A Lifetime of Friendship

Sarah headed home today, after a wonderful week of catching up - sharing memories of times past and dreams for the life ahead of us. Sarah and I have a unique friendship, as we have been friends from elementary school, through high school, into college, and now into adulthood. We share memories of church musicals, awkward moments of coming of age in junior high, hormonal ups and downs of high school, and the discovery of self. We've prayed with each other, cried with each other, and praised God together. It has been a gift to see how God has blessed us in our friendship and continued to bless us as we've grown. We both laughed at ourselves this past week - we're getting old! We'll both turn twenty-seven sometime in the next twelve months! I cannot wait to see how God continues to bless our friendship.

Abigail was in a bit of a funk this past week, and I think it might have been because of her vaccinations (on Tuesday and Thursday). She was super fussy after each batch and refused to take naps in her crib, though she is still sleeping great at night. The initial pain of letting her cry in her first month of life has paid off. She doesn't cry now when we lay her down at night. She was going 6.5 hours between feedings at night, so I was averaging between 6 and 8 total hours of sleep a night. She reverted back to her normal routine last night, though, so we'll see!

She's currently been really fussy today - eating well - but really fussy. I think she might be going through another growth spurt (maybe???). It's hard to tell still. Some of this first time mom stuff is a bit of a trial and error sort of thing. Right now she's fussing in her crib, settling down for a nap. She fusses for about 10 seconds and is quiet. I think she'll settle herself soon:)

She's starting to smile a lot more now, which is marvelous:) You can tell that her little mind is processing more and more each day. I can't believe that she's already 9 weeks old!

Mommy, why do I have to be in this car-seat? (On our way down to the park for a long walk) We went for a 3.1 mile walk. It was beautiful here in Houston - cool breeze and sunny.

Sarah looks quite natural holding a baby!

Sleeping soundly. I still can't believe how quickly she is growing. She's regularly wearing her 3-6 month sizes now. She has several very cute "pink" outfits. As much as I liked the yellow, green and orange, I think she looks quite pretty in pink! I'll have to post more "pink" pictures later. I am enjoying having a baby girl:)

I have another breast infection (in the early stages), and I'm now on more antibiotics. I was reading the info before taking the drugs. Yes, I've been trained well by my mom. The first thing I read was the following:

WARNING: This medicine should be used only for serious infections because infrequently there are severe, rarely fatal, intestinal problems...that can occur.

Lovely.

But at least I caught the infection early (again). I admit, I am a bit discouraged. But such is life. The Lord is good. Enough said.

On a more cheery note -- Sarah is here!!!! We've had several quiet days, for which I have been very thankful. It's great having an extra set of hands. I stand amazed at how God has blessed our friendship over the years. She's currently entertaining Abigail as I finish this post :)

You can tell she doesn't really like being on her tummy for long!

She's found her fingers. She's still working on finding her thumb.

A well loved (and growing) little girl

We had a lovely weekend with Patrick and Rachel Emmert, who drove down from Dallas on Friday to spend a few days with us. It was good to catch up and get to know Rachel. The previous two times I spent with Rachel were right after they were engaged and their wedding, so it was good to actually get to know her (and we both discovered that we have a lot in common). It's good to have a new friend. The Lord has certainly blessed Patrick with a lovely, compassionate wife.

Friday was a slow day - good conversations and good food. And Saturday we went downtown to a park, where we had a picnic and played some bocce ball. Abigail was on daddy's team! We are so thankful for our good friends. Abigail is a well loved little girl. Then Sarah flew in from Ohio on Sunday evening. I am so glad to have one of my best friends here to share in the joys of life with a little one.

And today, Abigail had her 2 month doctor visit. The news:

-She is 11 lb 10 oz, which is 75th percentile.

-She is 23 inches, which is also 75th percentile.

-And her head was 50th percentile - I don't remember how big her little noggin was...

So she must be getting enough to eat:)

And now, Sarah is holding little Abigail, who is contentedly falling asleep. Praise God for a healthy baby girl!

In action...

I am not technologically very savvy. I am sure when Abigail is a teenager she'll probably laugh at me and say, "Mom, did you live with the dinosaurs?" I have enough trouble keeping up with technology now, and I'm only 26. So posting a video is a big step forward!

I thought you might like to see our little girl in action. I took this video several days ago, but just haven't gotten around to posting it...

And below is Abigail today - peaceful.

Enjoy!

Old Lessons Learned

Update - Abigail is doing much better. After almost a full day of sleeping, crying, and refusing to eat for more than 5 minutes at a time, she is more back to her usual self.

I think we're both tired from yesterday. She's fast asleep now in her swing, and I fell asleep on the couch this morning for two hours, only to be awoken by a hungry girl.

And for all of you who know me well, trusting the Lord is not a strong suit of mine. I tend to try and live this life in my own strength, which is not God's best for my life. So it shouldn't have come to a surprise to me yesterday that I couldn't get hold of my mom. Our phones wouldn't connect. Frustrated (and in tears) I sat back and realized that talking to God was more important than talking to my mom.

Yes - old lessons learned.

Confession and a Prayer Request

Confession - I call my pediatrician every week. Yes, it's true. Sometimes it's for silly things (like baby acne -- that is getting oh so much better). Sometimes, it's over first time mom things (color of poop - green is okay per Dr. Pope).

And sometimes, it is for real stuff.

Abigail hasn't been eating all that well (after weeks and weeks of doing well). She fusses after sometimes only 10 minutes (or less) of eating. The Mylicon (gas relief drops) help some, but don't entirely alleviate the problem. My guess - slight acid reflux (because some feedings are better than others).

The nurse diagnosis for today - no spicy food, no chocolate, no onions (Rodney won't object) and no dairy. So I guess I won't get to finish off the Rocky Road or Strawberry Ice Cream in the freezer.

And I'm going to have to work really hard to keep my milk supply. I can already tell that it has decreased just in the last few days.

So that's that...

Princess Abigail is sleeping away, not as soundly as I would hope, and she might need some TLC in a moment.

So if you think of it -- send up a prayer to our Sovereign Heavenly Father on Abigail's behalf.

Knock on Wood

I've been caught bragging about my little girl.

The first question everyone asks, "Is she sleeping through the night?"

Which is kind of a ridiculous question, since breastfed babies shouldn't be sleeping through the night until they are at least 11 pounds, and then only "some" babies begin to give mom and dad some extra rest. Abigail isn't quite there yet (we'll know for sure on the 23rd). But all in all, she is a great baby. She goes to sleep well at night, with minimal fussing, takes good naps, is cuddly and is starting to smile.

But once I begin to brag up my baby girl, I am given more opportunities to let parenting teach me some much needed lessons on patience and trust.

So yes - Abigail has had a rough few days. She was incredibly fussy almost all day on Saturday, after a fussy night (I was exhausted). Then she was fussy most of Sunday night - from about 10-1am (which I know is still not as bad as it could be). Not wanting to eat, not wanting to sleep, not having to burp...sigh...sigh...and more sighs...

And she despises her tummy time, which is supposed to help her developmentally. I have already said, "I know you don't like this, but it's for the best, Baby Girl," and "This hurts mommy more than it hurts you." But we'll keep at it, and maybe she'll grow out of her loathing for tummy time.

But today has been a better day -- (yes - I think Mylicon may actually help!) From the pictures below, you'd probably never even think such a precious little girl could actually fuss and cry, but alas, she does...

Classic Baby Pictures

Our Baby Girl is starting to really enjoy her bathtime with Daddy. Daddy is the bathtime pro. Her sponge bath days have been over for a long time, and she relaxes immediately when the water in the bathroom starts running.

Baby Abigail just started to fuss -- which means I need to cut this short. More to come later!

Playdate with Mommy

It is raining here in Texas, which means it is overcast and no longer 80 degrees outside. So we have had a carefree day here at home. Abigail is still in her warm and cozy sleeper, and I am still wearing my pajama pants - one of the many joys of staying home with my baby girl. The funniest thing is that whenever the temperature drops to 70 in my house, I am cold. I got up last night (after I had fed Abigail) to put on longsleeve pants and shirt and to add another blanket to the bed (which already had a quilt, lightweight cotton blanket and a sheet). Whatever am I to do when we move back to Illinois?

Abigail becomes more animated every day, so I thought I'd share some of our afternoon play time. After all of her stimulation, she headed off for a nap. And now I'm about to go make dinner which can be made ahead of time (handy with an unpredictable little one who often gets hungry and fussy right about the time I need to be making dinner).

Six Weeks

The most exciting news - my doctor gave me the "all healthy" clear at my post-partum visit today. It is hard to believe that it has already been six weeks since Abigail was born. Oh how our lives have changed (as she fusses in the background...sure glad daddy is home from work).

Abigail is doing well - she went through a growth spurt last week into the weekend. She has grown out of all of her 0-3 month onesies, though she can fit into a select few sleepers still. She swims in the next size up in her torso/body, but length wise the next size fits her quite well. She's been fussing more in the evenings (the nurse at my doctor's office says probably because of the growth spurt), but she's also been spitting up more too. Daddy and I are regularly graced with her stomach's contents! And she tends to be more gassy in the evenings too (this info is for grandparents who like lots of details!), but we're learning that she likes having her tummy and back rubbed.

I introduced a new toy today (Baby Einstein Playmat)-- which I think she will begin to enjoy more and more these next few weeks. She gurgled and moved her little arms and legs today in delight (which is a new development). We're still hoping for more and more smiles in the next few weeks too. It's still hard to catch them on camera, though...

And for all of you guys that read the blog -- Rodney's frame came in yesterday. I just got the grand garage tour after we took an evening walk with Abigail. It is quite cool, I must confess, and we'll have to post some Jeep pictures soon too :)

5 Weeks Old

Abigail is five weeks old! It's hard to believe how fast she is growing up. I think she actually smiled at me this morning - real smile (and not gas or related to her full tummy). My heart melted.

On Sunday, Rodney and I opted to stay home one more time (it had been a late night and a busy week). We ended up listening to a sermon on-line. Pastor Rich (our pastor at Bethany Baptist in Peoria) was preaching a sanctity of life sermon on abortion. I'm not usually one moved to tears, but looking over at my little one in my husband's arms, remembering the nine months I carried her (feeling her kick and move and grow) and then hearing her first cry after she was born, helped me have a fuller understanding that life is truly a sacred gift. As much as I've always been pro-life, I now have a whole new appreciation for this miracle.

(You can listen to the sermon "The Sacredness of Human Life" at http://www.bethanycentral.org/resources/audio.asp?filterSeries=2&filterFromDate=&filterToDate=&submit=Search )

This week has been a big one for me and Abigail. We went to my doctor's appointment all by ourselves on Monday and then we went to the grocery store (all by ourselves again) on Tuesday. It has been quite a successful week so far (and I'm back to cooking again - though we did order take out Chinese food last night for supper - yum).

And as always -- I've posted a few pictures.

My self - portrait skills are impressive - wouldn't you agree?

Grandma and Grandpa hold Abigail one more time before catching their flight home.

Mama Update #2

I am feeling better - the doctor caught the infection early - and aside from still feeling really tired, I'm doing well.

Grandma and Grandpa Harms flew home to Illinois on Saturday - we will miss you! We're so glad you came to visit us!

And the following pictures are a proud mama - Abigail is slowing gaining more head control. Now she likes to lean back and look at us whenever we hold her.