Adventures in Eating: Firsts

For my first post on this blog, I will share my daughters first rice cereal experience. Hey why did you stop with the bottle and put me in the bumbo? Oh well I can smile at you from here!

Wait... What is this? I'm so confused.

Huh?

Here it comes again? Ok guys... Am I being punked? You're joking right?

Totally messy baby. Love it!

Hey this rice cereal isn't half bad. And the spoon thing is kinda fun too!

YAY! Again!And Daddy got to be home for the entire thing! I'm telling him all about what a big girl I am.

I will be back in a little while with a few more posts. We are going to wait 4 days to up her rice cereal intake to two meals, then another 4 and introduce avocado! I have a feeling this adventure in food is going to be fun.

7 Weeks

Ok, so it has been seven weeks since my last post. So that means we have a sweet seven week old angel in our midst. I love her more than words can express. Since life with a newborn is super busy I will just give a list of things that have been going on for the past seven weeks.

-Brought home baby (will post about Zoe's birth story soon)
-Was an emotional wreck (thank you hormones) for about 3 weeks
-Baby wasn't growing the way she should, can you say panic?
-Little bit started rolling to her side at 2 weeks which totally tripped us out!
-Praying everyday for seven weeks for our little one has opened up our prayer life to pray for other people/situations
-Breastfeeding has been super challenging: cracked and bleeding nipples are not fun in the slightest, baby having latching trouble, fussy and gassy baby due to my diet, me not eating enough to give the proper nutrition due to stress
-Found out I had plugged ducts about week 4, no wonder little bit wasn't growing, poor thing wasn't getting enough
-Started formula supplementation and now someone has super chunky thighs and I LOVE IT!
-Got mastitis in week 6, I have officially had every breastfeeding issue out there now.
-She started smiling out of emotion about week 4 and now greets me with a smile when I pick her up from her bassinet or glider. What a JOY! Totally makes my heart melt.
-Cuddling a newborn is happy/coma inducing. What is it about a baby sleeping on you that makes you want to pass out? Could be the peacefulness or it could be the sleep deprivation...
-Non baby related: Got better internet and finally broke down and got the local channels. Also got Netflix for the Wii which very well could be the greatest invention ever or the devil. Not sure which yet.
-Little bit has slept through the last two nights, praying this is a continued thing. Hallelujah!
-Hubby has been back at work since week 2. It was sad to see him go back, but now its a whole new thing when he comes home for lunch or at the end of the day. "Daddy's home!" is one of our favorite phrases
-Hubby had his 27th birthday! I love him more and more each day. Watching him with our babykins makes my heart leap with joy. He is a great dad and husband.
-We have had great friends and church family pay us visits and bring food which has been the best blessing! We appreciate all the prayers and support. Thank You Jesus for these amazing people!
-The house has been a total wreck for seven weeks straight and its driving me insane. I will get one area clean, then its crazy again in ten minutes. WHAT UP WITH THAT?
-I love seeing Zoe discover new sights and sounds. She loves the birds chirping and starring at the fan in the living room.
-She cooed and gooed herself to sleep last night in her bassinet and it made me want to cry with joy. How much she has grown and developed in just seven weeks.
-She greeted me with biggest smile today when I picked her up out of the bassinet.

So that's all that I can remember thus far. I'm sure I'm leaving out a ton of stuff. I want to thank everyone for the prayers and support again. Especially the women who have given me so much advice and wise counsel. It has really helped me through so much of the struggle with the breastfeeding/weight gaining issue. I'm learning great and wonderful things each time I speak with them. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Happy New Year!

Best way to start the new year.....bringing home your brand new baby girl!!!!! More details to come!

Loving this...

Hello all, went to the doc today. This was the first time she did the check to see if I was dilated at all. And I was 2 cm dilated and she could feel Zoe's head. So little miss is in prime position. It was so weird and cool at the same time. (Not that I enjoy pelvic exams or anything, yuck!). It was just so cool to know that our little one could be making an entrance sooner than later.

Well I came home and my nesting instinct kicked into overdrive. Which was mostly worrying about making her quilt. House still needs to be cleaned, but I can clean, then cut fabric, then clean some more, then sew fabric, then clean some more... You get the idea.

This is my first quilt ever and I'm so excited! It's already starting to come together quite nicely. Which makes me smile. I love creating things for my sweet daughter! I'm hoping that she holds out just a wee bit longer so I can finish up what needs to be finished, but if she comes soon, I know I will be just ecstatic!

Thank You Lord for this amazing gift. Thank You that joy is in my heart and fear is not present. Thank You for knowing our hearts desires and giving them to us. You are amazing God! In Jesus name, Amen.

Would you partner with me to pray for my labor? I could use all the warriors I can get!

Thanksgiving

Image from Google Images

Thanksgiving is such a special holiday to me. Not only does it remind me to always posture my heart in an attitude of gratitude to our Lord who is the giver of all good gifts, it also connects me to my ancestry.

The first ancestors that came to the new world in our family were on the original Mayflower voyage. John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley Howland met on the ship and married shortly after settling in Plymouth.

I love what this holiday represents. It is one of the only holidays that remain untainted. Although Black Friday is sure trying to creep in with corporate greed. I love that there is no need to give a gift of extravagance, go out of your way to please people, etc. I love the simple fact that you come together and give thanks to the Lord who has provided a bountiful harvest all year long.

So everyone count your harvest blessings today and always. What has the Lord sewn into your life this past year? What have you sown into other's? I pray that we all can come together with a thankful heart today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stretch marks and varicose veins...and why I wouldn't change a thing

So alot of women have been coming up to me and saying how much they hated their body after a baby. They want to change this or that. They can't get rid of that pooch on their belly, they are ashamed of their stretch marks, etc. All this makes me sad because they say "you will change your mind as soon as you have the baby."

Well for one I rebuke that right here and right now. I must be the odd ball here, but I love my "extras", lol. I feel beautiful when I look at my growing belly in the mirror. I have stretch marks that go well over my belly button and I'm ok with it. I have a scary looking varicose vein on the back of my leg that totally scared me when I went to try on maternity clothes at Target one day. I had no idea what it was and until I realized I thought something was horribly medically wrong with me or the baby. When the revelation came, I was like whew! That's all it is...

I consider these things my body is going through to be apart of one of the most important journeys of my life. My stretch marks are my badges of honor, because I carried a baby for nine months and gave birth. I am a mom. I am beautiful. Every bit of me, every bit of the new me. My body has done what it is designed to do. Produce fruit. Give life. I'm so amazed, it leaves me speechless.

I don't know if the change came after the miscarriage or what, but I used to have a vanity issue about this. Right now I'm just thankful I can produce life. Yes, I have my moments where I'm tired, irritable, heart burny, still struggle with morning sickness (yes, I'm one of those pregnant ladies who did not get to leave their morning sickness in the first trimester, sigh), and a plethora of other things. But I want to stay joyful over each and every thing. I want to look at the past 9 months when my daughter arrives and say every bit of it was worth it and that I would do it again in a heartbeat.

We all get so wrapped up in our physical appearance, but what about our heart appearance. If we are so concerned with the external, the internal is not being cultivated and can look pretty ratty in no time. Please understand, I'm not saying throw your diets out the window and wear sweat pants everywhere. There is a place for appearance, but it should be secondary and not consume us.

I think we need to have a healthy mindset of who we are, what we aren't, and where our approval comes from. Only then will the external truly reflect the internal.

I'm on a mission to stop "fat talking myself". Please visit operationbeautiful.com to join the mission. I want to stop saying if only this were better or I had prettier skin, or I lost 50 pounds, etc. I need to be realistic and say, Yes I want to be healthy and with God as my focus throughout this process it will happen. And I want to tell myself daily how beautiful I am because I am God's masterpiece.

Hmmmm....

So I believe I left everyone hanging last time I posted. I was seeking prayer for gestational diabetes testing. Well the tests came back and I have it. God is good and He will see our family through. Please continue to pray for health for Zoe and that I will still be able to have a natural childbirth. It has been so strong on my heart. The hubster and I have been praying that she comes in late December spontaneously so that there is minimal risk for her.

The last few weeks have been crazy busy! So much to do before baby cakes gets here. Hopefully the hubster and I can knock out some stuff tomorrow and Saturday and be able to start posting pics of the nursery soon. Well gotta run. Gotta get started on dinner and get things ready for church tonight!