Stayin' home with my favorite homie

Snuggle bug

Conrad in his skull Vans from his girlfriend Avery

I gave into the binkey

He's not impressed with his toys

Sportin' the blue sneakers 

2 days before I was supposed to go back to work, Dustin called me with a revelation that since I was basically only working for the insurance, and paying for daycare would cost well over 600.00 a month, it would be cheaper to pay the 199.00 a month of insurance for the baby and me stay home! After praying about it and getting counsel from friends and family, it was clear to us that this was the best option for our family. 

My maternity leave was becoming more and more depressing by the day as I counted down each precious week realizing that all of the joy i was experiencing staying home with my baby would be short lived. I couldn't enjoy my time because I was always counting down going back to work. And every time Conrad choked on his milk, or had a diaper rash, I was sad to imagine someone else patting his back when he had hiccups, or delicately applying Bag Balm. I wanted to be the one to care for my baby, and I wanted to experience all of his milestones no matter how stressful my days home with him would be. 

I discussed with Dustin (rather he discussed with me) what my days would look like. He wanted me to look at this as a full time job not a vacation. He has encouraged me to get up with an alarm, get dressed, put on make up if i so desire, plan healthy meals, spend time with other babies and mommies, work on implementing a schedule, and making good use out of my time. 

When I went on my maternity leave for 7 weeks, I was not bringing in a pay check, and yet, friends and family brought us meals and groceries, gave us free hair cuts, helped me pay for co-pays at the doctors office, payed for our sons ridiculously expensive hip harness, and blessed us beyond belief. We prayed for all of our needs to be met, trusted Jesus with our finances and were blown away by how people loved on us. Me staying home will scary financially, but it will also be an extention of our family trusting God's provision for whatever he will provide in our lives and us having faith that he will give us enough for each day.

It has been a lot of fun and a lot of work to care for Conrad around the clock, but this is what I've always wanted and everyday is an opportunity to help my son develop and grow.