Preparing for Baby Girl...

Well....before she gets here....I better talk about her!I still cant believe her arrival is impending...as in any day to come! It seems so surreal after the rough time this pregnancy has been...but wow, has it taught me A LOT!! I think I will always look back at this time in my life and think of it as such a learning and growing time. I have been humbled, I have learned so much about boundaries, have had my eyes open to things  I thought I "knew", and have seen the Lord bless us in so many unexpected ways. So although the journey has been rough, I wouldn't change it for anything!

Many of you know that this little girl is a HUGE blessing to our family. On the Finney side, we have not had a baby girl born in almost 20 yrs---20 yrs!!! And on the Spradlin's--there is one sweet little girl, my niece Kylie Faith, who has blessed them in between all the boys! I cant even begin to put into words how it feels that the Lord has now entrusted US to be blessed with a baby girl. I admit---it was a tough  thing for me to imagine at first...even though I KNEW from the positive pregnancy test that she WAS a girl. I think God wanted to start prepping me early cause he knew I had some stuff to work through to get to a peaceful place with it all. So work he did...and he broke open my heart and made me so excited to finally welcome a little girl as my own. Its not that I didn't want a daughter...I was scared to try to mother a daughter. Being a "girl" has always had so many down sides for me....and this journey has made me realize that being a "daughter" is a high prize and such an honor...if I would just look past the yuck, and trust in the Lords plan for his "daughter's."

So we began preparing for our little girl. I allowed myself to begin looking at pink, dreaming about a "girly" room, and ponder her name. This was the hardest that Shea and I have ever had with picking a name out for anything. Yes, I know we only have one other child...but we have had lots of pets...and in the past Shea has always named EVERYTHING! He named our first pet rabbit, every pet thereafter --and he named Austin. He just has always picked great names--and even though many times I wanted to be the one to pick out the great name...he just always picked out the perfect one and I couldn't argue! Until it came to naming our daughter.... we just really could not come to agreement! Maybe I was pickier because I am a girl and grew up with lots of girl friends...so have lots of past reference for what certain names remind me of...I dont know, but we just couldn't even narrow down to our favorite 3--they were totally different! ( Shea picked out some great names--but about 4 of them were off of a very popular teeny bopper TV show...and he didn't even realize it! Granted I do watch this show...I didnt want my daughter named after the key players in it!) So we stressed  ( well I did...you know, Shea never really stresses about anything besides Longhorn Football.) My goal in a name was something that was not too common or trendy, but not so different that people did a double take or had to ask how to say it! I wanted something classic, feminine and timeless. AND I really wanted something that had a good nickname with it...cause most all kids end getting called a nickname and I wanted to PICK hers.

So...I began to ponder on a name of a good friend of mine. I met her when Shea and I moved to the DFW area back in 2001. Her husband and Chris ( Shea's brother) went to HS together, so their families have known each other for many years.  She was my first exposure to home birth and really even natural childbirth. Her and her mom were a huge blessing to me in those early years of marriage when I was trying to navigate through it all and felt really alone in a new town with few close friends. And then when I decided to become a doula--she was my biggest cheerleader and her 2nd home birth was my first official birth as a doula...and well we know how the rest of that story goes...now that's my profession! So thinking about my daughter with her name...made me smile. People have asked--"is your baby named after her?" And I dont think that we are naming her after her, but this dear woman has a beautiful name and a beautiful heart...and is someone that my daughter can look at one day and say " I have the same name as her and I would like to be like her." So that is the story behind the name Alexa ( or as I think she will be called most of the time, Lexi.) Her middle name will be Faith...well for many reasons. Faith is the middle name of our sweet niece Kylie ( the only other Spradlin girl!) and "Faith" seemed so fitting after this insane time we have experienced over the past year. So her name shall be Alexa Faith Spradlin....the baby that will make Shea a daddy of a daughter, me a mommy of a "little me. and Austin a big brother with a sister to protect!

We were blessed to have an incredible baby shower thrown for us a few weeks ago. This was not your normal baby shower--there were no games, no humiliation for mom and  even though there were over 15 people there--it felt so intimate. This celebration was about me as a mom--and about welcoming a new baby to the world. There was TONS of incredible food, a scrapbook where people shared their blessings and prayers over me and our family for this little girl. And most importantly, prayer cards where each guest prayed over me with a prayer request that I had shared that we had for the birth and and arrival of our little girl. It was perfect and I felt so loved and celebrated.

Here is a slideshow of it in case you had not seen it:

Mother Blessing Shower

And so now we just await for her to arrive! Her room is almost complete..I know, I know...pics of that to come. As of today I am 38.5 weeks--and normally would not be in a hurry for her to arrive....but she gave some teasing signs last weekend that she might be ready and now I AM ready! I am praying for patience to wait on perfect  timing because I know God has picked the day and the hour for her to come...but this mommy who feels as big as a small whale is sooo ready!! So we shall see if my next post is about her cute little room...or her arrival!! ( bet you know which one I am hoping for!)