He is so faithful February 1, 2012

All of my life I have dreamed of becoming a mother. I think deep down, all little girls do! It’s right up there with imagining what your wedding will be like. I’m so happy to say that my daughter has finally arrived! It was an incredible experience and something that I will never forget.

First of all, if you are a man and you are reading this post, all you need to know is that a stork brought Olivia to my front door on a Tuesday morning and it was a completely painless experience! Now, run off and change the oil in the car or something. 🙂

Now that it’s just us ladies, I’ll share some actual details. Something that I had not really shared publicly a few weeks ago is that Olivia was measuring several weeks behind and they were starting to get concerned about her size. At one point they almost induced early because my doctor thought that she might not have enough amniotic fluid and/or that the placenta wasn’t working the way it should. That all settled down, but when I got to 40 weeks and she still hadn’t come, my doctor wanted to induce. At my appointment on Monday (my due date), she scheduled an induction for the following morning. We were to report at 5AM.

Something else I had not shared publicly was that after doing a lot of research and praying about it with Adam, I had decided to labor naturally, with no epidural or pain medication. If I was induced, that would be incredibly hard. A couple of months ago we hired a doula to help us have a natural birth (If you have any questions about what a doula is, feel free to ask!). I was devastated when I thought I had to be induced, and I started praying hardcore that my body would go into labor naturally before my 5am Tuesday deadline. We didn’t even really tell anyone about the induction because we were so hoping that I’d go into labor on my own.  Around 1:30pm, I started having contractions, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. We had already had a few bouts of false labor before, including the previous night! Around 8:30pm we we were pretty sure it was real. They had been been getting more consistent and more intense. I called my doula, Laura, to let her know, and I got in the bathtub to try to relax. By 10:30 she was here and we started trying some different things, such as getting in different positions and sitting on my birth ball. By 12:30 we decided it was time to head to the hospital.

I was progressing very well by the time we got to the hospital. We were only there 3 hours before she was born at 4:17am! I missed that 5am deadline by just short of 45 minutes. 😉 God answered my prayers and put me into labor so I could avoid the induction, and He also granted me the strength and endurance I had been praying for for months to have a natural labor. I did it without an epidural or any pain medication! He is SO faithful! It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and it makes me feel wonderful that I was able to accomplish what I had prepared for, but I couldn’t have done it without His strength carrying me.  I think the biggest key to my success was staying at home as long as I did – just 3 hours in the laboring room was perfect.

I was very much in shock when she was born! At the hospital you can look up at the light’s reflection on the ceiling to see the baby being born – and my jaw just dropped. I couldn’t believe that she was finally here, and that I was a MOM! The nurses immediately said that she looked like Daddy, and I got to hold her right away. I was in shock for awhile, though, haha! It was a great experience, but I was completely exhausted. I had been awake for 24 hours and just endured the most physically draining thing in my life. I wasn’t able to sleep all Tuesday though, either, or that night – of course I had to keep checking on Olivia every 5 seconds! 😉 By Wednesday, I was fatigued beyond belief and ready to go home. The rest of the week is a blur.

Now we start our journey as parents! Pregnancy was a very interesting experience, and I’m so so so so thankful for my sweet baby girl. I love seeing Adam with her. One of the things I was most looking forward to was seeing both of us in her, and I really can! There are moments when I think she looks just like him, and then even a split second later I can see myself. She is 2 weeks old now, and weighs 7lbs 4oz, and is 19 inches long. She is so beautiful and I love getting to know her.

Thank you all for your prayers and support throughout the pregnancy! We are so thankful for the blessing that you are.

Introducing… January 21, 2012

As promised, in this post I will share why we chose Olivia Faith for our daughter’s name. In another post to follow, I will tell her birth story.

Two years ago we felt the Lord calling us to completely trust in Him. This might sound silly to others because we were already Christians, so why wouldn’t we automatically be completely trusting in Him, right? Wrong. He gently showed us that we weren’t truly giving over every area of our lives to His lead, including the aspect of our family growth. We had been married for a year, and had given way to society’s “call” on the newlyweds’ life: don’t start a family until you’re settled, until you have enough money and a perfect job, and by all means, not until you have been able to enjoy at least a few years together “kid-free”. Thankfully, the Lord reminded us that we can plan everything down to a ‘T’ if we want, but it still won’t really ever be in our control. We needed to put our trust completely in Him, and believe that no matter what, His way is better. This meant realizing that things wouldn’t be easy; that we might be tight on money, or not have the perfect house, or many other circumstances that we couldn’t foresee, but that He would bless us abundantly because choosing His way is better. It also meant that we might not see that abundance for a long time, or possibly never on this earth. But, praise the Lord, His blessings are not always tangible.

After giving Him the reins on the growth of our family, we were beyond excited to find out that we were expecting, and devastated to learn that that child was meant to live in Heaven. It was very hard, but even still, we believe it was God revealing to us even more that our so-called “plan” would not have worked. What if we had waited for that perfect opportunity to plan our family, and it was too late? Even though we experienced a loss, God did bless us as He promised. Almost as soon after we gave Him those reins, He blessed us with a house. This was truly amazing because for about 6 months prior, we had been trying to get approved for a loan, and “ironically” ;), the same bank that ultimately gave us the loan was the one that originally denied us. We also were able to find a great family car for an awesome deal that is SO GOOD for my back (seriously, I can’t imagine how I used to get in and out of my little car). And most importantly, He blessed Adam with a new job that he loves and that can support our family. All of these things were blessings we had desired, and had not been able to plan out on our own. We couldn’t receive the blessings until we were willing to completely trust and put our faith in Him. It is for this reason that her middle name is Faith.

I mentioned a few posts back that we really felt the Lord putting a name for our daughter on our hearts. We want our children’s names to be meaningful to us, and so we have connected a reason what we feel is why He chose that name for our daughter. When He called Noah to build an ark because a storm was coming, people thought Noah was crazy. However, Noah put his complete faith in the Lord and did it anyway. After the storm, there was a beautiful rainbow, but no land in sight. After a couple attempts, a dove finally brought back an olive branch. The olive branch proved that there was land – meaning, there was hope and LIFE after the storm. We were called to build our “ark” and not give in to society’s rules, even though most Americans would think we were crazy. And then we experienced a dark storm, followed by a rainbow. Now, our dove has brought us our olive branch – we have new LIFE. It is for this reason that her first name is Olivia.

I’m so excited that she is finally here. 🙂

Oh, the anticipation! December 27, 2011

In a mere matter of days, Adam and I will be parents.

The difficult/weird/stressful part of that is – how many days?

I’m 37 and 1/2 weeks, so it could be a couple of days, or it could be a couple more weeks (or a little more than that, but I really don’t want to think about that possibility).

It’s just crazy that this is such a huge, life-changing event, and we have no idea when it will happen. It’s not like when we got married and we knew the exact date. Or when we closed on our first house and knew in advance. Even the births of future children won’t be quite as life-changing as this first one, because we’ll already be parents by then. We will already have at least one child at the house.

I’m trying to stay on top of keeping the house and everything clean, so that when it happens, it will be a lot easier to come home to. It’s a little hard being as uncomfortable as I am, and my mobility is limited. Adam is being awesome. 🙂 We took down all the Christmas decorations yesterday, the day after Christmas. We usually wait until at least after New Year’s, but there wasn’t really a point in enjoying it all for another week, since it would be a huge hassle to do once the baby comes. The only thing Adam has left to do is take the lights down off the house.

I’ve got all her clothes, blankets, sheets, etc washed and ready to go. Her nursery is ready. The carseat is ready. I have what I need for the hospital packed, besides a few last minute things that I use on a daily basis. I’ve got diapers and wipes. Her diaper bag is ready.

And now, we just anticipate her arrival! I wonder when her birthday will be! I can’t believe that I will soon have my daughter in my arms. I can’t wait. 🙂

Why We Aren’t Sharing Her Name December 21, 2011

The last time I posted, I was flipping out because November was a few days away. Now, we are a few days away from Christmas. Holy cow. The last time I posted, I was about 29 weeks. Now, I’m a little short of 37 weeks. Holy cow. Again.

I haven’t posted because I’m at that stage of pregnancy where there just isn’t anything interesting to talk about. Basically anything I have to update on would really just sound like complaining. Some of those topics include, but are not limited to: can’t get comfortable, can’t get comfortable to sleep, baby in my ribs, baby in my hip, can’t sit longer than about 10 minutes before Baby in My Ribs makes it painful, heartburn, acid reflux, physical exhaustion, waddling when I walk, Braxton Hicks contractions, baby in my ribs…

See? Nobody wants to hear about any of that. I don’t even want to be experiencing any of that. It’s okay though, the reward will definitely make it all worth it. 🙂

Today, I thought I would talk about our reasons for not sharing the name for our sweet baby girl.

#1 – This is the main reason. We want to see her when she’s born and make sure that the name fits. Although as her parents we obviously can do what we want, we would feel a little guilty about changing our minds if she already had her name monogrammed on a a bunch of cute things. Originally, at the beginning of the pregnancy, our plan was to have about 2-4 names in mind, and then see which one fit best when he/she arrived. As time progressed though, we felt the Lord putting one name into our minds. It was for this reason that I was already basically positive that she was a girl before we found out for sure. Especially because it is a name that we had never considered before. (We’ve talked about possible baby names since we were dating). At this point we are 95% positive the name we have in mind will be her name, but still want to meet her first. 🙂

#2 – Although we love everyone and appreciate their opinions, we didn’t want any input or influence on the name that we would choose. 🙂

#3 – We love the idea of our loved ones being able to come in after she’s born, and then we introduce her to them. There is meaning for us behind both her first and middle names, so being able to explain and share those meanings is something that I’m very much looking forward to. Everyone already knows she is a girl, but there is that extra surprise element in finding out her name the day she is born that is just very special to us.

So, there ya go. We are very excited to meet her and can’t believe that really at this point, she could be here almost anytime (or, she could stay in past her due date, which I don’t want to think about!).

Let me just say that I’m extremely proud of myself for keeping the name a secret this whole time. Anyone who has known me a while knows that it’s hard for me to keep big news a secret. When her gender was confirmed 20 WEEKS ago (wow that seems like forever!) I really didn’t know if I could do it. Adam has definitely been the strong one. There have been a couple times (not recently) that I would vaguely suggest just going ahead and telling, and he would not budge. I’m so glad he didn’t! Now we are just a couple of weeks away and I can’t wait to share!!

I was right October 28, 2011

In my last post, I said that I thought once October got here, time would start to fly by. Oh my goodness, I’m not even sure where October went. I can’t believe we are just a few days away from NOVEMBER! I am loving the change in the weather, and I’ve got my fall decorations out. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving!

I am 29 weeks this weekend. Whoa! It’s been awhile since I updated the blog. I think I can safely say now that I am feeling better. The past few weeks have been a drastic improvement. I was hesitant about “announcing” that good news because the last time I thought I was better, it came back with a vengeance. I finally started to put on some weight and my belly is showing some more. I still experience some nausea, but at least I can keep my meals down!

Pregnancy has been a whirlwind of changes and emotions – it certainly is a rollercoaster! Here a few things that have affected me:

• Usually, Cracker Barrel is my favorite restaurant. I haven’t eaten there in months.
• My big aversion has been those things that chickens lay and even hearing about them, or seeing them on a tv ad makes my stomach turn. Adam does not mention them in my presence. (And obviously even typing the word was avoided just now).
• I could eat apples all day long. A few weeks ago it was tomatoes, and now it’s apples. Mhmm… apples…
• No one ever told me about round ligament pains or braxton hicks contractions… ugh.
• I never realized how MUCH you can feel your baby move. I remember at the beginning of the pregnancy when I read that in the 3rd trimester you would do “kick counts” (where you see if you feel 10 kicks in an hour) and I thought, “WOW! That’s a lot!” and now I know it’s nothing. This girl is going to be an acrobat!
• I won’t even mention back pain.
• I usually hate this time of year because of the impending DOOM of winter – the cold weather, all of it. YUCK! This time, I can’t wait because I know that once it’s here, it will mean my baby will be here soon. 🙂
• Sometimes I feel like I need a crane to help me turn over/move/attempt to get comfortable while trying to sleep. I’m SO GLAD Adam is not a light sleeper!
• I am overwhelmed with love for this child! I can’t wait to meet her. 🙂

Sorry that it has been so long since I’ve updated. I started to type a post a few weeks ago, but there wasn’t a whole lot to say and so I never finished it. I really need to start an album on Facebook with ultrasound and nursery pictures… maybe I will this weekend. We’ll see!

Updates September 21, 2011

I am 23 and 1/2 weeks! That feels like SO much further than when I was only like 5 or 6 weeks! At the same time, I know that there is still a looooooooooooooooong way to go till the middle of January! Each week is starting to go by faster and faster though, so I know she will be here before we know it. I have a feeling that once October is here, everything will really start to fly by. Preparing for the holidays, football games, Christmas shopping… all of that is going to make January come pretty quick! I can’t wait. 🙂 We are pretty much done with the nursery. It’s still really early but I want it to be ready in case (God forbid) I were to have a premature birth. There wasn’t a reason to wait to do it, and obviously we were really excited, so now it’s almost done! 🙂 I won’t post pictures for awhile because we want it to be a surprise… sorry! 🙂

I’m starting to get a little bump… although it still really depends on what I’m wearing and what time of day it is. But, she’s kicking up a storm! I think she’s going to be a soccer player, haha. I love feeling her; it’s SUCH a reassurance after losing a baby. Adam can feel her too, so that’s really exciting. 🙂 🙂 🙂

The only downside is that I still get sick! Considering I’m not too far from my 3rd trimester, it’s looking like I will be like this the whole pregnancy. Maybe not, (hopefully not) but it doesn’t appear to be letting up any time soon. I keep trying to focus on the fact that I could have it worse – I’m not throwing up constantly and am having a little more energy than I used to. I had finally put on a few pounds at my last appointment, so my doctor was pleased with that. Speaking of doctor’s appointments, I’ve always hated them. Well, I guess it really started several years ago after the first car accident and I was having to go to so many all the time – sometimes 3 different doctors in one week. But I LOVE going to my OB appointments! The last 2 haven’t even been that exciting – just ask my questions, listen to the heartbeat, get measured, etc. I guess it’s because each one takes me closer and closer to my due date! I think my next appointment (in 3 weeks) is the last one before I start going every 2 weeks – how CRAZY is that?! No complaining here! I can’t wait to meet her! 🙂

And drumroll… Adam got a new job! YAY! He starts Monday, October 3rd, and will be working for McLane Intelligent Solutions. He is very excited about this job opportunity and it is a HUGE answered prayer. We knew God would provide and He did just that, but He also gave Adam a job that he is really looking forward to. We serve such an amazing Creator! Thank you all for your prayers during Adam’s job search. We are so thankful for you!

Sickness, Pregnancy, and Registries… oh my! August 23, 2011

As you might have seen on Facebook the past week and a half, my poor husband has not been well. He started to not feel that great the last couple of days that we were in Kentucky, but he first got a fever the morning that we left. Luckily the fever left by the time we got to the airport, but when we landed in Austin (praising God that we had a non-stop flight!) he felt like he was freezing – which was very uncharacteristic of him- and by the time we reached home, his forehead was on fire – seriously, my hand hurt after touching him! He had a fever every day (it went up and down, and sometimes subsided briefly) until this past Sunday. After a doctor’s visit and a trip to the ER, he has improved. He is definitely better than he was especially since that first weekend, but he still needs prayers as we try to get to the bottom line of what’s going on. We are waiting on the lab results from yesterday, and he has an appointment with a specialist next Thursday. He just left for work. My pregnancy hormones combined with my normal worry  skills *ahem* problems are not good for this. His job requires him to drive all over the area, so today he has to drive to Killeen and then he’ll be back in Temple in the late afternoon to meet some other clients. Please pray for both all three of us!

Now for an update on something much more pleasant – my pregnancy. I had my anatomy scan last Monday and as far as we know, all of her organs and limbs, etc, are growing the way they’re supposed to; praise the Lord. It was also confirmed again that she is a girl! Yay! She is transverse right now, but I don’t think that would be a concern till later. I am 19 1/2 weeks and have not gained any weight. My doctor isn’t concerned yet, but she wants me to try to gain 3-4 pounds before my next appointment in the middle of September. She ”prescribed” hamburgers and ice cream, etc. What she doesn’t understand is, that’s already what I’ve been eating! Haha. At the beginning of my pregnancy, I tried to eat as healthy as I could (and still do when I can) but then when I started to get so sick, I had to eat whatever sounded appealing and whatever I could keep down – which wasn’t exactly always a salad or fruit. Now Adam is purposefully trying to “fatten” me up, haha. Oreos? Sure! Taco Bell? Yeah! Lol. On a side note, I do still get sick. In fact, the past couple of days especially I have been feeling more nauseous than I had been in awhile. But on a much happier side note, I CAN FEEL HER MOVING AND KICKING! Adam can, too. This is actually quite funny because I’m still not really showing. It’s interesting that a little over 2 weeks ago I couldn’t feel her at all, and now I feel her all the time. I think she’s setting up a fort or building something in there, because she is moving almost constantly. Maybe she gets bored between her naps, who knows! 🙂 I love being able to feel it; it makes me feel so much more assured that everything is ok.

We registered at Target yesterday. I was very overwhelmed over the weekend at all the choices there are for everything – choose a car seat, stroller, you name it – tons of options for each one! But Adam and I worked on a list beforehand and researched all the choices and options online. When we went to Target, we knew exactly which item we wanted and it was much less stressful. We already have our baby bedding so we are working on getting the nursery ready. It will be a work-in-progress because right now it’s Adam’s office. We will be combining our guest room and office into one room.

Okay well that’s all the updates for now! Thanks everyone SO much for the prayers and support. We don’t know what we’d do without you!

 

Kentucky August 5, 2011

It has been an exciting week. On Wednesday, we did an elective ultrasound to find out the sex of our baby! We took his Mom with us, and they put it up on this huge screen on the wall. I could have stayed there all day and just watched my baby! On the way there, I was getting really antsy and couldn’t wait to find out. I was a little nervous because I knew that once we knew, it would make it so much more real. We were sitting at a stop light, just minutes away from getting to the place, and I was so impatient!

I drank juice and even some soda beforehand, hoping the baby would be awake, but no such luck! The baby was in what looked like the most uncomfortable position ever- laying on its head practically horizontal and upside down, the torso and chest vertical above, and the legs horizontal resting on the placenta. Kind of hard to describe. The tech poked around on my belly trying to get the baby to wake up, but eventually I had to jump up and down a few times – haha! That did the trick – the baby didn’t move out of its position (not sure where it gets the stubbornness from 😉 ) but the legs started kicking and moving around. That was kind of surreal for me, because I still haven’t felt any kicking. To see all that movement was kind of hard to believe!

Finally, we got a shot of what we needed to see – and we saw that it’s a girl! I would have been shocked if it was a boy, because I’ve just had such a strong feeling that it was a girl! There are a couple reasons why, but the main one was when we listened to the heartbeat at the doctor’s office 3 weeks ago, I truly felt like I was listening to my daughter’s heartbeat. It’s hard to explain. We are just beyond excited and cannot wait till January gets here so we can meet her! Adam’s Mom had 4 boys, and so far the only grandchild is a boy, so this will be the first girl!

I got a little emotional that night, thinking about my first baby and how we never got to find out if it was a girl or a boy. I’m so incredibly thankful that God has blessed us with this baby girl and don’t want to take one second for granted.

Meanwhile, Adam and I are visiting his family in Kentucky and having a great time! I miss my dog, lol, but my parents are taking great care of him at our house.

Today we are leaving to go to Kentucky Lake, which is about 2 hours away from where we are right now. We are going to stay in a cabin with Adam’s Mom, and 2 of his brothers, plus their wives. Also, our 16 month old nephew Clay is coming. I love being by water so I’m really excited. A little nervous about the car ride because I’ve been struggling with nausea and motion sickness this week still, but I think I’ll be ok. I’m excited to get there!

Hope everyone is having a great week!!

Emotions are running high around here… July 14, 2011

This weekend I will be 14 weeks. Hallelujah! I will officially be out of the first trimester. I’m truly hoping that it means I will feel better. Since my last update I progressively got worse. Originally I only needed to take the Zofran once in the morning and then I was fine for the most part, but over the past couple of weeks I’ve had to take it twice a day and still don’t feel better. I had an appointment on Monday, and my doctor is hoping with me that I’ll feel better in the next week or two.

Still no complaining, though! Adam and I got to listen to the heartbeat while we were there and it was the most beautiful sound ever! We heard a kick, too. My wonderful friend lent me her BebeSounds “Heart Listener” and while it’s been kind of hard to find the heartbeat (I’m still not showing at all) we – as in Katie and I-  did hear some kicks, so that was fun! Every time I try to have Adam listen, though, the baby is sleeping or something, so he hasn’t heard kicks at home. We think we heard the heartbeat at one point, but it’s hard to tell. No worries, though – listening to it has become practically my new official pasttime so I’m sure I’ll get better at it. 😉

Now, my nausea issues haven’t been the only thing that has increased. My emotional level has been extremely high, too. It’s actually pretty funny (after the fact, of course). Here are 2 stories that happened over the weekend with Adam:

       #1. My biggest aversion has been those white oval things that chickens hatch – no, I will not even type the word. My nausea is so bad at some times that it is extremely hard to think of anything that sounds even remotely appealing. This can be troublesome because sometimes the only way to feel better is to make myself eat, even though it’s the last thing I want to do. Saturday at lunch time, we were having this problem. After quite awhile, I realized the only thing that sounded ok was a Cheesy Gordita Crunch from Taco Bell. This actually wasn’t that surprising because this particular item is something I had been wanting quite often. There is something about the sauce they use (Baja sauce?) that I really love.

          Well, for some unknown reason, Adam decided to look up the ingredients of that sauce. He proceeded to tell me that there is e** dehydrate in it. And I consequently burst into tears. The poor thing became very flustered, and tried to tell me that he only told me so that I would know that it ”is” possible for me to eat something with it in it, because I had been eating it and hadn’t known.  This did not stop my crying, as I was now picturing (and am still picturing) my precious Cheesy Gordita Crunch with scrambled e** in it. Now my stomach turns at the thought of that one thing that usually did sound good. It’s a mental thing… my brain tries to tell me that yes, it can taste the e**… even though it’s a dehydrate and would thus be practically impossible.

         Needless to say, I haven’t eaten one since then, and probably won’t. Ever. (Side note – I knew how ridiculous it was that I was crying about that, and I even said out loud as I was sobbing, “I can’t believe *hiccup* I’m crying about *hiccup* this.”   

     #2. This story happened the next day, on Sunday. My Mom and sister were in town, so we went out to Olive Garden after church. We all had peach tea, and everyone decided to take cups-to-go when we left. Adam and I decided that I shouldn’t take one, though, because I had already had 2 glasses and I’m trying to watch my caffeine intake. However, when we got home, Adam kindly offered me a few sips of his, and told me that I could have the peach inside when he was done. However, when he offered me the cup, I was shocked to see that there was no tea left. Yes, -wait-for-it, I burst into tears. My husband didn’t offer me another sip before he drank the rest?!! It was devastating! (at least, in my brain it was!)
 
      I hope there are people out there praying for my husband. Poor thing.

Birthday and other updates :) June 17, 2011

Let me take a second to thank you all for the birthday wishes yesterday! I am very blessed to have so many loving people in my life. My sweet husband took the day off to spend it with me. My Mom came to town and took us to lunch and visited for awhile, and then Adam’s Dad and stepmom took us out for dinner. It was a great day!

My nausea has not subsided, but my doctor gave me a prescription for Zofran, and it is definitely helping! I originally didn’t want to take medications, but when I couldn’t keep breakfast or lunch down no matter what I did/ate, (and also because it completely inhibited everything I did during those hours) I didn’t feel like I had much choice. Hopefully when I’m out of the first trimester, I won’t have this problem. And by the way, I’m not complaining about my nausea – just updating everyone. I’m very thankful for my symptoms because I know it means everything is working the way it’s supposed to, and I know all too well what it feels like when it isn’t.

This weekend I am 10 weeks along. I’m very excited to be in the double digit weeks! I can’t believe I still have 30 more to go. It feels like January will never get here! We should find out in August what the gender is – that also feels like it’s forever away! I’ve heard that it feels very slow in the first trimester and then starts to whiz by after that, so we’ll see. Two weeks left till the 2nd trimester!

Please pray for us as we will be needing to make a big decision in the coming weeks. We also have an unspoken request. I am not going to share what it is because I’m not sure if I can yet, but prayers are definitely needed. I will share soon. As always, we appreciate your prayers and would love to pray for your requests as well.