Happy 28th!

Today is the 28th birthday of the man that I adore.
I can honestly say that Drew is the largest blessing that I have ever received (and I don't mean physical stature)! Drew has such a caring heart and a desire to help others in any way he can. He is known to empty his pockets for those in need and is deeply hurt when those around him are hurting. The hubs is also pretty hilarious and can be seen on any given day cracking up his wife and daughter with many a dance move or funny accent. Over the last three years I have been so privileged to watch the Lord grow Drew as the leader of our home and in our church. I have seen him go from the quiet listener (which he often still is) to the shepherd who isn't afraid to preach it! Drew works tirelessly at a pretty thankless job in order to provide for his babes and he has been honored and respected there too (as evident by his many promotions). I know the Lord has good things in store for Drew and I am looking forward to the end of a very hard season in our lives and hopefully a little more sunshine in his 29th year of life!
Please be praying for Drew that the Lord would continue to grow him through out this next year of life. Please pray for his health (he's been sick on and off for over a month now) and that the Lord would provide a new opportunity for a job where he can glorify the Lord and use his passions/talents.
Feel free to leave a word of encouragement to Drew in the comments!

Baby Dedication

Here's the video of the baby dedication... more background story to come... Drew wasn't there b/c he was really sick all weekend.
Don't watch this if you are bored easily... it's mostly for family who couldn't attend.

Baby Dedication from Lindsey Lewis on Vimeo.

Cereal Footage

Cereal from Lindsey Lewis on Vimeo.

we've gotten a lot better at this since then.... 5 months tomorrow!

Spring!

It's officially Spring in my world!

Thank you gma Susie for making Spring such a wonderful reality.
Just after SJ was born Drew's parents came to visit and catch a glimpse of their first grandbaby. While they were here Gma S dug out all the weeds in the flower bed by the stairs and planted some flowers. I had no idea what she planted (too tired to care at the time) and so when little green shoots began to spring from the ground I started to get excited! This week our daffodils are in full bloom... they are the first daffodils I have seen in our neighborhood or around town! They really make our home so much brighter. Then today our little tree started blooming pink and white flowers all over! We are in the process of digging up the bush version of that same tree on the other side of the yard in order to plant our garden! We got Drew and axe for his birthday so he can finish the bush off. I am planning on tomatoes and zucchini for sure. I also planted some basil, cilantro and spinach in the other little flower bed gma S dug up by the porch! Yay for Spring and fresh flowers, herbs and veggies. I can't wait to see if they will grow. I purchased a beautiful black, white and pink watering can... I'm sure that the plants will want to grow even more once they realize they are being watered from a pretty watering can. =)
Tomorrow SJ is being dedicated at our church. I am so excited and hope to post video of the dedication after it happens. We got SJ the cutest little dress that will double as her Easter dress (it was about $10!). It's brown with pink polka dots and pink leggings to match! She is seriously cute. In other SJ news... she is still growing like a weed... now in 6-9mo. clothes! We are realizing more and more that we are going to have a hard time keeping this one in clothes... she outgrows them so fast and we don't have much from here on out... I'm keeping my eye on sales (we also accept donations =) ). I think that SJ is also at the very beginning of the teething process (another milestone I am not ready for!). If you put your finger in her mouth she will bite on it instead of sucking on it most of the time. She is drooling even more than before (who knew this was possible) and has been eating less and a little grumpy. I don't feel anything for sure yet but it seems like that might be around the next corner. She is still so much fun and full of smiles though. She is also getting better and better at sitting up on her own and is able to roll over to either side from her back (she can roll all the way over but refuses to do it any more). She will be 5months old this week! So little and yet so big!
Here's a sneak peek at a photo shoot that will be used for gma presents and the baby dedication....



**photo credit to Bethan Rogers**

Rice Cereal

So, remember when I said I needed to brace myself for the fact that I might need to start SJ on rice cereal before I would like to? Well, I was right. Our doctor suggested at four months that we start some rice cereal. I thought about it and decided, "no thank you"... at least for now. SJ is growing great, which makes me want to continue to nurse until there is a more substantial need. Plus, there is just this stigma that good nursing moms don't start solids until the latest possible date. I've got to get these things out of my head!
Well, last week SJ finished her one month round of Prevacid and we were still hearing lots of wheezing/gurgling sounds from her as well as other signs of reflux. We are not sure if her naps are also influenced by the reflux but she is still irregular about taking good naps. So I called to ask the doctor what to do and he asked the dreaded questions, "have you started the rice cereal"... ummm, well, nooo. So, he told us he really wanted us to try it just to see if it would help keep the reflux down. So, dragging my feet... we tried it this weekend. I needed Drew for moral support. I made it per the directions and it was really soupy. She didn't even eat a teaspoons' worth. We also had to switch from the bumbo to the bouncy seat b/c she isn't great at sitting up and focusing on eating.
I will admit, I was relieved she didn't love the stuff and continues to spit it out as fast as I can drip it in. I'm trying to give her about half a tablespoon in the morning and in the late afternoon but we have yet to finish that much even. I also got the doctor to refill the prescription with the agreement that it might take a while (cough cough... another month..) for her to really take the cereal... or anything enough to actually help with the reflux. So I'm giving her half a dose of meds and a few sips of cereal and hoping to wait until closer to six months to actually dive into this "solids" stuff full force.
I'm also thinking that when we do start solids we will skip pureed foods for the most part... I've give them to her some (maybe once a day) but then we're going to just let her start with squishy solids and see how that goes. Or so, that's my plan for now. It's from a book called baby-led weaning that I read about and just ordered from Amazon.
It's amazing how much I was looking forward to solid foods when I was dealing the the nursing strike and other complications and now that it's here I am dragging my feet. It is hard to see my baby hitting such a huge milestone already! I didn't think it would be as emotional a decision as it has been! I'm still looking forward to seeing her grow and develop and enjoy new foods but I am happy to wait another month or so b/c I will never have these exclusively nursing days back.
So, here's a video of SJ and her first cereal experience and then a picture that completely explains why I am reluctant to give up any nursing time with my baby. Enjoy!
*** Sorry, I've been trying to upload this video for HOURS and it still isn't processed... I need some one to teach me a better way to upload videos on here. Enjoy the picture instead!

Rejoice!

It has been so busy around here!
About a week and a half ago my grandmother passed away and at the last minute the hubs, babe and I were on a plane heading to Texas. There were a lot of uncertainties and possible inconveniences with traveling with SJ and with last minute travel at that but I have been meaning to post this blog for a while and have you all praise the Lord with me for all that he did!
First of all, I was nervous about taking SJ on the plane because she would miss a nap or two and thus be very very fussy... have I mentioned that SJ will also NEVER nurse in public and screams when we give her a bottle. I think I have. She is so sensitive that if a plane flies overhead while she is eating, she will stop, let out an angry cry and give me a dirty look before resuming. I have to hold back from laughing b/c if I make a peep she will start to talk to me and laugh and smile and never eat another bite. Oh my. Also, if any one talks or even walks in the room she jerks away and begins searching for them... so how on earth would I get her to nurse on a plane. I knew that if she was tired and hungry there was a very good chance of a storm blowing in... so we bought two packs of ear plugs for our plane mates and hoped for the best.
Stella did great. She was a bit fussy at first (obviously tired and wanting to go down and for us to quit holding her) but when it came time to eat I just slipped her under the nursing cover (the one that I made and have never had a chance to use) and she ate like a champion and then fell asleep in my arms. She awoke right before landing and sat happily with her daddy through it all. Wow, I was stunned! We got to the house after missing two naps and she went right to sleep on the guest bed. Amazing!
Through out the week she missed several naps and was passed to many strangers and though she wasn't perfect by any means, she did great. She broke a few hearts when she wouldn't let people hold her (sorry mom) and stole a few more from friends and family who had never met her.
The whole time we were there she slept and ate relatively well (minus one night when she woke up 3 times... oye!)... as for Drew and I... well, we ate well at least! haha.
On the plane ride back SJ barely made a peep. She was content to sit for a while and then again ate amazingly well and then chilled with us on the plane the rest of the time. Several people commented that they didn't even realize a baby was on the plane until they got off.
We got home and she pretty much transitioned right back into normal. She even started a more consistent 31/2-4 hr schedule. She has been flopping around back and forth between 21/2-4 for a little over a month now and I'm glad she's finally settled into her new big girl schedule. She also ate in public again that Sunday at church with the cover... I'm hoping this is a new trend!
Another huge praise is the reconciliation that has taken place amongst many members of our family. I have never met any of my mom's family outside of her parents that I can remember. They were always distant relatives who didn't like us for some reason or another. Well, when my grandmother became very ill, these members showed up to sit by her side. It turns out... they thought WE didn't like THEM. There was a lot of miscommunication and maybe a little bit of manipulation going on for years and in a matter of days they became our family. They were so fun to be around and I even learned more about my grandmother than I had ever known before from these great women.
My mom's birthday was a few days after the funeral so we were also able to celebrate with her before we flew back home.
On a worse note, my dad came down with a crazy stomach bug the morning of the funeral and my sister got it the next morning... I was a little concerned that we would get it or even worse, that SJ would get it but we all returned home with our tummies intact!
So though funerals are never a fun occasion to get together, this one brought about many blessings and reasons to rejoice along with it.