Abigail 'isms"

I am down with a pretty bad cold at the moment. We've been sick for months it seems and I don't think Noah's lack of sleeping is helping me much. Last night I was also awakened by a little darling girl named Abigail. She came up at midnight saying she was having a hard time sleeping. I was so congested and had just been up with Noah (for his ever 2 hour awakenings) so I just said, "Please go back to bed". She got a hug and did what I asked.

Then she also came up at 4:45 am. She woke me up and said to me . . .

"Mama, I was just laying there in my bed and I heard my underwear fall off."

Ha!

So I followed her down to her room and sure enough, she was not wearing underwear.

I helped her get some on and put her back to bed and didn't hear from her until 8 am.

I asked her about it again this morning and she said that her underwear fell off because she had been getting ready to take a bath and they had gotten a little wet. I felt the "old" underwear (which I found in her bed) last night and they weren't wet and neither was the bed.

I told her she must have been dreaming!

Funny girl!

Happy 4th Birthday Abigail

Dear Sweet Princess,

It's your 4th birthday (well the day after, actually)! How did you get so old, girly? You are such a precious joy to me.

You love to help! You love to help cook and clean. You love to especially help take care of the "babies". You frequently ask me to "watch my Noey for a while" so you can do something else. Ha ha! You love to take care of Elsie too (most of the time). Tonight when you were opening your presents she wanted your new purse. Instead of screaming at her and ripping it away, you found another little purse she could have and distracted her with that purse and said "Here you go sweetie". You are so loving!

You are a girly girl! You love to dress up. You have recently discovered princesses and dancing! Your favorite thing is dresses that sparkle and balloon out when you twirl! You are very smart too. You have jumped right into your dance class and can keep up well with the other girls even though you started at the midway point.

You love geography and maps. You love to figure out where people live and talk about visiting them.You love playing outside, although it's rather cold for that right now.

You're still not the best sleeper. You will still wake us up often needing something or not being able to sleep but you're getting better. You eat what I cook but you still don't like to feed yourself and often ask for "help". We're working on that!

You are so tall. You are wearing a size 6 or size 7 clothes!

Abigail, I want you to know how much I love you and how much Jesus loves you. Never forget the ultimate sacrifice that He made for you by dying for your sins on the cross. My prayer for you is that you live a purposeful life, one that is in fulfillment of the purpose God created you for. He created you and He created you such a special little being! I can't wait to help you grow along the way and discover the many wonderful gifts He has blessed you with.

Love,
Your Momma

Abigail "isms"

My sweet (sick) daughter is just beginning to really talk and come up with things on her own. I had quite a stellar parenting moment this morning. We were eating a lovely breakfast with my sister before we left Chicago. I was attempting to get Abigail to take some dramamine before hitting the road but she knows what it is and how bad it tastes.

So, being the wonderful mother that I am, I just shoved it into her mouth. Not the best idea - in hindsight - but live and learn, right?!

Anyway, she chokes, gags, and screams in a restaurant full of people. Bad mother moment.

Anyway . . .

As she is gagging on this bad tasting pill she yells out in a very loud voice (while crying):

"I need a bucket."

Meaning, she needed a bucket to throw-up in. Ha!

I have been laughing at this all day. She didn't end up throwing up but it's funny that she knows she needs a bucket to throw up in and her dramatics are still making me laugh!

Anyway, lesson learned. Do not torture your daughter in public by shoving dramamine in her mouth - wait to do that in private - ha ha!

The House of Snot!

Well, Saturday night I could tell Abigail was a little sneezy and starting to get a snotty nose. I didn't know how the night would play out otherwise I would have gone to sleep much earlier! She woke for the first time at 11:00 pm (I was still up). I nursed her and she could hardly breathe through her nose, poor babe. So the night continued at 1:30 am, 3:00 - 5:00 am, 6 am, 7 am, and 8 am wakings. I had to teach Sunday School so Andrew stayed home with our girl.

We think it is either
1) teeth coming in
2) a minor cold
3) allergies

I'm leaning towards teeth. The gums seem bumpy and she can't keep stuff out of her mouth. Last night our night was much better (she woke twice, Andrew got her once and I got her once). She has had no fever to speak of really (once it was 99.2 but mostly it's under normal around 98.3 to 98.6) and the snot is clear and flowing!

Her main issue is that she isn't napping very long. Her longest naps are 45 minutes so she is also overly tired.

We're doing everything we know how to do to make her comfortable. She took a nap in her seat today in a steamy bathroom. She's had her nose suctioned and HATES that. We're also giving her the teething tablets and I did use Orajel last night. I hope that if it's teeth that they show up soon!

I'm very thankful that this came on her this weekend, since we're both not working today!

Goodnight Sweetheart . . .

We're still having some sleeping issues at night. Abigail has always been a good sleeper. At about week 2, she started to even out and would only wake once, maybe twice, a night. This trend continued until about the middle of May. Then she became fussy for naps and fussy for bedtime. She was also more restless at bedtime. I do believe this has a direct connection with the time she learned to roll-over and other developmental milestones. However, the middle of May was also when she first slept clear through the night. She did it for 5 days in one week. Little did I know that she was tricking me! Then came the RASH . . .

Now that we have that cleared up, I was expecting her to go back to her old ways of sleeping but I did get up three times last night to nurse her. This definitely shakes my confidence as a mother. I keep asking myself all the time: WHY?! Well, I have been doing a lot of research today and I think I may have discovered at least part of the reason why.

First of all, she could possibly be teething. I don't see any teeth or swelling, however, and she doesn't seem to be gumming or drooling more than normal. My second thought has to do with her daytime nursing. She is very restless during the day when she nurses from me. I do believe this primarily comes from her new ability to SEE and INTERACT with things around her. She is really distracted . . . . . . except at night, when she nurses for 20 to 30 minutes at a stretch. Hmm, this got me thinking that perhaps she isn't getting enough calories during the day and is making up for it at night. Her nursing times during the day, seriously only last 5 to 10 minutes (10 minutes is a good day). I have some ideas in mind that I might try to see if things go better.

My last thought on this . . . and then I promise I will try to post about something A LITTLE more interesting in the future, is that she now knows that mom will come to her and give her comfort in the middle of the night when she wakes up. I was doing that during her rashy time and maybe it's just a habit now. Who knows! I think it's a little early in her life to totally let her cry-it-out at night. There is still the good possibility that she is actually hungry.

When she was a newborn, I kept a sleep journal. I wrote down when she woke up, when she ate, and when she fell back asleep at night. It was helpful to see that nighttime sleep was improving after a few weeks. I think I need to do that again to see if I can find a pattern to the madness!

I am looking forward to trying solid foods (29 days) with her. It will give me a little more freedom . . . I think it will be fun . . . and hopefully she can stay full longer at night!

New Things

If you'll notice, there have been some changes to my right side bar. I'm now the proud hostess to BlogHer Ads. Some of you will be thrilled to know that this means I must keep blogging (frequently) in order to keep these on my site. If you see something over there that interests you, don't hesitate to click on it and check it out!

Not much new in our world . . . since my post yesterday, that is. Andrew has another orientation session tonight for his professorship (ok, the place where he will be an instructor), so I'm on my own for supper and bedtime. I don't mind. This means I will get to make myself something with Tuna and I can head to bed/computer time early after cleaning up the house.

I'm still working on our packing lists for Hawaii. I actually think I might post them on here (at least the baby's list) to see if anyone has any other suggestions of things to bring. I only have a few more calls to make to set things up and we'll be good to go. Here is my to-do list.

1) Call Hawaii hotel where we'll be staying 3 nights to get a portable crib!
2) Call Super Ferry to check on whether a copy of Abigail's birth certificate will suffice or if I need to bring the actual thing.
3) Reserve Dewey's spot in the kennel. Poor boy, he will think we've left for good!
4) Call airline to check on gate checking seat/stroller combo and also birth certificate.

Hmm, I think that's it.

--------Abigail update----------
Of course I can't post without writing about the darling, right?! She seems to be doing better all around with sleep. She only woke once, again, last night and she actually just fell asleep for an afternoon nap (hopefully a long one) without ANY crying. I'm doing my best not to consider this action or lack of action "normal" incase she starts waking 2+ times at night or being fussy for naps again. I'm so much better off if I have low expectations! :)

All for now . . .

My Hope

You are righteous

You love justice

and those who honor You

will see Your face.

I will arise

And lift my eyes to see

Your majesty, Your holiness

And all I am will bless You.

My hope is in the name of the Lord,

Where my help comes from.

Your my strength, my song.

My trust is in the name of the Lord.

I will sing your praise,

you are faithful.

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Above are the lyrics to one of my new favorite songs. It has just really spoken to my heart recently. I especially love the line that says, "Your my strength, my song." I feel like as a new mom that I need a lot of strength and singing lately! I am so blessed today that I know where my strength comes from!

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Abigail's sleep continues to improve. Sometimes we have nights where she still wakes twice but she seems much more comfortable than before. She was awake only once last night. She is back to her old self (from 8 weeks to 4 months) when it comes to bedtime. She has been SO fussy the last few weeks when it came to bedtime but last night, I actually laid her in her crib and she fell asleep . . . . no crying, no screaming and NO PACIFIER! I couldn't believe it! She struggled with naps yesterday but we kept running her around and not letting her sleep the way she likes so I don't blame her for being a little cranky!

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I have been thinking about this whole clothes/fashion thing lately. It's not as if I can't dress myself, it just seems like such an effort right now, taking up my energy, time, and money when I don't have extra of any of those things! I have been reading on Proverbs 31 a lot lately and these verses have meant a lot to me. I want to be beautiful without having my whole life focused on the things this world considers beautiful. I don't want to be frumpy or a martyr (at all). So finding that balance is my challenge!

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Prov 31: 25, 26, 27 - She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Prov 31:30 - Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Eureka!

Yes, we like the TV show Eureka but we also figured out what was causing the sleep problems! Itching! Miss Abigail slept clear through the night, bless her heart. I did wake up a few times because it was so weird that she wasn't crying. I just looked at the monitor to see she was alright and went back to sleep. She fell asleep (was fussy going down!) at 9 pm and woke up a little after 6 am.

The doctor said she has a bad case of eczema and gave us a few different things to try. He is a holistic doctor, so he is into treating the whole person. He has a medical degree too. I feel so good going to him because he will take a look at the whole picture. We LOVE him. I'm so glad that I found him when Abigail was born. Andrew and I probably ought to go as a new patient . . . so we actually have a doctor, just in case we would ever need to go.

Anyway, he did give me a prescription for cortizone cream. I'm sure that is what stopped the itching last night but he also gave me some other things to try: a homeopathic remedy, and diet limitations for me (no dairy, eggs, soy, citrus, chocolate, or peanuts).

My mom and the lady I talked to at the health food store gave me ideas for other things to try to clear this up, so I am taking extra fish oil, vitamin B, and probiotics to help her. I also tried putting a little epsom salt in her bath to help soothe the skin and we got some calendula cream. Whew! I think that's it. Oh, I left her out of her diaper for almost 2 hours yesterday afternoon! I had puppy pads (yes, funny, I know) for her to lay on the floor on, but I had her outside for about an hour of that and she peed on me three times! I was soaked with baby pee but I didn't care. It was fun! She laughed and giggled every time she went on me like it was fun! :)

I'm not getting my hopes up that she will sleep through every night but hopefully this will settle her down and help her sleep! I really want to try and have this cleared up by the time we take our trip to Hawaii. It would be miserable for everyone to have any itchy baby on a 7 hour plane ride!

I am surprised at how good my attitude has been about the diet thing. I've been praying for a good attitude A LOT lately. I am just excited that someone is making me eat this way. Hopefully I will lose some weight in the process! :) I had a banana and blueberries for breakfast and I'm hungry! I have got to figure out what to eat for breakfast! I'm thinking of rice milk with a few things. I've just got to get some. For lunch I have carrots, an apple, veggie chips, and a homemade chicken salad sandwich, without the mayo (eggs and dairy in that). I hope that is all free of the stuff I'm not supposed to eat. It's hard to remember everything!

That's it for the update today. I was starting to feel like she was a newborn again (and sort of "baby blues ish") last night. If you haven't experienced that . . . it's rough. A good nights sleep did the trick. I feel like a new person today. Here are a few pictures from the last week.

Taken during our sleep deprived weekend! Abigail looks like she's watching TV but we don't have a TV in our bedroom. Abigail loves hanging out with dad on Saturday morning.

Isn't she precious?! This is taken in the bathroom. Ha ha! She loves sitting in here while I take a shower and get ready for the day. What will we do when she out grows this?

And finally, her weird sleeping positions. Last night she mostly slept on her side with her back to one of the crib bumpers. Weird girl! She loves the tummy and side sleeping the most. We've tried using a sleep positioner this past week, to keep her on her back but she's figured out how to get out of it these past two nights so it seems more dangerous to have that thing loose in her crib than to have her on her back.



She was still very tired this morning and fell asleep before we left the house! She's probably just as worn out as we are by not being able to sleep. She only got about 9 hours last night and should have between 10 to 12 for her age. We'll work on an earlier bedtime tonight.

1,000 Titles

Between 11:15 pm and 5:30 am, I thought of 1,000 different titles for this post but none of them stuck. Please don't mind any misspellings or other grammatical errors in this post. I'm running on about 3 hours of sleep! Abigail's sleep has gone from bad to worse! Last night she went to sleep fairly easily. I had to hold her legs and arms down but once I helped her quit kicking, she fell asleep. She woke again at 11:15 pm (I hadn't been asleep yet) and was restless, etc. So, I picked her up and rocked her with a paci. She was asleep almost before I sat down in the chair to rock! This cycle of rocking, putting down, me going in to bed, fussing, picking up, rocking, etc, continued until about 12:30 am. I decided to try to co-sleep with her. I went down to the guest room and took her sleep positioner, so she wouldn't roll off the other side of the bed or into me. Well, it sort of worked. I, again, had to help her quit squirming, but she eventually fell asleep beside me. She woke up again (and woke me up) at 3:00 am. I nursed her in bed. I couldn't get her back to sleep! Finally, frustrated, I carried her swing upstairs and rocked her for a bit and then put her in the swing. She fell asleep in there (by this time it's almost 4 am) but only slept until 5 am!!!!!

Andrew got up with her at 5:00 am and rocked her and put her back in her crib. She miraculously slept in there until about 6:15 am. Unfortunately, I did not fall back asleep after 5 am!

I am almost 100% sure that the problem with her interrupted sleep is due to itching. Her rash is worse and she is constantly scratching her head, chest, and rubbing her back on the bed when we lay her down. She seems to be comforted by holding and rocking. I'm not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to sleep next to a squirming infant, but I did at the time!

I think that there is a small possibility that she just can't settle herself down without our help. If that is the case, I'm not looking forward to the night of crying that we'll have to endure to solve that problem! However, it seems weird to me that last Monday she would just suddenly start to wake up frequently and not be able to settle herself, without another cause.

So, when I say that I got 3 hours of sleep last night, that is being generous! It makes me feel very nervous when I hear that eczema, sometimes, cannot be cured or it takes up to 3 weeks!

I hear about others not getting sleep with infants and it sounds so trivial but it is NOT when it is happening to you! We have been praying about this so much and no answers have come yet. I guess this is a patience building exercise! It is a great comfort to me to know that my God is much bigger than sleep, eczema, babies, or weariness! He has overcome the greatest battle so He can overcome what trials/annoyances are upon my family right now!

What a difference!

I suppose you read the title and thought Abigail's sleeping had improved last night but that is not the case. . . Still a rough night. The difference is however, that I had a little attitute change at about 2:00 am. I have definitely had a "poor me" attitude lately regarding sleep and our whole situation. At 2:00 am I just thought that I can't keep doing this to myself . . . thinking about what could be. I simply thought, "I am so lucky to be able to have this extra 1/2 hour to spend with my daughter, even though it is at 2:00 am!" Oh, I'm sure she'll love to read this in a few years, but she pooped twice during the night, so that may explain some of the waking and restlessness!

I'm pretty sure that her teeth are bothering her. Abigail's babysitter is also a breastfeeding mom and has worked with a lot of kids over the years. She told me that most babies find breastfeeding very comforting while teething, so that would explain the constant waking in order to eat at night. She also recommended today (as did my mother-in-law) some homeopathic teething tablets, which I will look for today. Isn't Abigail so lucky to have such wonderful people taking care of her? We are lucky and blessed too!

In other news: my husband is going to be a professor! He tells me that his actual title is going to be instructor, but still. I have learned some lessons over the years about blogging too much personal information (and avoiding negativity, if possible) so I won't put where he is teaching. It will be his third job. I keep encouraging him to take it easy with all the working but he assured me last night that he is not a work-a-holic and he will make his family a priority. He keeps repeating, "Live like no one else . . . " All you Ramsey plan people know what I'm talking about! I definitely love the damage that we're doing to his student loans! :)

Same Topic . . . again . . . sleep!

Where oh where did my good sleeper go? Here is last night's breakdown:

6:30 pm - Bedtime Routine
7:00 pm - Nursed, read a book (amazing that she sat still and didn't cry), rocked a little
7:15 pm - Down in bed awake
8:00 pm - Asleep (I'm not exactly sure of the time, but I just let her cry/fuss, since it didn't sound serious).
12:20 am - Awake and fussing - Nursed, changed and back to sleep
2:20 am - Awake and fussing - put her paci back in, patted, and back to bed
3:30 am - Awake and fussing - Nursed, changed and back to sleep
5:30 am - I heard her fussing but I was just going to let her cry it out for 1/2 hour, since I didn't think she could possibly be hungry. Andrew got up for the day.
5:50 am - Still fussing so I got her and put her in bed with me - nursed and she fell asleep
7:10 am - I woke her to get her dressed for the day and fed her AGAIN.

I was so spoiled by her only waking up once or not at all. I hope that whatever is disturbing her will pass quickly, so we can all get some sleep! Andrew seems to think he can feel a little tooth but I'm not sure. I don't doubt that they can bother her for a long time before coming through.

I'm looking forward to the weekend so I will feel like I can ask for help from the other parent in the house, since she doesn't always need to be fed. I know I can wake him up if I NEED to, but where is that line? He is working SO hard for us right now that I just don't want to bother him with anything else. He will be gone until 10 pm tonight at an orientation for his teaching job which will start in August.

Bathroom Conversations

Scene: Bathroom at Work with preschool kids from summer camp coming in to use the facilities. Abigail is getting a diaper change on the Koala Bear changing station.

Little Girl: Cute Baby!
Me: Thanks!
LG: I have a little baby sister who is younger than your baby.
Me: Oh really? How old is your sister?
LG: 8 months.
Me: Well, this baby is actually 4 months old.
LG: Wow, really? She's huge!
Me: Yes, she's a big baby.
LG: What's her name?
Me: Abigail.
LG: Wow, that's pretty!

I'm taking the "she's huge" comment as a compliment! :) Yes, I'm not sure how we did it but we grew a huge baby and purposefully named her a beautiful name! :)

P.S. We're fighting a diaper rash right now. Any moms out there have any tried and true cures? I've tried several "normal" remedies (desitin) and several "natural" approaches too (cloth diapers and silver) and it seems to be hanging on. This weekend, I'm going to spend a lot of time airing her bottom out. I set up a station last night (trash bag flat with a blanket and towel, just in case) and let her go without a diaper for 30 minutes but it needs to be longer than that. Poor baby. Any advice is welcome!

Choices!

This morning was the first time I caught Abigail actually sleeping on her stomach. I thought she was just rolling over right when she woke up and then cries when she can't get back to sleep that way. She was a little fussy around 11:00 pm (when we were going to bed) so I peeked in on her to find her, once again, on her tummy. I thought I'd try putting her back to sleep without nursing, and it worked! I just put her on her back with a paci and she slept until 1:30 am. Then from 2 am to 6:15! Yeah! She was sleeping on her tummy when I got up at 6 am. I can't believe our girl is old enough to actually make a choice now! She can choose whether to sleep on her back or her stomach. We have now started putting the crib side all the way up. I have also cleared all the junk (ok stuffed toys) out of her crib, since she can end up anywhere in the morning, instead of just right where I left her! She has been a good baby to have at work this week. I have several pictures of her "helping" mom in the office. Thanks Maggie for letting me use your camera!!

Also, my friend Lisa is starting a photography business. I linked to her blog over on the right, so check her site out. She is a wonderful photographer! She took the pictures of Abigail and of us when Abigail was 8 days old.

Seriously, what's up with all the posts?

I've been a blogging fool lately. Perhaps I've been spurred on by the fact that many of my friends have just started blogs. Perhaps I just have a lot to say. I have no idea!

The main focus of my life right now is Abigail's naps. Isn't that weird how I never thought about babies naps before having a baby? I never knew how important they would be to a happy health baby! We had one rough weekend with Abigail. She woke up several extra times on Friday night and the fought her naps Saturday with everything that she had! She lived up to her silly nickname "Crabbygail" on Saturday. Crazy girl! I held her off at bedtime (my art of baby distraction is becoming very refined) until 7:30 pm. Sunday was a little better. She relaxed and slept during church but really fought her nap while we were lunching at Andrew's grandparents. She finally fell asleep but only stayed down for an hour. She still needs two or three naps a day (with about 5 hours sleeping time between them). When we got home she napped after nursing for about 20 minutes. She was still so cranky, so off to bed we went. She slept from 8:00 pm until (ugh!) 5:15 am! I love it that she can sleep that long but 5:15 am is a killer since my alarm goes off at 6 am.

However, I do have good news to report. She is back to her cheerful self today! Since my MIL is away on vacation, I took her to work with me this morning. She has been an absolute angel. She slept for almost two hours (8 am to 10 am) and she just went back down for a nap at 11:30 am. She's still asleep. Perhaps she is making up for the weekend. I don't know! Hopefully she is good for Aunt Jennie this afternoon.

This weekend we are heading off to Hocking Hills State Park for a family reunion (Schechters). I am in the midst of a mental debate over what baby equipment I should bring. I always try to be a minimalist when packing but perhaps I should consider what might make the weekend a little easier on Abigail! We're staying in a cabin with the other new baby in the family so hopefully that will be the quiet cabin so the babies can nap when they need to!

Seriously, naps make my world go round! :)

Blogging

Several of my friends have joined the blogging world recently. Yeah! I love blogging and even more so - I love reading other people's blogs (which motivates me to write on my own). See the links to the right for some of my favorite reads. There are several new ones.

Abigail has had a rough day. She woke up 5 to 7 times last night. So I bet she slept less than I did! :) Anyway, she woke up tired, wasn't satisfied by any of her 20 minute naps. I finally got her to sleep in her swing, where she stayed for almost 2 hours. She still was pretty cranky by 6:30 - 7:00 pm. She's growing up and exploring things (rolling like crazy) and she doesn't want to miss anything! Andrew is on baby watch right now (she's falling asleep) so I can have a break and do stuff down stairs . . . like balance the checkbook and check the budget!

We have mobility! and Reverse Anorexia

Abigail has really taken off with her rolling. She has been able to roll from stomach to back for a few weeks now and went from back to stomach on Memorial Day for the first time. Lately, she has become a rolling fool! :) I had her on her play mat at work this week and within 1/2 hour, she had rolled over 2 times. Last night, I put her on her back on a blanket and she rolled over probably 5 or 6 times to her stomach. Then, when I got up to feel her at 1:30 am (she was crying), I walked in to find her on her stomach! Ah! We'll have to start raising the side of the crib that is adjustable. I no longer feel safe leaving her up on our bed alone for fear she might roll or scoot off (while I'm getting ready), so I put a blanket on the floor and she was a happy camper playing down there. I have a feeling it won't be too long before she is able to really move around on her own!

One of my new favorite things to do with Abigail is to sit in our closet (it's a huge walk in) and play in front of our big mirror. Abigail LOVES to see herself. She can be in the worst mood, tired and crabby, but she will instantly start laughing and giggling at herself if I put her in front of that mirror. My husband and several of his family members have what they call "reverse anorexia". It is where they think they look really good, while in reality, they may have a few trouble spots (as small as they might be) to work on. I do believe that my daughter has inherited this trait from her father, as she loves to look at herself in the mirror (I know all babies do!).

Plans Explained

Our plan for solid food for Abigail is to wait. This article explains my reasons way better than I can, so I am linking to it. It will be nice and simple when we travel to Hawaii to only have her on breastmilk (she'll turn 6 months while we're there). We'll do a lot of hanging out together! :)

http://www.breastfeed-essentials.com/solidfood.html

I especially like the part where they say you are substituting a inferior food (rice cereal or veggies) for a superior food (breastmilk). Abigail is obviously not hurting for food. In her checkup yesterday, she weighed 17 pounds, was 25 1/2 inches long, and her head size was 17 inches. She was over 90% for all categories and was in the 97+% for weight. I wonder if she will be tall like her dad.

We had a bit of weather excitement last night. Around 10:00 pm the tornado sirens by us started to go off. When you're from Kansas, tornado sirens mean serious business (like someone has seen one), and so you're supposed to go to the basement. Andrew looked at an online radar and showed the path of a funnel cloud and storm headed straight for us. Also, Dewey was barking up a storm (pun intended) because of the sirens, so we all headed downstairs. Abigail actually stayed asleep in my arms for 10 or 15 minutes before finally waking up and discovering that she was NOT in her bed. She wasn't a happy camper about that! Anyway, I felt sort of silly sitting in my basement during a thunderstorm but I guess a lot of people in our area did as well (my co-worker at least) and it's better to be safe than blown away! We learned this lesson during our last trip to Kansas when we "slept" through a really bad storm only to wake up the next morning to see tornado damage about a mile from where we were staying. Oops, we should have turned on the TV at least. So, at 10:30 the sirens quit and we headed upstairs to bed. I fed Abigail once more, so she lasted until 5:30 am (why can't she sleep for 1/2 hour more when my alarm goes off; why oh why!!). That was our excitement for the night.

My 4-month-old

I cannot believe that our beautiful daughter is 4 months old today. It seems like yesterday that I was pregnant with her and that our life was still "normal". Now, I never want to go back to the way it was!! It is amazing to us, as her parents, to watch her grow and change every single day. She was started to really laugh out-loud. This sound has become a delight to our ears. She also struggled for two weeks with bedtime sleep and now suddenly the switch flipped again, and goes down easily and at times, even without a pacifier! She slept through the night on Saturday and woke up only once last night. I cannot begin to understand the ways of infants. The only thing that I read about and heard was a major developmental growth at 4 months can sometimes interrupt sleep. I hope this calm trend continues. We've also tried to be really consistent with her bedtime and bedtime routine. Perhaps that is helping. She is consistently rolling over from stomach to back and once has rolled from back to stomach. She is getting better about sitting up but isn't quite there yet.

My continued daily prayer for my daughter is this: that she be healthy and safe from harm, that she learn as she grows up to lean on her everlasting Father, and also to learn that the world won't always be fair to her but that she will always have parents to love her and support her. I am so thankful today that I have such a wonderful loving husband and that we together, have such a beautiful little girl!

*Side Note: Andrew started his new job today. He took the bus downtown and he called me at 7:40 am to say he had made it down there. I must admit that it was rather weird that he got up before I did. That has not happened since our first year of marriage, when he worked while I was in school. It will take some getting used to. I'm also jealous of him getting to ride the bus. I would LOVE for my 30 minute commute to be on a bus so I could read the whole time!*

Abigail's Birth Story

I have wanted to post Abigail's birth story for so long but I keep forgetting. Here it is. I wrote this a week or two after she was born, so all the details would be correct. Beware, it's long! Enjoy!

Abigail’s Birth Story

On February 2, 2008, the day after my last day of work, I woke up at 1:00 am with cramps. I had been having cramps on and off for a few weeks, and even though these were painful, I thought they would just go away like they had before. I stayed in bed and tried to relax but had to get up about 15 minutes later. I decided to get into the bathtub. After about 10 minutes in the bathtub, and being unable to read my book (unthinkable!), I decided to get out and try sleeping again, since that had helped in my previous cramping experiences. So, I went downstairs and turned on Anne of Green Gables and tried to sleep while watching it. I was able to doze occasionally, but I was having regular cramps (now beginning to wonder if they were contractions) every 15 minutes. I laid there as long as I could and eventually went back upstairs to wake up Andrew at 2:30 am. I wanted him to sleep as long as possible, if this was the real thing. We had only gone to bed at 12:00 am because we had been at Wayne and Susan’s playing Monopoly with Jennie until then! :)

Andrew woke up very quickly. I simply had to say his name and “are you awake?” a few times and he woke right up. I told him I was having bad cramps but didn’t know if it was the real thing or not. He suggested that we both get up for a while and time them. After we finally found a clock with a second hand (in the office) and timed about six contractions, they were about 2 to 3 minutes apart! We had been planning to have a natural drug-free birth and had taken a wonderful 12 week Bradley class in preparation for the birth. We chose to use a midwife practice (they have one doctor) and to go to a birth center in a hospital for Abigail’s birth.

Andrew called the midwife, even though I thought we should wait awhile (after all, we learned in our class to stay home as much as possible). After talking with the midwife, we made the decision to go ahead and call Family Beginnings (the birth center) and head to the birth center in Dayton. It took us a while to gather our stuff (we weren’t expecting her quite so soon) and for me to make it to the car between contractions. The car ride was a bit painful for me, especially when we hit bumps during a contraction but I laid back and tried to relax as much as possible. Andrew called my mom on our way to the hospital so she could be my prayer warrior! We arrived at the hospital at 4:00 am. It was a long walk in from car to the hospital doors.

The nurse was waiting for us when we got there and we got to choose our room. I had pictured us in room 1 all along, so it was nice to get that, even though it was a little smaller than the others. I was concerned the whole way into the hospital that this was all a false alarm and that I would have to stand a painful ride home in the car. I was very relieved to discover that I was seven centimeters dilated when we arrived. I had tested positive for Group B Strep, so the nurse had to start an antibiotic right away, so I spent the first 15 or 20 minutes lying on the bed, getting the IV in and having the antibiotic administered. The nurse said that she was afraid they wouldn’t get the antibiotic in before the baby came. I was very surprised and encouraged to hear this! Since I was so far along I immediately asked if I could get in the bathtub (it was huge) so the nurse started running the water. I stayed in the tub for an hour or so. After I got out of the tub, we continued to practice relaxation techniques. I walked around the room a bit and sat on the birthing ball. Squatting was very painful for me, so I didn’t do that often. Looking back, that probably would have helped to speed up my labor and I should have kept it up. I laid down midmorning when they gave me my second dose of antibiotics and was able to doze for a while. I found the contractions to be more painful when resting like this because they woke me up and I was unprepared for the pain. This also slowed down my labor.

The midwife came by about 10:30 am to check my progress and I had only dilated to a 8 ½ or 9. My progress was stalling quite a bit, since I had been seven centimeters since arriving at the hospital six and a half hours earlier. She talked about breaking my water, but I wanted to give it a little more time before any intervention was performed. I asked her to come back again in an hour, so I spent an hour walking, swaying, and sitting on the birthing ball in my room. In retrospect, I should have walked further, perhaps some stairs, but I didn’t want to make noise or have my water break outside of my room, so I was uncomfortable to leave.

The midwife came back in at 11:30 am and broke my water. The water was clear, so that was a good sign that the baby was doing fine. I hadn’t progressed at all from an hour earlier. The contractions started to get pretty intense after she broke my water. The midwife explained that the worse the pain was, the better it was, because it meant the baby was moving down. She encouraged me to sway a lot during contractions, even though that was against everything in my being, because it would help move the baby down the birth canal. It was hard to do that, since it felt like I was inflicting more pain upon myself! She also had me lay down on my side with my leg up on the birthing ball. This position was supposed to help the last lip of my cervix pull back but in my case, it didn’t help. I also lost my “lunch” (cranberry juice) at this point. That was probably the most painful experience ever, throwing up while having a contraction. At about 1:30 pm (according to Andrew), my cervix was still not fully dilated so she suggested that since she could see the baby’s head pushing on the cervix, that she try and hold the lip back while I pushed the baby’s head into the birth canal. That was an extremely painful experience. Once I started pushing (no urge, but just pushing the baby past my cervix) it started to feel good to push against the contractions.

I got back into the bathtub, this time with Andrew supporting behind me, and pushed for some time. After about an hour and ½ of pushing, the nurse asked me to get out of the tub and see if a different position would help to speed things up. She asked me to sit on the toilet for a few contractions, even though sitting on the toilet felt excruciatingly painful. The pressure was intense. After just two or three contractions on the toilet, the baby had made significant progress. The nurse said that we’d better get set up for this baby to come. So I slowly made my way to the bed. I could now feel the baby’s head. I got set up on the bed and continued to push. I kept thinking how I wanted Andrew to sit behind me and help hold my legs (I was holding my own legs) but I couldn’t really vocalize this. He told me later that he asked me if I wanted him to sit behind me and I said no! :) I could feel the baby’s head crowning or getting ready to, and another nurse popped into our room and asked the midwife to come to room 2 to deliver a baby. Everyone left the room, except for Andrew. This made me extremely uncomfortable and I kept thinking that Andrew was going to have to catch the baby!

After about 10 minutes my nurse came back in and picked up the phone to call the midwife back into our room for the birth, but she came before the call was made. Abigail was born at 4:00 pm on February 2nd. I wish I could say that I was silently pushing her out but that wasn’t the case. I was making lots of noise and didn’t let up on the pushing at any point. I just wanted her out! My only regret at this point was that someone didn’t tell me to open my eyes to see her entrance into the world, so my eyes were closed when Abigail was born. She was born with her hand up by her face. I had a 2 degree tear. Abigail was placed directly on my chest for the first few minutes of her life. She let out about one lusty cry and then was quiet. I immediately asked if she was a girl for sure and Andrew told me “yes”. I also thought that she looked just like me but I could really only see the top of her head. Her apgar score was an 8 and a 9.

I wanted her to try and breastfeed right away but I was lying on my back and felt very unsure of how to pick her up. Her head and neck seemed so fragile. Eventually the nurse asked Andrew to hold Abigail, while I was being fixed up. Since we needed to regulate her body temperature for her for the first few hours of life, he took off his shirt, so they could be skin to skin. It took the midwife a good hour to fix me up. I immediately asked for motrin. The stitches hurt but I kept telling myself that at least it didn’t hurt as badly as labor and the birth did! We were absolutely enthralled by our daughter. I was also very hungry, so we called for some “room service”. At about 6:00 pm, I realized that we should probably call our parents. We just had simply forgotten before this point. We had our first visitors at about 8:00 pm. They were Great Grandma Myers, Great Aunt Carol, Aunt Jennie, Grandma Susan, and Grandpa Wayne.

The next day, Abigail was seen by the pediatrician and had her hearing test. Both visits went very well. We dozed and watched TV during the morning hours. We were finally able to go home about 4:00 pm after Abigail had her PKU test done. She slept all the way home. We learned a lot of things from this birth experience and there are several things on our list to do differently next time (if there is such a time). I think the most important thing we learned was patience. The birth process takes lots and lots of patience and even though we had a midwife (which helps with the patience aspect of birth) there was still mention of time and progression. In retrospect, there were many things I should have been doing to progress my labor but instead we chose an intervention, having my water broken. I'm not at all disappointed by this experience but it is good to look back and learn things that could be done differently.

This was definitely the most challenging, painful, empowering and beautiful experience of my life. I wanted to let my body do what God had designed it to do and that was an amazing feeling when everything was over. I also wanted to give my daughter the best possible start in life. We are so thankful to have our happy and healthy daughter with us. We both desire to raise her to share our faith in Jesus Christ and to be a blessing to those around her. We love you Abigail!

Anniversaries

This past weekend was full of anniversaries. First of all, Andrew and I celebrated our 5th anniversary together. We went out to eat on Sunday for lunch to celebrate. It was nice. Sometimes I can't believe that 5 years have gone by and other times, I feel like I have known Andrew for a long time. This was a good reminder of just how blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband. He is loving, patient, kind, very slow to anger, giving, a wonderful provider, and an amazing dad!!

The second anniversary that we celebrated this weekend was yesterday, May 26th, the day that I found out we were expecting Abigail. One year ago, I never knew how my life would be blessed by the addition of this sweet little girl. Since it was just on year ago, I remember so clearly how I felt when I took the test. We were camping in Eastern Ohio and I just had to know as soon as possible so I had brought a test (or two) with me. I took this one in a pit toilet (*lovely*). I also remember the expression on Andrew's face when I called him over to our tent to tell him. I don't think I heard a single word of the sermon that Sunday, as I was busy looking up Biblical names to name our baby! Of course, I thought at first that we were going to have a boy! :) I remember meeting Andrew's eyes several times that day and hardly being able to keep from squeeling with joy! We kept the news a secret for a few weeks and I'm glad we did. I remember with fondness just having that special knowledge between the two of us for a while. It was a day that definitely changed our lives forever!!

Here is a picture Andrew took of sweet Abigail this weekend.