Prayers for Maryn’s Birth

It is hard to believe that Maryn’s arrival is fast-approaching and could happen at any moment.  As many of you know, the journey for Maryn’s arrival is somewhat strange in that I have a scheduled c-section date, but am hoping and praying for an opportunity to deliver her "the old fashioned way".  My number one desire is that Maryn arrive healthy and safely, but I am prayerful that I will have the labor and delivery opportunity.  My doctor has been supportive of my vbac plan, but if I am going to have that option, we need to get the show on the road as my doc will likely want to move up my date based on Maryn’s size to next week.  Because of this, we have been trying all of the natural ways to coax her out.  We would love your assistance in praying with and for us as we near the end of this stage of the journey.  I’ve included some of the verses that I’ve jotted down in my notebook that I will be praying with, but please feel free to use some of your own favorites as well.

-Please pray that God would allow my body to go into labor on its own and that I would be able to labor as long as possible naturally in order to better increase my chances of delivering her vaginally.  Pray for mine and Brandon’s strength if this comes to fruition as this would be our first time to have an active labor like this.  Pray that I am able to cast all of my anxieties and fears at His feet.  Praise Him for having His will be shown.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

-If I end up having a c-section, please pray for the longer recovery for my body, but also for the recovery of my mind.  I will seek solace in knowing that His plan prevailed and seek peace and strength in Him and try not to fall into the guilt and ego issues of the world.  We will praise him for Maryn regardless of her method of delivery.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  Proverbs 3:5

LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.  Jeremiah 10:23

-Please pray for Maryn’s health and safety and that she (and we) transition easily to a family of four.  Pray for Travis as he adjusts to his new life as Big Brother.  Please pray for my body to respond to her needs and that we are able to start successfully breastfeeding right away.  Praise Him for the blessing that is this new baby!

Every good and perfect gift is from above. James 1:17

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

Thank you for praying for us and loving us and our babies!

Little Gym Graduation

Yesterday was Travis's spring semester graduation from Little Gym.  It was so cute and his first "awards" ceremony complete with medal.  Nana and Papaw gave him that semester for Christmas (I absolutely love experience gifts like that - we may find something else for his upcoming bday.  Wink Wink!!!).  We celebrated with pancakes at Mimi's with Nana and Papaw and then 45 minutes of showing off!  We have loved Little Gym.  I think it has been great for coordination and motor skills and gives him one more opportunity to mix and mingle with other kiddos.  Thanks Nana and Papaw!!!!

Working the camera while he waits for class to start

Every class starts off with some bell shaking!

Some "jumping" (Note: his feet never leave the ground)

Donkey kicks

Running

We did the parachute on Saturday, but sometimes do the little jump house or some other activity.

Then it is PLAY TIME!

Then come the balls

And bubbles

Medal time!

We are so proud of the developmental growth our little man has made since January.  Looking forward to the summer session (yippee for indoor activity)!

Xoxo,
Gara

Only God Knows For Sure...

But, I thought it would be fun to have our family and friends make a guess as to when Maryn will arrive and what her stats will be when she gets here. We did this with Travis too and it was fun to see the guesses.

Katy was closest on T with 8/25/2009 11:41 AM 8 lbs. 8 oz. 22.5 inches (He was actually 8/25/09; 9:12 am; 7 lbs. 11 oz.; 21 inches).

Leave a comment or send me an email with the following details:

Your Name
Predicted Birth Date and Time
Predicted Weight at Birth
Predicted Length at Birth

Our estimated due date is June 11th.

Happy guessing!!!

37 Weeks

How far along?: 37 weeks.  Officially "term" today.
Total weight gain: 45 lbs. (still eleven less than when I delivered Travis so the jury is still out on total weight gain).  I've gained three pounds over the last two weeks, but had a big "growth" week uterus-size wise as I'm now measuring 41 weeks.  So apparently the questions about if I was due yesterday are not that unfounded.
How big is baby?: 6 and some change.  She is hopefully packing on the sweet baby rolls these days.
Stretch marks?: I've got stretch marks on areas that I didn't even think were possible of stretching...  Seriously, if my ears get stretch marks - do not judge!
Sleep?: Trying to up my water intake does not bode well for great sleep at night.  Literally waddling out of bed 3 or 4 times per night to pee sort of makes me want to invest in some Depends.
Best moment this week?: Lovey coming into town to help me get everything ready.  Clothes are washed and car seat and bouncer seat are at least located.  Looking forward to shopping and lunch with Lovey and Pepper today to pick up a few last minute items.
Movement?: Doctor confirmed that she is locked and loaded in the head-down position so now I'm just getting fun elbows, heels, and knees.  Looks like little alien moves.
Food cravings?: Granola bars and sweet tea (although it gives me serious indigestion).  You can buy decaf sweet tea loaded with HFCS at Kroger.  YUMMY!  :)
Labor signs?: I do not think carrying my belly around on my thighs counts.
Belly button in or out?: Flat.  Even T-man says "bye bye belly button" when he sees mine.
What I miss: Turning heads in a crowd for a reason other than super-human uterus growth.
Milestone: Hitting "term" and knowing that she could make her arrival pretty much anytime with no expected health complications.

Xoxo,
Gara

My Loves! - Maternity Pics

A huge thanks to Stacy Reeves (the most amazing wedding photog in DFW) for capturing these precious moments of our sweet family of four.  Stacy is a dear friend and does not do maternity sessions, but I was able to talk her into doing them with Travis (here is her blog of them) and thankfully able to weasel my way in for another session.  Here are some of my favorites!

Xoxo,
Gara

All I could do was laugh...

After church today, Brandon, Travis, and I ventured to Olive Garden for an early lunch. Travis was particularly "on fire" today. B and I use this term for when he is especially busy, talkative, onery, etc. almost as a warning to the other to be on your toes. His appetizer while we had our salads was some croutons - he usually goes for bread, but today, he wanted some salad dressing covered croutons. After each one went in his mouth, he would immediately demand more (both verbally and with his hands). We did our best to keep up with his requests in hopes of keeping him satisfied and to prevent him from digging in to our salads for more on his own. When our food arrived, Travis had some lasagna and fettucine alfredo from my plate. He was sucking the sauce off the lasagna and handing the noodles back to me. He seemed to be enjoying the fettucine when he wasn't trying to wrestle the salad bowl or butter knife away from me. After some good bites, he began to lose his focus on eating and started moving the food he no longer wanted off of his tray. I bent down to pick a noodle up off of the floor that Travis had dropped, and when I leaned back up I noticed that Brandon had a fettucine noodle on his nice church shirt right in the center of his chest. Finding food dropped on B's shirt is not totally uncommon, but since B was not eating, and does not even like, fettucine alfredo, I was pretty confident he didn't put it there. I told B that he had a noodle on his shirt to which he exclaimed "I didn't do it" (which I totally alread knew). At this point, I just busted out laughing. Not like a lame little giggle, but a real belly laugh (not unlike the laugh that started when the sonographer told me that T's head was measuring 6 weeks ahead at his 36 week growth ultrasound). It didn't take long for Brandon to get the giggles too, and, of course, Travis chimed in with his best fake laugh. I guess I'm a little surprised that it took me to 36 weeks and 2 days pregnant to realize that B and I are totally screwed! Not really, of course, but it was super funny to just get a glimpse of how crazy life was with just one and how it is about to get so much crazier. We enjoyed the rest of our meal while shoveling yogurt melts to the kid and chatting about how we couldn't imagine going down this crazy road ahead with anyone else but each other. We were also praising God for our friends that have gone before us (and survived to tell the tales) and for our friends that are going to be joining us at the funny farm in just a few months!

Up, up, up!

I have been super busy wrapping up some photography sessions over the past few weeks in preparation of going on "maternity leave" for a few months as we transition into our new house and as a family of four.  The business has been great, but I've missed spending our family time on the weekends.  Thankfully, I do most of my shooting at fun outdoor locations so sometimes Daddy and T tag along.  We have to be in separate areas when the actual session is happening, but at least we get to play afterwards and usually grab lunch or something.  I love having them around!

Brandon and his Mini-Me!

Xoxo,

Gara