What a Daddy's Girl

Emma is most definitely a Daddy's girl... Tonight we went through our normal after-dinner routine: play time until showing tired signs, bath, jammies on, and a snack to send her off to dream land.

And everything went down like a charm....until about 30 minutes after she fell asleep.

She started getting a little restless (most unusual) -- I guessed it was because she was hot(a sweaty head is usually a good indication of that...). So I switched her to the other side so that the side of her resting against my arm could cool off.

Then Daddy came in the room and started talking to me about something (very,very quietly; not unusual).

Emma heard her Daddy's voice and, and despite the overwhelming desire for sleep, was unable to be content merely listening to Daddy but simply had to gaze on him. He moved to the other side of the room, trying to get out of her line of sight, but she would not accept this arrangement! She merely craned her head the other direction, ignoring Mommy's attempts to soothe her to sleep. Nothing would satisfy her but falling asleep in her Daddy's arms.

Most definitely a Daddy's girl! And Mommy is quite content with this turn of events.

*satisfied sigh*

Bedtime and more...

So our child is definitely a night owl like both her parents. *cough* 1 am bedtime *cough, cough*  Actually, that was only for the first 3 months.  Her bedtime has now shifted to about 10:00 - 10:30 pm, thanks to Daylight Savings Time and determined persistence on our part.  Who'da thought that I'd actually be glad for DST...?  I guess miracles do happen.  I am NOT looking forward to next Sunday... We've started working to shift her bedtime to 8:30 - 9:00 in anticipation.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

But there was something even worse happening than a 1 am bedtime.  There for a little while I thought she was going to be *shudder* a morning person…  Waking up every morning before 7:00 am...  >_<

I'm not sure what would be worse -- having a child that's a morning person or a Longhorn... So we are VERY glad that she decided to settle on a slightly later wake up time -- between 7:30 and 8:00 am.  I can live with that.

But she does this thing that really confuses me: as soon as she wakes up, she’s... happy.  Yeah, that’s what I said, happy.  As in cheerful, smiling, gurgling, talking, babbling.  Is this normal behavior for a human being?  What's up with this??  Where's the normal, comfortable “don’t talk to me for 30 minutes” grouchiness? 

*sigh*

This is what I get to see every morning.  See what I mean?  Happy!!  I don't understand this child...

Good morning, Mommy!! 

The last 6 months have been such a blur of growth, development, and adjusting.  She’s gone from this:

to this:

This sad unpleasantness:

to the more pleasant, yet slightly gross and painful (for me, thanks to her new little toofers...):

Yes, that is correct.  She's cutting teeth.

:-D
:-/
*happy dance*
O.O *groan...*

They have finally pushed through enough to get a picture, though we had to be super sneaky to get it:

And the crowning achievement!!  She first successfully accomplished this about 2 weeks ago, but has started doing it on a regular basis for the past few days.  I am told this is an advanced skill for a 7 month old -- I'm not sure if I should be thrilled or scared for her life...

Note: please ignore the fact that I used the Xbox remote as a lure...

Umm... HELLO?!?

So… it’s a good thing Facebook, phones, iPads, and cars are effective means of communicating news to the world.  Otherwise, you would probably be wondering “WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED?????  I mean, the last piece of news on here is ‘And now we wait…’  So are we still waiting??  Are you the one woman in history who will be pregnant forever?  I mean, sure, all women think that in the last couple weeks, but it’s never happened before!  Come on, woman, tell us what happened!!!”

Yeah, pretty sure no one has been thinking that.  And if you are, rest assured… no, I have not been pregnant all this time.  Our precious little Sea Monkey was born as an adorable little baby girl named Emma.  And this beautiful, smiling piece of God’s goodness has sapped every extra little minute, brain cell, and bit of energy that I have…  Pretty much nothing is left for creative news posts…  She’s just the best!

But thanks to a very good friend of mine, I have been re-inspired.  So be prepared for updates from the Sea Monkey Corner!  Until then, enjoy the following pictures from the last 6 months:

Her swing pretty much swallowed her -- less than a week old

Tryin' her darndest to sit up like a big girl
while sporting her new dress.
One month

The bear was bigger than her! 

The beginnings of a smile -- 1 1/2 months

Her own special way of communicating: Pbbbt! -- 2 months

"I wanna see what's going on!!"

"Hey, look at my gorgeous hair.  I worked all night on that."
3 1/2 months

Christmas with Uncle Chris -- 4 months

Her first hunting trip; loved being outdoors, despite the frigid temperatures.
4 1/2 months

"Hmmm...Daddy's nose seems like a good
thing to gnaw on... Right, Daddy?"
5 months

Everything goes in the mouth...

...and I mean everything.
I would like to point out she flipped that over herself.
5 1/2 months

"Whatchyu lookin' at?"

And she scoots around the house like
she's got her own set of wheels. Ai yai yai...

And now we wait...

For those of you waiting on pins & needles and with baited… bated… beighted...(?) breath, here’s a brief update: 

I have seen the midwife a few times in the last several weeks, and it’s pretty much a no-news, waiting game at this point.  I’ve been examined a couple times and currently I am about 1 cm dilated, about 60% effaced, and the top of her head is approximately at a -1 station.  For those of you who know what all that means… good for you!  If you don’t, you may not want to… if you just can’t stand it, go look it up.  I’m saving the graphic post for later… 

Basically it means my body is working properly – it's preparing for labor, doing everything it can to keep labor as short and normal as is possible with such things.

Does it tell us when things will get started?  Nope.  Not a bit. 

Does it tell us how long or short labor will be?  Nope.  Not a bit. 

Does it tell us if it will be a normal, straightforward labor?  Nope.  Not a bit. 

You might be getting the point by now.  This data really gives us no information about anything other than my body knows the time is getting closer and it's beginning preparations. 

Which is good.

And now we wait… some more.

And the countdown has begun...

As you can see, room is running out.  Sea Monkey likes to remind me of this on a very regular basis.  I can just hear her saying, “Hey, Mommy!”  *tap, tap*  “I need more room in here.  Babies need their stretching room, and I don’t have much anymore.  See?”  *streeeeetch* 

“Ouch, Baby!  I KNOW you don’t have much room in there.  Don’t you think I can feel you pushing and stretching?  You feel that thing against your head?  Yeah, that’s my bladder.  VERY uncomfortable for Mommy.  And that hard thing your foot is pushing against?  That’s my rib – it doesn’t like being moved out of place and it informs me of that preference every time you push against it.  You do realize that out here you’ll have more room than you know what to do with, right?”  

Then I very hastily add, “But things get very cold and uncomfortable out here when babies come too early *cough* hospital bills *cough*.  So why don’t you take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be perfectly safe and warm and just hang out for a bit.  Think of it as your first lesson in patience.  Then you can come see what it’s like out here in a couple weeks.  K?” 

Then, inevitably, that little speech is followed by, “Eep!  A couple weeks??  Is that all the time that’s left before we are “in the zone”?!  Seriously??  Oy...”  Even though I know not to expect her to come early, just the thought that I could quite possibly have my very own healthy, full-term baby in my arms in less than two weeks always sends this electric shock through my system – a combination of excitement and pure terror...

I have to keep reminding myself that this is one of the few times that being a pessimist is a good thing.  Much better to expect her to come late and be pleasantly surprised by an early arrival than hope she comes early only to be two weeks late.

36 weeks and 5 days...

Jehovah Jireh

“The Lord will provide” 

While this is a truth that I have known and believed for years, it has become very meaningful to me over the past year in general and the last 9(ish) months in particular.  While this post is not an update on little Sea Monkey, per se, I feel compelled to share testimony of God’s faithfulness to provide.  As this has a direct impact on our precious little girl’s life, I feel it is pertinent to post here.

As some of you already know, we did not plan to begin a family this soon into our marriage.  We wanted to do the “responsible” thing and become more established financially first, enjoy life as a couple, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera (can’t you just hear the King of Siam from the old “King and I” in your head?).  And as we were talking and making plans, God looked down on us and smiled an amused little smile, shook His loving head, and went about arranging our future according to His own plan.  As usual... 

When we found out I was pregnant, our situation was as follows:

-          After the Christmas rush, Andrew was working 20-25 hours a week.

-          I, on the other hand, logged a whopping 60 hours!  For the entire month of January...

-          We were living in my grandparents’ travel trailer – while it was perfect for 2 people, newly married, there really wasn’t a place for a baby.  Not even a sock drawer...

-          We had no idea if Andrew’s hours would increase and I was hoping, at best, for a few month’s work – I was working in an interim capacity as the event coordinator with no experience and (in my mind) few qualifications beyond an ability to be organized and great people skills.

-          We had no insurance and even if we could have afforded to go out and purchase some the very next day (which we couldn’t), pregnancy is considered a “pre-existing condition” (they make it sound like a disease or something.  Sheesh!) and wouldn’t have been covered.

So, needless to say, getting pregnant was not exactly the “most responsible” thing to do.  Oh, God... You have such a quirky sense of humor sometimes...

God allowed us to...um, mellow in these facts for a little while.  6 weeks, in fact.  Then it all started pouring down.  It was beyond amazing as we just watched things unfold!  I say “watched” because that’s really how we felt: we were just standing on the side as God paraded all His blessings in front of us.

First, Andrew’s boss asked if he was interested in taking the necessary training to become an armed security guard.  Um.... duh?!  “Nah... my husband has no interest in legally carrying his gun to work, in plain sight, with the right to use it if necessary...”  Yeah, right.  Oh, and by the way, the company paid for it.  This not only meant an increase in salary (if and when he worked an armed post), but it also opened up an entire host of potential hours for him.

Very soon after, my boss offered to promote me from “Interim event coordinator” to “the New event coordinator” -- so, in other words... indefinitely.  “Oh, and as an added bonus, would you like to live in the house that’s on my property?  Rent-free; all you have to pay for is energy used (electricity and propane), keep the yard looking nice, and allow brides to use the Bride’s Room and bathroom on those few occasions it’s needed.  I’ll even pay for curtains and blinds to be put on all the windows.  And all that furniture that’s just being stored there?  Feel free to use it, if you can.  There’s also a spare refrigerator and stove just sitting in storage.  All you have to do is move it into the house.”  If I hadn’t been sitting down, I woulda keeled over in shock and amazement.  After living in a trailer for 4 months, we felt like we were moving into a palace!!  Funny story though... this house we moved into?  It was my childhood home.  My family moved into this very house when I was 5 months old and didn’t move out until almost 3 years ago.

As if all that wasn’t enough, God just kept throwing more blessings at us over the next several months, reminding us that He was still watching and caring for us.

-          My boss increased my pay rate... twice,

-          Andrew’s hours were never less than 35 hours a week (with only 1 exception),

-          God led us to a birthing center that is not only just as safe (or safer) than an OB/GYN and hospital, but will be about one-third the cost,

-          Our family and friends have provided all the essentials (and some non-essentials!) for the first year or more of our baby’s life.

Then, to top it all off, for the foreseeable future Andrew has been posted at a bank... as an armed security guard... with guaranteed 15 hours of overtime every single week!!!  Yay guns!  And yay overtime!!  And this pregnancy ain’t over yet!  What else does my Jehovah Jireh have in store for us?!

Folks, life really is an adventure.  And the best part is that we cannot see what lies around the next bend.  We may not always think so, but it truly is the best part.  These past several months would not have been nearly as exciting or thrilling if we had known God’s plans for us.  Sometimes we want to shake God; sometimes we want to curse His strange sense of humor and timing.  But just wait and look back a few months or years down the road; I promise you will laugh, cry, squeal, and thank God all at the same time.

No, getting pregnant when we did was not the most responsible thing to do.  But it most certainly was the best thing that could have happened.  Thank you, Lord!!

What?? 2 months??

It has NOT been 2 months since the last post!  It’s not the 7^th yet, so there... 

Yeah, sorry, guys...  Two months is waaay too long...  But in this case, no news really is good news – I haven’t posted because there was nothing to post about.  Sea Monkey is doing great and progressing perfectly! 

At the 20 week Anatomy Scan, the technician noticed that the placenta was forming a little too low for comfort and so the midwives requested a follow-up ultrasound around 32 weeks.  So we went in for that on Thursday, and sure enough, as everyone predicted, the problem has fixed itself.  Placenta is now high and dry.  Well... maybe not dry... but you get the point. 

The tech also went ahead and re-measured her to see how she’s progressing – she’s still right above the 50^th percentile in size and she now weights just short of 5 lbs.  At least, that was his best guess.  They get those things wrong all the time, so for all we know she could be 7 lbs. already.  Yipes!!  I hope not!  Maybe she’s actually closer to 4 lbs. right now... yeah... I’m sure that’s it...

Anywho, that’s the update from the Sea Monkey corner.  Hopefully a new baby bump picture will be coming soon.  And now back to your regularly scheduled Facebook browsing...