Birth Story and Namesake

I have been meaning to record Juliet's birth story so that I don't forget and give a little explanation on the selection of her name....

Birth Story:
I started feeling contractions at 4 a.m. on Sunday, September 18th.  They were about 7/8 minutes apart and lasting about 30 seconds each.  My mom and I got all ready for the hospital, took showers, fed the animals, etc.  We were all ready to have a baby by 7 a.m. but my contractions were still about 8 minutes apart.  So I walked.  I walked the dog a mile, then came back and paced in the house most of the morning.  I was getting tired so I sat down for a while.  When I did this my contractions slowed to 12/15 minutes apart....so I decided not to do that again.  I resumed walking and added step aerobics.  My mom sat with me in the living room reading to me about labor and birth, and watching a movie the whole time.  In the afternoon we took the walking outside.  We did laps around the back yard.  My contractions were still only 6/7 minutes apart.  In the late afternoon my mom continued reading to my as I paced in the backyard.  Finally by 5 p.m. my contractions had been 4/5 minutes apart for an hour.

We arrived at the hospital around 6: 30 p.m.  I was only 3 cm (major disappointment).  Once I was all settled in, I walked for another 2/3 hours in the hospital.  The doctor then checked me again and I was still 3 cm (even more disappointing).  I was so sleepy I was falling asleep in between contractions.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  Since I was progressing so slowly I decided to have the epidural so I could go to bed.  I had my epidural around 10pm and my water was broken.  I never felt another contraction. Around 11pm I started feeling some pressure so the nurse checked me and I was 10 cm (major surprise and excitement!).  I went back to sleep and the nurse woke me up around 12:30 a.m. on September 19th and told me to get ready to push because the baby's heart-rate was dropping as she was ready to come out.  I wanted to keep sleeping, but they convinced me to push. :)  I pushed about 15/20 minutes and Juliet made her arrival at 1:21 am!

Namesake:
For Juliet's name we wanted something feminine, not common, but not weird.  My mom's name is Judy Leigh and my middle name is Juleiann.  So, Juliet needed to have a name that followed the trend. Also she is secretly named after one of my favorite Mexican music artist Julieta Venegas! Her middle name, Isabel, is her Mexican (Hispanic) name.  It is a classic Hispanic name, I like it, and it means "God is my oath".  And there you have it!

Children are a gift from the Lord

Psalm 127:3

 Children are a heritage from the LORD,
   offspring a reward from him. 

I always took this verse at "face value".  I'm mean children seem like a gift, they are cute, snuggley, your offspring, etc.  Everybody loves babies and most people want them, even go to extreme measures to have them; so of course they are gifts.  Gifts are good things, and babies are good things.  Right?

During my pregnancy it was really hard for me to think of my baby as a "gift".  It seemed like more of a punishment.  People would often tell me "how exciting, children are a gift from the Lord".  I smiled and nodded, but inside I tough, "yeah, if you actually want one".

Well, I was was wrong in so many ways.  "Children are a gift from the Lord" comes from God's word, meaning it is true!  I might not have felt like I was being given a gift, but I was simply not seeing how a baby could be a gift in ways more that a "sweet, little bundle of joy".  First of all, Juliet's life has taught me soooooooooo many things about myself.  Things that I would probably have never wanted to know, but things that because God has opened my eyes to, the Holy Spirit can now began to change in my heart.  For example, I have been humbled!  I always knew I was a sinner, but having to publicly confess sin really forces you to have to cling to the one and only saving grace.  A smile, good works, or a surface-level conversation can no longer be your "saving-grace" or your "cover-up".  You are wide-open for everyone to see...and that is humbling.  Other things that Juliet has taught me is how self-centered I was/am.  I was so use to going and doing what I wanted when I wanted, but a baby certainly puts that on the back burner.  And, lets not mention how I am learning about my lack of patience (in the middle of the night!).

Juliet is a gift.  She is sweet, cute, and has tiny little hands and feet, but she has given me so much more than that kind of gift.  Being a parent is a privilege, not a right.  God could leave me in my sin; in my pride, my  self-centeredness, my lack of patience, etc... but He doesn't.  He gave me a gift.

BOB

BOB stands for Beast of Burden.  I like that.

Juliet and I had our first run together on Thursday.  She did great and slept most of the way, and I got a MAJOR workout!  I've been back to running some hills and I just figured I could run them just as well with the BOB.  Man alive was I mistaken!  I loved the BOB, though, and I am excited for the hardcore workouts it is going to give me!

Meeting the Whipples

On Thursday Juliet and I headed over to the Whipple house for a visit.  It was the first time for Juliet to meet the Whipples. It was neat to see Mercy (9 years) hold Juliet.  I held Mercy when she was one-day old and babysat her for many years!  Maybe one day soon she will babysit Juliet.  It was also wonderful catching-up with Jen and sweet Sophia.

 

First Hike

We all went for a hike on the Shut-In Trail on the Parkway this weekend to enjoy the beautiful leaves!

Memory Monday

2 Thessalonians 3:13

 And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. 

I pray that Juliet would never tired of doing what is right, even when it is inconvenient, challenging, not glamorous, not easy, and not "fun".   Amen

1 Month

Juliet is one month old today.  She really has grown and changed so much in the last month.  Because I am with her most of the time I don't notice the changes until I look back at picture or just think back about how she use to act.

Some facts:
-She loves to eat but is a very slow eater
-She rolled over for the first time today (I really thought I had another month of being able to "leave" her places!)
-She does not sleep through the night
-She has been smiling (for real!) for about a week now
-She is still in Newborn diapers, and can still wear (barely) newborn clothes, but mostly wears 0-3 month size
-She likes being held, and will not go to sleep on her own except in the car
-She does not cry when you change her diaper (yay!!)
-She seems to like water (baths and showers)
-I'm guessing she weighs about 9 lbs

The words I would use to describe Juliet as this point:  feisty, knows-what-she-wants, expressive

The sandal measurement:

Overwhelmed

I am tired and feel so overwhelmed and I think mainly because I cannot seem to figure out Juliet's sleeping schedule.  She still does not sleep at night.  She usually sleeps a two or three hour stretch from her last feeding before bed till about midnight.  She then wakes up, eats, and remains awake until about 4 or 5 am.  I would not even care if she was awake at night, but she is not content to just sit by herself, or even just be held by me, she must be rocked or walked to be content.  This is so frustrating at night when I'm exhausted and she is just not happy without permanent motion. I have tried EVERYTHING that everyone has recommended and she is just not changing.  It seems I will have to let her grow out of it.

A friend of my mom's sent me a sweet note with a little devotional in it that my mom re-read to me this morning.  It says:  

Are you encompassed with needs at this very moments, and almost overwhelmed with difficulties, trials, and emergencies? These are all divinely provided vessels for the Holy Spirit to fill, and if you but rightly understood their meaning, they would become opportunities for receiving new blessings and deliverance which you can get in no other way.


Bring these vessels to God.  Hold them steadily before Him in faith and prayer.  Keep still, and stop your own restless working until He begins to work. Do nothing that He does not Himself command you to do.  Give Him a chance to work, and He will surely do so; and the very trials that threatened to overcome you with discouragement and disaster, will become God's opportunity for the revelation of His grace and glory in your life, as you have never know Him before.  

"My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

This is a good reminder to be thankful in my "challenges" (whether it is in the middle of the night or something more significant) because the Lord is as work, and to stop being so focused on myself and to remember that it all has a good purpose.

Memory Tuesday

Psalm 62: 5-8

 ⁵For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
   for my hope is from him.
⁶ He only is my rock and my salvation,
   my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷On God rests my salvation and my glory;
   my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

 ⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
   God is a refuge for us. 

 

Lord, I pray that you would be Juliet's rock and fortress.  I pray that her hope would be in you.  Help her to trust you at all times. May she always pour out her heart to you and find in you her greatest refuge.  Amen

First Friend

Last week Juliet hung out with her first friend, Stella.  Sara Beth, Stella's mom, and I went to high school, played soccer, and participated in Young Life together.  Stella was a special baby from the beginning for me because Sara Beth and I were due the same day and it was neat comparing my progress with Sara Beth's while I was in Mexico.  Stella was born on 9-7 about a week and a half before Juliet.  Maybe one day these girls will play soccer together too :)   Have you ever seen two babies with so much hair?!?!

Eating

Juliet LOVES to eat.  She will eat as long as I will let her and whenever I let her.  It is also the ONE thing that will ALWAYS console her! (haha...does knowing this from trial and error make me a bad mom?!?!?!)  Anyway, I was taking a picture of us together and after looking at the pictures realized how focused she was on eating at the time.  Her head is moving around and her mouth is open in all these pictures and she is in search for milk!   Her "priorities" just made me laugh!!

Sleeping

Some days there is lots of sleep in the Sullivan home, and some days there is none very little.  Juliet has no schedule.  She will do something, sometimes good sometimes bad, for about 24 hours and just when I start to think it is her new norm she changes.  I am learning this is normal and to not expect a routine until about 6 weeks, but I still find myself holding on to all of her new behaviors in hopes of some consistency.  Live and learn, right?  Well, speaking of sleep, three-week-old (today!) Juliet has some favorite sleeping positions and places...

 She makes us laugh at how she just loves to sleep with her arms up above her head!

 Although she is not sleeping in this picture, she loves the football-hold with grandma

 She really does seem to like her bouncy seat which is her downstairs bed (thanks Leah!)

 Tummy-time is a new thing we are trying...so far, so good.

And, she loves to sleep on anyone's chest!

The Seeds of No

A poem written and shared with my by Mae Fortson:


I prayed and prayed
then waited - expecting a YES,
the Lord heard - then waited,
His answer was NO.

THE SEEDS OF NO

The seeds of NO
scattered quickly by the Enemy
grow into unwieldy, unruly plants
with thorns that pierce and disfigure,
multiplying in wild profusion.
Inherently rotten, they produce
chaos and confusion.

Seeds of NO
planted deeply into the heart
by the faithful Gardener
germinate in hope.
If carefully cultivated,
they take root and sprout into
comfort and encouragement.                      

Embedded in the mysterious
unwelcome seeds of NO
lies a secret seed of YES
that holds promise of fruition.
nurtured in faith
it takes root and ripens
into God's alternate purpose.

2 Week (and 2 day) Appointment

Juliet had her 2 Week Appointment yesterday.  She is now 22 in long and a whopping 8 lb 12 oz.   Eating is one of her talents, and she obviously does it well.

She seems to have her days and nights straight now.  She does wake-up to feed during the night a few times, but will go back to sleep with some rocking.  This is good, but also means she is not sleeping much during the day, which means I don't get naps anymore :(  ....I guess you can't have it all!

Meeting Granddaddy

My dad was away on business for the first 9 days of Juliet's life.  We excitedly welcomed him home on Wednesday.  For the occasion Juliet wore her NC State dress given to her by Terri Burkett and her running shoes.  Her running shoes were Juliet's first gift ever mailed to us in Mexico by my dad.  The shoes are still a little big, but they will be perfect once she starts running!  My dad has already "baby-sat" a few times and is a natural.  We are so glad to have him home!

 

First Time Away

Dear Juliet,
Right now you are with your dad.  I left you with grandma and Ms. Dottie for a little while last week, but you were still home so it didn't seem as hard.  You are only going to be gone for two hours, but I still cried when you left.  Every little sound makes me think of you like I should be listening for you to wake-up.  Even though you have been fussy all day and have not let me napped at all, I can't wait for you to be home.
Love,
Mom