pregnancy

Wednesday doTERRA BOGO: DigestZen & Marjoram

Obviously, I have had a heck of a day since I’m just now at almost 9:00pm getting around to posting the BOGO of the day. But, you’ll forgive me, right? So, I’ll be quick about it. Today only if you purchase doTERRA DigestZen oil, you’ll receive a free bottle of Marjoram oil. Amazing!

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Now, DigestZen saved my life about 127 times while I was pregnant with baby Sarah. During my third trimester my heart would burn every time after eating, which would then be followed with lovely burps that would burn as well (I know, very ladylike). I was miserable, but then I started using DigestZen in a veggie capsule after each meal. Y’all, it was like the skies opened and angels sang down heavenly tunes. I had so much relief, and in return got much more sleep at night, because it had gotten so bad I was waking up at night. Moral of the story: If you need any sort of digestive support, DigestZen is your best friend.

Now, I’ll be honest, Marjoram I don’t have as much experience with, but when I have used it, I liked it. I like to pair it with Peppermint oil and use for aches and pains. It’s great after working out or if you’ve been doing lots of manual labor, like getting a garden ready that you’re super excited to blog about soon. It’s a good one to have in your arsenal when your muscles are crying out to ya!

So, don’t miss this opportunity. Go to mydoterra.com/amandagerber and as always, feel free to reach out to me with any essential oil questions! Now, I’m gonna enjoy this glass of ginger kombucha while my kids are sleeping. Good night!

*The statements haven’t been evaluated by the FDA. Check with your doctor before using essential oils.*

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When’s the Last Time You Blogged?

“Hey babe, when’s the last time you blogged?”

I cringed and kept scrubbing the pan that had bacon grease practically burnt on it. I really need some new pans!

“It’s been a while.” I casually responded back.

The truth is, I’ve been avoiding it. I kind of just feel like a big failure in the blogging world. I had told myself over and over I’d be consistent, and time after time I dropped the ball and stopped blogging for extended periods of time. I felt like I didn’t deserve to take another crack at it again… Then I thought about it some more, and decided Who flipplin’ cares if the last time I blogged was when I announced we were pregnant and now our baby girl is one month old?! 

I was a little busy growing a human, chasing 3 boys, and teaching essential oil classes! Now, I’m still doing all of those things (minus growing a human, now she’s just attached to my boobs every couple of hours, which is still pretty time consuming). I’m still trying to figure out how to run a business, keep 4 children 5 years old and under alive, and occasionally take a shower or brush my hair. I probably “don’t have time” to write consistently, and I probably will still have times where I fall of the grid for a while, but I LIKE writing. It makes me happy, and sometimes is the only time I think about things other than what I’m going to make for the kids’ lunch. So, I’m back at it! Yay!

Even as I wrote those words down I thought: What am I going to write about? Will I be able to come up with enough topics/stories/recipes to keep readers engaged? What am I going to make for the kids’ lunch? Didn’t they JUST eat? 

I don’t know… I don’t know what I’ll write about, or if it will even be something people will enjoy reading. I may just ramble about my kids, or how I dream of what it would be like to shower every day… But that’s okay. I think this will help keep me sane because, as I confessed to a friend, “I feel like I’m drowning in diapers, laundry, and nursing pads.” If all else, it should help keep my mind sharp because right now it seems like all my mind is good for is singing the theme song to Bubble Guppies… In my defense, it’s pretty catchy.

So if you’re curious (as am I) to see where this leads, join me and follow me in this new adventure of my life.

Friday Fun Facts #16

1. We’re pregnant!! How’s that for a fun fact?! We are super excited! So, basically these past few weeks I have been sleeping every chance I get, which is why I’ve gone silent for a while. So, these Fun Facts are gonna be all about pregnancy! Yay!

2. Yes, you can congratulate me. This wasn’t an accident. We were trying for another baby. Children are a blessing. Please be happy for us, because we’re pretty happy about it!

3. I haven’t been working out during my boys’ naptime because I have been SO TIRED. I forgot how tiring it is to grow a human in your belly. It’s work, y’all! BUT I have been taking naps, which is the next best thing, right? So Noah and Timothy have been having a cuddle buddy the past couple of weeks and they love it.

4. A cute conversation-
Me: “Timmy, there’s a baby in mama’s belly.”
Tim: “No, mama.”
Me: “Yes, sweetie, there is a baby in my belly.”
Tim: “Mom, baby Isaac is in the living room.”

5. My husband got the amazing opportunity to emcee a concert for Trip Lee. If you’ve never listened to Trip Lee, you need to. He’s my FAVORITE Christian Rap artist, and I’m missing it because I knew there was no way I’d make it through a concert (the other day I went to bed before Noah did LoL). Sad day for me, but I’m super excited for my hubby and told him he needed to take a selfie with Trip Lee for me!

“I Just Want My Body Back”

We have all heard it from a pregnant mom, or may have even been that pregnant mom to utter these words, “I just want my body back.” I’ll admit, I said the same thing when I was pregnant with my second son (who was 9 pounds 14 ounces when he was born)… But here’s the truth of it… You’ll never get your body back. Beloved, your body was never yours to get back. Trust me, not getting your body back is so much better.

Your body carried your baby for nine ten months (You’re pregnant for 40 weeks, which equals 10 months. Why do they say 9 months?!?). It’s truly amazing to think about. The nourishment your baby gets, the way your child develops in your womb. We are truly fearfully and wonderfully made.

During labor and delivery your body goes through pain you didn’t even know was possible. What used to be your “10” rating on the pain scale is a “1” compared to childbirth. But, oh the joy that comes when you can hold your child and all that pain starts to disappear.

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Once your baby is here, you have the blessing to provide your baby nourishment, again through you body. Your body is still not your own (and you’ll be reminded of this at 3:00AM), but when your baby is hungry you have the privilege to nurse and care for him.

Even after your baby nurses, your body is still not your own. Oh please, don’t pray to get your body back. Your body becomes a human chair as your little ones crawl in your lap, and right now I’ve managed to be a chair for all 3 of my boys at the same time.

My boys have used my legs as a slide, my back as a racetrack, my arms to throw them in the air and catch them. I am a human playground.

My body is a source of comfort as I kiss boo-boos and wipe away tears as another crash between brothers occurred.

To my children, the sound of my voice singing is the sweetest singing they’ve ever heard. Every night, Jesus Loves Me, is requested and encored. Even on nights with a sore and scratchy throat, you better believe I sing it to them (just once those nights), and they love it just as much.

My body is a natural sleep aid to my Timmy, who is finding it impossible to nap unless I lay down with him. Right now I’ll gladly take this cuddle time, wrap my arms around him, and some days fall asleep before he does.

Now, my boys are still preschool age so there’s so much more I have yet to experience, but to all the moms out there that never “got their body back,” dear one, you got so much more instead!

P.S. This post was primarily about moms and their babies, but moms remember your husband too. Once you said “I do,” that body was in an instant covenant to be shared (1 Corinthians 7:3-5). So take a shower, shave those legs, and go have sex with your hubby in that body that you never got back! 😉

The Struggle Is Real… For Real

I read my past posts and I cringe a little. I cringe because my posts seem so glossy and so happy, and this past week… Well, this past week has been a struggle to say the least. You see, in late April I decided to start weaning myself off of Zoloft. Not because I wanna act tough and be “strong,” (which is a load of crap anyway, because having a mental illness does not make one weak, let’s just get that common misconception straight) and not because I feel the need to prove how big my God is. He is big enough to do that on His own. I decided to slowly stop taking Zoloft because my husband and I want to have another baby.

Now that I mentioned that, I’ll answer your follow up questions. Yes, we are fully aware we already have 3 kids. Yes, we know we live in a 3 bedroom house. No, we do not plan on moving. Since when was it a requirement for every kid to have their own room? Oh sorry, I forgot, you were asking the questions. Ok, let’s continue. Yeah, here’s a tough question: If you’re so depressed why do you want to have another baby? Now, I can give you this long drawn out answer, but simply put: I love my kids more than I hate my depression. And y’all I already have a love for this baby that we haven’t even conceived yet. It’s crazy, and I can’t explain it, but that’s what happening right now.

So, I started by cutting my pill in half and just taking half a dose for a couple of weeks. I didn’t notice much of a difference, and still felt pretty darn good. Then I started taking a half does every other day. Again, still felt good. Then I started taking a half does every few days… and I started to get more irritable, but no depression yet, which was hopeful. I could live with irritability and just bathe in Balance and Citrus Bliss oil all day, right? Then I stopped taking my Zoloft. I refilled my ‘script, and then I came home and it just sat there for 2 weeks. I wasn’t really planning on the last day being the last day, but it was. This second week off the Zoloft has been a very difficult week. My emotions are all over the place. I cry at the drop of a hat. These familiar feelings that defy all the logic in my head are screaming at me. I hate these feelings… Mostly, I hate the nights. When it’s quiet and my mind is racing and I can’t get it to shut off. My mind reminds me of all these perceived “failures” that are too ridiculous to write down. I mean, really, if I didn’t get something done that was on my To-Do List it turns into me being the worst wife/mother/daughter/sister/friend/fill in the blank. I’m telling you, it’s ridiculous. My brain thrives off of facts and structure and logic. In almost any other circumstance, I push feelings aside and simply look at the facts. But right not my feelings are on freakin’ overload and screaming at me and silencing my facts loving brain…

I don’t really have a way to end this post, but I can tell you I feel much better after writing all this down. So there we have it. There are my struggles, not really solved, but acknowledged.

A Little Crazy and A Little Crunchy

So, let’s rewind a year and a half. It had just been one of those days. I was pregnant with my third baby in three years (yes, on purpose… I’m just a little crazy), and I could feel a bug coming on. My throat had been scratchy and my energy was just depleted. Now, not only am I a little crazy, I am also a little “crunchy” so for the most part, my motto was to grin and bear it.

Well, at that time I was also working night shifts at a local coffee shop. While I was on shift, my dear friend knew I was feeling under the weather and gave me a sample of a blend on essential oils, known as OnGuard. OnGuard that helps support your body’s immune system. So we chatted about essential oils for a bit and then I went back to working and drinking hot tea with lemon and honey to help soothe my throat. My throat continued hurting all night long.

When I finally made it back home after work I started researching essential oils. I had already been doing some research prior to this, but before I commit to anything I like to make sure to really educate myself. While I searching online I had opened the OnGuard sample and loved the scent right away; it smelt like Christmas. So there I was researching, and I realized that a few minutes later my throat was feeling better, simply from smelling the oil. From that point on I followed my friend’s instructions to apply OnGuard, diluted with coconut oil, every hour and by the end of the next day I was feeling as good as new. I have been in love with essential oils ever since!

These essential oils have truly blessed my family. I am able to use a combination of Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint oil (diluted) on my boys and it helps support their bodies to combat seasonal issues and those annoying symptoms. I use the citrus oils for cleaning instead of cleaners from the grocery store that are full of toxic chemicals. I’ve been able to use citrus essential oils to help uplift my mood. The results have been amazing.

For anyone interested in learning more about essential oils, please email me at info@amandagerber.com.

DISCLAIMER: This information is not regulated by the FDA and is not intended to cure or treat disease. It is for informational purposes only. I am just a mom, not a doctor, sharing my experience with essential oils and how they’ve helped my family.