Sunday, May 30, 2010

Happy 2 Months!!!

My sweet Eliza....

2 months have already passed and we fall more in love with you as each second passes. What a blessing and constant reminder of God's love.

You are growing like a weed... at your appointment (which was at 9 weeks) you weighed 6.52Kilos! That's almost 15lbs! And your length was 56cm (about 22 inches) though I'm not convinced that's exactly correct. You are in the 97% for weight and average for height. There's no question if you are eating well and I think the rolls on you are adorable.
You are still waking at least 2 times a night which has been a struggle for me but at least I know you are healthy and growing. You eat on a 2 1/2 to 3 hr schedule and are awake for about 45-60 minutes total. You still eat quite fast, about 15 minutes... sometimes 20 if you've slept longer.
You started to smile at 7 weeks and cooing at 5. You are very happy and content. You don't require much attention though you love to be held, cuddled and talked too. You love your swing and can easily sleep a full nap in it.
You're a bit unsure of the snuggli and your brothers hugs. You do not like to be swaddled... I gave that up pretty early on but you do enjoy your bathtime.
You are still adored by your siblings and I'm so grateful for that and how they've responded to you. I pray you will be the best of friends as you grow up.
I'm still stunned by your dark hair. I remember preparing for your birth... I made the other two Big Sister/Brother t-shirts with them and a little blonde haired girl in them and bought a Sleeping Beauty doll because she had blonde hair and here you came with brown hair. I love it though because I don't get a million questions of 'where'd the blonde hair come from?' and people actually say you resemble me.
I know this month will fly by so I'm trying to take it all in and remember every sweet thing about you. I love you Princess E!














Sunday, May 09, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!



Today was a very special day... not only was it Mother's Day and I'm so thankful for the 3 sweet blessings that allow me to celebrate this day, we also dedicated Eliza Hope.

Pastor Mark asked if I would share a condensed version of her birth story, a testimony of God at work, and this is what I shared:


***When I think about all the events and details that went into Eliza's birth, I'm reminded of how truly amazing our God is and what a blessing it is to be His child and serve Him. We chose her name because of it's meaning, Eliza Hope which means "My God IS, Hope" and that meaning is what got me through a very tramatic labour and delivery.

My labour and delivery went extremely fast and as quickly as the excitement built in knowing 'this was it'... arriving at the hospital led us into a quick spiral of fear and uncertainity.

It wasn't long after I had been admitted that I thought I'd lost Eliza. I thought I would be leaving the hosptial having given birth but no baby to take home. But in the midst of this fear came an unbelievable sense of peace, that could only come from God. I was reminded that God had given us her, that He had given us her name and that He would protect her... in my mind I thought how could He not with that name?

After being confident that God was watching over her, I thought that it was me that was on my way to meet Jesus. I remember everything going very fuzzy and then seeing Isabella and Isaiah with Mike and thinking, "I'm going to meet Jesus. I love them very much but know they will be well taken care of." And just like that, I again felt an overwhelming peace about death and an excitement about meeting Jesus face to face... something that has always been a bit of a struggle for me.

And then I felt a slap on my face and realized this was reality and I had just given birth without any real recollection of it. I was congratulated on a job well done and told how I saved myself from having surgery. I was still a bit grogy and trying to figure out all that had gone on but I knew that God was there and that He had been with me through it all. I've never felt so loved by Him, I've never know peace like I did in those moments, and I've never been more confident that our God provides Hope and that He IS and always will be.

After the fact, I was able to see His hand in many of the smaller things. Having my family insist that I call Emelda for wisdom on when I should go to the hospital. If I had waited much longer, it could have been much worse. The fact that my labour and delivery happened so fast saved me from having to have a c-section and gave me the desire of my heart: a natural delivery without an epidural. And a little thing on top of that, I had a terrible cough that I could only imagine how painful it would have made a c-section recovery. Having Tim show up in the operating hall, I knew that God was not just watching over us girls but Mike as well as Tim was able to keep Mike updated on what was going on. Reading Eliza's discharge papers and seeing that her Apgar score at 1 minute after birth was a 9.... I still think that's amazing considering she was under fetal distress and born with the help of a vacuum.

I've been a Christ follower for 11 years and I've always understood that God is alive and at work today. I've always known that He provides Hope. But the birth of Eliza is a daily reminder of His hope. And in choosing her name, our prayer is that she will be one who brings the Hope of Christ to others. Little did we know that her birth story would be such a testimony to the truth of what her name means.***


After church we came home and rested and in the evening we had our usual, relaxing Sunday evening... friends over for dinner and a movie. The kids were in heaven having Auntie Frances, Becky and Arthur to play with. I enjoyed the wonderful dinner Mike cooked for us... amazing steak and baked potatoes! And Mike surprised with me some foot scrub and lotion (from the kids) for 'making me run after them so much.' (I thought this was clever.) And by telling me he ordered a necklace I've had my eye on for months now. It's a beautiful hand stamped necklace... 3 circles with 3 different Chinese lanterns and each one with a child's name on it. I can't wait until it arrives!

There is nothing greater or more fulfilling to me that being a Mom. The hugs, the smiles, the pitter patter of little feet.... Not every day is easy and there are many challenges along the road but it's so rewarding to see your child develop and grow, learn something new... see them blossom. I never knew such little people could bring such great joy and now I have 3... I'm spoiled!

Saturday, May 08, 2010

One Month

Children grow up way, way too fast....

Princess E is one month already. Where has this last month gone? I've surprisingly not felt sleep deprived and have enjoyed her first month, though there may have been a few nights where I wanted to pull my hair out.

I still look at her in awe... I'm still amazed by her brown hair... I'm still constantly reminded how blessed I am by this surprise gift and how she has changed my view and relationship with God. I will always look at her and think "My God IS" and not simply because that's what her name means.

Eliza,
This month has just flown by and I can't get over how much you've changed, how much you've grown, how strong you are getting and how fast you eat!

You are a very efficient nurser, taking at the most 25 minutes to eat though this past week, you've finished in about 10-15 minutes. What a blessing in the middle of the night! You eat every 2.5/3 hours and were very consistent even at night until the past two weeks where you've stretched your nighttime feeds to about 4/5 hours. You go to sleep quite early, around 9 or 9:30.... something I'm trying to change right now. And you're wake-up time is 7:30/8am. I don't know how much weight you've gained but I do know that you are approximately 24inches now. Unfortunately, they don't measure length at the hosptial here so I don't know how long you were when you were born.

You are very strong and curious. You are holding your head quite well and always looking around. You can stay awake and alert for quite some time unless we put in your crib... the only way we can quarantee a good sleep for you. You tend to fuss a bit, especially the later evening naps, but it's not too long before you are asleep and you do not like to be swaddled.

You do enjoy the swing and love to be held... though there are only two people who can seem to keep you sleeping for lenghy periods if being held... Uncle Tom and Natalie.

I still don't know who you look like... the brown hair still baffles me. I see a bit of Isabella when you are awake and a bit of Isaiah when you're sleeping. As far as Daddy or me.... I don't really know.

You're a doll.... loved by so many. You are blessed to have a sister and brother who adore you... Izzy loves to hold, talk to and kiss you. Isaiah loves to rub your head, give you kisses and most recently he's taking a liking to holding you too.

You are loved... my Princess E.