Baby Dickey 3 and 4?!

Well, it has been awhile! What have we been doing over at the Dickey home?! We’ve kept busy, that’s for sure. My husband and I spent 9 days traveling around Alaska, which was INCREDIBLE. We went for our 30th birthdays and our 7th wedding anniversary (all occur within about a month). That’ll have to be for another post, but it was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime type of trip.

We had a great summer with the kids. They each took a week-long dance camp (Ryan’s was more hip hop style and Rebecca’s was more like ballet). We spent time at the lakehouse, lots of time with family, and we took the kids to Chicago to see the Blue Man Group (or as they call them, “the blue guys”).

Both kids started school this fall… Rebecca in pre-elementary and Ryan in early elementary (half days). It was tough (for mom!) at first, but the kids love their school SO much, they’re disappointed by weekends and days off! The mornings “free” have given me time to pursue some of my own things, as well… maybe a little too much 😉

I’ve been focusing much more of my time on local birth work. It’s always been a passion and I’ve been a local ICAN leader for 5+ years. Last summer I was certified in Birthing From Within so this year I finally put it to use. I taught my first childbirth education class series, hosted a couple of workshops, attended a good number of local fairs and expos as a vendor, promoted my doula services, and took more trainings in pregnancy/labor acupressure & moxibustion and in mamalates (pilates based core work for postpartum). Busy, busy, doing what I LOVE.

We took a family vacation for 5 days in northern Wisconsin this fall—the same lake we’ve been going to since I was a kid—with my parents and my brother and his girlfriend. We visited the wildlife center, children’s museum, spent time on the boat, and everyone caught some fish!

The kids chose their Halloween costumes this year and they were pretty easy… I went the simple route. Ryan’s skeleton costume was a set of Carter’s pajamas (with skeleton gloves and face paint) and Rebecca’s purple butterfly was a skirt (with butterfly tips), wings, and wand with face paint.

And for the news you’re probably all really here for? Baby Dickey number 3…………….. after 2 winter babies, we opted for a summer one 😉

I’m just about 14 weeks now and am finally feeling better. First trimester this time around was brutal. Probably because I have 2 kids at home, but I was exhausted and nauseated the entire time. 24/7 hangover for ~2 months? Now, I can at least manage to stay up until 9pm, haha.

And what’s this Baby Dickey number 4?! Noooo, not twins. I mean, I don’t know that for sure yet, but that’s not on my holiday wish list, haha.

I am opening my own Studio in January! Baby #4. It’s been a dream of mine for quite some time and I finally bit the bullet. I’ve been seriously looking into it and asking around for advice since this spring. I started looking at spaces out of curiosity and ended up finding the perfect place… so here we are! Sign a lease and let’s do this!

I’ll be doing the same things I am now… childbirth education classes and workshops, pregnancy & labor acupressure and moxibustion, and now also mamalates birth recovery classes for pregnancy, mommy & me, and women. I’m bringing in some other amazing professionals for yoga, play/music classes for babies and toddlers, counseling, and more relevant services that are still in the works (like breastfeeding, belly binding, massage, and reiki). Luna Studio will be the first prenatal & postpartum resource center of its kind in the Rockford area so I’m pretty excited! It’s a crazy time of year, but it’s all coming together wonderfully! Our grand opening is January 9th.

Now I better get to plans for Christmas and Ryan’s 6th birthday! Yikes! Happy holidays, everyone, hope all is well! <3