This Little Light of Mine

A year ago this week I started this blog to share the story of our little man, James Walter. To celebrate him. To remember him.

I was reminded today from my dear friend, Danielle, that today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. A day set aside to honor our precious ones.

Wade and I don't really need a special day to remember James. We think about him constantly. Actually, I thought about him just a few hours ago when I was shopping for Margaret. I wandered over into the boy aisle and admired some of the adorable 18 month Christmas outfits. What would he look like now? What would he be able to say? I guess I will do that the rest of my life.

One thing I do know for sure is that James was a gift from God, and he will continue to shine his light in our hearts. And I know that some day we will meet again. . .

To James Walter
Tonight we light this candle in remembrance of you.

Love, Mommy and Daddy

9 Months Old

Our little punkin pie turned 9 Months Old last Friday morning! I can't believe we actually have a 9 month old ---crazy!!! Sometimes I stop and think about it and tears start streaming down my cheeks. We are so blessed to have this little miracle here; she has stolen our hearts with her love and precious personality. I just wish I could slow things down; it's going too fast!

As a 9 month old, Miss Moo is full of wonder and curiosity. She really studies people and their faces. You know you have passed in Miss Moo's book, when minutes later she rewards you with her beaming smile and bright eyes. Sometimes you even get a raise of the eyebrows, and that's when you know you are really special.

These last two weeks have been filled with many challenges and changes. Margaret turned into a different animal, always irritable and clingy. She would not let me put her down, and she wouldn't sleep in her crib for more than 20 minutes. So she slept the last week in a half right in between mommy and daddy---not ideal and not a habit we want to start. Don't get me wrong. I love cuddling with her and waking up right next to my baby, but I do need some time alone every once in a while. Plus, I think we all sleep better when she is in her own bed.

She either had a little cold plus teething or growth spurt. I really don't know, but (knock on wood) I think this little phase is starting to pass. (She took a wonderful afternoon nap today (2 1/2 hours). Plus, she went down for the night in her own bed, and she's still there!)

Margaret went for her 9 Month Check-Up today, and she received a great report. She weighs 15 lbs. 11 oz. (8th percentile--up from 5th) and is 26 inches long (also 8th percentile--finally on the charts in this measurement). Her head continues to thrive with a circumference of 45 cm (75th percentile--up from 55th). She is pushing up (see above), sitting independently, reaching for objects, rolling with a purpose, picking up tiny objects, smiling, laughing, playing, and eating solids. She falls developmentally somewhere between 7 and 9 months--right where she should be, so we are very proud of her!!! Hopefully, we will master crawling or scooting soon.
Waiting for dinner

My family came over last week to celebrate Mama Susie's birthday. Here is a great shot of Miss Moo with Daddaddy and Uncle Josh (that's what the nephews call him, even though his name is Jonathan).

You can't tell, but they all have beautiful blue eyes!

Happy Birthday, Mama Susie!!

Miss Curious in action!

Wade celebrated his 15 year reunion last weekend at Ensworth. Here is a sweet shot of cousin Mac holding Margaret. Mac was celebrating his 10 year.

Later that evening some of Wade's classmates gathered for a fiesta, and cousin Sinclair was there. Margaret gave her a little lovin'!

Daddy reading to Miss Moo---precious!

Trying out her new fleece--should we go with the hot pink? or pale pink?

Her likes me!

Last night I was cooking dinner, and Wade was playing with Margaret on the kitchen table. I took a break and saw Wade placing his hat on Margaret's head. It was one of the sweetest moments I have ever seen! Usually, she hates hats, as you will see in the next photo, but she was so honored to have Daddy's hat on her head--Daddy's little girl!

We tried on the Bailey family pumpkin costume last week, because Miss Katherine is probably going to need it in about a month. The hat was a little snug, and Miss Moo didn't really know what to think about it. We could tell she was a little nervous.

This weekend we traveled up to the mountain house again to spend some time with my sister and her kids. It was the first time that we were all together since Katherine was born. She is now two months old and just adorable. She has a very calm personality so far and a great tolerance when it comes to her brothers kissing her and climbing on top of her.

Precious

Hudson just loves babies--especially his sister and Miss Margaret. He did a great job holding them, reading books to them, and keeping them entertained.

Margaret enjoyed showing off her new tricks and her variety of smiles.

Aunt Lolli just loves her!

Charlie is also a fabulous helper. When I finished changing Margaret's diaper, I would ask Charlie to please take the used diaper to the trash can. He would grab the diaper and say, "Thank you."I would then say to him, "You're welcome and thank you too!"

Charlie is also the one that keeps saying, "Her likes me!"--what a cutie pie!

Margaret and Katherine had many photo shoots this weekend. Margaret definitely has more fat rolls than Katherine, but they are almost the same size. It's going to be so much fun to see them grow up together and become best buddies.

Miss Moo was so proud of herself when she grabbed Katherine's hand.

Daddaddy and Mama Susie with all of their grandkids!

8 Months in the Highlands

8 months old and still teething . . . maybe we'll get those two front teeth in time for Christmas!

We took our first official vacation with Miss Moo last week. We were planning on a beach vacation to Ponte Vedra. However, at the last minute the weather looked bad, and we really didn't want to drive 10 hours with a baby. So we split the time in half and traveled to Highlands, North Carolina. What a beautiful place and so peaceful!

The weather was wonderful--70 during the day and 50 at night!

The spa (yes, we took our baby to an inn and spa) had a beautiful salt water pool that was heated, so Margaret went for a dip. She loved the flower float--thanks, Tricia!

At night, we enjoyed the rocking chairs . . .

and watching the sun set.

We even enjoyed a fancy dinner at an Italian restaurant (at 5:45).

The girls

Daddy kisses

I love this one--I finally captured her adorable smile!

Can't you just hear her laughter?

A little Frank Sinatra and dancing!!!

A little giggle time with Daddaddy!

We split the trip up both ways by staying at my parents' mountain house.

Margaret sat in a highchair for the first time this week--what a big girl!

Can she get any cuter?

Finally, did you know Margaret attracts the stars?

When she was only a few months old, she met Naomi Judd down in Franklin during a lunch in the square.

This week in the grocery store a certain country music singer married to Tim McGraw admired Margaret and even made her daughter look at Miss Moo.

Here's a shot of Miss Popular after her star encounter!

Special Week

Well . . . after two attempts, I think we finally captured Margaret in the family bowl. This beautiful bread bowl belonged to my beloved Grandmother Marie. When we (my siblings and I) were babies, we had our pictures taken in it in Grandmother's kitchen. We always joke that Laura looks like she is miserable, I look like Jabba the Hut, and Jonathan is so happy and joyful.

Now the bowl sits in my mother's kitchen, and her grandchildren are taking a dip in it for the traditional picture. I love this first one, even though it is not at the right angle, according to a particular family member. I think it sums up Margaret's personality!

Jabba the Hut Part 2???

I need to put my picture on here, because I look a lot like this.

The winner?

Last Sunday we celebrated Margaret's birth at the annual NICU Birthday Party at Baptist Hospital. I had been counting down the days until this event. It's hard to explain it, but the nurses and doctors feel like family now. There's something about Baptist Hospital. It will always be home to me. Every time I entered the building, throughout Margaret's pregnancy, I knew I was finally safe. Whatever was happening with my body, I knew the nurses and doctors could help me and take care of my little precious girl. Once Margaret was here, the NICU became a very special place to me, because that is where I first bonded with my little girl. Of course, I always loved her, but the first time I held her skin to skin I felt that amazing mother/daughter bond. I couldn't wait to visit the NICU.

Pictured below are a few of my favorite day nurses, Chris and Martha. All twenty-six days in ante-partum (that's the wing I was in, even after my surgery), the nurses took wonderful care of me. Checking my blood pressure every four hours, bringing my meds, monitoring Margaret, pulling up my support hose, wheeling me to ultrasounds, and reminding me countless times that my baby girl was going to be alright are just a few things they did for me. I can't thank them enough for their hard work. Chris and Martha were unable to attend the NICU party because they had a full house up in ante-partum. So we went to them.

Dr. P below was there for Wade and I during a very scary time. When Margaret was 72 hours old, Dr. P. woke us up in our hospital room with bad news. (We knew that if the neonatologist ever appeared in our room it wasn't a good thing.) They needed to intubate Margaret, because her lungs needed a little rest. Wade and I were so upset and scared that Margaret was going to continue to go downhill. A few hours later we were allowed to see her, and Dr. P. was right there. She took us around the corner, pulled up Margaret's x-rays of her lungs, and calmly explained the plan. Thanks to Dr. P. we were no longer scared; we knew the ventilator was a good thing and finally understood what to pray for!

Nurse Patty was a dear day nurse who cared for Margaret in the NICU. She was always available and ready to answer any questions, whether she was assigned to Margaret or not.

Nurse Rachel was one of Margaret's night nurses. We could call at any time during the night and talk to her. She would give updates on Margaret and ease our nerves. It was so hard to leave our baby girl every evening, but we knew she was in such good hands in the NICU.

Another wonderful treat was seeing our NICU friends. Chris (pictured below with his cutie John) and Brooke are a dear couple who we had the privilege of meeting in the NICU. They had twin boys, Adam and John, born just a few weeks before Margaret. Throughout our many weeks there, we enjoyed their friendship and comforting words. We continue to keep in touch with them through blogs.

We also met up with my good friend Danielle and her husband and son. I love how Crosby is patting Margaret on the head in this photo. Karen is another blog friend of mine. She grew up with Danielle and her twins, Max and Kate, stayed in the NICU last fall. One neat thing about us is that we all stayed in the same ante-partum room, the Predator's Suite, last fall and winter. Karen was first, then Danielle, and finally me. (I think I actually stayed in five rooms throughout my month long stay in the hospital and that's not even counting all the triage rooms!)

Family Photo

Finally--sorry this blog is so long--my mother, Margaret, and I ate lunch at Cheekwood this week. After lunch, we strolled down the path to visit James' tree and bench. We took some wonderful pictures of Margaret sitting on the bench. Yes--did I mention Margaret is almost sitting on her own? You have to stand by her, just in case she falls, but she is almost there. We are so proud of her!

Cutie-pie

Special Week--We are so blessed!

Sweetimers

Sweetimers--(short i sound) a common word in our house meaning the sweetest thing in the world!
Mama Susie and I took little Miss Margaret to the park this week and tried out the swing. She loved it, so peaceful and relaxing. (Considering she hated her stationary swing in our house, it was pretty surprising. Although, this swing was a little different--Mommy pushes it and gives the little cutie attention. She's not stupid!)

I love her closed-lip smile! It makes her eyes look like Daddy's.

Has anyone seen my hair? Granddaddy Bob?

Action shot--those little legs were just kicking away!




We continued to have a very eventful week. Margaret started Monday with a little runny nose, no fever or rash. However, the drainage caused her to cough and gag. Unfortunately, Thursday afternoon this drainage problem really got to her, because the poor thing threw-up all over herself and her carseat. Sweet potatoes completely covered everything! I could have handled a little vomit, but she could not quite clear her throat and continued to throw-up for the next thirty minutes. So we headed straight to the pediatrician's office to investigate. The pediatrician didn't hear any congestion in her lungs (thank-goodness) and said that we better be on the safe side and give her pedialyte for the next 24 hours to make sure it wasn't a bug. (We ended up giving her breastmilk that evening, because she was really distraught without it.) Luckily, she was vomit-free the rest of the night and the next day. So it probably was just some drainage causing her to gag (lovely, I know).
All this to say, we had to take a bath that afternoon and Miss Moo was quite taken with this precious beauty in the mirror!

Who are you?

She tried to reach out and touch her---adorable!

I referred to her closed-lip smile earlier. Well this is her mouth-open smile---just as cute and in my opinion makes her look like Daddaddy.

Finally, I'll end with a video. Mama Susie was trying to keep Margaret happy in Babies "R" Us one afternoon, while I finished shopping for essentials. She found this cute little bear, pulled the legs, put it down in front of Margaret, and this is what happened---