A note for my local friends.......
We just had a session at Portrait Excellence on Friday (it was a gift) and I have to tell you that lady is awesome! Her name is Beverly Toves and she is the one who does the pictures hanging at the local pediatric offices and at our adoption agency. She and her assistant were so great with my boys and I think she got a lot of good photos. I had a great time talking with her and getting to know her a little. She showed me some of the raw ones on her camera and I can't wait to see them all.
While I was there, Beverly told me that she is going to be at the Home and Garden show at the Expo Center next Friday through Sunday (3/26-3/28). In honor of her 30th anniversary as a photographer, she will be offering special pricing. Her session fee is normally $200 and it will only be $30!! She will also be offering 30% off her normal portrait pricing. So if you have seen her work (it is EXCELLENT!!) and you'd like to get some pictures like that done, she said to go to the Expo next weekend and book with her there. If you do, please tell her I referred you. The expo does cost money to get into ($7 for those over 12), so be aware of that. But if you've been wanting some special portraits, she will be able to capture them and this may be the best pricing she has for awhile. Tell your hubby to make it an early Mother's Day present.
www.bevphotos.com
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
One Month
Hannah is one month old today! It's time for me to write my first update letter for her birthmother. I am not exactly sure what I will say yet or which pictures or how many of them to include. She has her one month check up tomorrow morning. She actually slept pretty well last night, so I hope this is a new trend. She ate and went to bed at 7, had a 4 oz dream feed at 10 (that's when I feed her in the dark while she's asleep) and then didn't wake up until 3am! She ate then and was up for about an hour and then went back to sleep until 8. So she had a five hour stretch and a four hour stretch last night. She's been gaining weight, so we're not too worried about making sure she eats every three hours at night anymore. I have been working last week and this week to get her on a schedule. My boys have all thrived on schedules and it really helps me to be able to keep my sanity as well. We all seem like to knowing what is happening and when. She has her days and nights mixed up, so I've been working on fixing that the past few days. Hopefully, this means I am on the right track!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Overwhelmed
I am just totally overwhelmed right now. There has been so much loved poured out on my family in the past two weeks that I just don't even know what to say. Thank you does not seem adequate. Since we brought Hannah home, I have received so many gifts for her that have helped us out tremendously. We've been blessed with cards and prayers and messages. We've also received a few meals this week and have another coming next week. Someone came over the other day to watch Hannah while the boys napped so that I could also go take a nap. A couple friends had a surprise shower for me tonight. I don't know why I have been blessed with so many wonderful friends when there are so many people who don't have any friends, but I am so thankful for each of you. I feel so very loved!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Hannah's Birthmom
I forgot to share this with you. The social workers from the office that we picked Hannah up from said that Hannah's birthmother and sisters are doing much better. The sisters have accepted this and they are processing it. They are making a scrapbook for us to keep for Hannah. I told the workers how my heart had been breaking for the birthmom and they told me that Hannah's birthmother is happy for her and that I should be happy too. She does miss her, but she is very excited about her daughter's future with us and is so glad she chose us. She does not regret her decision. That does make me feel better. We will probably have a reunion visit with them in June.
Weight Check
At Hannah's weight check on Monday, she weighed in at 6 lbs 4 oz, so we're headed in the right direction. She goes in again at one month (next week). The biggest problem right now is that her formula is constipating her. It's hard on them to switch formulas so we don't want to keep doing that. We switched her back from the 2nd one to the first one and were waiting to see if it would help. But she's still plugged up. I have to call on Monday and talk to the ped again. I want to ask about trying the Gentle formula, because several moms have told me that did the trick for their gassy babies. Oh, how I wish I had a milk supply. I think that's what she really needs and it's killing me.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Placement Ceremony
Today we took part in a placement ceremony for Hannah. Because there is no longer any risk involved in our adoption, today she was officially placed with us for adoption and we signed the final placement paperwork. We celebrated with our pastor, a few friends, and some family members at the agency. We read Scripture together and spent some time in prayer, before sharing some cake and refreshments. Some brought cards and gifts for Hannah. Afterwards, most of us when out to dinner to celebrate our newest family member. (Of course, sleep deprived mama forgot the ice cream sheet cake she bought at home in the freezer and now has more cake than she knows what to do with.)It was a good time and I thank those who shared this special moment with us.
We also had our first post placement visit today, as our social worker was able to observe our whole family interacting with Hannah and interview us a little as to how things were going. We have to have a series of three post placement visits with our social worker. They have to spaced over a certain amount of time. After they are completed, she writes up a report that will go to the courts. After our three visits, we will hire a lawyer and begin the final steps to having our adoption finalized in court. After that is done, we can legally change her name and get a new birth certificate and apply for her SSN. So now with this first visit completed, we have begun the next phase of our adoption journey. Our adoption should be finalized by the end of the year.
We also had our first post placement visit today, as our social worker was able to observe our whole family interacting with Hannah and interview us a little as to how things were going. We have to have a series of three post placement visits with our social worker. They have to spaced over a certain amount of time. After they are completed, she writes up a report that will go to the courts. After our three visits, we will hire a lawyer and begin the final steps to having our adoption finalized in court. After that is done, we can legally change her name and get a new birth certificate and apply for her SSN. So now with this first visit completed, we have begun the next phase of our adoption journey. Our adoption should be finalized by the end of the year.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Bethel
(I apologize in advance for any typos. I am not getting much sleep these days.)
After the Lord delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt through a series of miracles, he spoke these words to them.
"Be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." (Deut 6:12)
They forgot Him every time things got rough.
In Genesis, the Lord revealed Himself to Jacob in a place called Luz. Through a dream, He spoke to Jacob a promise concerning things to come. When Jacob woke up, he realized the Lord had spoken to him and that the place he was at was special because of that. He took the stone he had used a pillow the previous night and set it up as a pillar and he made a promise back to God. He renamed the area Bethel, which means house of God. Years later, God brought him back to this very spot and told Him to build an altar. God had done many things in Jacob's life during that time and had kept His promise to Jacob. So Jacob remembered the Lord's promise and how the Lord had always been with him and he built an altar in the very spot he had previously set up that stone pillar.
And now it is my turn to set up an altar in my Bethel. The Lord has spoken many things to me concerning this adoption and He has brought those things to pass. I do not want to be like the Israelites, who forgot what the Lord had done for them. So I want to share them here with all of you and worship the Lord for the things He has done.
I have always wanted a daughter. When the time came that I was actually in a position in life that that dream could become a reality, I was so excited. But the Lord did not see fit to bless us with a daughter of our own. I was certain that #2 was a girl. I just knew it! We did not have an ultrasound with him and I remember being disappointed when he came out and was a boy. It took me several days to accept that, and my poor son didn't even have a name for three days because we had not prepared a boy name. When I got pregnant the third time and we found out he was a boy, I was very upset. I struggled with my feelings for the majority of my pregnancy, but did finally come to a place where I was able to accept his gender before he was born and I am so glad I have him now. But the desire in my heart for a daughter was very strong, and I was upset with the Lord that he had not given me one. My pregnancies are not easy. I get nasty morning sickness that lasts all day, every day from week 6 until I deliver the baby. I even throw up while giving birth. It's like living with a perpetual stomach flu, only worse because at least with the stomach flu you feel better after you throw up. It is really hard to live that way. The first time, I was able to quit my job and lay around and wallow in self-pity. The second time, I had a 9 month old to care for when the sickness started. The third time, I had a 25 month old and 9 month old to care for. It just got harder and harder to deal with the morning sickness. It leads to depression in me and at several points during each pregnancy, I have been suicidal. My husband later told me that every time he called and I didn't answer the phone, he wondered if I had done something horrible to myself. I know that throwing up is not a reason to kill yourself, but when you are suffering from depression, you don't think logically. It's just not a good place to be, so after the third child, we decided to end our fertility. I love my boys with all my heart. Each one is unique and I am glad that the Lord has placed each one in our family. However, that desire for a girl just would not go away.
Then the Lord began showing me that He placed that desire there for a reason. There was a little girl He wanted to be a part of our family all along and she needed to come to us through adoption. He was in everything that had happened, bringing about His will for us, because we had given our lives to Him and asked Him to have his way in us. To be completely honest, if any of my boys had been a girl, we would have been done with our family and not pursued adoption...especially once we found out the cost. And I used to beg the Lord to take away my sickness during pregnancy. But now I see that it had to be that way. If I had easy pregnancies, I would have just kept trying for a biological girl. So the Lord needed to get us to a point where we didn't want to have children biologically anymore, but still had a very strong desire for a daughter. Otherwise, we wouldn't have pursued adoption. It's not that we were ever uncomfortable with adoption. We had even discussed being open to it before we were married. But then we had three kids in less than three years and that is a lot of work and we would have just decided that we had our hands full and should be happy that the Lord had blessed us with the ones we did have. So God worked it all out the way He needed it to be, because Hannah was meant to be a part of our family.
It's funny, because years ago, a friend compared me to Hannah in the Old Testament. The situation was different, but it was the hope in my heart that caused her to make the comparison. I don't even remember what I was hoping for anymore. I just remember the name. I had no idea how significant that name would later be in my life.
Last year, the Lord showed us it was time to move on the adoption process. I've already talked about the journey we have gone through concerning the change in how we view adoption, so I won't relive that part of the story. Yes, my motives started out selfishly, but the Lord is a Redeemer and he changed my desires. Here are the things that Lord spoke to me and how he brought those things to pass.
Promise: He told me He had a daughter for me.
Fulfillment: On February 26th, He gave us our daughter.
Shown to me: At the end of May '09 as I was cleaning my bathroom, the Lord clearly spoke to me and told me that this child's name was to be Hannah and impressed on my heart that she was already conceived. He spoke that last part to two others as well.
Fulfillment: Nine months later, Hannah was born. Because of the timing involved here, I believe the Lord gave me her name right around the time of her conception. Interestingly enough, I heard a story of a woman who this happened to and had thought it would be really cool if God did that for us too.
Promise: The Lord said He would provide for what he was calling us to do.
Fulfillment: He brought in all the money we needed. We had no idea where it was going to come from. He brought in the last $10,000 overnight the day before we met our baby. We had not previously had all the money we needed with the other baby in November, but just in time, God came through.
Prayer Request: I asked the Lord to bring us whichever child He had for us, but that if I could put in a request, could she please be biracial like our boys.
Answer: Hannah's birthfather is biracial. While we do not know what the other part of his ethnicity besides Black is, the fact remains that Hannah is mixed.
Prayer Request: I asked the Lord for the chance to meet our baby's birthmother.
Answer: Hannah's birthmother requested to meet us after choosing us from our profile. We were able to spend two hours getting to know each other and it was a good meeting.
Prayer Request: We prayed for the Lord's will to be done in the situation in November.
Answer: Though it was painful, the Lord did bring about His will. That was not the baby He had for us.
Shown to me: I have had the feeling all along that this would happen quickly.
Fulfillment: Though it was not quite as fast as I had originally thought, it still did happen quickly. From the time that our homestudy was approved until the time we brought Hannah home, it was just under 5 months. That is very fast in the adoption world.
Shown to me: I also felt all along like when it did happen, it was going to be all of a sudden. I just felt like we wouldn't be one of those couples that was matched up with a pregnant mom and who waited for her to deliver.
Fulfillment: Hannah's birthmother called our agency out of the blue, from the hospital, the day after Hannah was born and we were called later that day.
So as you can see, the Lord fulfilled many things He spoke to me with the placement of Hannah into our home. I Thessalonians 5:24 says:
"The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it."
That is my favorite verse in the Bible, and it has been so true in our adoption. He's done it...everything He said He would do....He did it all. It was already done before I even knew it (which is something He spoke to a friend of mine back in November).
So now I just want to take some time to praise and thank the Lord publically, for He is a good God.
Lord, I thank you and praise you that you are faithful and that you do what you say you will do. I thank you that in your infinite wisdom, you have seen fit to grant me the desire of my heart, the desire that you placed there. I thank you that you have been weaving this story together long before I knew any of it, so that your will would be done. I thank you Lord, that you did not allow us to conceive a daughter biologically because we would not have the daughter we have now. I thank you that even through the hard times of morning sickness and depression, you were working your will in my life. I could not understand it then. Forgive me of my anger towards you. I thank you that even in those times, you raise up friends who prayed, who took my children to the park when I could not do anything, and who brought dinner for my family on bad days. I praise you, Lord, that you have plan for my life, for my family, and for Hannah and that know what you are doing. I praise you Lord, that you are a Redeemer and that even out of painful circumstances, you can bring good things. I thank you that you can take what seemed hopeless and redeem it so that your name is glorified. I thank you that you worked in the circumstances surrounding Hannah's conception and birth to use something very difficult and bring about something wonderful. Only you can do things like that Lord. Truly, there is no one like you. I thank you that you are a Waymaker Lord, and that you make a way where there seems to be no way. I thank you that you are Jehovah Jireh, the Lord my provider and for all the ways that you have provided for this adoption. I thank you Lord for each person that you raised up to pray with and for us and for Hannah's birthfamily. I thank you for each person that has sent us their hard earned money, because they wanted to be a part of what you were doing. I thank you for each one that came out to Cici's, took part in my Zumbathon in any way, donated to our yardsale, or shopped at our yardsale. I thank you for those who paid us for services in photography and sling making in order to support our adoption. I thank you for those who have brought, sent (or are planning to), or traded clothing and other baby items. I thank you for those who gave me things I wanted just (not necessarily needed) just so I could have girlie stuff. I thank you for those who have brought us meals so that in my exhaustion I could have one less thing to have to worry with. I thank you for the one who was willing to privately lend us $10,000 in good faith. Lord, I pray you bless all these people one hundred fold what they have given to us and that they would know how they have blessed us and that you are pleased with them. I thank you Lord for bringing so many wonderful people into our lives who love us. People who prayed with us, waited with us, were excited for us, cried with us in November, and are now rejoicing with us. Lord, who am I that I should be such a blessed woman? You have been so good to me. I thank you that you have a plan for this little girl's life and that you are allowing us to be a part of it. Thank you that our boys have taken right to their sister and love her so much already. Thank you for each and every thing you spoke to me that you have brought to pass. You are an awesome God and you are worthy of all praise. Who else can show us things that have not yet happened and then make them happen with such accuracy? No one else is like you, God. You alone are the Lord, and there is no other. I praise you, God, and I will serve you all of my days. Give us wisdom and strength to train this child in the way she should go. Be glorified in our lives and in our adoption and do all that you have in mind to do. Amen.
After the Lord delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt through a series of miracles, he spoke these words to them.
"Be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." (Deut 6:12)
They forgot Him every time things got rough.
In Genesis, the Lord revealed Himself to Jacob in a place called Luz. Through a dream, He spoke to Jacob a promise concerning things to come. When Jacob woke up, he realized the Lord had spoken to him and that the place he was at was special because of that. He took the stone he had used a pillow the previous night and set it up as a pillar and he made a promise back to God. He renamed the area Bethel, which means house of God. Years later, God brought him back to this very spot and told Him to build an altar. God had done many things in Jacob's life during that time and had kept His promise to Jacob. So Jacob remembered the Lord's promise and how the Lord had always been with him and he built an altar in the very spot he had previously set up that stone pillar.
And now it is my turn to set up an altar in my Bethel. The Lord has spoken many things to me concerning this adoption and He has brought those things to pass. I do not want to be like the Israelites, who forgot what the Lord had done for them. So I want to share them here with all of you and worship the Lord for the things He has done.
I have always wanted a daughter. When the time came that I was actually in a position in life that that dream could become a reality, I was so excited. But the Lord did not see fit to bless us with a daughter of our own. I was certain that #2 was a girl. I just knew it! We did not have an ultrasound with him and I remember being disappointed when he came out and was a boy. It took me several days to accept that, and my poor son didn't even have a name for three days because we had not prepared a boy name. When I got pregnant the third time and we found out he was a boy, I was very upset. I struggled with my feelings for the majority of my pregnancy, but did finally come to a place where I was able to accept his gender before he was born and I am so glad I have him now. But the desire in my heart for a daughter was very strong, and I was upset with the Lord that he had not given me one. My pregnancies are not easy. I get nasty morning sickness that lasts all day, every day from week 6 until I deliver the baby. I even throw up while giving birth. It's like living with a perpetual stomach flu, only worse because at least with the stomach flu you feel better after you throw up. It is really hard to live that way. The first time, I was able to quit my job and lay around and wallow in self-pity. The second time, I had a 9 month old to care for when the sickness started. The third time, I had a 25 month old and 9 month old to care for. It just got harder and harder to deal with the morning sickness. It leads to depression in me and at several points during each pregnancy, I have been suicidal. My husband later told me that every time he called and I didn't answer the phone, he wondered if I had done something horrible to myself. I know that throwing up is not a reason to kill yourself, but when you are suffering from depression, you don't think logically. It's just not a good place to be, so after the third child, we decided to end our fertility. I love my boys with all my heart. Each one is unique and I am glad that the Lord has placed each one in our family. However, that desire for a girl just would not go away.
Then the Lord began showing me that He placed that desire there for a reason. There was a little girl He wanted to be a part of our family all along and she needed to come to us through adoption. He was in everything that had happened, bringing about His will for us, because we had given our lives to Him and asked Him to have his way in us. To be completely honest, if any of my boys had been a girl, we would have been done with our family and not pursued adoption...especially once we found out the cost. And I used to beg the Lord to take away my sickness during pregnancy. But now I see that it had to be that way. If I had easy pregnancies, I would have just kept trying for a biological girl. So the Lord needed to get us to a point where we didn't want to have children biologically anymore, but still had a very strong desire for a daughter. Otherwise, we wouldn't have pursued adoption. It's not that we were ever uncomfortable with adoption. We had even discussed being open to it before we were married. But then we had three kids in less than three years and that is a lot of work and we would have just decided that we had our hands full and should be happy that the Lord had blessed us with the ones we did have. So God worked it all out the way He needed it to be, because Hannah was meant to be a part of our family.
It's funny, because years ago, a friend compared me to Hannah in the Old Testament. The situation was different, but it was the hope in my heart that caused her to make the comparison. I don't even remember what I was hoping for anymore. I just remember the name. I had no idea how significant that name would later be in my life.
Last year, the Lord showed us it was time to move on the adoption process. I've already talked about the journey we have gone through concerning the change in how we view adoption, so I won't relive that part of the story. Yes, my motives started out selfishly, but the Lord is a Redeemer and he changed my desires. Here are the things that Lord spoke to me and how he brought those things to pass.
Promise: He told me He had a daughter for me.
Fulfillment: On February 26th, He gave us our daughter.
Shown to me: At the end of May '09 as I was cleaning my bathroom, the Lord clearly spoke to me and told me that this child's name was to be Hannah and impressed on my heart that she was already conceived. He spoke that last part to two others as well.
Fulfillment: Nine months later, Hannah was born. Because of the timing involved here, I believe the Lord gave me her name right around the time of her conception. Interestingly enough, I heard a story of a woman who this happened to and had thought it would be really cool if God did that for us too.
Promise: The Lord said He would provide for what he was calling us to do.
Fulfillment: He brought in all the money we needed. We had no idea where it was going to come from. He brought in the last $10,000 overnight the day before we met our baby. We had not previously had all the money we needed with the other baby in November, but just in time, God came through.
Prayer Request: I asked the Lord to bring us whichever child He had for us, but that if I could put in a request, could she please be biracial like our boys.
Answer: Hannah's birthfather is biracial. While we do not know what the other part of his ethnicity besides Black is, the fact remains that Hannah is mixed.
Prayer Request: I asked the Lord for the chance to meet our baby's birthmother.
Answer: Hannah's birthmother requested to meet us after choosing us from our profile. We were able to spend two hours getting to know each other and it was a good meeting.
Prayer Request: We prayed for the Lord's will to be done in the situation in November.
Answer: Though it was painful, the Lord did bring about His will. That was not the baby He had for us.
Shown to me: I have had the feeling all along that this would happen quickly.
Fulfillment: Though it was not quite as fast as I had originally thought, it still did happen quickly. From the time that our homestudy was approved until the time we brought Hannah home, it was just under 5 months. That is very fast in the adoption world.
Shown to me: I also felt all along like when it did happen, it was going to be all of a sudden. I just felt like we wouldn't be one of those couples that was matched up with a pregnant mom and who waited for her to deliver.
Fulfillment: Hannah's birthmother called our agency out of the blue, from the hospital, the day after Hannah was born and we were called later that day.
So as you can see, the Lord fulfilled many things He spoke to me with the placement of Hannah into our home. I Thessalonians 5:24 says:
"The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it."
That is my favorite verse in the Bible, and it has been so true in our adoption. He's done it...everything He said He would do....He did it all. It was already done before I even knew it (which is something He spoke to a friend of mine back in November).
So now I just want to take some time to praise and thank the Lord publically, for He is a good God.
Lord, I thank you and praise you that you are faithful and that you do what you say you will do. I thank you that in your infinite wisdom, you have seen fit to grant me the desire of my heart, the desire that you placed there. I thank you that you have been weaving this story together long before I knew any of it, so that your will would be done. I thank you Lord, that you did not allow us to conceive a daughter biologically because we would not have the daughter we have now. I thank you that even through the hard times of morning sickness and depression, you were working your will in my life. I could not understand it then. Forgive me of my anger towards you. I thank you that even in those times, you raise up friends who prayed, who took my children to the park when I could not do anything, and who brought dinner for my family on bad days. I praise you, Lord, that you have plan for my life, for my family, and for Hannah and that know what you are doing. I praise you Lord, that you are a Redeemer and that even out of painful circumstances, you can bring good things. I thank you that you can take what seemed hopeless and redeem it so that your name is glorified. I thank you that you worked in the circumstances surrounding Hannah's conception and birth to use something very difficult and bring about something wonderful. Only you can do things like that Lord. Truly, there is no one like you. I thank you that you are a Waymaker Lord, and that you make a way where there seems to be no way. I thank you that you are Jehovah Jireh, the Lord my provider and for all the ways that you have provided for this adoption. I thank you Lord for each person that you raised up to pray with and for us and for Hannah's birthfamily. I thank you for each person that has sent us their hard earned money, because they wanted to be a part of what you were doing. I thank you for each one that came out to Cici's, took part in my Zumbathon in any way, donated to our yardsale, or shopped at our yardsale. I thank you for those who paid us for services in photography and sling making in order to support our adoption. I thank you for those who have brought, sent (or are planning to), or traded clothing and other baby items. I thank you for those who gave me things I wanted just (not necessarily needed) just so I could have girlie stuff. I thank you for those who have brought us meals so that in my exhaustion I could have one less thing to have to worry with. I thank you for the one who was willing to privately lend us $10,000 in good faith. Lord, I pray you bless all these people one hundred fold what they have given to us and that they would know how they have blessed us and that you are pleased with them. I thank you Lord for bringing so many wonderful people into our lives who love us. People who prayed with us, waited with us, were excited for us, cried with us in November, and are now rejoicing with us. Lord, who am I that I should be such a blessed woman? You have been so good to me. I thank you that you have a plan for this little girl's life and that you are allowing us to be a part of it. Thank you that our boys have taken right to their sister and love her so much already. Thank you for each and every thing you spoke to me that you have brought to pass. You are an awesome God and you are worthy of all praise. Who else can show us things that have not yet happened and then make them happen with such accuracy? No one else is like you, God. You alone are the Lord, and there is no other. I praise you, God, and I will serve you all of my days. Give us wisdom and strength to train this child in the way she should go. Be glorified in our lives and in our adoption and do all that you have in mind to do. Amen.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Pediatrician Update
Hannah had her first visit with our pediatrician on Wednesday. She is gaining weight, despite not always wanting to eat, so that's good. She weighed in at 6 lbs even, which means she gained 10 ounces in one week. Due to her spitting up, the ped put her on Zantac for reflux. She does NOT like it at all. The ped also reviewed Hannah's paperwork from the hospital she was born at and decided that she does not think Hannah is a preemie afterall. There were two different tests done. One indicated she was several weeks early. But the other indicated she was born at 39 weeks gestation, which is full term. My ped said that the 39 week test is the one that is more reliable and more accepted by doctors, so she is going to go with that one. She said Hannah is just small and her sucking problems are just problems she had and are not because she was early. So that makes me feel better because being a preemie made me more worried for her development and her immune system. I had thought she was early, because the birthmother told me she was early, however the birthmother never had any prenatal care, so she never had an official due date and could have been a month off in her guesstimate. That plus her size and sucking issues all seemed to line up to me. My ped does want to keep an eye on her weight, so we will be going back in next week for a weight check.
When we first brought Hannah home, we often had a hard time getting her to eat. However, that is changing. Since yesterday, she is actually waking up on her own and crying for a feeding. This is new for her. She woke up on her own last night every three hours wanting to eat. She is also now sometimes wanting three ounces instead of two. I know there is a growth spurt that occurs between the 2nd and 3rd week of life, so I think she's hitting that growth spurt. The preemie diapers actually fit now. She is still gassy, but not as gassy as when she was on the regular formula. It is keeping her from getting comfortable at night so she, John, and I aren't getting good sleep at night. She makes up for it in the daytime; John and I....well, we also have three little boys, so not so much. They get up at 7. We're trying to get to bed earlier and nap in the afternoons, but John won't be able to nap once he's back at work next week. But it's all good. She's worth it. :)
When we first brought Hannah home, we often had a hard time getting her to eat. However, that is changing. Since yesterday, she is actually waking up on her own and crying for a feeding. This is new for her. She woke up on her own last night every three hours wanting to eat. She is also now sometimes wanting three ounces instead of two. I know there is a growth spurt that occurs between the 2nd and 3rd week of life, so I think she's hitting that growth spurt. The preemie diapers actually fit now. She is still gassy, but not as gassy as when she was on the regular formula. It is keeping her from getting comfortable at night so she, John, and I aren't getting good sleep at night. She makes up for it in the daytime; John and I....well, we also have three little boys, so not so much. They get up at 7. We're trying to get to bed earlier and nap in the afternoons, but John won't be able to nap once he's back at work next week. But it's all good. She's worth it. :)
She's ours!
We are celebrating one week with Hannah today! We are also celebrating the news that the birthfather search has been completed and she is now officially ours! We will still have to finalize the adoption in court (which is a several month process), but it means that both parents' rights are terminated and we are no longer considered at risk. Yeah!! God is good!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Our first weekend with Hannah
Well, I think I owe you all a big huge update. Sorry I didn't get on here over the weekend. It's been a busy couple of days.
We've had Hannah home for three full days now and things are going well. The boys have taken right to her and just love her to pieces. I was concerned that Micah wasn't going to like her too much when he saw how much she got held by mama. He's previously gotten jealous when I've held other babies for longer than a few minutes. But he hasn't acted jealous at all. All three of them are smitten. They all get concerned when she cries and try to give her a pacifier or tell her not to cry because they are there or mama is coming. It's so sweet! Micah loves to look at her and make sure her hat is still on. He lets me know where she is when she cries by saying, "Uh oh. Baby. Right der!" They just love her so much already and it's really heartwarming to see.
She's an easy baby for the most part. She pretty much sleeps all day, which I'm told is typical for a preemie. They believe she was a little over 4 weeks early. She has some suck issues and I'm told the nurses in the hospital were working with her on that. You can hear a clicking sound the whole time she's drinking, which I had been told in my breastfeeding days means that the baby isn't properly latched on. I guess the same holds true for a bottle and she's not sucking it the right way. It could be the positioning of her tongue. The biggest thing with her right now is that she is not so concerned about eating. You have to really make sure she's awake to get her to eat, and even then you can't always get her to drink much. She's so tiny that she really needs to have all her feedings. We have to set an alarm during the night to make sure that she is eating, because she doesn't just wake up and cry to eat every few hours like you would expect. It's work just to get two ounces in her. She has been really gassy since we brought her home. The foster mom didn't mention anything about it, but I hear her little belly gurgling all the time. She seems to be most affected at night, but I'm not sure why. She wants to sleep; you can tell she's trying to. But you can hear her belly going and then she'll cry and she'll pass gas. This happens quite often at night, so even though she's not really awake, we're not sleeping well because she is uncomfortable. Having dealt with three kids who are lactose intolerant, and being lactose intolerant myself, I am wondering if that might be her problem as well. Tonight I got some lactose free formula and have given that to her for her 7 and 10pm feedings. I'm about to wake her and give her another one and we'll see how the rest of the night goes. I hope fixing the problem is as simple as that. If this doesn't work, I will probably try soy formula next and see if maybe the problem is just dairy period. I added Hannah to our insurance this morning and she will be going to see our pediatrician on Wednesday morning, so I'll definitely be talking to her about this.
Now that her cord has fallen off, she had her first real bath today. You should see her hair now. It got all curly after getting cleaned and now she's got hair like Nathanael. I pointed that out to him and I think he liked that, because I later heard him telling Luke that baby Hannah had curly hair just like him.
Thanks to several people who have either bought some clothing for her, given us some hand me downs, or told me they are going to be sending us some clothes, we are all set for smaller clothes now. Hannah was smaller than I had anticipated our baby being, so we needed a whole new wardrobe in preemie and newborns sizes. She's wearing the preemie stuff now, and some of it fits and some is still too big. I have no clue, but I guess she'll be in the newborn stuff in a few weeks. Who knows when we'll finally move into the 0-3 month size clothes. If anyone wants to get us anything, preemie sized diapers would be appreciated (but we don't need too many packs of those as I'm not sure how long she'll be in them) as well as Dr. Brown's bottles. Dr. Brown's makes a preemie size nipple that Babies R Us sells. It was the only place I could find one that small. The regular nipple for infants flows too fast and is too large for her.
Ok, this is getting really long. More tomorrow with some new pics!
We've had Hannah home for three full days now and things are going well. The boys have taken right to her and just love her to pieces. I was concerned that Micah wasn't going to like her too much when he saw how much she got held by mama. He's previously gotten jealous when I've held other babies for longer than a few minutes. But he hasn't acted jealous at all. All three of them are smitten. They all get concerned when she cries and try to give her a pacifier or tell her not to cry because they are there or mama is coming. It's so sweet! Micah loves to look at her and make sure her hat is still on. He lets me know where she is when she cries by saying, "Uh oh. Baby. Right der!" They just love her so much already and it's really heartwarming to see.
She's an easy baby for the most part. She pretty much sleeps all day, which I'm told is typical for a preemie. They believe she was a little over 4 weeks early. She has some suck issues and I'm told the nurses in the hospital were working with her on that. You can hear a clicking sound the whole time she's drinking, which I had been told in my breastfeeding days means that the baby isn't properly latched on. I guess the same holds true for a bottle and she's not sucking it the right way. It could be the positioning of her tongue. The biggest thing with her right now is that she is not so concerned about eating. You have to really make sure she's awake to get her to eat, and even then you can't always get her to drink much. She's so tiny that she really needs to have all her feedings. We have to set an alarm during the night to make sure that she is eating, because she doesn't just wake up and cry to eat every few hours like you would expect. It's work just to get two ounces in her. She has been really gassy since we brought her home. The foster mom didn't mention anything about it, but I hear her little belly gurgling all the time. She seems to be most affected at night, but I'm not sure why. She wants to sleep; you can tell she's trying to. But you can hear her belly going and then she'll cry and she'll pass gas. This happens quite often at night, so even though she's not really awake, we're not sleeping well because she is uncomfortable. Having dealt with three kids who are lactose intolerant, and being lactose intolerant myself, I am wondering if that might be her problem as well. Tonight I got some lactose free formula and have given that to her for her 7 and 10pm feedings. I'm about to wake her and give her another one and we'll see how the rest of the night goes. I hope fixing the problem is as simple as that. If this doesn't work, I will probably try soy formula next and see if maybe the problem is just dairy period. I added Hannah to our insurance this morning and she will be going to see our pediatrician on Wednesday morning, so I'll definitely be talking to her about this.
Now that her cord has fallen off, she had her first real bath today. You should see her hair now. It got all curly after getting cleaned and now she's got hair like Nathanael. I pointed that out to him and I think he liked that, because I later heard him telling Luke that baby Hannah had curly hair just like him.
Thanks to several people who have either bought some clothing for her, given us some hand me downs, or told me they are going to be sending us some clothes, we are all set for smaller clothes now. Hannah was smaller than I had anticipated our baby being, so we needed a whole new wardrobe in preemie and newborns sizes. She's wearing the preemie stuff now, and some of it fits and some is still too big. I have no clue, but I guess she'll be in the newborn stuff in a few weeks. Who knows when we'll finally move into the 0-3 month size clothes. If anyone wants to get us anything, preemie sized diapers would be appreciated (but we don't need too many packs of those as I'm not sure how long she'll be in them) as well as Dr. Brown's bottles. Dr. Brown's makes a preemie size nipple that Babies R Us sells. It was the only place I could find one that small. The regular nipple for infants flows too fast and is too large for her.
Ok, this is getting really long. More tomorrow with some new pics!
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