My Boy Gage Westley

As most of you know, Gage Westley Byerly was born on June 13th 2012 at 15:00 on a lovely sunny day.  He weighed 7lbs. 8oz. and measured 20in. long. We are so thankful that Gage came before my scheduled induction date. We are thankful to all of our friends and family for the many prayers regarding a safe delivery and healthy baby. I must say that labor was indeed a painful experience, but all is forgotten and was worth enduring for my little Gage. I already cannot imagine life without my little love. Granted  there are times when I feel like I am ready to break emotionally and physically, but then I am gifted a sweet look from my baby boy or that moment when he can only be calmed by me and melts in my arms, and that always thrills my heart and strengthens me in every way. I am also so blessed to have an amazing best friend, love, and husband. Bright Eyes has been an encouragement to me through the entire pregnancy, labor, and now the first weeks of being a new parent. He is honest , he helps me to pull through the hard stuff and he loves me, and has faith in me even when I am frazzled and unsure of my mothering skills. I have two great guys, and of course a great dog who has also been very accepting of the new changes and baby Gage Westley.

1 Day From Gage's Due Date

Deep Purple Cuckoo Clock painting by: Anniepoon Etsy.com

We are one day away from D-day and I don't think he will be here tomorrow. But he could surprise me . I have another doctors appointment on Wednesday the 6th. Gage had an ultrasound last week and at that time they roughly estimated his weight to be 7 lbs. 7 oz. with a standard  issue sized head. His movements are considerably getting more painful and my ribs and bladder would appreciate it if Gage would make his appearance soon. My husband's mom is here for three weeks and she talks to Gage occasionally , and has nicely asked him to come as soon as possible to see her. My husband made a request this morning for him to wait about 5 days because of a work related issue. And my mom asks me if I am calling from the hospital every time I ring her up. Yes the waiting game has started and hopefully will not last long. Bags are packed the crib is ready, car seat installed, baby things washed, diapers and wipes are sufficiently stockpiled....... and the clock keeps tick tick ticking until Gage arrives.

35 Weeks

How far along? I am 35 weeks

Total Weight Gain? I was 124 when I started and now I am at 138 although I do not have a scale so I am going off of my last weight measurement at the docs office. I have an appointment next week so I will update you then.

Maternity Clothes? I have not bought any maternity clothing, I often wear stretchy regular not maternity Old Navy jean skirts and layered stretchy tanks and hoodies... hoodies because it is still rather chilly here at times. For church again I wear my jean skirts , Old Navy foldover skirts , or a maxi dress with an empire waist.

Stretch Marks? No not yet, but I am sure in these last few weeks a few will show up..... after all you can only stretch so far.

Sleep? This subject is touchy, some nights I sleep like a rock, but more often I have quite a bit of hip pain so I have a hard time getting to sleep. I welcome the hip pain hoping that it means my body is just getting ready to birth this baby more easily.

Best Moment This Week? We set up the crib!! My husband picked it out all by himself . We should be getting the crib bedding set next Wednesday so at that time I will post pics.

Miss Anything? I miss being able to bend over easily, I am really not that big so I can still bend over but when I do bend over my sweet little Gage compresses my lungs resulting in shortness of breath.

Movement? I literally got scared yesterday. He was kicking so hard you could see a limb protruding, the scary part was he kept doing it over and over rapidly.... I felt like he was going to bust out. Then afterward I laughed at how scared it made me.

Food Cravings? Red, Green and Yellow Bell Peppers the taste but mostly the smell of them..... and Oranges

Anything Making you Queasy or Sick? No

Gender? Still a boy, we may get another ultrasound before he makes his appearance and at that point I will ask again.

Symptoms? Just the hip pain, I have been pretty blessed this pregnancy and have not had any major problems or discomfort.

Belly Button In or Out? Flat.... just flat, my husband Bright Eyes feels it and says " That is so Weird and Smooth!"

Wedding Rings On or Off? On and still very loose, I haven't gained any weight in my arms, hands, legs, or behind... In fact the opposite my arms and legs have gotten thinner so I have just tummy.

Happy or Moody? Half and half at this point, the thought of how little time we have to get ready for Gage's arrival sometimes gets to me. But we are doing a new sunday school class on Joy and that is helping me view things differently.

Looking Forward To? Summer Months with the new baby and seeing my mother in law , Bright Eyes and my baby together.... That will be just neat.

Babies and Trusting in God's Plans

Scripture Art is from Etsy.com Shop: artbyerinleigh

First I want to say sorry for not posting in a while. We have been so busy cramming all that needs to be done into the 5 weeks before Gage gets here. I have finally come out of my denial and realized that Gage will be here regardless of if we are ready or not! So we have our hospital bags mostly packed, we installed the car seat in the car on Sunday, my husband did an awesome job of picking out and buying a crib and mattress all on his own yesterday. Last night the purchased crib was assembled and we picked out and ordered a crib bedding set that should arrive soon. I will post pictures of Bright Eyes setting up the crib as well as the finshed product as soon as we get the bedding set to pretty it up. But through all of this preparation I have often had another Baby on my mind as well. I have a friend from church named Marie who just gave birth to a baby boy named Joshua. Baby Joshua has been born with cancer, a rapidly growing form of cancer. Joshua is receiving chemo treatments , his name is special name to his family and as far as I know he is being a standing strong, and being a fighter just like Joshua in the Bible. His parents are also taking a queue from the Biblical Joshua and putting their complete faith in the Lord's plan for Baby Joshua's life. It is an inspiration to see the trust this family has in the Lord. I thank Baby Joshua's family because in a way this family has helped me come out of my fear of being a new mom. I realized that my worries and my fears are so petty compared to what Baby Joshua's family is going through, and if they can come out giving God all of the glory in whatever trial or worry their family faces, then I can do the same. Please if you took a moment to read this post, please take just one more moment to pray for Joshua and his Family.

Strolling Along

Yesterday we received an Expedition ELX jogging stroller system as a gift from our parents and younger sister, well actually Bright Eye's parents and sister but they are mine too. We had our eye on this stroller for quite some time and are truly thrilled to finally have it. My husband assembled it, of course. He is the Engineer so he should be able to. He actually pulled out the instructions and said " Those are for housewives" and promptly tossed them aside..... only to pick them up again later. It reminded me of how we have an instruction book for our lives, the Bible, handy at all times , and we are blessed to still have that freedom, yet like my husband did with the stroller instructions we tend to toss it aside. We may say "Those instructions don't pertain to modern day Christians" or "Who has time for instructions!". And also just as my husband had to pick up the instructions when he got lost, we as Christians can sometimes fall into a slump and only pick up our Bible when life gets confusing. I know this was suppose to be a stroller post but I needed to share what was on my mind, Bright Eyes and I had been in that slump, but thanks to the Lord and a supportive Pastor and his wife we are making a daily effort to get into our Bible privately and as a family. And trust me it is easier to read the instructions before you get lost and have to backtrack and repair damage that you have done. Proverbs 23:12 Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. So I was gifted a stroller and was also gifted a reminder of how we should always follow sound instruction from the Word of God. Yes,yesterday was a most lovely and blessed day.

                                         Nope!! I don't need these!

             My husband always being a dope for the camera!

Demonstrating the wrist runaway strap, He also demonstrated how you could trip fall and pull the   stroller down with you..... My husband the Engineer! It was quite comical cause he was screaming, Oh dear! My baby my baby! Are you ok baby!

Here is our practice baby, I have had this monkey since I was around 3, Bright Eye's grabbed it and squished it into the seat, twisting it by it's head a few times and then plucking it out by the head to check the straps underneath..... Poor BOBO that's the monkey's name.... Much practice is needed .

And with his Price is Right wave he displays his accomplishment!

Remington gets the job of reading the housewife instructions for the car seat.

                             This is Remy's don't let him stuff me in that basket look!
                                                                 Yes Bright Eyes did try!

                                        All finished and ready!

28 Weeks and A Photogenic Dog



Reminton Ran over and sat looking at the camera ... just 5 seconds before the timer went off.
He refuses to be ignored in this post.

How far along ? 28 weeks

Total weight gain? I was 124 when I got pregnant now I am at 130.

Maternity Clothes? No not really stretchy materials for my skirts and tops are still working.... for now  but probably not long.

Stretch Marks? Nope, none at this point.

Sleep? Not bad, I am sleeping much better than the last update post. Except I get nauseated when my husband rocks in his sleep. He rocks back and forth while sleeping and it is like being on a boat!

Best moment this week? When Bright Eye's and Gage played tag, Bright Eye's taps on my stomach and Gage tapped back in the same place.

Miss Anything? Being away from family during this time.

Movement? I think he will take up kickboxing one day.... pow pow pow on one side then at the same time on the other side kick kick kick..... so yes he is very active!

Food Cravings? Watermelon and Cucumbers

Anything make you queasy or sick? No , just when my husband rocks in his sleep and moves the bed.

Gender? All boy , we have many pics of how he is 100% boy.... I was going to frame his ultrasounds but so many of them are indecent! Ha ha... So I picked out a few of his cranium shots and filed the others.

Symptoms? Swollen taste buds....they drive me nuts but my dentist said to keep with my regiment of flossing and brushing twice a day and using mouthwash often during the day.

Belly Button In or Out? Flat it has converted to a flat button.

Wedding Rings On or Off? On and still very loose.... I find them in the dryer sometimes when I take out the clothes, they must fall off when I am grabbing the clothes.

Happy or Moody? My husband says moody for the most part.... sadly I believe him and have no excuse.

Looking Forward To? Adding more things to the nursery.... slowly but surely we will get all we need.

Prayer is for the little things too!

I recently had been stressing out about not having anything for the baby, not having anything in the babies room, and not even starting to get ready. I am due in June and was wondering how it is all going to come together. I got to the point where I just couldn't sleep I was thinking about it so much. Then I realized that I was trying to make all things happen through my own power. I hadn't been praying for help. No more than a week after I started asking the Lord for what I needed, He provided. A sweet, selfless and loving lady named Diane sent me a care package. And when I say care package I mean CARE! Because she put a lot of thought, a lot of love and a lot of care into the gift. What caught me off guard was the fact that I had only met this sweet lady once, and it was a quick hello and congratulations during our husbands Basic Training graduation. Granted I have talked to her a few times via facebook message , we still have touched base less than 10 times! Diane saw a need she understood the feelings of being in a new town away from family and she understood that I would be feeling even more alone without any friends to share my pregnancy with. She set out to make me feel loved and thought of and prayed for, and she accomplished that. I received Diane's gift a few days ago and it was like having my own tiny baby shower. Diane filled a very loveley and awesome baby bag with things such as wipes, breast milk storage bags, onesies,a pacifier clip and holder, a bottle insulator,a disposable scented diaper baggy dispenser with extra baggies, and a super soft blanket lined with satin. These gifts could not have come at a better time, I know that my prayer was answered , and I thank the Lord for Diane's sweet spirit and will be thankful to her for the love she has shown me and my family. And one day I pray I can be a blessing to another just as Diane has been to me. Oh and today's sunday school message was about praying for the little things! If we ask not we receive not!

I had a doctors appointment so I had to wait to open the bag till after!

I wanted to get home so badly to open it!! Like a kid in a candy store .

Here are all the gifts I pulled out.

Close ups of some of the nifty things Diane sent.

                                    This is pretty much all we havein the nursery right now.
                    Everything on the shelf is from Diane and the bouncer is from my Sister.