Sorry I didn't write yesterday. Momma was very busy and didn't have a chance to help me. So, I think I like my new sister. Ruth is very soft and cuddly. She has eyes and a nose and hands. I like to play with her hands and her feet. She smiles and talks to me when I hold her. She only cries when other people have her. I think she likes me too. I like to give her hugs and kisses. Today I held her and we watched Jungle Book together, until Momma took her away. I don't like that, I mean I had the baby first, who said she could take Ruth?
Ruth,Today you are one week old, and what a tiring week it has been. At your check up today you were back up in weight to 7 lbs 10 oz. When you were born you weighed 8 lbs even, on Sunday afternoon you weighed in at 7 lbs 7 oz, and then on Wednesday at your doctor's appointment you only weighed 7 lbs. The doctor was concerned because you had lost more than 10% of your birth weight and ordered us to immediately carry you back up to the hospital for 48 hours of monitoring and an IV. I was scared to death, I went in expecting a routine check up and it was anything but. Your always calm Daddy was sure that there was nothing wrong because you had just gotten a little bit of a slow start with breast feeding and everything else was good. Many prayers were offered up for you, and thankfully he was right. You have only spent two days out of the hospital since you got here, and we've spent those days at Me-maw and Mister's house, so I can't say that we have any sort of routine or semblance of normal yet.
We have learned that you don't like to sleep on your back, and that putting you on your side means better and longer sleep for everyone. You prefer your left side to the right. You also have the habit of pulling your blanket up almost completely over your head, and you get very aggravated when I move it back down and tuck it in.
You might be even more mellow than Britt. Other than the tough time they had getting an IV in your little hand, you haven't fussed much at all. Of course, most of the day you are asleep, very different from your big brother who was super alert all the time. Britt loves you, he randomly comes up to you during the day and pats you and says "baby", he goes to you when we ask him where our baby is or where's Ruth. He can't seem to give you enough hugs and kisses. Today for the first time the four of us were all in the car together and went to town. It seemed odd to have two car seats in the car and juggling more stuff. I haven't gotten use to the fact that there are four of us now.
Your Daddy and I love you very much and are so thankful that you are finally here safe, sound, and healthy.
Love,
Momma
11:16 PM
1 random thoughts
Lots of exciting new things have happened since I last wrote: I tried to watch Uncle James and Mister slaughter a pig (but Memaw wouldn't let me out of the house), I got a new baby sister (she doesn't do much), and best of all I went to a Tampa Bay Rays game! Mister got tickets for everyone in the family from work, so Sunday afternoon we all went down to the Sundome. 
Mister was awesome, he carried me all the way to the stadium and I didn't have to walk ANY! On the way, there was a nice man who was giving free hats to all the kids. I don't normally like hats that much, but I wore this one for about 30 minutes until we got settled in our seats.
The people sitting behind us were very interesting, infact they might have been the most interesting part of the whole day. The guy was eatting raw peanuts. I stood there looking over the edge of the seat and watched him hold them up and break them, and then as he dumped them out of the shell in his lap to eat them, I would slide up and look over from a little higher. After a while, he gave Daddy a few of them for me to eat, but I didn't want them. I just liked watching him crack them open. I watched him for a long time.
You know what else was interesting? They gave us all free cow bells! Lilli and I sat together and rang our cowbells and clapped when everyone clapped. It was loud and exciting! I'm not sure why we were clapping most of the time... though we did clap after they sang a song at the beginning of the game. I know you are suppose to clap after music.
Mister, Me-maw, Aunt Amanda, Aunt Joan, Lilli, Uncle James, Aunt Heather, Daddy, and me all were at the game together. Momma was going to come, but they wouldn't let her. She hated to miss it, after all she likes baseball. She also said she would have liked to have seen all the exciting things I told her about. One final picture before I go, I thought you would like to see me and Lilli practicing our serious faces. Sometimes we have to be serious like Mister.
Mister was awesome, he carried me all the way to the stadium and I didn't have to walk ANY! On the way, there was a nice man who was giving free hats to all the kids. I don't normally like hats that much, but I wore this one for about 30 minutes until we got settled in our seats.The people sitting behind us were very interesting, infact they might have been the most interesting part of the whole day. The guy was eatting raw peanuts. I stood there looking over the edge of the seat and watched him hold them up and break them, and then as he dumped them out of the shell in his lap to eat them, I would slide up and look over from a little higher. After a while, he gave Daddy a few of them for me to eat, but I didn't want them. I just liked watching him crack them open. I watched him for a long time.You know what else was interesting? They gave us all free cow bells! Lilli and I sat together and rang our cowbells and clapped when everyone clapped. It was loud and exciting! I'm not sure why we were clapping most of the time... though we did clap after they sang a song at the beginning of the game. I know you are suppose to clap after music.Mister, Me-maw, Aunt Amanda, Aunt Joan, Lilli, Uncle James, Aunt Heather, Daddy, and me all were at the game together. Momma was going to come, but they wouldn't let her. She hated to miss it, after all she likes baseball. She also said she would have liked to have seen all the exciting things I told her about. One final picture before I go, I thought you would like to see me and Lilli practicing our serious faces. Sometimes we have to be serious like Mister.
8:13 AM
No random thoughts
Today at 1:59, our little girl made her entrance into the world. Ashley Ruth weighed in a 8 lbs even and 19 1/2 inches (it's frightful to think what she might have weighed on her due date in 2 1/2 more weeks). She is definately a Cunningham baby, she has the same ears, checks, and shape that Gary and Britt have. However, she has a much broader nose and differently shaped eyes, not sure where that came from. She has a headful of dark brown hair like Gary, like I pictured, and some VERY dark blue eyes like Gary imagined. So far she has been very laid back and mellow. She started eatting as soon as they gave her to me, and has nursed like a champ all day, eatting for 30 to 40 minutes at a time, much quicker than Britt did. She isn't very talkative yet, only fussed once after the nurse came in with all the lights and woke her up for a 4th time in a row. She wasn't alert like Britt and only after several hours could we coax her into opening her eyes up for us to see them. We feel very blessed tonight.
9:00 PM
2
random thoughts
We are officially full-term! In the few weeks (or days) left before we deliver, Ruth might add up to 14 grams of fat a day. At the same time, some of my amniotic fluid is starting to be reabsorbed by my tissues, slightly decreasing the fluid around your baby. It makes it feel as though she is moving less, but actually they tell me she's just as active as before.
As everything stretches, more light will permeate my belly, and she will move her eyes toward it. Her other senses are also getting better and stronger. She can hear and recognize mine and Gary's voice. Once she's born she'll turn her head in our direction when she hears us speak. She knows her Momma and Daddy already! Her fingers are also becoming more coordinated. She can grasp her face or toes. And after birth she'll be able to tightly grab a finger.
It's harder than ever to get comfortable enough to sleep any at night, let alone well. I can't wait to see what she looks like and to see how she acts. And hopefully we will be able to see all of that very soon. At our check up today we were at station -2, 40% effaced, and dialated to a 3 1/2 maybe 4. She then stripped my membrance in hopes that I'll go into labor in the next few days. It has definately made for stronger more frequent contractions, lets hope it does the trick.
As everything stretches, more light will permeate my belly, and she will move her eyes toward it. Her other senses are also getting better and stronger. She can hear and recognize mine and Gary's voice. Once she's born she'll turn her head in our direction when she hears us speak. She knows her Momma and Daddy already! Her fingers are also becoming more coordinated. She can grasp her face or toes. And after birth she'll be able to tightly grab a finger.
It's harder than ever to get comfortable enough to sleep any at night, let alone well. I can't wait to see what she looks like and to see how she acts. And hopefully we will be able to see all of that very soon. At our check up today we were at station -2, 40% effaced, and dialated to a 3 1/2 maybe 4. She then stripped my membrance in hopes that I'll go into labor in the next few days. It has definately made for stronger more frequent contractions, lets hope it does the trick.
5:02 PM
2
random thoughts
On Saturday, Momma, Daddy, and I all rode in the car down from Gainesville to Lithia to visit the family. Daddy was very excited to be finished with school for a couple of weeks, and Momma is very excited to be about done being pregnant, and I'm just excited.
We spent a few nights with Granna and Granddaddy, where I danced to lots of bluegrass music and watched a bunch of Westerns with Granddaddy. Granna isn't doing very well, so we didn't get to play much, but I gave her some hugs so that she would feel better.
Today though, we met all my cousins down at Lithia Springs to go swimming. It was very exciting because it had been a long time since most everyone had been and us kiddos had never been.
The water was really cold there, and I didn't really like it. After alot of coaxing I walked out almost waist high with Momma, and then I went under with Daddy. It wasn't nice and warm like the pool though. Since I was so cold Memaw took pity on me and carried me back over to the one little bit of the beach that wasn't under the water. There was a nice little girl there that let us all play with her toys. She got to play with Lilli's duck so it was a fair trade.
Afterward we all came back to Memaw and Mister's house (where we are going to spend the night a few nights) and me, and Lilli, and Brystal, and Julia all ate McDonald's kid's meals since today they were on sale. Then we took long naps... well I took a long nap. It was a busy morning after all.
We spent a few nights with Granna and Granddaddy, where I danced to lots of bluegrass music and watched a bunch of Westerns with Granddaddy. Granna isn't doing very well, so we didn't get to play much, but I gave her some hugs so that she would feel better.
Today though, we met all my cousins down at Lithia Springs to go swimming. It was very exciting because it had been a long time since most everyone had been and us kiddos had never been.
The water was really cold there, and I didn't really like it. After alot of coaxing I walked out almost waist high with Momma, and then I went under with Daddy. It wasn't nice and warm like the pool though. Since I was so cold Memaw took pity on me and carried me back over to the one little bit of the beach that wasn't under the water. There was a nice little girl there that let us all play with her toys. She got to play with Lilli's duck so it was a fair trade.
Afterward we all came back to Memaw and Mister's house (where we are going to spend the night a few nights) and me, and Lilli, and Brystal, and Julia all ate McDonald's kid's meals since today they were on sale. Then we took long naps... well I took a long nap. It was a busy morning after all.
6:13 PM
No random thoughts
Well today makes for 36 weeks with Ruth. Only 4 weeks to go. From here on out weight and length are a guess, but she is probably averaging around 19 inches and nearly 6 pounds. She's taking up enough space that I can't eat a full meal, but at the same time I feel like I'm starving every few hours. The good news is while she continues to gain weight in fat until she gets here I might not gain much if any more. A pound a week tops.
She has been able to suck on her thumb for a little while now, but she's finally able to nurse now, since her gums have become hard and ridged in the last week. In fact, the only thing that isn't fully mature yet is her lungs. Though, it's mature enough to function if she were to be born today. By next week she they will be completely matured. Our midwife, Lauren told us today that if she were to be born this week, that there would most likely be no complications, but that they would want us to stay 48 hrs just in case, whereas next week if we had her then we could leave after 12 hours if we really wanted to.
The placenta is taking more and more of a backseat these days. It doesn't produce that many hormones now that your Ruth's system is doing most of that without help now. One really neat thing about this week is that she is getting more and more antibodies through the umblicial cord from me; they can protect her from whooping cough, mumps, measles, and even mundane coughs and flu. She's stocking up on these immunities, since her own immune system won't be fully functional till around 3 months.
Most babies drop this week into the birth canal, I'm pretty sure that Ruth has since I'm not feeling her under my ribs as much now as I was. She's measuring in at station -3, meaning that she's now engaged in my pelvis, but not down so low that I'm waddling. The exciting news is that I'm 40% effaced and dialated to a 2. Lauren doesn't think that Ruth will arrive this week, but said at this rate next week is looking good. I've told Gary one more week I can do, four more weeks I'm not so sure about.
The midwife told us to plan on taking it very easy this week, in fact her words were to do as little as possible (score for me, Gary says boo), since we've been having some regular (those short and spaced out) contractions in the last week. So we plan to lay around the house, go to the beach on Sunday with some friends, and generally enjoy this next week.
She has been able to suck on her thumb for a little while now, but she's finally able to nurse now, since her gums have become hard and ridged in the last week. In fact, the only thing that isn't fully mature yet is her lungs. Though, it's mature enough to function if she were to be born today. By next week she they will be completely matured. Our midwife, Lauren told us today that if she were to be born this week, that there would most likely be no complications, but that they would want us to stay 48 hrs just in case, whereas next week if we had her then we could leave after 12 hours if we really wanted to.
The placenta is taking more and more of a backseat these days. It doesn't produce that many hormones now that your Ruth's system is doing most of that without help now. One really neat thing about this week is that she is getting more and more antibodies through the umblicial cord from me; they can protect her from whooping cough, mumps, measles, and even mundane coughs and flu. She's stocking up on these immunities, since her own immune system won't be fully functional till around 3 months.
Most babies drop this week into the birth canal, I'm pretty sure that Ruth has since I'm not feeling her under my ribs as much now as I was. She's measuring in at station -3, meaning that she's now engaged in my pelvis, but not down so low that I'm waddling. The exciting news is that I'm 40% effaced and dialated to a 2. Lauren doesn't think that Ruth will arrive this week, but said at this rate next week is looking good. I've told Gary one more week I can do, four more weeks I'm not so sure about.
The midwife told us to plan on taking it very easy this week, in fact her words were to do as little as possible (score for me, Gary says boo), since we've been having some regular (those short and spaced out) contractions in the last week. So we plan to lay around the house, go to the beach on Sunday with some friends, and generally enjoy this next week.
7:59 PM
No random thoughts
I like to dance. I dance to all sorts of music - country, classical, easy listening. I especially like any song with a fiddle in it. I can pick out fiddles from a mile away. I don't just bounce now, I step and sway and twist. I think I have some pretty spectacular dance moves, if I say so myself...
2:11 PM
No random thoughts
Britt,
You are now 18 months old. You will have your check up next Wednesday, but according to the scale at Publix you are weighing in at 25 1/2 lbs, and you are now taller than Lilli. You are a bundle of energy 24/7. You have far more energy than your Momma does these days. Outside is still your favorite place to be, but due to the heat we don't go out every day. The pool is quickly becoming our favorite hang out place. You love it when Daddy dunks you, and you like to kick/swim around with a little help from me of course. You are getting pretty good at climbing up and down the stairs, though you still don't like to go down them by yourself. It's about the only thing that you show any reservation.
You are talking more, trying to mimic lots of words, and picking out more and more words in songs to repeat. For the most part they still aren't recognizable to anyone but me and Daddy. "Thplags" or flags are one of your favorite things to pick out as we drive around town. You point out lots of different things to us, but still don't have real words for most of them yet. You would still have us read to you all day if we would. I'm so glad that you enjoy reading, but gosh I get tired of reading the same books over and over. You especially like your "Winnie the Pooh: Opposites" book. Your favorite page has Eeyore on it and on one side he is sad and on the other side he is happy. You love to grin and shout happy at the top of your lungs. We listen to music alot each day, and you love to dance and make sing-song noises. Your favorite cd is probably "Return to the House at Pooh Corner" and you ask to listen to "Pooh." You repeat several of the words in it and get excited once it's over asking me to start it again.
You get frustrated so easily when you can't seem to make something work the way you think it should, hopefully some of that will get better when you can ask for help instead of just sobbing as if the world is ending. I see alot of my impatience in you these days, each morning if you don't think we are up soon enough, you stand in your bed and call "Dada" over and over at the top of your lungs. Then grin and run away to the other side of the bed like the stinker you are when he goes in to get you.
The only other note is that I think you are about ready to start potty training. That is one part of babyhood that I won't regret to see go in the least. You are interested in what everyone is doing in there and aren't satisfied until you look inside the toilet and flush it for us. You also come to me tugging on your diaper when it's wet and you are in need of a new one, so maybe you are about ready. I'm hoping to start that in a few months after the newness of a baby in the house wears off for you a little bit.
You will always be my first, and even though you really aren't a baby anymore, you will always be my baby. I hope you always know how much your Daddy and I love you.
Love,
Momma
You are now 18 months old. You will have your check up next Wednesday, but according to the scale at Publix you are weighing in at 25 1/2 lbs, and you are now taller than Lilli. You are a bundle of energy 24/7. You have far more energy than your Momma does these days. Outside is still your favorite place to be, but due to the heat we don't go out every day. The pool is quickly becoming our favorite hang out place. You love it when Daddy dunks you, and you like to kick/swim around with a little help from me of course. You are getting pretty good at climbing up and down the stairs, though you still don't like to go down them by yourself. It's about the only thing that you show any reservation.
You are talking more, trying to mimic lots of words, and picking out more and more words in songs to repeat. For the most part they still aren't recognizable to anyone but me and Daddy. "Thplags" or flags are one of your favorite things to pick out as we drive around town. You point out lots of different things to us, but still don't have real words for most of them yet. You would still have us read to you all day if we would. I'm so glad that you enjoy reading, but gosh I get tired of reading the same books over and over. You especially like your "Winnie the Pooh: Opposites" book. Your favorite page has Eeyore on it and on one side he is sad and on the other side he is happy. You love to grin and shout happy at the top of your lungs. We listen to music alot each day, and you love to dance and make sing-song noises. Your favorite cd is probably "Return to the House at Pooh Corner" and you ask to listen to "Pooh." You repeat several of the words in it and get excited once it's over asking me to start it again.
You get frustrated so easily when you can't seem to make something work the way you think it should, hopefully some of that will get better when you can ask for help instead of just sobbing as if the world is ending. I see alot of my impatience in you these days, each morning if you don't think we are up soon enough, you stand in your bed and call "Dada" over and over at the top of your lungs. Then grin and run away to the other side of the bed like the stinker you are when he goes in to get you.
The only other note is that I think you are about ready to start potty training. That is one part of babyhood that I won't regret to see go in the least. You are interested in what everyone is doing in there and aren't satisfied until you look inside the toilet and flush it for us. You also come to me tugging on your diaper when it's wet and you are in need of a new one, so maybe you are about ready. I'm hoping to start that in a few months after the newness of a baby in the house wears off for you a little bit.
You will always be my first, and even though you really aren't a baby anymore, you will always be my baby. I hope you always know how much your Daddy and I love you.
Love,
Momma
10:51 AM
No random thoughts