Happy 7 weeks pumpkin!

Our munchkin is 7 weeks old today! I cannot believe how quickly time goes. She is growing everyday is and becoming more fun and alert. She does this cute thing in the mornings where she stands up on my stomach and tries to talk and smile. I love being home with her and watching her grow! Enjoy the pics

Grace's first Christmas

What an awesome gift we had this year on Christmas!! Grace is just amazing and we love her so much. She slept through all of the present opening, but it made me excited for the years to come when she can participate and get excited about all her gifts. Here are a few highlights from the holidays:
We spent four days at my mom's house in Dallas with my brothers and sister. Kyle and Nathan hadn't met Grace yet, so it was really special for them to see her. Kyle ADORES her and held her and oohed and ahhhed over her all weekend. It took Nate until Sunday night before he held her. Babies aren't his thing. When he found out I was pregnant he said, "Cool. Have her call me when she's three." So the fact that he held her was a big step. He even teared up! It was precious. She just laid there looking up at him and melted her Uncle Nathan's heart!



Aunt Amber and Mom took turns each night getting up with Grace and giving her a bottle! It was amazing! Four nights of uninterrupted sleep was the best present ever! Here is Auntie Amber holding Grace (and I should point out, wearing Grace's bow).

Dad and Yvonne came over Sunday night and took us out to eat. Here is Grace with her Pappy.

We spent Christmas Eve over at Nana and Papa's with Dan's grandparents. Christmas morning was a little rough because Grace didn't sleep well and I was sick with a sinus infection. Dan and I were exhausted, but we made it to Nana and Papa's to open presents about 2. She was a sweetheart and slept the rest of the day. Nana and Papa watched her Christmas night so I could sleep and try to get better and Dan and I could open our Christmas gifts to each other. It was a nice break, but Dan went and got her early the next morning and we spent the day hanging out in the basement watching movies. Wonderful.

Our first road trip

Danny and I took Grace to my mom's the weekend before Christmas. A six hour trip seemed a bit daunting with a 5 week old and only two days after my mastitis cleared up, but we decided to introduce Grace to her new family. She was absolutely amazing, with only one major blowout, one pee-pee fountain on daddy in the front seat, and one small temper tantrum right before we got to mom's house. Two really funny things happened on the way there. We stopped to eat at Subway in Sweetwater and Dan set Grace in the front seat to change her (this is when the pee-pee fountain occurred and she soaked the front seat and her daddy.) He set her back in the carseat and brought her in, we ate, and got back on the road. I was sitting in the back seat with her and I leaned up against the window to take a nap and when I woke up and looked over, I couldn't see Grace. Seriously. I was still half asleep and for a minute I thought Dan had somehow gotten her out of the carseat whilst continuing to do 70 down highway 20. All I could see was her blanket and when I reached over, completely freaked out mind you, I found her sunk down in the bottom of the carseat totally covered by the blanket. Yes, we win parents of the year award for forgetting to buckle our child back in the carseat. What's hilarious is that she didn't even whimper and just laid there sunk down in the seat.

Around Abilene she looked up at me with big eyes and exploded in her diaper. And then did it again, again, and again. We had to pull over on the side of the road to change her. It got all over her onesie, completely out the side and her back, and in her carseat. Of course the wind was blowing and it was freezing, but we decided to get out and dan would take off her diaper and just let it fall to the ground. Problem one solved. The next problem was getting her onesie off, which was covered in poo, over her head without getting it all over her. Somehow we got it off without getting it everywhere, but we still had to give her a wet wipe bath. Problem two sort-of solved. Then we had to figure out what to do with this massive diaper and the 50 wipes we used. I was determined not to be one of those people who leaves dirty diapers on the side of the road (or any public place for that matter), but I did not have my handy trash bags with me and there was no way Dan and I could stand the smell of it in the car with us. Add to this a screaming child and Dan made the decision to put it in a cup he found in the car and leave it on the side of the road. But instead of just placing by the car and driving off, he decided to throw it across the road and when he did the diaper and the 50 wipes went flying thru the air and all over the service road. We laughed so hard and then made a quick break for it.
All in all, it was not as bad as we anticipated, and on the drive home Grace slept the entire way with only one quick break for a bottle. She is such a good baby, even when her parents have no idea what they are doing!!

Not for the weak

Sunday morning about 5 I discovered I had mastitis. To spare those of you who aren't nursing mothers the gory details, it is an inflammation and infection of your milk ducts. Good times. Especially when the doctor tells you that the best cure for it is antibiotics and more frequent nursing on the infected side. What we didn't know, (we being Dan, my mother-in-law, and myself) is that you can run a very high fever while you have mastitis and feel like you have the flu. Refer to the aforementioned remedy to start feeling sorry for me if you don't already. Luckily Beth came over because I spent most of the day with a fever over 102, and alternated between nursing for an hour and an hour of sleep. Somewhere around 6 my fever hit 104.5 and I became delerious. Dan and Beth had to carry me to the bathtub where I proceeded to faint, roll my eyes in the back of my head, and then babble about Grace crying (which she wasn't) and needing to wrap my Christmas presents (which I do). I don't remember any of it, which was freaky, because I woke up and was eating a popsicle and Dan and Beth were crying and later told me they thought I might die. Just a typical Sunday at the Sinclair household.
Well I am feeling much better today and have come to believe that mastitis could be used as a means to put prisoners to death. You know, electric chair, lethal injection, death by thousands of needles shooting through your mammaries... let's think about it.
I will spare you any pictures, except for Nana rocking Grace. Sweet girl, she did so good even though mama was sick!

Mom and Dad go on a date

Well, we did it. Last Monday, we left Grace with Nana and Papa and went to dinner. Alone. Sans bambino. Who knew that a two hour break would be so difficult? I cried when Beth took her and nearly changed my mind, but I was all dressed up and I knew Dan desperately needed a break. I know I did too, but watching her leave was a bit traumatizing. When we got in the car, I dried up my tears and vowed to spend the next two hours being the best wife I could be. Dan was so cute and said, "One rule. We have to at least make it past the appetizer before we talk about her. Okay, two rules. We have to at least get our meal before you get too emotional and we leave to go get her." I am proud to say not only did we make it past the appetizer, but all the way thru dinner, the check and back in the car before the name "Grace" even left our lips. I even suggested we go get coffee at Daybreak, which we did, and even though we ended up taking it to go, it was a successful evening and a much needed break.
One of the things Dan and I talked about was how easy it could be to let marriage take a back seat to kids and 18 years later wake up next to a roommate instead of the love of your life. How sad. We prayed for protection for our marriage and that our love for Grace would never exceed our love for one another. We think the next best gift to sharing Christ with her is living out the love God gave us for each other in our marriage in front of her everyday. I thank God for my baby girl and my amazing husband who loves us both more than we probably know.

happy 5 weeks grace!

Okay, so maybe a four week update would make more sense, but mom's got her hands full these days! Grace is an awesome baby, we are so blessed. She has become much more alert and doesn't just sleep all day anymore. On Saturday she smiled at me for the first time, and not just a "I have gas" smile either. It was amazing!! She is holding her head up better and better every day and her weight check on Thursday was 8 lbs. 13 oz. Gaining a little over an ounce a day! We love her so much and as sad as I am to know she will never be this small again, it is so exciting to watch her grow and become more interactive. Here are some of her latest pics. We love you pumpkin!

bath time

Grace's fisrt bath was lovingly given to her by her grandma's. I needed to take pictures, Dan was filming, and we thought it would be a fun memory for them. It was horrible. I cried for half of it, she screamed thru all of it, and the grandmas didn't have much fun either. But things have gotten so much easier since her belly button fell off (I know that isn't the correct medical term) and we can lay her in her big girl bathtub.

We have figured out how hot to keep the water and even how to keep her from screaming while I wash her back. I am the official washer and Dan's job is to keep a continuous flow of water trickling down her head so she stays warm and distracted. She screams like a banshee as soon as we pull her out (and I still cry when she does that) but Dan puts her in my arms and we wrap her up tight and rock with her until she chills out.


It is one of my favorite moments with her, when she calms down and is wide awake looking up at us while we warm her up. She is just too cute!!
(I took this one last night- she was being so funny! oh, and a shout out to mimi for the hooded bath towel- she loves it!)

What I didn't know...

After only three weeks, I have come to realize how little I actually knew about being a mommy. All the things I didn't know are completely overwhelming and wonderful all at the same time. Things like how deep I love her after knowing her such a short time. What an amazing daddy Dan was from the beginning. That her smiles may only be gas, but they can melt my heart! How little I would get done everyday because all I want to do is stare at her and hold her. How hard it is to get out of bed at three every morning to feed her. How sad it is to watch her legs get too long for her newborn pj's. That keeping her on a schedule really does matter! How lonely it can get during the day when I'm home by myself. How long it takes to get her ready and get out of the house (and seriously, is she going to wait until I have changed her into a new outfit to explode in her diaper everytime?) The 5 "S's" really do work! (swaddle, side, swing, sshhhhh, and sucking- thank you Dr. Karp, last night was so much better!) That watching Danny love her would make me fall more in love with him. How hard it is to come up with conversation that doesn't revolve around her feedings, diaper changes, and sleep schedule. That the rest of the world moves on while your world stops and revolves solely around your baby.
I am not going to lie, being a mommy is the most difficult thing I have ever done. I have had two pretty big meltdowns (and I am sorry to Jenifer, as she has been visiting or called during both of them) but everyone was right, it is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Here's to learning more...

what Grace does best

She sleeps!! And sleeps, and sleeps, and sleeps. She is so precious and innocent. I could stare at her all day when she sleeps like that (and I do, which is why nothing on my list of things to do gets done!) Here are some of my favorite pics of the pumpkin doing what she does best!

our first trip out

Last Friday, Beth, Grace, and I had our first day out of the house. I was still sore, but it was so good to get out of the house and feel a little bit normal. It is amazing what a pair of blue jeans will do for you when you have lived in sweats for nearly two weeks (even if they were maternity!) We went up to the store so I could work for a little while, and Beth watched Grace for me. It felt great to return some phone calls and wait on a few customers.

Amy hadn't seen Grace yet, and while we were there A'Lysia and her mom came in and were able to meet the munchkin.

Then we went to the Sinclair shop so everyone could meet her- they all loved her and thought she was precious!

She did great and didn't have a meltdown until we got in the car. Always the lady! All in all, it was a great day and mommy and Grace were worn out by the end of the night.

Settling In...

Ahhhh, motherhood. I am having such a blast. Grace is a wonderful baby and we feel so blessed to have such a sweet little girl that sleeps through the night and most of the day! Breastfeeding was definitely not a fun experience in the hospital but has become so much easier since being home and I love that time I have with her. Mom left on Monday morning and Beth has been staying with us the last three nights. I don't know what I would do without all of the help. I knew it would be difficult having a c-section, but I didn't realize how dependent I would be on other people. I feel like every five seconds I have to ask for something and I hate not being able to take care of myself! But again, I am grateful for the help and feel blessed to have people that love me here taking care of me.
One of my favorite things is watching Danny with her. I knew he would love her and be a good daddy, but I didn't realize how sweet and amzing he would be with her. He takes great care of her and loves to hold her- melt my heart everytime I see them together!


I was ready for how hard and exhausting motherhood would be, but not for how much fun it is!! I love to sit and look at her, and I hate putting her down. I would rock in the rocker and hold her all day if I could! Thank you for all of the sweet comments and advice!

Grace has arrived!!

Grace was born Tuesday, November 11th at 11:04 pm. I went back to the hospital about 8:30 that night thinking I was having another false alarm but my water broke on its' own and everything started moving quick right after that! Because I was only dialated to a one and I needed to have her relatively soon because of risk of infection we decided to go through with the c-section we had planned for friday. We called Tom and Beth about 10:05 and the dr. got there about 10 minutes later. Alisa, our amazing photographer and friend was there within 15 minutes and actually beat all of the family there!


I didn't have time to be nervous, which was wonderful- it was all so fast and furious. After they got me all hooked up and into the OR, Dan came in and sat beside me. I felt a lot of weird tugging and pulling and 10 minutes later, I heard the most amazing sound in the world!!! Grace cried for the first time and I felt my heart leave my chest. It's funny, that is the exact thought I had at the moment- I will never have all of my heart again and I love how it feels. While I was in recovery, Dan wheeled Grace down to the nursery and showed our family.


Then they wheeled me out and I got to hold her in my arms for the first time. How AMAZING!!!! Friends try to explain to you the love you feel and how instant it is but no words can describe it. I remember looking at her and saying, "she's mine!!" What an angel!

We could not be happier and more proud. We promise to post more when we (ha!) get time. Thank you for all of your flowers, cards, emails, texts, and love you have sent. This is one lucky child to be surrounded by such amazing friends and family!

Insomnia

Oh my, what I wouldn't give for some rest! I have tried several things to cure my insomnia, but so far, nothing has worked. Blogging, tv, relaxation techniques, reading (have you ever tried reading Leviticus at 2 in the morning?), praying, trying not to focus on Danny's deep sleep snoring... Isn't it a funny concept knowing that in less than a week we will have a newborn and rest will be a thing of the past? I have been praying a lot for Grace, for Dan, for the new family we are about to become. When I can't sleep I try to imagine what she will be like, her personality, her smile, what it will feel like to hold her for the first time. I absolutely cannot wait and I am sure all of these thoughts are not helping me fall asleep. If you have any insomnia cures, please share. I have so few nights left of uninterrupted sleep and I would love to enjoy them!!

My False Alarm

Well, I became a pregnant woman cliche today. I woke up at 5 this morning needing to go to the bathroom and thought I had wet the bed. I went to the bathroom and thought maybe my water broke but it wasn't like the big gush that fills your shoes like in the movies, so I made Dan come in there with me. The poor guy, I wake him up out of a deep sleep, and make him come in the bathroom and smell my underwear to make sure I hadn't just wet myself. I called the nurse and she said if I knew it wasn't urine, to head up to the hospital and have them check my fluids and make sure my water didn't break. I admit I got pretty excited, thinking that miss thing was coming early, and then I freaked out a bit. I took a shower, shaved my legs, washed my hair, put on my makeup (waterproof mascara!!) and had Dan load the car. We went up to the 4th floor at Covenant, got checked in, and they put me in triage and hooked me up to all these machines. How official!! The nurse checked me and said that the litmus test wasn't conclusive so she sent another test down to the lab to see if I was in fact leaking fluid. If it was fluid, she said we would have a baby today and if not, they would send me home. After 45 minutes of small talk with Dan and his parents, the nurse came back and said my membrane had not ruptured and she was sending me home. No stinkin way. I had already shaved my legs and washed my hair and everything. She said it could have been a number of things and if it happened again to come up there immediately because they don't joke around when it comes to fluid. So great. No baby yet, but my at least my legs are smooth and ready for my dr.'s appointment in the morning.

A few of my favorite (and not so favorite) things...

I have absolutely loved being pregnant. Save for the last few weeks, I have enjoyed pregnancy to the fullest and am a (little) sad that this 9 month journey is about to come to an end!
My favorite things about pregnancy:
* Feeling her kick (and lately, watching her kick)
* seeing her on the sonogram- I wish we had an ultrasound machine so I could watch her everyday.
* telling our friends and family we were pregnant.
* taking long baths and talking to Danny about how much our lives are going to change once grace is here.
* setting up her nursery
* baby showers!!!
* going shopping for pink things with ruffles on the bottom and matching bows
* feeling such a sense of community with other women. I am going to miss walking into a public restroom and having conversation with perfect strangers about their pregnancy and labor stories.
* secret fit maternity pants. they have played a large part in the comfort of my pregnancy
* being able to take naps and not feel guilty.
* being able to eat ice cream and not feel guilty.

My Least Favorite things...
* the morning sickness and cramping. I am so lucky it only lasted about 8 weeks.
* insomnia. I cannot get more than a few hours of sleep at a time and they usually end up between the hours of 2 and 5. I am sure God is getting me ready for the nighttime feedings.
* the last two weeks. I spend most of the day trying to keep my mind off the fact that my stomach feels like it is going to pop, there is a bowling ball weighing down on my bladder, and I am exhausted from all the non-sleep
* I have not enjoyed food as much since I've been pregnant. Especially in the last two months, it seems like a fruit smoothie or a piece of toast is enough to make me feel like I have had a 5 course meal. there just isn't much room in there!
* waddling
* shaving my legs. not that I ever enjoyed it before, but man, it is a tough task these days

The pregnancy journey

We found out we were pregnant on march 12th. I went to bed that night knowing I was pregnant, even though we had to wait til the next morning to confirm it. What a morning. We had such a blast telling all of our friends and family. The next 8 weeks were pretty rough, with the nausea and cramping. I was so scared we were going to lose her and could not wait to be out of the first trimester. We also moved into our new house (which is a ton of fun when you feel like you want to puke into each box you unpack.) I was lucky to start showing very early on, so I didn't have to spend a lot of time in the weird pudgy phase where nothing fits and people are afraid to ask if you're pregnant.

(16 weeks)
My dear friend Alisa started documenting the pregnancy each month and I love having those pictures to see how much my body changed each month.

almost 5 months
I was able to take most of the summer off, working only about 20 hours a week at most, which was fabulous. It was good to see that the store could survive without me living there all day everyday and good practice for the girls to take on more responsibility so that I can stay home with grace the first two months after she is born. The last three months have been full of baby showers, countdowns, dr.'s appointments, and getting ready for little miss to get here.

almost 6 months

almost 7 months
I have just lately begun to feel miserable and have tried everything short of cod-liver oil to get this baby to come out of me! I understand now why God makes pregnancy 9 months. The first 8 I was so nervous about having her and now I am ready to take her out myself and the least of my worries are about delivery!

8 1/2 months
I cannot believe we are a week away from having a baby. The excitement, responsibility, and anxiety are absolutely overwhelming at times. I love being pregnant, but I am SOOO ready to meet our sweet little girl and hold her in my arms.