Bathing Beauty

The fall weather is so nice that I've had to get outside. Lucy loves being in the sun - she just immediately looks so calm and relaxed. I promise I'm keeping clothes on her, but this afternoon she was all clean and the sun was so warm - it was delightful. Being outside always makes me consider God and my prayer for her is that God's love would always cover her with it's warmth and nourish her soul.

Our Cup Overflows

{ Lucy Elizabeth Herridge }
September 22, 2010 at 1:12pm
6 lbs, 9 oz; 18 1/2 inches

They say a mother's intuition is always best and I knew our baby girl was going to be early. I had my hospital bag all packed (even down to the snacks!), I had started stocking our freezer, and I had all her newborn clothes washed and put away, but still...I didn't know she was going to be born 19 days early! And yet, she's here - already 4 days old and my heart is running over.

I'm so thankful for second chances. Her birth was such a different experience. It was surreal in so many ways that I can't even express how I feel about it. I am thankful that those closest to me and to her were involved. Starting from my mother-in-law walking with me to get my contractions going to Brad and my mom laboring with me until the moment she had her first cry - they were a great team.

I have forgotten how tired you can be - where when you shut your eyes everything just spins. So, for now, I will post a few pictures that are my favorites so far:

Meeting her big brother for the first time.
He has been so excited. I overheard him singing a song he made up about her last night after we put him to bed. "...I'm a big brother and Lucy is my sister..."
Enjoying some time on the porch with the cooler fall weather.
This one is for you, Amy. Having a girl makes you do things you never would have done with your boy!

if i were in sales

My doctor has encouraged me to stop all activities and just stay in bed or on the couch. This has been one of the hardest things I've ever tried to do. First, its boring. Second, it's almost more uncomfortable than the tiredness I get from moving around all day. Nonetheless, I am trying to be a good patient. I have nothing deep to pass along, no startling insight I'm ready to share. But, I wanted to blog. Instead, here are some products I've happened across via tv and email the past couple of days that I think I could be a salesperson for because they are so great.

1. I've always been a laundry detergent skeptic. It says it will last you 60 loads, but is that if you pour to the number 2 line or the number 3 line. And who can ever really see the number 2 or the number 3 line? They are impossibly placed and not easy to read. I imagine 80 year olds just dump a whole cup in instead of trying to decipher that ridiculousness. Enter Method's new theory. Viola. No measuring. I tried it last night and loved it. I just gave it 4 pumps and I was done. No spills, no mess, and confident that I now have 49 loads left. Why don't people think of this sooner? It's because moms are at home and not in the idea room!!
2. Amy sent me a link for this line of purses. Another fabulous invention that can go on my wish list. It's what a stylish diaper bag becomes for a mom's purse. I am the person in their testimonials - I am the person who has wrapped up my big camera in towels or an extra t-shirt and then squashed it in my purse next to the sippy cup because I didn't want to have to lug around a camera bag and a purse. And we all know about my luck with decisions like that...So this just seems a brilliant solution. Build a safe place for cameras inside a stylish purse. Again, mom's could have come up with this idea years ago but we are too busy to have any mental energy left to come up with such life-changing solutions :)


3. Lastly, this description, if you can read it, comes from a website that preys on women in their last days of pregnancy. If you can read through it, tell me - would you take the bait? And then don't judge if you happen to see an Amazon delivery box on my door in a few days. I'm telling you - my midwife said bed rest means no errands and shopping. But surely she wasn't talking about shopping in bed, right?

The Bright Side

Life in the home stretch has been harder than I thought. I think I need to practice what I preach to Grant when I tell him he needs a new attitude. After slipping and falling on one of the thousands of link-n-logs in the hallway (don't worry - landed on my back, not belly) and then crying just for the indulgence of it, I am putting my feet up and making a commitment to spend a few minutes looking on the bright side - remembering all that I have to be grateful for. And I am recording it in case I need it again tomorrow! Here goes:

1. A husband who has overlooked countless short comments this past month and pulled more than double duty taking care of Grant so I can rest more, all the while dealing with a sprained ankle that won't seem to heal.

2. Having a church family that loves us in big and small ways. Like showing up at the door unexpectedly a few days ago with homemade lasagna, just because.

3. Friends who share recipes. Christine told me about this concoction and it is the best thing ever. Blend up coconut milk (I think its extra good because I buy vanilla coconut milk), a spoonful of unsweetened cocoa powder, a frozen banana, ice, and either stevia or agave nectar. Literally hits the spot better than Baskin Robbins does when you are needing a sweet fix.

4. The thought of all the shows premiering next week :) Now that I don't feel like doing anything but sitting on the couch at night, this is quite a big thing to look forward to - esp. Parenthood and Modern Family.

5. Grant being excited about the baby. He has picked her flowers almost every day this past week and he insists on giving my belly a hug and a kiss every night. I know this excitement will likely change, but for now, its something to be grateful for and to treasure.

Okay, perspective regained.

Good Gifts

I was blessed with 2 baby showers this weekend. The first was hosted by some of my closest friends and I loved every detail. It was held outside at this rambling estate that had a backyard reminiscent of a secret garden. Tealights and strings of flags in vintage cloth lined the path that lead back to our small dinner party.

The food was so delicious - bruschetta and dips and cheeses - the perfect small plate dinner.

I loved all the girly-girl details - the vintage china and the floral table cloths.

Since the house backed up into a wooded area, we had a persistent visitor that made the night that much more entertaining. Seeing Adrianna run after him throwing sticks was quite the scene. He just didn't want to give up and kept sneaking back!

Lately I have been wanting to pack in as much friend time as possible, knowing that the next few months will be spent more confined to home. A long dinner with friends in such a dreamy setting was a perfect night and I am so thankful that God gives us friends to share the different seasons of life with. I loved all the gifts for the baby but I also loved the gift of getting to spend time with people that I hold so high.

5 weeks and counting

My mom says I may be setting myself up to be disappointed, but I just have this feeling that the baby is going to be early, so even though my due date is October 12, I keep thinking I only have till the first week of October...

This experience has been so different than the first. At this point in it all:

1. I am feeling huge. A 4 year old at church kept asking me the other night "why are you so fat?" which produced some fleeting thoughts of which I quickly repented.

2. I can no longer reach my toes, which gave me a great excuse to enjoy a deluxe spa pedicure this week.

3. I am officially in training for the sleepless nights that lie ahead because I am too uncomfortable to sleep anyways.

4. I have had ice cream 5 out of the past 6 days. I gave up weighing myself 7 days ago.

5. I finished decorating the nursery and I wander into her room at least several times a day to just pause and wonder what she will be like and to imagine what it will be like to hold her.

Here are some pictures of her room:

My mom made the crib skirt and I love it when things turn out just the way you pictured them in your head.

The walls are a pale blue and I made a curtain to match the crib skirt. The cross-stitch pictures were made by my great-grandmother and the pink chair is from Brad's grandmother. So, 3 generations of mothers contributed to her room!