I can't believe Havana is already a month old!!!!

So, the title of this blog post pretty much sums everything up. In fact, I'm lying here in bed (trying not to fall asleep until I feed her one last time at 12:30am) and Jason is lying next to me and just said, "I can't believe Havana will be 5 weeks on Tuesday." -- he had no idea what I was typing at the time.

It is crazy how quickly the time has gone by. It feels like just yesterday she was born. She has already gotten so big in just her few short weeks of life. We had a doctors appointment on Wednesday and she now weighs 10 pounds 3 ounces! Wow! She is also 22 inches long. She is pretty much perfect. ;)

Life as parents is wonderful and the only thing that would make it better is a little more sleep at night. :) But I truly love waking up in the middle of night because it is such a special time that only lasts a little while. We feel so incredibly blessed to have such amazing friends. I still have not had to cook a meal because of all the meals that have been provided for us. Truly, that has been SUCH a HUGE help. I did fix Thanksgiving dinner, but that was by choice. :) All of our meals are also being provided for us for this upcoming week as well. I'm truly getting spoiled.

I've also been spoiled by how much time Jason has had at home. He had 2 weeks off when she was born and since then he's only been working part time. He doesn't got back to full time ER shifts until December 15. He's such an incredibly daddy. I always knew he would be, but it makes my heart smile so much to see him play with Havana. He has such a cute voice that he uses to talk to her and he loves reading and singing to her in Spanish. He also has WANTED to get up with me for the middle of the night feedings!! When she wakes us up, he will get up first and get her out of her crib and change her diaper. That usually gives me about 5-10 extra minutes of sleep and then I'll go in there and feed her. He does this everytime she wakes up! We are starting to give her a bottle (of pumped breastmilk) once a day so that he can be involved in her feedings. There have been a few nights that he has given her his once a day bottle in the middle of the night allowing me a longer stretch of sleep! Woo Hoo! He continues to be an amazing husband and is now also an amazing dad. I love watching their interactions daily. Havana certainly loves her daddy, I can tell! :)

Jason and I got each other "birthing" gifts. He got me a necklace that is an opal (Havana's birthstone) and I got him a book entitled "You Have What it Takes" by John Eldridge (he wrote "Wild at Heart" and along with his wife wrote "Captivating"). The book is for dads and it really describes what sons and daughters specifically need from their daddies. The dads have a significant role in their lives - one in which the mother cannot play. Jason has already read the book and I see him applying principals of what the book says girls need from their daddy to Havana. It is funny, we both always thought we would be the parents to all boys. But I have seen how having Havana really brings out qualities in Jason that make me realize that God created him to be a dad to at least one daughter - if not more. :)

I certainly feel so blessed that God chose me to be her mama. I love her little personality and look forward to getting to know her more and more everyday. She has such a good temperament. I think, at least right now, she has more of Jason's personality with a real even tempered nature about herself. However, I have seen moments where I think she is being a little "over-dramatic" -- wonder where she gets that from?! ha. She brings a smile to my face continually and makes me laugh several times a day.

Jason and I have worked very hard to form a balance in her life of love and nurture as well as structure. We really feel strongly that we want Havana to know how much she is loved, but also teach her (yes, even at this young age) that she is not the center of the universe or of this family (our marriage relationship comes before the children). She is such a beloved and welcomed member of this household, but she doesn't make it go round. This has been hard emotionally to implement because I do want to give her everything she wants and I hate hearing her cry. However, we truly believe that giving her everything she wants the minute she demands it will not be an attitude we want to foster. I'm so thankful that Jason and I stand united in parenting.

So what do our days look like? Well, Havana usually wakes up somewhere between 6 and 8am to be fed just depending on how her night has gone. I'll feed her at that time and then as long as we don't have to get up for something (such as church) she'll go right back down for another 3 hours. So anywhere between 9-11 she'll either awake or I'll wake her to feed and then we start our day. I make her have "awake time" after she eats and so during our "awake times" (which are usually about an hour in length) we dance, read, play with her play mats, or she just snuggles with me while I talk to her. After about an hour of playtime... it is nap time for an hour and half. She doesn't always like napping in her crib, but I make her take at least one nap a day in there. For the other naps throughout the day, she can be in her swing, pack-n-play, and for one nap she can be on me. If she doesn't wake up when it is time for her to eat I go and wake her and we feed and start the cycle all over again. Of course, not everyday is perfect... she'll refuse to nap or be super hungry on some days... but that is our goal for everyday. I enjoy that because it helps me know what my days are going to look like and it helps me plan her day. I feel that as the mom - I should direct her in how the day is going and not have it be her telling me.

I love my little girl so much! She is a blessing and a treasure. She truly adds so much to our lives everyday. Jason and I have "family prayer time" with her everynight before we put her in her crib at night and we have prayed daily for her. We were just talking today about how cool it will be to one day in heaven see what blessings come her way and what things she is spared because of our daily prayers. We've already seen God protect her from illnesses as Jason was VERY sick and while Havana did catch a little cold from him - it never progressed or became very bad and I know that is because God was protecting her from the fever and infection. We also pray that she falls in love with Jesus Christ and serves Him with her life. I quoted a Ginny Owens song in my prayer for her tonight praying that she wouldn't be a flame for Jesus, but a raging fire!!! I can't wait to see her fall in love with her Lord.

I could write for hours about my love for her, my love for my husband, my love for being a mommy, my love for Jesus, etc. But, I have to end this post sometime. :) Now that my days are becoming more routine I hope to update a little more often with how she is doing. Thank you for all your support, prayers, and encouragement. We love you and are grateful for your friendship.

Isn't she beautiful?!

Havana Corynne Dugger

Hey Everyone,


Hopefully, most everybody knows that Havana Corynne Dugger was born on Tuesday, October 28th at 3:59pm. She weighted 8 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long! We are certainly praising the Lord for her wonderful birth!!!

We checked in Monday night and they started the gel in me around 9pm. I had to lie flat for an hour, but after that I was able to eat a meal and we watched a movie. Around 1am they gave me my second dose of the gel and then Jason and I both went to sleep. Around 5am they started me on pitocin and my doctor came in to check me around 8:30 or so. I was only 2 cm dilated and so she went on and broke my water as soon as she broke my water... I turned over and received my epidural. I then took a nap. When I woke up it was the afternoon and I was progressing quickly. Jason said he thought she would be born at 6:22pm and I said 4:11pm. Around 3pm they checked me again and I was at 10 cm and so they said it was time to start pushing. I really only had to push for 37 minutes and she came out!!! I've heard that is pretty fast. I really have nothing to complain about... I didn't feel any pain at all and I didn't even tear at all. Jason laughed and said that I was just built to be a mommy because I made pregnancy and labor look really easy. I can honestly say I enjoyed every minute of it. It all happened so fast... I'll never forget Jason's loving words and his voice as he spoke to me... encouraging me and telling me what a great job I was doing. I'll never forget the nurses telling me to push and that my baby was coming. I'll never forget looking into the mirror and seeing her come out and it was over so quickly. They immediately laid her on my stomach and chest and I was able to hold her while Jason cut the cord. I remember thinking that she was the most beautiful and perfect thing I had ever seen... I also remember thinking that she looked like Jason. Jason said my face looked like it does at Christmas when I see all my presents under the tree. :) Guess I was looking at the best present ever! We were both SHOCKED with how BIG she was!!! We were not expecting a baby that size and I remember before she was completely out Jason saying, "that is not a 6 pound baby."

They quickly got her cleaned up and then she was back in our arms. What a magical moment. Both Jason and I shed some tears, exchanged some kisses, and prayed over and over again... thanking the Lord for this beautiful and perfect gift! It was truly a miracle.

The rest of our time in the hospital was great, but went by so quickly. We had fun cuddling Havana and showing her off to everyone who came to see us! We felt so blessed by all the calls, e-mails, and visits!!! What a special time to delight in our gift.

We were able to come home Thursday night and it is very nice to be home (although we miss all the nurses who quickly fell in love Havana too!) While it has been an adjustment for all of us... we love our family. Just this (Saturday) morning we both just cried tears of happiness as we held little Havana. She is so perfect and beautiful and we have waited SOOOOO LONG to bring a baby home. Our little girl is home and has already added so much to our lives. I can't even put into words what our home has been like the past few days... filled with the Lord's presence and His love. What a blessing He gave us in her. I feel so lucky to be her mommy.

I just wanted to share the birthing story quickly and let everyone know how much we appreciate their prayers and support during this time. Havana's life will be more enriched because of your role in it. I wish I had more time to type all of my emotions, but Havana is stirring from her nap so I better wrap this up.

We gave her the name Havana because of how special Havana, Cuba is to Jason and I. We have been there together 5 times on mission trips and have fallen in love with our brothers and sisters in Christ down there. We have such a heart for that place. It was also in Havana, Cuba in July of 2002 when Jason first held my had. The two of us would meet early and sit on the beach watching the sunrise... holding hands... praying... laughing... I guess that is really when we switched from being friends to dating. So clearly, it is special for that reason too. :)