Lucky 7

Ginny turns 7 months old today.

She is......

Ginny @ 7 months

Bright


Beautiful


Happy


Sweet


Mine!





It is that last one that surprises me the most. I still pinch myself to make sure this isn't all a dream.

For years, I wanted to be a mom.  When I wasn't dating people, yet getting older, I contemplated adoption, sperm banks (ruled out immediately), and even fostering children.  I couldn't justify the adoption when money was tight for just me.

Then, God brought Chris into my life!  All things were possible with him.

After struggling with losses, God blessed us with Ginny. She is a blessing!When I look at her, I feel such love and joy!

It is hard to believe that 7 months have passed. I can't imagine my life without Ginny. She is the light of my life, the love of my life, my world. She is amazing! God is good!

Happy Days Are Here Again!

A miracle has happened!  For the first time in over 7 months, I got 8 hours of sleep!  

Saturday night we put Ginny to bed at 7 p.m. like we normally do.  She fell right to sleep.  She did have a period of fussing around 10 or 11, but after putting the paci back in her mouth, she fell right back to sleep.  I was asleep by 10 p.m., anticipating being woken around 4 a.m. for her usual feeding.  Instead, I woke at 5 a.m. and realized that Ginny hadn't woken me.  I was in a bit of a panic.  I went to her room and saw that she was still sleeping (okay, I actually put my hand on her back to make sure she was alive).  Then, on my way back, I did a happy dance and said a silent cheer to myself.  

Ginny, sound asleep, with Elfie!

My baby girl slept the night through!  A first!!

Ginny slept until 6 a.m. Since it was the time change that night, it meant that she got 12 hours sleep.  Chris and I celebrated that wonderful Sunday morning.  It was a good day.

I fully expected that this would be a temporary situation, and that Ginny would resort to old habits and not sleep the night through again.  I have been pleasantly surprised.  She has slept at least 11 hours in a row every night since.  She does have a crying jag or two in the middle of the night but goes right back to sleep once getting her paci.  

While I'm sure we will again run into irregular sleep when the next tooth comes in or when she hits her next growth spurt, for now I will enjoy having sleep and no longer dealing with sleep deprivation.  After being spoiled with sleep, I now may reconsider trying for a 2nd baby in the near future.  

(Okay, I'm lying on that last part but I do love finally getting sleep.)

Ginny's First Halloween

Last night was Halloween, one of my favorite holidays.  This year, I slacked in the decoration department.  Being a mom has meant adjusting energies and priorities.  I never did get around to decorating much.  Hopefully, I will do a better job next year.  I am grateful that Ginny didn't really notice that type of detail this year.  That could be because it was her first Halloween.

My girls dressed for Halloween: Ginny as a Pumpkin & Daisy as a cow!

Since she is only 6 months old, we didn't think that she was quite old enough to Trick-or-Treat.  After all, she doesn't have teeth yet to eat candy and just recently started eating solids.  However, we did put her in a costume.  We visited two of our neighbors, mainly so they could see Ginny.  Chris and I happened to score some candy from those neighbors too. Most of our evening was spent passing out candy.

We live in a small town adjacent to Springfield, Illinois. The type of town and neighborhood where people sit out on their front porch and pass out the candy, which is our tradition as well. Despite being small, we had our customary huge number of costumed children visit us.  This year we passed out candy to around 150 kids.  We stopped 30 minutes early.  Not because we ran out of candy, but things had slowed down. We could have continued once going inside, but since Ginny was asleep we turned out the lights.  The last thing we wanted to do was have the doorbell ring and wake her.

Me & my girls ready for the Trick-or-Treaters

Chris with Ginny and Daisy Mae!

It was a beautiful evening and a fabulous night filled with creative costumes, cute children, and lots of candy. All in all, a fabulous Halloween.  I hope that Ginny always enjoys this holiday as much as I do.

Yummy! A Banana in My Tummy!

Ginny has now been eating solids for 2 weeks. The first food we introduced to her was rice cereal.  She was okay with it.  Just trying to figure it out.  Next came carrots and Ginny loved them (as seen in a previous blog entry).  Since then, we have introduced apples (loves), potatoes (does NOT like), peas, and then today....banana.

Ginny absolutely LOVES bananas!  She couldn't get enough.  At times, she got impatient with me.  I was not getting it to her fast enough.  She wanted more and more.  Then, I did something wild and mixed it with her cereal.  Mixing it did not stop the love!  I imagine that right now, as she naps, she is dreaming of banana.

Hopefully, she loves more foods that we introduce. Next up, she will be trying sweet potatoes (we hope she likes this better than a regular baking potato), avocado, butternut squash, and pears.

Until then, I have an adorable baby that I imagine that right now, as she naps, is dreaming of banana.

Sleep?

I know I did a post about sleep deprivation, but it needs to be repeated.

I am soooo tired!! Just when I think Ginny is becoming a better sleeper, she changes her mind. I've got her on a nap schedule, morning and afternoon.  She does okay with it.  It really depends on the day.  Sometimes she will sleep 40-60 minutes in the morning and then 1-2 hours in the afternoon.  Some days, though, she will only sleep 20 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the afternoon.

At night, she is in her crib by 7 p.m. and usually falls right to sleep.  For a few weeks she would sleep until about 2 a.m. for a feeding and then sleep until 7 a.m.  That did not last.  Now her sleeping is more sporadic.  The other night, I think she decided to be nostalgic for her first few weeks of life because she woke every 2-3 hours for a feeding.  She should be sleeping more, but we are struggling through two things right now--teething and another growth spurt.

I miss sleep. I need sleep. I want sleep.

More than that, I want Ginny to get some sleep.  A sleepy baby can be a crabby and impatient baby.  Ginny is a very happy baby most days, but without the necessary sleep she gets cranky a bit quicker than normal. Hopefully, her first 2 teeth come in soon so maybe she starts sleeping better again. Hopefully.

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Ginny!

Today, Ginny is 6 months old.

It is hard to believe that she is "that" old.  It seems like the time has flown despite the lack of sleep and all that comes with having a baby.  She is growing so fast and part of me wants her to stay little.  I know that is not possible though.

This morning we went to see Ginny's doctor so she could get her 6 month check-up and shots.  Soon after we got there, our nurse Taylor brought us back.  Taylor kept gushing on Ginny and even said she was the cutest baby ever. :)  Of course, this had Chris and I beaming from ear to ear.  We naturally feel that way (and feel as though no other baby could be as cute as our little girl), but love hearing it when others gush too.  It makes us feel as though we aren't just delusionally happy parents, but accurate in our assessments.

Ginny got measured.  She is a healthy 17 pounds 10 ounces and 26.25 inches long.  I looked it up online but this puts her in the 75th percentile (80th percentile for weight, 71st percentile for length).  The doctor came in to look at Ginny and go over developmental milestones to make sure she is on track.  She is! :)  We also discussed putting Ginny on solids and the plan of action for that.  I was pleased to learn that her doctor's attitude was the same as mine--to start Ginny with veggies then introduce fruits.  One of the questions I did ask the doctor was about foods I am allergic to.  I've read that some food allergies can be passed down.  The doctor told me to just hold off until she is a year old before introducing those foods, then we will watch her carefully for a reaction.

Getting her first taste of rice cereal

Daddy feeding a little!

One thing I did tell the doctor was that we started solids on Ginny yesterday with rice cereal.  I made up a tablespoon of it.  Ginny was not sure what to think of it though.  It wasn't that she didn't like it, rather she just wasn't sure what the stuff was going into her mouth.  A very new sensation for our baby girl.  This morning was day 2 on introducing solids.  She almost ate the full tablespoon.  She didn't mind it so much.  On Monday, we will try our first vegetable.  We'll see how that goes.

Sleep Deprivation: Being a New Mom

Before I gave birth to Ginny, I struggled with sleep like many women in the last trimester do.  On top of that, I was fatigued.  It was not the best feeling---wanting sleep and not getting it.  People would tell me that it was God's way of preparing mothers.  My response was that if God was trying to prepare us for motherhood then He should give us as much sleep as possible before the baby is born.

To this day, I think my assessment is correct.  The sleep deprivation of the 3rd trimester is entirely different than that of being a new mom.  When I was in that last couple of months, I knew that I would be going without sleep once the baby arrived.  I was not wrong.  I will say this, though.  The sleep deprivation of a new mom usually comes without the additional fatigue.  At least, now, I feel like I do get rest when I sleep, as opposed to when I was pregnant.

Ginny will be 6 months old in a couple of days.  She is still not sleeping the night through.  We have gone from being up every hour or two to sleeping in 5-6 hour chunks. That means that I have now been sleep deprived for 6 months.  Actually more if you include my last 2 months of pregnancy.  Quite frankly, I'm getting tired of being tired.  It is so bad that now I am grateful for getting 6 hours of sleep in a row.  My ultimate fantasy now is to get 10 hours of sleep....just once.  8 hours of sleep in a row will suffice and make me very happy. Someday....right?

Homemade Baby Food

I have officially become one of "those" moms.  You know the ones...the ones who don't want to do what all the other moms have been doing for decades.  My first "rebellion" was to reject disposable diapers and go with cloth (which I LOVE).  Now, I'm going even further by making Ginny's baby food.

When I first envisioned having a baby, I thought I would be like most and buy Gerber's at the grocery store.  My mom did that as well as my sister.  It was my sister-in-law who brought up making baby food for Ginny.  This surprised me mainly because she hates to cook.  She went on and on about how easy it was and let me borrow a book on homemade baby food.

After much thought, I decided to go for it.  I looked at the book and online.  I even entertained another, more radical option, baby-led weaning (radical for me), but decided to go this route to start.  Now I have the book I borrowed plus 2 more and a bookmark to a website with info.  From the research I have done, I have come to the conclusion that making Ginny's baby food will save us a lot of money (I love saving), plus it is healthier for her.  She will be eating fresh fruits and veggies to start.  Later I will add meats.  I will be get the chance to be creative as well once we start to do combinations.

Two weeks ago, I started making Ginny's food.  I try to buy organic where I can.  I can steam, boil, or roast most of the veggies and fruits.  Then I simply put them in the food processor and, presto, I'm done.  After the food is pureed, then I put them in ice cube trays to freeze. It doesn't take that long to do either.  The only thing slowing me down are ice cube trays.  I only have 2, and I bought those.  I think I need to buy some more so I can be more efficient.

Some of the food I've already made for Ginny: Zucchini, Carrots, Green beans, Apples, and Butternut Squash.

Ginny starts solids in a week.  We will start with rice cereal then start adding the veggies (first) then fruits.  I have already made zucchini, carrots, green beans, apples, and butternut squash.  Today I worked on pears and yellow squash.  Tomorrow I hope to make peas and broccoli.  I will also give her foods I personally hate.  Hopefully, by giving her homemade baby food with a lot of variety, she will be a lot less picky about foods than I am.  ::fingers crossed::

Napping--Day 2

Yesterday didn't go too awful in my attempts to get Ginny to nap in her crib.  Granted, they didn't go great either.  After I laid her down, she was fine....for 5 minutes.  Then she started to fuss and cry.  I went in to sooth her and then left.  She stayed quiet (and asleep) for 10 minutes.  Again, she fussed and cried.  Again I went in and soothed her then left.  The next go, she stayed asleep and quiet for 15 minutes. Repeat for me again. I like that each time she increased 5 minutes.  I then decided to take this new "free" time and clean our master bath.  While doing so, I heard Ginny starting to fuss, but ignored it (there was no crying so this made it easy).  I could hear her starting to entertain herself and was able to finish my task.  In total, she spent one hour in her crib with only about 40 minutes of that napping.  Not too bad for the first day.

That afternoon I decided I wouldn't lay in her crib for afternoon naps until we had established the morning nap routine a bit more.  My plan is to start adding the afternoon crib nap toward the end of the week.

Now it is day 2 of setting up this lovely nap routine.  I added a new component.  I set up my iPod in her room and have it playing classical music quietly in the background.  She has now been down for 8 minutes and while she fussed a bit in the first 2 minutes, there was no crying or need for me to go in there.  I laid her down while she was awake yet sleepy.  Part of me wants to peek in, but the other part is afraid that this will disturb her.  No matter what, though, today is already much improved over yesterday's attempts. That would make any mom happy, I believe.

Napping--Day 1

Okay, I am attempting to get Ginny down in her crib for naps instead of letting her sleep in my arms.  I need to do this. I want to do this, but....I'm not convinced this will go well.  It will probably be torture, but Ginny is finally old enough for some degree of sleep training.

It is day one.  She will be laid down for her 1st nap 2 hours after waking (which is now and when she typically naps) and then around 1-1:30.  Please wish us luck!  I know I'll need it.

Shopping for Ginny

Yesterday, I decided to do some shopping for my little one!  Granted, I likely need more clothing than her since the vast majority (95%) of my tops do not fit now that I have Dolly Parton size boobs from nursing; however, I enjoy shopping for Ginny much more than myself.

The town I live in is a small one of about 4100 inhabitants.  We have 3 traffic lights but that is only because a major road (Business I-55) runs through town).  We don't have any major retail outlets here, unless you count our brand new Walgreens (love it) or Casey's General Store.  What we do have are 2 resale/consignment shops--one for women and the other for children.  So, for the first time in the last 2 years I have lived here, I ventured over to Just For Kids to do some shopping for Ginny.  While I do love buying clothing from her, I don't see the point in spending tons of money on a baby who will only wear the clothes for 2-3 months.

I did have a specific purpose and goal from my shopping. Ginny received a lot of clothes from relatives as gifts, with most fitting her through 9 months.  However, while a lot of her 6-9 month sized clothing is adorable, it is also a bit summery. My plan to extend their usefulness was to get some long-sleeve neutral (white/black/gray, etc) onesies/t-shirts for Ginny and a few pairs of pants.  I also hoped to find a good Halloween costume for our girl.

Well, I looked at costumes first and was disappointed in the selection.  Granted the selection was probably small because all of the costumes were on sale for $0.50.  (YES!!)  I did see 2 possibilities but quickly ruled them out.  They had a bee costume and a ladybug costume.  Very cute, but not what I had in mind.  Hopefully I'll find something on sale at JcPenney or another store soon.  I may even shop online.

Then I went to the section of the store where they have all their 6-9 month clothing and they only had 10 items there.  Only 10!!!  They had a TON of clothes for every other size but 6-9 months.  Do people not dress their babies during that time or do their kids all jump from 3-6 month to 12 month outfits overnight?  I wonder.  I did find 3 things I liked and my total cost was $8.63.  Not bad.  Her new outfits are pictured below.

Once Ginny is ready for the next size up, I will go shopping there again.  I enjoyed my first venture into consignment baby clothes shopping.  Until then, I guess I'll be looking for what I need at other stores. I'll just hope for a good sale. ;)

Bouncing Baby

Today Ginny and I started a new adventure--attending a Musikgarten music class called "Bouncing Babies."  The class is 30 minutes once a week for the next 14+ weeks.  I say plus because there are no classes the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's.  However, the class will meet 14 times.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect, although I had a slight inkling after attending new parent orientation on Sunday. We had a lot of fun.  Ginny is not as much a participant as I am at this point, but she did seem to enjoy the movement and singing.  Ginny loves music in general--particularly when I sing to her.  Now she is in her own mini-heaven because I'm singing to her for about 30 minutes at a shot.

What fascinated Ginny the most were all the other babies in class.  I honestly think I gave birth to an extrovert. She loved all those other faces and that they were about her size.  At 5 months old, Ginny was the youngest in class.  Most of the other babies were around 8-9 months.  By the time the class is done she will almost be 9 months.

Next week, Daddy will get to join us.  I'm looking forward to it.

In Love & Baseball

Friday night, my husband, Ginny, and I were watching the St. Louis Cardinals game on TV.  We do this often despite Chris NOT being a Cardinals fan.  In fact, we are part of a "mixed" marriage...I'm the Cardinals fan (the best team ever, if you didn't know) and he misguidedly is a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers.

As you might imagine, during baseball season, things can get tense in our house.  The tension amped up a bit once we had Ginny.  How would we raise her?  As a Cardinals fan or a Brewers fan?  Not unlike our *"marriage contract", we decided to compromise.  We decided to raise her as both until she can make up her own mind. (Of course, she will be a Cards fan like her mommy. LOL)

Well, back to Friday...Chris decided to use the laptop while we were watching the game.  I was curious and finally, after waiting for a bit, I asked what he was up to.  He decided that since the temps were supposed to be nice and cool on Labor Day, that he would look into the cost of tickets for the Cardinals/Brewers game at Busch Stadium.  Luckily, he found great seats (lower deck, 3rd base side) for a great price ($19 each).  The decision was made to go to the game.

The view from our seats!

We had a blast! Despite the Cardinals losing (boo Brewers...lol), it was a wonderful day!  It was sunny and 72.  Ginny was in a great mood and seemed to be having fun!

Ginny enjoying herself!

Ginny & I

Ginny enjoyed the game so much that she even fell asleep!  We hope that she learns to appreciate baseball as much as we do--no matter what team she supports (of course, she will be a Cardinals fan).

Chris holding a sleeping Ginny at the game!

**"Marriage Contract:  Let me briefly explain our marriage contract.  I am a Cardinals fan while Chris is a Brewers fan (poor soul) and there was no changing for either of us.  However, he had no commitment to college teams and I am not a football fan.  So, we agreed on the following: Chris will support the KU Jayhawks in college sports while I will support the Green Bay Packers in the NFL.  It works for us! :)

Loving Ginny

I knew that once we had a baby our lives would change forever.  In some ways that change was scary, but, yet, eagerly anticipated.  Now, I cannot imagine my life without Virginia (Ginny).  I love her beyond any measure.  She is the greatest treasure, blessing, and light in my life.

It isn't fair in some ways that a child never fully understands their parents' love for them until they become a parent themselves.  I loved Ginny before she was born, but that love grew by leaps and bounds once she was born.  The love for her continues to grow.  It is a love unlike any other I have ever felt.  My parents made sure to let me know they loved my sister and me, especially Mom (only because she is naturally more demonstrative...not because she loved us any more than Dad).  Even with all that love being "thrown" at us, while I loved (and still love) my parents, I did not realize how much they loved us until Ginny was born.

Ginny is a wonderful gift from God.  I am thankful every day for her....even when she is cranky or doesn't let me get much sleep.  I enjoy watching her learn and discover new things.  Her smiles light me up from the inside.  I laugh so much with her now. Just watching her enjoying a toy will have me laughing hysterically at times.

I even cry due to her.  If she is in pain and I can't fix it, I am in pain too...often with unshed tears in my eyes.  This past Thursday she went in for her 4 month check up.  She had some shots she had to get, and I found myself crying with her.  I hated hearing her in that much shock and pain.  It tore me up.  I knew she needed the vaccinations, but didn't like seeing her going from smiling up at the nurses to the sudden howl and tears.

My greatest worry in life is now Ginny.  I worry about her more than myself or anyone else I know.  After Ginny was born, it took a while for my milk to come in and Ginny lost 15 oz, over 15% of her body weight.  That was a cause of concern.  While some weight loss is normal (around 5-7%), she lost more than normal.  It took a little while for her to gain the weight back, but now she is super healthy and gaining like a champ.  At her appointment we found out that she is now 14 lbs. 6.5 oz. and 23 3/4 inches long. Just seeing those numbers made me beam!

From now until the end of my days, Ginny will fill my thoughts and life.  I couldn't be more grateful for her.  Loving Ginny is the best thing ever!

A Good Baby?

One question I hear from a lot of people upon seeing or meeting Ginny is "Is she a good baby?"  I've got to be honest.  This question baffles me.  I don't understand it in the least.  Because the opposite of good is bad. So if I were to answer "No" that would mean that she was a bad baby, right?  How is it possible for an infant to be bad?

I suppose the question is asking if she is colicky or not.  My preference would be that instead of asking if the baby is good, to ask if the baby is colicky.  To me, even a colicky baby is a good baby.  Babies are inherently good, I believe.  They are just following their instincts and doing what they know best---peeing, pooping, eating, and sleeping.  Unfortunately, they can't yet talk and tell them what is wrong so they often cry to express their needs.  For some, the needs are not being met in some way (or so it seems because the baby is colicky) and the parent can't meet it because they have tried everything they know to calm their baby.

It is my opinion that I have the best baby in the world.  She is adorable, beautiful, sweet as can be, and doesn't often cry for no reason.  She is cranky on occasion and right now she is a little "piggy"--wanting to eat all the time.  But, no matter what, even when she is cranky and crying, she is a good and wonderful baby!

Eat, Poop, Pee, & Sleep

Before you become a parent, you discover that you have a lot of choices to make--from how you plan to birth your baby (with drugs or without, etc) to if you plan on finding out the baby's gender to getting a changing table or not. I know Chris and I weighed our options as we encountered each decision, but for the most part, we knew what we wanted to do long before the decision needed to be made.  We knew that we wanted to be surprised as to the gender and that I would require a c-section.

There are 4 things that a newborn does in their early life that is easy to predict--they eat, poop, pee, & sleep.  Quite simple.  But, each item requires a choice for the parents to make.  Who knew?  

As for sleeping, that seems relatively easy.  Some sort of crib, right?  Well, in addition to that, we made the decision to have Ginny sleep in our room for her first 3 months of life.  She has a nursery with a crib, but until she is older she sleeps in our room.   We have a hand-me-down pack & play given to us by my sister with a bassinet in it.  So, we place her in there.  We try to get her to sleep in it, and usually she will go to sleep in it for at least one stretch of sleep a night.  The rest of the time she ends up sleeping in her little rocker.   (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4230352)  I hope that one day she sleeps in her bed the whole night through.  

Eating is the other decision we had to make.  Bottle feed or breast feed?  To me, that seemed like a no-brainer.  In my mind, the option I always focused on was breastfeeding.  When I was younger, I couldn't imagine ever purposely choosing to bottle feed. Bottle feeding was an option if for some reason you could not breast feed.  Over the years, I've discovered that some women choose to bottle feed.  I've heard some express that they would bottle feed because the idea of breast feeding was gross to them.  Maybe it is because I've always wanted to breast feed, but I've discovered something since having Ginny---there is nothing more natural than breastfeeding.  By that I mean that it felt natural from moment one.  Did it feel a bit odd getting situated and breastfeeding the 1st time?  Sure, but that was because I hadn't done it before.  However, the moment she started feeding nothing felt more natural to me.  So far, I'm having success with breastfeeding.  There were some questions early on because Ginny lost a lot of weight initially and took her time gaining weight.  She continues to gain though and grow and seems to be a happy and alert baby most of the time. 

Finally, the last decision is how will you diaper your child--cloth or disposable.  I never thought of this as a controversial topic.  I was quite surprised when I mentioned that I planned to use cloth diapers on Facebook at the responses I got from a few people.  Many people were quite discouraging of the idea of cloth diapers.  I heard from quite a few that they thought they would do that too, but gave up after 2 weeks and thought I was crazy to try.  The best response I got was from my mom though.  She just asked me why I wanted to use cloth.  I loved that response.  I wish others had asked.  Again, this was a decision I made long before I knew I was pregnant.  I have always planned on using cloth.  For one thing, I figured if my mom could use cloth with myself and my sister, then why couldn't I.  Also, I could not justify the use of disposable diapers on a regular basis in MY head.  My imagination always went to a landfill and just the thousands of disposable diapers I would be adding to the mix that would be there for hundreds of years.  Additionally, I couldn't imagine spending the amount of money that goes into using disposable diapers for 2-3 years.  The cost is, quite frankly, outrageous.  I know many families use disposables, including my sister and my in-laws.  That's perfectly fine.  Again, this was my issue. My problem imagining the waste and cost. 

We embarked on cloth diapering slowly.  I knew that after a c-section that it was likely that I would not be up for doing laundry that first week--much less Chris.  So, we started that first week off with one bag of disposable newborn diapers.  When those diapers were gone, then we started with the cloth.  It really worked for us in that way.  It gave us a chance to just adjust to having a baby at home.  Now, we have the cloth diapers going and it is becoming a routine.  Is it more work?  Yes, it is.  I do wash the diapers every other day.  However, I love the cloth diapers--we are saving money long term and I don't picture these diapers ending up in a landfill (in fact, when we are done with them, hopefully after having another baby, we can resell them and get some money back). The only time we plan on using disposables is when we go on an overnight trip or vacation.  

Lots of choices and this is just the beginning....

It's a....GIRL!!!

For months, we had fun playing the guessing game as to whether I was pregnant with a baby boy or a baby girl. A lot of people were guessing a boy based on how I was carrying.  I even did the blog where I went over all the old wives' tales--that leaned toward girl.  A couple weeks before we had our baby I did a poll for my friends on FB asking what they thought.  The majority leaned toward a boy.  I guess we fooled quite a few people because to our incredible surprise and delight, we had a beautiful baby girl--Virginia Sophia Geelhart.  She was born at 7 pounds 8.8 ounces.  We plan on calling her Ginny.

My c-section wasn't too awful, but I'm not in a rush for another.  I had a spinal to block the pain.  While the pain is blocked, the sensations of pushing and pulling are not.  The c-section was far from easy and definitely NOT comfortable.  For those out there who decide to get a c-section because they think it is easier and less painful than a vaginal delivery--I would say it is likely you are crazy.  You should try vaginal if that is an option for you.  It wasn't for me and when we decide to have another baby (if God so blesses us again), I'll have to do the c-section again.  However, all the discomfort is worth it in the end.

I've been home from the hospital for 3 days now.  Sleep has been hit and miss.  I expected that.  What I didn't expect is that even without sleep, I have more energy now than when pregnant.  What some women might forget or others might not realize is that if you have pregnancy fatigue in your 1st and 3rd trimesters, it can be nearly "debilitating".  That is kind of strong wording, but the fatigue I had left me with no energy to do much.  More sleep didn't help either.  I just felt exhausted all the time and then if I got little sleep it was even worse.  Now, the fatigue is gone.  I just have some basic sleep deprivation.  Sleep helps that.  But when I am awake I do have some actual energy.  It feels good to have energy again.  Of course, most of my energy is spent on Ginny now. :-)

I'm also recovering from the c-section.  I take pain medication every 3 hours--rotating hydrocodone and prescription strength ibuprofen.  If I miss a dose, I'm okay but end up in more pain later.  Tomorrow we go to the doctor to have her remove my staples (I have staples instead of stitches).  Hopefully that isn't too awful and will help some of the pain deplete (fingers crossed).

The most important and wonderful thing is my lovely daughter.  I can't believe I'm a mom, but I love her with my whole heart and being.  I would do anything for her.  I just enjoy gazing at her and loving her.