One month old

July 23, 2014

Dear child of mine,

You're six weeks old now, and I think we're starting to figure each other out. You have the most beautiful smile, and its recipients are instantly charmed. Some of your best grins happen in the evening and/or when you're on your changing table. We try to FaceTime with people when you're in one of your happy awake phases, but sometimes I just selfishly soak it in. Don't tell your Aunt KitKat.

Your grandparents and aunts are crazy about you, and your cousin Kate thinks you're pretty cute. Not to mention all the enthusiastic fans you have in your extended family and momma and daddy's friends.

You like to talk to us when you're in the right mood, and you make lots of expressive faces like your momma. But mostly you like to eat and sleep.

You can be absolutely delightful when awake for about one hour stretches before you need to be lulled back to sleep. If you stay awake for too long, you get pretty frustrated, but overall you are a brilliant baby. 

You sleep in your crib for most of the night now, and you can consistently go for 3-4 hours without eating. Momma is still struggling with the broken up sleep schedule, but I know this is just a season, and taking care of you is my top priority.

Daddy and I love you so much, and we are so excited to keep learning all the wonderful quirks that make you our precious girl. 

All my love,

Momma

Maternity Pictures

Husband's sister is crazy talented and beyond generous to us, and we have taken full advantage of that. We are forever in her debt. She started by supplying the majority of my maternity wardrobe, gave us so many wonderful baby hand-me-downs, and to boot she's an amazing photographer.

We took advantage of her photography skills when I was right around 37 weeks' pregnant and got some awesome shots that I'd like to share before we get too far into posts about the baby being born and thriving. Plus, it's fun for me to see how much my body has already rebounded. :) I got pretty ginormous, but it was worth it for our sweet girl.

 

Week One

Dear child of mine,

You are a week old today, and momma is starting to feel a little more like herself every day, so I thought I would take the opportunity of this peaceful morning to record some of your wonderfulness. Our week has been full of healing, sleeplessness, sweet prayer time, and cuddling while you eat.

You're eating like a champ, and praise God that he designed the two of us to work so well together. There seems to be plenty of food for you and we're learning together how to make sure your tummy stays full and momma stays comfortable.

Your daddy is amazing with you, just like I predicted he would be, and your LaLa has been such a blessing to us, helping to keep us fed, in clean clothes, and taking turns so that we're all decently rested. 

It amazes me how our awesome creator designed my body to be able to support so much exhaustion and still have so much love for you and overwhelming joy at how good you are. You've been taking it so easy on us, but I have to occasionally remind myself in our less-than-peaceful moments (which only last for moments) that you're still so new and figuring all this out. It's no secret that your momma loves her sleep, but I have been sustained by loving support and God's grace to see so many blessings every day since you graced us with your presence.

I don't want to forget how I sang Jesus Loves Me to you, the way Daddy prayed for us all in the hospital, how I'm slowly memorizing your face,

how you immediately latched on after birth, or your first adorable gas smile. I'm trying to be in the moment and soak it all in because I know you're growing so fast, but I'm sure there are so many sweet memories yet to be made.

I want to record how you arrived at some point, but for now I think I should get back to resting before I let Daddy sleep some more.

I love you, sweet girl, more than words can possibly say.

-your adoring Momma

Due Date

June 5, 2014

Dear child of mine,

We made it to the day when the doctor predicted you would be completely done developing inside of me. You and me have been in this together so far (with lots of loving support from Daddy and friends/family), but I'm ready for you to be on the outside now.

I think I will miss your reassuring taps and kicks, but sometimes when your knee (yes, I can positively identify your knee) jabs out of my belly, it's uncomfortable. And I was pretty happy with my weight and shape nine months ago. The two of us together make for quite a ponderous figure.

Also, I want to move into the next phase of our mother-daughter relationship: the phase where I cuddle you and feed you and hold your precious hands instead of feeling them prod me from within. 

I'm working on perspective and patience, and I have been so blessed to have a mostly healthy, comfortable pregnancy. I have enjoyed carrying you around with me, sweet girl, and you are a gift from God. He has formed you perfectly, and now it's time for us to see your face and let Daddy snuggle you. He is oh-so-ready to start bonding with you, and he is such a good Daddy. I can tell already.

We spent the morning drinking Starbucks, walking around the Galleria, running errands, and eating Mexican food, all of which were designed to both distract us and encourage you to be born.

You're a good size and have a steady heart rate, and the doctors and nurses keep reminding me that we're both healthy and you look good. So I'm counting my many blessings as I yearn and pray for your entrance into the world. It's pretty great out here. I think you'll like the space we've created for you, and there are tons of people just waiting to "like" pictures of you and tell us you're adorable even if you start out a bit rough-looking. :)

You'll always be my baby, and I love you already.

With so much love and anticipation,

Momma

P.S. We're still waiting.

Baby Showers

We've been showered with blessings three times for our much-loved little girl. We had a wonderful lunch shower hosted by some ladies I work with, a church shower hosted by our small group, and a surprise book/freezer meal shower thrown by the ladies of the weeknight Bible study I attend.

As of right now, our sweet girl will be classily outfitted, never want for a bath accessory or toy, and be thoroughly indoctrinated with the love of literature. We feel incredibly blessed to have so many generous people in our lives, and preparing for this little girl has been so much less stressful because of the gifts we've received.

My very pregnant self with the delicious Italian cream cake and pineapple punch at the Bible study shower

 

The financial responsibility of having a baby, who will turn into a kid, who will hopefully someday attend college can be overwhelming, so having so much help getting set up and feeling ready with all the "stuff" we need to take care of her for the first year or so is a huge blessing.

The work shower included delicious Italian food, lemon bundt cake, and adorable decorations.

We're feeling extra loved right now, and the abundance of Thank You notes that I've written have been a great reminder of how many wonderful people will be supporting us as we try our hands at raising a little lady.

My nephew had no interest in being in pictures, but he did understand that the stuff I was opening was for a baby, and he promptly tried to deliver a few presents to a new baby sitting in her carrier. :)

This one was obviously posed. Aunt Kit Kat loves Vera Bradley, so she made sure her niece will be outfitted from head to toe in all the adorableness.

The lovely hostesses/ladies from our small group at church

There will soon be lots of new babies because four of the six of us are pregnant in this picture. One adorable baby boy has already arrived, and I'm next in line to deliver our little girl!

 

Family members at the church shower

Husband and I at the church shower

Nursery Preview

I'll post an abundance of (non-blurry, taken with a nice camera rather than an iPhone) pictures once the nursery is actually complete, but I wanted to give an update for anyone anxious to see how the paper doll art and alphabet have been incorporated into the room. I'm waiting to finish the curtains, add the changing pad, complete the embroidery hoop display above her crib, and add the custom crib skirt before I officially call the nursery "done," but we're so close, and the room that I dreamed up has turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself.

Husband's parents generously provided us with the glider/recliner, which is one of the most comfortable places in our home for my oh-so-pregnant self to relax. I've been spending lots of time in there soaking in all the preciousness and reading the final informative books on my "Preparing for Baby" checklist.
The quilt on the back of the chair was made by Husband's sister and includes coordinating fabric used elsewhere in the nursery and scraps from the bridesmaid dress she wore in our wedding. I love it!

My parents purchased her crib and the dresser, which we had refinished exactly the way I wanted, so a lot of love and support has gone into making my vision a reality. The display above the dresser includes a custom sketch of me by the costume designer from the children's theatre I acted at during elementary school, Great is Thy Faithfulness sheet music, pinafores from when Husband's sister was a baby, and a Madame Alexander doll that was a gift from my grandmother. I think the vintage alphabet theme that I was going for is perfectly balanced with the new and old elements throughout the nursery.

She obviously isn't lacking any headbands or hair bows, which is just the way we like it.

I'm looking forward to lots of snuggle time, reading sessions, and play time in our little girl's room!

We're Still Here

May 7, 2014

Dear child of mine,

We've had an interesting few weeks filled with final preparations for your arrival and lots of doctor visits. The ultrasound on Daddy's birthday showed that my amniotic fluid levels were lower than average, so you and I have been spending a lot of time hanging out on the couch, guzzling water, reading, and watching TV. Thankfully, the doctor has been keeping a close watch on you, and the latest ultrasound showed that the fluid level is back in the normal range.

That's great news because it means you get to hopefully be born when you're ready, and we shouldn't have to evict you by force unless you stay in there for more than a month. The fluid fiasco has cut my working days short by about a month since I've been on modified bed rest to hydrate and monitor your movement. But I won't hold that against you, sweet girl, because it's been kind of nice to have lots of time to rest and relax and daydream about you.

Daddy and I went to our Prepared Childbirth classes, so we're as prepared as we're going to be for the different options and ways that you might need to make your appearance. We have preferences as to how labor and delivery will go (especially your momma), but as long as you're healthy and in our arms by the end of it, that will be just fine.

My parents came for one more visit before you're born to finish getting your nursery ready, and it looks great. Your silly momma ordered pom-poms for the curtains from etsy without checking the country of origin (Thailand, as it turns out), so those aren't ready yet, but pretty much everything else is in place.

You must be getting pretty big because your typically gentle nudges and kicks have turned into raucous movements that make my whole belly swell and ebb. It seems like we've entered the "alien baby" stage, so whenever your lungs are finished developing, we'll be ready to welcome you into the world. We're ready to see your precious little hands and feet and especially your face (which you have stubbornly kept covered by a hand and/or foot during every ultrasound).

Finish growing and then come meet us!

Love,
Momma