Seth's baby story

It's amazing to me that over a week before I was planning to have my c-section...we had a baby!  It's been a whirlwind experience, but I'm so thankful to have our little guy with us...and if we're being honest, I'm glad I can breathe again!  : )  So here's a recap of March 16th...

Well, I guess we should start on March 15th.  We had a very busy week last week...really a busy couple of weeks.  My hubby has had a lot of church activities going on and I had the kids, the house, and all the normal weekly activities going on.  Last week we also had a missions conference and the kids and I would go to a good bit of it.  It was fun, but I could tell I was feeling pretty tired.  We've also had numerous doctor's appointments...for me and the kids.  The kids have been sick off and on since December and a few weeks ago we took them to the ENT.  We found out that both kids need their adenoids out and ear tubes put in and Sophie needs to have her tonsils out, too.  Whew!  Let's just say I've been a little overwhelmed! 

So now we're back to March 15th.  It was a Thursday and we had planned to go to Macon that night and spend the night at my parent's house because I had a dr's appointment on Friday morning.  After my appointment I was planning to go get a pedicure with my Mom, we were going out to eat Friday night to celebrate my sister's birthday and then head back to Eastman that night because I had a hair appointment Saturday morning.  Another busy weekend, but I wanted to get my pampering in before starting my last week of pregnancy.  I also had big plans for getting the house cleaned up before we went in for our c-section.  I had a lot of my mind.  The night of March 15th I was so restless.  I couldn't sleep well, I was hot, I couldn't get comfortable.  Our daughter also kept waking up needing to go to the bathroom, so let's just say it was kind of rough.  March 16th...By about 7:30 am I just got up and went down to the living room at my parent's house and turned on the tv.  I was feeling like I was having some uncomfortable cramping, but nothing too intense or at regular intervals.  Besides...I had NEVER had any early labor with my two other children, so I was pretty convinced that it wouldn't be happening with this one, either.  Even when several people said I might not make it to the due date...I was like, "no, I'm pretty sure I'll make it."  : )  I ate some breakfast and tried to relax, but just didn't feel that good.  My husband and Mom came downstairs and I told them how I was feeling.  Mom had to take my niece to school, my husband was about to go get ready to go with me to the doctor, and next thing I know...my water breaks!  It was just a small amount at first, but I knew what it was...and was shocked!  I told my husband..."my water just broke!  Call the doctor!"  I was in a little bit of a frenzy because when my water broke in the hospital with my first child, her heart rate dropped.  I had no idea if I would immediately go into labor or what.  I called my mom, called the dr., and believe it or not...I went ahead and took a shower! : )  I didn't know how long it would be before I got another one, so I figured a 5 minute shower wouldn't hurt anything! 

We made it to the dr's office and proceeded to wait...and wait...and wait.  I was starting to feel a little nervous about all this waiting.  I know I'm having this baby soon...my water broke already!  Finally the dr came and confirmed...yes, my water broke and I should head over to the hospital (thank you!).  We left the dr.'s office around 11am.  We checked into the hospital, got ready, and Seth Josiah Daniel was born at 1pm, weighing 6lbs 13 oz.  As you can see, he has a head full of dark hair and honestly is too cute : ).  We stayed in the hospital until Monday morning.  Seth had jaundis so we needed to follow up with our doctor on Tuesday. 

When we saw the doctor, we learned that Seth's weight was lower than we thought and he had low blood sugar.  It was scary for me to learn all of this after I thought he was doing so well.  The doctor wanted to put him into the hospital to get him some IV fluids and treat the jaundis he had.  I was very concerned about my little guy.  We stayed one night and by the next evening, Seth had gained about 3 or 4 ounces, his jaundis was better, and his blood sugar was at a normal level...praise the Lord.  So we have spent more time in the hospital this week than we have at home.  I must say...it's great to be home!  I missed my other two kiddos.

Life as we know it..It's been tough trying to nurse every 2 hours! and sleep.  That's why it's 1:30am right now and I'm still awake...waiting for the next feeding!  During the night I do have to go about every 3 hours just to be sane the next day.  My hubby is off for two weeks from work...praise the Lord!  I couldn't function right now without him.  We're traveling in some new territory right now, but considering everything that has been going on, I think things are going pretty well. 

Please pray for us...
*Seth would continue to gain weight and that I would be able to nurse him well. 
*Joe and I would have supernatural strength during this time of sleep deprivation
*Sophie and Isaac would continue to transition well to having a new baby in the house (they're doing great so far!).  Please pray for their health as they will both need surgery soon.  Both of their hearing has been affected by fluid they've had in their ears and Isaac has had a bad cough since December.  We can't seem to get rid of it. 
*I would continue to heal from the c-section and not get too overwhelmed with nursing the baby (I'm determined to do all I can to keep nursing him) or get too overwhelmed with the house not being in order (dishes and laundry are pretty much all that's getting done right now : )).  My legs and feet have also been terribly swolen...I'm sleeping with them propped up and putting them up all during the day.  Please pray this swelling would decrease soon.
Thanks so much for all of your encouragement through messages, phone calls, texts, etc.  It has meant so much to us and has definitely lifted me up!  We would greatly appreciate your prayers. 
Love and blessings~Stacey

Showered with Blessings!

 Yesterday some girls from our Sunday School class threw us a baby shower.  I honestly was so surprised to be able to have a shower with baby #3!  Because we had a lot of baby stuff already, this was a gift card shower.  How awesome is that?!  I not only feel blessed by my sisters in Christ, along with my family who attended, but also blessed by the Lord for His provision.  Can we say diapers and wipes provided for a while!?  Thank you, Lord!

 Another special thing the girls planned for the shower was a blessings book for the baby.  Several of them wrote verses and my friend, Jennifer Giddens, put all the verses together...along with some amazing scrapbooking skills...in a beautiful baby book for us!  All I have to do is add pictures after he is born.  Another "how awesome is that?!" moment.  This is such a special gift that will be treasured for years to come!

 Here is the book from the outside along with a cute metal-framed basket that I LOVE!  I've always wanted one of those and it was a special gift for me and our family to enjoy.

Here I am...baby bump and all!  It was a great time of eating, fellowship, and laughter (our host, another good friend named Jennifer, planned some GREAT games).  It ministered to me on so many levels.  I'm so thankful that God knows just what we need and blesses us so faithfully!

Two more weeks!

Splish Splash...I was takin' a bath!

I'm having a little trouble posting these days...you know, about to have a baby and all.  Most of my free time is spent trying to slowly do things around the house so it won't become a total wreck or trying to rest.  The ankle and leg swelling is a bit uncomfortable.  But...we're still doing school!  I'm committed to trying to keep going until I can't go no more!  I'm trying to plan some fun things, too, because after the baby is born we'll pretty much be done for the rest of the school year.  Here in Dodge Co, school is ending May 11th, which will only be about 7 weeks after the baby.  I'm hoping to do a few things this summer, but we'll see how everything goes.  Here's a fun activity we did this week...

 The girls put their swimsuits on and we had a lesson in the tub!  We started by using some color tablets I had to see what would happen when they combined yellow and blue.  I like the green color : ).  I also let them use some bath markers and practice some writing on the bathtub walls.

 Oh yeah!  Having fun!  I let the girls pick out several things from inside...and outside...to see if they would sink or float.

 I made a chart while they were practicing their writing and wrote in yes or no as they were experimenting.  I also taught them about making predictions and asked them if they could predict if it would sink/float before we tested it.

After we did that I got out some measuring cups/spoons and we measured a few things.  I mostly just let them play with them for a few minutes after we did a few measurements. 

I loved Bethany's comment after we finished.  She said to Sophie, "This has been the funnest day!"  Lol!  I love doing fun things with these girls.  Homeschooling has been so much fun for me, too!

Please keep us in your prayers...baby is comin' soon!  I have a little over 2 weeks...wow!  Tomorrow I'm having a baby shower and I'm so excited.  Pics to come!

Girls night!

Let me begin by saying how thankful I am for the wonderful ladies in my life!  I have been very blessed with some fun, sweet, chocolate-loving girlfriends from church.  Our young couples Sunday School class tries to have some socials throughout the year as a whole group, but the ladies in the class try to do a girls night once every month or so.  With the holidays we haven't had one in a while, but last night was the big night!  So fun!

My friend, Becky, hosted us and made some delicious chili.  We added some shredded cheddar, sour cream, and Fritos to make it even better!  Mmmm.  Our theme for last night...chocolate.  Yum!  Becky served us a great smore-like treat.  I had to share.  I don't have pics, but basically what she did was...
Got some cinnamon/sugar graham crackers and broke them into the little rectangles.  Then she placed them on a cookie sheet and put a regular sized marshmallow on top.  She turned the oven on broil and actually left the oven door cracked so she could keep an eye on how cooked they were getting.  Then, once they were a little brown, she took them out and placed one little rectangle of plain Hershey's chocolate on top.  It melted just a little bit.  They were SO GOOD!  The cinnamon graham crackers really made the difference.  It reminded me of a Pioneer Woman episode (Food Network on Sat. mornings) in which her kids had a camp out.  PW brought smore things out to the site for them, except she tweaked them a little.  If I recall correctly, she did some with chocolate graham crackers, marshmallows, and peppermint patties.  She did another variation with regular graham crackers, peanut butter, marshmallows, and reece cups.  Yum!  I think I'll have to try that!

We had lots of other chocolate goodies, too!  Oreos, chocolate covered pretzels, a huge bowl of cut up chocolate bars of many kinds, and more.  I left last night feeling like I was going to bust!  We not only eat at these fun little gatherings....we also watch a movie!  We try to make it a non-sad, girly movie.  Our pick last night....The Count of Monte Cristo!  Here's a little video that summarizes the movie...the music is a little intense, but I thought it was good overall!  Jim Caviesel...so good!

I can't wait til the next girls night! Blessings!

"Good cake" is delish!

A sweet lady in our church (Mrs. Peacock) baked us a pound-type cake a few weeks ago.  It was so good I shared it with a few family members and they raved about it.  Soon after I asked Mrs. Peacock if I could have the recipe...because I really wanted to be able to make it sometime and share it with others.  Yesterday she had it for me and I was SO excited!  What else could I do but share it on my blog!  I hope all of you enjoy this wonderfully delicious and moist cake!  The recipe is surprisingly easy, too. It honestly tastes homemade! 

"Good Cake" recipe

from Mrs. Joyce Peacock

1 box Butter Pecan cake mix (sift)--prepare according to directions on box

add: 1 can creamy coconut icing

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Mix well and bake in Bundt pan approx. 45 min (at temp on box)

Isn't that easy?!  I haven't made it yet, but it's definitely going to be on my list of things to bake soon.  Hope you enjoy!

Top Ten Cravings

It's been a while since I've done a baby update.  I feel like I'm viewing life in terms of what's on the schedule for the week...I guess to help the time go by.  There have been many times throughout this pregnancy that I've felt like this has been my hardest one yet...and then other times I feel like it's been my best.  Tomorrow will begin week 34...and I honestly can't believe I have about 5 more weeks to go!  Lord, help me have endurance!  I have gained (well, so far) the least amount of weight with this one, but I feel like each week my tummy is getting bigger and bigger.  I've had a lot of pelvis shifting issues this time around, which has been a little draining and painful.  I've also been busy with homeschooling, keeping up with a now 3 and 5 year old, and trying to keep my house from looking like a total wreck.  Not to mention trying to coupon, save money at the grocery store each week, and cook meals at home as opposed to eating out.  Whew.  Yes, I'm tired.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love seeing my sweet girl grow and learn.  She is such a joy.  I know she's going to be a big help to me when the baby comes.  Isaac is full of personality and is saying so many things and expressing his thoughts so well.  He's also showed interests in music, coloring, and is a whiz at putting puzzles together.  I can't imagine how it's going to be when the little guy gets here. : )  Chaos.  Wonderful chaos.

I've had some interesting cravings this time around...so I thought I'd tell you about them : ).

Top Ten Pregnancy Cravings...baby #3

1. ice...I craved this with Sophie, too, but I don't think it was this bad!  My favorite ice:

Flaky ice from NuWay.  It's awesome.  The perfect consistency.  Goes great with one of their chili dogs, too.  I think I could eat 2 or 3 of them if I let myself (no, I haven't...yet).  Sonic and Zaxby's ice is a close second (their ice is very similar).  I can get a cup of ice water for 25 cents in the Zaxby's drive-thru, but if you buy something I think they'll give it to you for free.  Mmmm.  When I can't get one from one of these places, I've opted for just putting a bottle of water into the freezer.  I do this about 2 or 3 times a day.  If you leave it in for about 2-3 hours...it's just right.  : )  I really crave it at night, which is not good because then I end up having to go to the bathroom all through the night.  Worth it?  Um, yes.  I think.

2.  Salad...I've never craved this during pregnancy before.  I guess it's a good craving to have if you're not piling on the dressing.  My favorite way to fix it right now is just some lettuce, a little shredded cheese, a few croutons, chopped celery if available, and a combo of some ranch dressing and a little balsalmic vinegar dressing.  But I'm not limited to that.  I like the spinach/strawberry salad with walnuts...yum!  I also like Ceasar salad.  Ok...it's all good.

3.  Nuts...I think this is probably another "good" craving done in moderation.  My favs are walnuts.  So good!  I also like pecans, too.  Almonds...preferably without the shells.  Peanuts.  Cashews....

4.  Ice cream...ok...enough with the healthy cravings.  You know I had to want me some ice cream.  It's so good.  Especially when you put some in a glass and pour a little milk over it.  Squish it up with a spoon and it makes this kind of icy-type chunks in there.  Oh my word.  Putting a little magic shell and/or some whipped cream on top just makes it even better.  Which leads me to my next craving...

5.  Cherries....yes, the kind in the jar with the red juice that I'm sure it totally awful for you.  I ate about half a jar one day. 

*Dairy Queen had a choco cherry love blizzard the other day for Valentine's.  It may still be there.  It's ice cream, chocolate magic shell-like pieces with cherries and cherry juice.  My stars!  It was SOO good!*

6.  Chocolate....I don't know if I could count this as a craving because I pretty much like it year-round...preggo or not.  Cadberry eggs are starting to show up in the stores...mmmm.

7.  Cheesy stuff...I don't really know how else to describe it.  Rich, cheesy things, such as this chicken enchilada dip that a friend made for a party I went to.  It had cream cheese and shredded cheese in it.  Cream cheese is so good!

8.  Candy.  This is rough.  I could eat and eat and eat candy.  I like it sweet, sour, pretty much any way.  Sour patch kids, laffy taffy, air heads, tootsie rolls...and the list goes on.  I must stop stealing my kids' candy.

9.  Lemony stuff...lemon is just a great flavor.  Raspberry lemonade, lemon bars...a little sweet and a little sour.  Perfect combo.

10.  Spaghetti...this has been a mild craving, but I think I could pretty much have spaghetti any day of the week.  It's always a good go-to dish. 

This list definitely does not cover all of my food loving this time around.  Food, after that first trimester, has tasted better than ever!   Please keep my in your prayers as we finish out these last weeks and prepare for our new baby boy! 

Blessings~Stacey

Valentine Treats

What a great Valentine's Day!  This week has been a busy one, but filled with fun and good things.  I started on Sunday night making these delish strawberry oatmeal bars...courtesy of Pioneer Woman!  I saw the recipe on a recent episode of her show on Food Network.  Using strawberry preserves for the filling made me wonder how good it was going to be.  Why did I wonder?!  These are great!  Here's the recipe:

Pioneer Woman's Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

1 3/4 sticks salted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for greasing

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups oats

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 ten-twelve oz jar of strawberry preserves (I used a 12 oz jar)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter 9x13 in rectangular pan.  Mix together butter, flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.  Press half the oat mixture into prepared pan.  Spread with strawberry preserves.  Sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly.  Bake until light brown, 30 to 40 min.  Let cool completely then cut into squares.  YUM!

 Monday at school we got some pink, purple, and red paint and made valentines.  We used stencils and heart shaped cookie cutters to make some designs.  The girls did a great job and we made lots of cards! 

 Today we made Valentine cookies, using an easy cookie recipe that I got off of Tamera Alexander's blog. 

 Here's the recipe:

Cake Mix Cookies

1 box of cake mix (I used the butter yellow...but you can use any kind)

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

(easy!)

*Mix these ingredients together and then you can add...

2 cups of whatever...chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, M&M's, etc (we did Valentine colored M&Ms...and they were good!)

You can also add desired amount of nuts...pecans, walnuts, etc.

*I mixed the first set of ingredients with a mixer, then I just used a spoon to stir in the m&m's so they wouldn't break up

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Scoop cookie dough onto greased cookie sheet (be sure to grease it good...I forgot on the first two batches and they stuck a good bit and crumbled some...I greased for the third batch, but not enough and they still stuck some).  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  You can store cookie dough up to 10 days in the fridge.

 We took our cookies and homemade Valentines to a homeschool party this afternoon.  It was so much fun!  We had lots of good snacks, activities, and fellowship.  One of the moms who planned it had some math activities for kids of all ages.  Sophie did a heart candy bar graph.  She had a cup full of candy and put it on her paper to the corresponding color.  When she finished we took one color at a time, took the candy off, and she colored the amount of boxes that equaled the amount of candy.  I thought it was a great idea!  Another mom also had a science activity in which the kids mixed boiling water with borax and put it into a glass jar.  Then they twisted a pipe cleaner into a heart and attached it with a string to a pencil.  The pencil rested on top of the jar and the pipe cleaner hung down into the hot mixture, without touching the bottom or sides.  After a few hours, crystals covered the heart and some sides of the jar.  The kids also attached a Bible verse to the front of it.

 Isaac had fun playing with balls and putting the pool table balls into the pockets.  There was also a drum set in the room that he visited several times.  I think he might be a music lover!

 Sophie and her good friend.  You can see one of the jars in the background on the stove : ).

 A special treat for me from my beloved husband was some beautiful flowers!  I love surprises (as I've said before!) and this afternoon we had a ring from our doorbell with a delivery.  I really think my guy is awesome.

 And this is another reason I think he's so awesome.  He not only got me flowers, but he gave our little girl a beautiful flower of her own with a sweet card.  Her little face lit up.  What a blessing it was to me to see the love she felt from and for her Daddy.

 Little man wasn't neglected!  Daddy got him a cute Georgia Bulldogs bear.  It's adorable and Isaac was so excited about it.

What a blessing today was.  I feel loved every day by my family, but having a day like this is special.  We finished off the evening by sharing a Sonic blast : ).  I got my ice cream...and more!

Love and blessings~Stacey