Family Picture

Here is a family shot, graciously sent to us by Grandma & Grandpa

Belly Dance and Dr Update

Here's a picture of Natalie holding Nicole a couple of days ago.
Here's us happily showing off her new tummy sans the umbilical cord stump!
It is kind of funny that it fell off a little early (they say it takes 3 weeks). When we were discharged from the hospital, I was surprised that the umbilical cord clamp looked a LOT bigger than Natalie's when they discharged. The lack of sleep made me forget that they took off the outer clamp (or are supposed to) when you are discharged. You would think a second time mom would know these things, but we had to go to the doctor's office to find that out when she was 4 days old. So, at least now we are done with it entirely!

We went to the doctor's office again for Nicole today. We were a little early, and I was eagerly anticipating the scale weight time. We were both surprised when she said 7 lbs 13 oz. That is a huge gain from 5 lb 12 oz in about 2 weeks! They also measured her 20 inches (it is kind of hard to measure a baby, so it could be off a bit). But, the main thing is that the Lord is making her grow! PTL!!

This week, I have had a bit of cabin fever. Woody took me to his parent's place while he worked and Natalie played yesterday to get me out of the house. I also went to Walmart today. All these seem kind of like adventures when you are homebound for a while. I didn't mind as much with Natalie when she was just born because I had been working and needed a break, but this time around I am getting a bit stir crazy. I guess that will help me get out of the house when it is a lot more trouble to get two kids out the door!

The main thing now is getting Nicole on a schedule. She likes to stay awake and feed more when she is awake ("snacking"), or her other favorite is feeding until she sleeps. So, we're trying to work on the awake time and then have tried every sleep crutch to get her to sleep. I need to invent a pacifier that stays in the mouth!

All in all, we are so blessed.

Due Day

It's hard to believe that this is my original due date. Nicole has been here for 2 weeks now, and it has been a blur, but a happy blur. We're still not on a feeding schedule, although she seems to be feeding well. I am looking forward to the doctor visit next week to see how much she has gained. Here are some pictures from today. She was very alert, and has one really alert time per day. The problem is, she doesn't want to go to sleep afterwards! She doesn't do the feed wake nap routine as of yet. She either feeds and naps or feeds and wakes.

Wide awake on the swing
Big sister is so gentle and kind to her little sister

Half Birthday

Being a big sister can be hard. We've seen a few examples of Natalie having a little struggle with the new sibling. Although, she has been wonderful! She had one day of potty regression when we went away with little sister to the doctor. That was over fast, thank the Lord! Then, she has been louder and more demanding about certain things. But, for the most part, our little sweet Natalie has not changed. She seems to miss Mommy time, and I try to make up with big hugs and attention. But, the grandparents have also been trying to keep her feeling special with the activities and outings. She has really liked seeing both sets more often. So, yesterday was a good time to focus on Natalie since it was her 3 1/2 year mark. I know several people do not celebrate half birthdays unless their child was born close to Christmas, which Natalie was only a few weeks from Christmas. But, she loved having a few little presents and a cake with candles (and ice cream, of course!). Thanks to Grandma for getting the cake and balloons and pink plates! Blowing the candles
Opening the gifts
Taking little sister for a sunlight walk after dinner. Natalie has a little skateboard type attachment to the stroller that she can ride. Because, remember, this was her stroller. She wanted to ride on it instead of baby the first time, but this was a good solution.

Happy 3 1/2, sweet Natalie!

First Bath

Today was Nicole's first bath. Woody and I got everything ready (it had been a while, so we had to refresh). We decided to start with diaper on in order to keep the bath much simpler. We remember Natalie and her first bath experience. It was the first time we had heard Natalie make a lot of noise--she didn't like it. Nicole was more subdued than Natalie, or either we had the water temperature a little warmer for Nicole. She was a little fussy, but no where near what we had heard with Natalie. Nicole has generally a louder cry than Natalie did at this age. She lets you know quickly that she is hungry, but then settles down once feeding begins. She is so sweet and even reaches up her little hand to grab your finger while she is eating.

Here's the cute girl, looking much less jaundiced and more pink and healthy
Wide awake after bathtime! Fresh and clean little girl.

Happy Correction

Due to lack of sleep or something, we misheard Nicole's weight. She measured 5 lb 12 oz yesterday, which is well normal for weight loss the first week. Praise the Lord!
Nicole is also enjoying her time in the indirect sun, and looking much better. Hopefully, even better tomorrow.

Going to the...Doctor?

Today, we had to go to Nicole's doctor. During the hospital stay, her bilibutrin results were 6, then a total 8. We had to go for a quick checkup and then lab work for another total. I know now why they take the babies into the nursery. It is so tough to see your child have her foot pricked and what looks like a lot of blood removed. You want to tell the nurse to just take it out of you! The result came back today as 10, and we were advised to take Nicole in the sunshine as much as possible. This is a little different than we had seen others put under lights; however, we are getting some good use out of the infant stroller this evening.
Nicole is feeding well, but it appears she has still lost a little more than the 10%. I was quite surprised to hear she had measured 5 lb 7 oz.
We just request prayers as these situations should be temporary. We give God the glory in advance.

She's Here

After a few days of no blogging, it must be apparent that I wasn't near the computer for a while! Yes, Nicole Bethany has appeared on the scene. It is amazing how many prayer requests have already been answered, and we are so grateful to the Lord and those who diligently prayed. She was born in the hospital on Friday. She weighed 6 lbs and was 18 1/2 inches. I started having contractions at noon on Friday. We waited a while, then loaded up to go to the hospital again. We arrived there and I was dilated about 6 cm. So, this time we started the true wait in the labor and delivery room. I was so relieved that we were in the hospital that the contractions actually slowed down about 3pm. So, they gave me a little medicine and broke my water to start it up again. She was born then at 5:18, a relatively fast delivery. God was so good!

Nicole with Woody and me
The entire family of 4. Natalie is such a good big sister!

We are now at home trying to establish some type of routine and adjustment. And, try to catch up on some sleep! The first night we may have slept 3 hours (Woody probably had 4). But, last night we slept at least 1 more hour than that each. We are so grateful to our parents for all the help and watching Natalie. Natalie even went to see a movie with grandparents while we were at the hospital...a new Veggie Tale!

Weekly Doctor Visit 4

Today's doctor visit was approached with much anticipation. I expected to have some cervical change and other news of progression. We had our last ultrasound. This was very reassuring. The baby was doing great, head down and waiting. All vitals looked good and plenty of fluid and bloodflow. The measurement was approximately 6lb5oz. The NST looked good for the baby. I actually started contractions with the NST connected, but they didn't register on the monitor (belt was loose). But, anyway, they stopped during the monitoring and didn't resume. The cervical check showed no diameter change essentially, maybe some effacing. At 38 weeks now, the thought is - do we wait or fold into fears and desire for convenience? As healthy as the baby looks, it appears we are just going to wait for the right timing for the contractions to start again. The next time we're at the hospital, they should allow for some help to regulate if the contractions aren't regular enough to do a change. We've put it all in God's hands and feel a peace that there won't be any car delivery in our future.

Still Waiting

Right now, it feels imminent that the baby will arrive. Mimi says I get a little bigger and a little lower every day. I am feeling a little uncomfortable, which is a blessing that it has waited until the end for this. My doctor's appointment is tomorrow, so I should know more tomorrow if not before then. Any and all prayers are welcomed and appreciated!!

Lots of Activities for Natalie

Today was the day I had signed Natalie up for 2 activites to start before all the excitement about the contractions. I'm glad Mimi & Papaw were here, because I was not up to taking her to these activities by myself. And, there was a puppet show at the library in between that I didn't get very good pictures of, but Natalie enjoyed that also.

The first activity was to go to swim lessons. Natalie was excited when she had on her swim suit, and barely wanted to sleep last night for thinking about swimming. She wanted to swim in the "big pool." So, we went there and all was great at first. She loved being in the water and being around other kids, especially her friend Bethany.

She did good even going under the water, although she swallowed a little. The bad moment came when the teacher tried to do the back stroke position with her. Natalie didn't like being on her back. She started crying and wanting out of the pool. I went over there to comfort her and tell her to stick with it for 10 more minutes. She eventually settled down. And, once we left the pool and showered off, she was much more receptive to returning and wants to go back tomorrow.

Then, next was gymnastics. She has been asking about this since she found a leotard in her dresser a few weeks back. So, we went back to gymnastics after about a year. She did well in the warm up. However, she kept wanting to be first and do things other than what the teacher wanted her to do. It will be good to have her have this structure again to learn a little discipline in her actions. She did try everything pretty well and bounced around through the activities. She had a hard time sitting still on the mat she was so excited!

On the bar with the teacher helping

The teacher helping her do a forward roll

Whew! I hope she sleeps well tonight as I know I will.

Boomerang

God always teaches us humility. And, what we fear that is not what we should. I have learned that strong contractions aren't necessarily cause for going to the hospital. At this point, I am going to have to wait until some other sign. Because, there was still no cervical change, so they would not give any help with labor as they did with Natalie until 39 weeks. So, possibly 2 more weeks of contractions, which I understand now. I put it in His hands that I will not have the baby outside the hospital and leave it at that.

Strong Contractions

I've been having strong contractions all afternoon. They are getting more frequent. I think we're off to the hospital again this time. I just hope we get there in time! Woody is trying to get off work, Mom & Dad are trying to get here in time. We're just praying it all works out!

July 4

Well, July 4 was not spent in the hospital, although it would have been good to be up high to see the fireworks at night. I didn't do a lot of activity, but we did go to our local state park with Papaw and Mimi to give Natalie a little activity in the morning. Papaw took Natalie on the slides for a while, then switched to following her around on her bicycle while Mimi and I sat and talked on the picnic benches.

Here's Natalie and Laci. Natalie loves playing with Laci, but here it looks like Laci is about to bite her. Nothing could be further from the truth!
After this, we had our 4th of July cookout for lunch so Woody could go to work and Papaw and Mimi could go home. We'll see when they will need to return for the birth now. But, Natalie enjoyed having grandparent visit from both sides for this brief period! She'll probably jump on me today to get everyone back as soon as possible!

Dry Run

Here we are, at the hospital. Today, I started having contractions about 4:30pm. Following doctor's orders, we went to the hospital, arriving there about 6pm. The nurses put me in triage with monitors and still measured me 4-5 cm. After 30 minutes, the doctor told me to walk around for 1 hour then they would check me again. So, while Woody's parents were traveling up here, we were walking around the hospital in this fine attire. After 1 hour, they monitored me again. Seeing no changes in dialation or contraction frequency, I am now back home. We're just waiting to see when the baby does arrive, when the Lord brings her here now. I can now say that we have gone and come back from the hospital--hopefully, next time will be for the real time.

Weekly Doctor Visit 3 Surprise

Mom came to the doctor visit today with me. Everything was pretty routine at first. My blood pressure was still good, all other indications well. The NST went really well today, the baby moving quite a bit without the "buzzing." I found later it was good that I had the NST. The doctor decided to do a cervix check. She suddenly was all surprised and stated I was 4-5 cm dialated. If my NST had shown any contractions, she would have sent me to the hospital. She stressed over and over that if I start having contractions, I need to go straight to the hospital, not the doctor's office. I now have a copy of my records to take to the hospital just in case. She believes I won't make it to my next appointment at the doctor's office. All this news makes someone almost start having contractions! So, we'll see what the Lord has planned...

Trailer Time

Since we have a small house that is presently filled to the max, Mimi & Papaw decided to buy a trailer to keep here while the baby is newly born. They really found a nice trailer that was only a couple of years old and in great shape. It has all of the comforts of home. Natalie was so excited to get into the trailer and explore.

Posing with Mimi on the couch
Playing with Papaw through the door
Natalie decided she wanted to sleep in the trailer tonight instead of back in her bed. In fact, she insisted on having a bath, brushing her teeth, and getting devotional and books in the trailer.
Enjoying reading a story with Mimi before bedtime

Now, we'll see if Natalie enjoys the trailer all night and camping out there. The last thing she asked was where I was to sleep. I told her, I was sleeping in the house in my bed! Who would have thought I could look out the window and see a trailer with my parents inside it from my house...all the help is appreciated!