We had decided last fall to call off the house search. We knew we were expecting Elaina and knew that looking for a house/trying to sell our house would be too much to deal with while I was pregnant. Not to mention we were hoping to use the chance to pay off some debt and fix up our house a bit. The goal was to start looking for a house a year from now before we try for our fourth (and last!) baby. At that point we will have outgrown this house twice over and will really be out of nooks and crannies in which to squeeze our children.
Just becuase our plan was to look a year from now doesn't mean that we didn't keep checking the MLS once in awhile to see what was new in the neighborhood, keep up with current prices, etc. A few days before Elaina was born I discovered a house that intrigued me, the first one in our price range with nearly everything we wanted. But seeing as how I was going to deliver at any moment, I passed it by wishing it had shown up the previous fall when we were looking. Once Elaina was born, looking at houses was the furthest thing from our mind. Until this week...
I came across this same house again. And as I tripped over the same toy for the tenth time in one hour I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to wait another year to look for a new house. I wanted to look now. This house was in our price range, why were we waiting?
We decided to launch the home search yet again. And this time we are bound and determined to actually get a new house. Please, Lord, please, let this be the time...
We loved the house. There was so much potential. It was big enough for our family to grow into (yes, actually room to grow) and really didn't need much work. Just a lot of updating. There were some terrible paint jobs. The entire house is hardwood, so worst case scenario it would need a bit of refinishing. It had so much character. Unfortunately (there is always something for us) it is in short sale. Which adds complications. And this is an awful market. Awful. But we're going with faith and we're going to list our house for sale anyway and hope that someone wants to buy it fast enough that we can get this house before it goes into foreclosure, or someone else buys it out from underneath us. We're trying very hard not to get too attached to the idea of this house because we have bad luck with houses. But maybe this time, this will be the one...
Please keep us in prayer as we begin this process (again!). We are frantically finishing up a few projects that we have left and are starting to pack up toys and junk that can be stored in the anticipation of upcoming showings. We're praying that if we're not in the Lord's will that He will make that clear. He has a good track record where we're concerned. Everytime we venture toward a house, the Lord slams the door. And each time that has happened we are eventually glad that it did and we anticipate what the Lord has for us. But we really, really hope that this is what the Lord has for us.
I'm tired of kids in my closet!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
What Do You Think?
Here are three pictures of our girls all around 2 months old. We've compared different pictures where they look more alike than others. However, these three were all similar poses and facial expressions.
What do you think? Do they look like each other?
Hannah
Grace
Elaina
What do you think? Do they look like each other?
Hannah
Grace
ElainaI think it is neat to see/compare all three of them at different ages (but when they are all the same age). See their differences and similarities. It is amazing to me that all three of them could come from Eric and I. Children are truly one of God's greatest miracles.
Monday, April 13, 2009
The First Six Weeks
I'm the type that needs goals. I like to plan. I like to know how things are going to end up. I have to force myself to not read the end of a book. I will quite frequently read the entire plot outline of a movie before I watch so that I know what is going to happen. Although this is not always the case (there are definitely movies and books where I want to enjoy the surprise), I enjoy the story more for knowing what is going to happen.
Newborns drive me crazy. Crazy! From the moment of birth (even before that if you count the uncertainty of when you'll go into labor) they are unpredictable. Why are they crying? It is a toss up! How can I get them to sleep? Trial and error. Just not my cup of tea!! Although I love all my daughters dearly, I do not enjoy the infant stage.
So from the very beginning I tell myself that the worst of it will be over after the first six weeks. Realistically I know that at six weeks babies are still newborns. They still cannot express themselves. They still cry all the time! But the big difference? Every once in awhile, when you are very lucky, they will lock eyes with you and give you a smile. And that makes the sleep deprivation melt away. For a few minutes anyway :-)
So Elaina is now six weeks old. And ultimately nothing has changed. Elaina still doesn't nap well during the day (unless she is being held, of course), she still wakes up every 3-4 hours at night (unless she only does 2!) She has had her first smile, but most of the time she's too darn cranky to bother with that! But the end is in sight, because things really do start to get better from here on out. Even though I'm still up half the night, I know that any day now it can turn around and get better. And hope is a good thing.
Here are a few pictures to commemorate 6 weeks!
This is a common scene in our house. The girls love to talk to Elaina! I can't wait until she responds to them more.
If Eric and I look tired it is because we are! We barely slept the night before!
Our Little Easter Bunny!!
We're looking forward to the next 6 weeks! We get to know Elaina more everyday. Please keep us in prayer. We could all use a little extra strength...and maybe a bit of mercy, too!
Newborns drive me crazy. Crazy! From the moment of birth (even before that if you count the uncertainty of when you'll go into labor) they are unpredictable. Why are they crying? It is a toss up! How can I get them to sleep? Trial and error. Just not my cup of tea!! Although I love all my daughters dearly, I do not enjoy the infant stage.
So from the very beginning I tell myself that the worst of it will be over after the first six weeks. Realistically I know that at six weeks babies are still newborns. They still cannot express themselves. They still cry all the time! But the big difference? Every once in awhile, when you are very lucky, they will lock eyes with you and give you a smile. And that makes the sleep deprivation melt away. For a few minutes anyway :-)
So Elaina is now six weeks old. And ultimately nothing has changed. Elaina still doesn't nap well during the day (unless she is being held, of course), she still wakes up every 3-4 hours at night (unless she only does 2!) She has had her first smile, but most of the time she's too darn cranky to bother with that! But the end is in sight, because things really do start to get better from here on out. Even though I'm still up half the night, I know that any day now it can turn around and get better. And hope is a good thing.
Here are a few pictures to commemorate 6 weeks!
This is a common scene in our house. The girls love to talk to Elaina! I can't wait until she responds to them more.
If Eric and I look tired it is because we are! We barely slept the night before!
Our Little Easter Bunny!!
We're looking forward to the next 6 weeks! We get to know Elaina more everyday. Please keep us in prayer. We could all use a little extra strength...and maybe a bit of mercy, too!
Monday, March 30, 2009
One Month Old!
We made it through the first month! It is actually really hard for me to believe that Elaina has been part of our family for an entire month.
We're eagerly awaiting her laughs and grins. I know that Hannah and Grace will be over the moon when Elaina looks at them and actually reacts to their nonstop chatter!
At Elaina's 1 month check-up she weighed 8lbs 10 oz (50th percentile) and 21.5 inches (75th percentile). She's shooting right on up the charts.
Spring will soon be here (although it technically already is!). It is teasing us this year with a few warm days, then a few cold. It won't be long though until it warms up and stays warm. We cannot wait! Not only am I desperate to get outside in the fresh air and sunshine, but I am eagerly anticipating shedding these postpartum pounds! Yea spring!
We're eagerly awaiting her laughs and grins. I know that Hannah and Grace will be over the moon when Elaina looks at them and actually reacts to their nonstop chatter!
At Elaina's 1 month check-up she weighed 8lbs 10 oz (50th percentile) and 21.5 inches (75th percentile). She's shooting right on up the charts.
Spring will soon be here (although it technically already is!). It is teasing us this year with a few warm days, then a few cold. It won't be long though until it warms up and stays warm. We cannot wait! Not only am I desperate to get outside in the fresh air and sunshine, but I am eagerly anticipating shedding these postpartum pounds! Yea spring!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
She's Here!
I'm sure by now this is common knowledge, but I'm finally getting around to updating here.
Elena Jane Cunningham arrived on February 27. She weighed in at 7lbs 6oz, 2o inches (a full pound heavier than Grace, and a full 2 inches longer than Hannah!) She was three weeks early, and much to my delight, a full 9 days before Grace's birthday.
The story, if you are interested, is as follows:
I noticed that my cramping had turned into something more like contractions around 6pm on February 26. I wasn't sure if it was "real" labor or not and I was fairly convinced that it wasn't since it didn't seem to be falling into any sort of regular interval. Eric was actually out getting diapers for Grace in the snowstorm and I kept thinking what lousy timing this would be. Even though I suspected I wasn't in labor yet, and was instead suffering from Braxton Hicks contractions, I still felt relieved when Eric finally did show up.
By the time we got the girls into bed and I took my shower, it was around 9:30 and I laid down to actually time my contractions. It didn't take long for me to realize that they did seem to be falling about every 5-6 minutes. Still, it was like a blizzard outside, and I wasn't about to call friends to watch the girls and have my parents venture out in the snow for a false alarm. We called L&D to ask what we should do. We felt like total morons, but with both Hannah and Grace I was induced, so going into labor naturally was something totally new to me. And with both Hannah and Grace, I didn't suffer from "early labor" but was thrown pretty quickly into the harder, faster contractions that are impossible to confuse with false labor!
After being passed around to a few nurses and eventually the on-call doctor, they determined that even if I wasn't in labor, I'd been far enough progressed in the doctor's office that morning that I should come in and get checked out.
We called friends and also my parents and then headed off through the snow. I was really filled with dread at the thought of inconveniencing everyone only to be sent home. I was so relieved when the nurse reassured me that my contractions were regular and that I was dilated to 5cm, so I would be staying. I was disappointed that this would be the first birth without my doctor, but I figured that it had to happen eventually. Although it wasn't deliberate on my part, it was in the back of my mind that if the baby held off until my doctor's office hours, then I'd get my doctor instead of the on-call doctor. So I didn't do anything to hurry labor along and let it progress on its own. I did get an epidural around 3am so I could sleep, though. I well remember how tired I was when Grace was born, and then the long night that followed with them bringing her to me constantly to eat! I wanted some rest before I had to do that again!
Lucky for me my doctor showed up around 7am and I was still in labor. She broke my water and put me on a bit of pitocin and 2 hours later (9:05am) out popped Elena! Although it certainly wasn't that easy, she was born in 2 or 3 pushes and Eric and I both noticed that there were scarcely anyone in the room this time around. As far as births go, I think mine was pretty uneventful.
Things have been going well. We had to be readmitted to the hospital on March 2 because Elena's jaundice levels had gone too high. They told us that we could leave her on a biliblanket for another week or put her under the lights at the hospital for one day and be done. We opted for the faster cure. So we were pretty peeved the next morning when the doctor wanted us to stay longer, and when we resisted that, we had to put her on the lights for another three days! So much for a fast cure!
So now we're at 3 weeks and the last few nights have been following a similar pattern. I'm hoping that she'll fall into a routine. I'm not foolish enough to think that newborns are ever 100% predictable, but I thrive on knowing what to expect, so the sooner she becomes somewhat predictable, the happier I will be.
The girls are adjusting well, so far. They seem to really like having a baby sister around. Even Grace, whom I was the most concerned about, loves to hold her. She will hurry to talk to her when Elena cries, and loves to identify her body parts. Hannah thrives in the big sister role, and enjoys helping with baths and diaper changing. I'm so proud of both of them.
We've also made the decision to change the spelling of her name from "Elena" to "Elaina." So from here on out, that's how it will be spelled. We discovered that the name was being mispronounced, which was not the reason we chose to change the spelling, but it was a factor. I Googled the name "Elena" and saw the other spelling and fell in love. I wish I'd realized that before we made it official, but oh well. We're waiting to here from someone about the actual procedure, but we hope to get it straightened out soon.
Hope to update much sooner this time!
Elena Jane Cunningham arrived on February 27. She weighed in at 7lbs 6oz, 2o inches (a full pound heavier than Grace, and a full 2 inches longer than Hannah!) She was three weeks early, and much to my delight, a full 9 days before Grace's birthday.
The story, if you are interested, is as follows:I noticed that my cramping had turned into something more like contractions around 6pm on February 26. I wasn't sure if it was "real" labor or not and I was fairly convinced that it wasn't since it didn't seem to be falling into any sort of regular interval. Eric was actually out getting diapers for Grace in the snowstorm and I kept thinking what lousy timing this would be. Even though I suspected I wasn't in labor yet, and was instead suffering from Braxton Hicks contractions, I still felt relieved when Eric finally did show up.
By the time we got the girls into bed and I took my shower, it was around 9:30 and I laid down to actually time my contractions. It didn't take long for me to realize that they did seem to be falling about every 5-6 minutes. Still, it was like a blizzard outside, and I wasn't about to call friends to watch the girls and have my parents venture out in the snow for a false alarm. We called L&D to ask what we should do. We felt like total morons, but with both Hannah and Grace I was induced, so going into labor naturally was something totally new to me. And with both Hannah and Grace, I didn't suffer from "early labor" but was thrown pretty quickly into the harder, faster contractions that are impossible to confuse with false labor!
After being passed around to a few nurses and eventually the on-call doctor, they determined that even if I wasn't in labor, I'd been far enough progressed in the doctor's office that morning that I should come in and get checked out.
We called friends and also my parents and then headed off through the snow. I was really filled with dread at the thought of inconveniencing everyone only to be sent home. I was so relieved when the nurse reassured me that my contractions were regular and that I was dilated to 5cm, so I would be staying. I was disappointed that this would be the first birth without my doctor, but I figured that it had to happen eventually. Although it wasn't deliberate on my part, it was in the back of my mind that if the baby held off until my doctor's office hours, then I'd get my doctor instead of the on-call doctor. So I didn't do anything to hurry labor along and let it progress on its own. I did get an epidural around 3am so I could sleep, though. I well remember how tired I was when Grace was born, and then the long night that followed with them bringing her to me constantly to eat! I wanted some rest before I had to do that again!
Lucky for me my doctor showed up around 7am and I was still in labor. She broke my water and put me on a bit of pitocin and 2 hours later (9:05am) out popped Elena! Although it certainly wasn't that easy, she was born in 2 or 3 pushes and Eric and I both noticed that there were scarcely anyone in the room this time around. As far as births go, I think mine was pretty uneventful.
Things have been going well. We had to be readmitted to the hospital on March 2 because Elena's jaundice levels had gone too high. They told us that we could leave her on a biliblanket for another week or put her under the lights at the hospital for one day and be done. We opted for the faster cure. So we were pretty peeved the next morning when the doctor wanted us to stay longer, and when we resisted that, we had to put her on the lights for another three days! So much for a fast cure!
So now we're at 3 weeks and the last few nights have been following a similar pattern. I'm hoping that she'll fall into a routine. I'm not foolish enough to think that newborns are ever 100% predictable, but I thrive on knowing what to expect, so the sooner she becomes somewhat predictable, the happier I will be.
The girls are adjusting well, so far. They seem to really like having a baby sister around. Even Grace, whom I was the most concerned about, loves to hold her. She will hurry to talk to her when Elena cries, and loves to identify her body parts. Hannah thrives in the big sister role, and enjoys helping with baths and diaper changing. I'm so proud of both of them.
We've also made the decision to change the spelling of her name from "Elena" to "Elaina." So from here on out, that's how it will be spelled. We discovered that the name was being mispronounced, which was not the reason we chose to change the spelling, but it was a factor. I Googled the name "Elena" and saw the other spelling and fell in love. I wish I'd realized that before we made it official, but oh well. We're waiting to here from someone about the actual procedure, but we hope to get it straightened out soon.
Hope to update much sooner this time!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
37 Weeks
I'm officially the most pregnant I've ever been. Yea for baby #3!!
We had our 37 week check-up today. There is more progress to report--yea!!
I am now dilated to 4cm, which is the minimum they like to see before they'll admit you. I'm 80% effaced and the baby's head has now lowered into the 0 station. It is exciting to see so much progress in a week.
The doctor stripped my membranes today (they do this in attempt to trigger labor) and said that if anything is going to happen it will within 24 hours. Other than some extra crampiness I haven't had anything happen yet, so we'll see. Of course we are also going to have a snowstorm tonight and a change in barometric pressure can sometimes trigger labor. I'm not crossing my fingers, though.
My blood pressure was still okay, but slowly rising. This is often a step toward preeclampsia, a slow upward movement. I mentioned to the doctor that Grace's birthday (the 8th) is next weekend and since my next appointment is two days prior (6th) to Grace's birthday, I'm concerned that if my blood pressure is high they'd want to induce me on the 6th. My doctor was very understanding and is going to have me come in next Tuesday for a blood pressure check. If it is showing an increase, they'll induce me that very day.
I'm of the opinion that I don't want my blood pressure to go up, but if it is going to I'd rather they do something about it before Grace's birthday rather than wait for it to get worse and then have to be in the hospital for it.
Looks like it might be soon!
We had our 37 week check-up today. There is more progress to report--yea!!
I am now dilated to 4cm, which is the minimum they like to see before they'll admit you. I'm 80% effaced and the baby's head has now lowered into the 0 station. It is exciting to see so much progress in a week.
The doctor stripped my membranes today (they do this in attempt to trigger labor) and said that if anything is going to happen it will within 24 hours. Other than some extra crampiness I haven't had anything happen yet, so we'll see. Of course we are also going to have a snowstorm tonight and a change in barometric pressure can sometimes trigger labor. I'm not crossing my fingers, though.
My blood pressure was still okay, but slowly rising. This is often a step toward preeclampsia, a slow upward movement. I mentioned to the doctor that Grace's birthday (the 8th) is next weekend and since my next appointment is two days prior (6th) to Grace's birthday, I'm concerned that if my blood pressure is high they'd want to induce me on the 6th. My doctor was very understanding and is going to have me come in next Tuesday for a blood pressure check. If it is showing an increase, they'll induce me that very day.
I'm of the opinion that I don't want my blood pressure to go up, but if it is going to I'd rather they do something about it before Grace's birthday rather than wait for it to get worse and then have to be in the hospital for it.
Looks like it might be soon!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Progress
We had our 36 week doctor appointment (although I'm nearly at 37 weeks, oh well) today. This is the first time that they checked to see what progress has been made. That's always exciting because you know the end is near. The baby will hopefully be born sometime in the next 3 weeks or so.
My blood pressure looked completely normal, so it appears that I may actually have a baby on his/her own schedule (but please, please not on Grace's birthday!!). Although with Grace it was actually rather nice to be induced since she was considered full-term and that allowed my parents to get here in time without all the rushing to the hospital business. But it would be nice to deliver without the benefit of a blood pressure cuff strapped to my arm.
Anyway, for those who are interested I am dilated 3cm (out of 10) and 70% effaced (100% is the goal) and the baby's head is in -1 station (0 is considered engaged and +4 is when the head is leaving the body). Relatively good progress for how far along I am. Technically speaking the baby could arrive at any time. Or I could remain the same for the next few weeks. What will be more telling will be seeing whether there is any change between now and my next doctor appointment. Or, I suppose, if a baby shows up before then :-)
My blood pressure looked completely normal, so it appears that I may actually have a baby on his/her own schedule (but please, please not on Grace's birthday!!). Although with Grace it was actually rather nice to be induced since she was considered full-term and that allowed my parents to get here in time without all the rushing to the hospital business. But it would be nice to deliver without the benefit of a blood pressure cuff strapped to my arm.
Anyway, for those who are interested I am dilated 3cm (out of 10) and 70% effaced (100% is the goal) and the baby's head is in -1 station (0 is considered engaged and +4 is when the head is leaving the body). Relatively good progress for how far along I am. Technically speaking the baby could arrive at any time. Or I could remain the same for the next few weeks. What will be more telling will be seeing whether there is any change between now and my next doctor appointment. Or, I suppose, if a baby shows up before then :-)
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