Weekend Fun

In latest news Gwen has developed a little bit of infant acne. It's very common and usually goes away in a couple of weeks. They say it is due to the hormones that she got from me within the womb. Like the trip down the birth canal wasn't enough! I've read online that if you eat organic yogurt that it helps with clearing it up and so for the past four days I've eaten organic yogurt. It's probably an old wive's tale started by the yogurt people. She is trying to smile now and I finally captured in on camera! Isn't she beautiful?

This weekend her Aunt Beki came to visit. Gwen's middle name is after her- Rebekah. I love this photo of them. I guess Gwen was tired. :)


We went to a beautiful wedding this weekend of Ben's cousin Caleb and his bride, Megan. I got several pictures, but failed to get a picture of the bride and groom! Oh well... here's a buffalo head instead. ha! This was at the reception site... a place called the Stony Creek Inn. The theme of this hotel is kind of buffalo and the prairie.

Here's Ben and I at the reception. It really was beautiful with all the strung lights and all, but you can't tell from the photo.


Here's our little family.

Here's Grandma finally getting to hold Gwen. Gwen had a little accident on the other dress I put her in earlier, so she got to wear the bandanna dress to the reception. This dress is from my sister's baby clothes that my mom saved.

The Irony Of It All

At the hospital they gave me this diaper bag. How nice!

There's a tag on the bag that says "Breastfeeding Success Bag for Baby's Best Start" on there. How kind for them to want me to succeed at breastfeeding!


You open it up and what do you have? Formula and coupons for formula! Nothing against formula...but it's not breastfeeding. The last time I checked you have to have a breast involved for it to be breastfeeding. By the way, I took Gwen to get a weight check today and from last week she has gained 5 oz! So now she weighs just over 9 lbs. My arms are going to have a serious workout in the coming weeks I have a feeling. :)

Review of Cloth Diapers

In the last week I've tried several things in regard to cloth diapering. Here are my opinions if anyone out there is interested.

Bum Genius All-in-one diapers: They are fantastic and are my favorite. I only have one, but I plan on getting more.

Pre-folds like you can get at the store and many people use as burp cloths: Not my favorite because they are really bulky on newborns and using diaper pins makes me nervous.

Snappies- a little rubbery thing that holds diapers on: It's wonderful. I only have one, but I plan on getting more. Here's the website: www.snappibaby.com

Balmex Daily Skin Protectant: It's great and I use it when cloth diapering. My mom tipped me off to this product.

I bought two different kinds of flushable diaper liners. Diaper liners are a thin piece of paper like material you put into the diaper and it really helps with clean up. I am using Bio-soft Liners at the moment. They are a great size and soft. Their website is: www.bummis.com
I also bought ImseVimse kind of liners. I haven't tried them yet, but I'm having to cut them into fourths because they are so large. They also aren't as soft as the Bio-soft ones. Here is their website to check out: www.imsevimse.se

My homemade wipes are pretty good, but the solution makes them a little soapy, so I'm having to use a washcloth after I use one of those wipes. The wipes also get very cold. I'm thinking of getting a coffee thermos that you can push on the top to put warm water in there and have beside the changing table. My mother-in-law said I'm going to need another cabinet to put all this stuff in. :)

Church

Today was Gwen's first time to go to church. She was very well behaved and enjoyed the music.


She says "Praise God from whom all blessings flow...especially milk!"



She loves to be held.

Gwen and Grandma Barreth

The violins in the background are courtesy of Uncle Preston making some Italian Godfather-style atmosphere. Now if Gwen grows up to be in The Mob we'll all know who to blame!

Baby Gwen Taking a Bath

Baby Gwen Photo Shoot!

Gwen's favorite people in the world:

Gwen in a thoughtful pose:
Tired Chinese Gwen:
Gwen almost deciding to pee on Meredith, but changing her mind at the last minute:
Just for the record, Gwen was the only one naked in this picture. I was fully clothed at all times! (Ben)
Aren't you guys done taking pictures yet?
I'm outta here - see ya!
Where's the nearest boob?
Aww forget it - this is just exhausting!


A close-up of her natural buzz-cut hair-do. Courtesy of God Himself!


You can buy your own copies from JCPenney by clicking here and entering "Meredith Barreth" as the name: https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTPP0156106086JCP

Ben's Latest Project

Ben recently bought a fountain off of Craigslist. He has worked very hard putting it all together. I think it's beautiful. Here are a few shots. (see, I told you I would eventually blog about something other than Gwen!)




Ok... just 'cause I can't resist! Does her hair look blonder to you?

Masterpiece

This is the song I've been singing to Gwen. She truly is a masterpiece.

Firsts

Well... now that we are figuring out the feeding thing, (thank you Lord!) we are moving on to cloth diapers. I've decided that for now I will use cloth diapers in the day and disposables at night. This is a photo of her in a cloth diaper. That thing fastening the diaper is called a "snappie". They are wonderful.



I also wanted to include some pictures of a father daughter moment Ben and Gwen were having in the backyard. (yes, I know it rhymes) Ben is picking out a good spot for bamboo. He's got it in his head he wants bamboo. (see the little bamboo plant on the table?)


Gwen also had her first real bath last night. We had to wait until her umbilical cord fell off to really put her in water. She wasn't sure how she liked it at first, but then she relaxed and enjoyed the warm water. She is a very good natured little girl. She just kind of fusses when she's hungry or needs a diaper change... not screaming like I thought. (of course, that could change) Even my mom is surprised at her demeanor. I'll get Ben to post some of the movies he took of her first bath.

More Gwen

Gwen with daddy only 5 minutes old. Ben practiced for fatherhood by weightlifting large burritos for several months before the birth.

Gwen sleeping at 11 days old

Gwen with Grandma Morris

Gwen with Grandma Barreth


Gwen contemplating how she's going to bring about world peace... or just filling her diaper.


Gwen - The Movie! Sequels coming soon!

Thoughts From A New Mother

Well, time keeps marching on it seems in super speed. Here i am typing with one hand. What keeps me motivated you ask? I feel like I have to type some of this out for fear of forgetting. What a precious struggle new mothers have from my perspective. I personally have never had so many phone conversations about my breasts before. The breastfeeding struggles have me crying about every night only to wake up and we have a breakthrough of sorts. I'm discovering things can change dramatically in the course of one day with Gwen. I watch Ben with her at night enjoying and cooing over her and it reminds me to not spend all of my energies with concern on my brow. I suppose all new moms feel this way. Here are some questions I've had lately for the Lord.

1. Did Jesus have latch issues and why didn't anyone talk about that in the Bible? That would really be handy for me right now.

2. My main prayer for Gwen is for patience and persistence. I keep saying those words as we try to get the feeding thing down over and over.

3. In light of eternity what really matters? I have so much to be thankful for. I have a beautiful, healthy little girl and I am feeling great. I am really loving rolling over in bed and lying on my back again.

Well... I guess that's all for now. By the way, I eventually will blog about something different besides Gwen and my breasts (sorry guys)... it just may be cloth diapers next. :)

Gwen

Have you had enough pictures of Gwen yet? I didn't think so!!

Progress

Today Gwen latched on for the first time without the help of the nipple shields. Fantastic! We seem to be making little steps each day. She is enchanting... just look at that face. I took this photo this morning after we walked outside to get the newspaper.


This is her asleep.

Home At Last

Today we came home from the hospital. It's really nice to be home I must say. So many things have happened that the days are blurring together already. I have wept tears of relief and joy after hours trying to get Gwen to latch on and nurse, I have wept tears of frustration as well. Mostly I have just enjoyed looking at her and we both have come a long way. I have countless stories of God's faithfulness to me to share...but basically, the Lord brought so many Christian, kind-hearted people to help me when I felt discouraged. Gwen and I are working on her tongue issues that prevent her from nursing well. Today I have witnessed miracle after miracle as she is latching on (with the help of a nipple shield) and bringing her tongue down and forward. I think she will have an easier time of it once my milk comes in. (sorry guys for all of this info that you probably didn't need to know) :) She is precious and lovely and overwhelmingly wonderful. Here are some pictures from the day.

Uncle Preston and Gwen.

Ben and I in front of our house with Gwen in the carseat.


Gwen all pink and rosy in her carseat. I see some Barreth in her face don't you Beki?


Grandma Morris just moments after birth. I love this photo.


Grandma Barreth and Gwen moments after birth. I love this one too. :)

From Meredith with Love

Hi everyone... it's me Meredith. My brother put that last blog post together and chose the pictures himself. I have to say, some of those pictures look a little goofy. She really is beautiful everyone. The stork definitely didn't deliver her either... it was the Lord. I'm so thankful I didn't have to have surgery and we are now tackling the challenge of breastfeeding. The slightest peep from her wakes me up, so as you can imagine, not much sleep going on. I sent Ben to his mom's house to get some sleep today and to just relax. He has been so wonderful and supportive to me. There have been moments here at the hospital that have been just hillarious to me. (some of that is probably sleep deprovation induced hillarity) For example, I've had two pediatricians come by, my OB come by, and about 100 other people that are from the hospital come in to poke, prod, take off my clothes and Gwen's clothes. They all say the same thing... "you look exhausted, you need to do three things today... rest, eat, and nurse and that's it." Well... try doing that when that many people are coming to see you all the time! Plus, it takes a long time to nurse Gwen. She hasn't got the whole concept of sucking down to an art yet, and I have got to learn myself how to help her best do that. So... we're both learning. Welcome to real life right? I'm so happy and I am happy also to report I can now bend over without holding my breath. More later.... :)

The Stork has delivered

We would like to welcome Gwen Rebekah Barreth to the world today. She came in at 8 lbs. 11 oz and 20 in. She was born at 3:35am Tuesday morning. I am recovering very well and Gwen is healthy. I will give you more details later.

Our Almost Father's Day Morning

Not to be too graphic, but yesterday morning I saw it was "show" time. (girls, you know what I mean) I went about my daily schedule having irregular contractions that increased during the day. Last night they became pretty regular, but I decided to try to sleep a bit through the night and if I woke up then I'd consider going to the hospital. I woke up at around 2:20 this morning feeling much stronger contractions and when Ben and I timed them they were about 4 1/2 to 5 minutes apart. We decided we'd err on the side of caution since today I am 6 days overdue and just go in to the hospital.
When we got to the hospital we went in and explained why I was there... what an awkward moment for me since I've never done this thing before. Then they told Ben and mom to go into the waiting room while they got me situated. A nurse took me into a room and whispered "are you abused?" and when I assured her I wasn't she asked if I had an STD which I also replied in the negative. She then rattled off instructions for me very fast... "take off your clothes, take this cup, we're going to get a strip on you (I later found out that meant monitor me and the baby), put on the gown with the ties in the back and leave the waist undone, need a clean sample so wipe wipe wipe and then use the cup and then wipe wipe wipe. She left the room then and I thought.. "now how many times do I wipe?" When she came back I was standing there not knowing if I should sit down on the bed or what. She asked me why I wasn't in the bed and I told her I really didn't know what I was doing and she laughed and asked me my due date. When she found out I was 6 days over she looked at me and said "get your butt into that bed."
They monitored my contractions and the baby's heartbeat. Before I left home I was really hungry and asked mom if she thought it would be ok to eat a piece of toast or something before going. She said she didn't think they would like that so I didn't eat or drink anything. The baby's heartbeat was fine, but they decided to give me something to eat to perk it up a bit. She asked me if I'd like a fruit cup and I emphatically said "yes!" She asked me if I wanted peanut butter and crackers and again I said "yes." Ben said I'd better enjoy that fruit cup cause it probably is an $80 fruit cup, but with our insurance it is a $70 fruit cup. That fruit cup never tasted so good. The baby's heartbeat picked up after that and they said everything looked great with the baby. My contractions were coming regularly, but they were small. They felt pretty intense to me. I happened to see the other people's charts that they were monitoring and their contractions looked like the Swiss Alps. Mine kind of resembled little mole hills. I told mom that if I had one of the Swiss Alps I think I would be having an out of body experience about then because of the pain. They checked me and I was still at 1 1/2 cm. I couldn't believe it... I thought for sure I was beyond that. They also said the baby was floating. They had me walk around for an hour to see if it would speed things along. Ben and I were in the waiting room doing giant squats and breathing through my mole hill contractions. They hooked me up to the monitors again and nothing had changed. So... they decided to send me home. I thought I'd be super emotional about it, but I wasn't. I asked if there was any way they could keep me and the nurse said "there is no room." I heard my mom in the background say "no room in the inn." The doctor on call this morning was named Dr. Vandenboom. That would have been awesome to say "boom baby" all day...but alas. We decided to go out for a grand breakfast after that at a place called "The Big Biscuit." In retaliation I ordered a meal that included pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and potatoes. Of course, I couldn't get through half of it, but still. We're all exhausted now and at home. I thought I'd unwind a little and write this all out before I forget it all. The baby is kicking me, I'm still having contractions and I'm going to try to sleep anyway. I really think that this baby will come before my scheduled induction on Tuesday night....but we shall see. The little stinker... it likes being in there I suppose!

Looking Out My Window

This morning I got up early and Ben and I sat together and looked out the window and chatted for a while. We were happy to see two little animals pass outside our window today. This first one is a baby rabbit. I've seen several here lately and I think they're cute. (notice the car in the background?... yeah, that's my brother's car. It's um... interesting)


We also were amused to see a skunk. Ben says he's never seen one alive. These pictures are awful, but you get the idea anyway.

It was looking at my neighbor's trash.

It was running around.

*Baby Barreth Update: The doctor said I am 1 1/2 centimeters dilated now and that the baby's head is right there. All I need are contractions now. She also guesstimated that the baby is 8 to 81/2 pounds now! I asked about my bone structure and if she thought I could get a big butterball out of there and she said she thought so. So... we'll see. If nothing happens by Tuesday night I check into the hospital at 8pm for them to get it going for me. I'm praying this baby decides to come on its own before then. So Ben and I should have a baby that we can look at by Wednesday night! Hallelujah!