Bedtime Stories (21 Days to Christmas)

Another fun way we incorporate Christmas fun into the every day is with bedtime stories. We read two books to Leland each night before bed. During the first book he is sitting up, but he has to lay his head on his pillow for the second book. With this method he does really great with bedtime. Since I set up his Advent Calendar, I also pulled out all of his Christmas books and set them on a shelf of their own. We have been picking one of our books from the shelf - our other book is usually a Curious George book!

One of the best explanations of Santa and Christmas I have found for a little one is this sweet book called God Gave Us Christmas.

Do you have a favorite Christmas book?

Happy Easter

HE is RISEN! Praise God! As I've mentioned before, Easter is my favorite holiday. I just feel so fulfilled and blessed on Easter Sunday; no other holiday can compete!

This morning in church as Leland snuggled and kissed on me I was overwhelmed with what a generous and loving Heavily Father we have to have blessed me so immensely. Then my heart ached for those with empty arms. I prayed for each of you, especially those who have experienced loss this week. My you find peace, joy and comfort in our risen Lord!

Happy Valentine's Day

Our Valentine's Day this year was mostly routine, but still very special. We got out of bed a little early so we could all have a hot breakfast together. After Robert left for work Leland and I climbed back in bed to snuggle, nurse, and watch some cartoons. I left work a little early to have some extra time with Leland in the afternoon. We colored and played....and busted his head open on the driveway. When Robert got home he grilled steaks for dinner - yum!

Here's the valentine cards I sent to school with Leland:

I hope you all had a blessed Valentine's day. Even if you are in the thick of it and struggling day-by-day, I hope you found some small joys to celebrate! 

17 & 18 Months

I have fallen very behind in blogging these past few months. Last week marked 18 months for my little man!

Here are his stats from his check-up: 23lbs, 13 oz ( 22 percentile) 32 7/8 inches (65 percentile) and a head circumference of 18.7 inches (41 percentile). He continues to stay around the 20^th percentile on weight, but keeps climbing in the height department. Recently, our donors told me that their children (also born premature) caught up to their height percentiles and other milestones around the 18 month mark.

Highlights from his 17^th month include a day trip for Thanksgiving at his Great-great-grandmother’s home and his first camping trip. We took him primitive camping (yep...in November) with the scout troop we volunteer with through our church. Robert took the boys caving. Leland did great and had a really fun time.

Football with the "big boys"

Short hike with Daddy

 

Highlights from his 18^th month include Nana & Granddaddy coming to live with us, celebrating Christmas in our new home, and our first family vacation / cruise. We all had an excellent time. (I want to do a whole post about the cruise when I find time). And...Leland said goodbye to his daycare, starting last week a the Montessori school. He seemed a bit overwhelmed with all the changes on his first day, but has made the transition amazingly well.

Beach Baby!

Cruise Ship...ready to set sail!

Checking out Nana's stocking on Christmas morning

(PJ's Read: BEST GIFT EVER)

The biggest change in the last two months has been his vocabulary. He speaks so well. Just after 17 months I attempted to make a list of all the words he said on his own (he would repeat additional words). This list reached about 50 words, and I was adding new words everyday. At his point I would say the list is well over 200. He also speaks in short 2-3 word sentences. I am really enjoying how talkative he is and how much more his personality shines though when he is able to express himself.

Trying on Grandpa's Boots

Playing with Trains

And finally, for my records...he is still wearing size 4 diapers, mostly 18 month clothing (some 12 month pants & some 24 month tops); his favorite foods are olives, cheese, fruit, yogurt, and "cookies" (Fig.New.ton fruit thins) from Nana’s pantry; favorite toys are his trains, blocks, Mr. Potato head, and books; he still wakes 1-2 times per night to nurse; we nurse on demand on the weekends; since starting the Montessori school we no longer nurse at lunch during the week; his new nap schedule is one nap per day at 1 p.m. (based on the school’s schedule).

A Season of Waiting

Advent marks the beginning of the new church year. It is the time of preparation for the birth of Jesus. It is a season of waiting.

 Two years ago at this time we were in a season of waiting. Infertility in generally is much a season of waiting. In 2010, just after Thanksgiving, we had received very strong Beta level results. Our levels were not only high but tripled during the 48 hours between Beta 1 and Beta 2. Our first ultrasound was scheduled for December 15^th. As we waited on the first ultrasound we prayed, we hoped and we wondered about the three precious embryos we had transferred. We wondered if those high numbers had resulted in two – or even  three – implantations. We worried that in spite of the blood levels that our first ultrasound could bring bad news. We were waiting and praying.

God used our time of waiting then to give me a whole new perspective on the season of Advent. I reflected a lot on how Mary must have felt waiting on the arrival of her son, of God’s Son. The magnitude of her waiting and her wondering really impacted me. For the past two years Advent has had a much deeper meaning for me and what it means to prepare our hearts, our minds, and our homes for the arrival for Christ.  

I have been planning and thinking for weeks on how to execute an Advent calendar with Leland in a meaningful, but age appropriate way. I searched online, and went to Pin*terest and Etsy for inspiration. And finally it has all come together. The first struggle was to find or make an advent calendar. All the ones I liked were too expensive and all the ones I could afford either didn’t have a big enough opening or were Santa themed. Finally, I found a beautiful wooden advent calendar with little doors for a great deal at TJ*Ma*xx (the boxes are about 2in x 2in).

 

The next challenge was to develop an age appropriate curriculum.  And to account for the fact that we will be on vacation (a cruise) from December 17-22. I saw these nativity stickers at the store this weekend and was finally inspired. I am cutting them up and putting a sticker in each day. I have also copied pages out of a daily Advent devotional (each devotional is really short with two Bible verses and a short paragraph) I got from church. I will tuck the copied pages (I shrunk them a bit) into the boxes as well. Finally, in addition the short devotional and talking about the new sticker as we add it to our nativity scene I hope to read a Christmas themed book each day at bed time.

My plan is to do this for two week before going on vacation and then pick back up on December 24^th & 25^th with stickers of baby Jesus and the star.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day. I am so thankful for all of my blessings, especially my amazing husband and our miracle Leland. We had a wonderful day with family, including Leland's great-great-grandmother. And we even managed to get all four cousins to sit still for a picture!

Halloween Fun

Halloween was filled with lots of fun and great friends. Holidays really magnify the blessing God has granted us through Leland. We are so thankful for the joy he brings us!

100th Post: Happy Father’s Day

I was working on something fun for my 100^th Post – a list of 100 interesting or odd (mostly odd) things about me. I had fun working on the list, but got stuck around the mid-30’s. I guess there is not much to know about me. So instead, I am dedicating my 100^th post to Robert for Father’s Day.

Robert is a wonderful dad. It’s amazing to see just how bonded Leland is to Robert. There are times when Leland clings to me, such as when he is hungry or very tired. But much of the time he will leap from my arms to get to Robert. I have enjoyed watching Robert grow as a person as he grows in his role as a father. It’s a growth and a love that I know can only come from God’s love for Robert.

We had a very fun Father’s Day. After church, we went out for lunch. When we came home Leland laid down for a nap right away. Robert and I has some alone time together and even took a little nap ourselves. When Leland woke up we spent the rest of the day just playing together in Leland’s room. We read books, played with balls and block, practiced walking, and just had a great time. For our present…we gave Robert a “world’s greatest dad” t-shirt…Star Wars style.

First Mother's Day

My first Mother’s Day was so wonderful. We went out of town for the weekend from Friday through Sunday. We stayed in a cabin near Chattanooga, TN. On Saturday we took Leland to Rock City and on Sunday we went to the Tennessee Aquarium.  Other than that we just lounged around the cabin. One of the highlights of Mother’s Day morning was after I had nursed Leland first thing in the morning.  We were all just hanging out in the bed still with the lights low. Robert fell back to sleep and then Leland curled up beside me and took an hour nap. I had a beautiful hour of quiet time with my little man snoozing in the crook of my arm. It was so precious.

Robert got me some sweet gifts. He gave me a Mother’s devotional, a Mercer Law Sweatshirt, and Georgia Tech family stickers for my car. The sweatshirt is something I have wanted for years. When I was in law school, the only place to get one was the tiny law school bookstore. The bookstore would only order a few at a time and the mediums would sell out within a week. Plus, they were a little pricy on a law student budget. But now I finally I have one – thanks honey! As for the stickers…my car will now officially be marked as a mom car with little family stickers – mom, dad, baby, dog!

I had such a wonderful day. Throughout the day I was constantly struck with awe over my little miracle. I found myself so emotional at times I would fight back tears. It’s still sinking in what an amazing blessing I have been given by our awesome God. And sometimes it is just overwhelming.

First Easter

Leland’s first Easter was quiet and low key. Before the church service we went to a pancake breakfast hosted by the men in our church.  Leland devoured his yogurt and then insisted on trying some pancakes. After church we went out to lunch just the three of us and then had a quiet afternoon at home relaxing. I was a little sad that we had no plans – and no invites – to celebrate Easter with family or friends. But it turned out to be a very nice low key day.

When we went out for lunch, Leland tried everything. He ate fish, zucchini, squash, mashed potatoes, cheese, and french fries. We have basically decided at this point that if Leland wants to try it he can – with the obvious exception of actually dangerous foods (honey, etc.)

Here’s a photo from Easter morning. He really enjoyed playing with the empty Easter egg:

Easter Dress

I tried to buy an Easter dress this week and realized a few things. First, dresses cost more than I remember. When did an Easter dress from Belk start costing over $100? Second, my breasts are still getting bigger. Does this mean I am producing more milk? Third, dresses and breastfeeding don’t really go together. I actually found a really cute dress with a button top that would have accommodated breastfeeding. Unfortunately, the regular did not fit properly and it does not come in petite. I think I will just be raiding my closet for an outfit for Easter. 

Photos from Weekend at Granny's

Here are some photos from this past weekend taken by Leland’s great-aunt. She is a semi-professional photographer. The last photo is Leland holding his great-great-grandmother’s hand. It is such a blessing to have so many generations on Robert’s side to love our little man.

Christmas Blessings

We had a great weekend visiting with my husband’s family. We spent Saturday night with Leland’s Mema (Robert’s grandmother / Leland’s great-grandmother) and visited on Saturday and Sunday with Mimi (Robert’s mom), Grandpa (Robert’s dad), Mema and Granny (Leland’s great-great-grandmother who is 93). We also went out for lunch on Sunday to celebrate Robert’s birthday. We had such a great time. Here is a funny picture we took at the restaurant:

Although we had an amazing time visiting with family, the best part of the whole weekend was going to church on Sunday morning at our old church. So much as changed for us in the past year. Last September I applied for a job in my hometown, about 2 ½ hours from where we lived. I applied on September 1, interviewed on September 3, accepted the job on September 8, put an offer on a new house on September 13, and stared the new job on September 15. We moved on October 23, 2010, and three and a half weeks later traveled to the NEDC for our transfer. To many of our friends and acquaintances, we seemingly disappeared overnight.

It was such a blessing to be able to return to our old church and introduce Leland to so many wonderful people. When I carried Leland up to the alter for communion I just started crying as I was overwhelmed with what an amazing blessing God had given us. Throughout the sermon the vicar kept asking us to think about the present we wanted most and then related that to our greatest gift, Jesus. Every time he asked us to think about the gift we wanted most for Christmas I thought of Leland. God has given us this wonderful gift and a pray that the miracle of this gift is always apparent to me. I am truly overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness and blessing and I pray that God will bless all of you this Christmas and always. 

First Mommy Ornament

When we arrived at daycare yesterday, Leland’s teacher said that Leland had a Christmas present for me and presented me with this adorable homemade photo ornament. Now I know his teachers actually made it, but I love it. I hope it is the first of many homemade Christmas ornaments.

The first Christmas after I got married I took some of my ornaments from my parent’s house for our tree. My mom was acting a little funny and asked if I was going to take “all” of my ornament. I told her she could keep some if she wanted, not sure which ones she was concerned about me taking. It turned out that she was concerned that I was going to take the handmade ornaments that I had made and given her when I was little. To me they were just some of many craft projects I had done over the years. But now, with my first mommy ornament in hand, I understand just how special they are.

12lbs 4oz

Leland went for his five month shots today. He weighed in at 12lbs 4oz. He’s such a little guy, but he’s healthy and that’s what really matters. I just plugged it into my growth tracker app on my phone. It shows he has dropped from the 5^th percentile to the 1^st percentile. Of course this doesn’t adjust for his being born early. But hey, at least he’s still on the charts.

Here are a few photos from the week of Thanksgiving: 

Hanging out with Nana in "France" at EPCOT. Check out his really cute Mickey shirt!

Napping in the carrier with Daddy. Everyone loves his baby sunglasses. 

Mommy feeding him lunch. I nursed him twice and had two bottle of pumped milk with us for the other feedings.

First Thanksgiving pajamas.

Bronchitis, Vomiting, Santa (almost), Florida / Thanksgiving, Disney World & Mastitis

BRONCHITIS

It has been a crazy two weeks. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving my throat started to hurt and I just knew I was getting sick. I got sicker by the day and by Sunday I was cough and blowing dark mucus (TMI?). Since we were about the leave town to visit my parents in Florida in a few days and I wasn’t sure when I would have time to go to my doctor I went to a local after hours clinic on Sunday afternoon. They were nice enough and gave me an antibiotic. The nurse practitioner I saw knew I was breastfeeding (I had Leland with me at the appointment) and assured me that the antibiotic was safe for him and would not cause any problems with breastfeeding.

The weekend before Thanksgiving was spent resting, packing, and trying to get better. I used the vaporizer, the netti pot sinus cleanse, gargled with warm water and salt, took hot showers - every home remedy I could think of. In my spare time, I was clearing Leland’s nose and praying he did not get sick too. My nose was so red I looked like Rudolph.

VOMITING

Monday before Thanksgiving I went back to work. Robert is a teacher and had the whole week off work, so Leland was home with him. Monday, just after lunch, Robert called and said Leland had thrown up. I only half believed him. I questioned him about how much and was it just a lot of spit up rather than actual throw up. By the time I got home from work Leland had thrown up a few more times and Robert had thrown up some too. (The smell of throw up makes Robert throw up). When I got in Robert and Leland were cuddled on the sofa with Leland asleep, both drenched in Leland’s throw up. Robert had changed both their clothes several times that afternoon, but after the last round Leland fell asleep and Robert did not want to disturb him.

I called the pediatrician on the way home and picked up some Pe.di.alyte. Once home, we bathed Leland and then I tried nursing him. He did great, but about an hour later he threw up again. I gave him two ounces of Pe.di.alyte and he fell asleep for the night.

SANTA (ALMOST)

Tuesday morning I was supposed to be at work again. And, at noon we had family photos scheduled at JC Penny for Christmas pictures and pictures with Santa. I wasn’t originally going to take Leland to see Santa as that’s not really when Christmas is all about. But the day we scheduled our Christmas pictures happened to be the day Santa would be at the studio so I figured it could be fun to get a traditional Santa picture for Leland’s first Christmas.

I gave Leland Pe.di.alyte and he held that down. Then I nursed him and he seemed to be fine. Still I decided to call in sick to work and to cancel our Christmas pictures so I could monitor Leland’s progress. I was hopeful it was just a little 12-hour stomach bug.

FLORIDA / THANKSGIVING

Since Leland seemed to be doing well and I had called into work, we decided to get an early start to Florida by late Tuesday morning. At this point I was still fighting a nasty case of bronchitis, but feeling a teeny bit better than I had over the weekend. Leland did great in the car for the first stretch. We made it about 200 miles and he slept the whole way. Then we stopped for a bite to eat. Since Leland had not vomited in 16+ hours I resumed his normal feeding schedule. But, not long later, he threw it all up! The second half our out trip to Florida was marked by hourly (approx) stops to change Leland’s wet clothes and to offer another 1-2 oz of Pe.di.alyte to keep him hydrated. I have to note that the odd thing about the stomach bug was that other than the vomiting Leland had no other symptoms, he was his usual happy self. We staying in touch with our pediatrician through this whole ordeal and he just said we had to ride it out and keep him hydrated.

We spent a lazy day Wednesday visiting with my parents. Leland continued to vomit on and off. He would be fine for a few feedings and then he would start throwing up again. We would start back with Pe.di.alyte and then transition to breast milk with no problems. Then he would throw up again. During this ordeal I was pumping to keep my milk supply up during the times Leland was not eating. I figured the upside to this mess was that I had increased my breast milk stash substantially.

Thursday morning – Thanksgiving – a light bulb went off. It had to be my antibiotic that was making Leland throw up. Nothing else made sense. I had considered it earlier in the week but didn’t think it was the answer. But by Thursday, it was the only thing left. Without access to my freezer stash at home, Leland spent Thanksgiving alternating between Pe.di.alyte and formula, neither which he was at all happy about. I figured 24 hours would be enough to get the antibiotic out of my system, and was able to successfully resume nursing at bedtime on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving morning I made pancakes with my dad. My dad makes the best pancakes. He doesn’t cook at all, but his pancakes are a rare specialty. Sadly my dad is suffering from unspecified dementia, with some Parkinson type symptoms. It’s getting harder for him to do simple tasks like make pancakes, so I am savoring every last tradition I have with him. We watched the parade and when over to a family friend’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. My parent’s loved showing off their newest grandbaby (he is grandbaby #10) to all of their friends and we had a really great time.

Friday morning Robert, Leland, and I ventured out to Toys R Us for some mid-morning black Friday shopping. We got a Fisher Price Jumperoo for $45 (Reg. $100) and a Fisher Price Space Saving High Chair for $30 (Reg. $60). Thankfully the store wasn’t too crazy and we got both items we wanted. Friday afternoon my Mom and I went shopping at the Coldwater Creek clearance center in Orlando. I was in desperate need of work clothes since I am still about 20 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight. I spent about $170 on clothes and got 4 pairs of pants, 2 suit jackets, 3 t-shirts, 10 blouses / sweaters. Mornings will be so, so much easier now!

Friday also confirmed my suspicion about the antibiotic causing the vomiting. With it out of my system Leland did not throw up at all. That was the good news. The bad news – I had to dump 50 OUNCES OF BREAST MILK! I cried a little.

DISNEY WORLD

Saturday both Leland and I were feeling much better. We ventured out to spend the day at Epcot with my parents. I have always wanted to go to Epcot at Christmas and it was so beautiful. We skipped the stroller and just went for a front carrier and backpack. It worked great. Everyone pointed and commented on Leland in his little sunglasses. Soon after he was born I ordered baby sunglasses. I never go out without my sunglasses so why would I want to strain his eyes?

We had a relaxing day wandering and eating our way through the countries. We had churros is Mexico, pastries in Norway, roasted nuts in France, Bratwurst & soft pretzels in Germany, chocolates in Italy, and fish & chips in England. We would just get one of each item and split it. It was so much fun. In the past at Epcot we have gone to a different sit down restaurant each time. The sit down restaurants are nice, but you only get to experience one type of food. Eating / snacking our way through the countries was a lot more fun.

We were also able to see several shows and ride several rides. Epcot has several continuous movement rides and slow boat rides that were a lot of fun with Leland. He just rode in the carrier. His favorite was probably the Nemo ride because of all the music and digital effects. (Anything that looks like a TV screen fascinates him these days). We had a really great day overall. We left the park about 7 PM and we were all asleep by 9 PM.

MASTITIS

Sunday I woke up feeling awful. I was so tired and just ached all over. I assumed that spending the day at Epcot the day before had been harder on me than I had expected. I was burning up, drenched in sweat at church, and I could barely keep my eyes open. I was feeling nauseated and a bit dizzy too. Something just wasn’t right. After church, I took a nap while my mom and Robert packed the car. I had also noticed that my left breast was tender. Similar to being tender when I first wake up in the morning, but it did not go away with nursing. It got more painful as the day went on. I felt so awful, Robert drove the entire trip home. Thankfully Leland slept the entire way, waking only once to eat. Sunday night I assumed the breast tenderness was from so much pumping and that the exhaustion was from the busy trip. After all I had never made the trip before with an infant.

Monday, I barely dragged myself out of bed and to work. Honestly, if it weren’t for Leland I would have called in sick. But the thought of caring for him at home all day seemed more difficult than taking him to daycare and going to work. Thankfully I don’t have any scheduled court this week. By lunch Monday I realized there was a serious problem. My left breast was bright red and very swollen on one side. And it was so, so painful. I called my doctor and scheduled an appointment for Monday afternoon. As I had worried, it was Mastitis.

I started a new antibiotic Monday night praying it would not cause Leland to throw up. Thankfully, he is doing well. Unfortunately, the antibiotic caused me to have an excruciatingly bad headache. It felt like my brain had swelled to twice the size of my skull. I spent most of yesterday huddled in my office in the dark just waiting of the hours to pass so the antibiotic would get out of my system. When I got home last night, I nurse Leland and put him to bed early. I then got in bed by 8 PM.

Today I am feeling much better. I have stopped the antibiotic and am waiting to hear back from my doctor’s office about what I should do from here. It’s been an eventful first major holiday, with some stressful stuff and some really fun, memorable stuff. I will try to post some pictures soon. Thanks for hanging in there with me through this really long post. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!