Of course, our lives have become pretty exciting recently, what with a new house, a new baby on the way, and an almost one year old, to name a few.
Our precious Kaleb Lee will be one on September 22nd, and I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by. Seems like just yesterday I was holding him in my arms and kissing him for the first time. But instead, it was almost exactly a year ago. Having a child makes life so much richer, and I guess it makes the time go so much faster!
This year has been an adventure. I know most moms would say that, and I am no exception. Kaleb has taught me a lot in the short time he's been here, and it's been hard, yet rewarding, yet such a joy filled time. I never thought being a parent would be so HARD, yet, in the same way, SO joy filled. It's amazing to me. Actually, I knew it would be hard. I guess, though, that you're never prepared for all that comes your way until it actually does! :) But somehow, as a good friend put it recently, the Lord fills you with strength you never knew you had. The hard nights become blessings in disguise.
It has been overwhelmingly fun though. The love a parent feels for their child is like no other love you can describe. It's indescribable, as another friend has put it recently. It's a combination of the best joy you've ever felt here on this planet, the best hugs you've ever had, and the best, sweetest moments Jesus can offer you in this life.
Kaleb was born with acid reflux. He was also colicky. The two did NOT mix well! I spent endless nights up with him, crying throughout the night, for four, five, six hours at a time, and he wouldn't stop. It was a battle I felt I couldn't win, because not only did I feel like I tried everything, but breastfeeding literally made me sick. Sadly, after doing some research, I've found that it's fairly common for a woman to breastfeed and feel lightheaded and nauseous. Some women have a hard time with the hormone Oxytocin, which increases a great amount during breastfeeding. I guess I may be one of them. For me, the nausea lasted almost all day, and top that off with a baby crying for hours upon hours, and it was really hard. I felt like I was pregnant again! The hardest part was that after a feeding, Kaleb would spit up almost the entire feeding. So it was like he had never eaten to begin with. The crying would begin after about 10 minutes, because he was hungry again. He wasn't gaining weight either. He stayed at nine pounds for over a month after he was born.
Thanks to a good friend for pointing me in the right direction (to a pediatrician in Abilene), at three and a half months, we were able to find a solution. The pediatrician my friend referred me to helped us narrow down the problem, find a solution (a combo of medication for the acid reflux, less breastfeeding, and an added bottle of formula a day with cereal). It helped almost immediately. He gained a pound in one week. It was amazing. He had literally been starving. Sadly, you could see it in the poor baby's eyes - they had been sunken in like he was malnourished! It had made my momma heart so sad!
So...from then on things started looking up. I have to admit, it was a pretty difficult postpartum period for me, as I'm sure it is for many, many women. I think I may have dealt with some depression, as well, which didn't help with things!
But, despite those issues, the last year has been SO wonderful with our Kaleb. He is literally a JOY to be around. People always told me at the beginning, when he was so fussy, that fussy babies turn out to be amazing, sweet toddlers. I couldn't say this is more true. People brag quite often after taking care of him that he is a good baby. I must brag myself (of course, I'm his momma!) that I think so. To make my point (smile) this last weekend I worked in the nursery at the church. ALL the babies were crying and fussy pretty much throughout the whole time I was in there! Granted, I have worked in there before and this is usually not the case. We usually have a pretty good set of babies in there - good temperaments, sweet. But not this last Sunday. There was something in the air! Anyway, my baby boy was not crying. :) (Just a little bragging there - a momma's gotta do it sometimes!) He was just as content as ever. :) That is just an example. He is pretty laid back.
He does have his moments, and he's pretty particular about some things. We are trying to wean him off the bottle right now, and he's actually doing okay with it. But he can still be pretty picky about eating time, and cranky when he's hungry, of course. But, I would say, for the most part, he's an "easy" baby. And...everyone was right all along. :)
I absolutely LOVE being a momma. And I LOVE my K-Boo. He is my pride and my joy. I am glad that I can call him mine.
We will celebrate his birthday this Saturday at his Oma's (grandma's) along with both sets of grandparents, his aunt and uncle and cousins, his great grandma, and possibly his great aunt and uncle and second cousins, as well. It's going to be a monkey theme, of course! Momma wouldn't have it any other way....:) I will post pics when we are done!
As for Littlest E (that is what I am referring to them as, since we are still not sure of the gender!), they are doing great. The pregnancy is going well, and we are 21 weeks now! Yay!! It has FLOWN by so far.
Some exciting news about them is that - ....they have a birthday!!! The date is set for the 16th of January, provided they do not decide to join us sooner. :) I am electing to a C section this time, because we did last time, and I will only be 16 months postpartum. My doctor said he usually does a planned C section one week prior to your due date. He gave me the choice of Friday the 13th. I declined. NO THANKS! Even though I am NOT superstitious, I do believe this is one exception. My brother was born on Friday the 13th, and he is a perfectly fine individual, however....I really don't want to give myself any more anxiety that day than need be...and I believe it just might make me a bit anxious to deliver on such a date. Yeah, I know, pretty silly. But...hey, if there's ever a reason to be superstitious, I believe that might be one. Just sayin. Now, if this sweet little one decides to arrive on that day, well, I can't do anything about it. But for now, I can, and, I will! :)
Our doctor also teased me about the fact that we may still be having a girl. Haha. Funny. I showed him our ultrasound pics and he said that the technician put on his notes for him a big questionmark for the sex of the baby. He said he knows this tech and has worked with him for a while, and, if he has an idea of what the baby is, but doesn't want to say for sure, he will still put a questionmark next to boy, or a questionmark next to girl. He didn't do that for us. He just put a big old questionmark. Hmmmm. Well...that kind of makes me a little interested in what the Lord may have up His sleeve, since I've been telling everyone I believe it may be a boy (since the tech had told us if he had to lean one direction that would be it). But now...I have no clue. I KNOW the Lord knows I like surprises. So...he's making this pregnancy especially fun. Lol. Anyway, we have another ultrasound we'll set up around 28-30 weeks. Maybe then we'll see. :) I am such a planner and this situation makes me laugh. The Lord knows that too. Hehe.
Well, that's pretty much all the big news I know right now. So...I will leave you with this old favorite:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
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