Preparing Spiritually for Childbirth with Kids

We know kids are a blessing. The Bible makes the truth of this very clear. But sometimes they can feel very inconvenient. It's easy to talk about preparing spiritually, having time to read, pray, reflect when there is no one around or you have the ability to make your own schedule for the most part. But let's be honest, when there are kids involved it makes it a lot harder.

Anyone who knows me or has been following this blog knows that I have 6 kids and am preparing for my 7th birth. Guess what. It's not been nearly as easy preparing this time around! I find myself shorter in temper quite often and doubting that God will bring this baby. I read my Bible while dealing with fights, disobedience, dirty diapers and kids screaming just because. I yell please be quiet for just a few minutes so I can pray. It's not easy.

So how can we do this when we have kids in the house demanding most of our attention?

Pray Without Ceasing

God commands us in His Word to do this anyway (1 Thessalonian 5:17). How much more do we need to do this when preparing for birth and caring for young ones! Be in constant contact with your Lord and Savior. He knows your heart and your life. Bring it all to Him and let Him fill you up.

Share With Your Kids

There are times I look at my kids and say, "I'm hurting" or "I'm struggling" and we talk about the baby and that is hard. We sometimes pray together or they pray for me. Sometimes it ends with just a statement and them moving on to something else. I'm not always great at it, but I do let my kids know I am human and that being pregnant is hard even though it is a great gift.

Read When You Can

I do read my Bible over breakfast most mornings, but it is still chaotic with everyone running around. Therefore I sometimes need to find other opportunities to dig into God's Word. I haven't done as well this time, but during our reading hour I may read more Scripture. If I am able to get up before my kids (which has not been often this time) I will read before they get out of bed. Another idea is to leave a Bible open in a place you often work and read while doing a common chore. You can put Scripture around the house on cards, windows, mirrors, etc. Find away to read God's Word everyday.

Memorize Scripture with Your Kids

Memorizing Scripture is so important to preparing. Instead of doing it on your own, pick a verse or passage and teach it to your kids. They need to memorize God's Word as much as you do. And they'll love doing something with you. They also give you a challenge because frequently they will memorize it faster than you!

Plan Time By Yourself

This obviously will be easier for some than others. By God's grace Jim has a flexible schedule and I am able to get away for a Mama's Day Out before each birth, which is the majority of the day. Even if you can just get a couple of hours, it can be a great benefit to have time by yourself to pray, read, write in a journal and reflect on what is to come.

These are just a few ideas. Maybe you have more to share. How do you prepare spiritually for birth with kids in your house?

Psalm 23 and How Great Thou Art

I shared a couple of years ago about the best advice I received on preparing for birth is memorizing a Psalm and a hymn. Today I simply want to share my Psalm and Hymn with you. I pray you can use them or that they may inspire you in finding the best Psalm and Hymn for you.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want

He makes me lie down in green pastures

He leads me beside quiet waters

He restores my soul

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His Name sake

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

I will fear no evil for You are with me

Your rod and Your staff they comfort me

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies

You anoint my head with oil

My cup overflows

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made

I see the stars I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou Art

How great Thou Art

Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou Art

How great Thou Art

And When I think that God His Son not sparing

Sent Him to die I scarce can take it in

That on the cross my burden gladly bearing 

He bled and died to take away my sin

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation

And take me home what joy shall fill my heart

Then I shall bow in humble adoration

And there proclaim, "My God how great Thou art"!

What is your favorite Psalm? Hymn? 

Why is it Important to Prepare Spiritually for Childbirth?

Giving birth is a spiritual event. No matter what your personal convictions are, there is something beyond the physical that transpires when you have a baby. As a Christian, it is seen even more, because we know that the beginning of all life lies with God and Him creating humanity and we have the creator living inside of us to aid us in birth. Eve said in Genesis 4:1, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man." The very first record of birth states that it is with God's help life has come forth.

It is no less true today. Without God there would be no birth, no life. He is the One who forms us in the depths of our mother's wombs. He is the One who builds our houses. He is the One who protects and guides. We need God for everything, and this is just as true in birth.

Today in our individualistic society it is easy to think, "I'll just go have a baby" and think we can do it on our own. But we can't. We need God to start and sustain our labor. We need God to keep the baby alive. We need God to give us the strength to push. We need God to heal our bodies. Because of sin, not everything goes the way God intended when He created the world, and that truth alone shows me how much more we need Him.

We need to be confident that the Lord will do what is best, even if it's not what we want. We need to believe that He is working for our good and His glory. We need to take every fear and doubt to Him. Birth is not easy. Pregnancy is not easy. Motherhood is not easy. Life is not easy.

But when we know the One who holds all things together and surrender to Him, even when it makes absolutely no sense to our human minds, we can make it through, no matter what comes our way. And that is why we need to be prepared spiritually for birth. This preparation can take as many forms as there are births. There is not one way to do it.

I like to remind myself of these truths and reflect on the One who made birth, especially when I'm sitting here ready to move forward, and it seems as if the day will never come. I pray Psalms that have touched me deeply and remind me of who God is. I sing praise songs and remind myself that God is who is to be praised. I pray and fight and wrestle with my flesh. I let God into the mess of my heart. It's not easy, and it's not pretty, but in the end a beautiful story of grace comes out and I get to, once more, tell of what God has done for me.

Why do you think this is important? How do you prepare spiritually for childbirth?

Mama's Day Out 2016

I've shared before about having a Mama's Day Out to prepare for having a baby. Yesterday I was able to have mine for this year. It was such a blessing! In fact, I almost had the problem of too much time, but God always uses the time we take to help us and grow us.

I started the morning at home, then left a little after 11 to spend the afternoon out. I went to Starbucks for coffee and a sandwich and settled into a nice bench with a small table. I started out reading some of the Psalms I like reflecting on to remind me of God's plan in family and His working. I wrote in my journal and prayed. Such a wonderful time to connect with God, share my heart and let Him speak to it.

Then I read the first chapter in The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. How my heart needed this right now! Life has been a bit stressful this week and it's hard being pregnant when everyone is going crazy because they know life is about to change. This was a great reminder of what God has called me to as I wait for our 7th blessing! It also included one of the Psalms I continually read while preparing. How God uses the little things.

When I finished I still had time. God gave me opportunity to think through posts and ideas to help make this blog more of a ministry. I welcome any other ideas as well! There is so much out there to discuss in childbirth. By God's grace it will grow.

After my lengthy time at Starbucks, I was able to get a prenatal massage. This was such a gift and a wonderful time of relaxation. I am so thankful for these times to sit and reflect, pray and relax. God is so gracious to His people. He gives us what we need when we need it.

How does God help you prepare for labor? What would you do on your Mama's Day Out?

Organizing

Organizing is more up my alley when it comes to nesting. When adding another person to the house, there is a lot to think about. What do you need right away? What can wait until later? Where is the best place to put the furniture, clothes, diapers, etc? So many things to think about when preparing for a little one. Now that I'm preparing for the 7th, it's even crazier!

In the next week my nesting and organizing will be kicking into high gear as I figure out the best solutions for our ever growing family. One of the biggest guesses is the gender. We don't know if this baby is a boy or a girl, so we will be using a tub of newborn and 0-3 month clothes to start out. Either way, we will then need to figure out where the baby's clothes will go after he/she comes home from the hospital. This means we need to make some space! Things will need to be moved around so that we have a drawer ready to welcome clothes.

Sleeping! This is important when coming home. We need to once again move beds around to have a place for the baby in our room. This also means moving the stuff in our room to make a place for the bed (also known as a pack-n-play). This is a challenge when kids are often sleeping in our room or the rooms we need to make room in, but some how it needs to get done!

Our other major thing is finding places for things that do not yet have places or have not been put back. These is the hardest part of having so many littles! So we will be working on getting things in a place before baby comes so that the kids know where to put them when I say clean up.

This is just a glimpse of organizing for us, but it's a necessary part of getting ready for a new little one. How do you organize?

Nesting

So who out there is big into nesting? It is often associated with the last trimester of pregnancy and getting prepared for welcoming a new baby into the home.

I will say, nesting as not really been huge for me in the past. The biggest reason I've struggled with nesting is I hate cleaning, especially with cleaners. I hate the smell. I hate the residue that it leaves behind. I hate the way they make my hands feel. On top of this, most cleaners should not be used while pregnant.

This last pregnancy, I have started using Norwex, and it has helped so much with cleaning! Primarily I use the Envirocloth to do much of my cleaning because you can clean almost everything with it and it picks up 99% of bacteria and viruses. I know when I use my Envirocloth, my house is getting clean. Best of all I can clean with just water. No smell. No residue. No weird feeling on my hands. I can just clean! And, my kids can get involved too. Always nice when preparing to add another child to the mix.

There are many other products that help so much in just the day in and day out cleaning to keep things clean for welcoming a new babe into your home. I have been so happy with these products and so thankful that I gave them a chance.

So what does nesting look like for you?

Please Contact me with any questions
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What If I'm Not Really Interested?

I have run into this a couple of times, so first off I want to tell you you're not alone in this. Some women are just not really interested in childbirth, even when they have kids.

Here is my encouragement to you. You don't have to love it! God makes us all differently and our interests vary. I would suggest that if you are having a baby or have had a baby and you fall into this category that you pray that God would give you a heart to want to learn and share. Again, you don't have to love it, but it is part of how God made us as women and being educated as well as sharing is important. This will look different for different people, so I encourage you to find out what this looks like for you. Maybe it's just learning the basics of childbirth at a class. Maybe it's talking to friends. However it fits with you, educate yourself.

If you are expecting a baby, especially your first, I highly encourage you to investigate and learn what you can. Even if you know what you want, still educate yourself. Again it is important. Again, you don't have to love it, but think of it as doing what is best for your baby and you. Ultimately, it is in God's hands, but still have an idea of what is going on so that you can make the best decisions for your baby and you.

How do you handle not being interested? How would you encourage others?