Category Archives: Family
more fall fun
Friday night we had our first annual (hoping there will be many more in the future) International Student Pumpkin Carving and Chili Party with American friends from our church and their “friendship partners” through UNT. It was so much! I didn’t get a pic of the finished pumpkins, but they were sooo good! who knew that they would be so good talented at pumpkin carving?!
the kids painted little pumpkins… Lydia was super into it.
Halloween week 2015
Our third annual Halloween Party with the McGough clan! We ate, talked, laughed, celebrated the fall birthdays, decorated pumpkins with stickers and glitter glue and the cousins had tons of fun running around. Always a fun time when we all get together. Thankful for this tradition!
Happy Birthday to Uncle Scott, Daddy, Colin & Liddy bug!
we love Papa
These two are so much fun to watch as they interact with each other. Lydia now calls Chloe, “chlo bo”, which is the cutest thing ever. They have started to “play” together, Chloe follows Lydia everywhere, they love to hug and kiss each other goodnight, Chloe can’t wait for Lydia to wake up each morning, we have heard them giggling and “talking” as they both fall asleep, they have started to fight over toys because Chloe now claims things as “mine”, Chloe likes to slug Lydia when she is doing something she doesn’t like (she even tried to pinch her the other day for sitting in my lap… guys, I am little nervous about 2s with this one! ha), they love each other and I pray they become the best of friends and that they will always love, laugh, cry, encourage and pray for each other as they walk through life. Sisters are the best!
my little pumpkins
we had the opportunity to take one of our Saudi family friends to the Flowermound Pumpkin Patch last night! It was there first time, after living in America for 5 years, to go to a pumpkin patch and they LOVED it! It was so fun to see our girls run around with their girls and enjoy the pumpkins, dirt and playhouses. As we were walking around my friend leaned over and told me that she had coffee, tea and dates in the car and asked if there was a spot we could sit and drink them together. This made my heart so happy and made me miss our time in the Middle East. In Arab culture they always plan to have picnic with their community and family wherever and whenever it is possible. I love how community oriented and hospitable they are. I think that Americans can learn a thing or two from them about how we interact with community and host people.
Chloe Jane, 18 months
Chloe is our little spunky sweetheart. She melts our hearts with her smile, her hugs, her kisses, and just her general cuteness. She loves baby dolls, her big sister, oranges, reading books, playing outside, singing nursery rhymes, her pappy (pacci) wrestling with daddy, cuddling, giggling, and talking on the phone. She is saying a few words. Some of her go tos are: “bye bye”, “two”, “ball”, “tant you”, “more”, “dawn (done)”, “mommy”, “daddy”, “puppy”, “pappy (pacci)” and she loves to giber jabber. She still does not have all her teeth, but we are working hard (i.e. having a tough time) at getting them all. She is not a great eater at the moment- not sure if she is just picky or if its because of her teeth and because we have had a nasty cold that has lasted for over two weeks! Loving Chlo Bo at this age, wish I could just bottle her up and keep her my little peanut forever. She is 19.8 lbs and 3% in height and weight and 50% for her head.
Lydia May, 3 years
Lydia is becoming such a smart, fun-loving, empathetic little lady. She is at such a fun age and is just absorbing everything around her. She is such a quick learner. This girl loves to talk and hardly ever stops. She has stopped napping for about a month now and just has “quiet/alone” time in her room. This has been a hard transition for me because she comes out every 20 minutes or so to ask for help (i.e. interrupting my down time), but she hasn’t skipped a beat and doesn’t act tired what-so-ever without her nap. She is sleeping a good 12 hours a night, so this is probably why she doesn’t need her nap. She does a great job with wearing her “guck-kez” (glasses) and reminds me that she needs them in the mornings- such a blessing! We have been done with diapers even at night for about a week now and she is doing GREAT! She is so proud of herself for waking up dry and not wearing a pull up anymore… she hasn’t had any accidents yet. I am not gonna lie, I am a little shocked about this, I was prepared for lots of nights waking up to change sheets. I guess she was ready. She is 30 lbs and about 50% for height, weight and for her head.
Yarah and Weam our sweet little Arab friends.
#keepinitreal #reallife #toddlerlife
Side Note: I am going to try something new with my blog… once we have an event or something I want to post, I am going to try and upload the pics and do a blog post right away and not feel overwhelmed with trying to play catch up. When I have some extra time I will try to slowly go backward and catch up, but if I don’t then at least I am recording the now. Wish me luck!
2, 3, & 4 months of Chloe
Our baby girl is growing fast and I haven’t had much time to update and post pics of her. And now that she is already 4 months I decided I should post a few from 2, 3 & 4 months! (I want to have it for my records & for her to see them one day as well!… poor second child! ha)
Weight: 9 lbs 8 oz (10%) (almost one pound smaller than Liddy at 2 months! and I thought she was tiny)
Height: 22 1/2 in (50%)
Clothes: She was still wearing newborn and some 0-3 month stuff. And was in newborn diapers still at 2 months. I have loved seeing her in all of Lydia’s old outfits- seems like yesterday that Liddy wore them!
Month 3 she moved up to size 1 diapers and started wearing 0-3 month and 3 month clothes. She pretty much stopped wearing headbands and just wears bows! She has so much hair… it just keeps getting longer and thicker. She has crazy cowlicks– I am going to have fun trying to fix her hair once it gets longer!
Sleep: She had started sleeping through the night during month two! What a glorious day that was. We are quite spoiled with a good sleeper. She still slept on and off most of the day with probably 4-5 naps during the day in between feeds, but was defiantly having more awake periods.
She started to discover her hanging toys in her swing and floor mat. Around 3 months she started reaching for them and “talking” to them. Often times I think she is upset because she is so loud when she “talks” but when I check on her she is smiling, kicking her legs and waving her arms. She moves so much less than Liddy did, but talks a whole lot more.
Towards the end of month 3 and all of month 4 she has been waking up again at night!! I am hoping it is just a phase that doesn’t last forever. I haven’t really tried much to change it yet, but all I know is she isn’t near as good of a sleeper as she was! Even naps are between 30 min- an hour. Sometimes I will get a 2 hour stretch from her. She is forced to nap on the go more often than not because Lydia and I want to get out of the house. So lots of her morning naps happen in the car, stroller or in the carrier 🙂
We painted her toes for the first time in month 3 and Liddy loves having matching toes with her sis. Lydia also always makes sure Chlo has a bow in hair too! I love seeing them interact- it is just so sweet.
There is lots of this that goes on around here. Lately Lydia intentionally goes and plays with Chloe, tickles her toes or her belly, kisses her, waves toys in her face… which sometimes turns into tears for both girls- Liddy doesn’t like it when Chloe cries!
I love dressing the girls in matching outfits… yes I am “one of those moms” esp while they will still let me 🙂
Chloe celebrated her first 4th of July! We went as our little family of four to the square in downtown Denton for a parade, which Chloe slept through in the carrier. Then we went to brunch at a new place we now love, came home and made 4th of July crafts and took naps. Then we headed to Nanny and Papas house for swimming, BBQ and fireworks! It was a fun filled day after daddy’s first week at his new job!
And of course both girls had two adorable outfits for the day, so we had to do a wardrobe change 🙂
This pose was all Liddy’s idea!
Chloe has always loved bath time. She loves the warm water and has started kicking and splashing while big sis is in the tub with her. When we wash her hair it lays flat but as soon as it dries it sticks straight up!
Working on tummy time. Depends on the day and moment if she likes it. She like it a lot more in the beginning, but lately not so much.
Chloe loves to giggle when we talk to her, tickle her chin, her belly, play “patty cake” or “how bigs the baby” with her. She has such a sweet little spirit.
She has started the teething process this month… lots of drooling, finger biting, and more fussy. Poor girl. I am not a fan of teething! I know that every momma hates this stage… its amazing once they are past it (even though I know Liddy’s 2 year old molars are just around the corner) you forget how annoying it is for them. Her fussy-ness and more neediness has really shown how impatient I am! I have had to ask for lots of grace and forgiveness lately as I get more impatient with her…. it is pretty sad because looking back she is still way less needy and less fussy then Liddy ever was, but I have gotten spoiled/used to her being so chill that when she isn’t it throws me off!
we go to the dr. on August 19– so I will update this then! I know she has grown though cuz I am super sore at the end of each day, but she is still a little peanut, but has super chunky legs… I l.o.v.e. baby rolls!
Height: 24 inches 35% (same as Lydia at 4 months)
Weight: 12 lbs 8 oz – 23% (Lydia was 12 lbs. 14 oz)
Getting better at tummy time! And we rolled over from tummy to back on August 2 and on August 11 she went from back to tummy! And discovered her toes on the 9th! Lots of firsts coming up.
I call her “angel baby” because she truly is a little angel baby.
We have gone swimming at Nanny and Papas twice and once at a tot pool with slides and water fun in Flower Mound with all the cousins last week. She was a perfect baby while we were there- not a peep… even in the sun and heat!
Daddy’s fingers taste so good!
And so do hers… this is what she looks like most days 🙂
So big sitting up in her Bumbo chair! She has really gone from a newborn to a baby in the past month… makes my heart a little sad, but am loving watching her grow. She is still so snuggly and loves to be rocked and held better than anything. She also like to face out now and see the world. Her fav position is to lay against my legs facing me while my knees are up…. this way we can talk, play and giggle together.
New sister activity… tickling toes during breakfast!
She has started blowing bubbles and gurgling! I think we will have a talker on our hands! And we are in trouble again with those eyes and that smile.
Well, I better go both girls are up from their naps and needing me… after a week of trying to get this post done I wanted to finish it!
Chloe Jane– Chlo Chlo…
We love you oh so much. Thank you for teaching us how much we could love someone, for growing my faith and patience. You are truly a gift and we are truly a gift from God. I am going to go pick you up now 😉
Momma & Daddy
Life as we know it…
I thought it was time for a life update on here…
We have been back in America for 6 months on the 22nd- crazy to think that half a year ago our lives were SO different. We were speaking Arabic daily, walking to the beach to visit our neighbors and best friends, eating rice and chicken on almost a daily basis, and Chase was trying to figure out the ins and outs of regulations for opening up a business while sipping coffee and eating dates with Omani government officials. I miss this life and will never forget it. We are starting to get into more of a rhythm here in America, starting to feel a little more “normal” most days, but we still have days where this just doesn’t feel like home…. maybe one day it will or maybe not. One thing I know is that we weren’t made for this world, but for somewhere greater and I look forward to the day we get to go to our real home in heaven with Jesus!
But until then we are fitting to find joy as we settle back into American life and find a new normal. Today, Chase is on his way to Denton pulling a U-haul with all our stuff that we have stored and collected over the past 4 years, while his family cleans the house for us (we are so blessed). Tomorrow me and the girls (and my mom- so thankful and blessed she could come to help!) will be joining him to move into our new home in Denton, Texas! This will become our new home, where we will start a new chapter in life and find a new place to serve and new friends to do life with. We are excited, anxious, ready, apprehensive, and joyful. It is bittersweet to leave Albuquerque, my mom, Andy, Aubrey,l Nate and friends (green chile & mountains!). We were so blessed by them these past 5 months- it was a perfect place to have a baby and start to heal/recover from the crazy year of change we had.
Chase will also be starting a new job June 30th! He got a job with Guidestone Financial. He will be learning all about financial services while working towards getting his CFP license (certified financial planner) and will also work on getting his MBA. (which Guidestone will help pay for both! what a blessing!) His office is 45 minutes away with no traffic… which means it will be quite the commute- boo. We are going to look into him taking public transportation, which will hopefully help cut down some of the time and allow him to study and read on the commute (or rest for his second shift at home with the girls!) This new work schedule (8-5, plus commute, Monday – Friday) is going to be a big adjustment/culture shock for us…. me and the girls will be going through some growing pains in the next few weeks as we settle in without Chase and without my mom’s help, so if you think about it will you say a little prayer for us? Thanks!
Despite all the change and newness that we are embracing, we are excited and ready for some stability, for a schedule and to find a new life rhythm. We think it will be good for us and a season of growth and greater dependance on the Lord.
I will let you know how we are in a month after we get moved in, unpacked and start this new chapter. We thank you all for following us on this crazy journey of ours, for supporting us, loving us, praying for us, and allowing us to be real with you. We are on the uphill climb and thankful for what the Lord has brought us through. We don’t know what the future holds, but we are excited to see and to be doing it together.
Did I mention that we are doing this move with a 20 month old and a 2 month old?!
Did I mention that we are doing this move with a 20 month old and a 2 month old?!
They have been doing really great with all the change (so far), however, Liddy has been testing the waters lately and been a little more needy, winey and a tad more difficult. Think she is still getting used to not being the only one to have momma’s attention… please tell me it gets easier?! I am thankful that she keeps me on my toes and I laugh everyday because of her! She is at such a fun age despite her desire for independence!
And then there is Chloe… she has been a dream baby so far. What a blessing for us in this season. God knew what we needed.
Chloe at one month…errr 7 weeks.
6 lbs 8 oz at 2 weeks!
about 9 lbs (I weighed her on my scale at home so not exact)
Can my baby already be over one month?! She is actually 7 weeks!! NO WAY! I can’t believe it. I know every mother says this, but really it just seems like time is flying. And I have a feeling it is just going to get faster as time goes on.
Chloe has been such a doll. We have been so spoiled blessed to have had such an easy first 6 weeks. We have forgotten at times that she is around. She is such a cuddle bear and loves to be snuggled, swaddled, and held close. I love love cuddling her and will often stay up later than I should just to hold her. She loves to sleep and lay on her belly against your chest- melt.my.heart.
Clothes:
Chloe is wearing newborn clothes and diapers still. I think in the next week she will start graduating to size 0-3 month. She mostly hangs out in pjs or onesies with pants and a bow headband. It is fun to see her wear things that Lydia used to wear, but also fun to dress her in new stuff! Her hair is adorable and what makes her her. It is so so soft, long and sticks straight up, even if you comb it down. I think it is getting longer and thicker already. She has some crazy cowlicks- which will be fun to tame one day!
Chloe’s little “nursery” area in our room at my mom’s house
Sleep:
So far we have no routine and no patterns. She just sleeps a lot. The past few days/week she is starting to have more awake time though, which is fun! I want to try and start putting her in her crib for nap time and start establishing nap times so that once its just me and the girls I am not in big trouble (I am afraid I might me..), plus I think Liddy is craving/needing some time with just me with no baby sis in site. I will let you know how it goes next Chloe update post. At night she has mostly slept 3 1/2 – 4 hours with a surprise occasional 5- 7 hour stint (not very often though).
bath time! Her cord fell off on day 5, so she got to have a real bath pretty quick! We have to wash her hair often because it gets oily from all of us touching it so much 🙂
matching sisters … there will be lots of this!
Other:
My family says that Chloe looks just like me as a baby- same hair do, skin color and eyes. She has moments where she looks like Lydia, but mostly she is her own little self. She is a very chill baby and just goes with the flow. So far she has traveled to west Texas (Aunt Brookes and Lubbock), Angel Fire for her first family vacation, and Dallas where she helped us house hunt! She has traveled by car and plane and has done great with both. We said that we wanted Chloe to be a flexible traveler like her sister and so far she is! Hope we get to take her to Oman before she turns two. She loves being in my carrier, which helps free my hands to care for Liddy.
Mother’s Day in Angel Fire
We have another pacci baby on our hands (at least for now!). Which of course can cause some problems with big sis as she wants to steal Chloe’s often, but she is sweet and also will bring me hers when she is crying.
She has started to coo and smile in the past few weeks. Oh so much fun to see and hear. It is such a joy to see her develop and start to grow her own little personality. I am amazed at how quickly the newborn- sleep all the time- phase ends, but thankful for each step.
just a few days old
We have be spoiled by having lots of hands helping us adjust to life with two babies under two. However, soon I will be by myself and we will go through another adjustment period…. I will let you know how that goes! So far life with two has been fun, exhausting, and such a joy. Lydia has been a lot more fussy, demanding and clinging with me lately. She is super sweet with Chloe, but just doesn’t like my attention to be divided… I know we will adjust and she will be fine, but some days it is tough when both girls want their momma at the same time. But I know this season is oh so short and so I am trying to soak it all up and not take anything too seriously.
Boompa & Grandma
Gramzi & Jaju
Papa & Nanny
I am spending most of my free time snuggling and loving on sweet Chloe when Liddy is sleeping or otherwise occupied… since I know from experience this time how quickly this phase passes. And at night when I think about editing pictures or posting on the blog I would rather snuggle my baby and watch Gray’s Anatomy (yes, I have started watching it on Netflix… its become my wind down/nursing show)
Thank you Jesus for my sweet baby girls!
Chloe,
Daddy and I love you so much and are so thankful to call you ours. You have made becoming parents of two so easy! Thank you for your sweet, chill spirit, your sweet smiles, and wonderful snuggles. We cherish you and love you SOOOO much. Welcome to our crazy family- there will be lots of dancing, laughs, and silliness! We pray that you would know Jesus loves you and that you would follow Him one day.
love, momma & daddy
Birth Story: Chloe Jane
Finally getting around to post this… have been working on it for over two weeks! (welcome to life with 2 under 2!
As you all know miss Chloe was breech and we were given a 10-15% chance that she could flip back on her own. My sister suggested that we go to the pool and do flips and handstands to try and get her to turn. So, on Sunday, April 6th we headed to the pool and did just that- summersaults and handstands (it was a sight to see I am sure…a 9 month + preggo woman flipping around). We said lots of prayers and asked all of you to pray…. and trusted that whatever happened the Lord’s hand was in it. We went in for an ultrasound on Monday, April 7 and sure enough she was head down! Praise Jesus!! Now we were just hoping that she would stay that way till Thursday, when we had our c-section scheduled…
Thursday, April 10 at 7:30 am we drove to the hospital to get another ultrasound and make a plan for when we would get to meet our baby girl. Our doctor hooked us up and scanned my belly and low and behold she was still head down and in perfect position to have vaginally!! So, no need for a c-section, now we just had to decide if we wanted to induce due to a “unstable vertex” (meaning she could flip back at any point) or if we just wanted to wait it out. I was ready to meet our girl that day and we had all the grandparents in town… but I also wanted to make the best decision for us and the baby. So we had our doc check to see how far dilated I was (Aubs had checked me the night before and I was still a 1 … so I wasn’t expecting much), but again much to my surprise I was a 3!! That made me decide to go ahead and induce! But first I needed food since they made me fast in case we would have a c-section 🙂
Around 9:30 am we got checked into our room, that Aubrey had picked out for us- with a great view and lots of natural light- perks of having a sister as a nurse! Our doctor decided that we would start with a cooks catheter (a balloon they insert to cause you to dilate to a 4 or 5) and wait on pitocin. However, as soon as she inserted it, it wouldn’t stay because I was already around 4.5 cm! So, she said that there was no need for an induction at that point, we were just going to wait and see what my body would do! At this point I was not having consistent or painful contractions, so we decided to walk the halls to try and get stuff started…
Chase caught me at just the right moment and he just thought HE was tired… 🙂
About 12 pm I was still around 4.5 cm and not having much action in the contraction department (we almost started playing a round of “BS”, but decided to walk around some more instead) so my doctor suggested we get pitocin started. About and hour or two after they started pitocin I started feel contractions and getting a little more uncomfortable (finally!… I know as strange as it sounds I was looking forward to the “can’t-talk-inbetween- contractions stage because I wanted to get this show on the road). We did a lot of walking the halls and sitting on the birthing ball. About 4 pm my doctor came in to break my water and thats when labor really kicked in… I was now getting to experience the “can’t-talk-inbetween-contractions stage and was quickly reminded that I wanted that stage to be over!
I had such great support during labor…. my own personal nurse, hand masseuse and back masseur 🙂
At some point (I don’t remember when) I wanted to get a little relief from the pain so I requested for some Fentanyl, which takes the edge off and allows you to rest in-between contractions. This stuff was great and lasts about an hour. As soon as they gave it to me I felt a lot better and felt almost like I was high. I leaned back on the bed and my family asked how I was and I just gave them a big smile and a thumbs up! ha During this time I requested to use the “peanut ball” to help open the cervix (Aubs had told me what a miracle worker they were), since I was just laying there… this was super painful during contractions, but I was thankful to rest a little bit in between. After all this they checked me and I was at 7 cm. So I got up to change positions…. then started to feel like I could/wanted to push, so they checked me again… I was a 7 again… sigh. At this point I started asking for the real drugs (epidural)… I was just hesitant because I didn’t love they way it make me feel last time, but was D.O.N.E. and needed to rest.
I am so thankful for the partner I have in Chase, he was so patient, kind, loving and encouraging before, during and after labor. He is more than I deserve or could ask for. I really enjoy the closeness that labor brings… what a gift from God!
As we were waiting for the anesthesiologist to come and work her magic, I felt like I could push again, so they were thinking maybe I could be complete! So they checked me… nope now I was an 8. I said, “get me the drugs” after this news… So I got them… it was SO painful and SO hard to sit still while she poked my back, but Chase was my support and helped me through it. During this time I felt an even stronger urge to push… so they checked me again and I was a 9!! (all of this was around 9:30 pm or maybe a little later) They were telling me that the drugs probably wouldn’t fully work or take effect by the time I was ready to push… but it would give me some relief…. I was totally fine with that, in fact that sounded way better to me- I wanted to be able to feel when it was time to push. At 10:15 I was at a 10 and they called the doctor and by 10:28 pm Chloe was here! I only pushed twice and she came 🙂
Chloe’s cord was wrapped around her neck really tight and so the doctor had to cut it before she could be delivered completely. She was put on my chest right away, but then they took her to the table to get fluid out of her lungs and just make sure she was ok… and about 3 minutes later she was back on my chest. So thankful for the doctors and nurses and for their care for us. What a little miracle Chloe is.
in love all over again…
Chloe’s doting fan club 🙂(papa, grandma and big sis weren’t able to be there, but admired from a far! – Jaju came by earlier as well)
I am super thankful and happy with the way my labor went. It was such positive and fun experience. I loved being at Aubrey’s hospital and seeing her in her element (she is great), getting to meet her co-workers, getting to have family in the waiting room, getting ice chips (yup, didn’t have those in the Middle East) and for the food that was delivered to my room while we were in the hospital. I was happy that I labored naturally for the most part, and am even happier that I was able to get the “good stuff” in the end to help me finish strong. All in all it was a really great experience! Can’t wait for my next baby, however we hope to wait a little longer this time! 😉
(sorry for the Loooong post… good job if you made it to the end!)
She’s here!!
Our sweet baby girl Chloe Jane McGough was born on April 10th at 10:28 pm!
I know I am a little late on announcing it on here, but things have been super busy with grandparents, aunts, cousins, and friends in town, baby snuggles, chasing a busy toddler, trying to catch up on sleep, and finally getting all the pics I have taken so far (there are lots… ) on my computer. So I apologize (even though I have posted a ton of pics on fb and instagram), but I assure you we have been enjoying Chloe to pieces and trying to soak up every moment of the sweet “newborn-ness” as possible- because it is over oh so quickly.
We are overjoyed to have her as part of our family. She has been such a little blessing. She is SO chill. (just like her daddy) Sometimes when we have her in the swing we forget that she is even here because she just lays there quietly and hardly makes a peep. I know that she is only 9 days old and all of this could change any day, but we are enjoying it for now and praising Jesus for her health and sweet self.
6 lbs. 4 oz, 19 inches and lots of dark hair!
(she left the hospital and was 6 lbs and 3 days later had already gained an ounce! She is a great little nurser! I am sure she will be back up or if not past her birth weight at her 2 week check-up)
There are parts of her that look a lot like Lydia, but at the same time she is her own little person (she actually looks a lot like me when I was born- my parents keep saying that it feels like they are looking at me when the hold her)
Chase is head over heels for his girls. He is such a wonderful girl dad, I am so thankful for him and how he serves our family. We are 3 blessed girls.
Our little family of four! Makes my heart happy. Praise the Lord whom all blessings flow.
Lydia’s reaction to her baby sis could not have been any better… she was so gentle and sweet with her. She LOVES her already. She wants to hold her and kiss her and takes her baby dolls and wants to swaddle them, feed them, burp them and even lifted her shirt to nurse once! We haven’t seen a ton of behavioral differences since we brought Chloe home, however, Chase feels like she has been a little more testy with him and the past few days she has been pretty clingy to me. But overall, we have been blessed with a great big sister for Chloe… can’t wait to see them grow up together and become best of friends!
When we came home from the hospital we were welcomed by all her grandparents (except grandma linda- we missed you!) and Auntie Aubrey! They had balloons and this welcome home sign hung up for us. It was fun to come home to a house full of family and much different than our experience with Lydia. We are thankful that we were able to share this special time with our family.
Chloe – fruitful grace and beauty Jane- gift from God; Jehovah has been gracious
We chose Jane for her middle name because we feel like she is our little gift from God in this season of life. She was a surprise and came in the midst of lots of transition, but such a GREAT gift and we couldn’t be happier. Thank you for your prayers for my pregnancy, her healthy and her delivery.
Hope to post her birth story soon! Until then I will be snuggling a newborn and chasing a toddler around 🙂 Thankful to be these girls momma.
“Behold, children are a heritage form the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. ”
Psalm 127:3
38 weeks {5 days}
We have had a crazy couple of weeks with miss Chloe Jane (yes we finally decided on a middle name!!). At our appointment last week (37 weeks) we saw a different doctor and when she was listening to her heartbeat it was lower than it should have been (112 and then went back up to 120 and 130… ) so she wanted us to go get a BPP (bio physical profile ultrasound test) just to make sure that everything was ok. During the test Chloe did great and her heart rate was back up in the 130s and 140s. Then they put me on the monitor for 30 min for an NST (non-stress test) to have a longer reading of her heart rate. During this time it looked great- she had lots of variability (Aubrey tells me this is a good thing and what they look for- when the heartbeat has accelerations), but at one point she had a slight deceleration (which could have been her sitting on the cord or something else), but turned out to be nothing to be concerned about. However, the on call doctor was relayed incorrect information about the readings and wanted us to come down to the hospital for a longer reading/testing, but luckily there was a mid-wife that came back after lunch that read the strip and heard the report and said that everything looked great and that it wasn’t necessary to go down for more testing that day (Aubs read the strip too and said the same thing- so thankful for her!). They compromised at me going in for twice weekly BPP’s and a growth scan up until she is born. It was such a long day with lots of emotions, but at the end of the day we were super thankful that everything checked out fine and has been great ever since. Even though it seemed like unnecessary worry and tests, I am glad that we got to check in on her and know for sure that she is doing good! Praise the Lord!
On Thursday (yesterday) we had our second BPP for the week and as the ultrasound tech was looking for Chloe’s head she instead said, “Ummm, thats the baby’s bladder…” and I responded with, “What?!” because the position of her bladder was in the same spot that her head was in on Monday… she continued to move the wand up toward my ribs and said, “yup, there’s her head. This baby is breech!” I could not believe what I was hearing! I was in TOTAL shock. That little stinker had somehow turned herself around between Monday and Thursday and is now no where near the correct position for birth!! Everything else looked great though.
So we went down to see my doctor afterward and discussed our options. We talked about doing a version to externally try to get her to flip around, going to a chiropractor or getting acupuncture. We decided that we didn’t want to force anything that could cause risk to Chloe (even if the risk is low), so we decided to go for praying (and maybe doing some fun gymnastic type moves at home) to get Chloe to flip on her own and if she doesn’t then we have a c-section scheduled for 9:30 am on Thursday, April 10th! If she happens to be head down that morning then we will induce and try to have her vaginally but if she is still breech we will get to have our sweet baby girl in our arms before lunch on Thursday!!!
I have lots of mixed emotions about all of this. Mostly still in shock– didn’t think she could actually flip this late in the game esp when there is NO room left! Of course a c-section was not at all what I had in mind for this birth and so I am having to come to terms with it and all that it entails. It is a blessing that we are living with my mom and to have her help. I was really looking forward to laboring with my sister and getting to experience it again with Chase, but I know that it will be just as special and just as sweet when we get to hear her cry and hold her for the first time. I am thankful for a healthy baby and excited/nervous for next week! Chase keeps telling me that I love a plan and now I have one, so that’s a positive too!
How far along? 38 weeks (5 days)
Total weight gain: I think I am up to 25 +/- lbs now! – just can’t seem to resist having dessert every night… !
Maternity clothes? yup, and sick of them at this point
Stretch marks? I found a couple :/
Sleep: been sleeping pretty good except for potty breaks
Best moment this week: when Lydia kissed Chloe and gave her milk from her baby doll’s bottle… cannot wait to see her reaction to her baby sister! (hoping and praying she adjusts well…)
Miss Anything? laying on my stomach and back- regular clothes
Movement: apparently lots since she did a summersault to face the wrong way!
Just saw this comment from last time… guess I spoke too soon!! We went to the doctor today and she is head down, back up and in perfect position for birth! Hoping she stays this way and just continues to move downward 🙂
Food cravings: steak, yogurt with fresh fruit, popsicles
Anything making you queasy or sick: not really
Gender: girl!!- this has been confirmed several times in the ultrasounds
Labor Signs: I was 1 cm and long yesterday… which now I hope I just stay the same since I can’t go into labor and have her breech anyway… still having Braxton Hicks daily thou.
Symptoms: sore back, cramping, big belly!
Belly Button in or out? out
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy and nervous about the c-section
Looking forward to: kissing and holding Chloe on Thursday!!
Lydia at 18 months…
Its been a while since I have blogged about our sweet Liddy Bug. She has been changing so much lately – its crazy how fast time flies. I wish I could bottle her up at this stage and keep it forever. She is just so.much.fun.
She is full of energy, is non-stop from the moment she wakes up to when she naps to bedtime. (well except for about 10-30 minutes of snuggle time during milk and cartoons in the morning and after nap) She keeps us on our toes and makes us smile and laugh EVERYDAY- a true blessing especially in the midst of a tough transition season for our little family. She plays really well by herself as long as you are in the same area as she is. When she plays she skips from one toy or object (plastic cups and lids or spice jars in the kitchen) to the next within a matter of minutes- like I said a busy happy girl.
She is a pretty good eater and will try most things. We could for sure increase her intake of veggies (this is a fault from her momma since I am not a huge veggie fan, esp. preggo- we are trying!) Some of her favorite foods include:
- hummus with carrots or pita chips
- beans of any kind
- cheese
- Spanish rice
- guacamole (she doesn’t like avocado by it’s self, but add a Mexican twist and she is sold)
- blueberries
- plain yogurt
- pizza
- Clementine oranges
- veggie soup
- Chicken tortilla soup
- green beans
- gold fish
- cinnamon raisin bread
- Special K Vanilla Almond cereal with milk & strawberries
- hard boiled eggs
- Mac & Cheese
- Fried eggs (she hasn’t been liking scrambled eggs lately- which she used to eat two at a time!)
- Spaghetti
She has been trying to talk more and more these days. It is so cute! I know that it won’t be too long before she is non-stop talking…. poor Chase- he will have two talkative women in his life 🙂 I just love seeing her try to listen and then think about how to say it and then actually attempt saying it- what a joy as a parent to see your kids learning! Some of the things she is saying these days are:
- Momma
- Daaaddy
- Bye-byes
- Hi
- bubbles
- shoooes
- babrey (for Auntie Aubrey)
- purple
- blueberry (she says this so cute- not sure how to “write” it out)
- cheese
- No-no (she shakes her finger back and forth when she says this one)
- tate-to (thank you)
- yeah
- yes
- ease (please)
- go
- two
- wow
- ballon
She loves making animal noises. Our family favorite is her “meow”- she looks like a pirate/ally cat by winking her right eye as she meows (pictured below). She does monkey noises with the arm motions, says “quack quack”, “woo-woo” for a dog noise, “baaa” for sheep, and snorts for a pig.
She love LOVES to dance! (I know, a girl after my own heart!) Anytime there is music on she is dancing- wiggling her hips, shaking her fingers back and forth, moving her shoulders up and down, kicking her legs, spinning around- just basically grooving to the beat. Lately she has even gotten better at dancing to the correct rhythm of the song. Her favorite songs to dance to are “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, the “cu-pig shuffle” from her dancing/singing Valentine pig from Nanny & Pappa, country music, JaJu’s 70’s rock music, and “Let it Go” from Frozen. Anytime she sees our computer she yells “gooooo!” and puts her arms out and says please meaning she wants to watch you tube videos of “Let it Go” and of course we give in and let her. (most of the time)
She has started throwing little dramatic fits by throwing herself on the ground and laying there for a bit, so the past few weeks we have tried the “time out” discipline method. Chase puts her in a chair for like 10-15 seconds and tells her to stay and she actually does! Usually she is crying, but it stops whatever dramatic fit she was just throwing. And then we hug her and tell her we love her and she gives us hugs back. Who knows if she knows what is going on, but she will eventually! We also have spanked (yes I said spanked!) her hand if she is doing something we have told her not to do several times. Its a trial and error learning phase for discipline at this point (and I am guessing for all of parenthood), so we will see what works for her! Can’t believe we have to already discipline, but when you were born a sinner it makes sense! Thank goodness for God’s grace and patience with us all.
She is a pretty good sleeper, which has been such a grace to us in this stage of life. She naps (and 99% of the time goes without a fuss) anywhere from 1 1/2 – 3 hours (please keep this up when Chloe comes!) and goes to bed between 8 and 9 and sleeps till 8:30 or 9 am! At night after we say our prayers and she has 3 paccis (yes 3) in her crib with her and her blanket on we ask her: “do you know momma loves you? do you know daddy loves you? do you know that Jesus loves you and is always there for you?” and after each questions she nods her heads and looks up at us while laying down… so sweet.
She has 12 teeth and has 4 making their way as we speak! This makes it easy for her to eat all sorts of stuff- including popcorn at her first movie, Frozen, that we took her to about a month ago. Such sweet memories.
learning how to wash cars with dad and jaju
She is super flexible and a great traveler, but very particular at the same time. She has gotten to where she likes a routine (but can go with the flow when there is none) and likes to have everything in its place (not sure where she got that from?? not me! 😉 ) She has a plan and tries her best to communicate that plan to us– her new thing is to grab our hands and walk with us to wherever she wants to go and do what she wants to do. Its pretty cute.
We can’t wait to see Lydia as a BIG sister (even though she is still our baby- I know she will seem so much bigger compared to a newborn). We know that it will come with lots of joys, tears, laughs, excitement and challenges, but we are ready for what the Lord has in store for our little family. Even though we are ready to be out of this transition phase in life, we are thankful for the quality time we have had with family and that they have gotten to share in our joy of Lydia at this stage.
Liddy bug,
We know that life is about to change big time for you as you transition to being a BIG sister! But we know that you will do great with whats ahead and we know that you will fall in love with your baby sister. We pray that you two will become best friends and will always be there for each other. Thank you for being such a joy and so much fun to call our daughter. We love you more than you could ever know!
love, momma & dada
baby bump pics of Chloe
last Sunday we went to the park to try and get some belly pics before I felt too large and uncomfortable and before Chloe decides to make her debut 🙂 Unfortunately it was super windy and c.o.l.d. that day, but I still feel like my brother-in-law, Nate, and sister, Auburey were able to capture some fun pics (despite my wind blown hair- its all about the belly anyway right?) (oh and I am 34 weeks preggo in these)
Here are a few of our favs…
Lydia was more interested in eating teddy grams (our bribe to get her to sit still for pics- didn’t work much) and dancing/”singing” in the park than posing for the camera… but what more can you ask for from a 17 month old?!
