Jolly July

All American Baby

Love this picture of both boys smiling (courtesy of Tim's camera phone)

Whenever I try to get a picture with both boys and me, this is how it turns out.

Gabriel was enjoying his playmat until his brother joined in...and Chase with his mischievous grin.

Chase's first time "holding" Gabriel....Gabe was a little uneasy about the whole experience of "big brother" holding him.

July is quite the birthday month in our home. I just turned 31 years old on July 20th. We headed out to one of our favorite restaurants, Captain Chuckamuck’s, for my birthday with my parents. Chase loves going there just to stand on the pier and throw rocks in the water.  Tim turns 33 on the 25th (tomorrow). And, last but not least, Gabriel just hit his 3 month old birthday on the 21st. The best way I can describe my life right now would be Kenny Chesney’s song, “Don’t Blink;” time is going by entirely too fast. However, getting older isn’t necessarily a bad thing even though our society puts such a negative connotation on the aging process. Not that I was ever a shallow person when it came to physical attributes, but I used to think I wasn’t looking my best if my hair wasn’t kept platinum blond; if I didn’t have the perfect tan; if I didn’t weigh around 120 pounds (although I have to admit I was thrilled to get back in the 120’s this month since I had been in the 130’s post-Gabriel); etc. And, Tim can certainly attest to the fact that I was insecure if there was another attractive woman within viewing distance. The platinum hair is long gone as is the golden tan—I’m embracing a healthier, more natural look; but more importantly, I’m comfortable with the woman God has molded me to be at age 31. Sure, I still have the occasional insecure moment (all women do—if they say they don’t, they’re lying!); and, I still like to pamper myself every now and then; but, I’m trying to be more focused on what matters more in life from a godly perspective. All things beautiful from a worldly view will eventually pass; “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of our God stands forever.” –Isaiah 40:8. This whole blog has been about what’s really important to me: God and family. Sadly enough, I don’t always express this point enough around my family when I get so wrapped up in the daily stresses of life. With that said, I’m trying to do better at appreciating the inner beauty God has instilled in me and to allow that glow to radiate to others regardless of what challenges I may be facing. I’m praying I can make the most of my 30’s as my family grows.


The month of July has been a busy one. We kicked it off by celebrating Independence Day with fireworks in downtown Smithfield on July 3rd; Tim let off some of our own fireworks in our backyard on the 4th; Chase was apprehensive at first, but he ended up loving the fireworks. We’ve had several visits to the Smithfield Swim Club pool that we became members of this summer. Chase is still far from being a swimmer, but Tim is diligently working with him. Tim also had a part in coaching the Smithfield Swim Club’s Dolphins at the tail end of their swim season. Tim has always been a phenomenal swimmer and it’s exciting to see him coach little ones, especially when it will be our own two boys getting involved in these kinds of activities in just a few years.
Chase has been a little testy at times, but he’s full of personality and always coming up with things to crack us up. It’s always funny how Chase is high energy and into every toy in the house, but when it comes time to clean up his toys we usually get a response like, “I (I’m) too tired to clean up toys.” On my birthday morning I asked him if he wanted to sing “Happy Birthday” to me and he said he was too tired then as well. Just the other night I was reading him a few stories from his children’s Bible before bedtime. He was still wound up even after me reading him stories and he wouldn’t stop talking. I kept telling him it was time to be quiet and go to sleep. His response: “Jesus wants me to talk.” What a stinker!

Gabriel’s little personality is also starting to show. This past month has been a huge milestone with him smiling more and fussing less. He still battles gas and acid reflux, but the Zantac seems to be helping. Dr. Baust was very happy with the progress he’s made between month 2 and 3. He seems to be a much happier baby after feedings and he weighed in at a whopping (drum roll, please) 13 pounds, 14 oz on Monday—that’s just a few ounces shy of a 2 pound weight gain in just a month’s time. I’m so thankful to see my little man growing! That little gummy smile surrounded by dimples can melt anyone’s heart! He’s cooing and discovering all his voice can do right now—music to a mother’s ears. He’s also making good eye contact and recognizing faces. He’s (thankfully) getting in a good sleep routine: we wrap up the evening with a bath around 7 (he still loves bath-time). I nurse him to sleep around 8 and put him in his crib (yes, he’s in his crib now!). He wakes up for a nighttime feeding somewhere around 2 or 3 on most nights. I nurse him back to sleep and then we wake up for good around 6 on the weekdays. Well, I’m actually up at 5 to get myself ready for the day, but I wake Gabe and Chase up around 6. Weekends are a treat when I don’t have to wake up at 5!

Chase has done great as a potty trained little boy. We still keep pull-ups on him over night to prevent me from changing sheets frequently (even though he’s made it without accidents in the middle of the night before), but he’s done well in big boy underwear during the day. Gabriel, on the other hand, has graduated to size 2 diapers and is busting out of some of his 3-month clothing. It won’t be long until I’ll be digging out his 6 month outfits. His appetite has increased to taking in 4-5 oz with each feeding, whereas before he was only drinking around 3-4 oz at a time. My grandmother is enjoying watching Gabriel during the day; her face lights up every morning when I drop him off on the way to work. Chase is still going to the summer preschool activities once or twice a week. He’ll start K3 at the end of August.

Tim and I will also reach our 11th anniversary at the end of August. We actually had a rare date night this month as Tim’s parents came to our house for a few hours to watch the boys so that we could grab dinner at Japan Samurai and walk the mall together. It was a much needed date night and we hope to have more of those between now and the next blog posting. Happy 33rd Birthday to Tim! None of the content of this blog would be possible without him. If you’re reading this, Tim, I love you! (This is a true test to see if you actually read the blog, ha, ha!)

Life with Gabriel at 9 Weeks Old

A pile of feet! My feet, Chase's feet, and Gabe's little foot on top...Chase's feet are almost as big as mine!

Chase laying next to Gabe on the couch with the morning sun beaming through the window on his face

Still trying to capture the perfect smile on camera...getting closer.  You can see a dimple in this one!

Gabe loves bathtime (more so than Chase did at this age).

All snuggled up in a towel after a bath

Little foot in my hand

Here I am typing up another blog update, which means I'm still alive after returning to work a couple weeks ago.  So far, life back at work is good, but it's super busy.  My boss has my group on overtime right now, but I'm struggling just to meet 40 hours a week with Gabriel's doctor visits and just dealing with life in general with a 3 year-old and newborn.  My perspective is that I'm beyond thankful to have a job and I enjoy what I do at the shipyard, but, family still comes first and my babies won't be babies for long.  With that said, I'm doing all I can to keep up with work and still spend as much time as possible with my boys.  I feel as though we've all settled into a pretty good routine so far with me being back at work.  My weekdays begin with me getting up at 5 to pump breastmilk and get myself ready for work before Gabe and Chase wake up.  Tim gets Chase ready in the mornings while I get Gabe ready, and I bring the boys over to my grandmother's house in the mornings around 7 and make it to work by 7:30.  Sounds hectic, but in all honesty, it hasn't been near as chaotic as I anticipated. 

I get off from work at 4 and Tim picks up the boys from my grandmother's house on his way home from work.  Then, I soak up every moment I can with Chase and Gabe in the evenings, which usually involves me wearing Gabe in the Snugli carrier (same thing as the Baby Bjorn carrier I used with Chase) while I'm cooking dinner, packing lunches for the next day, or doing other odds and ends around the house.  If I didn't wear the Snugli carrier, I wouldn't get anything done--it keeps Gabe content and I can even nurse him while he's in there.  Speaking of nursing, Gabe and I are still going strong and he's survived solely on breastmilk.  I pump twice at work to keep the supply going.  Unfortunately, even with being an exclusively breastfed baby, Gabe still has digestive issues.  Much like Chase, he's a gassy baby and it sets in after every feeding.  The gas drops and gripe water help some, but they don't completely alleviate the discomfort and fussing.  At Gabe's 2-month check-up yesterday, Dr. Baust thought he might also have reflux on top of the gas, so we're trying out infant Zantac to see if it will help--I pray it will, because it's a pitiful sight to see a baby in discomfort. 

On a positive note, Gabriel is consolable as long as he's held and walked around (again, I'm thankful for the Snugli carrier).  And, on an even more positive note, he's otherwise healthy and growing, currently weighing in at 12 pounds, 4 oz, and in the 95th percentile for height at 24.25 inches.  He's such a strong baby too.  He's been lifting his head up on his own since birth (no exageration).  He's also been rolling on his stomach since he was just a couple weeks old, but he's still not strong enough to roll all the way over. He goes back to Dr. Baust at 3 months for another check-up to determine if the Zantac is helping with the fussiness after feedings.  Dr. Baust also wants to check his vision better since he didn't get a good enough glimpse at his eyes during the last appointment since Gabriel was so fussy.  To top off the last appointment, Gabe also had a shot, so he was not a happy camper.  Poor baby!  He slept well by the time he got home from that appointment.  As far as his sleep schedule goes, he's sleeping longer stretches at nights.  I usually go to bed around 9 or 10 and place Gabe in the bassinette in my room.  On average, he's been waking up around 3 in the morning for a feeding and then he goes back to sleep until time for me to get him ready to bring to my grandmother's house.  As soon as we can eliminate the 3 AM  feeding, I'll put him in his crib.  For now, it's nice to have him in my bedroom so I can quietly feed him without waking everyone else up and it also allows me to lay down with him while nursing so that I'm still getting a decent amount of rest.

As for my other baby (yes, Chase is still my baby too), he's become quite the doting big brother.  He snuggles up to Gabe all of the time and asks me if he can hold him, but I don't think Chase can handle carrying something a third of his own weight.  Nonetheless, he seems to be doing well around Gabe and I don't see any jealousy coming from him like I did during those first few days.  On a comical note, Chase noticed I have a freckle on my belly and he thinks that's where Gabe came from so he pointed to a freckle on his leg and said that he had a baby brother growing on his leg too. HA, HA! He comes up with crazy stuff and keeps me rolling!  Tim is still his best buddy when it comes to cutting grass, going to the park, and "helping" daddy with things, such as washing the car. Chase is now potty trained (excluding the occasional accident, which is to be expected), so our little guy is growing up so fast.

Chase has had a fun summer so far in going to the bounce-house, park, beach, and playing with the water hose.  My grandmother has a kiddie pool at her house too.  Much to my surprise, my mom took on watching two other little boys this summer, so it turns out Chase has extra playmates.  He's also meeting new friends at school.  He's been going to Faith Outreach Education Center once or twice a week to go on fun, summer field trips with the school and get acclimated to the school.  K3 begins in late August and he'll be attending Monday-Friday from 8-12.  Meanwhile, my mom and grandmother will be watching Gabe, although up to this point, my grandmother has watched Gabe more than my mom has since my mom has been preoccupied with the other two little boys.  Bella comes over my grandmother's house a few times a week too, so Chase has no shortage of playmates and my grandmother has her work cut out for her.  I really don't know how she does it at 86 years old, but I'm so, so thankful for all she does for my boys.  Whenever I type these blog updates, it reminds me of how much I have to be thankful for in general.  God is good!

  

6 Weeks Postpartum

My Patriotic Baby at 5 Weeks Old on Memorial Day

Chase being sweet to his baby "broller" 

 Kristen Clay's sweet daughter Addyson May (3 months old) and Gabe (1 month old)

 Chase leaning up against the tent during his first backyard camping experience with Tim over Memorial Day weekend.  This was solely Tim's idea and I thought it was sweet for them to have this bonding experience together. Gabe and I enjoyed sleeping in the cool house while they enjoyed the hot, sticky weather outside : )

Love the pouty face in this picture

Here we are at 6 weeks postpartum.  I saw Dr. Kathy O'Connell yesterday for a check-up.  My body is back to "normal," although I think every pregnancy leaves its marks on a woman one way or another.  I'm still 4 pounds shy of my pre-pregnancy weight, but overall, I'm healthy and on the right track. I've been cleared to return to work beginning Monday, June 4th....but, I decided 6 weeks wasn't long enough so I'm taking off one more week.  The feeling of dread of returning to work has already set in for me mentally.  Fortunately, my dear mother and grandmother will be sharing the duties of watching both boys while Tim and I work, which gives me peace of mind.  I know I've said this before, but I can't stress enough just how thankful I am to have family to be the utmost childcare providers for my boys.  God has been so good in meeting my needs as far as childcare goes. 

Gabriel is sleeping for longer stretches on some nights, and I'm praying we're headed towards a consistent sleeping pattern now that I'm down to just one last week off from work.  It's not going to be easy getting a 3-year old, newborn, and myself ready in the morning before going to work an 8-hour day on 5-6 hours of broken sleep.  Getting ready for work will involve nursing and pumping; and, there will be more pumping to be done while at work.  Breastfeeding is still going well, and I hope to continue to do it for a few more months if my body will allow it.  I was able to make it through 6 months with Chase before my milk supply dried up so I'm hoping to do the same with Gabe.  Gabe hasn't had any formula up to this point and he won't even take a pacifier.  There are pros and cons to the pacifier situation: obviously, the biggest pro is that I won't have to worry about weening him off of a pacifier if he never takes it; however, the con is that when Gabe gets fussy he wants to nurse constantly instead of taking a pacifier.  Unfortunately, Gabe's fussiness has increased over the past few weeks.  He reminds me a lot of Chase as a baby with the gassy/colic spells.  Once he works through the gas, he's content again.  I try to watch what I eat and use all of the over the counter "remedies" such as gas drops and gripe water, but none seem to help but so much.  Thankfully, this is just a short lived period of time for babies and Gabe is consolable when he gets fussy; walks in the stroller and car rides seem to do the trick better than anything else.

As mentioned in my last posting, Gabriel is well over 10 pounds now and he's already outgrown newborn diapers and clothes. We've moved on to 3 month clothing and size 1 diapers.  Chase, on the other hand, only needs diapers at nights now.  I've worked with him diligently (and so have Tim and my grandmother) to get him potty trained and I'm proud to say that he's getting the hang of it and doing quite well....which leads me to my next point.  Now that he's potty trained for the most part, he can begin K3 preschool in the fall.  I registered him at Faith Outreach Education Center (FOEC) earlier this week and I'm so excited for him to start attending a Christian program that will not only teach him the normal K3 fundamentals, but introduce him to more Christian principals. Chase will also attend some of the fun summer activities FOEC has going on June through August.  This will be great for him as well as my mom and grandma as it will give them a break from having both boys at the same time all summer.  So again, I'm super excited for this opportunity and praying Chase will fit in well at FOEC.

The main goal for the next week is for me to soak up every last moment I can with Chase and Gabe before I return to work on June 11th.  I have no idea when I'll have the chance to update the blog again after returning to work, but I'm sure Tim and I will both post intermittently on Facebook.  Until then, enjoy kicking off your summer!

Happy 1 Month Birthday, Gabriel!

Emily and Ruthie with Gabriel on Mother's Day

 All of the cousins (except Chase since we couldn't get him to sit still) from the Sneed side of the family

 An unintentional smile (but we love it anyways!)

 Looking so serious as Nana holds him

 Gabe and I on Mother's Day (I so wanted Chase in this picture, but he refused to cooperate)

 Looking so peaceful and snugly

 Chase with no pants on (part of potty training) and 19-month old cousin Jaycee Turner

Wide awake after a bath

 Auntie Amber holding Gabe for the first time

Wow, time surely does fly! Gabriel is 4 weeks old today!!!  This past month has been a blur to me.  I've been in a continuous cycle of nursing, changing diapers, and sleeping when I can.  On average, Gabe nurses every 3-4 hours; sometimes we can make it for 5-hour stretches, but I'd say the norm is to get a solid 3-4 hours of sleep at a time in between feedings at nights. Surprisingly, I'm not a walking zombie as one would think, but I will say motherhood is more tiring this time around since I have Chase to entertain on top of the demands of a newborn.  My grandmother has been watching Chase some days, but I've had Chase here with me at home the vast majority of the time I've been off from work.  My mornings start around 6:30 (7 if I'm lucky) with Chase waking Gabriel and I up and asking me to go downstairs and get him some milk (keep in mind Chase just turned 3 and is still too young to fend for himself).  Our mornings are usually filled with Nick Jr. or watching the movie Cars one or two times while I nurse Gabe.  If I can get Gabe back in a sound sleep, Chase and I will sometimes play outside for an hour or two on a nice day before heading back inside for lunch and an afternoon nap. The afternoon nap is for Chase; I rarely get one since Chase is usually going down for a nap when Gabe is waking up.  My most exhausting time of the day is usually by the time Chase wakes up from his nap and Tim comes home from work.  Fortunately, Tim has been a huge help in taking Chase to the park and entertaining him for a few hours in the afternoon while I can get some quiet time with Gabe; sometimes I can sneak in a power nap.  The rest of the evening/night usually consists of cooking dinner (unless we do take out) and getting the boys ready for bed (Tim helps out with this process, thank God). I try to turn in for the night upstairs around 9 PM or whenever Gabriel falls back asleep after having a good amount of awake time.  Tim and I have been sleeping in separate rooms since Gabe has been born in order for Tim to get a good night's sleep so he can function at work.  It's been kind of lonely not having him in the same bed, but I know this is a short-lived experience when you look at the big picture.

Gabriel is definitely growing from his frequent feedings.  We see Dr. Baust on Tuesday for a check-up and a round of immunizations (no fun).  The 2-week check-up had Gabe weighing in at a whopping 8 pounds, 13 ounces.  He was also measured at 22" in length, which leads me to believe he was too curled up at birth to get an accurate measurement then.  I'd say overall Gabe has been a good baby.  The first two weeks were super easy with hardly any fussing.  The last two weeks I've noticed increased fussiness due to gas, but as soon as he gets the gas out of his system he's content again.  I remember Chase being the same way as a baby, but I still feel Gabriel is more laid back.  We've only used a pacifier on him once and the rest of the time he's been consolable and content.  Although he's been exclusively breastfed, he's had a bottle of pumped milk a few times just so we can get him used to taking a bottle before I return to work.  He took the bottle like a pro! 

Speaking of returning to work, I'm still not mentally ready to do that.  I'll most likely add an extra week of my vacation on to the remaining two weeks of maternity leave to give myself three more weeks of being a stay-at-home mom.  The first few months of a newborn's life goes by in a blink and I want to savor every moment I possibly can.  Plus, I've enjoyed getting things accomplished during my time off, such as shopping, working in the yard, and organizing odds and ends around the house.  I've also made headway with potty training Chase.  It's still a work in progress, but we're getting closer.  Our goal is to have it mastered this summer so that Chase can start preschool in the fall.  I'll type more on Chase attending preschool in the next blog posting since it's still not finalized which preschool he'll attend, but we have a good idea after I've done a lot of research.

Mother's Day was extra special this year.  Unfortunately, we didn't go to church due to mere exhaustion, but we did join my family at my grandmother's house for a cookout.  Both sets of of my grandparents were there as was the rest of the Sneed family.  Tim had a beautiful flower bouquet for me for Mother's Day.  Having a wonderful husband and being a mom to two precious boys has been more blessings than I ever imagined!

May 2, 2012

My Sleeping Angel in his carseat

Baby Gabe's First Bath (Check out that belly....Momma must be feeding him well!)

He blinked right when the camera flashed! Almost got a pic with his eyes open...

Proud Grammie Pam, Mommy, and Gabe at the hospital

Daddy and his two boys (this is Tim's FB profile pic)

Chase kissing his "baby bruller" (my FB profile pic)

Today was Gabriel’s official due date, but, thankfully, the Lord decided for him to come sooner! My last day of work was Thursday, April 19th. I had a doctor’s appointment that afternoon and Dr. Curtis informed me I was 3 cm dilated. In spite of the dilation and progress towards labor, she still felt I was healthy enough to continue on with work and suggested I continue working into the following week. I respectfully rebutted against her suggestion letting her know that I was done with work with or without a doctor’s note. My natural instinct told me there was no way I could continue working with the way I was feeling—not that I was feeling completely miserable, but I just had a lot of pressure on my bladder and could literally feel the baby descending more with each passing day. I was feeling more Braxton and Hick’s contractions and discharge everyday too. I also had more swelling than ever before, but still not enough for my blood pressure to budge outside of normal limits. I explained my work conditions to Dr. Curtis in great detail—not that I actually work on the ship anymore, but just the walk in and out of the shipyard gates is trying enough, not to mention the three flights of steel stairs I have to climb every day to get to my office. She finally agreed to write me out of work starting Monday, April 23rd and I made the call to just take a vacation day for Friday, April 20th.


Good call on my part! Little did I know on that Friday that it would be the last day of peace I would get before our family of three grew to four. I got a much needed pedicure first thing that morning since I hadn’t been able to reach my toes in quite some time. Throughout the day, I felt more pressure and drainage. Within just a couple hours of Tim getting home from work I told him that I wasn’t sure if I’d make it through the night without a baby coming. By this time, I was feeling more contractions, but they still weren’t strong enough or close enough together to rush to the hospital. So, we went about our evening as usual. Tim gave Chase a bath and then shortly afterwards, I told him it was best for us to go to the hospital since the contractions seemed to be getting more consistent. We had arranged for Chase to go to my grandmother’s house that night. Ironically, as soon as we got in the Tahoe to drive away from the house, the contractions subsided, although I do remember feeling an especially strong one on the James River Bridge (maybe it was all of those bumps on the bridge). After we dropped Chase off at my grandmother’s house for the night, we made our way to Mary Immaculate. Sure enough, the nurses checked me out around 11 PM and confirmed I had ruptured membranes (partial water breakage). It was like reliving my labor with Chase all over again because the same thing happened with him where my water had only partially broken.

I made it until around 4 AM the following morning—still no Gabriel, but felt stronger contractions at that point. I caved in and got the epidural. You may recall my Facebook post coming through around this time that said, “Thank God for popsicles and epidurals!” My mom came to the hospital after she had ended her nursing shift that morning and she stood by my side along with Tim as the nurses periodically checked me for dilation. As with Chase, the dilation was taking FOREVER. Dr. O’Connell checked in on me and put me on Pitocin some time later that morning to speed up the contractions and dilation. Alas, around 2:00 PM I was at 10 cm and ready to push. Unlike my labor with Chase, I felt more rested this time around since Tim and I had had the entire night prior to relax in the hospital without visitors as we waited for progression. I remember getting a few power naps in that night. Tim even ended up snoring on the loveseat in the L & D room.

Praise the Lord, it only took about a half hour of pushing with Gabriel. I didn’t tear too badly either (but, I’ve still felt better in my southern hemisphere). Dr. Kathy O’Connell was the OB on call that weekend and she was AWESOME! I’ve said this before, but it’s such a comforting feeling when you know your doctor is a servant of Christ; I know without a doubt that both Dr. Yonker and Dr. O’Connell are both Christian women and I couldn’t have asked for a better pair of doctors to bring my two boys into this world. All of the staff at MIH was very accommodating. Gabriel arrived in the world safe and sound at 2:44 PM weighing in at a whopping 8 pounds, 3 oz—a day before Chase’s birthday and just 2 oz bigger. Gabriel was measured around 19 inches in length, but I suspect he was still too curled up to get an accurate measurement because his little legs are just now starting to stretch out more at almost 2 weeks post partum.

The next few days were a blur: sleeping when I could, breastfeeding Gabriel around the clock (thankfully, nursing has been easier this time around than it was with Chase), and transitioning from the hospital to home. Chase’s first reaction to Gabe seemed like he was in a state of shock. Then he went through phases where one minute he was asking me to send the baby “bye-bye” to the next minute of adoring Gabriel as his “baby bruller.” Thankfully, I had Tim’s mom to help me out for most of that first week at home—the help really came in handy for entertaining Chase and keeping up with the house so that I could focus on Gabriel those first few days and nights at home. My mom and sister came by to visit later on in the week bringing me lasagna (Laurie makes the best lasagna). Dawn, Emily, and Ruthie came by to visit over the weekend. My dear friend Liz came by on Monday with an enormous tray of spaghetti and fixings to go along with it. Today, my dad came by with lunch from Bojangle’s and got to spend a couple hours with Chase and Gabe. We went for a stroll around the block on this beautiful, warm day. And as for my other half, he’s been a HUGE help with Chase since Gabe’s arrival—he’s taken Chase to the park several times and done lots of little things to keep him entertained so that I can focus on Gabe. Too bad he doesn’t get paternity leave so that I could have his help everyday for the next few weeks. With all of that said, I’m thankful for the help of my family and close friends.

Gabriel seems to have such a sweet spirit to him. Although it hasn’t been a full two weeks yet, he seems to be a less fussy than Chase was at this age and he’s already doing well at sleeping for longer stretches. On average during the nights, he wakes up 2-3 times for feedings and usually falls right back to sleep after a hearty meal and diaper change. Thankfully, I’m still getting 4-hour stretches of sleep during the nights in between feedings. As mentioned before, breastfeeding is going well; Gabe is already back up to his birth-weight and we have another weigh-in at the pediatrician’s next Tuesday. Gabriel was never the slightest big jaundice and all is healthy.

As appearances change so much during those first few weeks and months of a newborn’s life, it’s hard to tell who Gabriel favors. He doesn’t have as much hair as Chase did at birth and the hair that he does have is more of a dirty blonde rather than a strawberry blonde. I’m pretty sure he’ll have blue eyes like Tim’s side of the family or my dad. He seems to have my upper lip, but not my jaw line—in fact, we can’t figure out whose jaw line he has since he’s got a triple chin going on right now, LOL! Nonetheless, he’s beautiful. It’s funny how I envisioned him looking so much like Chase—I can see some similarities, but he’s definitely got his own unique traits and I can’t wait to watch them develop as he grows. I can’t even begin to say how bizarre it is to hold a newborn again after being around Chase at over 30 pounds for so long. It’s definitely a blessing to hold something so tiny and full of life and it’s as equally humbling to look at Chase and reminisce about him being that small just 3 short years ago.

For the next month, it’s just the boys and me! My focus other than trying to keep my sanity, rest, and maintain some sense of normalcy around the house is to try to see if I can get Chase any closer to being potty trained; look into preschool programs for Chase; try to tackle other odds and ends around the house; and, last but not least, bond with Gabriel and ensure I still show the same love and attention towards Chase. This is an awesome time to be off from work as the weather is warming up and I hope to make the best of these next few weeks even if it is exhausting at times. I feel very blessed to be a mother of two beautiful boys. Thank You, Jesus, for the opportunity to experience another one of Your magnificent creations.

Anxiously Awaiting Gabriel ~~ Happy 3rd Birthday Chase!

Our Happy Chase: Almost 3 Years Old

 My final side profile shot before going to church last Sunday (yes, I'm carrying quite a load and looking ripe!) Also, check out my diaper cake and balloons from the baby showers.

 Chase's nightstand, toy bin, and the beautiful mural Grammie Pam painted in the background with the pier, pelican, and boat.

 New shades and curtain

 More of the mural and the armoire (there's a sandcastle to the left that didn't get captured in this picture)

Chase's new bed (Tim used to sleep in these bunk beds as a kid)

I have just a week and a half to go before the due date, but my gut instinct tells me Gabriel will come before then. Everything is in order; Chase’s new room is complete and he has completely transitioned into it without any issues (we were shocked). The nursery is ready to welcome Gabe. Today marks my first day of maternity leave from work. Baby showers are over and all gifts have been put away as I’ve gotten into “nesting mode” over the past few weeks.


My sisters Laurie and Liz (well, Liz isn’t genetically my sister, but she’s really been a true sister in Christ throughout this pregnancy) threw Tim and me a beautiful shower at the County Grill in York County on March 31st. The shower was perfect—mostly family and just a few close friends, so it was family friendly (women, men, and kids). Food was fantastic and we had a lot of fun mingling and playing silly baby shower games. I received many diapers and other practical things for Gabe; for the most part, I’m able to reuse everything from Chase, so we’re good to go on gifts! We also received many gift cards and already used some of them to buy shades and a few finishing touches for Chase’s new room since Gabriel’s room will be Chase’s old room. You can check out baby shower pictures on FB and you can see where I’ve posted pics of Chase’s new room above.

My friends at work threw me a surprise baby shower luncheon in early April. I walked into work on a normal day and arrived in my cube that was all decked out with baby shower décor and lots of delicious food that I munched on all day. My friend and co-worker Elaine baked one of her famous cakes with a Noah’s Ark theme (a picture was already posted on FB) and she even made Gabriel a blanket with monkeys on it. To top it off, the group contributed to get Tim and me very generous Target gift card. I had another friend make a diaper cake too. I’m thankful to work around such a generous, caring group of folks.

The next big milestone this month was celebrating Chase’s 3rd birthday a week early at Chuck E. Cheese’s. You can check out these pictures on FB too. We had a blast even though Chase was completely exhausted by the time it was all said and done. What I liked most was being able to treat family to pizza, cake, and games without having to worry about the clean-up or hosting that a mom typically has to do at a kid’s birthday party. This was the perfect way to celebrate a child’s birthday being in the last month of pregnancy!

Chase has really become a Daddy’s boy over the past couple of months. This has been a GREAT thing for me because I was really concerned when I first got pregnant how Chase would adjust to not being able to consume all of my attention for much longer. Tim and Chase have bonded beautifully as father and son. Sometimes I just like to sit back and observe the two of them interacting from a distance. Tim has been giving Chase lots of lawn mower rides lately. Now that the weather is warmer, we’ve even been able to take Chase to the beach; Tim enjoys dangling Chase over the water just enough to swish his feet in it. (FYI, the water is still very cold right now!) These are wonderful memories being created, and I’m trying to soak up every moment of them even though I admit I’ve been so tired and uncomfortable lately that I’ve probably taken a lot of these moments for granted. Nonetheless, I’m blessed to have my almost 3-year old (he’ll be 3 this Sunday) blooming so well. He’s talking up a storm and has quite a personality—I’ve been enjoying listening to his southern draw lately when he annunciates certain words, such as “milk” and “loud.” You’d have to hear it in person to appreciate what I’m describing!

Last but not least, baby Gabriel is making progress. With each April appt I’ve had, I’ve dilated 0.5-1 cm per week. I’m currently at 3 cm and feeling a lot of pressure and mild contractions (lots of other symptoms too, but I won’t get into the icky details). I started swelling more in the last week, but my blood pressure is still within a healthy range. Overall, I’m healthy, but just tired from not sleeping well at nights and ready to meet Gabriel. My last day of work was yesterday (April 19th) so I’m praying I’ll meet Gabriel at some point over the next week. I wouldn’t mind a few extra quiet days of resting before he arrives, but I trust things will progress in God’s timing.

So, the next blog posting will undoubtedly be when Gabriel arrives. In the meantime, please lift up prayers for a smooth delivery process and a healthy baby boy to enter into the world—also, pray for this to be a smooth transition for Chase as I’m sure it will be quite an eye opener to know he will no longer rule the roost around here and he’ll have to adopt the “big brother” role. Tim and I will also need prayers as well—prayers for patience and perseverance to be godly individuals, loving spouses to each other, and caring parents as we adjust to having another child. I’m excited for our growing family and so blessed to share these adventures with you.

Last Trimester

Cousins: Bella and Chase laying on the floor with their blankets

One cool dude with Daddy's hat and sunglasses on

Daddy and Chase taking goofy pictures with Tim's camera phone

Our "Happy Feet"

Sporting my 33-week baby bump with a heart around it...we love you, Gabe!

As I type this blog entry, I have just 7 weeks to go before the due date. Some of you may think that I look like I’m about to pop now and that 7 weeks seems like a long way off; but for me, time is undoubtedly ticking and Gabriel is growing at a healthy and normal rate. He’s approximately 4 pounds right now and I’m anxious to see how big he’ll be when he arrives. Chase was a whopping 8 pounds, 1 oz, so I wonder if Gabe will be even bigger. I sure feel bigger with this pregnancy than I did with Chase, but part of that may be due to fluid retention (I’m sure it has nothing to do with the milkshake fetish I’ve had since the 2nd trimester, ha, ha). I’m not swelling to the point where I need compression pantyhose (ooh, la, la!), but I’m definitely noticing a little more swelling in my ankles and fingers with this pregnancy than I did with Chase; some days I hardly swell at all whereas my ankles disappear on other days. I was fortunate to only gain 25 pounds with Chase, and I’m already at that gain now with Gabriel, so I’m guessing I’ll easily reach a 30-35 pound weight gain overall—but, that’s ok and still in normal limits! The doctors and nurse practitioners at Peninsula Women’s Care haven’t barked at me at all over weight with the exception of one visit after Thanksgiving (but, that’s not fair, because we all tend to gain weight over Thanksgiving). The important thing is that I’m still healthy and so is Gabriel. I’m not on bed rest and still able to go about life as normal, with the exception of having a rough time shaving, painting my toenails (yay for pedicures at the salon!), being comfortable while sleeping (although I still manage to get in about 7 hours of snooze time on most nights) and putting on my socks and shoes. Blood pressure is great, fetal heartbeat is strong, and no other issues as of now that are of any concern. Fetal movement has reached its peak even though it seemed like it got off to a slow start. I remember feeling Chase at the very beginning of the 2nd trimester and I didn’t really start feeling Gabriel until towards the end of the 2nd trimester—just goes to show every pregnancy and every baby is so different.

Tim and I took a hospital tour at Mary Immaculate on 2/23. Most of the tour consisted of the nurse/tourguide going into great detail about the delivery process itself (which we didn’t need to know since we’ve been there and done that before), but it was nice to see the hospital. The labor and delivery rooms are much smaller than those at Riverside, but all that matters is that the staff and facility get the job done so that we have a healthy baby to bring home in the end. So, we’re pre-registered and ready to go whenever the big day comes!

As for Chase, he hasn’t been all that curious about my growing belly, but I make it a point to tell him quite frequently that he’s going to be a big brother and there’s a baby growing inside of my belly. Chase is in the process of getting a “new room,” so Tim and me are also trying to emphasize that he’ll have a cool new room to sleep in soon. Tim’s Mom is painting a mural in the front bedroom that will soon be Chase’s; we’re reusing Chase’s current room for Gabriel since it’s already a complete nursery and we’re “graduating” Chase into another bedroom with bunk-beds. As with the rest of the house, we’re still sticking to a nautical theme. Chase’s current room is an “under the sea” theme, and his new room will be more of a beach theme with some sand, the ocean, a sunset, and a pier with a boat tied to it. It looks very cool so far—as always, Grammie Pam does a great job displaying her artistic talents!

What else is going on with Chase? He’s 32 pounds and just over 3 feet tall. He’s been healthy with the exception of some minor allergy and acid reflux issues. Potty training is still far from being mastered, but we’re still working at it. I’ve accepted the fact that it probably won’t happen until this summer when I can strip him down to “big boy underwear” in warmer weather. One thing’s for sure, he’s a smart kid, just stubborn with certain things and potty training is one of them. I will say he’s getting plenty of interaction with other kids through going to church 2-3 days out of the week and hanging out with his cousin Bella—hopefully interaction with other children will help spur him to learn new things and conquer more milestones. He’s also learning to self-entertain, which is wonderful given the fact that Gabe is on the way and our attention will be spread out more in the future. Overall, he’s still our “Happy Feet;” he’s got quite a sense of humor for not even being 3 years old yet and there’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t make me laugh.

Now that the weather is warming up and the days are getting longer, we’re enjoying playing outside more often. I’m making an adamant effort to walk more to keep healthy. Chase loves riding his John Deere Gater around the yard and he even got to ride with Tim on the John Deere lawn mower for the first time this season a few days ago. I always get showered with dandelions from Chase when he’s outside—what a sweet boy; he knows how to win over a girl’s heart!

In conclusion, life is busy, tiring, and stressful at times, but God has been good to my family and I feel blessed as I type this update. My gut instinct tells me Gabe will come before his due date since all ultrasounds have indicated a late April due date rather than May 2nd (May 2nd is based on counting from the first day of my last period). I’m not sure how many more (if any) blog updates I’ll get in before Gabe’s arrival, but Tim and I will surely keep everyone in the loop through Facebook, email, phone calls, and pictures. We have a few key events to look forward to in the meantime. One is a family (co-ed) baby shower/luncheon my sister and awesome friend Liz are throwing me at the County Grill in York County on March 31st. I requested not to have a traditional baby shower this time around since I’m having another baby boy and able to reuse most of Chase’s baby items, so this is more of just a family celebration, but I’m so looking forward to it! The next key event is Chase’s 3rd birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese’s on April 14th. Again, this is just a family affair since I wanted to keep things simple since that will be so close to the due date. And, in the meantime, I’m still working full time and trying to cram as much “nesting” in on the weekends as possible. Things are coming together slowly, but surely—one thing I’ve learned since being a mom is that life doesn’t always go as planned and life will still go on non-catastrophically if things aren’t perfectly in order. God has taught me to focus on one day at a time—so, thanks for sharing this journey with me as we make it through one day at a time.