When Angels Sleep

I counted twice. No. It couldn't be. Not already! One more counting on the calendar...two months? She's eight weeks?

Holy Canoli, she's beautiful.

When Angels Play

...and fall in love with green turtles.

Got Milk?

Officially, one month old. I'm guessing there is about a 1/2 pound stored in each one of those cheeks.

Thankful Thursday

PKU Blues

I tried little girl, I really tried. I put up the biggest phone effort ever, and your Daddy can tell you that two hours of being on the phone with someone other than him, is a huge effort on my part. I talked to the government. I talked to health care officials and supervisors. I talked with lots and lots of "little guys". I tried to be super sleuth and convince the government with my evidence. I pleaded with truths. And in the end, I could not move the mountain of government for you. The laboratory supervisor couldn't convince them either. Even when the evidence showed that your PKU test was received in the lab three minutes later at the correct time.

I failed.
For a third time
I will watch over you
As white lab coats
Stick your heel
And squeeze
....And squeeze
.........And squeeze.

You'll cry.

The truth
Did not set you free.
Four millimeters of ink
Misplaced on a page.

This time
I'll cry with you.

Because, little one, Mommy has a deep desire to save you from others' mistakes. And as you get older, I'll even want to save you from your own. When you become a mother, you'll understand that it is not the pin prick that upsets me so. It's the bigger picture. I won't always be able to protect you from the mistakes of others. I can't. And there will be times in your life, when you are in the right, and it will still hurt. But I promise that I'll be there to watch over you, and spill tears with you. You'll always have my fingers to wrap a death grip around when it hurts more than words can say. Whether your three weeks old or thirty three years.

One Little Mistake

I've been on the phone for two hours with 8 different people trying to get to the bottom of one very critical mistake. I have to tell you that I have had the worst experience with incompetent nurses and lab techs after Hope's delivery. During delivery, they were wonderful, but after they wheeled me into my room, it was ridiculous.

This all revolves around that lovely PKU test that Georgia state law requires of all newborns. The one where they stick your child over and over trying to get enough blood from their heel to fill into what seems like 5 way-too-big circles when your 1 day old is screaming for mercy. The lab tech wrote Hope's time wrong on her PKU test before she was discharged. Which wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't for the fact that this test must be done no earlier than 24 hours after the baby is born.

Hope was born at 7:35pm. The next day, she had the PKU test done at 7:40pm. The lab tech wrote down 17:40...military time for 5:40pm. Brilliant. So voila, I get a call on Thursday that says that the state has rejected her test because it was done too early. The results are fine, but they won't be accepted. This of course, was on the heels of hearing a recent story on the news about a 5 week old being removed from the home by the state and placed in foster care for a week because the parents refused to do the PKU test.

I'm waiting to talk to the Supervisor at the lab now. And my head is spinning in fury over this stupid mistake. One short line before the number seven has created complete havoc, and no one knows who I can talk to about having that one short line erased! UGHH! But God forbid, if I refuse to spend another 6 hours taking care of this issue, or having her go through the test again, and paying for it again. or lose another day of schooling the children. Because, for all I know, a police officer might be knocking on my door in five months, with orders to take Hope and have her retested. OIY!!!

Cue Ball

Her Highness had her two week appointment on Thursday. She's growing like a spring chicken on Mama's homemade grow starter milk. Hope gained two whole pounds since her last visit at a few days old. (Must be all those hormones they put in that Mama Knucker Hatch Milk these days.)


To avoid confrontation with the doctor, I lied through my teeth that baby was sleeping on her back. Do you know what she told me? "Good. Well make sure that baby gets lots of tummy time because we have been getting a lot of flat heads." Wow. What a selling point for putting your baby to bed on her back! On that high point, I'll continue to stick with my original theory that God didn't make a mistake when he opted out of stamping written instructions on each baby's belly that said, "This side up." If there is one feature we all agree on with Hope, it is that she was born with the cutest little cue ball head. I'd prefer to avoid the nickname of Helmet Hope.


Just a note: I jest lightly about head shape and helmets, but plagiocephaly can be very serious for those parents and babies who are in the middle of the issue. I don't want to get on my soap box, but in 1999, 1 in 60 babies in the USA had plagiocephaly, an increase from 1 in 300 in 1992. The increase is believed to be a direct result of the Back to Sleep program instated to increase awareness and prevent SIDS. While the program has been deemed successful, one has to wonder if, as in almost everything, moderation is the key.

Riding Buddies

If Faith could talk, I think she might say one of her most favorite things to do with the baby is share the same car seat row. It could get a little lonely always being the one in the middle. But now she has a riding buddy. And she is frequently heard exclaiming in a smile with a point at her side, "BAHHH-BEEEE!".

Wrapping A Sack of Sugar

Two months after Faith was born, I discovered wrapping. Wrapping is simply using a long piece of cloth to wrap your child securely to your body. You can wrap your baby to the front of you or to the back in tens of ways. It is extremely comfortable and beats any kind of baby carrier by a long shot. Faith was the driving force to this discovery, as she craved a combination of being held upright while walking throughout the house - constantly. But it took me two months to find a solution to meet her needs, so I never had the delightful joy of wrapping a seven pounder onto my back and going about my day.

My first wrap jobs were so bad, they make me laugh out loud now looking at pictures of them. Thankfully, I've gotten so much better. That said, I wasn't sure how I'd feel about wrapping such a tiny nugget, but Hope has assured me, that she approves. And even though Hope is near perfect, she still has her own witching hour between 9:30 and 11:00 pm where nothing seems to work, except a close wrap and Mamma lulling her to sleep with the determined movement of finishing up chores. Just like in the womb.

This morning, in the chaos of running a household and homeschooling, I took a moment to breathe and capture our little duo. Every day I am reminded that Hope is bigger than yesterday. These days of tininess are so precious and go so quickly.

Design A House Around This

Is there a place anywhere in my house where I can keep a newborn in sight, but safely out of reach from a one year old while doing the mad 4 minute dash in the shower? Behold, the marble bouncy seat - with a little less bounce and more seat. Kohler Faucets...eat your heart out.


Don't you love it when they do this in their sleep? I'm convinced these moments are little gifts from God for Mama.

Especially when Mr. Incredible keeps voicing things like, "She's still blind." or "Are you cross-eyed?" and "You've got a bit of a lazy eye don't you?". Poor girl really can't keep her eyes straight yet. But she's getting really good at grins in her sleep.

The Perfection of Pudge

It can't be happening already. Look at these cheeks! More than a week has already passed by since the birth of a human angel in our house and Hope is already fattening up.


I've caught myself on more than a few occasions wrestling with the idea of giving her the treasured first bath. Normally by this time, the bath has long since had its moment of glory. However, with Hope, I'm dwaddling. I don't want to clean her up! Bathing her would mean admitting that she's been around long enough to get dirty; conceding that time is already closing in.

With this little one, time could stand still forever and I'd be tickled. Because folks, we have our very much hoped for sweet potato! I'm beside myself in appreciation and adoration over the little package that God delivered to us. It is very possible that Hope qualifies as the easiest baby I have ever had. Her quietness in the womb had me thinking she was going to be a laid back baby, but really her perfect place in this family is stunning.

If I could have handpicked a few qualities for Number Four they would have been: a sound sleeper, a happy traveler, and smooth on the transitions. Without naming names, Number Three made sure I had paid my full dues and then some in those areas. She earned the name Princess of Wails. Revisiting that heavy of a routine again, would have been a challenge. But the Lord handpicked Hope. And lo' and behold guess what He gave me....a sound sleeper, a happy traveler and a daughter who is very smooth on the transitions. Praise God!

Guess where I was last night at 1:00 am? Sleeping. At 2 am...sleeping. At 3 am...still snoozing. 4 am and 5 am came and went with no interruptions. Finally at 6am...a peep, followed by a nursing. Only for us both to go on sawing logs until 8:30am. I rest my case. She's perfect.

All Rise...For Her Highness Hope

Our little "Number Four" did it! Hope Evangeline arrived on the day of her choosing, October 15th. Her first little peals of arrival were heard at 7:35pm, 17 hours after we walked into Labor and Delivery. Weighing in at 7lbs 9oz, and 20 inches long, Hope is as sweet on the outside as she was hanging out with Mommy on the inside. We love her dearly already.


We promise to share her full birth story later, but couldn't leave everyone hanging much longer. She's just too cute not to share...