No More Card Curmudgeon

Merry Christmas, loved ones! First, let me apologize for the ugliness of my blog! I don't know what has happened to it, but I do hope to soon transform it so that it will be more aesthetically pleasing.

Now that the disclaimer has been stated, I want to talk about spreading some holiday cheer! I have been learning a lot about giving and receiving lately, and how I have been so ungracious in these areas in the past. I am hoping to have time to post those thoughts soon. But for now, I want to talk about how I'd like to spread some holiday cheer this year!

I have never sent Christmas cards before.

(Kirby of Christmas past)

Seriously! In my 4+ years of marriage and post-graduation, I just haven't done it! I used to send them to the volunteers under my management in my former job, and that seemed to keep me plenty busy. I have trouble sending out cards without writing long personalized messages on them, and the thought of doing that for all of my friends and family seemed so daunting. I have actually begun writing Christmas letters in the past, but never completed them! The truth is, I have even judged Christmas card senders in the past. I thought Christmas cards with family photos on the front seemed to be a way of flaunting what you've got. I am truly sorry for that. I was wrong. Despite my judgmental attitude, I was still always so excited to receive them in the mail! I love mail, I love pictures, and I love seeing how my friends are doing!

I am now convinced that sending Christmas cards is a great way to tell others that you think of and care about them and it is a great way of showing your appreciation for the blessings in your life (hence the family photos on the front!). So, that is why I have given in. It also really helps that I have found a great deal on Shutterfly. Since I am writing about them on my blog, I get 50 free Christmas cards. Hooray!

I have already received 2 Shutterfly cards in the mail and I love them! (Thanks, friends!) They are currently hanging above my kitchen table (: The cards are tasteful, simple, well designed and perfectly colorful. In other words, they look fantastic! And, in about 4 months when my little one turns a year old, Daniel and I are hoping to create a photo book on Shutterfly of Felicity's first year I can hardly wait. Really, I so wanted to make it and give it as Christmas gifts, but decided to wait until we had a year's worth of pictures. And, Daniel is pretty excited about making one of these to decorate our house, whenever we buy one!

So, hopefully, if I can get busy addressing and such you will be getting something like this in the mail soon. And if you don't, know that 1) it's only because I didn't do this sooner and 2) the Clelands are wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

With much love,

Kirby Lynn

Cozy Winter Nights

I've really enjoyed having several quiet nights at home over the past couple of weeks. Who ever thought I'd be such a homebody? To be in a warm house with my loves, a fire in the fireplace, Scrabble on the coffee table, Christmas tunes in the background, soup in my belly....it's just been precious beyond words. Here is what some nights at our house are looking like:

So special.

Love to all and Merry Christmas!

Kirby Lynn

November for the Clelands

I seemed to experience every sort of emotion to the fullest in the month of November. I cried tears of joy at Felicity's baptism, sobbed (many times) on Thanksgiving after Sully was badly injured by a pit bull, and had a good bit of anger and confusion in the middle. Anger because I have never seen so much urine in my life as I did this month! Sully and Felicity seemed to be out to pee all over everything (okay Felicity was not out to spite me, but Sully was!), and they just about succeeded. Then, we found overnight diapers for Felicity and Sully seems to be getting the attention he so desperately wanted, so the problem has been solved (: Deep down though, the urine was not the issue, but it was more like the straw that broke the camel's back. However, the camel's back is now recovering and doing much better (:

The confusion came from wondering what to do next? Where to turn? I was abruptly discharged from physical therapy so that I could do it on my own time and had some bad physical pain right about that time, so that left me feeling quite alone in my journey with pain. But, I am extremely overjoyed to say that I have had little physical pain for the past week. God has not only given me relief from pain, but I have also gotten some clarity regarding my pain and caring for myself. It has been amazing beyond words. I can't thank God enough.

So, rather than being too wordy in my review of the month, I will show some pictures and hit the high and low points of the month:

This is a terrible picture. Forgive me. It's more of a reminder of what we did than anything else. Daniel and I had a perfect date up in Blairsville where we did some apple-picking, shopping, eating, and lots of talking and driving. It was so refreshing to get out on a sunny, beautiful, perfectly Fall day. Thanks to Gigi and G-Paw for taking care of the little one and Sully!

I always look forward to Saturdays, but usually end up missing Daniel and feeling the tiniest bit disappointed on the 2 Saturdays a month that Daniel has to work. Though sometimes Felicity and I stay at home and get work done, some days we make fun plans. We had no fun plans the first Saturday in November, so we went to the park! I really should have taken advantage of the neighborhood park much sooner. Better late than never! Felicity absolutely loved swinging on the swingset for the first time! Can't you tell? Above, she is clapping out of sheer excitement!

Felicity and Sully became friends with 2 brothers we met at the park! They loved petting Sully and even helped push Felicity while I was tending to Sully. I also enjoyed talking to their mom, who has 4 kids and fully understands the woes of motherhood!

Thinking baby. The little girl winds down after lots of swinging.

The Big Fight

Sully ran free on Thanksgiving morning (he has a history of getting loose) just as we were about to drive to Auburn to see lotsa Clelands. He entered the territory of 2 pitbulls and got in a fight with one of them. If you know Sully, you know that he is pretty tough for a small dog. But, he is still a small dog. So, needless to say, he didn't fare well though he did put up a good fight. He came home on 3 legs with blood all over the place. (Let me clarify: he still has 4 legs! It's just that one was injured. The blood was from the bite wounds) For a little bit we wondered if he would make it. I am so proud of Daniel for acting quickly and making decisions that proved to be spot-on, though he was emotionally drawn into this emergency case. He and my father-in-law took great care of Sully and brought him out of shock and to a point where he could begin to recover. Sully is now acting like his crazy self again with only a few little hindrances! Hooray! Gosh I love that dog!

Though I was initially very very upset over Sully's injuries, I ended being more upset when the owner of the pit bull angrily came looking for the man who had kicked his dog. That man, of course, was Daniel. He did the kicking in an effort to break up the fight. Daniel's mom and I got down on our knees and prayed that this situation would smoothly work out (thanks Gran- I was a mess!). Things really couldn't have worked out better. Daniel and his mom visited the dog owners once Sully was a little more stable, and the man's wife and Daniel's mom ended up hugging and sympathizing with one another! The pit owner didn't seem to mind having a veterinarian do a free house call, either!

The patient and the doctor. Tired after a couple of rough days.

Pitiful pain med Sully.

Thanksgiving Festivities

Caring for Sully slowed down our holiday plans, but we still fit a lot in. We spent a couple of days with the Clelands and still traveled to Auburn to see more Clelands after Sully's big fight. We had planned to spend 1.5-2 days with the Mardis family, but ended up just getting doing a day trip to visit them. However, it was great to have some quiet time at home with them, since we are usually on the go with the Mardis fam! Sully's recovery also allowed us to decorate for Christmas during Thanksgiving weekend! To the best of our recollection, Daniel and I have never decorated that early. It was especially fun now that we have a baby, a house, and a more realistically sized Christmas tree!

I will always hold a special place in my heart for the 4 foot tall tree my parents loaned us for the past 4 years. However, it is fun to have a more "grown-up" Christmas tree this year!

Love them and love this. What a special time. So precious.

Well my honey's almost home so I'm going to tidy up and get ready for bed. I hope you all are enjoying a wonderfully frigid December and Christmas season.

I know it's a bit early, but I can't help it:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love y'all,

Kirby Lynn

October Recap

October was a busy month for us, and we are very glad for that! It has taken us a while to get into a somewhat normal lifestyle since the our sweet little girl was born, so we decided to be very intentional about getting out of the house and having some family (and Mommy and Daddy!) time. Here are some of the things we've been up to:

Mountain Day! Daniel ran the 5k at Berry early in the morning and then Felicity and I attended a reunion with my Bible study ladies. Then it was off to the mountain for food, the Grand March, and reconnecting with old friends. This is always one of the best days of the year for us! It is such a great way to begin Fall!

We had some visitors this month, including the Clelands, our pastor and his wife, and G-Paw. Here is "Aunta" with her favorite little niece.

More time for Mommy and Daddy! My sweet husband made a date schedule for us through the month of January, so I could plan for babysitters in advance. We go on one "nice date" (like a show or nice restaurant) a month, one regular date a month (like dinner then to the park or coffee shop), and have a date night in on the weeks we don't go out. It is working out very well, thanks to our kind babysitters and the planning we do ahead of time! I'm so thankful for this special time with my man.

We've also been having more "us time" at night since Felicity now sleeps from about 7:30 p.m. until 6:30 or 7 a.m.! We like to do goofy things when the baby's in bed (see above!) (:

Corn Maze and Fall fun with the Newmans! We love every bit of time we get with my sister, Katie and her family, especially when they are super busy during marching season. We "met in the middle" since they live about 2 hours away in Colbert, GA and went to a Corn Maze. We loved bundling the kids up and getting to celebrate Fall with some of our favorite people!

This is Sully's new friend, Scruffy.

Oh wait, that's Felicity hiding in that dog costume! Thanks Aunta! I had grand plans to make a monster costume, but as it was getting down to crunch time and I couldn't find the sort of outfit I was planning to sew on (bad grammar I know!), Anna called just in the nick of time to let me know she had found this super cute costume on sale! It arrived on our doorstep the next day! It was a hit!

And finally, here's me and the cutie having fun cuddling in the rocking chair while Daniel and Sully greeted trick-or-treaters and handed out candy.

Halloween weekend was extra enjoyable for me because I finally got to meet a lot of Daniel's clients, who also happen to be our neighbors! We attended a walk/run benefitting the Briarcliff Animal Foundation and also a neighborhood Halloween party. After getting to know some neighbors, I love this neighborhood even more than I did before. I so love the diversity and the small-town feel. Egan Park is a great place to live!

And of course we've been up to the day-to-day stuff...Felicity and I both continue physical therapy. Her for her neck (torticollis) and me for back pain. Though she was looking like she might need a collar to help her to heal, her last appointment went great and the PT noticed that she is getting much stronger on her left side. Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement! I had some relief from pain during October, but some days I was in a lot of pain. However, I visited my friend Janna the other day and she definitely helped a lot! She is an integrated massage therapist and she is surely gifted at what she does. Thankfully, I will be able to do aquatic therapy on my own without the PT in the near future. This will cost less and take less time since I will be able to go to a pool in Forest Park instead of going to Buckhead. As always, things are falling into place just as they should (:

I hope you each had a great October and that as the holiday season approaches, you feel peace (and not anxiety!)

Love!

Kirby (:

Recent Happenings for the Growing Girl

Felicity has been very busy lately with growing, laughing, squealing, trying to talk like Mommy and Daddy, rolling around the floor, physical therapy, walks, grabbing Sully, and more. Here are some of my recent favorite pics of "Little Girl" in action:

Being goofy!

Eating solid food (blech!) Okay...it's more like attempting to eat rice cereal. Eww!

Swinging from the blinds. Wheeee!

Playing at Mountain Day at Berry College

Turning 6 months old (Before and after photo...in reverse order!)

Eating Mommy's hair yumyumyumyum...

Gotta go shower while I've got the chance! We've got lots to do today! Love from the Clelands! (:

P.S. Does anyone know how to get rid of that photobucket box on my screen? I posted then deleted a picture in my last post and now that little box won't go away!

'Bout Time!

Felicity and I after church in mid-September

Felicity on her Daddy's lap wearing her monster hat for the first time. I'm thinking that might become part of her Halloween costume?!

Oh my gosh I am blogging! I am seriously as shocked as my few sweet followers are. I know that I am not the blogging type; I can no longer pretend that it is my sort of "thing". However, just a few minutes ago, while sitting in the quiet on the couch next to Sully, I suddenly got the desire to blog again. I better do it while I'm feelin' it! And this really shouldn't be long...it's past my bedtime and I've got a busy day ahead of me tomorrow!

Just the other day, I was at a friend's house and she told me that she keeps a blog and then prints it out into a hardcover book, so now she has books detailing the growth of her children and happenings of her family. What a fabulous idea! I don't know if I will do that, but I will write about Felicity because I know that years down the road I will not remember what this sweet baby is like at this moment. So, here is some insight into this precious little girl called Felicity:

Felicity is about one week short of being 6 months old. This really blows me away, but I have actually gotten used to constantly be amazed by how quickly she grows and how fast time flies. No wonder parents always say, "They grow up too fast!" About a week and a half ago, I allowed F to gnaw (is that how you spell that?!) on my finger to ease her pain caused by teething. She has been gnawing and drooling for months but still saw no teeth. When she was chewing on me, I felt something sharp! It was a tooth! One had finally popped out! I was so excited because 1)this is such a big milestone and 2)that explained her fussiness for the past few days! Growing a tooth isn't easy! Just a few days ago, we saw tooth number two show up right next to it- two little bottom teeth! When I pull her lip down to look at them, she puts her tongue over them so I can't see them, so I have to catch glimpses when she's smiling really big (which she's been doing a lot lately!)

Felicity experienced her coldest weather yet this morning. Not like it was THAT cold, but it was colder than anything she's felt (maybe in the 50s?). I bundled her up in a blanket, a jacket from her Gran and a hat made by Kathryn Neidhardt and she enjoyed looking around the neighborhood as she always does when we go on walks.

Felicity now eats 4 times a day, which makes for a pretty easy schedule for us! She has always been a champion eater, except when reflux kept her from it! But that's some good news too- she hasn't take her medicine for reflux in 5 days! She spit up twice but that was only because she was really worked up before eating. I think she has grown out of reflux! And as far as feedings go, be encouraged new moms! One day your sweet baby will go many hours in between feedings and you can do lots of fun things in between feedings!

Felicity loves to pet Sully. She is always reaching out to him when he is nearby. The trouble is that when she pets Sully, she often grabs a chunk of his skin and pulls on it. That's when I gently pry her away from him while telling Sully again and again that's he's a very good dog. And then he gets a treat! So, he's happy in the end! But really, he has done GREAT with Felicity. For his sake though, we are working on gently petting Sully (:

One of my favorite things to do is to go into Felicity's room, not long after she's woken up from a nap while she's just kind of looking around the room, and crawl on my knees just below the level of her mattress. Then I pop my head up into her sight and surprise her! Then she smiles/laughs and I laugh and then we do it again and again! It's SO fun! I really think I might have more fun than she does!

I really could go on and on about the changes she's going through and the thoughts that run through this new mom's head. But, like I said, I should go to bed and keep this at a more desirable length for my readers (: Writing this has been fun, and who knows....maybe I'll feel inspired again soon?!

Love to you all!

P.S. Despite the fact that I try to disperse pictures throughout my blog, they always just show up at the top...sorry about that!

And then there were three

Well, it's about time that I shared all the gory details of my labor story. Well okay I won't really share all the gory details because I just don't feel comfortable doing that on the internet. But seriously, any details that are not included you are more than welcome to ask me about. As a friend of mine always says, "I am an open book." And I am....ask away!

As you probably already know, I went into the hospital to be induced on Tuesday, April 6 because my doctor felt it would be best for Felicity to come on out. So, because I trust him because he brought both me and my sister into the world over 20 years ago, I decided to comply. Daniel got off work early and my sister Kristin and my Mom came over to help us to get things in order before going to the hospital. By 4 p.m. Daniel and I were at Northside Hospital. It took quite a while to fill out all of the paperwork and it left me wondering how people who are truly in labor have time and patience to sit and sign pages and pages of stuff. Hmm.

The first of many nice nurses who cared for me, Carol, checked me and confirmed that I was still indeed only 1 cm dilated so I would receive Cervidil to help my body to further dilate. At 7 p.m. the Cervidil was inserted. I was supposed to be able to rest all night while Cervidil did its job and then receive Pitocin in the morning to start the contractions, but alas, we did not go according to the plan! My contractions quickly picked up and occured about every 4 minutes at first, but were rapidly growing closer together and more intense, i.e. more painful. Daniel and I decided to watch Hannah Montana the movie. Haha I know this sounds quite humorous but we had started it the night before and just had to see what happened in the end. So, we rested in bed, watched the movie, contacted friends, and ate dinner still assuming that things would go according to plan.

The nurses had encouraged me to take Ambien so that I could sleep through the worsening contractions, so I finally agreed after some persuasion. At midnight I took the Ambien and was told I only had about 20 more minutes that I could walk around because walking is not adviced while on a medication used to make you sleep! So, I continued walking around as long as I was allowed because being up and moving or rocking in a chair was the only way that I could get some relief from the increasingly intense pain from contractions. Because the nurses told me I should be able to sleep through the contractions, I finally got in bed thinking either that a) the Cervidil was working much quicker than expected or b) I was a total wimp for thinking that the pain I was feeling was intense because I was supposed to have many many more hours of labor left and this was just the beginning of the pain! So, from about 1-2 a.m., Daniel slept on his tiny little couch-bed and I dozed in and out of weird Ambien/hippy dreams to be awakened for a minute-long contraction every 3 minutes. At 2 I finally woke Daniel up because the pain was increasing and laying in bed just seemed impossibly uncomfortable for me. For the next hour Daniel helped me to deal with the pain while I rocked and tried going to the bathroom several times (I felt like I had to go but nothing ever came out! Hmm...I knew labor was surely moving quicker than expected at the point, but the nurses seemed to think I was just being whiney!)

Finally at 3 a.m. a nurse agreed to check my cervix because the Cervidil has been in for 8 hours at the point. She checked me and was very surprised to find that I was already dilated to 5 cm. She removed the Cervidil and decided that it would be a great time to get my epidural. So, I was hooked up to the IV to receive some fluids to combat low blood pressure often brought on by an epidural. Now, for those of you who know me well, you know that I am not a big fan of taking any sort of medication for pain, sickness, etc. Thus, the reason I was initially opposed to getting an epidural. However, because of the anomaly on my brain (most likely not problematic, but it could be at some point in my life) my doctor said he would be more comfortable if I got an epidural, so I agreed to get one. I was slightly disappointed with this though because I wanted to be able to experience all the pain of labor, as crazy as it sounds! But, like I said, I agreed to get the epidural and had the nurse send in the anesthesiologist to give it to me. The anesthesiologist arrived at about 4 a.m. and had quite a difficult time giving me the epidural because at that point I was having intensely painful contractions every other minute and I had "the shakes" like crazy! Daniel and the nurse literally had to hold me down while I got the epidural. Because I was moving so much, the anesthesiologist missed on his first try and sent blood spewing out of my back (now doesn't that sound quite dramatic?!). But, he succeeded on his second try. Daniel, who has a passion for anesthesia (except he gives it to animals!), was quite impressed with the skill of the anesthesiologist. As I was receiving the epidural, I cried out that something was coming out of me that didn't feel like it should be. After receiving the epidural, the nurse decided to take a look and also to see how far dilated I was. Imagine our surprise (well I wasn't too surprised considering how I felt!) when the nurse saw that my unruptured bag of waters had come out! That is what came out of me that didn't quite feel right! The nurse was both surprised and giddy with excitement because apparently that rarely ever happens (when a woman's "water breaks", the bag of waters ruptures. If this doesn't happen before labor begins, the doctor usually breaks it.) When she checked me, she found that I was already dilated 10 cm. I went from 5 to 10 cm in an hour! In other words, it was time to push! This was great news for me considering the fact that I was resistant to the idea of receiving an epidural. Many women say that the transition phase, when you dilate for 7-8 cm to 10 cm, is the most painful part of labor and I was so glad that I got to experience that part of labor without an epidural! The epidural did provide some welcome relief though as I waited for the doctor to arrive and for the nurses to prepare for Felicity's arrival.

Speaking of doctors, my doctor was busy delivering another baby so we had the hospital's doctor on-call come to deliver Felicity. Soon after she came to my room, she had to leave to deliver another baby! It was quite a busy time a Northside Hospital! So, our wonderful nurse and Daniel coached me through most of the pushing! (Daniel was a most excellent coach, by the way.) I admit that I was an awful pusher though! Between having the Ambien and the fresh epidural, I could feel nothing and could hardly stay awake. I was literally falling asleep between contractions. After many minutes of pushing, the nurse suggested we take a break and I gladly accepted that offer. While dozing in and out of sleep, I asked Daniel to download "Eye of the Tiger" to inspire me as I pushed. Yep, seriously. So, he quickly got on I Tunes and obliged. Why "Eye of the Tiger" you ask? That song always makes me want to wake up really early and go running. Seriously. I never do, it just makes me want to. In other words, it gets me pumped up!!! So, the nurse returned and eventually the doctor came back and I continued pushing while "Eye of the Tiger" played on repeat in the background. After about an hour and a half of pushing, Felicity finally made her entrance into the world! It was a truly beautiful moment that I wouldn't trade for the world. After I held her for a bit, Felicity was quickly whisked away to be checked out by the nurse. She was brought back to me once they saw that she was healthy and I was able to feed her for the first time. What a blessing! And thus began our lives together....

Meant to Be

I started this blog post about a week ago. Ha! Caring for a newborn has obviously eaten up all my time, but it is more than worth it! So,while Felicity naps, here goes:

This time last year, I was not thinking about having children any time in the near future. Sure, Daniel and I had had the "when do we want to have kids?" conversation several times, but 2010 was never part of the plan. Daniel was leaning toward wanting to try about a year after his graduation (which would be right about now), but I wanted at least 2-3 years of kid-free time post graduation. I wanted to follow that advice that I had heard so many times before: "Wait a long time before having kids! Go live your life before you're tied down to your children!"

However, once I quit my job and had some time to pray about finding my calling, I could not deny the fact that a mother was what I wanted to be. This was obvious to Daniel before it was to me, as I took several pregnancy tests when I stopped taking birth control (for reasons other than wanting to get pregnant) and always ended up feeling disappointed when I saw the negative test results. I always asked him, "Why am I sad that this is negative?! I don't want kids right now!" and he always answered, "I think it's because you actually want to have kids now". As always, it took me longer to admit my true heart's desire. Being honest with yourself is scary, isn't it?

So, once I was finally honest with myself, we tried....and succeeded....very quickly. And I haven't felt so right about something in a long time. Caring for Felicity so far has been exhausting, frustrating, and terrifying. Until last night, I hadn't slept for more than 2 hours at a time in almost 2 weeks. I am already tired of changing diapers and we are already almost out of wipes. Breastfeeding can be messy and discouraging. I am still sore from the delivery. But, I could really care less about all of these things that seem to be working against me. I can't complain, not even for a second. Well, I guess I may have complained a little, but even when things get difficult I am very glad that Felicity is here. Even in the most challenging times, I don't doubt that being a mom is what I should be doing and what I want to be doing right now.

To Conclude: I guess I would say that while I may have missed out on some of those "Live it up!" years, what I never realized (and definitely never would have admitted in college) is that raising Felicity can be more fulfilling than any of the plans I had back then. Turns out, settling down isn't settling at all...

FYI on the Picture: This picture was taken at the hospital after all of our visitors had left for the night. While it isn't the most artistic, it's one of my favorites. Felicity and I had a few uninterrupted minutes between feeding/changing/burping her and before I collapsed in a heap on the bed. I so cherish these quiet moments with Felicity.

Felicity's Blog Debute!

It's Kristin again! And as promised, here are some pictures from my visit to the hospital this morning.

Kirby, Daniel, and Felicity are all doing great, with the exception of being extremely exhausted!!! I have total liberty to brag (because I'm the aunt and that's what I'm supposed to do) that Felicity is beautiful. She didn't make a peep the whole time we were visiting either!

Here's a small sampling of the photo shoot! More to come later!

She's here!!!

Hi Everyone!!

This is Aunt Kristin writing for Kirby since she's a little tied up being a mom at the moment!

Felicity Mae Cleland was born at 7:00 AM this morning!! She is 7 lbs. 4 ounces and 20 & 1/2 inches long. She is getting cleaned up and taken care of as I type. I promise to take lots of pictures and post them for all to see hopefully later today.

Coming Soon...?

This morning, I was prompted to go to the doctor because of some unexpected bleeding. Once I got to the doctor, I found out that, though the bleeding wasn't a problem, I was measuring small and had lost two pounds since yesderday. Ugggghh - I'm having a contraction. Daniel, don't type that... Because of this, the doctor advised me to be induced tonight. Though induction wasn't what I had wanted to happen, I am trusting Dr. Wolfsen in this matter. So, now I am receiving something called Cervadil that will help me to dilate more than one measly centimeter. Unless the Cervadil begins the labor process, I will receive Pitocin tomorrow morning; which will initiate contractions. For now, we are enjoying listening to Felicity's heartbeat on the fetal monitor, and relaxing in our hospital room. Please pray for Daniel and I as we go through the labor experience, for Felicity's health and safety, and for the medical staff's wisdom and discernment. We greatly appreciate your love, support, and prayers.

P.S. Please pray too that we will not be anxious and that we will have favor in this situation.

Cheering for Felicity!

Because unfortunately I don't have time to call each and every one of my friends and family members to inform them of my progress in baby birthing, here is an update:

I am still at home and officially 40 weeks and 2 1/2 days pregnant. 40 weeks is when a baby's due date is, so Felicity could come any day now. I went to the Ob today, and had my membranes stripped. Feel free to ask me privately if you want to know what this means or what it's like. For now I'll just say it's rather painful but was encouraged when, after the procedure, the doctor said, "You're da bomb! You have such a high threshold for pain. I would never let anyone do that to me!" Good things to hear before the pain of child birth sets in (: He stripped my membranes in order to get the prostraglandins, or "contraction starters", pumping through my body.

After that, I was hooked up to a fetal monitor for a non-stress test. One monitor measured Felicity's heartrate, another measured my contractions, and I had to press a button every time Felicity moved. Well Felicity decided to take a nap, so I had to have a snack to wake her back up again, so the test took longer than normal. Anyways, in the end, Felicity moved around and seemed to be dealing well with the contractions. The Ob then asked me if I wanted to be induced, and I told him I'd rather give Felicity a little more time to come out on her own. He agreed to this but had me make an appointment for this Thursday morning. And, from the way I understand things, if I haven't had Felicity by Thursday, I will probably be induced soon after that.

Please keep Felicity, Daniel, and I in your prayers as we wait. Thanks friends!

Some Cutie Patooties

I have recently been overwhelmed by the absolute preciousness of all this cute stuff that Felicity has gotten from my friends and family! It would really take me hours to post all of this cute stuff, so for now I'll just show a few.

Monster hat from Christine Peterson. This is classic Christine, what else can I say?! I love the flair! Note the different-sized "horns". I can hardly wait until it's cold enough to put this on Felicity!

Precious sweater and hat handmade by Kathryn Neidhardt. What a special gift! I will treasure this for many years to come! I think everyone was totally wowed by this when I received this at my shower! I am so touched that Kathryn took the time to make this for my girl!

Mother Goose nursery rhymes, given by one of my new Atlanta friends, Anne Dicks. I love the classic look of it and I am such an advocate of reading to children early and often!

Gap smocked romper from my Mom! My mom has always had great taste and this just goes to prove it. My sister, Kristin, also got Felicity an adorable romper from Gap but it is currently packed in my hospital bag!

And finally, some baby bloomers and a precious burp cloth embroidered by Aunt Pam (Cleland)! Things don't get much cuter than this! Personalized gifts are so special!

I hope everyone has a beautiful Good Friday and enjoys worshipping our Savior this weekend! Thanks again to my incredibly kind friends and family for all of the sweet stuff you've gotten for my little girl!

Baby Time?

Yesterday morning, I came across this:

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-
A time to give birth and a time to die..." Ecclesiastes 3:1 and 2

...and it could not have been put in my life at a better time. I had been having mildly painful contractions all weekend and kept thinking that labor would start any day now! Before my ob appointment yesterday afternoon, I kept envisioning that I'd go to the appointment and the doctor would send me to the hospital to be induced or tell me that labor was quickly approaching! But, once I read this scripture, I thought, "Oh yeah, I don't want labor to happen when I want it; I want it in God's perfect timing. And He knows when Felicity will be born and every little thing that will happen in between now and then. I don't want her to be born any other time than the time God has chosen for her!" And this mindset, my friends, is so much more enjoyable than trying to figure out exactly when she will come (:

So, since you all are probably wondering what the ob did actually say yesterday, I'll tell you: I was barely dilated a centimeter (you must be 10 cm before the you can start pushing) and he expects to see me at my scheduled appointment next week, as opposed to seeing me in the maternity ward at Northside in between now and then. So, although little Felicity Mae might decide to come in between now and then, for now I am going to squeeze in as many dates with my hubby, cuddles with Sully, naps and lazy mornings, long walks in the Spring sun, visits with friends, and other fun things as I can. Till next time, love y'all (:

An Imperfect Nest

I had an epiphany on Monday night: I am building quite the imperfect nest for little Felicity Mae, and that is a great thing. Let me explain:

Just as all moms-to-be do, I have had a strong desire to get all things perfectly in order for Felicity's arrival. The list of things to do went on and on in my head; there was never time for rest. From packing my hospital bag to typing instructions for Sully's care while I am in the hospital, washing the layette, writing thank you cards, buying the remaining necessities we'll need in her first few days, going to breastfeeding class, reorganizing that dresser in her closet so we'll have room for her clothes, creating my birthing plan...the list truely goes on for several pages. All the while I was still struggling to keep up with my usual responsibilities like laundry and ironing and grocery shopping and cleaning the floors and cooking nutritious meals and exercising and washing dishes and Bible study and maintaining relationships and so on and so forth. Rest was definitely hard to come by and I constantly felt the need to push myself so that all things would be just as I imagined they should. (Once again I want to take time to commend women who prepare for a child while working full time; I admire and respect you greatly!)

After I got minimal sleep on Sunday night and then pushed myself to make some check marks on that long list on Monday, Daniel came home Monday afternoon to a slightly neurotic, control-freakish sort of wife. Tension between us soon appeared and quickly increased as the night wore on and the honey-do list grew, and eventually we both got in bed feeling exhausted, frustrated, and like something had to change. Crazy, perfection-seeking Kirby was wearing both of us out. So, after many minutes of discussion, I had an epiphany for which I thank God(!): Felicity would be okay if that dresser full of linens was still in her closet when she was born. She would fare just fine and never know the difference if the apartment were an absolute disaster the first time she set eyes on it. Life will continue after she is born; I don't have to get everything done before she arrives. I also remembered 2 things that I've been saying but not living all throughout my pregnancy: 1) I don't know how many days I will have with Felicity, only God knows that. However, I don't want for either of us to look back on our time together and remember my anxiety and perfectionistic tendencies and how they took us from enjoying precious time together. I want to know that my time spent with her was filled with showing her love and being grateful for the gift that she is, even if that means we have some dirty dishes in the sink at the end of the day. 2) Daniel and I will never be completely ready for Felicity. There will always be something left undone, something incomplete. Pregnancy has been a blessing, and I want to know that I spent my pregnancy cherishing time with my sweet mate while preparing for our little one as best as we can.

Now, don't get me wrong: I have not thrown in the towel and stopped preparing for her altogether, despite how the below pictures appear! However, I have been reminded that I am imperfect and so is the work that I do. I am only human and I am limited in what I can accomplish. As my parents told me probably almost as often as they told me they loved me (which was quite frequently!), the best I can do is all that I can do. Our little apartment nest we've created will never be perfect or appear to be perfect. While I do love to serve my husband and guests by welcoming them into a warm, cozy environment and I intend to continue doing so once I'm a mother, I will also have to say "no" at times to the pile of laundry or unclean floor waiting to be dealt with. I do hope that despite the messiness, disorganization, and faulty parents that Felicity will be greeted by, she will know love, gratitude, and time spent enjoying the life she's been given. So, little Felicity, welcome to our imperfect nest in which we hope to love you well (:

My not-quite-completely-packed hospital bag. Sully's constant digging in it is partially to blame.

Felicity's messy changing table. Take note of the beautiful diaper cake my sister made for me!
The aforementioned dresser in Felicity's closet, complete with printer on top:

Felicity's beautiful crib, lacking a mattress pad and mobile. You'll be glad to know that I washed and dried the mattress pads while blogging and that the mobile is in the mail (:

And just because he's super cute, here's a picture of Sully with Felicity's book collection:

It's REALLY happening!

Good morning, friends! I can hardly believe it myself, but I am actually writing my first blog post. This has been in the making for many many months. Not that I have actually been writing this post for many months, but the thought of writing it has been there for quite some time. I first thought of writing a blog in the summer of 2009, just after I had moved into my new home in Atlanta and was obviously entering a new phase in life involving being a homemaker, being an Atlantan, being a dog owner, being the wife of a (very handsome and ambitious) veterinarian, and being pregnant. This, for sure, has been a blessed time in my life! While I greatly appreciate, miss, and value my time in Knoxville as a hospice Volunteer Coordinator and wife of a vet. student, I was ready for some new adventures and the Lord has surely provided them! This morning I can hardly contain the excitement I feel about what is to come and the gratitude I feel toward what the Lord has brought me through. Praise His Name!

I clearly put the blog-writing idea on the backburner for a while, until just before Christmas a friend suggested I write a blog so that friends could better follow the progression of my pregnancy. This confirmed to me that writing a blog might actually be a good use of my time and that people are genuinely interested in my life. The fact that people might want to read about me was actually quite a surprise to me! My hope, though, is that this blog will be full of praises to the Lord and that somehow the experiences about which I write can be helpful to others. This blog will by no means be strictly about pregnancy, especially since there is just about one month until the big day! I think I will just write about whatever the Holy Spirit puts on my heart and mind, and trust in God to make my words useful!

I think that I will keep today's post short and sweet, but will end with a big finale. First, thank you very much to those who encouraged me to get my blog started and a very big thank you to Anna Cleland, my sister-in-law, who made my blog look pretty in an effort to get me posting sooner (: I really was quite hesitant to start my blog because it just did not look as pretty as I wanted, until of course Anna got ahold of it and made it look post-worthy. She seems to be a natural at such things. Also, thank you to God, for blessing me in this time of life, for allowing me time to write this blog and do so many wonderful things I enjoy: keep up with the home for Daniel (this is so much more enjoyable than I ever thought it would be!), prepare for our baby girl, reconnect with old friends, spend time getting to better know Him, better learn to cook and bake, exercise, make new friends, and so much more. The list goes on and on!

And, finally, the moment which you've all been waiting for....unless of course you were one of the handful of people who already knows our daughter's name......her name is......

Felicity Mae Cleland

Felicity meaning "happy, bringer of happiness, or joy" and Mae being my paternal grandmother's name. That's our little girl, expected to arrive in about a month (: More about her in the future I'm sure. I hope that somehow this blog blesses you and please be sure to let me know what you want for me to write about. Take care, my friends!