My Babies

Caedmon, the day we brought him home

Carys, the day we brought her home

They wore the same outfit home.:)

36 Weeks (9 months)

This was almost two weeks ago now (I'm always a little slow about this blogging thing...). Anyway, this coming Tuesday I'll be 38 weeks. It's hard to believe I'm nearing the end...and the beginning!:)
Caedmon's been obsessed with babies lately. One day he carried his doll out the door, into his carseat and into the store with him! Hopefully this is a good indication! I think it will be tough for him to have a sibling taking away some of the attention he's used to getting, but we can only hope for the best!:)

28 Weeks!

I can't believe I'm in the third trimester already! Baby will be here before we know it, and hopefully Caedmon will be ready! We talk about baby in mommy's tummy and he's obsessed with lifting my shirt - at first, because he was obsessed with belly buttons. He likes to kiss my belly, which is just too sweet and he started signing baby on his own - his version is rubbing his tummy. I'm afraid he's going to think baby equals tummy, but I'm not sure how to get around that right now... hopefully it'll all make sense soon!:)

Three Weeks Old

These are almost a week late. Tomorrow he'll be 4 weeks old. Hopefully I'll get 4 week old pictures posted more quickly!

Still just as cute as ever!

Two Weeks Old

Wow, where does time go?! It feels like forever ago that I went through the labor and delivery of Mr. Caedmon. Here are some pics taken on Friday, October 12.

Trying to capture a smile while holding him.

He's quite smiley, even if it is only reflex at this age.

Looking cute as always!

As of Wednesday, Caedmon was 8 lbs. 11 oz. and 23 inches long.
Whew! We're going to be too long for those 0-3 month clothes in no time!
We're already about touching both sides of the cradle when stretched out!

One Week Old

Where does time go?! I can't believe a week has gone by already! Caedmon is doing great! Cute and sweet as ever! The middle picture is daddy and Caedmon's hands. He loves his daddy; they hang out quite a bit! His hands are always up by his face and head!
Thanks Grandma Pat for the cute outfit!:)

Being A Family

I've had blogs going through my head and no time to write. Caedmon is sleeping and I attempted to take a nap, but I've become very bad at falling asleep during the day.:( He'll probably wake up soon and want to eat, so I better type quickly!:)

Today is Day 6 of Caedmon's life and about Day 4 of life at home. Corey and I never talked about what he would do with his responsibilities once baby was born, so I didn't know he would take the week off, and boy am I glad he did! It's amazing how such a small bundle can bring with it soo much work!

Corey is an absolute natural at this dad thing! And from the looks of it, he's loving every minute! I love to sit back and observe the two of them together! Corey's going to have his son at the computer, reading books, and answering Jeopardy questions in no time! It's been such a pleasure to watch Corey being a dad. I didn't have any expectations of Corey, positive or negative, but I think because of my own background, in my mind, the mother is the sole caregiver for the children. So it's been wonderful to fully share the responsibilities of taking care of Caedmon, diaper changing included!:) And Caedmon may be taking after his father with the sleep schedule - he tends to be wide awake in the late hours of the evening, and Corey takes over while I get some sleep.

Caedmon is a wonderful baby! He's not fussy, yet anyway.:) He cries when he's hungry and often when he's getting his diaper changed; otherwise he sleeps and during his awake times, he's just very alert and observant.

We're enjoying being a family - with no interruptions; I'm dreading Corey going back to work, school, and his internship next week!

A New Chapter In Our Life Begins

September 28, 2007, my precious son, Caedmon Emmanuel, came into this world at 11:50a.m. He weighed 8 lbs. 6ozs. and measured 22 inches long. Whew! Had not expected to have that big of a baby! Totally makes sense now why his moving about towards the end was sooo uncomfortable!

Pic #1 was taken on Day 1, pic #2 was taken on Day 2.


I don't even know where to begin; my mind is spinning with details and I'm not sure what to focus on.

I was starting to feel pretty sure that this day would never come, so as I had contractions throughout the day on Thursday, I basically ignored them. I was so sick of false alarms. Even that night, as they were coming closer together, I continued to ignore them. But then I went to bed at 12:30a.m. and when Corey came back just to "tuck me in":), he never ended up leaving again. As soon as I laid down, they started coming harder and at about 4 min. apart. We counted for a couple hours before we finally decided it was time to go to the hospital and call our doula.
It was so weird to finally be in that hospital for something I'd been waiting for for over 9 months!

Labor is not something you can ever fully prepare for! I thought I was doing really good till my water broke! Wow! Then the pain REALLY started!

My doula was awesome - couldn't have done it without her!

Everything went the way I wanted - no surprises to deal with. But I did about everything I had said I wouldn't.:) Guess you never know till you're in the situation. Had wanted to use a birthing stool rather than laying in bed. I'd learned about gravity being a huge help when you're delivering, but when it came to that point, I couldn't move! I'm not sure I was even conscious - they asked me a couple times if I wanted to switch positions - I don't even think I could answer them. Regardless, my baby was born!:)

My midwife had me pull him up onto my stomach (that was as far as his cord would go), and later I had to ask Corey if I'd even done it; I was so out of it.

I watched Corey cry as Caedmon came out - a precious memory I'll never forget! I cried when he was finally laying on me, although I think my crying was partly involuntary. (My body's never gone through so much!)

What an absolute miracle the entire process of conception all the way to delivery is! How amazing our bodies are! What a gift a baby is!

Baby's Cradle

You don't hear about babies having cradles anymore. Bassinets are what the stores are selling. But my baby will be sleeping in an old-fashioned, handmade, wooden cradle.
My great grandfather made a cradle for me when I was born. The second picture shows the engraving he put on the bottom of the inside of the cradle. My mom said that by the time he finished it and gave it to her, I was already too big to fit in it. So, 27 years later, it will be used for the first time...for real anyway. I'm sure my dolls slept in it through the years.:)
I'm so excited to be able to use such a precious piece of history! I don't know how many people can say they knew their great grandparents, but I had the privilege of knowing them for many years of my life. And they were sweethearts!
The cradle sits by my bedside - no, there's not a lot of room, but it fits there perfectly! And no, I haven't tripped over it getting out of bed at night - figured I'd better practice for a few weeks before my baby is actually sleeping in it!:)
I'm waiting for that cradle to be filled by my precious baby! Not long now!

Nursery

Here's my nursery! I was sooo excited to finally be able to put it all together! The walls are a soft sage green and the curtains are a soft yellow. We're trying for gender-neutral. We found wood floors under the old carpet and Corey did such a great job sanding and staining and varnishing!

I did laundry for a couple days, washing all the blankets and bedding and clothing. I haven't had a single shower yet, but we're pretty much all set to bring baby home, thanks to my aunt who gave me everything she had that her daughter no longer needs. We are so blessed!

My church plans to give me a shower after baby is born so we know the gender and can be more specific with clothing and such.

This is the most mellow room in my house - I like bright colors and lots of different colors, which you can tell by the blanket on the crib. I found that cute fleece and couldn't pass it up. One of my adopted mothers sewed the silk edging around it for me. The blanket on the end of the crib was crocheted by a young friend from church - she did a beautiful job!

Anyway, this is my nursery, and my favorite room in the house right now.:) I'm sure there will be a few more changes, but I can rest easy now knowing that it's put together!

Stop the Clock!

I've been feeling kind of frustrated lately and here's why. Birth seems a little like death to me in that life goes on no matter what! If you've ever had someone close to you die, I'm sure you just want time to stop. Everyone around you goes on about their lives, continuing to work and make future plans and you just want to crawl into a ball and stay there awhile, grieving and reliving the memories.

So, I'm sure you're wondering how birth can be anything like death.

Well, for me right now, my whole life revolves around the little one inside me. All my thoughts, everything I do these days seem to focus in on baby. For me, everything points to that momentous time of birth and life with baby afterwards. But for everyone else, life still goes on.

I was sitting in a youth leader meeting a few weeks back and felt utterly frustrated that we could be discussing activities we needed to plan for for the next few months. I kept thinking, "But I might go into labor," or "I'll have an infant and I won't be able to participate." I think it's especially frustrating that Corey is in charge of the youth events and so he pretty much has to be involved. And I guess this leaves me feeling kind of alone.

This is probably pretty selfish, but I fear being left out of everything. I remember talking about this with my mother a long time ago and she related her own experience with this. It was after I was born and a group of young adults went to Cedar Point or Great America (can't remember which one) and she had to stay home with me. She said she kind of resented me for it, but realized how selfish she was. I'm not sure I believe she was that selfish. I mean, who wants to be left out?! And this is my fear - stuck at home taking care of baby while Corey goes out and has all the fun.

Perhaps I'll just tag along anyway, with baby on my hip!:)

Don't get me wrong! I love this baby inside of me with all that I am and I'm so excited to have this new little addition to our family! It's just that at times the reality of my life about to change is kind of daunting.

Life does and will go on! Baby will come, hopefully Corey will be close in range, and life will go on... with a few changes.

Precious Hand

Ultrasound #2 - 20 weeks (5 months) - my response:

Baby of Mine, You're soo precious to me! You poke me all the time now and it makes me laugh and think how sweet you are! Your daddy felt you twice last week Sunday, May 6th. I was so excited for him to finally experience a little bit of what I feel all the time!
We went to the doctor yesterday, May 11th, for another ultrasound. It's so wonderful to see you inside me! I guess you decided, though, that you didn't want mommy to have a very good picture of you, 'cause you were turned towards my back and mostly all we saw of you was your spinal cord and your head. But, when we first started looking at you, you "waved" at us. We got the most perfect picture of your little hand - I think you may have been sucking on your thumb a couple times. You're adorable! After our doctor's appt., I went to Grand Rapids to a really huge book sale and bought you all kinds of fun books! I'm so excited to meet you!

Father, thank you that baby looked very healthy in the ultrasound images! Please continue to watch over baby's growth and health. Father, thank you soo much for this beautiful gift you've given Corey and me! Help us to be the kind of parents that you are!
In Jesus' Name!

My Beautiful Baby

Here's my response to seeing baby for the first time (almost 11 weeks):

Oh Baby, You are beautiful! Absolutely precious! Your dad and I went to the doctor today to have an ultrasound. Your mom was miserable with a full bladder, but it was completely worth seeing you! I couldn't believe what I was seeing when the technician pointed you out on the screen! Amazing! When she focused in on you, I couldn't keep from smiling the whole time! I giggled when you got squirmy and swam around. My eyes filled with tears as I contemplated the miracle that your dad and I have created!
I have sent out your pictures to friends and family. I can't wait to show those close by!
You are beautiful and I love you!

Father, you who have put this baby in me - please hold him/her in your hand. Continue to grow baby and keep baby healthy and safe, please!
Father, continue to work in me to make me the mom I need to be for my baby! I love baby and I love you! Thank you for this precious, tiny miracle!
In Jesus' Name!