Homemaker by Choice has a bun in the oven

[dairyfreelife]

Didn't see this posted so thought I'd share.

homemakerbychoice.net/2012/04/not-expecting-to-be-expecting.html

Her concerns seem genuine, but I hope she's grown up enough to care for two children. She always came across as really immature. I wish her luck.

[Georgiana]

Baby names!

She is so into meanings so you know that all the name meanings are going to be really strong and not strange at all right?

Here are a few names that I have fallen in love with. As most of you know I love to write, so I always have a bunch of names around.

Boys:

Liam - Will, desire and helmet, protection

Elijah {Eli} - My god is the lord

Levi - Combined

Aiden - Little fire

Rory - Red King

Fletcher - Maker of arrows

Ok, nice boys names. "Combined" and "Maker of Arrows" are strange things to name a child, but I like the names Levi and Fletcher. Let's see what meanings you chose for girl's names...

Girls:

Blair- Plain

Chloe- Verdant And Blooming

Charlotte- Free man

Brooke- A brook, stream

Claire- Clear; bright; famous

Olivia - Elf army

First of all, let me give you a moment to collect yourselves from the shock of finding out that the meaning of 'Brooke' is 'a brook'. Secondly, 'Charlotte' does not mean 'free man'. 'Charles' means 'free man'. 'Charlotte' is the feminine form of 'Charles'. Naming your daughter 'plain' seems really mean.

Of course, the clear winner here is "Elf Army".

And just for the record, I really like all of her names. But don't be like "Name meanings are really important to me!!eleventy!!" and then select "Elf Army". No one wants to name their kid elf army. They MIGHT want to name their child Olivia, because that is a tight name. (I take this back, now I totally want a kid named Elf Army)

[Sola]

Elf Army, I love it. I vote we suggest that to the Bradricks for their latest spawn!

[saraelise]

Wait, is she the Norwegian girl who married Eyes of Wonder's son?

[Dinorah]

Her husband's Norwegian, she's American. Did they move back to the US after all?

Oh, and where did she get that Olivia means "elf army"? Olivia was invented by Shakespeare inTwelfth Night and is probably based on Oliver.

[saraelise]

Her husband's Norwegian, she's American. Did they move back to the US after all?

Oh, I confused them with another American/Norwegian couple. But in that case the girl was from Norway and the guy from America.

[slickcat79]

So, she uses natural family planning as birth control...surely she shouldn't be that surprised to be pregnant again? :?

I find it a little strange that she's not interested in finding out the sex of the baby. You'd think someone who believes in "biblical womanhood" would want to get those kiddies started on their gender-defined roles from birth. But that would mean exposing them to the extreme dangers of ultrasounds, eleventy!11!!1!!! Because ultrasounds are just like x-rays, except not.

[BelieveinScience]

So, she uses natural family planning as birth control...surely she shouldn't be that surprised to be pregnant again? :?

I find it a little strange that she's not interested in finding out the sex of the baby. You'd think someone who believes in "biblical womanhood" would want to get those kiddies started on their gender-defined roles from birth. But that would mean exposing them to the extreme dangers of ultrasounds, eleventy!11!!1!!! Because ultrasounds are just like x-rays, except not.

I know people who use NFP and it's very effective for them. If you're in tune with your body and how it cycles it can work really well.

[dairyfreelife]

I know people who use NFP and it's very effective for them. If you're in tune with your body and how it cycles it can work really well.

NFP can be effective, but it does have one of the highest failure rates outside of spermicide alone. Women who's cycles aren't regular find NFP to be difficult. NFP is also time consuming, so many women probabl just don't have the time. HbyC has a baby and probably hasn't been keeping up with it as well as she should. I don't know that obviously, but it's understandable. I don't have to have a baby to know they're a lot of work.

I don't find it strange they don't want to know. Some people like the surprise. ;)

[Grace]

I don't find it strange not to find out either. I love surprises and I think that would be the coolest surprise of all time!

And now I want to have a girl baby and call her Olivia because, not only could we have amazing Elf Army-themed birthday parties, she's also be named after Olivia from Fringe :D

[silvia]

NFP can be effective, but it does have one of the highest failure rates outside of spermicide alone. Women who's cycles aren't regular find NFP to be difficult. NFP is also time consuming, so many women probabl just don't have the time. HbyC has a baby and probably hasn't been keeping up with it as well as she should. I don't know that obviously, but it's understandable. I don't have to have a baby to know they're a lot of work.

I don't find it strange they don't want to know. Some people like the surprise. ;)

I can't remember if Amber is breastfeeding or not, but breastfeeding can also make it difficult to chart using NFP, since you're often not having regular periods and ovulation can really happen at any time (whereas when you're having periods ovulation is at least semi-cyclical and thus more predictable). I probably would have used a barrier method like a diaphragm if I had lactational amenorrhea and knew NFP would be a headache, but that's just me.

[Cannelle]

NFP can be effective, but it does have one of the highest failure rates outside of spermicide alone. Women who's cycles aren't regular find NFP to be difficult. NFP is also time consuming, so many women probabl just don't have the time. HbyC has a baby and probably hasn't been keeping up with it as well as she should. I don't know that obviously, but it's understandable. I don't have to have a baby to know they're a lot of work.

I don't find it strange they don't want to know. Some people like the surprise. ;)

If you're doing temping (taking your temp every morning to chart your cycle), you're also supposed to get a certain amount of sleep before waking and taking your temp (which is supposed to be done at the same time every day). Having a kid, no matter what age, can screw with all that. My son never slept through the night until he was 21 months, and even after that, he constantly woke in the night- nightmares, wanting a drink of water, needing to use the bathroom, he didn't feel well, etc.

Plus you have to abstain from sex when you're at your most fertile, and that is, of course, when you're most likely to have a rollicking case of the hornypants, soooooooooooo...Not all that shocking when someone falls pregnant on this system.

[tinuviel]

Yeah, NFP would be way difficult if your temps are all screwy, but you can also record other symptoms--cervical fluid, cervix height, ovulation pain, etc. There are iPhone apps that calculate everything for you if you put in the information. Might help.

It can be a good fit for women who have bad side effects from the pill. Of course if you're not a fundie, you can also use barriers during the most fertile time to avoid unhappy hornypants time. Obviously not for everyone, but just wanted to throw the info out for pill averse women who are looking for an alternative. :-)

I can't believe that she's on kid 3 already! I feel like she JUST got to Norway and started posting her house tour videos. I wonder how she's doing on the language. I imagine being home with three littles in a country where you can't speak the language would be extremely isolating. Hope she does all right with it.

[lilah]

I think they were married for at least a year before they had kids so they were probably doing something in contrast to the many crazy fundie kids who get knocked up on their honeymoon or soon after.

And yeah the blog says they moved to the US but doesn't say why. It's always annoying when some blogger goes on and on about how god provided this and that and it's really her parents who got them the house and the car. Thank them instead!

[Feberin]

I don't find it strange not to find out either. I love surprises and I think that would be the coolest surprise of all time!

And now I want to have a girl baby and call her Olivia because, not only could we have amazing Elf Army-themed birthday parties, she's also be named after Olivia from Fringe :D

I don't think it's weird that they don't want to find out but do find the reason of "ultrasounds are SO dangerous" as weird. Most people don't have extra ultrasounds to find out the gender they find out at the anatomy scan when they are looking for potential problems with the fetus. I have a friend whose daughter was born with a serious heart problem. Had they not done any ultrasounds during the pregnancy they wouldn't have known about it and wouldn't have delivered at a hospital that specializes in her condition. Considering she had heart surgery shortly after birth I would think having not known about the condition and delivering at less equiped hopsital (or at home) could have resulted in her daughter's death.

[holysnark]

I'm a reader of Homemaker by Choice and I actually didn't think they did any type of family planning. I saw a comment of hers once that said they were letting God decide the amount of children they have.

[Michiru]

Well, if you use the right rules for nfp it is as effective as the pill. (For example, Peal Index 0,4 for the rules of a German nfp named sensiplan, it is not only temperture)

BUT: You can mess up very fast if you don't follow the rules od have a hidden child wish.

I have been using nfp for the past 6 years and not once did I have an accident.

[Beeks]

I'm a reader of Homemaker by Choice and I actually didn't think they did any type of family planning. I saw a comment of hers once that said they were letting God decide the amount of children they have.

Then why in the world would she be so blown away by the pregnancy? It's kind of amazing it didn't happen even sooner.

ETA: I also hate the argument of "it's a surprise!" for not finding out the sex til birth. It's a surprise no matter when you find out!

[holysnark]

Then why in the world would she be so blown away by the pregnancy? It's kind of amazing it didn't happen even sooner.

ETA: I also hate the argument of "it's a surprise!" for not finding out the sex til birth. It's a surprise no matter when you find out!

I have no idea either why she would be surprised. It's actually kind of annoying. I'm not using protection and I got pregnant! Who would have thought that would happen? Anyway, I double checked and here is where she makes the comment they are "leaving it in God's hands when and if we shall be blessed with another one"

[dairyfreelife]

I also hate the argument of "it's a surprise!" for not finding out the sex til birth. It's a surprise no matter when you find out!

Uh...okay. I've never heard anyone make an argument for finding out or not, it's just an individual decision. Some people want to know the beforehand, some want to know after. From a friend who chose to wait, she used the "it's going to be a surprise" because when she got far enough along people would constantly ask her if she was having a boy or a girl. She said when she'd tell them they wanted to wait, some people wanted to know why and didn't they want to prepare and all that, so she got accustomed to just saying "It's a surprise" or "we want to be surprised." That answer apparently satisfied them.

[Beeks]

Uh...okay. I've never heard anyone make an argument for finding out or not, it's just an individual decision. Some people want to know the beforehand, some want to know after. From a friend who chose to wait, she used the "it's going to be a surprise" because when she got far enough along people would constantly ask her if she was having a boy or a girl. She said when she'd tell them they wanted to wait, some people wanted to know why and didn't they want to prepare and all that, so she got accustomed to just saying "It's a surprise" or "we want to be surprised." That answer apparently satisfied them.

No, that's fine, but there are lots of people who sort of advocate for not finding out by saying "we want it to be a *surprise.* None of my cousins find out and they always have this superior air about it and claim they will "push harder" because they'll want to know. It's just annoying.

[Deleted03]

No, that's fine, but there are lots of people who sort of advocate for not finding out by saying "we want it to be a *surprise.* None of my cousins find out and they always have this superior air about it and claim they will "push harder" because they'll want to know. It's just annoying.

Oh I totally agree that this is an argument and I always find it silly. In a sense too, saying that way we won't genderize too much... well you'll still do it after a couple month when you need bigger clothes, sorry it's the process in this society. Try finding gender neutral clothing past 6 months...

[slickcat79]

No, that's fine, but there are lots of people who sort of advocate for not finding out by saying "we want it to be a *surprise.* None of my cousins find out and they always have this superior air about it and claim they will "push harder" because they'll want to know. It's just annoying.

HbC makes that argument too, in addition to the whole ultrasounds-are-teh-ebil thing. I'm pretty sure that by the time you get to pushing, whether you're having a boy or a girl will make zero difference in pushing, you just want it out. I wouldn't be surprised by an average couple waiting to find out, but I find it unusual from someone who believes that god created women to be helpmeet to a man. Most fundie types start gendered behavior from day 1.

[dairyfreelife]

No, that's fine, but there are lots of people who sort of advocate for not finding out by saying "we want it to be a *surprise.* None of my cousins find out and they always have this superior air about it and claim they will "push harder" because they'll want to know. It's just annoying.

Really? :lol: (to your cousins) I've never been pregnant, but I think I'd push hard to get the kid out regardless of whether I knew what I was having or not. I think I'd just want the child out of me already. I know my mother didn't find out with me, though she wanted to know, the old-fashioned doctor said no. My grandmother was dying and my parents wanted to tell her what her the gender of the grandchild (this was the late 80s). They found out with my younger siblings. I used to think I wanted to wait just because, but really I think I'd be too curious so I'd probably end up finding out anyway if I ever get pregnant. I never knew people took an issue or air of superiority over it. Sheesh. Is every decision a woman makes under scrutiny? Yes, that's mostly rhetorical.

I do agree with you about it always being a surprise whether you find out sometime beforehand or after the birth. I don't see how knowing the gender would make a difference. I mean, you still don't know what they really look like anyway. The hair colour, eye colour, who they look more like. I'm sure it's just as exciting either way.

[Feberin]

I think most people who act like they are super superior for not finding out are the same who act like every parenting decision they make is superior to all other choices. And when I was giving birth to my son I was so ready to meet him and be finished with labor that I needed no extra incentive to push other then finally having my baby.