a baby secret, a poem

I'm working on a post regarding my thoughts these days, about both of my boys... but I read this from Charity at Considering it All Joy and found it comforting... so I'm passing it on to you, especially if you have a sweet little baby who won't be celebrating Christmas on earth this year.

A Baby Secret

I'm just a little feller

Who didn't quite make it there;

I went straight to be with Jesus

But I'm waiting for you here.

Don't you fret about me Mommy,

I'm of all God's lambs most blest;

I'd have loved to stay there with you,

But the Shepherd knows what's best.

Many dwelling here where I live,

Waiting years to enter in

Struggled through a world of sorrow

And their lives were marred with sin.

So, sweet Mommy, don't you sorrow,

Wipe those tears and chase the gloom.

I went straight to Jesus' bosom

From my lovely Mother's womb.

Thank you for the life you gave me,

It was brief but don't complain.

I have all of Heaven's glory,

Suffered none of earthling's pain.

--J. C. Bramfield

Wordless Wednesday - tummy time

During his tummy time Monday, he flipped from tummy to back for the first time.
Good job, my little 3.5 week old!

Tackle It Tuesday - Jesse tree

To do: set up the Jesse tree (already 10 days late, yikes!)


Progress: done! Now to start with the nightly devos and get caught up. :)

Wordless Wednesday - missing dinosaur

just for grins :)

hello. my name is Mrs. H...

...and I am a babywearing mom.

I really enjoy the ease of "wearing" Zane while I am out and about. This whole H1N1 thing has me nervous about all the possible exposure while we're out shopping or even just attending church. Enter the idea of babywearing. I first was given the sling (second pic) by a close friend of mine. She has used her sling with her last two children and has sung praises about it. So when she offered to have her sister make one for me as a baby gift, I jumped at the chance. We went fabric shopping and a few weeks later, just in time for baby's birth, she mailed me my new sling. It's very fast and easy to slip on, insert Zane, and tighten. My only complaint is that it hurts my (semi-bad) back after wearing it too long. It feels better if I have the availability to hold one hand underneath for a bit of extra support.
The second is called a Moby Wrap. This I purchased after Zane arrived from Heather at Mom4Life. I have another friend who really enjoys hers and even her hubby has been telling my husband that we needed to try one. A product for my husband to use to carry Zane? Sounds like a must-have. This is one gigantic-long piece of fabric. But, after practicing a few times, it's a piece of cake. Zane slips right in and is more secure in this wrap. I feel more hands-free with this one. However, it's a bit bulkier and takes longer to put on. If I go out using this one, I wrap it around me before leaving home, put on my coat, then it's all ready to use with the baby when I get to my destination. The sling, obviously, can just be put on when arriving at my destination.
So, I like both for different reasons. If I am working around the house, I prefer the wrap. If I'm running out and need to get in and out of a store quickly, I like the sling. Sunday night I used the sling at church, but tonight I'm going to try the wrap. The wrap is obviously not as "cute."
Both are great and I enjoy wearing Zane!

these days

Time moves at such a quick pace with a newborn! Every time I turn around it's time to nurse and the three hours in between are filled with something! I have forgotten so much of what life is like with a little one. I am learning to add onto my "how much time I need to get out the door" to count in time to make sure Zane's taken care of, loaded into the carseat, etc. etc. Funny how someone so little can amount to so much extra time. :)
We have hit the major "milestones" of losing his cord stump and circumcision ring. He can now be submerged into a real bath. He's now taking daytime naps in his crib and will most likely soon be transitioned into there for nighttime sleep as well. He's just not settling down well in the small cradle by our bed anymore after his nighttime feedings. I'm hoping him going to the crib will help give him continuity of a sleep space and help him to settle down.
My hubby and daughter had a full week off last week and we had such an amazing, relaxing time together as a family of four. We spent the whole week purposefully doing nothing specific, but sleeping, relaxing, and chilling together (well almost the whole week, as I did get a surge of desire to totally clean out and rearrange my bedroom closet one day - we have his/her closets - some post-pregnancy nesting perhaps?). We rented movies, talked, played outside, had some time doing things separately that we each enjoy. All-in-all, great week, especially with Thanksgiving thrown in there, when we spent the day at my sister-in-law's home.
I have read so many posts this weekend about being thankful and I would have to echo most of you when you say that God has given us much to be thankful for...
I praise Him for carrying me through a time of mourning to a time of dancing.

"1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance..." Ecclesiastes 3

Wordless Wednesday - hand.in.hand

A father-son moment.
Best pals from the beginning.

Introducing...

my one-week old! :)

I had "Zane" last Thursday, the 12th... we scheduled the induction. At that point I was 38.5 wks along, but he was measuring well via the ultrasounds we had.
The day was a long one! We checked in the hospital at 8:15a, answered all five hundred questions, and eventually started pitocin at 9:45a. I sloooowly progressed from a 1.5 at the start to only 2 cms by 3p when they broke my water (& gave me my epidural)!
UGH - I was sooo disappointed to hear I wasn't further along. Enter the major discouragement zone. At that point, the tv was no longer entertaining and the texts & tweets from our friends asking for an update no longer sweet. I couldn't fall asleep, despite the epidural that was finally beginning to work it's magic, so I just waited. I felt so anxious, so ready, so excited. I wanted so badly to be holding my baby in my arms at that point.
From then, I moved to an "almost-5" (nurse being nice? "almost-5 cms" sounding better than "4cms"!) at 5:30p. I said to the nurse, after she reminded me that the last five could move as slow as 1 cm per hour (!), "What happened to third babies coming faster?!" Well, God must have given him a nudge to move along because two hours later I was a 10! He still wasn't dropped very far, so I sat up in bed (to let gravity help) until I started pushing at 8:15p. At 9pm, he was out! SHEW! His little head was slightly cocked which made it a bit harder to bring him through the birth canal. He was 8 lbs 7.8 ozs and 22 inches long! :) So much for being an "early," small baby, lol. At 11 days early, he weighed almost as much as his sister who was 8lbs 12ozs at 10 days late. :) Maybe my gestational diabetes had something to do with it, or his daddy, who was a big baby as well.

I can't even begin to describe the feelings when I saw him and when I heard that little cry. Emotionally overwhelming. A miracle before my eyes. My daughter is also a miracle, as I believe all life is, however something about replacing the sorrowful memories of my still-born Nathan with a wiggling, crying newborn made the miracle a bit more miraculous, if that makes sense. It had been hard to enter the labor/delivery room and know the last time there was under sad circumstances. The hardest thing for me was to see the baby warmer. I could picture my sweet Nathan still there, no amount of warmth able to bring him back to life.
They laid Zane on my chest and I sobbed. A few minutes later I was on the phone with my daughter, telling her that mommy was ok and that her baby brother had finally been born. What a tender moment.
We are doing well, settling into life with a newborn. He's nursing wonderfully. He had his first check up and weighed in at one ounce more than when he left the hospital, so the pediatrician is pleased w/ his eating. He's sleeping well, waking every 3hrs. for nursing.
Big sister is in love - wants to do everything with him - which is kind of overwhelming, but I know things will settle down.
I appreciate all of your prayers, your continued reading of my blog, and your support. God is so good. He carries us through the times of our weakness and is so gracious to give us times of joy.