Newborn Pictures

Here are a few pictures from the newborn session we had when Micah was 8 days old. We even got a few with my niece Addy. Enjoy!

Smoothie Queen

I have been quite the smoothie chef lately and wanted to share my concoctions with you. I usually make Roy and me a smoothie every day that practically has a days worth of fruits and vegetables. I made this recipe up myself so maybe I should copyright it. Haha :)


2 cups frozen fruit ( I use peaches, berries, melon, pineapple)

1/2 cup yogurt ( I use Activia Plain because it has the least amount of sugar)

2 cups of spinach ( I also sometimes chop up some cucumber or celery)

1/2 cup of orange juice (apple juice works great as well!)

2 tbsp of flax seed (TONS of health benefits from adding this and it has no flavor)



It is delicious!! This recipe makes enough for Roy and I to split.

Also, I have discovered a recipe for a yummy treat that I am just loving!

Banana Nutella Smoothie

1 ripe banana

1/2 cup of yogurt or milk

2 tbsp Nutella

Ice

Blend it all together and it is a yummy, tasty dessert! Believe me, you WANT to try this!

Micah is 2 months old!

Time is just flying by and we are loving every moment with our sweet baby boy!




Stats: Micah is 12 lbs. 10 oz. (65th percentile) and 24 inches long (92nd percentile).

Eating: Micah nurses 7-8 times a day and is eating about every 3 hours. He'll go longer stretches at night.

Sleeping: Micah wakes to eat only once during the night usually. He is up around 3 AM. We're hoping he'll drop this last feeding this month and begin sleeping through the night. Sleep Training has really paid off! We chose to let him "cry it out" and teach him to fall asleep on his own (it broke my heart to hear him cry!) but it has paid off. He'll go down for a nap without a peep usually and if he does cry, it isn't for very long. He loves to be swaddled and he always naps in the cradle in our bedroom. We haven't transitioned to his crib yet.

Milestones: Micah has started sleeping in longer stretches this month and slept one night for 6 1/2 hours. I was so thankful! He usually sleeps about 5 hours during the night before he wants to eat again. He also smiles which is the greatest! It melts our hearts. He is such a cheerful little boy, rarely fussy and we are grateful. He has a happy, laid back demeanor. We have started doing tummy time but he usually just lies on the floor and sucks him thumb, which usually puts him to sleep. He is in no hurry to roll over :)

Micah loves when I sing to him and read books. He loves to lie on his back with his little play gym and try to grab at the toys. He has started to really kick his feet which is too cute! We love to take him on walks. I am so thankful I get to stay at home with him and I actually watch another baby 3 weeks older than Micah 5 days a week. The Lord has been so good to us to provide this opportunity to I can be home!

Road Trip

We took Micah on his first road trip last week to Port St. Joe to meet Great-Granny and then off to Livingston, AL to meet more family members and friends. Micah traveled awfully well, only crying when he was hungry. That made the trip bearable for sure! We made a pit-stop on our way to AL in PSJ to spend a night with Papa and Lela and meet Great-Granny. Granny has 4 grandchildren and now has 4 great grandchildren.

The next day we traveled to Alabama, stopping in Troy to visit friends and talk a stroll around the campus. It is incredible how much has changed since we graduated 4 years ago.

In Livingston Micah was able to meet lots of family members and friends.He had a great time and was pretty much held the entire time. I had done some sleep training with him the week before to get him used to falling asleep on his own, well, that all went out the window last week :) He loved being passed around and loved on.

On the way back we stopped in Defuniak Springs, FL to meet Papa, Lela, Aunt Bonnie, Addy,Great-Grandmother, and Mac to celebrate Roy's 27th birthday. We have the best family and we are so blessed!

It was a great trip! We miss being close to family but are thankful Micah was able to get some time with them all.

Micah is 1 month old!

There are days where I think," A month, already?" and others where I am thinking, "that's all?!" Life has been filled with a whirlwind of emotions and I am so incredibly thankful for the past month. It has been filled with an abundance of joy and lots of sleepy nights/days. We have been blessed with a wonderful family who has offered all the support possible to help us during this transition. We couldn't have done it without them!

We have settled in as a family and it has been wonderful. I finally feel like we have established a great schedule with Micah and he is such a content little fella! As of yesterday at his doctor appointment, he is 10 lbs. and 22.5 inches long. He is growing, growing! His jaundice is finally something the doctor said "we can close the book on." I am so thankful to have jaundice as a thing of the past. He is nursing like a champ, which is such a blessing because he had a rough start. We've only been nursing the past 2 weeks and before that I was pumping and bottle feeding. He will take the bottle cold or warm, which is awesome when he is starving and screaming and there is no time to warm it up. He loves his paci and his hands, whichever is available for him.







I love how laid back he is. I think he has his father's demeanor, which I have prayed for :) He is rarely fussy and has started sleeping well. During the night he is consistently ready to eat every 3-3.5 hours.I am looking forward to longer stretches of sleeping for sure. We love reading books to him and sharing Bible stories with him. We are praying the Lord is already changing his heart and molding him into a man of God. I pray for him daily, that God will drawn Micah to himself, allow him to love the things of God and that he'd be obedient to God and to us as he grows. I long for Micah to be a leader, someone who loves people and whose hearts breaks for the Lost. I know the Lord hears my persistent prayers!

I am getting the hang of this new role of being a mommy. It has been a joy to spend my days with him. Singing songs to him, reading, playing, talking. He is a delight. It has been a big transition and I still stay in workout clothes most of the day :) I have been sleep deprived but Roy has been incredibly helpful in taking feeding and watching Micah so I can get out of the house to run errands or squeeze in a much needed nap. I am a better mommy and wife when I have some sleep under my belt :) I am facing the new challenges of "mommyhood" head on and am taking them all in stride, doing the best I can. I am learning as I go. One thing I know, I love Micah dearly and trust in the Lord's guidance and wisdom as we have been entrusted with him for whatever sweet time the Lord blesses us with.

Sweet Micah, we love you dearly and are anxious to see the man you become!

Introducing... Micah Leonard McDaniel

Micah Leonard McDaniel

December 12, 2011

12:00PM

8 lbs. 1 oz.

21 1/2 inches long


(Micah's Birth Story)

He is finally here! Our sweet baby boy arrived on Monday, December 12th at 12:00pm. Labor pains began the Friday at work. They weren't incredibly painful, but I could tell my body was acting different than normal. On Saturday the pains progressed into contractions but they weren't very close together. They were occurring every hour or so.Roy and I walked about 5 miles on Saturday because I had a feeling I was in labor. By Saturday night I was having more painful contractions and they were closer apart. I didn't sleep that night and was writing down my contractions to keep track of how close they were.

On Sunday, I was in labor for sure! The contractions were painful, but still not close enough to go to the hospital. We told our families were pretty sure I was in labor and by Sunday night they arrived in Orlando. Sunday afternoon my contractions subsided and were almost non-existent. I was worried I wasn't in labor after all and that our family had come all this way and it might be a few more days until Micah arrive.

Boy was I wrong! Sunday night was awful. My contractions were strong and about 9-10 minutes apart for several hours. I would just lie in bed, waiting for them to get closer. Around 4AM my contractions were finally every 5-7 minutes and Roy and I were getting ready to head to Winnie Palmer Hospital. As I was breathing through a contraction my water broke and the contractions started getting VERY strong and painful and were only 2-3 minutes apart. We arrived at the hospital around 5:30AM and I labored in triage for a few hours until they could get me a room. The entire time my mind was focusing on the epidural I was going to receive once I got a room. I was 2 cm at this time and 100% effaced.

By the time I got a room I was already 7cm, around 8:00AM. I received my epidural and was waiting for it to kick it, but it never did :( I guess I am one of those rare cases where the epidural didn't take. Roy and my sister were incredible as I labored and assured me I could do this. I was praying and trusting God to give me the supernatural strength I needed and He was indeed faithful. By 10:45AM I was already 10 cm and it was time to push. They don't call it labor for nothing! At 12:00PM on the dot on 12/12/11 my sweet baby boy entered the world. Oh the joy that filled my heart! He had a rough start as the cord was wrapped pretty tightly around his neck. The doctor and nurses had to stimulate him quite a bit and it seemed like an eternity before I heard him cry.



Little did I know my epidural wouldn't work and I would be having a natural child birth.




After a few minutes I finally got to hold Micah in my arms. He was so content and has his eyes wide open. He was just lying there looking at his mommy. It was a sweet, precious moment for sure!

Micah had to spend a few hours in the transition nursery since he got a rough start, but was thankfully healthy and ready to meet his grandparents and niece shortly after.







On Wednesday afternoon we were ready to go home. Micah's jaundice levels were a little high, so he has been connected to a special light since Thursday to help bring down the Bilirubin levels. He gets another blood test tomorrow so hopefully the levels will have come down. He is eating and sleeping like a champ. He has brought so much joy to our hearts. I cannot even begin to describe it! I am so thankful to the Lord for this precious blessing that we longed for. He is here and we are again reminded of God's incredible faithfulness in all things.

We ask for your prayers during this time of transition. We pray for wisdom and strength and can already see the Lord working in our hearts as we begin this new blessed season of life.

May God bless you all during this Christmas season! Merry Christmas!

The Final Countdown

Has it really been a month and a half since my last post? Please forgive me. I think once the reality of welcoming a baby boy finally began to sunk in, I began to panic and rightly so. We are about to have a major addition to the McDaniel Family and we are beyond thrilled.

Roy and I are both filled with so many wonderful emotions at this point. We are exactly two weeks away from Micah's due date. What incredible joy fills our hearts. After a month of being showered with gifts, making final arrangements, packing our hospital bags, two hospital visits (all is well thankfully!), etc. we are finally ready to get this show on the road.

I am not making any progress yet in terms of labor, but have started walking each night to try and get this party started. I am ready to hold our little bundle of joy! Thank you, precious Lord, for this incredible gift that our hearts have been longing for. We are beyond blessed. Please join us in praying for a safe delivery, a healthy baby boy, and a smooth transition to a family of three. Praise be to God for his grace and mercy in all things! Micah will be here before we know it.





Pictured at 36 weeks and 5 days. I am 38 weeks today!