Category: Life
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Effects of Children on Me (Part 4 of Birth Story series)
I am the youngest of 4 in my family. Growing up, I did not get to see how my parents handled things when a newborn was around, I didn’t actively pursue learning much about life with a newborn, and I was completely unprepared as a father and a husband. I mean, I read a couple…
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Postpartum (Part 3 of Birth Story Series)
Shortly before our first child was born, a friend of mine had told me to watch out for postpartum depression. I didn’t really know what he was talking about and was quick to forget that he even mentioned it because my wife has never suffered from depression before, at least to my knowledge at the…
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Miscarriage (Part 2 of Birth Story series)
According to the Mayo Clinic, about 10 to 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. And according to the World Health Organization, there are around 211 million pregnancies in a year. This results in 21 million to 42 million miscarriages every year. That is a staggering number and one I wish I knew more…
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Sienna’s Birth Story
Sienna’s Birth Story Sienna’s Birth Story — Read on thepattavinas.home.blog/2019/08/02/siennas-birth-story/ This is my wife’s birth story.
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Birth Story – Male Perspective (Part 1)
I’m the husband of a beautiful wife and mother to my three children. We have had 1 hospital birth and 2 home births. We have a 4 year old boy, a 2 year old girl, and a 2 week old girl. People have been having children since Adam and Eve but I have never heard…
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Sienna’s Birth Story
Sienna Lee Pattavina joined our family on Monday, July 22 2019 at 9:13 am. just one day before my due date. She weighed 7 lb 10 oz and was 20 inches long (our biggest baby!). A few days before my due date, Joe’s parents came into town to start helping with the kids and planned…
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Scroll Sawing
I have taken up a new hobby, one that some call the sewing of woodworking. I had been searching for something that fits me in the life stage that I’m in right now and something that I would enjoy doing without causing too much frustration or hassle -> enter the scroll saw. I was first…
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The Placement
That incredible feeling when you finally get that callback and they say “You got the child.” It’s comparable to “it’s a boy!”, or “I now pronounce you husband and wife”, or “I’m pregnant”, or any other precious moments in your life. I immediately started realizing how unprepared I was. Do we have a car seat?…
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Placement Process – Setting Expectations
If you are considering fostering and just starting out, I encourage you to first read through my posts on the Licensing Process if you haven’t done so already. This next series of posts will discuss what to expect during the placement process. This is the period of time between getting a license and actually…
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Overwhelmed
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM5Z1DHbrMg] “Change the World” I (like many) feel like I’m called to do something so much bigger than what I’m doing now. Similar to the song above, I want to “Change the World”. But I can’t do that overnight. It’s something that takes time, effort, thoughtfulness, consideration, “luck”, motivation, persistence, and numerous other qualities…
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Foster Process – Phase III – The Home Study
Ah, the dreaded home study. You will probably lose some sleep over this one, I know I did. Prior to the actual home study though, you will need to fill out an autobiography, a parenting guide, and a marriage guide. Autobiography: Think of this as a resume for your whole life, including some of the…
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Foster Process – Phase II – Inspections
Phase II is fairly quick if you have a newer home. If you have an older home, you may need to make some upgrades in order to be compliant with minimum standards. Pets: If you have any pets, they need rabies vaccines. Fire: You have to do a fire inspection to ensure your house is…