Posted on November 17, 2009 - by jaime
bowman’s first month
“see what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God.” 1 john 3:1
we are so grateful to celebrate bowman’s first month of life. we have stuck pretty close to home as we hope to avoid the flu. despite that, this first month has been very full! here are some highlights:
- lots of visitors! the first couple of weeks, bowman was rarely put down. they say you can’t spoil a newborn & i’m sure bowman enjoyed being held by his friends & family. we’ve had lots of visitors from oklahoma, colorado, texas, d.c. & even spain! and our local community has outpoured their love with lots of food for mom & dad.
- aunt wendy made the trip up from dallas to give bowman lots of love…and clothes! she even organized bowman’s room–what a great help!
- 3 trips to the doctor. we saw dr. johnson when bowman was 4 days old & then again when he was 8 days old just to make sure he gained his birth weight back (7 lbs 13 oz). not a problem for the B who enjoys eating a lot! yesterday we had our first visit at nwa pediatric clinic for bowman’s 1 month appointment. he’s now 9 lbs 5 oz & grew an inch & a half, coming in at 22 inches.
- a bath in grammie’s sink. after losing his cord on day 18, bowman’s first bath happened on his 22nd day of life. he did great, but we made sure it was fast as our little man doesn’t like to be exposed too much.
- trips to the grandparents. we’ve ventured to grandma & grandpa millers twice now. it’s wonderful to have family close! bowman’s also been to grammie’s a couple of times while jason & i have enjoyed an hour away for dinner–ok, well maybe the first time i shouldn’t say “enjoy” as i mostly cried from missing b-man.
- switching to cloth diapers. we waited for his cord to fall off & then started experimenting with our cloth diapers. after a week of experimenting, i think we maybe have it figured out! we are using pre-folds with covers. jason & i really don’t like the smell of disposable diapers. they gross us out. cloth don’t stink probably because they require more diaper changes! :)
- mom & bowman’s first outing. on bowman’s 23rd day, we ventured to lindsey’s for lunch & then swung back by home to pick up grammie for a quick trip to terra tots, our local cloth diaper store. i learned the convenience of nursing on this trip as bowman ate his first meal in the car–stopped of course!
- to look forward to: pics from bowman’s photo shoot yesterday with the super patient & fun chris stinson, being dedicated at church this upcoming sunday & aunt esther visits from nyc over thanksgiving!
Posted on October 26, 2009 - by Jason
Bowman’s Birth Story
Friday, October 16, 2009
Didn’t sleep too much Thursday night after celebrating Jason’s bday with our community group. I was quite uncomfortable.
3 am: Our cat, Molly, wakes me up with her cold wet nose on my forehead. She had to touch my face twice; I realize that I am having contractions in my lower back. I let Jason sleep, knowing that he would need to be well rested. I get out of bed & go sit on the exercise ball while I use the computer. Lots of bathroom trips. Molly & Eldrick are my labor assistants. 6:51 am-Jason wakes up & starts timing contractions (still in lower back)
Friday morning: Send text to some friends & family, “Haven contrctns. Eatn bfast. Thnks for ur pryrs.” It’s very brisk outside. First sunny day in 13 days! We are hopeful. Took shower, got dressed. Contractions over 1 minute. Jason calls Teresa, our doula, who comes over to check out my progress. With Teresa’s visit, the contractions stop for an hour. Teresa tells us that since I’m having contractions in my lower back, the baby may be posterior (face-up/head-down). I’m instructed to do more pelvic rocks & crab walks.
Friday lunch: Contractions back as we drive to La Huerta to eat lunch with Candy, Gene & Adam. Yes, they are back.
Friday afternoon/evening: Random contractions. Quick walk around the neighborhood. Try to rest. Putz around the house. My niece, Hayley, visits with her friend, Ashley. They help me perfect my crab walk.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Attempt to sleep through the night. Perhaps slept 2 total hours off & on as contractions continued randomly.
Saturday morning: Feel more confident as my body reveals some more symptoms that indicate this is true labor. (Trying to keep this story G-rated)
Saturday afternoon: Watching football, contractions strengthening. Take a bath. Teresa comes to check our progress & decides to stay with us, as all signs are good. The Hogs are playing Florida & doing well, but I don’t really notice as my efforts are focused on relaxing through contractions. My sister-in-law, Kerrie, visits & we ask her if she’d like to be an assistant to Teresa during labor/birth. Kerrie helps Jason take a walk with me around the neighborhood to encourage contractions to continue & strengthen. We have to stop at least 5 times (including on Carley Road) for me to relax through a contraction as I lean into Jason.
Saturday evening: The family who has taken residence at Grammie’s house orders pizza. I avoid the pizza as labor has induced burping. Jason uses my burps to gauge when a contraction is finished. We relax through continued strengthening contractions, using various positions—leaning into the exercise ball, laying on my left side, leaning back into Jason, squatting, etc. We also use the rebozo method to continue to encourage the baby to turn around. Rebozo is Spanish for shawl. We use a flexible t-shirt material sheet instead of a shawl to wrap my belly. Jason stands behind me, lifting my belly up very gently from side to side. This gives the baby extra space to perhaps turn around. (I think it worked…but we didn’t know until later). At 11 pm, we decide that it’s time to head to Mercy as Teresa checks my progress & I’m dilated 6 cm at least. As we head out, we walk to Grammie’s & quickly pray together with Jason’s parents, Grammie, Teresa & Kerrie. Matt wakes up Abe & Luke and they head to the hospital as well.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
We arrive at Mercy & wait in the Emergency Room for 10 minutes. Lindsey & Sarah show up as well. When we get to the delivery room, we meet Liz, our nurse until 7 am. We also find out that our doctor, Dr. Johnson is out of town, so we meet the doctor on call, Dr. Joel Jones. Jason quickly reviews our birth plan with the team & we agree to have intermittent monitoring (baby’s heart rate & contractions) to allow me to move more during labor. I’m still dilated to 6 cm.
As we progress through the wee hours of the night/morning, we hope to have a baby by noon. We enjoy a beautiful sunrise through the 3 large windows in the room. Contractions are continual & we alternate between lots of positions to relax through the contraction. At some point, Dr. Jones proposes that we consider breaking my water as I haven’t progressed past an 8 for some time. As the doctor presents options, we discuss them as a team—myself, Jason, Teresa, Kerrie (& perhaps our moms if they happen to be in the room). We agreed to have my water broken. It does work to heighten contractions & I progress to a 9 by 7 am.
Our memories of the afternoon become muddled as natural contractions continue without making progress; however, the baby was changing stations—getting lower in the birth canal. We have a wonderful nurse, Cyrese, who we prayed would be as great as Liz & she was! Throughout this entire process we all continually pray aloud, at times just crying out, “Please dilate my cervix, Lord Jesus!”
Sometime around 2 pm, we decide to have a “whiff of Pitocin”. I am able to manage the contractions, but as time wears on, Jason & I begin to lose steam—mostly mental exhaustion. The next day, we figured out that we both started to hallucinate a bit thinking that the contraction machine was controlling my contractions & that Jason simply needed to unplug the machine to give me a break! Pitocin is crazy hard to handle after a while. After all the hard contractions, I still was dilated to a 9.
Around 6 pm, Dr. Jones proposed that we consider an epidural, thinking that my body would relax & then dilate to a 10. He was correct. Within 30 minutes of being highly uncomfortable even though I couldn’t feel the contractions, Dr. Jones checked me & said the magic words, “We are ready to push!” The epidural was lighter than most as I could feel when someone touched me & could feel enough to know when I was pushing correctly.
I loved the pushing part! I pushed for an hour—Teresa at one leg coaching me along, Cyrese at the other, Kerrie snapping pictures & Jason watching in amazement. Dr. Jones nicknamed our baby “Shim” since we didn’t know the sex or the name. He helped lighten the mood as we joked coxing “Shim” out. On the final contraction, I could tell by everyone’s faces that we were close, so I pushed 3 extra times & that was it! Dr. Jones exclaimed that it was a boy & placed him on me immediately. Jason cut the cord & then the baby was carried to the warming area immediately in front of me where the nurses worked to get his body welcomed to the world. Teresa encouraged Jason to talk to his son & Jason was sweetly overwhelmed. We announced that his name was Bowman & then quickly agreed that his middle name was Cruz (we had 2 other options to rule out).
After a bit more bonding & the doctor tending to me, Jason announced Bowman’s arrival to our faithful family & friends in the waiting room—they were a bit delirious themselves, as Jason had to announce it several times. Everyone crowded in the delivery room to welcome sweet Bowman Cruz.
Amazingly following delivery, I was able to walk to our post pardem room—again the epidural was quite light. We were a family. Jason & I were both overwhelmed to know our child.
Posted on October 20, 2009 - by Jason
Bowman’s Birthday Picture Set
Head over to Bowman’s Birthday Set to check out some highlights of the delivery. We are still working on getting the birth story together in picture form. Stay tuned.
Posted on October 19, 2009 - by Jason
Hello World
Announcing the birth of Bowman Cruz Miller, born October 18th, 7:36 pm, 7lbs 13oz, 20.5 inches. We are rejoicing in the birth of our son. We are already way in love with this little guy. Jaime’s labor was long but it was all wiped away when he arrived. The full story will come soon. Thanks to everyone who prayed for our family. I’ll be posting better pictures later today.
Posted on October 15, 2009 - by jaime
el 15 de octubre
my juice, it’s your bday today & i rejoice to celebrate you. te quiero porque…
1) me quieres
2) you are a worshipper. when i was in 6th grade, i knew i wanted to marry a boy who knew how to worship.
3) you make me laugh a lot.
4) you are highly allergic to cats, yet you stick your face in our cats’ faces daily.
5) in the middle of the night when i get up for the umpteenth time you gently say, “be careful.”
6) you’ve accepted el español as a part of nuestras vidas
7) i know you will be a wonderful papá as you have always cherished the moments with kiddos in our lives.
8. you admit your weaknesses to me as you have a sensitive heart
9) you don’t mind if i just need to cry for a minute & maybe remember my old pets, booster & rocket
10) you do the floors
11) you don’t do the silverware except recently!
12) you will be the best coach to me as we see our baby enter this world.
13) you are learning to be handy in this your 32nd year.
14) you put a high value on our relationships with others.
15) you are my juice, jesse, jookers, bougers, badge, rabbit…
here’s a new take on the archer original, “i love you the most best biggest & i beat you,” that we’ll teach our niños, ”te quiero lo más, lo máximo y te gané.”
happy birthday, amor.
Posted on October 10, 2009 - by Jason
Cast Your Vote
We’re getting close to baby Miller’s birth, but we still don’t know a few things. Take your best guess! Vote below.
Loading ... Loading ...Posted on October 10, 2009 - by Jason
Dear Baby Miller,
We are excited to meet you! Since we didn’t find out if you are a boy or a girl, we really can’t wait! We want to share with you our thoughts before you arrive…You probably won’t understand all this until you are older.
First, this life is uncertain, but God is good. It’s not a cliché belief that we have, but something we’ve learned through life. In this world we will have troubles (it’s a guarantee), but Christ has overcome the world. (see John 16:33) Our hope is in His faithfulness. You are a product of His faithfulness as we struggled to have you, our child. Your mom would like to name you Esperanza (hope) if you are a girl, but your dad thinks that’s a bit too complicated of a name. 
We also want you to know that we are not perfect. If you read this when you’re older, we bet you’ve figured this one out on your own. We will aim to love you fully, but we know that we are selfish & will often be insufficient in meeting all your needs. Our prayer is for you to know Christ fully & in doing so, experience how all your needs will be met fully in Him alone (see Philippians 4:19).
A final thought to share with you, our child, you are deeply loved. We, your parents, already cherish you. You are loved by our dear family & friends. Yet all the love we can guarantee pales in comparison to how your heavenly Father loves you. You are His creation. And although you aren’t even born yet, He has provided you with a way to know Him intimately. Just as He gave His only Son to know you, we give Him you. We entrust your life in His hands. He has great plans for your life & we pray that you find your joy in Him alone.
We love you,
Dad & Mom
Posted on September 26, 2009 - by jaime
preparándonos
pregnancy is a funny time in life. it’s the only time that you’re glad to have a big belly. sometimes i totally forget that i am pregnant & jason brings me back to reality as he laughs (at me) while i dance to the music on house hunters international.
jason has been more than loving during this journey, he has been my great helper & encourager. we’re so “all in this together.”
so now that i’ve had such a smooth pregnancy (¡gloria a Dios!), it looks as if i may have this fun pregnancy skin condition. it’s just like me to get something like this; my skin has always been funny & i attribute that to the fact that the Lord really wants me to be a bilingual female Native American dermatologist. (i’m only half-way kidding).
basically, i thought i had poison ivy, but now i have “itch like mad” bumps everywhere. it’s glorious. but you know what? i think all we go through is for a purpose & there is something to be said for barely sleeping a wink right now. Dios está preparándonos for a baby who will probably not sleep too much at night. His purposes are good, but funny.
if you suffer from PUPPPs during pregnancy, here’s what i’ve done so far (since my self diagnosis this morning). drank dandelion root tea (spiked with some peppermint tea to enhance the taste), taken a cool bath & lathered up with Grandpa’s pine tar soap (smells like it sounds) & discovered the cooling relief of Sarna lotion. aww. only feeling a bit of relief, but doing something about the itch feels better than nothing at all. oh & don’t worry, i’ll talk with the doc on monday.
i’ve refrained from blogging about the funnies of pregnancy too much, but i just had to share this new fun since we’re so close to the end. the cure for PUPPPs? deliver the baby. ¿estoy lista? sí, estoy lista.
Posted on September 25, 2009 - by Jason
busy weekend..
This weekend has shaped up to be a busy one around our house. First, I am leading worship for a Kirk of the Hills family camp over at New Life Ranch tonight and tomorrow. I have my work cut of for me leading “This Little Light of Mine” and “Every Move I Make” camp style. Tonight is also the Springdale Vs. Har-Ber football game. I should be able to make it to the second half. Then… tomorrow, our family from Texas is up visiting and we need to make time to see them from 11-3ish, then a quick stop at New Life on our way to Tulsa. Chad, Bobby, Joe, and I are leading the contemporary service at the Kirk of the Hills while Ryan and the gang are out leading at another camp. We’ll spend the night somewhere in Tulsa and lead two services before hitting some food and driving back to Springdale. I should be pretty worn out by that point and will just want to sit and watch the finish of the Tour Championship.
I am rarely away from the Grove Church, but when I am it’s complicated. A lot of my work during the week and on Sunday is focused solely on the worship gathering. So, when I am gone I need to make sure all my ducks are in a row and that media / sound / etc.. is in good hands. I have been learning to let that go a little bit and find times when I can be away on a Sunday. It’s hard for me as a semi-perfectionist, but it’s taken me realizing that it’s not the end of the world if someone is late on a light fade or music cue.
We continue to await the arrival of baby Miller. I am continually amazed at the work God is doing within Jaime. The whole pregnancy has been a realization that God is an amazing Creator and I am in awe that He would let us have this baby grow inside of Jaime. We will be 37 weeks on Sunday. We think we have our two names figured out, but you will have to wait until baby is here to find out.
that’s all for now.
Posted on September 20, 2009 - by Jason
4 weeks
Today we are 4 weeks from our due date. Of course, the likelihood of baby Miller showing up on that date is not great, but for simplicity, we will say four weeks. We have been busy prepping the nursery (or Jason’s old studio / office space) with a fresh coat of paint, cleaning all the shelves, and assembling furniture (thanks Archer’s). Sancho, our adopted cat, has already been caught a few times in the crib napping. He is also very fond of the rocking chair in the baby’s room. We will probably just have to keep an eye out on that guy, but Jaime would like to give him away. In the past 6 months he has brought numerous rodent and birds through the cat door, including 3 birds, 2 squirrels, a chipmunk, 2 frogs, and a ton of moles. Most of these no longer have their heads. We tell him we are proud of him and remind him to stop bringing these treats into the house. Needless to say, our new house will not have a cat door on it.
We have our baby names narrowed down as well. When you don’t know the gender of the baby you are forced to select a few top names for each side. I think we finally have it figured out and will announce the name of the little one when he / she gets here. For now we are defaulting to the masculine (He) just like the Spanish language does.
I made a few people mad last week when I received my new guitar in the mail from France. It arrived safely after a long e-bay issue and I am completely happy with it. See Twitpic to the right for a close up. I’ll probably be posting some better pictures of it to our Flickr soon. I have also been enjoying having a DSLR again. It’s real easy to justify purchases like a Canon 50d and 50mm 1.4 lens when a baby is coming. Kids move fast (eventually) and you just really need a camera that can keep up with them.
That’s all for now from the Miller front. We are going to the Doctor every week now and have an appointment tomorrow morning nice and early. I am heading to Tulsa next weekend to lead at the Kirk of the Hills and also leading a retreat at New Life Ranch Friday and Saturday. Here’s to Sunday and rest with friends, football, and good food. We shall be blogging more frequently, and that’s a promise.
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, here on earth as it is heaven – You Hold Me Now – Hillsong
