I'll include Amazon links that I've gotten from the affiliate program (meaning I would receive a commission if you purchase from these links) so you can get to them easily and see what I've really enjoyed! 1.  A Kitchen Aid Mixe r      I have  loved  having my KitchenAid. They are SO helpful in getting meals prepped, baking, and multitasking with limited counter space. They are a great addition to your kitchen together. 2. Hair Clippers      Learning how to cut your husband's hair is a great way to save money, so hair clippers are a handy investment. Either I or my sister use our hair clippers to cut my husband's hair now, and it's also helpful for any of our friends and family in the area who need a haircut be...