Happy Birthday, Adalynn!

"Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.'

(John 1:16)

It is February 28, 2013 and we welcomed Adalynn Rose Nomachee Hall to the world today.  She was born at 3:53am, weighed 9 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 19 inches long! 

I wanted to take a few minutes to write down the details of her birth before I forget them.

It began Sunday when I was having regular contractions and thought it might be "the time!"  I called my mom, she came over that evening to stay with Zeke and we waited.  I was not progressing, so we went to bed.  On Wednesday, February 27th, the same thing happened.  I had regular (slightly more intense contractions), so I called my mom.  By the time she got to our house, they had almost completely stopped.  We all decided to go to bed, and see what would happen the next day.

Well, I didn't make it that far.  At about 11:45pm, I woke up with very intense contractions.  I knew it was different.  They were close together and strong.  I woke Gregg up about 45 minutes later and we knew we needed to get to the hospital.  When we arrived at Kennestone Hospital, I was dilated 5 cm and 90% effaced. 

It had been my desire all along to have a medication free labor, so I continued to breath through the contractions with Gregg's amazing support.  We were moved to our room and I got in the bathtub to help ease the pain.  Gregg told me he would not think any less of me if I got the epidural (later he told me he was desperate for me to get it...he couldn't stand seeing me in pain).  Our nurse, Rachelle, was a great support too.  She talked me through the contractions and encouraged me.  She said I could get there if I wanted to go without the epidural.  She had a patient that had just done it.  She also said that I shouldn't feel like a failure if I changed my mind.  While in the bathtub, I realized that if I was at 5 cm, I could technically have 5 more hours (they average a cm/hour).  I just couldn't imagine it.  I had hit my breaking point.

We told her I wanted the epidural and they got me ready.  The anesthesiologist put it in, and as I was laying there waiting for it to take effect, I felt the strong desire to push.  I think I actually felt that desire while in the bathtub.  Anyway, Rachelle called the midwife, Julie Porter, and she came to check me.  I was fully dilated and ready.  She had me do one push, and my water broke!  I still felt a lot of pressure, but the intense pain was gone.  They set me up to push and I did 2 more...Adalynn's head and shoulders were out.  I was able to pull her the rest of the way out to my chest.  We waited until her cord stopped pulsating, and I cut the cord (Gregg is not a fan of that!).  She was perfect and we were so thankful to have had such a smooth labor process. 

Our prayers were answered in God's perfect way, as always.  I had prayed for specifics, knowing I wanted God's will not mine in the end.  We planned to have my friends, Dena and Audrey there.  Audrey was going to be my doula.  Dena ended up being sick and I didn't have a chance to call Audrey before Adalynn was here.  I know they both prayed regularly throughout my pregnancy, and I am forever grateful.  I am thankful for all of you who I know prayed us through this as well. 

So far, Adalynn is a very content baby.  I can't wait to see how she grows and changes as the years go by.

Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot...one of the most special moments was after she was born.  Gregg and I were alone with her in the delivery room.  We anointed her with frankincense and myrrh and prayed over her.  Most importantly, we prayed she comes to know the Lord at an early age.  We thanked Him for bringing her to us safely and asked for continued protection.

Zeke came to meet her today too, but I'll save that for the next post.  It has been a long day, and we are ready to get some rest!

Pray Boldly

Over the past month or so, God has really been doing a work in my heart and my prayer life.  I think it is a lifelong journey, but I've seen Him specifically asking me to trust Him and surrender things in prayer.  

As a person who desires to control things, I find it difficult to surrender, even to my loving Heavenly Father.  However, when I do, I am blessed beyond measure and always grow closer to Him.  

Jami recently shared this quote with me from her Bible Study Fellowship notes:

"Are you amazed that Almighty God calls us His friends?  When we receive Christ as Savior and Lord, God gives His Holy Spirit to live within us forever.  Through the Holy Spirit, He teaches us what to pray for and actually prays within us (Romans 8:23, 26-27).  God gives us the desire to pray, and then graciously uses our prayer to accomplish His purposes for the world.  What an incentive to pray boldly!"

"And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, 

groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, 

the redemption of our bodies." (Romans 8:23)

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what 

to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for

us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches

hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the 

Spirit intercedes for the saints according 

to the will of God." (Romans 8:26-27)

Gregg and I desire to pray boldly for Adalynn and for all things.  How neat to realize that God gives us this desire and graciously uses it.  

I have asked many of you to join us in prayer for Adalynn's arrival.  It has been my desire to have a natural, unmedicated birth for her.  Satan loves to try to cause us to doubt God, and this situation has been fun for him, I'm sure!  I found out I was positive with an infection called group B strep.  It can be passed to the baby during labor, so doctors prefer to put the mother on an IV antibiotic during labor.  First, I didn't want to expose Adalynn to antibiotics her first moments of life, and second, the IV would make natural labor much more challenging because I couldn't move around as freely.  You joined me in praying boldly that God would heal this infection, and He did!  Gregg and I were so humbled and thrilled when we heard the news.  

Now, the doctors are recommending inducing labor Friday night if I haven't had her yet.  Again, this will hinder the natural, unmedicated process I feel God has planned for us.  

My friend Christy reminded me of a truth she learned through a devotion in her church bulletin.  God always answers "Yes" or "Better!"  This is such a comfort to remind me that His will is best, even when it doesn't always make sense to me.

We look forward to seeing how God will complete Adalynn's birth story and we know He will be glorified in a mighty way.  Thank you for your prayers, love, and support. 

Hopefully the next post you see will be after we are holding Adalynn in our arms. (Below you'll see my 39 week photos!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I wanted to post a few pictures from Valentine's Day.  Gregg and I were able to go out to dinner (thanks to my mom!).  We had a nice time enjoying each others company and yummy food!

Zeke received a BIG bear balloon from Wynna for Valentine's Day and he was thrilled!  This little guy loves balloons!

I am now 38 weeks pregnant and just waiting for the Lord to bless us with our little girl.  It could be any day now.  We are so thankful that He has chosen us to be Zeke and Adalynn's parents, and continue to pray that they will come to know Him at a young age.  Zeke is learning to "hide His word in his heart" through memory verses and I pray He will always have a love of scripture.  Blessings to you all!

Baby girl's nursery

When I started thinking about what colors I wanted to use in Adalynn's nursery, I thought I wanted to avoid pink.  Then, the more I looked at bedding, I realized that was silly.  We are having a girl, and I am a girly girl, so why not use pink!  I love pale pink (I was a ballerina after all), so this was my chance to use it and a ballet theme.  I mean, she may decide to play sports, so why not have fun with this now.  We did Zeke's room in a wildlife theme for Gregg, after all! 

So, with my mom's help, we went to look for curtain fabric.  We loved the grey and white pattern we found and it looked so good with pale pink.  That set us up to find the other pieces for the room. 

I found the bedding on a site called www.babysteals.com where you can find discounted baby products.  The pom poms you see hanging above were made by my amazing, sister in law, Jami for my baby shower (you'll see many of the items in the room in the post about the shower!).  The name art came from a website called www.etsy.com that is made up of shops of independent artists.  I got to pick out the fonts and colors!

The bookshelf below was my mom's and the little table belonged to my dad's father, Roy Stargel (Papa).  The little rocking chair came from an antique shop in Woodstock.  You can barely see the sweet pink chandelier that I found at a different antique shop.

This little shelf was made by a couple who have a shop on etsy too.  Notice the tiny ballet shoes my mom bought her!

The three ballerinas were drawn by a lady in Australia (also on etsy) and the bow holder was lovingly made by my sweet friend, Arilea.  All of the organizing bins you see are Thirty-One gifts products.

Here you see another angle of the curtains my mom made, in addition to her mother's baby doll carriage.  The black thing you see in the corner of the picture is the treadmill!  That's the one thing in the room I'd like to remove, but it is just too heavy and we have no where to store it!  Oh well!

The painting here has Jeremiah 29:11 written on it.  "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Zeke has this verse in his room drawn by the same artist, but in his colors and theme!  I found the lampshade in an etsy shop and used a base I had from another lamp.  The little tutus were made by Jami, in addition to the frame in the center.  It tells the meaning of Adalynn's name!
 

Lastly, this tutu wreath was made by Jami for my baby shower.  I already had ordered the name plate for her door, so I combined them.  I just love it!

We have a cradle to use in our room when she first comes home, but it's very nice to have her room set up and ready for her.  We have no idea how much longer the Lord will keep us in Acworth, but we decided we would rather go ahead and finish her room for the time being.  I'm glad we did!

Almost a family of four!

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him."

Psalm 127:3 NLT 

It is hard to believe we could welcome Adalynn to the world any day now.  I am 37 weeks, 4 days pregnant, and having contractions throughout each day.  She is measuring about 7 pounds.  I am feeling pretty good, although my feet are so swollen I can only wear running shoes at this point!  I just read through my essential oils guide and it suggests adding tangerine oil to water each day for edema, so I am going to try that.  It is hard to find time to put my feet up with my desire to "nest" and care for Zeke and Gregg! 

We recently had maternity photos taken in Adalynn's nursery before we moved the furniture in.  I am so thankful that our wonderful photographer, Summer, is able to capture these moments for us.  Here are some that we selected:

Things have been busy around here as I've tried to prepare for our newest addition and balance all of my OB and perinatal doctors appointments.  My mom has been such an amazing help, and I thank God for her each day. 

As I try to prepare my heart for our baby girl, I am also trying to enjoy the moments I have with just Zeke and me.  He is such a precious little boy and so full of personality.  We have fun laughing and playing each day.  He continues to test his independence, which leads to a lot of bumps and bruises that Mommy could do without!  Each time we are in public, he begins talking to anyone he can (i.e. grocery clerk, doctor's office receptionist, etc.).  I honestly don't know how Gregg and I got such an outgoing child.  Actually I do...it was all God's handy work!  I look forward to seeing Zeke enter into the big brother role.  He is such a great helper to me and loves babies, so I think it's a perfect fit for him!

If you feel led, we would appreciate your prayers for a healthy baby, smooth delivery, and God's perfect timing for her arrival (ours would be in about a week or so!).  Zeke came right at 39 weeks.  Please also pray, most importantly, that she would come to know the Lord at an early age.

Thank you and may God bless you and your families.  I'll leave you with my 37 week pictures!

Celebrating Baby Adalynn

On January 26, 2013, my mom and Jami hosted a ballet themed baby shower for Adalynn and me.  I cannot even explain how blessed I am to have these two ladies in my life.  They both worked so hard to make it a perfect day.  Jami is so creative and made the most adorable things using the colors in Adalynn's nursery (pale pink, white, and grey).  She made a tulle wreath, pom poms (in the nursery colors), a tutu for the table (literally), an "A" for Adalynn's wall, "A" water bottles, and a framed description of the meaning of Adalynn's name (among other little touches!). 

 

The table display was so lovely with my my mom's grandmother's china, little diaper carriage (made by Jami), yummy food, and other little touches. 

The guests brought books for Adalynn's nursery too.  My mom gave me two of my favorite childhood books that she had been saving.  It was fun to see what books each lady chose to add to the collection.  Zeke even got a book from Judy Rhyne!

In addition to all of that, I was humbled by the generous gifts we received.  Here are a few pictures of some of the wonderful things:

Adorable shoes from Samantha and Susan!

Animal print jacket from the "Beach Babes" (my mom's Bible Study Fellowship friends)

Tummy time mat

Sweet onesie outfit from Lindsay Williams

Precious bubble from Mom

"How Great to be a Child of God!"

Homemade blanket from Lis Klemis

Personalized lovey from Kim McNaron

Sweet ballet pajamas from the Babes!

Pink Adalynn lovey to match big brother Zeke's!

To complete the fun day, we played a game where you match candy to words related to labor and delivery.  For example:

11 pound babies = Whoppers
Contractions = Now and Later
Epidural = Life Saver
Hospital Bill = 100 Grand
Dad during delivery = Bonkers

Here are the ladies deep in thought...

I didn't get a picture of everyone who was there, but here are a few with friends and family:

Some of the "Beach Babes" and me

My friend Katie who is also having a baby girl not too long after me!

Lindsay and me

Cara with baby Harper

My friend Julie's daughter, Alice, enjoying a cupcake with Sophia!

Since the shower, my mom and I have been working on Adalynn's nursery.  I'll post pictures once it is completed.  Zeke has been busy playing and entertaining us with his sense of humor and zest for life.  He is now 39 1/2 inches tall and 38 1/2 pounds.  It' is hard to believe how quickly he is growing.  We also took maternity photos recently, so I will post those when I get them too.  God bless!

Zeke playing with his buddy, Carlitos, while Carlos and Gregg carry furniture up to Adalynn's room!