Books!!

Being a teacher, you might think that I love reading. Well I do, but only if they have pictures- I'm serious!

High School and College killed my love of reading chapter books and especially non-fiction. My non-fiction reading mostly takes place on the internet. This is rare but usually stems from something I hear on the radio or see on tv. Immediately, I google the topic to find out more information. I prefer trusty websites like Wikipedia!

Perfect and enjoyable reading for me is under 20 minutes and swells up my heart with only happy emotions. Love - Humor - Cuteness - Compassion - Victory

So here are some of my most favorite books or ones that have helped me immensely in my time of need.

 

Favorite Board Book-I read it like a song because it has nice simple poetry. Also toddlers love to dance with the characters.

Favorite picture book- I always thought this story was so creative. Captures my attention every time. I even feel bad for the Wolf when I head the story of the 3 Little Pigs!

 

 

 

 

Chapter Book- Do I even need to explain myself? We all wanted to be them!

 

 

 

 

Woman's Book- Although I think it is a hard book to get through because it is not very exciting- I remember making personal connections to this book for the next year. Great lessons!

Christian Book- Whether you take this figuratively or literally - This book challenged me to examine my theology. No I don't think God is a large black lady but the emotions I had attached to each member of the trinity were inaccurate. It made me search scripture to investigate what God actually thinks of me and I discovered his tenderness!

Pregnancy Book- I read this before we got pregnant. It boosted my faith tremendously. Without this encouragement to give my conception, pregnancy, and pain to God in prayer, I don't even know if I would have had my son. Some parts of this book might not be for everyone but there are awesome truths in this book about pregnancy and conception. 

Non-Fiction - This is one of the few non-fiction books I've read. It tells you everything to what is in the vaccine, why people do or don't get the vaccine, and what diseases the shots are preventing. Also it gives you the statistics for contracting the disease and risk of seizures after the shot. No matter your beliefs- You need just as much faith to believe that God will protect your child against diseases without shots as you need faith that God will protect your child from harmful side effects of vaccines.

Happy Reading!!!

River, Riv, Rivey

River is changing like crazy. For one, he has baby tantrums consisting of arching his back and screaming. He chooses to share most of these emotions with his mother. Pre-pregnancy, I was overly confident about my future parenting skills. Between teaching and nanning I thought I had it all figured out- not true. We've tried different things to discipline him but he just laughs at us.

Mover- He loves to move and is frustrated that he can't do it on his own. He can do a 360 scooting his arms but he has no legs power. His favorite place is his walker or standing with support from mom or dad. Recently he was in his walker in the living room. I was in his room calling his name. He found his way back to me in 5 minutes and gave me huge smile when he found me.

Why do parents even buy toys? River's current favorite toys are Tupperware, plastic bottles, the remote, cell phones, and paper. Every other trip to the grocery stores involves him chewing or tearing up my shopping list. He squeals loud until he gets it into his hands. The nice things about having a lower quality tv is that the remote only works if you point to the sensor. Therefore, River can play with the remote without changing channels.

That's a little glimpse into the Vande Zandschulp home with a 7 month old boy!

Christmas Card Preview

A Little Spare Time

This I made for Christmas from Grandma's old Button Jars!

Wetbags for cloth diapering on the go- if you don't mind uneven lines and a zipper that only half opens- I'm your seamstress!

God Always Likes You

Last night I got home after conferences so excited to see River. It had been a long day with work and conferences in the evening. Dave had warned me that River was exhausted but he would hold him off on bedtime until I got home. So when I got home, River gave me a small smile then immediately started crying when he got into my arms. Getting him to sleep was a mixture of fussiness, screaming, sitting then standing, and on and off nursing. Normally this would have been a bad end to a long day but for some reason I was just elated to be with my son. Then I began to think about God. I struggle with believing that God is always disappointed with me when I'm emotional. As I held River , I felt like God was telling me, I always delight in you- even when you are emotional. It was like a smile from Heaven reminding me there is nothing I can do to make God not like me. He likes me/you and delights in me no matter how I'm acting that day :)

Baby Essentials at the VZ Home

Aden and Anais blankets have been lifesavers!!! During our four month nursing fight, this was one of the only ways I could get River to nurse. He loves it near his face for feeding and sleeping. We don't go anywhere without one.

Bum Genius Diapers are reusable diapers. I use them a couples times a week and then throw them into the washing machine. Every time I use them I save about 20 cents which adds up over time.

This I use a couple times a week when River wakes up congested. The nasal aspirator would be great too if River wouldn't fight me. It is the best booger sucker I've found besides the hospital ones.

You're probably confused. Unlike most moms with a 6 month old, I still get up about four times a night. I use these push lights when I get up to nurse River back to sleep--- perfect amount of light!

River currently does not like the high chair so we feed him in the bumbo. Also I think it helped him with head control and now trying to sit up. Disclaimer to new moms: it doesn't work as a bath seat in standing water.

I LOVE CHILDREN'S BOOKS!!! And now I believe my son does too. He grabs for it every time we read and is very talkative when you put a bath book in his hands. I like to think he is reading in all that babble.

Sophie the Giraffe- River first discovered her at daycare. It is a rubber toy that is great for teethers. Apparently everyone in Europe gets these for their babies. Yes, they are a little expensive for my taste but he LOVES it.

I'm sure with each new stage of life we will have another "essential" list.

River's Birth Story Part 3

The midwife rushes in and I begin to push as she get everything ready. More people began to fill the room. I remember the anesthesiologist popping his head in. I probably was thinking at that point “you are worthless.” Also I remember the baby warmer being set into place. Pushing was painful and at times I felt scared. I knew the pain wasn’t going away so I gave it all I got. My mom was saying I was doing amazing. I think she would have said that no matter what. The midwife said I was crowning and asked if I wanted to feel his head. I replied no- HA! Just a few pushes later, the baby’s head was on its way out to which I heard STOP from everyone. I tried my best to stop because I didn’t know why they were saying that. Seconds later the midwife sternly says PUSH. River was then laid on my chest and I was stunned. I couldn’t believe he was real and mine.

A second later he was grabbed from me. Dave went over to the baby warmer while my mom stayed by me. Little did I know that the cord was wrapped around his neck. The nurses were patting his back and using a sucker object down his throat. At the same time the NICU team swarmed into the room.  My mom explained all this to me while I lay watching so I wasn’t scared. Eventually River let out a big cry. Those few minutes were the longest of Dave’s life. Since the nurses were so focused on getting River breathing, no one was talking to Dave. He didn’t know in those minutes if his son was going to live. River was put on oxygen temporarily and had an iv on his arm. Soon they laid him back on my chest. I was still in awe that he was my son.

            The next hour included family coming in, lots of shaking, blood pressure checks every ten minutes and baby gazing. It was nice that the doctor ordered him not to be held by anybody but Dave and I. This was so his breathing would stabilize.  I had a second degree tear and that was proof to me that the epidural did not work. I felt everything post birth. I begged the nurse to take out the IV and really that was the most reliving part of post delivery besides being able to take a bath. Lots of family came to see River. We barely got any sleep those days because of all the excitement. I was so grateful to the midwife for basically saving my son. Initially, I was somewhat annoyed that the midwife on duty was the one lady I had the least appointments with. I kind of judged her as being young therefore the least proficient at delivery babies. So in the end, I was very humbled that she saved River and I also learned that she was ten years older than what I suspected. Looking back, the only thing I would have changed is getting nausea medicine instead of the epidural. I didn’t know at the time that nausea medicine existed and the epidural didn’t even work for me. All in all I’m grateful for a healthy baby, an incredible husband, a loving family, and a wonderful staff at Methodist.  PRAISE GOD!!

River's Birth Part 2

Every time I had a contraction, I felt like I was going to throw up. This emotionally drained me of having any mental strength. This went on for an hour or two. The midwife checked me again and I had only dilated to three centimeters from 8am to about 1pm. Feeling discouraged, I asked everyone to leave so I could talk to Dave alone. I told him I was ready for an epidural. He tried to talk me out of it. That is exactly what he should have done. He knew how much I wanted to do it without pain meds and I probably would have been mad later on that he so easily let me give in.  After awhile he finally understood that I was serious. We asked the midwife for an epidural to which she immediately ordered up. The anesthesiologist was very busy so they gave me fentanyl until he could get there. To get through the pain I just huddled up on my side and squeezed whosever’s hand was there. This too was painful with a stupid iv that hurt my hand the entire delivery. Since I didn’t open my eyes through all of this, I just patted my thumb and fingers together as a sign to someone to grab my hand. I don’t think I opened my eyes until the baby was born. At some point Dave or my mom would push on my tailbone during contractions, which would ease the pain a little. At some point while waiting for the anesthesiologist to arrive, my water broke. I remember them having to lift me to change the sheets, which would have been embarrassing in any other situation. As time passed, I had some really heavy breathing going on that eventually turned into a moan; similar to a dying cow.

AN HOUR LATER, the anesthesiologist arrived to do the epidural. He had to stick me 3 different times. He had a sarcastic personality, which I would have appreciated had I not been in labor. During this time, I bent over and squeezed the life out of the sweetest nurse during every contraction. Mid labor she was assigned to a different floor, which was sad because she was really awesome. I actually didn’t have any bad memories from being stuck three times for the epidural because the contractions were so strong. The only thing the epidural did was take away the nausea. I still felt strong back labor and was beginning to feel the onset of the need to push. The midwife checked me right after the epidural and I was an 8. All in one hour I had gone from a three to an eight- CRAZY!

For about another hour, I fought through contractions. A new nurse was assigned who was very nice and great throughout the rest of delivery. I still preferred the first nurse who had a warm mothering way about her. After the baby was born, she came back the next day to check in on me- so sweet! The new nurse then asked me if I was ready to push. I could have but I knew I needed a stronger feeling until I could wait any longer. About a half hour later I was ready and dilated to 10. I started pushing with Dave, my mom and the nurse with me. After about five pushes, the nurse told me I had to stop. She said the baby was going to come within a few pushes and the midwife was in another labor. Our poor midwife had five deliveries back to back that day. So while I waited, I tried to persuade my mom and the nurse that I had to push. I pleaded with the nurse to just deliver the baby herself. My mom told me to go for it but somehow I waited for 45 minutes. That was horrendous.