Jason & Darlys

Five Months Already!

2012-01-24T09:35:00.000-06:00

Ellie turned five months on Thursday! She weighs 14.5 pounds. Still in 3 to 6 month clothes, though some of the 3 month ones are getting a little short.

She started rolling over a few days after my Four Month post! She still only goes from her back to her belly, and always to her left, but that skill is definitely mastered! We are hoping she figures out how to go from belly to back soon so we don't have to continually flip her back over when she gets mad about being on her stomach. :)

She is starting to giggle now too! It usually takes some effort on our part to get her to laugh, but when it works, it's adorable! Unfortunately, whenever I try to record it, she gets distracted by the camera or phone and stops. :)

Speaking of distraction...she IS distractable! She loves to watch people and take in everything around her, which has made public feeding harder. Even at home she'll catch a glimpse of something in the room and stop eating to look at it. She is an observer!

Another favorite activity: Grabbing everything in sight (toys, my hair, her hair) and, if possible, putting it in her mouth.

We think her current favorite toy is her sock monkey.

Or maybe her pillow pet.

Ok, maybe both. :)

We're still battling eczema and trying all sorts of things to help it...lotions, medications, changing my diet, etc. That last one's been frustrating because it's a daily battle to plan meals, and it doesn't even seem to be working! Maybe it needs more time...or maybe it's not food-related at all! Some days I just want to quit and have a big bowl of icecream...but I don't. :)

Sleeping is getting harder and harder; she seems to be up more now instead of less. We have established that it's not hunger keeping her up at night--if I feed her around 11 she doesn't need to eat again until morning. But she still wakes up throughout the night...sometimes multiple times...and can't go back to sleep on her own. When we try to let her, she busts out of her swaddle and often scratches her face and neck. Thankfully, my super-husband has been taking most of the night shift duty recently. Last night I even got a straight 7 hours or so of sleep in the guest room while he was up for hours trying to soothe her back to sleep. We're in a transition with her day-time schedule as a result, thinking she was getting too MUCH naptime and wasn't tired. But naps are touch-and-go now too. Basically, we feel like we know less and less what she needs. Maybe she's teething?

Ok, this is supposed to be a celebratory post, so enough complaining...let's enjoy another milestone instead! Food!

Our doctor recommended (more than once) starting rice cereal to try to help with the sleeping, so we started just at 5 months. Here's a short video of the first meal! (There have only been three so far.)

Christmas(es)

2012-01-07T16:40:00.000-06:00

Hey, I'm posting and it hasn't even been a whole month! I thought Christmas deserved its own entry.

Guess she has to be on her side for the words to all be the right direction. :)

Maybe some day I'll get some of Jason's (probably better quality) iphone photos on here, but no promises. I figured I better go with what I have, or it could be forever before I get anything uploaded. :)

We started celebrating early this year, with Christmas with the Wares on December 3rd. But we didn't take any pictures. And I already mentioned Christmas at the Olesens'. Here she is "helping" with Christmas cookies there.

Next came a trip to Sheridan and Hallettsville. We were very blessed with some extended travel time this year, so we got to go down a little early and let Ellie meet Jason's sweet, wonderful cousin Stacey, who wouldn't be there for Christmas day. I thought I had pictures of them meeting, but apparently not. Instead, here's Ellie in her super cute gift from Stacey, which she wears quite often right now.

Next we went to see the Werners.

This picture is busy, but it shows well how many people Ellie got to meet and be held by! She had a great time.

Ellie had a very special ginger bread house made by her great grandma Werner (and some cousins).

And she got this pillow pet, which, in spite of being bigger than she is, has been a favorite these last few weeks. She loves to suck on its nose and antennas. :)

Then back to Sheridan for the Sanford Family Christmas. (Notice her Christmas pj's from ~~Grandma~~ Santa Barb.)

And finally, for New Years we went to Jason's aunt's ranch, and took a day trip so Ellie could FINALLY meet her great-great grandparents!

It was great travelling and seeing everyone, but after being gone all but 5 days from December 6th to January 1st, we're happy to be home and getting back to normal life for a bit!

PS. I'm having trouble with alignment again...guess I'll have to live with it being inconsistent throughout my post.

Four Months Old!

2011-12-19T18:16:00.018-06:00

Ellie is four months today! That seems like a huge milestone because our good friends had a four-month-old when Ellie was born, and she seemed SO OLD at the time!

She really seems to have changed quite a bit, even in the last few weeks. The beginnings of a laugh is starting to emerge. It sounds more like a cough-laugh mix, sheand only does it occasionally, but it's really cute. She isn't rolling over quite yet, but is getting close. And today was the first time she seemed to be making progress to "scooting" when on her tummy and pushed up on her hands instead of just her elbows. She is getting longer and longer, and now weighs about 14 pounds.

Ellie went to her great grandma's house for Thanksgiving and got to meet some more people! She also got to enjoy her baby recliner from her great great grandma Meme. :)

We went to Plano for about 12 days, so Ellie got lots of time with her Grandma Barb and some of her aunts and uncles.

While we were there Ellie found her feet!

And they are SOOO tasty!

She also found my face:

And somehow this happened:

Guess she spit up while burrowing on my shirt and then face-planted into it. Haha

We had Olesen Christmas on Saturday. I think Ellie's favorite gift so far is her first baseball.

Just today we started using her Bumbo seat, and she seems to like it a lot!

Sleeping is touch-and-go. Her eczema still wakes her up sometimes, but we can usually just giver her a pacifier and she falls back asleep. Usually that happens once or twice a night...sometimes 4 or 5 times...or 7 (but that's rare). The eczema seems to be in better control now, so we are thankful for that!

Three Months!

2011-11-19T21:32:00.008-06:00

Maybe we should re-title our blog "Ellie's Monthly Updates." Life is busy with a baby! And now she's three months! She moved up to size 2 diapers just a week or 2 ago and we finally retired most of the newborn clothes. She's sporting some super cute new outfits from her aunts and grandma. (The second photo is a little dark...I didn't want to wake her up with the flash.)

A few days after my last post, Ellie got her first round of shots. That was the day she really took to the pacifier. She slept like this for 2 hours. No swaddle or anything. (Don't worry...I was there and didn't leave her unattended on the couch.)

She is getting really good at grabbing things (like toys and my face) and likes to put everything to her mouth. Unfortunately, she also is learning how to scratch her eczema. :(

And about a week ago she suddenly started enjoying tummy time instead of crying and burying her face in the floor whenever we tried. :) She even rolled over twice today from her tummy to her back...but I think it was accidental...more like a fall over than a roll over.

Ellie got to ride on an airplane this month! We all went to Orlando for a 9 day training. It was intense, but she did pretty well. And she got to be with Grandma and Grandpa Ware, because they were at the training too! We were sidetracked with caring for her, though, and didn't get any pictures.

This past week Ellie and I took our first solo road trip. While Jason went to a conference, we went to her G-Mama's in Plano (that name's a joke, by the way...at least I think...). Thankfully she slept the first three hours both directions and was only awake and fussy the last 15 minutes. She got to see her uncles and aunts, meet my cousin,

and meet one of my good friends from high school and her youngest son.

Sleeping through the night stopped about as quickly as it started. She slept all the way through again a few times in Florida, but now she's waking up more than ever--FOUR times one night! We think it's because of the eczema and a stuffy nose. Hopefully she'll be back to normal soon!

It's definitely fun to watch her learn new things and get more and more interactive. She's such a delight!

Two Months!

2011-10-19T10:22:00.009-05:00

Ellie is two months old today! The second month went by even faster than the first (and not just because it was a day shorter!). She weighs 12.2 pounds, is still wearing mostly newborn clothes, and is still in size one diapers (having blowouts much less frequently!). We had a lot of "firsts" this month!

First pacifier (she still doesn't keep it in long, but we don't care)

First bottle (pumped milk)

First time to bake cookies with her mama

First eczema outbreak. Here's a picture of the cute pants used to cover it up (because it was worse in non-clothes-covered areas). :)

First road trip. We went to her Grandma and Grandpa Werner's for the weekend, and she also met two of her great grandmas, but all the pictures are on other peoples' cameras.

On that trip she slept through the night for the first time as well! She started consistently going about 7 hours at night a few weeks ago, and we were working to get a late enough feeding in so the 7 hours would end at a decent waking time. Then Friday she suddenly jumped to 9 hours! She's slept through the night like that 3 of the past 5 nights, which has been great. Hopefully she keeps that up!

She smiles and "talks" a lot more these days (with coos and such), and it's super cute. Unfortunately, she usually stops when the camera comes out. She found her hands recently and enjoys trying to shove her whole fist in her mouth, especially when she's hungry or tired. She loves laying on the floor and kicking her legs around and squeals with delight as she does that. This photo is a little dark, but I love the look on her face!

And sometimes all that hard play makes her a little sleepy!

She doesn't necessarily like being "snuggled" with (so I sneak that in when she dozes off after eating), but she does like to sit on our laps and interact. She has great eye contact and focus and follows us visually when we move around. She "talks" the most when she sits like this.

She likes to stand too (assisted for balance, of course). Is this normal?

The swing is still a big hit during fussy evenings (which aren't quite as frequent but still happen). She fits in it a lot better now too, even when her head support falls out!

The blanket wasn't working out so well in the swing, so we switched to warmer clothes. This outfit is from her GREAT GREAT grandma!

I still sometimes get teary from how much I love this sweet girl. She's such a blessing to us.

One Month!

2011-09-19T15:20:00.008-05:00

Little Ellie is one month old! She weighed in at 10.4 pounds Monday morning. She's still in newborn clothes and size 1 diapers and is very active and interactive. When she's awake she's really alert and can maintain eye contact more and more. She seems to be pretty strong and has fairly good head and neck control already (she kind of has since birth). She started grasping things a lot more too, so I'm in a pony tail most days now! She still sneezes a lot and makes a lot of noise while eating and sleeping.

She loves music of any kind, and quiets down almost immediately when Jason plays guitar. During the day iTunes is usually sufficient. :) Her infant seat is really handy too (big THANKS to the Hugghins!), particularly with the music and vibration going. We often put her in that while we eat, so we can have both hands free.

It's also a good way to calm her when she starts to get fussy or tired but is not quite ready for bed.

She enjoys being in motion, whether it's going for a ride in the stroller, her car seat, the swing, or being carried around by her parents (or anyone else, for that matter).

She'll tolerate her floor mat play area for a little while, but much prefers to be walked around or to sit on one of our laps. We try to mix it up a little so she can play by herself some and we can do some things while she's awake.

She hasn't quite settled into a schedule, but I still generally only have to get up for one or two middle of the night feedings (one if I stay up until 10 to feed her before I go to bed...if I fall asleep earlier, I get up twice). I've been thankful for a baby who, usually, is a good night sleeper. Day time is hit or miss still...sometimes she sleeps great and I wake her up from naps to get enough feedings in. Other days she seems to barely sleep at all during her naps, even though she seems really tired.

She also seems to be getting messier as she gets older. Milk goes everywhere when she eats, dripping on me and all over her arm and onsie sleeve, down her face, and in her hair. Did that happen to anyone else? And does it get better as she stays latched longer, or will I always need to use multiple burp cloths at once? We've had LOTS of diaper blow-outs recently, both in Pampers and Huggies, and she's spitting up more too. (I have pictures, but I'll spare you.) I'm so glad Jason thought to make our laundry area accessible from inside the house!

This past weekend she went to her first Aggie tailgate (and my second or third...haha). We didn't go to the game. It was our longest outing yet, and she did great! And my first public feeding attempt was a success! We think she likes the outdoors, as long as the sunlight isn't in her face (which is kind of ironic, since one meaning of her name is "light from the sun"). She was thoroughly stinky for her first "real" bath afterwards (her cord finally was completely gone so she got to be IN the water). Here she is in her Aggie gear...the only outfit we've actually purchased for her ourselves!

I think that's enough updating for now. :)

The Dessert Girl

2011-09-09T14:51:00.005-05:00

Those of you who came to my College Station baby shower tasted the delicious, beautiful cake and cupcakes my friend Lisa made.

Someone asked if she sells them...and she does now! A new law passed recently that allows her to sell baked goods from her home. She makes incredible brownies, sugar cookies, and other desserts as well, all from scratch using high quality ingredients. Check out the options at her website: http://thedessertgirl.blogspot.com/

2011-09-07T11:08:00.009-05:00

Life sure is different! Feed Ellie, change her diaper, keep her awake, put her to sleep, repeat. And try to sleep in there myself. We have been enjoying all her cute faces and noises. She eats loudly, plays loudly, even sleeps loudly! I've tried to catch some of it on video, but haven't gotten a good one yet.

For the most part, she's been a pretty easy baby. She generally sleeps well at night, so we're able to get some good sleep too. She usually only wakes up twice, eats, and goes right back to sleep. If we get a late night (10 or 11 pm) feeding in, she might even sleep until 3, and then again until 7 or so. I enjoy those long stretches...yay for REM sleep!

The last few days have been much more challenging, though. She's been crankier and even stayed up for 2 1/2 hours in the middle of Monday night...then wanted to sleep all day (and there was no changing her mind on that!). We're trying for a schedule with her, but we're in the beginning stages and some days go better than others. Here's a picture from "wake time" one day last week (major fail...but she's so cute when she's asleep!).

Our doctor warned us that she'll probably surprise us with early development, since she's so active and strong already. She has pretty good head control for a little bitty. And what 12 day old can already do this???

We have to be careful where we put her in her crib because she can scoot, even when swaddled, and I found her face planted into the siding yesterday. Good thing it's mesh, but she wasn't very happy about ending up there. :)

I really enjoyed the time Jason was able to be home, and very very thankful that he got so much time off work. See how she loves her daddy!

It's harder going solo, though. I like to be able to do everything and am learning I can't do much besides care for her right now. She's totally worth it, but I have my breakdown moments (or maybe longer than moments). Then every time I get her up from a nap, she melts my heart all over again.

More Ellie Pictures

2011-08-24T18:07:00.003-05:00

Every time we look at Ellie our hearts melt. She is just too cute. There just aren't enough kisses for her sweet little cheeks. Our lives are definitely changing. Jason pointed out this morning that our voices are changing too; suddenly we're talking about everything in sweet, sing-song voices.

Here are some pictures of our much-loved little girl.

Wild hair after a sponge bath (2 days old)

Burrito Baby (3 days)

Cute picture in an outfit her Aunt Jennifer picked out long before she was born

"Look how strong I am!" (4 days)

All relaxed after pooping on her daddy (4 days)

Ellie's Birth Story

2011-08-24T10:37:00.009-05:00

Anyone who reads this blog probably already knows, I'm sure, but Ellie Hope arrived Friday, August 19th at 12:34 am weighing 8 pounds, 10.9 ounces and measuring 21.75 inches. We couldn't love her more.

Here's a short version of the birth story. For those who are interested in the details, skip down and read below the next picture. Short version: contractions started around 1 am Thursday, went for a few hours, then stopped, then started back up again in the afternoon, got more intense, we went to the hospital, labored a few more hours, then I pushed (involuntarily at first), and out she came! And Jason was the most amazing coach helping me all along the way.

The long version (and it IS long). Don't read the pushing section if you're uncomfortable with those kinds of details. :)

On Wednesday night we went to sleep fairly early, and I woke up at 11, 12, and 1 am with a contraction that felt different from the Braxton Hicks I'd been having. At the 1 am waking, they started coming every 5-6 minutes, lasting about a minute, and were a little painful in my lower back and abdomen but easily manageable. Jason woke up shortly after that and I let him know I was having "real" contractions. We both tried to keep sleeping since it was the middle of the night and I figured we had a long way to go. I couldn't sleep, though, so I got up and puttered around, sat on the birth ball for a bit, snacked, etc. Between 4 and 5 I got in the tub to try to ease some of the back pain and Jason got up too to get ready for the day. Soon after that, though, the contractions started getting shorter and less consistent, finally going away completely, and I was able to sleep for about a couple hours.

Contractions stayed pretty sporadic and shorter for a while after that. Jason and I went for a walk, then a friend of mine came over as planned. We went for a walk too to try to get things moving, and towards the end of her visit (10:45 or so) contractions started back up again, though still short and 10-12 minutes apart. Jason and I just hung out at home, watched a few Walker Texas Ranger reruns, I ate lots of "mini meals", and we waited it out. We tried some different techniques and pressure points to get labor moving along, and some time in the afternoon things started progressing a little more. Still, though, contractions were pretty manageable. Jason kept asking if they really hurt because I was pretty calm and had to tell him when one was starting. The back labor started getting a little harder and Jason massaged during contractions with his hands or tennis balls, which was really helpful.

By 4 or 5 pm, the contractions were getting more intense and were consistently 5 or 6 minutes apart. A little after 5, Jason laid down to take a nap and I ate my last little meal (spicy food to keep things going!), but I had to stop eating when a contraction came. He hadn't been asleep long when I woke him up to let him know I needed help with the contractions because I was pretty uncomfortable and close to tears. We labored at home a little longer, and Jason got stuff ready to move to the hospital.

When I felt like the time was approaching that I wouldn't want to move anymore, we decided to go. Contractions just a little less than 5 minutes apart, though, so we were a little concerned we were going too soon. We got there around 7 and by the time we got to L&D, contractions were 4 minutes apart, I was 6 cm dilated, almost completely effaced. Our wonderful nurse Renea let us know we would definitely be staying. :) She asked if we wanted to sign consent for epidural and promised to never mention it again after that. I hesitated, but Jason, knowing I really didn't want one, declined for us. She kept her word and never suggested pain meds and we never heard the word "pitocin" the whole time we were there. Jason let our parents know we were at the hospital, but I didn't give him much break to use his phone anymore after that. :)

Contractions intensified pretty quickly after that, seeming to be right on top of each other (they were probably a few minutes apart in reality). I was trying to labor on my side, and was having a really hard time relaxing through the pain. The nurse suggested getting on my hands and knees to help with the back pain. I resisted at first because I didn't want to move, but finally got in that position and stayed there for about 4 hours. (My forehead was tender the next day from having it against my hands as I leaned into my elbows for that long!) I only moved to go to the restroom and tried standing up through one contraction on my way back to the bed, but quickly ruled out that option. Jason was massaging my back still that whole time.

I had a lot of "I don't want to do this anymore, I wish I'd gotten medication, just get her out any way possible" thoughts. Jason was really encouraging, and I definitely could not have done it without him. He recognized that I was in transition as I started telling him (pretty regularly, I think) that I couldn't do it. He kept encouraging me that I could, and the nurse reminded me that I WAS doing it, and, since I didn't an option to just not be in labor anymore, I kept going. I also had this incorrect assumption that transition was a really quick process, so I thought it must be almost over.

At some point (probably between 10 and 11, but I had no idea it was this late) I thought my water broke. Turns out I'd just gone to the bathroom, but I really didn't care at that point. A little while later my body seemed to be starting to push a little on it's own. I asked to be checked again, and the nurse said they were planning to check me again at 11:30, which was only a half hour away. That was my first indication of how long I'd been laboring. I knew they were putting the fetal monitors on me and taking my blood pressure every hour...and that had happened a lot...but it hadn't clicked that I'd been there for that long. Jason said he purposefully didn't tell me the time because he didn't want me to get discouraged about it being so long. I let her know I felt pushing motions, so she checked and I was a 9. (I had been checked a few hours before this and was an 8...but I don't know where that was in the sequence of events.)

I switched back to my side, and the involuntary pushing kept happening. It was actually really amazing to feel (and Jason says, to see) as my whole belly contracted from the top down. They even made me grunt and my legs would come up, but I wasn't putting any effort into it. Those started getting harder and one of them broke my water. It literally sounded like a water balloon breaking, and it all shot out at once. The involuntary pushing kept happening, so they got my doctor and they started setting up for pushing stage. I was sitting up in pushing position around midnight.

This stage was what I was most nervous about, but it was actually way easier than I had imagined. I had a lot more breaks between contractions to rest, and the contractions didn't hurt much at all. In fact, Jason and my doctor were chatting pretty nonchalantly between contractions. It was pretty chill. I started pushing too fast, and my doctor reminded me to push only when I felt contractions (I'd been pushing when I felt pressure...which was almost all the time). Jason reminded me to put my chin to my chest when I pushed, and that reminded me to breathe a few times before pushing with the contraction. I think that helped. I felt like I might be tearing a little at the top of my opening, so I tried to slow myself down. I did feel the "ring of fire" but not a whole lot of pain besides that. The baby started dropping down, and they could see that she had lots of hair! After her head came, I gave maybe one or two more good pushes and she popped right out! I watched the doctor catch her, and they put her right to my chest. She pinked up pretty quickly, and Jason cut her cord. She was bigger than I expected (and really silppery!) but absolutely beautiful, with a full head of hair, really long finger nails, and very alert. We tried to nurse, but never did get a good latch so we just had some bonding time. Here she is right after being born (somewhere between 10 and 30 mintues).

My placenta came out really quickly after she was born, and they let me check it out (I was just curious what it looked like). I had a second degree tear in my perineum (which I didn't feel happen at all) and a smaller tear near my urethra. Stitching that one up was more painful than the birth!

I remember thinking right after she was born about how people always say once the baby comes out, you forget the pain, or are already ready to do it again, or something to that effect. I didn't experience that. My thought right afterwards was, "I might just have one. I don't want to do labor again." But, I can honestly say that the pushing and delivery part was a really amazing and even enjoyable experience (though not pain-free). And now, a few days later, seeing how absolutely precious Ellie is, I would go through the laboring part all over again a hundred times.

And I have to say, too, we had a great experience with St. Joseph hospital. Our nurses were very supportive. I had trouble nursing at first (Ellie had swallowed some stuff on her way out and kept swallowing it down when her body was trying to spit it up, so her stomach was pretty upset the first few days). There's a great nurse/lactation consultant who is only at the hospital one day a month, and our one full day there was her day! That was such a huge blessing. She probably spent 3 hours with us over the course of the day, showing us different tricks and even helping me manually express into a spoon so Ellie could get some colostrum. We were very thankful for her and the others.

Books I've Been Reading

2011-08-12T13:34:00.007-05:00

Here are "reviews" of some books I've been reading the past few months. I've had a lot of time, and I recently learned I can read on the elliptical at the gym, so I've cranked through a few!

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt

Very highly recommended. This one could be a life-changer, if you let it. It's challenging and well-written, including both stories and Biblical teaching. I can't really do it justice with a summary, but here are a few of my favorite quotes, hopefully without giving away too much:

"I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable. We were settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves" (ch. 1)

"The message of biblical Christianity is 'God loves me so that I might make him--his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness--known among all nations.' Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around him. We are not the end of the gospel; God is." (ch. 4)

"We have unnecessarily (and unbiblically) drawn a line of distinction, assigning the obligations of Christianity to a few, while keeping the privileges of Christianity for us all." (ch. 4)

"Whereas disinfecting Christians involves isolating them and teaching them to be good, discipling Christians involves propelling Christians into the world to risk their lives for the sake of others." (ch. 5)

"Jesus never intended to be one voice among many counseling us on how to lead our lives and use our money. He always intends to be the voice that guides whatever decisions we make in our lives and with our money." (ch. 6)

"Why not begin operating under the idea that God has given us excess, not so we could have more, but so we could give more?" (ch. 6)

There's a good challenge at the end that I won't give away, but in light of that challenge, I've started going through this next book:

Operation World revised by Jason Mandrik

This is a guide for praying through the nations in a year. Each country has a day (or several, depending on the size and, probably, complexity of the nation) with basic country facts and specific areas of need for prayer. I just started using it a week or two ago, but it's been really interesting and helpful. It definitely makes "praying for the world" practical. If you don't have the book, you can get a snippet of info for the country of the day at http://www.operationworld.org. The book is a lot more thorough.

Relational Christianity by Steve Meeks

I'm not finished with this one, but who knows when I'll get around to doing another book review post. And this another good one. The main idea is that we (the Church, especially in the West) have exchanged true relationship with Jesus for knowledge about Jesus. I know that's often true for me -- I love to read (this post is a case in point) and learn things, but it often stays as head knowledge and not a changed life. Steve Meeks talks about really experiencing Jesus. A lot of people are scared by that term (after all, you can't trust experience, right?), but Jesus is a person to be known, not an idea to know about.

This quote has stuck with me: "'Is this what Christ died for?' That is a worthy question to ask of our lives and our churches." I've been thinking on that one a lot as I go through my days at home, wondering, "What should I really be doing with my time right now? Is my life really counting for God's Kingdom? I don't want to just be an intellectual Christian, I want to truly follow Jesus."

Relational Christianity is available on Amazon for about $3.

The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, MD

This book is about 5 "tricks" to calm a fussy baby. It definitely taught me some things, and until I actually have a child, I can pretend I know how to do this whole "mom" thing. After all, the book made it sound so easy! :) With so many books about this type of stuff, though, it's obviously NOT going to be easy. I'm sure I'll be using this one, though.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

This book explores why some messages stick around forever (like urban legends and fables) and others we forget immediately. The book hooks you in from the beginning and provides lots of examples and stories (the authors are really good at using their advice in their own writing).

I think one of the biggest take-aways for me is keeping communication simple...not in a dumbed-down way, but finding the core message I'm trying to communicate and sticking with it, rather than adding in a bunch of extra that gets people distracted from the main point. The idea of being concrete (rather than abstract) was also really helpful for me. An example of this is students learning math through every day objects ("You have 3 pencils. Your friend brought you 2 more. How many do you have now?" vs memorizing 3+2). The book has a lot of others really good examples that I won't ruin here.

I could summarize more, but you probably won't remember much without reading the examples and stories anyway. :) It's a good read if you communicate with others a lot.

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

I don't know that this one is necessarily one I would recommend. It had some interesting points, but it didn't flow well. The chapters seemed unrelated to each other and the title only fit the first of ten.

The point of the book is that research has proven wrong some things about children many people assume to be true. For example, praising kids with "you're smart!" can actually inhibit them from challenging themselves because if they fail, it conflicts with their "smart" identity. Praising them, instead, for working hard is apparently much more beneficial. The book also talks about the importance of sleep, sibling fighting, why kids lie, and mistaken practices for putting kids in "gifted" programs.

I did learn some things that I will probably implement (if I remember them), but some of it for me (at this point) was just interesting information.

Union and Communion by James Hudson Taylor

In college I read Hudson Taylor's Intimacy with Jesus, which was about Song of Songs from the Bible. I was wanting to read it again, but haven't been able to find it. So, I read Union and Communion instead (same author, same topic). I won't talk a lot about this one (this post is LONG!), but it was a refreshing reminder of God's desire for intimate fellowship with us (with me!). And it's free on ibooks. :)

Due Date: 40 Weeks!

2011-08-11T11:14:00.003-05:00

Well, I made it to my due date (and now one day beyond)! I'm still feeling good most of the time. I just have a lot of trouble getting comfortable to go to sleep, and the last three nights have woken up between 3 and 3:30 am and haven't been able to fall back asleep until 5:30 or so. That's not very fun.

But I'm still able to exercise. I think I've made a few cycling instructors nervous by telling them I'm trying to go into labor. :) I haven't had much swelling, either, which I'm surprised about. I am grateful to be able to lay down a lot. The only swelling has been after sitting for long periods or when I've been on my feet for a long time. Each time it's gone away quickly. And I haven't been having as much trouble breathing the last week or so (though the baby's still pretty high).

Now we're just waiting it out. Jason's definitely ready for her to be here. I am too, but I wouldn't mind waiting until my doctor gets back in town next week. We met the doctor who will be on call this weekend, and, while he may be a great doctor for many people, he gave all the red flags of "not the doctor for us!"...we have very different birthing philosophies and he seemed to be trying to talk us out of just about everything we said we wanted to do for our birth. Jason was my hero at the appointment, though, and fought for our desires and plans (while I mostly fought tears). I was so glad he was there and am very thankful to have an involved, knowledgeable husband. I have full confidence in him as my birthing coach.

Hopefully my next baby update will be pictures of her outside my belly!

Lasagna!

2011-07-27T13:53:00.004-05:00

Monday night I decided to make lasagna rolls for dinner.

And since I was using lasagna noodles anyway, I decided it wouldn't be that much extra work to crank out some extra lasagna to freeze for easy meals when the baby's here. I used a recipe for 4 small pans of lasagna from Fix, Freeze, Feast.

Since it was two completely different recipes, it took about 3 hours total. Maybe next time I'll buy Stouffer's instead. :)

37 Weeks 5 Days Ultrasound

2011-07-25T10:04:00.003-05:00

We had an ultrasound this morning. Looks like we have a chubby-cheeked little girl! The first one is a 3-D image of her face (it's the cord on the right, I think).

And a profile shot. Looks pretty similar to the one from a while back.

Our ultrasound tech said everything looks good. She measured her at 7 lbs. 7 oz. If that's accurate (could be a pound or more either way from the estimate), I hope she comes early! Otherwise she could be one big baby!

Baby Room and Guest Room/Office

2011-07-20T16:52:00.004-05:00

I have previously mentioned (because it's so true) that I have the greatest husband ever. Over the past few months he's painted a lot of the house, fixing some cracks, and getting ready for the baby to come! We have the nursery pretty much done (may hang a few more things on the walls at some point), as well as the guest room/office.

Baby Room! (It used to be our office.) The color makes me happy. :)

The chair was a GREAT Craigslist fine. I love it. And the pictures were a project I did while Jason was gone last week. You can't tell from here, probably, but the top left are pictures from our Hawaii trip (beach on top, sea turtle on bottom) and the bottom right are all pictures of flowers we've taken on trips or in our yard(s). The other two are still empty, waiting for baby pictures to fill them. :)

And the guest room/office before it was just empty, so I don't have a picture of that). It's really cozy, and one of our new favorite places to spend time.

36 Weeks

2011-07-13T18:07:00.005-05:00

36 weeks! Getting close!

And she makes a good lap desk too (courtesy of my mother-in-law):

32(ish) weeks

2011-06-21T16:18:00.002-05:00

I didn't forget to take a picture last Wednesday...I was just tired and grumpy and chose not to. So, this is a blurry, I took it by myself in the mirror shot from a few days later.

I definitely feel third trimester-ish these days. I'm not swollen (yet), but I am more tired, uncomfortable at night, and have LOTS of leg cramps while I'm sleeping. I also have to lay down occasionally when sitting makes it hard to breathe or like my blood isn't circulating well. And it's time to start carrying snacks with me again because hunger hits quickly and I get grumpy if I don't eat. Other than that, I'm still feeling good and the baby is growing and moving great!

Jason has been working hard to get the house ready. This past weekend he set up our office/guest bedroom and plans to paint the baby room next weekend. Pictures to come (relatively) soon. He's definitely excited about our new family member. :)

A Day Without Dignity...When Good Intentions Aren't Enough

2011-05-28T17:10:00.002-05:00

This is a video one of my middle school friends posted on her blog (don't know if she'd want me to link to her so I won't for now). I thought the perspective it adds to giving aid is really good. Not that giving is wrong, but it's important to do it in a responsible, effective way. (This isn't meant to make Tom's Shoes look bad...it was just done in response to their "A Day Without Shoes" campaign.)

28 Weeks

2011-05-19T11:18:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I hit 28 weeks! I changed up my outfit for this one (just took it in what I was wearing instead of changing to my usual), and even though my bottom half blends in with the guitar case behind me, it's obvious I'm bigger. :)

I guess I'm 3rd trimester now...no one can seem to agree on whether that starts at 27, 28, or 29 weeks. Seems like since the first trimester is 14 weeks, the next two should be 13 each to add up to the 40 weeks "they" say pregnancy lasts. But then again, average pregnancy is over 41 weeks if there's no induction, and the first trimester includes 2 weeks of "pregnancy" that occur before conception...no wonder there's no set time for it to be 2/3 over. :)

Whatever-mester I am in, I'm still feeling good for the most part. After I eat I sometimes have to lay down to be able to breathe comfortably (time for smaller meals, I guess!). And I'm getting those wonderful leg cramps at night. I didn't realize how common that was until recently. Mine aren't super painful at least. Other than that, I'm good. I'm still walking (though I have to plan for two restroom stops on my hour-long route), doing the elliptical machine, and taking a cycling class at the gym. I'm enjoying still having energy! And my love of sweet foods is back in full force. I was hoping that would stay away forever, but it didn't. :)

Baby moves a LOT. It's so fun to watch my belly jut out and in when she moves. And this last week or so I've been able to feel hard parts (not sure which parts) move under my skin. It's amazing. There's a whole different person inside me! We're looking forward to meeting her! (and at the same time I'm pretty terrified of parenthood!)

Some Thoughts from Easter Week

2011-04-22T05:46:00.003-05:00

Last night in homegroup we had communion and talked about Jesus' last supper with his disciples (which was the Thursday evening before what's now Easter). After that meal, Jesus went out to the garden of Gethsemane to pray and really wrestle through the painful death he knew was coming. He even asked his Father, if it was possible, to not have to die (Matthew 26:36-46).

At some point in the last year or so, I realized for the first time how powerful it is that Jesus chose death. I think subconsciously I had the thought that it was a simple decision because he knew he could handle what was coming--after all, he was God in the flesh. But he was also fully human. Who wants to be beaten and crucified? His soul really was "crushed with grief to the point of death" as he prayed about the coming events (Matthew 26:38). Sometimes knowing the end of the story makes that scene less climatic. But the truth his, he had a choice. He could have saved himself and avoided the suffering and the humiliation. But, knowing it would bring life to whoever believed, he willingly stepped right into the worst pain imaginable. And felt every moment of it.

Last night, as I was preparing my heart for communion, another amazing part of Jesus' death stood out to me. He gave up his "right" to be understood. I really hate being misunderstood, and when I think someone misheard me or misinterpreted something I said or did, it's hard for me to get it out of my mind until I clear it up. And if someone thinks I did something wrong, I have a "need" to explain myself. Jesus never defended himself. Instead of correcting misunderstandings or clearing his name from the false accusations of blasphemy, which he definitely had the power and right to do, he "humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). What an amazing God we have.

I was thinking about these lines from a hymn this morning when I woke up:

"Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow"

I really do owe him everything. And I'm so glad I do!

24 Weeks!

2011-04-21T12:44:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I was 24 weeks (according to my first ultrasound). Baby is getting bigger! I officially can't button any of my pre-pregnancy pants, though I can still use one pair of capris with a rubber band to expand the waist line.

I've been feeling really good the past 10 weeks or so. The baby's moving around a lot, which is fun, and I'm not often uncomfortable (yet). My emotions have definitely increased in recent weeks, and I'm blaming that at least partly on hormones, but I'm feeling a little more stable these days, overall.

Good Reads

2011-03-28T14:30:00.003-05:00

Here are some books I've been reading lately:

Non-baby-related:

Jason and I are taking a class called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement this semester. We have a book full of articles, but one of my many favorites is The Glory of the Impossible by Samuel Zwemer, about the worthiness of taking the Gospel to the nations, no matter the cost. Nearly every line is quotable. I actually read it twice in a row--it was that good. If you read nothing else on my list, read that one. :)

Tea with Hezbollah by Ted Dekker

This was mentioned at the Perspectives class. We read a fiction series by Ted Dekker that we really liked so we decided to check it out. Ted goes with a good friend (American by birth but who spent a lot of time living in the Middle East) to talk to America's "enemies" about their lives ("What makes you laugh?" "When's the last time you cried?" What kind of car do you drive?" etc) and what they think about Jesus' teaching that we should love our enemies. They travel to Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and maybe some other places talking to high ranking people who rarely allow interviews. There's quite a bit of history (told more in story form), and the insight into people around the world is pretty interesting.

Baby-related:

The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine

I actually read this one several months ago when I first found out I was pregnant. It's a fun read, but I don't agree with most of the author's philosophy on life and birthing. :) She does give some good tips and information that most people don't talk about regarding changes in your body during and after pregnancy that were good to know about in advance. There are also some practical tips that would come from a friend, not a doctor (like to not cut your hair short at the end of pregnancy because it makes you look like a pinheaded whale). It was entertaining but there are other books I'd recommend much more highly. Such as...

Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein (yes, the Ricki Lake from the talk show)

This was my first "informative" child birth book to read. The premise is informing women about options so they can make the best choice for them. It is highly biased toward natural, unmedicated, at-home births, but since we're planning and hoping to have a natural birth (but at the hospital) I didn't mind the bias. For people (like me) who didn't know a whole lot about the hospital procedures, pressure to take drugs to "speed things along", and the counterproductive cycle often begun by taking induction drugs and pain meds, it's really helpful. It was well written and had lots of stories rather than dry information. Jason's reading it now. :)

On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam

This book was recommended by several friends and came in a stack of baby books one of those friends is letting me borrow. I was a little unsure what to expect because of all the controversy about whether to put your baby on a schedule or let him/her eat/sleep when you think he/she wants to. Their reasoning makes sense to me (who has never cared for an infant before), and the method is a lot less strict than I imagined it would be. The authors emphasize the importance of the relationship between the husband and wife over the relationship of either parent to the baby. I liked that focus. The book was an easy read for me; I finished it in 2 days (but I don't have a job or children outside the womb). We'll see how the method works out. :)

And finally, Husband Coached Child Birth by Dr. Robert Bradley

I've been reading this one for a while now because Jason and I are planning to use the Bradly Method. We've heard very good things about giving birth naturally using this method, so I was basically sold on it before I started reading. The writing is a little dry, though, so it's been a tough book for me to get through. There is some good science behind the methods described (which I don't yet understand fully enough to describe accurately but has to do with relaxation and using certain positions during certain stages of labor) and lots of success stories. However, there are also a lot of speculative "proofs" offered, which--in my critical, research-methods-trained mind--work against the book's credibility. I wish he'd just left that stuff out. We're taking the Bradley class starting in May, though, and I'm really excited about it!

Feel free to recommend any other books you've found helpful (or good non-baby reads).

20 Weeks!

2011-03-23T15:53:00.004-05:00

I'm (in theory) half way through pregnancy, and Baby Werner is a-growin'! According to Baby Center, she's 6 1/2 inches head to rump and 10 inches head to foot (this is the first week I've gotten a head to foot measurement) and about 10 1/2 ounces. I'm pretty sure my belly jutted out several inches on March 6th. The night before that I was feeling like something was going on and even commented to Jason that I thought I might be growing. Then the next afternoon I suddenly had a bigger bump! I blamed it on Chipotle at first, but it stuck around...and kept growing. :)

I'm feeling great these days...rarely sick anymore and have lots more energy. Most days I'm able to get in a long walk at a good pace or use the elliptical machine at the gym. My eating habits have normalized, for the most part. I still go for heartier foods than I used to but am back to lots of fresh fruits and veggies (which I couldn't eat for most of the first trimester). I haven't gained too much weight yet (probably because I went backwards when I got sick in Pakistan), but I'm definitely "softer" all around. So far I don't mind. We'll see how that changes once the summer heat starts making me swell!

Baby Werner is a...

2011-03-16T14:34:00.003-05:00

GIRL!!!

It was amazing getting to see so much detail on the ultrasound. We got to see parts of her brain, different bones, her heart (very visible in the second picture above), fingers, feet, and, of course, evidence of her femaleness. :)

Recent(ish) Happenings

2011-03-15T16:04:00.006-05:00

For our anniversary weekend in January we went to Fort Worth for a good friend's wedding. Here we are all matchy-matchy! (not on purpose. His tie was a groomsman gift, and we didn't know what it would look like until we got there.)

And yay for college (and high school) friends!

Fast-forward: This past Saturday we went with some friends to Lake Bryan for the evening. Jason was the photographer, so he's not in any of the pictures. :) We cooked lots of meat:

And some veggies:

Jason likes taking pictures of his kid:

Tomorrow we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl, so stay tuned!