let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..

..as long as I can still shovel myself out once a week, bring it on!! We've gotten over a foot of snow in the last few days and Derick even got a snow day! I was so thankful it gave me time to do all of the deep cleaning that needed to be done while trinity kept him from getting any of his work done :) Now that I have clean baseboards and floors, a clean bathroom and all of my laundry done I can stand to hang out in this place for a few more days! Last night Derick took us to dinner to get us out of the house and it was wonderful but we made the mistake of letting the baby sleep thru dinner. She is staying up more and more everyday and wouldn't you know a few moments after mom put her head down on the pillow trinity decided it was party time! I didn't get a chance to lay back down until 2:18 am ((yes, out of frustration I looked at the clock on my way to bed!)) I finally got her to sleep after singing her a new song over and over..it went "mama wants a happy baby, when you cry it drives me crazy!" after about the 20th time thru she finally got bored and fell asleep. Thank God! I am trying to transition trinity into her bed, up until this point she has been sleeping in our bed and she refuses to sleep on her belly or in her bed alone. If we wrap her up reaaaally tight sometimes I can get lucky and get her into her bed a few hours a night and at this point I will take what I can get! :) We have finally fought off most of our colds and I am feeling much better, Trin still sounds stuffy at night but she sounds perfectly fine during the day..Dr.Kinnamon says she is perfectly healthy and gaining weight well! Her next doctor's appointment is on Feb. 10th.

sniffle, sniffle..

Last night was a difficult one, Trinity started sounding SO congested and it made me so nervous! Her nose was clear and there was nothing I could do but feed her and watch her sleep. I was so nervous that she would stop breathing in her sleep that I didn't sleep much myself. We made it thru the night and she sounds much better this morning, I have been taking her temp often and she hasn't had a fever at all. She is acting normal, eating, sleeping, and pottying normally.. We had a wonderful weight check at the pediatrician Trinity is now 6lbs 7oz! She got back to her birth weight plus some, so we no longer have to wake her up to feed her!! It is snowing here today and I am less than thrilled about it being so cold, we had a few days where it creeped up into the 40s and I am really looking forward to spring!! I can't believe Trin is 2 weeks old, time is flying by so fast..too bad I don't get 6 months maternity leave!!

Mama is sick..

Well, my mom told me I better stay in out of the cold but the cabin fever got the best of me and here I am, 12 days post-delivery with a horrible horrible cold! I sure hope Trinity gets a better set of ears :) The difficult part about being sick (other than the inconvenience of not feeling well) is that while breast feeding there aren't a lot of medicines that I can take that won't affect the baby or my milk, so lots of vitamin C and water for me! I uploaded a lot more pictures today so be sure to click on some to the side and take a peak!! I have been keeping up with taking pictures for my 365 project but I am slacking on uploading them in a timely manner. I'm sure I will get better when I am getting more sleep :) Trinity has worked herself into a routine at night we are up at 12, 2, 4, 6, and 8. like clock-work. I will be so thankful when a few of those night-time wake ups drop off but that also means my baby is growing up so I guess for now the sleep deprivation isn't all that bad!! I can't believe it has already been nearly 2 weeks I think time speeds up when you have a child! I ordered birth announcements that a friend had designed for us as a gift, they came in the mail today and I was SO excited to get them in so I could share them with all of you and wouldn't you know- our jealous dog ripped them to shreds (she has never torn anything up before!) Of course with my hormones still on a roller coaster I had to call mom and cry until Dave offered to order new ones for me if it would stop the next few tears.... I guess even when you have a baby girl you never stop being the baby girl! Well, I just wanted to post a little update, I'll close with this picture Grandma Skinner took of Trinity for my nanny.....do you see that hint of red in her hair?! you better not have prayed a red-head on me nanny!! I love you all!

my child is touched by God..

I want to start this post by thanking everyone for their prayers. I believe that God has his hand firmly on Trinity, every problem or concern that has risen in the last week has been quickly solved with little to no effort on my part. Never in my life have I ever seen prayers so quickly answered, Trinity is now off of her billi blanket for good, no more heel pricks! Her score is now 13.1 and we are working ourselves into a steady feeding routine. I give all glory and thanks to God. Trinity had her first pediatrician appointment Wednesday and it went WONDERFULLY. The doctors had warned me that she might lose 10% of her body weight in the first week and I am so happy to say that trinity only lost a few ounces! Her weight was 6lbs 1oz. The doctor let us know that as soon as she gains her 4 oz back we can stop waking her up for feedings and I really like the sound of that! :) Trin's next doctors appointment is on the 22nd, we really like the staff at the pediatricians office they were very supportive and gave us lots of good information, I look forward to sharing Trinity's health with them. Here are a few pictures from our visit. We love you!

It's official, I'm a mommy!

There really aren't words to describe the last few days of my life, it will most certainly never be the same. Trinity came into the world and it has seemed like time has just stopped. Our lives will forever be changed, yet now that she is here I can't remember things ever being any different. My daughter truly is a gift from God, and I feel so extremely blessed that he chose me to be her mother. I apologize for not posting sooner but as you can imagine the last few days have just been a roller coaster, I wouldn't have made it without my family and friends. My mom came home with us from the hospital and has stayed with us the last few days, wearing herself out taking care of the house, staying up at night with me and the baby and jumping at my every gasp- even when they aren't for anything more than a little bit more than a tablespoon of spit-up ((I was worried that this was a "throw-up"...who really knows the difference!)). I have confidence that I will become a good mother because I have truly learned from the best. Trinity has had so many visitors and she has so much love in her life, and for that I thank God. As soon as I can sit down with a big box of tissues I plan on writing out her birth story and sharing it with all of you because there truly is a testimony to be shared. We were released from the hospital Sunday afternoon and snuggled in at home, Monday we had to return back to the hospital to have the baby's blood tested. She was diagnosed with Jaundice and her scores went up a little. When we got home the pediatrician ordered her to lay on a billi blanket, and boy for the first time I felt the real sting of being a mother. I have heard my mom say so many times "someday you will be a mom and you will understand" and now I do. It hurt to know that she was ill and there was nothing I could do. Grandma Vicki came over Monday night and prayed over her and for me to gain confidence and trust in her doctors. Today we went back to the hospital for another draw and her levels had gone down .2 points, not enough to get her off of the blanket but enough to keep her home and safe with her family and I am so thankful for that. Trinity will be going to the pediatrician that Aunt Crystal works for and her first appointment is tomorrow at 11:15am. I am so excited that my sister will be there for all of Trinity's care, nothing like knowing that your doctor's office is personally and emotionally invested in their patient! I will be updating again after her doctors appointment. Thank you all for your love and support!!

more pics of trinity and family.

Pics of trinity

Grandpa Jay
Uncle Mike
Cousin Katie
Uncle Aaron
Aunt Crystal

There are more to come.

-D

Trinity is in our lives for real

Trinity Noel Clements was born at 11:55a.m. on 1/9/09. She was 20.5 inches long and weighed 6lbs 5oz. Mom and baby are both fine and learning to adjust to the new world we are all apart of. We will add photos and more info as they come in. Thanks to all of you who prayed for us and for all of your kind words and support.

-D

Maybe a baby for lunch?

That is what we are thinking may be the prognosis. Water has broken and Shonda is resting and waiting for the push to come. WE are on the verge of a breakthrough and family and friends alike are waiting and praying as we await the arrival of the most beautiful girl in the womb!

-D

"Epidural!!!!!!!"

Mama worked so hard and I am so proud of her. She worked through 5cm in 5 hours without pitocin, or an epidural. Mama is now resting after an epidural and we are all getting prepared for the rest of the labor.
Family is now slowly arriving and we are all anxiously awaiting Trinity's arrival.

-D

"It Hurts!"

We are in it for real. Shonda is doing great without pitocin, or an epidural. We are in the tub for a second round and Shonda is at 4to5cm.

PS That chair sucked!

-D

looking pretty good...

We had a scare around 1:30am the baby wasn't tolerating the contractions being back to back. The nurse started IV fluids and came back at 3 to check again. My contractions are coming strong and steady. She said we had made it to 4cm!! :D She is pleased with the progress I am making on my own and decided to give me another hour before giving any more medication. Please continue to pray for us but so far looking good!!!

Walk number 2 and 3 cm

Plenty of family have been in and out, and plenty of prayers are going up.
We just came back from our second walk and we are on dose number 2 of cyotec. We are 3 cm along and are hoping for 4 to 5 by 3 am. Our next dose and check up will come at that time.
We will keep you up to date as things develop.

We are on our way.

-D

ready...set...go!

Okay so I know I have been begging and praying this baby out but when the doctor told us to be at the hospital at 6:30pm tonight I really wanted to say..okay God..I was just joking, not yet, it really is cold!!

We had a doctor's appointment this morning with an ultrasound first, the baby's heartbeat was fine around 140bpm. She is head down and seems to be very happy. When we met with the doctor she seemed very concerned. When we had our ultrasound a few months ago Trinity was in the 40% for growth and the doctor says she expects the baby to stay in that percentile for the duration of the pregnancy. However, when we had the scan today the baby had dropped down to 10% - she isn't growing anymore. The doctor doesn't know why she isn't growing anymore, it could be issues with my placenta or various other things but she says that the baby is just done and is showing signs of stress and they want to get her out as soon as possible. I am very nervous and scared and would appreciate prayers. The game plan is for us to check-in to the hospital tonight, they will do blood work as soon as I check in. They will start the induction process when the bloodwork comes back and we will see how we progress from there! I will post as much as I can and will have Derick take over later. We know family members will be watching so we will post as much as we can!! We love you all very much!!

project 365

2009 will be by far the most exciting year of my life, with the birth of the baby everyday will be new and exciting (and sometimes stressful.) I typically do not make new years resolutions as I am always quick to break them. However, this year I am going to try something a little bit different. The wonderful mama's on the mommy message board that I have joined has introduced me to a new kind of challenge. Project 365, this "project" challenges me to take a picture a day for an entire year. The pictures do not have to be on anything in particular nor do they have to be spectacular. Most will not be edited or touched up they will simply be something that catches my eye (expect to see a lot of trin after her birthday as she will be my most prized subject!). I have chosen to set up a different page for my photo project so I am not cluttering up the baby's blog. If you would like to view my pictures you can do so by clicking on them on the right hand side.. -------> over there. :) For giggles I will share my first picture here as well. 

1/365: My first snapshot is of D, he has recently taken interest in several comic books and can't seem to put this one down. enjoy and I hope I can keep up with this, I think it would be amazingly rewarding to look back at year day by day.