Baby k'tan wrap

I recently got a baby k'tan wrap and absolutely love it! It seriously is amazing! I have tried several different types of carriers during the infancy and early toddler stage with all three of my children and this is by far the very best that I have come across yet.

Here's a couple pics of me wearing my youngest, my 4 1/2 month old son, in it.

These are just two of the many holds you can do. It really is so comfortable and I love that there is no twisting or tying. It makes it so much more practical and easy to use. I am going to list a few comparisons between the baby k'tan and some other wraps.

Baby k'tan vs moby wrap:
Softer fabric, comparable to Egyptian cotton.... Coarser fabric, comparable to a tablecloth
No tying or wrapping, just "looping".... Extensive wrapping and tying
Buy fitted for your size, xs,s,m,l,xl..... One size, so you have to wrap tighter or looser accordingly
Stays fitted and very secure since you buy according to size... Loosens gradually as you move and feels less and less secure
Lighter, more breathable fabric.... Heavier fabric
Great for any body type or size, again because you buy according to size.... Not good for slender body types
Easy to use.... More involved getting it on
Stores in its bag that is also the "sash" for extra support... Big and bulky and not as easy to bring with you on the go.
Both are comfortable as there is just fabric, no buttons, clips, hardware of any kind. I would say the k'tan is overall MORE comfortable though.
Both retail for about $50.

Baby k'tan vs sling
Doesn't hurt back over time from isolated pressure/weight evenly distributed.... Does begin to hurt back over time on shoulder sling is on/weight all primarily weighing on that one shoulder.
Very versatile in available positions baby can be in...... Really only two practical positions.
Baby is very secure and you can truly be hands free.... Still have to have one hand on baby as they could easily fall out.
Both are easy to bring with you on the go.
Retails for $49... Can be purchased for less than $20.

My husband uses the baby b'jorn backpack to wear our babies in when he is outside doing yard work and wants to take the baby with him and likes it. However, I have not ever tried it, so I cannot really compare it to the baby k'tan other than a few obvious differences:
Baby k'tan has no hardware, all fabric.... Baby b'jorn has quite a bit of hardware.
Like the baby k'tan, the baby b'jorn has several positions.
Baby k'tan can be worn while nursing... Baby b'jorn could not.
Both could be worn by any size person.
Retails for $49... Retails for about $80.

Expectations... Are a dangerous thing.

My sweet little five year old randomly said to me very seriously the other day, "Mommy, you know a lie is a very dangerous thing!" I smiled at the cuteness and sweetness that surrounded her honesty, but also stood astonished at how deep she understands some things that I never would have dreamt she would at such a young age.

Judging off her declaration, I can assume that my husband and I have done a pretty sufficient job at teaching her the importance of telling the truth and the dangers of lies. However, lies are not the only dangerous things.

Expectations are also very dangerous things. Expectations are things that our parents didn't teach us much about. Expectations are dangerous to women as mothers and as wives.

People ask me all the time how life is with three kids and if it is hard or not. Honestly, I don't consider life with three kids hard at all and that is always my answer, but perhaps it is because life with three kids is exactly what I expected it to be... Busy. I never expected it to be a cake walk nor did I expect to get to nap every day or sit on the couch all day doing whatever. I never expected to not have to clean or do laundry, but rather quite the contrary. Too often I run into other moms who seem unhappy and overwhelmed with their life with kids and describe themselves as just trying to survive. I have to wonder what they expected their life to be like and if this is why they are feeling the way they are feeling.

Do not get me wrong... I too have been guilty of unrealistic expectations, just not so much in the area of my kids, but rather in my relationship with my husband. Raising kids has always come pretty naturally and beautifully to me and seemingly as low stress as possible. Being the best wife I can be and not getting stressed because of unmet expectations there, is my real battle and my vulnerable one at that. This past year and a half has been particularly trying because my husband has been finishing up his college degree online. He wanted this so badly and I knew it would make him feel so grand to have accomplished it finally, but school is just simply not his niche and he didn't want it to drag out forever. I assured him that he could take a full load every semester, so he could get done in a year and a half ish and I would help him whenever he needed it. I was expecting this to be the occasional test or paper, but little did I know this would be a weekly, multiple assignments thing. This over time caused me to discreetly build up much resentment towards my husband. I knew all along that he was not the same as me when it came to school and couldn't cram as much into a week as I could because he simply was not wired that way. He could remodel a house from the ground up and save our family thousands of dollars over the year on DIY home improvements, but school was simply not his strong suit. How come I had always known this, yet was upset with him for it? Expectations. It's like I magically thought he would get better at it this time around, therefore I begrudgingly helped him with school work because I did not really want to have to be helping him this much. But was this his fault or my fault? This has been an area I have been struggling with in direct regards to expectations. I am trying to identify when a problem is the result of unreasonable expectations and when the problem is really a problem.

Example, if I'm helping my husband do his homework the night it is due because he waited until the last moment to start working on it, that is a real problem and something he should have done differently and therefore something I could rightfully be upset about.

Example, if my husband has six things due one week and I am having to help him with half of them because he can not realistically take it all on by himself, that is something I need to accept because getting upset about it would be the result of unrealistic expectations that I had for him long ago.

Recognizing the difference in these scenarios is the key to a happy life. Whether your expectations struggle lie with motherhood or with marriage or something else, it is so crucial to identify them early on and work through it rather than to let it go on and linger for an indefinite amount of time.

Proverbs 31:11-12, The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

Proverbs 31:15, 27, She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

The greatest job...

I feel as though I have accomplished a lot in my young life. I was the youngest freshman in my dorm at Liberty University, starting my college career at just 17. I was one of the youngest graduates of my college class in 2010... Graduating with my bachelor of science in psychology at the mere age of 20... And with a bouncing baby girl just shy of a year old at that. I worked full time while finishing school and mothering my sweet girl, but I never thought of it as "hard" in those moments. Looking back, I realize how much I had going on and how hard and demanding my schedule was, but it is strange that in those moments, I did not view life as hard, but rather just how things had to be at that time. The thing about being through and accomplishing a lot in a short amount of time is you just get used to it and accept that things won't always be a breeze, but they will be worth it. This changes your mindset from that of a complainer to that of an endurer and a joy seeker. As cheesy as that may sound, when you know everything you are doing in your current position is going to yield astounding results once you get through the "busy, demanding, and maybe even hard" schedule, you are ready for those results and seeking that joy you know is at the end of the tunnel partnering with the light.

Shortly after my graduation, I got a new job and with that new job came more money. This was a breath of fresh air and I was so elated. I felt important. Again, I was the youngest person who worked for my company. Most others were late 20's, 30's, 40's, and even 50's. Here I was just 20. I broke records for amount of calls taken in an hour and the amount of cases closed per day. I was recognized at meetings. I truly felt important and recognized for my hard work. I was on my way to hopefully being in possession of a company car within the next six months as well. What a great position to be in.

Throughout all of these successes, I always longed for something else though... To be a stay at home mom. Yes, I had just worked my self to the ground to finish school with an infant in the house and working full time and for what? To get a job like this where I could truly grow within a great company and achieve great things? Or was it to just finish what I had started...something I had always been taught to do? I was realizing it was the latter and that although this was all great, I wanted to be at home where that action was. I wanted to be able to see all the amazing things my now 13/14 month old was now doing and not just hear about them at the end of the day.

November 2010... Just six months later, that dream came true. The next December (2011) I had my second born. I loved every second of it. Some moms may read this and think, "really? Every second?" The answer is honestly yes... Although of course when my now 5 year old daughter runs up the stairs to tell me that my now 2 year old son pee'd in the trash can while I am nursing my newest baby, my 4 month old, I may not "love" that second, but I love my life as a stay at home mom. I love the fulfillment it brings like no other job could ever do. I love watching my children grow and learn. I love watching them play and love each other.

Housework is honestly something I find fulfilling as well. I don't hate that part of being a stay at home mom. Perhaps, it was how I was raised and watching my Mam-ma so dedicatedly care for her home and she did so with such joy and perspective. It wasn't just a job or a burden by any means, but rather a way to further make your house a home for your husband and your children, she would tell me. I have really taken this to heart. When I am doing laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping and mopping, I honestly feel proud and I know every day when my husband comes home, he will come home to a clean and inviting house. Dinner may already be made or I may have him hold the baby when he gets home and then make dinner, but one thing for certain is the house will always be clean and be full of love and feel like a home.

My husband does such a great job of taking care of the outside also. Just as I would wear the baby in a sling or a wrap while I do housework or cook, he will put the baby in the baby backpack while he pulls weeds or put our 2 year old on his shoulders while he blows the driveway off. It makes me so happy. I love that I have found a partner in life who truly views this life we have created just as I have. Kids don't get in the way of your obligations, but rather you incorporate them in with your duties, because that is how a family works. You do things together. By starting this at such a young age, they will grow up seeing the importance of housework and how it makes a house a home and will do it just as joyfully instead of the all too common begrudgingly way of doing things we see too often today in our generation.

This past Mother's Day was my first Mother's Day without my Mam-ma. As hard as it was and as much as I missed her, I tried to remind myself what kind of a mother she was and further perfect those things. She was truly the greatest mother and the greatest grandmother I have ever seen. Part of my tribute I spoke of at her funeral, I mentioned that she was a mother to far more than just her children. It is so true. She was called "mother"  and "mom" by so many. This is going to be my next major goal in my mothering career. I truly love being a mother and can honestly attest to that it is the greatest, most fulfilling job I have ever done and it just feels right. It feels as though this is what I was put on this earth to do... To be a mother and raise my children to glorify The Lord. I am seeing that part of my Mam-ma's ministry as a mother was also helping others in need of a mother figure as well.

Mothers... Do not take today for granted.... Do not let frustration and overwhelming tendencies ruin your day. As mothers we have a calling. Housework is part of it, but it doesn't have to be burdensome, it can be routine and enjoyable and bring fulfillment. Raising kids brings fulfillment also even in the less than favorable seconds.

Proverbs 31:28, "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her"

Excuse me now, while I go check on my 2 year old blowing bubbles in his water in the kitchen :-)