Attempting Radical

Just some updated photos…  :)

Us

The Mayhalls visit

My son whispering in Zoe's ear!

All hyped up for his walk at the park

How could you ever resist this face?!

Daddy is the expert swaddler!

Hello all!  Just a quick update… We are doing well with our little one.  He is getting so big!  He is almost 7 weeks old now and weighs a little over 10 lbs.  He is smiling a lot, but I don’t have any pics of that yet.  He has stone gray/blue eyes.  Though some nights are still rough, he is typically sleeping 5.5-6.5 hours.  Hallelujah!  So mommy now feels somewhat normal most days.  Here are some updated pics of (who we call) Stinker Bean…  :)

While I was pregnant Jason would sing to Noah through my belly button.  He wondered if Noah would recognize his voice once he was outside the womb.  Well, we are currently up at 2:15 am, just finishing a rather long, brand-new parent type of nursing session.  He nursed really well this time, which is good, since we leave the hospital tomorrow.  Jason is about to take Noah back to the nursery but wanted to calm his crying first, so he started singing to him (not for the first time since he’s been out).  Noah LOVES his daddy. Every time Jason talks and, especially when he sings, Noah immediately quits crying and just stares at him. Even though nursing hurts like crazy, I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced a sweeter moment than this one.

I am finally getting around to telling our story!…

Jason & I got to the hospital a little before midnight on Sunday.  We spent some time praying and talking and crying (me, of course), and then went in.  By 1 a.m. I was all “hooked up” and ready to go.  I started contracting around 4 a.m., and Dr Parker broke my water at 6:45.  Contractions got quite a bit harder at that point, as I was dilated to a 4.  I told the nurse I would be ready for the epidural fairly soon, and she told me she would ask for it, but that it would probably be an hour.  Well, 15 minutes later, I was already getting it.  It was wonderful!  It gave me the shakes for a while, but VERY small price to pay.   Around 10 am or so, Dr Parker was expressing concern for Noah’s heart rate, which was dropping during contractions.  Apparently he was compressing the cord.  Doc tried to reposition me a couple of times and watch the monitor off and on for about an hour.  Around 11 a.m. he told us that we needed to deliver Noah by c-section, because he didn’t want to risk the health of the baby.  I was quickly prepped and in the surgery room in no time.  Noah was born at 11:42 a.m.

I will never forget the anticipation as I lay on that surgical table.  I could tell they were getting close to having him out and then… he let out a cry!  The whole experience was beyond surreal.

He is picture-perfect.  Deep blue eyes (for now, at least), light brown wavy-ish hair, long fingers and toes, and a button nose.  He’s been great so far – very alert, very curious and observant.  He’s a bit of stinker at nursing, but he’s getting it more & more each time we try.

Jason & I are so grateful for all of you – tons of prayers, messages, and encouragement.  There is so much I’d like to say, but I think I’ve fallen asleep 15 times trying to get this post done.  Morphine will do it to ya!

Love to all, the THREE Pettetts 

If you look to the right of your computer screen, you will see a little blue elephant counting down the days until my due date.  Hmmm…. does anyone else think he looks like he’s going off the page? His left ear isn’t whole.  Right now it says 40 weeks and 4 days.  I remember telling MANY people that I absolutely would have Noah before Thanksgiving.  It’s one of those moments where you wish you would’ve kept your mouth shut.  I’m excellent at trying to control my life, and God is excellent at reminding me that I’d better not do that!  Anyway, three days or less and the elephant will be going BYE BYE.  Thank you, Lord, for teaching me patience… even when it hurts.  Literally.

What do you do when you’re almost 41 weeks pregnant and sick of reading, watching TV, and looking for Christmas presents online?  You bake!  Get out the ingredients, bowls & measuring cups.  Then drag a stool into the kitchen and sit at the counter to do the mixing (because standing for more than 5 minutes HURTS!). This morning I decided to bake pumpkin muffins.  For some reason I bought about 6 cans of pumpkin, so I’m trying to use it up!  I found this recipe, and it’s on the healthier side – which I love.  Whole wheat flour and no butter.  The one thing I might do differently next time is add pecans or dark chocolate chips to make them a little sweeter.  I just thought I’d share the recipe in case you’re wanting to use up your pumpkin as well… hope you enjoy them.

If your birthday is coming up or you think you might get clothes for Christmas, I would advise that you cut the price tags off before you wear them.  It’s NOT cool to keep them on.  At a birthday lunch today with my friends from Sherman, Pam decided to sport her price tag in the armpit of her spankin’ new green hoodie. To all of our delight, she was quite embarrassed (She deserved it!  She thrives on making fun of the rest of us!).  Anyway, we got a good laugh and thought it was blog-worthy.  Love you, Pammie.  :)

In my women’s Bible study we are doing an Andy Stanley study called “Breakaway.” This week he made a statement that greatly impacted (convicted?) me.  He said that, if we could all remember this one truth throughout our day, it would make a huge difference in our world.  The statement is this – “Every person you lay your eyes on is someone for whom Christ died.”  Typically, as humans, we ascribe value to those who give some value to us.  For instance, Andy said that, when someone introduces him and simply says, “This is Andy Stanley,” the person kindly says hello and shakes his hand.  But if “He is Charles Stanley’s son,” is added on to the introduction, the person meeting him seems overly joyful and steps a little closer to him, shaking his hand more adamantly (in some circles, Charles Stanley is quite famous). They obviously valued Andy more because of his father.

But to God, each person is equally valued.  No one person is more “famous.”  If we could see all people as deeply valued by God, maybe we would treat them differently. My parents have always treated people very kindly, so I learned this well from a young age.  Although sometimes I can, admittedly, still be critical and judgmental.  I loved this study… what a profound truth.  God doesn’t value John Travolta or John Piper or John from the street any differently, but would I be equally excited to spend time with any of these?  To whom would I express more kindness or attention?  

All people have extreme value to our Father.  He loves no one person more than the next.  I have tried to focus on that this week.  I hope to not lose sight of it.  I have so much to learn, but this is a big step. My life is meant to be lived to show people who Christ is.  The way I treat each person is a testimony to whom I follow.  If I am to represent Him well, I will see each person as He does – with utmost value.

I had a tough dr’s appt this morning.  Basically, Noah isn’t dropping at all… in fact, he’s really high up for a full-term baby.  Dr Parker doesn’t think Noah will go anywhere without inducing, and he wants me to be prepared for a possible c-section – not 100%, but very possible. He also told me that I can’t induce next week, on or near my due date, because all the spots are filled.

So – long story short – our options were to 1) induce tomorrow, 2) get on a waiting list for next week, or 3) schedule an induction for Dec 1, which is a week past my due date.  After a long day of discussing options of if/when to induce, etc, Jason & I have decided to let my body take its course and see what happens. Dr Parker doesn’t want me to go over a week past my due date, so we’ve scheduled an induction for Monday, Dec 1st, but are hoping Noah will come before then (preferably between now & next Tues, since doc will be gone for Thanksgiving next Wed – Sun).

It has been a long and emotional day for me.  God continues to teach me to trust Him!  This is not at all how I envisioned this process going, so it’s been hard. But I am very peaceful about the decision.  At least if we have to induce on Dec 1, we’ll know that we tried everything we could to let him come naturally.

Please pray for continued peace for us, and that my body will kick it into gear sometime between now & next Tuesday!

Thanks for your prayers… Casey

Just thought I would post some photos of the nursery.  We’re ready for you, baby!