Hooray!
Today marks the wonderful arrival of "term" pregnancy. For all of Eliaya's drama a few weeks ago and everyone, myself included, preparing for her to come early... she's been a good girl and now we wont have to call her a premie on the delivery record :)
Doctor's appointment yesterday, everything's looking great! She's in approximately the 57th percentile for weight (guessing around 6.5lbs) and apparently has very dense bones. At least I know all the milk cravings did their job! She had the hiccups during the ultrasound, and as always, was sucking her thumb. I wont be surprised at all if this kiddo has sucking blisters when she's born. It was a wonderful change to go from telling her "not today baby, just stay in another day" every morning when we got up to, "okay, today would be okay. Can't wait to meet you!" Work friends joke that now she's settled in and likes being in the womb, so much so that I'll probably have to be induced. Haha, we are definitely praying that's not the case.
Jarrod finished one of his big term papers and did really well on his midterm, thank you so much for praying for him! We, and by that I mean mostly he, are working hard to get as much of his work done before Eliaya makes her big debut.
Gave Jarrod a haircut for the first time yesterday.... if I get brave I'll post pictures later. Not an epic failure, but I think I will do well to keep my day job. Speaking of which... had the coolest experience the other day: I was in a store and saw a man who looked familiar, though I couldn't place from where. We kept crossing each other in aisles and finally he asked, "you're Megan, right?". Oh no, guilt quickly piling on.... not only did he recognize me.. but he remembered my name! What was I gonna do?? Play it cool? No... not even close, "yeah, I am. I'm sorry but what was your name again?" After a few seconds (probably spent in utter shock that I couldn't remember), he responded and told me that I helped delivery his first baby a few weeks ago! Then it all came back to me and I could actually recall details of that day. It was great to hear from him, that his wife and child were doing well and how they had such a great experience in L&D. Sweet moment :)
Not much time right now, it's finally WARM outside so Simba and I are headed out for the day. Wanted to check in and let you all know we are doing well, ready for Eliaya any day now, and that the Lord has blessed us with some sweet experiences here in Louisville recently. When I can find the cable, I'll post more pictures of the baby bump and Jarrod's hair. I pray you all are doing well, enjoying spring and being reminded that the Lord brings for new life from what was dead. So thankful for the heart of flesh He gives!
~the Reeds
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Is it really March?!?
It's March. Holy smokes. Eliaya could come any day!
Jarrod had a new-found appreciation for this fact this morning. Before a 'good morning', a sigh, or a big stretch to move the dog off his legs, he said "Megan, we're gonna be parents this month, like for real!"
I think that pretty well sums up our past few weeks, we've been trying to get as much ready as we can, stocking up on diapers and other essentials, doing a LOT of reading, and most importantly basking in time with the Lord.
I was let off bed rest, praise the Lord! Last appointment showed that Eliaya was doing great, and while I'm still contracting any time I try to do anything, they're not doing much in terms of bringing her here too early :) So with the doc's approval, I went back to work this past Sunday. 12 hrs later I was still pregnant, a victory if you ask Jarrod and I.
This week we hit the 36 week mark. I'm still feeling great, noticing fatigue sets in quicker and I'm sure I resemble a duck when I first get started walking... but so glad to still be preggers! Jarrod has installed the carseat (only took two attempts!), our hospital bag is packed.... Now we wait. Hopefully she wont change her mind and decide not to come out at all and we have to be induced at 41 weeks.... haha.
Jarrod is a reading machine these days: his classes will have a significantly lower workload come April, but that comes at the price of having a heavy load right now. He's been reading a book by Dempster called Dominion and Dynasty, from what he's talked to me about, it sounds like a great book. One of his big papers if going to be on how the "image of God" changes from pre- to post-fall, then following the redemptive work of Christ, and finally the culmination of His work when we are perfected in heaven. You should ask him about it! I'm so proud of him, he's juggling a million to-dos and the stress levels average a little less than sky-high, and through it all he has realized how desperately we need the Word and remains passionate about his classes.
We have one last childbirth class to attend this Saturday. Despite the frequent giggles and joking (he is a Reed after all), Jarrod has found the class helpful, as have I. Please pray for us as the delivery is looming ever closer: that it would be smooth and without hiccups, that I would cope with contraction discomfort and not give in to fear, that Jarrod would remain strong and not faint (a big deal if you know him...), and that most importantly Eliaya would be healthy. We are so stinkin' excited!!!!!
We've also been blessed by our friends up here, they threw us a baby shower; it was so fun! I consider it a huge blessing to be going through this transition into motherhood with a great group of godly women, both moms and not-moms-yet, to encourage me. Thank you friends! I came home with the spoils and Jarrod decided to put the carrier to use. Since there's no baby to put in it yet, what did he do? As you probably guessed, Simba was volunteered. Poor dog, he's probably most excited for Eliaya to come so that we stop torturing him!
Other than baby-stuff, we are enjoying helping with the Cubbies ministry (Awana) at Ninth & O, I've been able to join a women's Bible study on Thursday mornings going through James, and Jarrod has become the coupon king! If given a list, he can do quite well at the grocery store :)
I'm sure there's more to share... but my bladder has a 5 ounce maximum capacity and well, I've been sitting here too long already. Promise to keep everyone updated as to when Eliaya makes her big debut, until then - thanks for reading and especially thanks for praying for us!
We pray the Lord draws you nearer to Him today-
the Reeds
Jarrod had a new-found appreciation for this fact this morning. Before a 'good morning', a sigh, or a big stretch to move the dog off his legs, he said "Megan, we're gonna be parents this month, like for real!"
I think that pretty well sums up our past few weeks, we've been trying to get as much ready as we can, stocking up on diapers and other essentials, doing a LOT of reading, and most importantly basking in time with the Lord.
I was let off bed rest, praise the Lord! Last appointment showed that Eliaya was doing great, and while I'm still contracting any time I try to do anything, they're not doing much in terms of bringing her here too early :) So with the doc's approval, I went back to work this past Sunday. 12 hrs later I was still pregnant, a victory if you ask Jarrod and I.
This week we hit the 36 week mark. I'm still feeling great, noticing fatigue sets in quicker and I'm sure I resemble a duck when I first get started walking... but so glad to still be preggers! Jarrod has installed the carseat (only took two attempts!), our hospital bag is packed.... Now we wait. Hopefully she wont change her mind and decide not to come out at all and we have to be induced at 41 weeks.... haha.
Jarrod is a reading machine these days: his classes will have a significantly lower workload come April, but that comes at the price of having a heavy load right now. He's been reading a book by Dempster called Dominion and Dynasty, from what he's talked to me about, it sounds like a great book. One of his big papers if going to be on how the "image of God" changes from pre- to post-fall, then following the redemptive work of Christ, and finally the culmination of His work when we are perfected in heaven. You should ask him about it! I'm so proud of him, he's juggling a million to-dos and the stress levels average a little less than sky-high, and through it all he has realized how desperately we need the Word and remains passionate about his classes.
We have one last childbirth class to attend this Saturday. Despite the frequent giggles and joking (he is a Reed after all), Jarrod has found the class helpful, as have I. Please pray for us as the delivery is looming ever closer: that it would be smooth and without hiccups, that I would cope with contraction discomfort and not give in to fear, that Jarrod would remain strong and not faint (a big deal if you know him...), and that most importantly Eliaya would be healthy. We are so stinkin' excited!!!!!
We've also been blessed by our friends up here, they threw us a baby shower; it was so fun! I consider it a huge blessing to be going through this transition into motherhood with a great group of godly women, both moms and not-moms-yet, to encourage me. Thank you friends! I came home with the spoils and Jarrod decided to put the carrier to use. Since there's no baby to put in it yet, what did he do? As you probably guessed, Simba was volunteered. Poor dog, he's probably most excited for Eliaya to come so that we stop torturing him!
Other than baby-stuff, we are enjoying helping with the Cubbies ministry (Awana) at Ninth & O, I've been able to join a women's Bible study on Thursday mornings going through James, and Jarrod has become the coupon king! If given a list, he can do quite well at the grocery store :)
I'm sure there's more to share... but my bladder has a 5 ounce maximum capacity and well, I've been sitting here too long already. Promise to keep everyone updated as to when Eliaya makes her big debut, until then - thanks for reading and especially thanks for praying for us!
We pray the Lord draws you nearer to Him today-
the Reeds
Saturday, February 11, 2012
2012 so far
The Lord never ceases to amaze me. He is good.
Recap of the past few weeks:
We had an absolutely WONDERFUL time in Florida back in January. Jarrod was so excited to pack up and leave that when I got home from my last shift at work, he was pacing in the living room, car packed and shoes on ready to go right then as opposed to our plan on leaving early the next morning. Sweet man, he drove the majority of the way purely on adrenaline I think :)
Where did we go our first day? The beach of course! It was fantastic. Gentle breeze, slightly cloudy and warm. I've decided I need to get a sound machine that plays ocean sounds for our house, I forgot how soothing they are. We spent time in Jacksonville with the Reeds and visiting with friends. Jarrod had the awesome opportunity to preach at Deermeadows Baptist Church where he grew up. They were so encouraging and loving. The ladies of DBC through us a baby shower, LOTS of pink and fun. Thank you all!
We also went with the fam to Orlando to make one last use of our Universal Studios passes. It was an interesting trip, lots of people-watching since Eliaya and I couldn't really ride anything. People wear the oddest things to theme parks....
Spent the last of our time in the sunshine state with Gainesville friends and family. It was so enjoyable! It was amazing to see my little nephews for the first time, they're already getting so big! We had a great Sunday at Westside and really enjoyed hearing all that the Lord is doing in that family of believers. Jarrod was given the opportunity to preach Sunday night and spoke about Biblical family. That's an area we've been learning and growing so much in the past few months. It's really incredible, and disgusting, the depth and spread of the lies regarding family we've accepted from culture without even realizing it. Please pray for us that we would continue to reassess our beliefs, examining where they come from, and replacing lies with the truth of Scripture. We want to value family with the passion that the Lord does.
Okay, so after Florida trip we made it back and Jarrod hit the ground running with a J-term class on the Psalms. He absolutely loved it. And it was really helpful for me: we've learned how to read the psalms, no longer seeing them as eventually becoming repetitive and vague, but as very detailed accounts of the emotions David and the other writers went through at very specific times! There's so much more about the Word I have to learn.
Now Jarrod is back into the spring semester, he's taking another full load but one class is a conference during spring break, so his daily load is a little lighter. I am super appreciative for this, it has given us more time together, time to enrich our friendship and grow our marriage, as well as time to get ready for Eliaya.
Speaking of Eliaya... she's been in trouble this week! She's now about 4.5 pounds and has recently discovered the fun of reaching up towards my ribs. Anyway, Thursday night I had trouble sleeping because the braxton-hicks contractions were coming, on and off, every 10 minutes. Finally I was able to go to bed, only to wake up at 230 with more frequent, more painful contractions. I went into nurse mode, did all the things I knew could help stop braxton-hicks (changed position, bathroom, hydrated, walked around), but they continued to be about every 5-8 minutes. After an hour and a half of praying and pacing, decided to call the doc, fingers crossed hoping she would say just to let them settle out on their own, but knowing better. So at 445 Jarrod and I headed out to labor and delivery to get things checked out. It was kinda funny seeing my co-workers while being on the other side of things. I appreciate them, they took good care of us.
Long story short, I was hooked up to monitors, the contractions continued, and got a few doses of tocolytics (meds to stop contractions). When those didn't knock them out entirely, we decided I should go on some more long-term meds to keep them under control. Praise the Lord, Eliaya looked great on the monitor, I've not dilated at all, and we were sent home with orders to take it easy for a few days (hence how I finally have time to update this blog...)
Huge thanks to our friends and family who prayed for us yesterday and continue to do so. We know that the Lord will bring Eliaya into the world at the precise time He's already decided. Please pray that we would not give in to worry and would be prepared (well, as prepared as first time parents can be). Pray for Jarrod also, when we got home from the hospital he went on a bit of a freak-out about all the things we still have to do to get ready for her. It took some persuasion to convince him he didn't have to go on a midnight diaper run yet :) He is so excited about becoming a father, I praise the Lord for giving me a husband who loves me and wants to serve our family as Christ serves the church.
Well, thanks for reading! We pray the priestly blessing found in Numbers 6 for you all:
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26 ESV)
Love,
the Reeds
Recap of the past few weeks:
We had an absolutely WONDERFUL time in Florida back in January. Jarrod was so excited to pack up and leave that when I got home from my last shift at work, he was pacing in the living room, car packed and shoes on ready to go right then as opposed to our plan on leaving early the next morning. Sweet man, he drove the majority of the way purely on adrenaline I think :)
Spent the last of our time in the sunshine state with Gainesville friends and family. It was so enjoyable! It was amazing to see my little nephews for the first time, they're already getting so big! We had a great Sunday at Westside and really enjoyed hearing all that the Lord is doing in that family of believers. Jarrod was given the opportunity to preach Sunday night and spoke about Biblical family. That's an area we've been learning and growing so much in the past few months. It's really incredible, and disgusting, the depth and spread of the lies regarding family we've accepted from culture without even realizing it. Please pray for us that we would continue to reassess our beliefs, examining where they come from, and replacing lies with the truth of Scripture. We want to value family with the passion that the Lord does.
Okay, so after Florida trip we made it back and Jarrod hit the ground running with a J-term class on the Psalms. He absolutely loved it. And it was really helpful for me: we've learned how to read the psalms, no longer seeing them as eventually becoming repetitive and vague, but as very detailed accounts of the emotions David and the other writers went through at very specific times! There's so much more about the Word I have to learn.
 |
| 31 weeks |
Long story short, I was hooked up to monitors, the contractions continued, and got a few doses of tocolytics (meds to stop contractions). When those didn't knock them out entirely, we decided I should go on some more long-term meds to keep them under control. Praise the Lord, Eliaya looked great on the monitor, I've not dilated at all, and we were sent home with orders to take it easy for a few days (hence how I finally have time to update this blog...)
Well, thanks for reading! We pray the priestly blessing found in Numbers 6 for you all:
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26 ESV)
Love,
the Reeds
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