A Girl After Her Mommas Heart

Yesterday Moriah and I had a great conversation.

Moriah: (grabbing her shoes) "Shoes on.  Shopping!"

Me: "What honey?"

Moriah: "Shopping, shopping!!"

I love that she loves to shop!  Levi seems to find retail relaxing too.  The couple times he has been he has slept the whole time.  

Levi's Story

Levi Thomas Dickenson arrived on Sunday morning, March 15, 2009 at 2:38 AM. He was 8 lbs .5 oz and 21 inches long.

Here’s the scoop on the day leading up to labor, labor and delivery, and how we are adjusting so far. We drove about an hour away on Saturday to go to a guitar store and baby store. While Zack and my dad were rocking it out at Guitar Center, my mom, Moriah and I went walking at a mall. Moriah was obviously not feeling well. During lunch she refused to eat and was running a fever. We were already there so we went to get a double stroller, the last remaining item on our “baby” list. Then we took Moriah to Urgent Care and discovered she had an ear infection. Poor baby!

After dinner, which for some reason I told my mom I needed chicken and rice (something hearty to get me through labor, should it start), we were giving Moriah a bath and I told Zack I was having contractions that hurt. He asked me to time them.  So at 7:30 PM I started timing them. They were coming every 10 minutes or so, but that has happened before, so I just went about my night. My parents, Zack and I were playing cards when they seemed to be getting closer and stronger. At about 9:30 I called my doula and let her know that we were in early labor. At about 11 my contractions jumped from 8-10 minutes apart to 3 minutes apart and I figured I should get a shower and get to the birth center. By the time we got ready and left it was 12:30 AM and we arrived at the birth center at 1:00 AM. Levi was determined to come quickly and arrived at 2:38 AM. The total God thing was that I was group B strep positive and was supposed to have antibiotics for 4 hours before birth.  Because he wanted out so quickly, I only had them for an hour and a half.  Thankfully, Levi was born in his bag of waters so he was protected from infection anyway! What an amazing God we have! I couldn’t have asked for a better birth environment and for better support from Zack and my doula, Jen.  Zack was WONDERFUL at coaching and encouraging me through everything. I can’t say how thankful I am for my husband.

Since we have been home things are going relatively well. I can't express in words what a help it has been to have both my mom and Zack home right now.  Moriah has been extra whiny (who wouldn’t be with her teething, ear infection, Nana visiting, and a new baby turning her world upside down) but she LOVES Levi. She wants to snuggle him and be near him. She even said today when he was crying for him to “Sh, sh, shhh.” I think she just isn’t getting why Nana and Daddy are taking care of her and Mommy is always feeding this little baby. I can't pick her up for the first two weeks and for the first couple days I slept a lot!  She is struggling with the change in me, not the presence of Levi.  She has been really extra sweet with her baby dolls, too.  She has tried feeding them and she even tried changing Levi's diaper for us today!  As always, she keeps us laughing and on our toes.  I know she is going to be a great big sister. 

Levi is doing very well according to the pediatrician.  He is jaundice, though, so we have to have him on the biliblanket unless he is nursing or being changed.  We are hoping that he can come off the blanket Sunday night and then at his appointment Monday we will find out if his jaundice is better.  He has been so chilled for everything.  He isn't getting held a ton because he has to be on the blanket, but he doesn't seem to mind.  He just eats and snuggles while we burp him, then goes back to sleep on his blanket.  I will say, he is a great eater!  He already weighs 8 lbs 7 oz!  I can't believe how much he has gained.  Moriah was two months old before she weighed that much.  He is a little miracle and blessing, I love him so much already! God is so good.  

If you are interested you can see more pictures here. 

For now, we are bonding as a family and trying to get sleep, so my blogging might be slow in coming till we get the hang of being a family of four.  Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.    

Itching to Meet Levi

I made it to my "due date."  I am officially 40 weeks today.  No baby yet but my body is getting ready, so I think it will be soon.  I felt a rush of relief when I picked my mom up at the airport yesterday morning.  It was like I relaxed and was really ready to have him.  The midwife said I am about 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced.  That doesn't tell us when he will come but it just shows that all the contractions I have been having are doing something, and he will come out!  Now I just need the contractions to be more consistent and stronger.  We are planning on walking at the mall this morning to try and bring Levi down lower and send me into labor.  

On the sadder side, we are sick again.  Sigh, I thought maybe since it was starting to be spring we could put all this winter cold stuff behind us.  I guess I was wrong.  Moriah has been coughing again and has been doing her gagging throw-up thing because of the congestion and coughing.  I feel so bad for my baby girl.  Zack just feels tired and worn out, but his congestion is clearing.  I am stuffy and ITCHY!!  I have what they call PUPPS.  It happens for some women at the end of their pregnancy.  I have a rash over my body and it is so itchy.  I didn't have this with Moriah.  I did some research on it and I guess they aren't 100% sure what causes it but one theory is very interesting.  When they did a biopsy on the rash (not on me) they found male DNA in the rash.  It is speculated that the rash is a type of allergic reaction to having a boy in me.  70% of women who get PUPPS are carrying boys.  My midwife has assured me that it goes away a couple days after I deliver Levi.  One more reason I can't wait to have him!   

Thank you all for your prayers, I will be sure to let you know when he comes.  All in God's perfect timing!       

Bath Trumps Swing

When we are at the park we have to give Moriah a warning about leaving.  She gets very upset when she has to say goodbye to her beloved swings and slide.  Last night after dinner we walked across the street to play.  The wind turned out to be chilly and we weren't going to stay long.  Moriah was told she had one more slide and then we were going to go home for a bath.  Her reaction was adorable!  She looked at the swings and said "Bye, swing!" and started heading for our house.  She didn't even want her last slide.  I guess bath time is more fun to her than the park, all she said the whole way home was "Bath? Bath? Bath?" 

Family Date Day

We had a blast yesterday as a family. It was so nice to not have an agenda, and just hang out together. The weather was not as sunny as predicted but it was so nice out! I think it got up to 74. We started the day off by going to a park and walking around the lake. Moriah LOVED it. There were geese that she watched and pointed at.  She called them "birdas" and "ducks." There were also a ton of dogs on the trail and she thoroughly enjoyed telling us every time she saw one that it was a "doggy, woof." We also got some really good laughs. She spotted a small fat dog and called it a cat and meowed at it. She also saw a dalmatian for the first time, called it a cow and mooed at it. HILARIOUS! Last but not least (I think I almost wet myself when this happened!) she spied a greyhound that had stripes and got so excited! She immediately began screaming "roar!" thinking it was a tiger. We stopped for our picnic lunch and let Moriah just wander around the deck that overlooked the lake. She had a great time.  

When we got back, we put her down for her nap in her toddler bed. She went right to sleep and slept for 3 hours! I was so proud and sad at the same time. She is growing up so fast. Since the park we went to didn't have a great playground we promised Moriah we would take her after she took a nap. Off we went to the fabulous playground that is just across the street from our house.  It is really nice to be so close to one.  Moriah played on the "meanings" (swings), "side" (slide) and "horsey."  She has really become a toddler and loves to be independent.  If you remember this post, she wouldn't even walk on the mulch or go down the slide by herself in the fall.  She has really grown up.  She watched a little boy go down the big twisty slide and decided she was big enough for that too.  So up she climbed and down she went all by herself.  I was very impressed.  

After some fun at the playground we went out to Red Robin for some dinner (I was craving their Whiskey River BBQ burger, fries and coke!) and then the Krispy Creme next door had their "Hot and Now" sign on so we got some dessert.  It was YUMMY!  

All in all it was a wonderful day.  To top it off, Moriah went to bed last night in her toddler bed and slept through the night.  I think she is done with the crib.  I told Zack it just made my heart so happy but so sad.  I wanted to go in and snuggle her all night.  I feel like she is no longer a baby at all.  How did that happen?   

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day.  You can see them all here.

My Little Climber

Well, Moriah can climb onto the couch and onto the dinning room chairs. I am just waiting till I find her on top of the table. YIKES! When did she grow up?
(Sorry about the crazy outfit of her on the couch, she dressed herself.)

One Week Left!

I am 39 weeks pregnant today! Yay!! The contractions are getting more and more regular but still nothing to indicate "real" labor. My plans for this last week are coming together nicely. They include:
-A family date day tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be GORGEOUS. Sunny and in the 60's. It will be our last Saturday without another baby or family in town so we are going to spend it outside as a family. I will post on how it went tomorrow.
-Church on Sunday (meetings in the morning, service at night)
-Errands on Monday and our camp spring event at Airmania Monday night. (I can't wait to see Moriah on all the fun bounce houses and slides.)
-Connections Bible Study Tuesday and a nap in the afternoon.
-Fierce cleaning Wednesday. I am hoping to over do it and possibly send myself into early labor because...
-Thursday I have my 40 week check up and my parents get here! I am praying we get to meet Levi Thursday night or Friday, so I will be doing everything in my power to start labor.

Things over all are going better. Moriah had a weight check up yesterday and gained one pound so the doctors decided she didn't need further testing, PRAISE! She also slept through the night last night, a sure sign that she is feeling better. Zack is on the mend and besides an occasional headache I have been spared the nasty cold they had. I am SO looking forward to this weekend and then next week having my parents here and hopefully meeting our little Levi face to face. I can't wait to kiss him!!!

A Song in My Heart

I got a little bit more sleep last night than nights past but the best part is I woke up with this song in my heart. Thank you Lord for the reminder of how faithful you are.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

AMEN!!!

Confessions of a Tired Mommy

Today was rough.  

Moriah has been sick since Friday night and the poor baby just wants to be held in the night.  She just wants me to cuddle her and rock her and sing to her all night long.  I am loving all the cuddling, and it makes me think of how big she is getting.  She is so busy during the day that I don't get much cuddles.  It makes me think of all the times she was an infant and would sleep on my chest and I would just breathe in her sweetness.  I miss those days.  It makes me even more excited for Levi to come into the world.

Anyway, while I am not angry with Moriah for keeping me up at night, I am exhausted.  I know it is not her fault that she is sick and needs comforting.  I love that she finds peace in my arms.  I just totally broke down today from the exhaustion of three nights without sleep (and hormones I am sure).  

The morning started out slow, I had a hard time getting the energy to get myself moving.  By the time I took a shower, got Moriah ready, cleaned up what she got into while I was showering, blow dried my hair (I thought about skipping this step and then remembered how COLD is it here and didn't want to get sick), got our stuff ready and got downstairs, I was completely drained.  I will confess, I yelled at the dog to get in his cage and when he didn't comply, I yelled again.  Moriah was taken back my my unusual behavior and just stood back watching.  I just sat on the dinning room floor and cried.

Why was I crying?  I can't honestly tell you.  I was tired, ashamed of yelling, and frustrated that I couldn't seem to even make it to the grocery store.  Moriah was such a little sweetie and showed me love.  She reached her arms up and asked me "uggles?" to see if I wanted her to snuggle me.  Her gesture made me cry even more.  What a wonderful baby I have!  After some snuggles (still on the dinning room floor) she offered to get me some juice.  She loves her juice and finds it comforting, so she wanted me to have it.  Ahhh, I love her.  

Needless to say, we never made it to the store.  I spent the rest of the morning on the couch reading to my baby and resting.  After lunch we both took naps and then ventured out to my prenatal appointment (everything is right on track, Levi is growing and we are set to deliver any day now!).  

Now, my little girl is sleeping peacefully (I am praying it lasts all night), Zack is at band practice, and I just got done enjoying a bowl of ice cream.  I am still tired but not crying, and holding onto the promise that I will have this baby, I will get sleep someday (and enough to get me by for now), I am so blessed with an amazing hubby (he just hugged on me at lunch after he heard about my "melt down," no condemnation only love, support and advice to do nothing the rest of the day) and a sweet tender hearted daughter.  

I am ready for another day.  I hope to make it to the store in the morning.  Shopping try take two...       

Welcome March

I look forward to spring every year. Especially since living in places that have COLD winters. I get so excited when the temperature rises enough to allow us to take walks again and go to the park. I anxiously await the return of green grass, the smell of flowers and this year my son's birth. March marks the hope of all of this for me. So you can imagine my disappointment when I woke to this sight this morning.

Sigh, March 1 isn't proving to be the major turning point in the weather that I had hoped for.

Double sigh, my family is also sick.  Zack and Moriah seem to both caught something.  I am praying that I am protected from this bug, flu thing they have.  I am already so tired all the time, I can't imagine functioning without meds if I got sick.  Since I am still preggo, I would have to fight off the bug with out the aid of drugs.

  

So, welcome March, I was looking forward to seeing you.  Please warm up soon!