Let's Talk: Moms, Mother Figures, & Your Story of Motherhood

Happy Monday everyone! I hope y'all had a wonderful Easter weekend! We had a great Easter out here on Kwaj. We went to Church, had dinner with friends, and got to Skype both families this weekend, so I'd say our Easter was a success! Today I'm linking up with Andrea over at Momfessionals to talk about our moms, and our story of motherhood!

I couldn't even begin to talk about my story of motherhood without first talking about this lady right here...

My mom! I'm sure I'm slightly partial, but I'm inclined to say she's the best mom in the whole world! Everything I know about being a mama comes from her! When I think of my childhood growing up, I always thing about how much fun it was, and my mom had a lot to do with that! Some of my earliest memories are of my mom, sister, and I dancing around the living room to my moms old records of Broadway show tunes! My mom has a lovely singing voice, and I can hear her now singing along to all the old Rogers & Hammerstein musical numbers while we sang and danced next to her!

My mom always encouraged us to get out and play, and use our imaginations, and was so great about helping us think up games to play on those long summer days! 

When I think of my mom I also think of the sounding board and wisdom giver in our family. Many a problem was solved at our kitchen counter over rice krispy treats and milk. A philosophy that I think should be applied to most problem solving scenarios! I think in another life my mom should've been a therapist! She is the best listener, and is always the best person to talk out your problems with! I'm pretty sure most of my girlfriends from childhood to now would agree with that statement! Mama Horton is a wise woman!

When Hadley was born we spent the first six weeks at my parents house before heading home to Kwaj, and my mom was the greatest helper ever! She cooked for me, watched Hadley so Johnathon and I could go out to dinner, did laundry, and helped me navigate the tricky waters of raising a newborn, and for that I am forever grateful! There is also something about becoming a mom that makes you see your own mother in such a new and different light. I guess you finally understand what a mother's love feels like, and it just makes you love your own mom that much more! My mom was and is a huge source of comfort, joy, laughter, and love in my life and I hope that I can be half the mom to Hadley that she is to me! It should also be stated that my mom gives the best back rubs ever. No contest.

Hadley loves her Gigi!

Another mother figure in my life is this lady right here:

My mother is law is such a blessing and is another woman who was taught me so much about being a mom! She is a mom to FOUR boys, awesome Grandma to four grandkids, and is ALWAYS game to get pedicures with you! :) She is the most loving and encouraging mother in law, and was a great resource in getting to know Johnathon and his many lovable quirks! 

My mother in law came to stay with us for a week after Hadley was born, and as a mom four times over, she was so helpful with caring for Hadley and in making my hormonal, overwhelmed self feel much more confident in my new mom role!

She is a champ Scrabble player, and will take you on anytime, anywhere!!! She also shares my love for Hobby Lobby and Marshalls, and will wander the aisles with me, even when we aren't shopping for anything in particular! She is an amazing Grandma to Hadley and all her grandkids, and makes the best pierogi and apple pie. Fact. 

As for my story of motherhood....I guess I should take you back to May 2014. I had been wanting to start a family pretty much since the day Johnathon and I said 'I do,' but we just weren't ever in the right place to commit to expanding our family. We had been out on Kwaj for almost a year, and neither of us wanted to wait until we moved back home to start trying for a baby. So I got off my birth control in April, got the green light from my doctor, and we were officially trying to get pregnant. I had had several friends who had struggled to get pregnant, and it took my mom awhile to get pregnant with my sister and I, so I just didn't think getting pregnant right away was in the cards for me. We had some friends coming to stay with us toward the end of May, and through their whole stay I just felt really tired. I thought it was just because we had so many activities planned for their visit, but when I was still EXHAUSTED after they left, I knew something was up. I took two pregnancy tests that were negative, but I just felt like I was pregnant, so I took one more just to be sure. There it was clear as day...two pink lines. Pregnant.

I told Johnathon when he got home from work that day, and we proceeded to buy all the different types of pregnancy tests that the store had to offer just to be sure. Yep, sure enough...all of them were positive!

We were so excited!

It was the greatest news we've ever gotten, and I still remember how excited/scared/nervous I was that day, and for weeks after! To read all about how I found out I was pregnant, and my first trimester click here.

 8 week old Hadster!

My pregnancy was thankfully uneventful except for the first 14 weeks where I was nauseous 24/7, and the 40lb weight gain I put on while pregnant with Hadley. Woof. 

Kwajalein doesn't allow mothers to deliver on island if they can help it, so at 35 weeks I flew back to Austin to have Hadley. Johnathon flew back when I was 38 weeks, which was lucky because three days after he landed in Texas my water broke! Talk about cutting in close!

Please excuse my super fat/puffy/pregnant face in this picture!

You can read my super detailed birth story here, but the highlights were that my water didn't "break" like it did in the movies. Instead my water preferred to do a sexier and much less dramatic "leaking" which proved to be not as obvious to this first time mama. I really didn't know that my water had broken earlier in the day until I laid down to go to bed, and couldn't fall asleep because I was having too painful of contractions. I didn't want to be that new mama that showed up at the hospital not really in labor and got sent home, so I tried to tough it out threw the night. By the next morning I was throwing up because I was in so much pain, so we decided it was time to go. We went to the hospital where they thankfully admitted me, gave me an epidural (yay!), and 14 hours later Hadley Kate made her debut a week early, weighing in at a small but feisty 6lbs 2oz! 

My recovery was fairly easy, although the first couple of months with Hadley are kind of a blur. She really was a good baby, but had some pretty intense acid reflux that made getting her to sleep at night a bit of a challenge. Also we had to fly halfway around the world with a six week old to get back to Kwaj so that was no picnic either. Thankfully once we got Hadley on reflux medication, her life and ours got much better, and she became the easiest baby after that! 

I can't even begin to describe how being a mother has changed my life. Hadley Kate has brought Johnathon and I more joy than either of us can even put into words. She is the light of our lives, and I am so thankful everyday that God chose me to be her mother.

I was really trying hard to come up with what motherhood means to me, but I keep coming back to this one quote...

My heart has never loved anything more, and I'm forever humbled and blessed that God called me to be a mother!