Pregnant Life On The Farm

Aug 14, 20204 min read

This year was a totally different year for everyone! Throw a pregnancy while running a farm into the mix and life gets a little crazier for us.

A Little back story...Chris and I have Sophia(my bonus Daughter)preteen learning the farm chores~with a huge heart.. Then we have Elias~a little ball of never ending love and craziness. After Elias we had three angel babies(no one knows why) and now....Our Miracle Rainbow baby is on the way... We are expecting a healthy little baby girl .

With all of the happiness and over whelming joy there also came a sense of urgency here on the farm. Projects that we may have waited on til fall became a need this spring and summer.

*I am one of those lucky few who get morning sickness all day for the first 18 weeks. Yay!!!*

So Chris was up to bat. I got as much done as I could in the first month before the morning sickness and weight restrictions kicked in.

~Make A List And Schedule

Next came the list making and calendar planning; two things I can handle even when I feel horrible.

We made a list of projects we needed to get done/ the tools and materials we would need to complete them. Next came the weeks or months each project needed to be done by. We have found that it is really easy to stick to the completion of task if there was a due date in place. Sometimes it is really easy to get distracted or want to move from fencing to rebuilding a bigger chicken coop and then get off task.. This then results in a lot of partially finished projects, which may not get finished in time.

Being pregnant and unable to lift most wood, pallets or metal in our projects left me with the job of supervisor. Which may sound great like I am sitting in a lawn chair being fed grapes. In all honesty it was the worst. My husband and I work good together as a team, with one person's idea being carried out. However this was not the case. It turned into Chris making us something to eat, then working outside til dark and coming in for lunch sometimes. When you are physically unable to help with your dreams and goals on the farm it is super frustrating. One thing we learned for sure this year is that time flies by. I am not just talking week to week or month to month, but day to day and hour to hour.

Then the search was on. I could search marketplace and various other websites for the items we need or the "freebies" which you have to jump fast on. We found a lot of pallets, treated wood, fencing and many other items on line.

~Make Your Chores Easier

Besides all of the building going on we had to work on our systems. By that I mean our feed and watering systems. Which are still not the best but are definitely better.

Our feeding system is so much better now. We bought silver trash cans with lids and premixed each animal's food.

So now we just go out and get the correct

amount and dump it into 3-5 gallon buckets to deliver it to the animals on the farm.* Verses dipping into several bags to get the job done.

The watering system is better but still kind of crazy. We have ONE water spigot on our whole property, house and out building. It is crazy.

So the plan in the future is to have water barrels by each animal enclosure. Not only to be able to use rain water instead of our well but to be able to have gallons of water already at our fingertips when watering all of the animals.

For now we have one long hose that splits off to the garden, the backyard and towards the animals Which leads me to the second way to making life on the farm easier.

~Buy The Expensive Hoses

We have gone through so many cheap hoses between last summer and this summer that I am looking up ways to re-purpose it or craft it into something. It is beyond frustrating having to see blown out metal ends or retracing the 300 ft of hose to find the leak or kink that is stopping you from getting your chores done efficiently. With the heat we have had in Michigan (I know shocking)it has not been a fun track to run a few times a week.

With being pregnant only a few times of lifting a couple 5 gallon buckets and you are down for the count for a few days.

Just buy the expensive hose when you can and replace it little by little. Trust Us!

~Use A Vehicle

Whether it is the bed of your truck, the back of you minivan, a gator, golf cart or 4 wheeler. Use it. We have learned to keep the 4 wheeler at the front door. While this may look a little silly to others, it is very useful. Sometimes I can hop on it and go finish chores before morning sickness kicks it or any of the kids wake up. In the morning I drive it to the barn, load up the very accessible feed/hay and drive it to the animals(slowly). Then when it is super hot after feeding and playing with the animals I can get up to the house quickly for a cold glass of water.

~Have Your Kids Help

They may not always want to but having your kids help will teach them responsibility. It's alright to ask them to help out with dishes, feeding chickens and general pick up. Elias finally helps clean up most of his toys almost on his own now. Just that little bit helps. While it may be 15 minutes of helping out for them, it can make a big difference for everyone.

Farm life is a lot of work but it is also a huge blessing to enjoy as a family. This little bundle we have on the way is a miracle and learning how to actively partake on the farm has been different; but next year it will be a baby carrier on my back and a three year old running around. While we may have made some of our farm life easier with different systems in check and buildings and fencing up.. It is sure to be a wild ride this next winter, spring, and summer.