The Pacifier

One unexpected perk of parenthood is that God often uses it to catch my attention.

On Sunday afternoon, on our way out to celebrate Easter dinner with family, Ford began crying hysterically in the backseat. This is not, by any means, an unusual situation; in fact, it is quite the norm for him. Defeated by the screaming, I decided to sit in the backseat with him and try to soothe him (yes, I am one of THOSE parents). I immediately picked up the pacifier, a tried and true method of calming him, and put it into his mouth. He instantly calmed, but after a few seconds, he grabbed the pacifier out of his mouth and began screaming again. He had such a tight grip on the pacifier, that it took both of my hands to gently pry it out of his (very strong) right hand. I finally got ahold of the pacifier, returned it to its home in his mouth, and he was...well, pacified. However, a few seconds later, we repeated the cycle...and so on...and so forth...until we reached our destination (a mere 15 minutes later).

Aren't we kind of like babies in our own lives? God is sitting in the car beside us, throughout our journeys, waiting for us to relinquish control over our wants/needs so He can use us for His glory. We spend our lives in hysterics, while hanging on ever-so tightly to our jobs, our families, our finances, our dreams; and all the while God is saying, "Let go. Let me show you what to do with this. Let me guide you to peace."

I am a bigger handful for God than Ford is for me, anyday! I am so thankful to have a loving Father who gently teaches me lessons because He loves me.

Ford praises the Lord...

Some of you may have already caught this on Facebook, but if you didn't, check out Ford on Youtube, praising the Lord. :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0qBCNjD0YU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Ford's Dedication

Yesterday, April 10th, Ford was dedicated at church. We were asked to do two things in preparation: 1) write him a letter for him to read 18 years from now; 2) choose a Bible verse to read over his life.

Life scripture: Romans 12:1 (The Message)

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him."

Life Letter: 18 years from now...

Dear Ford,

Mom and Dad love you SO much! As much as we love you, you have a Heavenly Father that loves you more than you can conceive. In every step of life, in both your successes and your failures, draw your strength and motivation through His love and grace. The Bible says, "For the mountains may move and hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain." (Isaiah 54:10)

The bottom line is this: If you can grasp even half of God's love for you, and love Him in return, then you will be pleasing to both us and your Heavenly Father. We love you.

Love,

Mom & Dad

Month three.

Ford turned three months yesterday, April 6th. What a combination of joy and hardwork it has been! His personality was evident from the day of his birth and he continues to show a strong-willed, personable personality. He loves people, LOVES being held, and loves watching his daddy.

Some milestones:

~He rolls over from belly to back

~He smiles, babbles, and laughs often

~He sleeps 7-9 hours straight at night (only waking up once between 8:30pm-8:00am)

~He grabs at his toys

~He talks to the animals that appear (specifically the duck) on his Baby Einsteins video

~He loves all of his cousins because they keep him entertained

~He is still exclusively breastfeeding and seems to have established a solid eating routine

~He loves bath time (I think it is his favorite part of the day) and splashes around in the bath until the water gets cold (or mommy/daddy get tired of being splashed)

Some un-milestones (if you will):

~He HATES car rides and screams during the entire trip

~He only naps 1-2 times per day for about 20-30 minutes each time

~He, as his daddy says, is "high maintenance," which means he requires being entertained most of the day

We love Ford Edward so much. He lights up my life, as cheesy as that may sound. I am with him 99% of the time, and the 1% that I am away, I miss him. The breaks are nice, but when I see him again, I truly feel happy!

Much-needed update.

Well, most of you have heard the news by now. Ford Edward Wienert was born on January 6, 2011 at 7:56 in the morning. He weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. To put it simply: he was perfect.




Things did not go off without a hitch. Unfortunately, Nate and I were both unable to experience Ford's birth due to some complications with the epidural. The epidural did not properly take, so they put me under, and therefore would not allow Nate to come into the room. Nate first met Ford after his cord was cut, and he was cleaned up. I first met Ford in the recovery room, about 30 minutes after his birth. Nate and I are both dealing with some bitterness towards the birth experience, but we continually remind ourselves that God blessed us with a healthy (and handsome!) baby boy. I had to have a planned c-section because the day before Ford's birth, an ultrasound determined that he was NOT in position, like the doctor assumed, but that he was in a frank breech position (bottom down, legs & head up). This explained all of the back pain I had in the week leading up to his birth.



I am a bit thankful, however, that the morning of the c-section, I went into labor (on my own). So, I had the opportunity to experience real contractions for 3-4 hours before the c-section. I know it sounds silly to be thankful for PAIN (and a lot of pain), but I'm glad that God let me experience what it would have felt like to go through labor (at least a little bit).

Ford's birth was exactly 4 weeks and 1 day ago and I can honestly say that yesterday was the first day that I felt remotely back to "normal." (Whatever normal is now.) The c-section definitely took its toll on me. I lived in sweatpants for a total of 27 days, while the incision healed. Finally, I am able to put on a pair of jeans and button them! Hallelujah!!


Ford has been the easy part of the process. He is not the easiest baby in the world, but compared to the recovery process, he is not the part that made things difficult. He is a good baby. He is a bit fussy and gassy, but with help from gas drops and cutting back on dairy, things seem to be a little better. He sleeps amazingly at night, also! Lately, he has been giving Nate and myself 4-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. He is a good kid. I thank God for him EVERY day.

Tomorrow is only a day away.

Today has been one of the craziest days of my life..and it's not over yet. At 8am, we found out via ultrasound that Ford is in the breech position. The ultrasound tech immediately suggested that a c-section was imminent. Our doctor confirmed our fears and suggested that we schedule a c-section immediately, before I went into labor. Nate and I were shocked to hear the news...it was the last thing on our mind. Suddenly, we went from wondering when our little boy would enter the world to having less than 24 hours before we KNEW he would enter the world.

I think we both went into panic mode. Nate rushed back to work to handle all of his last-minute responsibilities, and I rushed home to clean, mop, launder, organize, make notes, email/call family, make arrangements for the dogs, pack up bags, etc. I am sitting down right now for the first moment all day and letting it all sink in. Tomorrow morning, I will wake up at 3am and shower, get ready, and leave for the hospital by 4:30am. By 7:30am, I will be given drugs, numbed, and have an incision. Moments later, I will be staring at the face of my baby boy. Wheewww! I'm tired and it hasn't even happened yet!

I am disappointed that I will not be given the opportunity to have Ford naturally...but, I am thankful that God spared me a painful labor and a potential risk to Ford's life or my life.

So, the next time you hear from me, I will be a mother...Nate will be a father...and a new human-being will be in the world! I am overwhelmed with emotions of what is about to happen...God is so good!!!

Til' then...

Homestretch.

Well, here we are...less than 5 weeks to go until Ford's due date (4 weeks & 5 days, but who is keeping track???). I have had an incredibly easy pregnancy, compared to some of the stories I hear from other women, so I feel very blessed. But these last few weeks have been quite tough. Ford is a rather healthy boy (ok, he's big!), and just simply carrying him around takes so much energy!...not to mention, I cannot even bend over without getting sick/getting a stomach ache. So, shoes are out of the question.

At my last doctor appointment, they suggested packing my hospital bag and finishing his room, in case he comes earlier than his January 9th due date. So today, I plan on packing that bag, and putting the finishing touches on his room (which is almost finished thanks to Nate hanging all of his pictures over the weekend). It is feeling so "real" to Nate and me that we will soon be parents of a newborn! I do not think I can do anything to really prepare, but I am definitely praying FREQUENTLY for peace, patience, love, joy, etc. for the first few weeks after his birth.

The doctor is also concerned that I may have gestational diabetes (due to Ford's size), so tomorrow I have to re-take the glucose tolerance test (which all pregnant women just LOVE). I am praying that I pass it -- and that Ford is just simply big, which I truly believe is the case.

Other than baby and Christmas preparations, life is quiet for us, which is glorious. Nate's job is really falling into place and he really enjoys it. And I feel thankful to be able to spend these last few weeks at home, just preparing and resting-up for Ford.

In case I do not follow up before, I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas and remembers that the reason we celebrate is because we have a God who loved us enough to send His Son. It can be so easy to forget in the chaos of the holidays.

Merry Christmas!