The Buerglers

With the countdown less than ten weeks until Baby Buergler #2 is due, I had a sudden panic of all the things that "went wrong" with the end of my pregnancy, the labor & delivery, and my recovery.  I am terrified of a repeat.  I have been doing my best to mental prepare, should they, but it was just SO MUCH last time that I am almost in tears again just thinking about a repeat experience. 1. Preeclampsia    I was diagnosed with preeclampsia around week 36-37 with Evie. It only occurs in about 5-8% of pregnancies. Fortunately once you've had it you're not more likely to get it. Each pregnancy is unique. Still, I know more about now than I did then. It's dangerous (Lady Sybil anyone?).  I am terrified to repeat that: The headaches. The bed rest. The edema. The blood pressure feeling like my body was going to explode.  After a short stint on bed rest I had to be induced. I was also passed back and forth between the doctor and midwife, and neither of ...

Happy New Year! Last night Eric and I took a few moments, as we do each year, to review our previous year and discuss our vision for the coming year. We both agreed 2013 was "status quo" -  We had paid off our debts in 2011, we'd bought a house in 2012, we'd had a toddler and were pregnant with another, we were stable in our jobs...it was just a year of tweaking and keeping our little family afloat. On the upside, we both took up Spiritual Direction and have been tackling some major road blocks in our personal/spiritual lives and in our marriage.  It's been very healing and fruitful for both of us.  We also went 80-20 grain-free and saw dramatic difference in how we feel physically (and in my case, emotionally and mentally as well).  These are both huge accomplishments. Yay us! In part, we felt like we struggled with 2013 because we never wrote down our goals like we have in years past. (Do I sound like a youth minister or what?) Today I put the pen to...

For those who do not know, I am a Confirmation coordinator at a very large parish.  Each year I have over 170 candidates.  This year I have 194.  Each year has it's own set of battles.  A few years ago I was planning a wedding and got married during the "Confirmation Season" last year I was pregnant and on bed rest trying to organize things from a far with help from co-workers. This semester of work has been particularly challenging for me but in a different way.  This year our pastor/boss charged the youth ministry team with being bold and to not back down to pushy parents.  Obviously, there are exceptions and there is compassion.  He meant that the people in our area feel very entitled.  They use their money, job status, and every other thing you can imagine as an excuse to not follow the guidelines for our program, or the rules of the Church.  You would probably be appalled at the lines people give me.  He a...

I know I am a little behind on the New Year's Resolution bandwagon, 24 days behind to be exact. But, it's taken me this long to decide what my resolution would be. My life has changed considerably in the last three months.  I went from full-time ministry to part-time seasonal ministry.  I went from being super pregnant to being a mostly stay-at-home-mom. The day to day picture of my life has changed dramatically.  Every day was an adventure, full of work, prayer, meetings, coffee dates, hormonal teenagers, and happy hour with friends.  The weekends were for sleeping in and getting a weeks worth of chores and TV crammed into a weekend, that is, if I was even home for the weekend.  Most weekends were spent on retreats, celebrating weddings or baptisms, or running races. Now, my days are filled with laundry, diapers, spit up, pediatrician visits, pumping, washing bottles, pushing a stroller, and if I am lucky, a shower. I used to save all my laundry for a w...

I have a lot rolling around in my exhausted, pregnant brain.  Nothing is long enough or coherent enough to necessitate it's own post, but I want to get it out of my head. ...today was my last day working "full time" or really, my two part-time jobs.  I am now just working at the church.  My plan is to take from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day as my maternity leave. ...for the first time in my life I really feel content with my work, family, who I am, what I do/do not, and where I am headed.  I feel ready to handle what's brought my way, and not be stressed. ...Eric and I sat and made a two page to-do/goals shared Google Doc (yes, we're those people - but surprise! it's actually not color coded) of things for me to get done in my new found spare time both for the baby and because we know it won't get done when the baby comes. Things like cleaning out my shoes, tights, belts, purses, etc ...I have been reading a lot about stay-at-home Mom time ma...