Who's The Baby?

Hannah is now 8 weeks old. I can hardly believe how quickly the first two months have flown by. I have to say that of anything I've ever done in my life, being a parent is the hardest. I have never been drained quite so physically and emotionally as I have been these past several weeks. Nor have I ever experienced such intense happiness - I can't even describe it. Needless to say, the three of us are adjusting to each other and we're beginning to get the hang of things.

I go back to work on Monday. And while I'm grateful to have a good job, I'm not looking forward to spending most of my days apart from my daughter. It hit me today that I have not been away from Hannah for almost a year - nine months in utero and two months post-partum. And now I'll be spending nine hours away from her daily. I always thought it would just be sad to leave her, but I have to say that it's more than that. It's a little traumatic leaving a person that's literally been with you for so long. I know it sounds dramatic, but that's where I am. I expect I'll be a crying mess next week, but that's nothing new. :)

Yo Mama...

I was reminded the other day of another preggo story that I hadn't blogged about:

In the last month of pregnancy, I got up to pee every hour like clockwork. The urge would strike me throughout the night, and it was all I could do to stumble into the bathroom fast enough.

One particular night upon returning to bed, I quietly crept back into the bedroom so as not to wake my big sleeping bear of a husband. Without rustling the covers too much, I sat on the edge of the bed. But before I could even swing my kankles under the covers, I heard a huge crack and suddenly fell to the floor. Somehow I broke the bed. I got up and saw that the slats holding up my side of the bed had given way and the whole mattress tilted on its side... with my husband still in the bed. :)

We ended up fixing the bed - no big deal. But my final thought as I eventually fell asleep was that someday I would tell Hannah, "Yo Mama was so fat, when she was pregnant, she broke the bed."

Eat. Sleep. Poop. Repeat.

She's Here

Hannah Riley Freeman was born Sunday, April 5 at 9:38 p.m. weighing in at 7 pounds 9 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. She's a beautiful little girl with such a sweet demeanor, and most importantly she's healthy. Chris and I can't praise God enough for how blessed we are.

Now seven days old, Hannah is adjusting to life in the Freeman household. Actually its more like the Freemans are rearranging their lives to having a newborn! We're getting the hang of all the feedings, dirty diapers and sleep times. Of course, the best part is the awake time - our Hannah is such a snuggler.

One thing I'm completely blown away by is God's love for us. Words can't describe the immense love I have for Hannah. And I realize that His love for His children is even greater than I can ever contain for my daughter.

As a side note, I'd like to mention that the baby bluebirds I last blogged about were born today. :)

We have a ton of pictures so far of our sweet baby cakes. We just have to load them all, so be patient - there are many more to come!

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

We have this empty clay pot on our back patio that I have intended to plant something in for years. I swear I’ll get around to it someday, but for now it just sits there. However, I’ve noticed lately that we’ve had two regular visitors on our back porch - two beautiful bluebirds - and they've made a home in my burgundy clay pot. I understand a thing or two about nesting these days and have been intrigued by our little bird neighbors. After a week of watching them, Chris and I walked out on the patio and discovered 4 blue eggs in their nest. It delights me to think our new neighbors are going to be new parents soon, too. :)

I have to admit, I think God has a little something to teach me through these bluebirds. Something you may not know about me is that I’m a worrier. When I’m uncertain about what’s to come, I tend to worry myself sick over every potential disaster. As you can imagine, I’ve had my moments in the past few months where I have worried over things ranging from childcare options to my capability of caring for a newborn. And while I may keep my worries to myself, they float around in my brain plaguing me at times! How’s that for honesty?

Well anyway, these bluebirds could’ve nested anywhere, but they chose our back patio. And as I’ve watched them, I’ve been reminded of something Jesus said and I’m comforted to know that essentially everything is going to be alright:

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

Thanks For Asking

I don't know what it is about pregnancy that makes so many people speak without thinking! It's like a belly bump gives people the license to say to you whatever the heck is on their mind. Today, I went with a few coworkers across the street to the gas station for an afternoon snack. And let me tell you, I hit the jackpot. As a side note, let me just say that Dreyer's Crunch Dibs are the bomb dot com.

Anyway, as I'm walking up to the cash register to pay for my ice cream, the attendant - who looks a lot like Sanka from the 1993 Disney movie Cool Runnings (the guy on the left in this picture) - says to me, "Hey, I've got a personal question. Do you fart a lot cuz you're pregnant? Cuz I hear pregnant women fart a lot." There could've been so many responses to this, but I answered him honestly with the obvious answer being that yes pregnancy does indeed make you gassy, and we all just laughed hysterically. Sanka The Gas Station Attendant, you're the man. Thanks for making my day.

The Plan, Man

It's funny how interested people are about our delivery plans. So I thought I would post them here for everyone to know at once.

Hannah's official due date is April 10. And the plan is that if she's not here by then, we will induce on April 9. My body has progressed very well on its own, and while I really hope that I go into labor naturally, I am favorable to be induced should we need it. In other words, it won't take much medical intervention to get this baby out.

I have a very conservative doctor that doesn't believe in scheduling inductions for the sake of convenience, which I greatly appreciate. However, she is not a fan of her patient's carrying babies past their due date as the risk of complications drastically increases by the day. Since I work in health care, I have educated myself on all of the options available to us, feel peace about our decisions and trust the medical professionals God has placed in our life for our natal care. I appreciate everyone's interest and concern - I really do - so I wanted to let you in on what our plans are.

With that being said, Hannah Riley has a birthday coming up next week one way or another that we can't wait to celebrate!