The Aftermath....

Postpartum Depression sucks! That's right... it down right sucks. I hated it... with a passion. Praise God that the haze and fatigue and downright nastiness of it are gone.
I was determined to ward off the dreaded "PPD" again. It seems that with Brooke things were A-OK- even in the midst of her inability to nurse or gain weight. We plugged along, and, I felt great!

Oh, but Shane....
Let me begin by saying that I will never again sign any release at any hospital for any anesthesiologist giving them the ability to stick anything anywhere near my back! Bah! I had a Wet Tap with my Epidural. And, I continue to kick myself because, when the Epidural finally took effect, I was an 8! Seriously?! It just makes me mad....
So, by the end of Shane's third week of life, I finally changed his first diaper. Yes, that's right. The headaches were so severe that I could not stand to change his diaper. I nursed him laying in my bed... for three full weeks.
Once they subsided I was fine. Life could resume. I could take care of my babies and create some kind of routine! We went garage saling, out for walks, got together with friends/family...

Then it hit me....

Like a ton of bricks!

Shane must have been six or eight weeks old when it hit, and, it was horrible. Now, I am not talking about severe PPD, but, it was NOT ME! My moods were horrible.... I lost my patience with Brooke more times than I can even count; my milk supply waned- which meant being up all night feeding to make up for those lost ounces. That in turn led to extreme and utter exhaustion! And... fatigue then breeds more Cortisol which messes with moods, milk.... the cycle continues.

I remember saying to both my mom and my husband, "Am I depressed? Do depressed people recognize that they are depressed? I think I'm depressed..."

At least I could recognize that I was in some way depressed. It wasn't until my sister-in-law went into full cardiac arrest that I finally began to snap out of it. Rob said that he has read about treatments for depression, no matter what the type, and that one of the recommendations is to help others in need...
For me, I think it was the fact that I wasn't focusing on myself at those moments. It was about Nichole- praying without ceasing for her to wake up without brain damage and with no damage to her heart. It was about Mike- does he have support? Is he eating and getting some rest? What does he need? It was about my dear niece and nephew- who, quite frankly, could have been left without their mommy. Were they taken care of?
That experience allowed me to pull myself up by my bootstraps- because I had to- and focus on someone/something else! It pulled me out of my depression by teaching me, once again, that the Lord is in control, that He hears our prayers, and, that it isn't always about me.

I asked Rob the other day, "Have you noticed a change in me?"
His response, "Yeah. Ever since Nichole..."

"Being a Mommy Isn't for Whimps..."

... is often a quote I hear from my mom. This has become my daily mantra. When I am exhausted and running on only 4 hours of sleep, I remember that I have been granted the toughest, most noble job that was ever created. Being a mom requires energy that I didn't even know that I had. Sometimes I want to quit- when the crying has lasted just a little too long; when the food is flying all over the walls; when I have a baby on each hip while trying eat something (anything!)-
At those moments I remember that, "Being a Mommy Isn't for Whimps!" I take a deep breath and look at the faces of the two most precious people on the planet: my "Brookie" and "Shaner Shane." That's what makes it worth while... through their tears, and often mine, I realize that I can do this- I HAVE to do this! And then, in the words of Larry the Cable Guy, I "get 'er done."
"Mommyhood" requires sacrifice on all levels. From the physical to the emotional to the financial- sacrifice is vital. But, I think that people view the word "sacrifice" in a negative way. Sure it stretches you and can be downright painful, but, it is a glorious, beautiful, breathtaking (literally) service of love to the little people that deserve it the most.

What sacrifices are you making in "Mommyhood" today?

Timeline of Events....

Just to give everyone an idea of our life over the last five years....

May 2006- Bethany graduates from CMU
July 2006- Bethany gets first teaching job just outside of Detroit
May 2007- Rob graduates from CMU and accepts a job with Shaw
June 2007- Rob moves to GA for training
July 2007- Bethany visits Rob and he proposes
August 2007- Bethany moves to WI and starts a new teaching job....
October 2007- Rob moves to WI to begin working for Shaw
December 2007- Rob and Bethany are married... in MI.... and combine apartments in WI

a slight break in the action

September 2008- Rob has his hiking accident
March 2009- Bethany gets preggers with baby number 1
May 2009- Rob gets a job back in MI
June 2009- Bethany finishes teaching in WI, both move back to MI
June 2009- Move in with Rob's brother and his family
August 2009- Buy a house and begin renovations
September 2009- Rob's grandfather passes away
October 2009- We move into our house while still renovating
December 10, 2009- Finish renovations that make the house "livable"
December 19, 2009- Brooke Alexis arrives 4 days late! 6 lbs. 11 oz. 19 1/2 inches long
December 21, 2009- Our second anniversary

(we attempt to adjust to being new parents!)

July 2, 2010- oops... we're pregnant with baby number 2
March 20, 2011- Shane Christopher arrives 5 days late! 9 lbs. 3 oz. (ouch) 20 1/2 inches long
July 5, 2010- Rob's sister-in-law goes into full cardiac arrest.... PTL- recovering

That's a brief timeline of our lives over the last 5 years... busy!

An Intro...

Well, here we go... Another hobby started, but, one that I hope will last.

My name is Bethany and I am the Assistant CEO and CFO at WronaFamily, Inc. I have held these positions since December 21, 2007 and in December, 2009, added the role of Lead Investor to my portfolio. We, at WronaFamily, Inc. seek to serve the Lord, Jesus Christ, while equipping our team members and outside affiliates with the knowledge of Truth. 

Ha! How's that for an intro?! Maybe I should add that to my resume.

In layman's terms: I married my wonderful husband, Rob, in December, 2007 and we started our family in December, 2009. Our "team members" include our two young children: Brooke and Shane (who, I might add, are only 15 months apart); and, our "affiliates" are those in our extended family and our great group of friends that we have acquired over the years. We love the Lord and seek to bring the knowledge of His Truth to our "team" and our "affiliates."

I have a degree in teaching: special education, language arts, and elementary education; I love reading and writing, hiking,fly fishing, and scrap booking. Although, I must confess, I rarely have time for any of these activities at this time! Loving two kids under 18 months hasn't left much time for ME! Hence the blog.....

The reason that I love the above mentioned activities so much is because I enjoy investing in others. Besides reading and writing (which, often leads to investing in the lives of others) these hobbies are those that I love doing with others... I mean, come on, would I just go fly fishing for the sake of fly fishing?! NO! I love it because I get to do it with my husband... which is why we haven't gone since our children were born- he loves to "just fish" and I "just want to be with you..."

Hopefully this blog will serve as some refreshing "ME" time as well as allow me to invest in others through sharing my experiences, hopes, dreams, fears.

Excited to Blog!

-B