Pictures

Our friend Holly took these beautiful pics. Enjoy!

Just testing out blogging from my phone. Abby is over 9 pounds now. Almost to Mackenzie's birth weight.

pics. Finally

Focusing on the Blessing

Abigail has eczema on her eyelids. She has also developed reflux and is on some new meds for that. In reading about what I can do to help her I am about to embark on a few weeks of serious diet elimination. Taking out milk, soy, wheat and eggs. I have been going without milk for more than a week and I am a big milk drinker. It has been easy to get discouraged in the face of readjusting my life in this way, but I am thankful I have options and help. A few truths I cling to is that this too shall pass, and that all is permissible, but not necessarily beneficial. I can choose to eat any of these things whenever I want. I just have to be prepared to reap the problems- screaming baby with eczema all over.

Other than the things above Abby is doing great. She is over 8 and 1/2 pounds. She has had some alarms on the monitor, but we are noting that most of them are false alarms. I took a bunch of pics and will try to get them uploaded quickly.

Samantha and Mackenzie are doing great.

Please pray that I will be able to handle the changes in my diet with ease. Also that I will get enough rest daily. Pray for Jeff- he has to deal with me going through this big change in routine. Thank you for your prayers.

Catching up

Sorry it has taken so long for a good update. We are all doing well and have made it through a few busy weeks. I will try to give you the highlights of the past few weeks.

Several weeks ago I started calling our alarm company. We didn't have it turned on because we didn't have a code from the past owner of our home. I called for three weeks and never got a return call with the help we needed. During that third week on Wednesday and Thursday Abby had horrible nights. I got about 3 hours of sleep each night. On Friday it was worse, but I had Jeff to help me. Abby cried from 10 pm to 4 am. God used this in a strange way. At 3 am Jeff and I were in the living room with Abby and we heard a person trying to come in our front door. Not trying to break in just trying to walk in. It was a really drunk young man who had our house confused with the house of a friend of his in our neighborhood. He wouldn't go away and we called the cops. The man stayed in front of our home, even laying down in the front yard. He was asleep on the front porch by the time the police got here. Jeff listened to the whole conversation between the police and the young man. He was a polite man just lost and drunk. So, I called the alarm company on Monday morning and let them know about what happened. The praise is that within 5 minutes our alarm was up and functional. God used Abby to keep both Jeff and I awake. It was very likely that I would have been up alone on any given night feeding at 3 am. Thank you Jesus for keeping us both up.

The next week's drama is centered around our dog, Precious. She is a small curious dog and she likes to escape. I figured out she was missing about 10 am one morning and we had to pick Samantha up at noon that day. I loaded up Mackenzie and Abby and we started driving the neighborhood looking for Precious. As we came back down our street a neighbor had someone out trimming trees. I asked the lady if she had seen our dog and she directed us to a neighbor. We got Precious back, but the drama had only begun. The lady trimming trees told us that our neighbor had tried to give her Precious. So after picking up Samantha I went to the neighbor's house and asked her about what the lady had said. It was true. She felt we were neglectful because Precious had gotten out several times. To say the least I was shocked. We found the hole in out fence Precious escaped out of and fixed it. Each time Precious has gotten out it has been by different means. We have fixed it each time, but our neighbor didn't know this. All in all we have Precious back and our fence is a little more secure.

The next development was Abby's diaper rash that ended up being strep, and the impentigo on her eyelids. She has had medicine for both and everything is clearing up nicely.

I blog in my head a lot. One of the things I have been meaning to blog about deals with my attitude. When I am tired I mentally tell my self what is 'supposed to' happen. Well, as I figured out one night in the middle of the night- the 'supposed to's will kill you. It kills the spirit really quickly to start comparing and setting up expectations that have no basis in truth. So I have been working on keeping myself present in the right now and leave the 'supposed to's to someone else. My only 'supposed to's are to love Jesus, seek Him, love others, and share God's love.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family. Please pray for Jeff and I to learn to deal with our parenting in a godly way. Too often lately we are tired and get frustrated way too easily. Pray for Samantha that she will learn to look to God for all her wisdom and not look at what the world tells us. Pray for Mackenzie to have better listening ears when it comes to instructions from Jeff and I. Pray for Abby- her development is behind. It may be normal for her, but it is still disheartening to me sometimes. We are just now barely getting a smile and a coo from her. Pray that I will also not get caught up in what she is 'supposed to' be doing.

We are really grateful for all of our loved ones, and for all of the love poured out to us.

Long time no post

So sorry for not posting sooner. Things have been busy here. Abby is growing like crazy and it is wonderful to see. Samantha started 1st grade, and Mackenzie is having fun getting Mommy mostly alone a lot of the time.

Here is a picture of Abby. She is 7 pounds 8.5 ounces today.

From Wordless wednesday

Growing and Growing

Abigail is growing so good. As of yesterday she weighed 5 pounds 7 ounces! I have added some pics over on the gallery on the right, but will post a couple here.

In this picture you can see her heart monitor band. It is a soft foamy band holding two electrode things that measure her heart rate and her breathing. She doesn't seem to mind it much.

In this picture you can see how we weigh Abby each day. She sits in a little basket while being weighed on a food scale.

The last picture here is to give a little scale of comparison on her size for those of you still wondering how big she actually is. Below are a couple of diapers and a deck of cards. The bigger diaper is still only a preemie size diaper. The smaller diaper is what she used in the hospital for quite a while. She was in the preemie size for a little while before we came home.

I spoke with our pediatrician yesterday and found out that it is okay for us to have adult visitors. We are not supposed to take Abby to church until after RSV season. RSV is a lung disease that could cause her serious problems so we will be taking it seriously. The only part I don't like about this is that RSV season is from October to April. So Jeff and I will be taking turns going to church.

We are so blessed and God has taken such good care of Abigail that it is hard for me to look at not going out much until next Spring. But I also don't want to take risks when I don't have to.

So if you want to visit just call me and we can set up a time. We will try to keep it to one visitor a day for a while, just so we don't wear Abby out.

Praise: We have been told Abby doesn't need the fortifier in her bottles and that we can start working on nursing every feeding. We also don't have to go in for weight checks at the doctor any more because Abby is growing so good. (She has gained almost half a pound in the last 4 days.)

Thank you again for your prayers. Pray for Jeff as he returns to a normal work schedule. The tired really hits him about 3pm. Pray that I get rest when I can. Pray that I will keep my mind and emotions in line with God's Word.

Six Weeks Old Tomorrow

Abby hit 4 pounds 13 ounces yesterday. She has officially gained 2 pounds!!! Yay!

Abigail is doing really good growing and spending more time awake. She is still setting off her alarm every once in a while. It has never been severe enough to scare us, but it still isn't fun hearing it go off and knowing she is having trouble.

After going to the doctor for a weight check last week we were told we could let her sleep a little more at night. So we are working on that. The most she has slept between feedings is 3 1/2 hours. We aren't letting her go too far, until we see that her growth is doing good with the space between feedings. So far so good.

Since we have been home for two weeks I am getting a little antsy about being at home all the time. If you know me at all you know I am not a germ-a-phob, and I like to visit people all the time. So, telling people that they can't come over is really hard! My goal is to let a few adults come over after she hits 5 pounds. It will be a while before other kids are let around her. Church is another thing. We are still working out what we should do about going. Jeff and the big girls will start back this week, while Abby and I stay home.

I am posting some new pics, but in uploading them to post I found out I have been a little busy and not taking pictures like I thought. So, Sorry there aren't more. I will try to do better in the coming days.

Your prayers are so wonderful and I know that God is providing for us. Pray for Jeff's rest as he begins to return to normal work schedule and less working at home. Pray for my rest. My rest is directly affected by Abigail's ability to digest her feedings and not grunt at night, and by my big girls sleeping through the night. (Mackenzie fell out of bed last night and joined me for the 2 am feeding.) Pray for Samantha as school approaches. Pray that we can shift our schedule to earlier bed times and earlier getting up. Pray for Mackenzie that she will not miss her big sister too much when she starts school back.

You all are a blessing to us and we thank you for loving us and praying for us!

Finding Routine

We have been home almost a week now. The biggest difference is not going to the hospital and not getting as much sleep.

Abigail is doing great. We weighed her last night and she is up to 4 pounds 7 ounces. So she is gaining about an ounce a day. Really good! She has set off her monitor about once every other day or so. So far the only alarm she has is set off is slow heart rate. She recovers on her own and it isn't near a scary as it sounds. Abby has alarmed a couple of times just laying in her bed, which is something new. Usually an alarm happens during a feeding if it is going to happen. There is a nerve in the back of the throat that drops heart rate when swallowing. Her little body is still learning to regulate that drop and not let it get too low. The alarms that have happened in her bed I have no clue about.

We got the girls a pool for the back yard. It is about 30 inches deep and 10 feet wide. The girls love it! We figured that it wouldn't be much fun being stuck around the house since Abby can't go anywhere yet.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. God has provided for us in all kinds of ways. I know He is hearing you. Please pray that Abby's body develops past the different needs for the monitor. Pray that Jeff and I get rest, and have wisdom in parenting while tired. Pray for Samantha and Mackenzie to grow in their love for their sister and for each other.

Aaaahhh! Home!

We brought Abby home on Tuesday afternoon. They sent us home with an apnea monitor. Sometimes when Abby is eating she forgets to breath and her heart rate drops.

Abigail was 3 pounds 15 ounces when we left the hospital. Yesterday we went to the pediatrician's office and she now weighs 4 pounds 4 ounces. Yay!!! We found out that we will have the monitor until Abby is 2 months alarm free. It has been interesting having the monitor, because I actually have a little more peace of mind with it. If she stops breathing or her heart rate is too high or low an alarm sounds (think louder than a smoke detector). So, when she is grunting and making noises, or completely silent, I can relax a little better knowing she is doing just fine.

Samantha and Mackenzie were so excited to get to bring Abigail home from the hospital. We took them to lunch at the hospital and after lunch we got to load everyone up in the van and head home. I do think they are figuring out that a little sister isn't as much fun as they thought she would be. They were ready for a baby they could feed and diaper themselves. Not quite what they got. The big sisters love Abby and really like getting to hold her.

Wednesday I got to take a nap on the couch with Abby and it was great! It has been so nice not having to run up to the hospital and leave Samantha and Mackenzie.

Our doctor says that if Abby keeps growing really good in the next week, we can start spreading out her night time feedings a little. Jeff and I are really looking forward to that. I have been setting one alarm at night to get up and pump, but Jeff had been sleeping all night since we got home from the hospital. Now, we are up twice a night and going through all the normal sleepy parent stages.

We are so blessed! Abigail is healthy and growing wonderfully. She has two fabulous big sisters that love to help. God has shown His faithfulness in the small things and the big things.

God has been showing me much through Joshua. In the first chapter of Joshua God tells him that he will go and possess new land. Joshua will have to fight for it and lead a huge group of people. Then, three times God tells Joshua that He will be with him and to not be afraid. So, each day as something new pops up I have to remember that God is with me and not to be afraid. If He had to tell Joshua three times, then I guess He won't mind reminding me as often as needed. God is faithful all the time!

Abigail Comes Home !!!

Abigail came home from the NICU today. Her sisters are so excited (they haven't realized how boring she is yet), but the dog doesn't quite know what to think.

Up to Today

Abigail is growing great. Tonight she weighed in at 3 pounds 13.5 ounces.

The past few days have been a little up and down for me. The nurses began mentioning that Abby might come home on the weekend, so we have worked a lot on getting ready for her to be here. Then we got a call on Saturday afternoon. The nurse practitioner told me that Abby was anemic and needed a blood transfusion. Anemia in little babies is not a lack of iron in the blood, it is just a lack of blood. Abby was low on blood from all the different labs they run on her from time to time. Her little body just doesn't replenish itself like a big baby. After giving me all the information she asked me if I had strong feelings one way or another about the transfusion. I told her I was just shocked. After getting off the phone, I went to my bed room and hit my knees. I poured out my fears and tears to God and knew he understood all of my feelings. Then He reassured me that even then He was with Abby and taking care of her.

The transfusion went fine and she is doing great. Today she got her first bath. Up to now she has only had sponge baths. I promise she really enjoyed the bath, even though the picture might look otherwise.



We haven't had specific word on when she will come home, but we are hopeful it will be in the next few days. She may come home with a monitor if the doctors think it will be best. I will keep you posted.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. Pray Abby continues to grow and stay healthy. Pray that once she is home that she will remain healthy and have no problems. Pray for Samantha and Mackenzie- they want to see her so bad and it is hard for them to keep being told 'not today.' Pray for Jeff and I to have wisdom about all the details of having Abby home, and our ability to be good parents.

Quick Update

Abby is doing great. She now weighs 3 lbs 6.9 oz. We have been told she might come home this weekend. They are adding some formula to her milk so that she will get some extra protein, phosphorous and calcium. If her tummy handles this well then she will very likely come home quick. If her tummy doesn't handle it good, then it will be a few days to let her tummy get better and then I am not sure after that.

She is growing wonderfully. Last night when I was holding her God's Word just kept coming to mind. He knit Abby together inside of me in such a way that she was totally ready for this world. God made her wonderfully. May she grow in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man.

My hope is in Christ not in what the doctors tell me. I have to admit that this took me a minute because after the doctor said they were adding formula to Abigail's milk it took the wind out of my sails. She hasn't done well with adding things to her milk in the past. But I had to remember the faithfullness of my Father/Creator. Like I said above, He made Abby perfect at 2 pounds 13 ounces, He can help her little tummy handle this. Or He will help me handle it, whichever needs to happen. We are blessed beyond our imaginations. My hope is in the unfailing Creator of this world, the Author of my story and Abigail's, the Redeemer who loves me.

1 John 4:8 says God is love. 1 Corinthians 13:8 says Love never fails. Let us all try to remember that in our everyday ups and downs.

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry it has been a little while. Abigail has been without a feeding tube for over 48 hours and gained weight yesterday. So, we are preparing to bring our tiny precious girl home.

A few things we have figured out:
-She has blonder hair than her sisters had at birth. So we will see what her hair ends up like in a year.
-She only 'talks' to us when she needs to burp.


I will try to post pics and let everyone know when she will be coming home.

Thank you for your prayers, love, and support.

A Big Gal

Abby is now in a crib and not in an isolette! She is such a big girl!




Jeff figured out that Abigail's name is very close to saying 'a big gal.' She acts like a big girl. Tonight Abby took her bottle so good. The nurse said that if Abby keeps doing this for 24 hours then we will be looking at going home very soon. We are also supposed to bring her carseat up there so that she can try the 'carseat challenge.' The challenge is that Abby will sit in the carseat for a couple of hours and the nurses make sure that she doesn't have any dips in breathing or heart rate. So we are hopeful, but we know it still could be a little while before she is headed home. We will let you know.


Samantha and Mackenzie are doing great. They are having a good time at Noni's house today. I think they believe that it is like summer camp. They stay with a grandma and then get to see Mom and Dad a little each day. I will post some pics of them and the fun they have had while waiting for Abby to come home.

Pray that Abby will want to drink her bottle and nurse. Pray that Jeff and I will be as rested as possible and be ready for Abby to come home. Pray for Samantha and Mackenzie to continue to handle not having Mom and Dad like they are used to.

Thank you all for your prayers. I cannot tell you all the little and big ways that God is answering your prayers everyday.

Big Foot

While checking out our newest little princess we have noticed that she has really big feet compared to the rest of her. We will just take this as a sign that she is going to fill out just fine!

Abby is now 3 lbs 4 oz. She moved to a different spot in the NICU last night. So her room got a little bigger, and we may see a few different nurses than we have had.

Samantha and Mackenzie are excited this morning because we are all going to see, Samantha says, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang live and on stage." The girls really love this movie and we are all looking forward to a little fun together. Mackenzie asks everyday if we can bring Abby home. She is really ready to see this little sister she has heard so much about and seen pictures of.

I keep trying to put in a video, but it won't load. I will keep trying to find a way. We have a video of Abby with hiccups and one of her 'talking' to us while she is getting burped.

A Thankful Heart

Okay, so I have been complaining a lot in my mind about pumping milk for Abigail. I know it is the best thing for her and that we will eventually get to nursing, but I have been discouraged none the less. Then yesterday evening and this morning God kept telling me to be thankful in everything. Which reminds me of Corrie Ten Boom's story and her needing to be thankful for the fleas in her bed. So I worked on thanking God for the opportunity to pump milk and be able to give it to Abigail.

Then something awesome happened. When we saw Abby this morning our nurse asked me if I was ready to try breastfeeding. I was floored and excited to get to see how Abby would do. She did great. We had a couple of minutes of Abby eating like a pro. The whole time I was holding back tears of appreciation to my ever faithful Father. How could I ever question His provision or love for me? So I will use this to remember to be thankful in everything, even when it hurts, isn't easy, and I would much rather complain.

Thank You Jesus!

Two Weeks

Abigail weighed in at 3 pounds 3 ounces on her two week birthday. She has gained 6 ounces over all and is doing great.

The doctor added a formula feeding today and we will see if she tolerates that over the next day. Hopefully she does great and continues to grow.

Samantha and Mackenzie have spent this week at GG's house having fun swimming and playing with GG and Papa Tom. They ask everyday when Abby will come home. They are ready to get to see and hold their baby sister.

I am really ready for Abby to come home too. I have been pumping milk for her and I am really tired of it. Ready to get to nursing and leave the pump behind.

Thank you all for your prayers. I feel like I say this a lot, but it is so powerful and so priceless to us.

Quick update: Abigail weighed in at 3 lb 3 oz Wednesday night.

Update

Last night when we saw Abigail she dropped 20 grams, but it wasn't enough to change her pounds and ounces. Still 3 lbs 1 oz.

We talked with our nurse about her progress and found out about some milestones she has to reach. To get out of the isolette (warmer) they usually require babies to be 1800 grams. Right now Abby is 1380 grams, but she is roasty toasty in her little bed and may get out of it before the 1800 grams. Then she has to prove that she can gain weight consistently in a regular bed, since she will be using more energy to stay warm at that point. Abby also has to take every feeding from a bottle. She likes the bottle, but it wears her out to take it at every feeding right now. So we have no set date for when she will be coming home, but we will definitely let everyone know as it gets closer.

Abigail is developing just like any other new born. She stays awake much longer than before and really likes taking her bottle. I will try to post some video we have of her with the hiccups. She also only grunts or makes noise when she needs to burp. I think we have a video of that too. It is really cute, as soon as she burps she gets quiet and is ready to finish her bottle. She drinks about one ounce and usually needs burping 2 to 3 times.

All of the nurses love on Abby and it is great to have such wonderful ladies caring for our sweet baby girl.

What a great weekend

Abigail had a great weekend. She gained 40 grams yesterday and is now officially 3 lbs. 1 oz. Yay!

Samantha, Mackenzie and I (with some help from Daddy too) made some lady bugs to decorate Abigail's room with at the hospital. We gave some to family and friends and they are writing blessings and prayers for Abigail on them. [If you would like to send a lady bug we will gladly hang it in her room- we just can't make enough to get one to everyone, but we would love to have your prayers and blessings to pass on to Abigail.]

We are so thankful for all your prayers. Please keep praying for Abigail to put on weight. This is really her last milestone she needs to accomplish. It is absolutely amazing to watch her as she becomes more alert and curious about her surroundings. She is a huge (tiny) testament to how awesome our Lord is and how He can knit together someone so tiny and perfect.

Little Blessings

Abigail lost an ounce and is now at 2 lbs and 15 oz. We know that it is normal for all babies to fluctuate in weight, but we were really excited to get to say 3 lbs for a short while, and we know that she will get there again soon.

We have had wonderful nurses taking care of our Abigail! Yesterday our nurse was Linda, who has been in the NICU for a long time and has given us great encouragement time and again. It was no exception yesterday. Linda told us that she thought our schedule was wonderful. We go and visit Abigail at two feedings a day. We usually spread them out so that we don't wear her out by bottle feeding two times in a row. Linda told us that if we think about what Abigail would be doing if she were still inside me that we were giving her the best care possible by only seeing her twice a day. If Abby was still inside she would spend her days and nights sleeping, sucking her thumb, and growing. This was great for me to hear, a gift for my heart. The fact that we are going twice a day is because of my doctors orders to only be in the car twice a day, and to not drive for two weeks. So yet again God was taking care of me- I would have been wearing myself out going up there; and taking care of Abigail- I would have been wearing her out too.

This morning was fun because we love to get to know our nurses and we had a new one this morning. Christy is very sweet. And as we were feeding Abigail, Jeff and I were listening in on Christy talk about her sister who is a pediatrician that is getting deployed soon. She talked about her brother-in-law, who is also a doctor, and as we listened Jeff and I wondered if it wasn't an old friend of ours. So we asked, admitting to our evesdropping which Michelle laughed about, her brother-in-laws name. It is our old friend Jacob, who we lost contact with, but love very much. So, God gave us another random little blessing of being able to connect with our nurse in a special way. And we can now get in touch with Jacob and see how he and his family are doing.

We are blessed in so many ways. Abigail is doing great. She is awake more of the time when we are there feeding her. In fact she was still awake when we left today, but she was falling asleep fast. Thanks to everyone for your prayers. Thanks to our family and friends for helping take care of Samantha and Mackenzie. Thanks to God for being ever faithful and constantly present.

In The Stillness

Today was the first day visited Abigail that nothing much happened. She has now entered into a new phase- feeding and growing. We dressed her in a cute shirt and got to wrap her in one of our blankets. She is so adorable.

So it occurred to me that God was working in a quiet way today. In the stillness of a normal day it is easy to look past the fact that we are surrounded by God and that He is working just as much. It was a great day of resting in Him.

Thank you for all your prayers. I know God has heard and honored the prayers of the saints on our behalf. Here are a few specifics to pray for: Jeff- Rest, ability to balance work and needs at home, parenting; Vicki- Rest and continued healing from surgery, ability to not over do things, parenting; Samantha- That she will be prepared to be a big sister to two little ones, she will understand continually her preciousness to us and to our Father in heaven; Mackenzie- That she will feel secure in our family, prepared to be a big sister; Abigaill- grow consistently, stay and grow more interested in bottle feedings.

We are overwhelmingly thankful for the love God has shown us through you!

Abigail is still doing great. Feedings are getting bigger and easier. New photos soon.

(Jeff was playing with texting a post. This was just a test. : )

Happy Birthday Mommy

What a sweet present this morning from God!

We walk in to see Abigail and she is dressed in a shirt and has no IV!!! Awesome! The shirt means that she is maintaining her own body temperature and is now needing clothes and blankets only to help her stay warm. Before this her bed was maintaining her temps and keeping her comfy.

Her feedings were also upped to 24 mL, and the doctor had told us before that 26 mL is a full feeding for her.

Thank you Lord for showing us your love and faithfulness again!

June 28, 2010

Abigail now weighs 3 pounds!!!

Abby is doing great. Her feedings are up to 18 mL per feeding.

I have to admit today was rough for me emotionally. We didn't have a plan set up for visiting her in the evening and I had a break down. Samantha is precious. She brought me a blanket and her favorite pink bear (Lulu) and sat with me as I cried and prayed. I spent my prayer agreeing with God that I couldn't do anything for Abby, but he could. So I begged Him to keep his hand of love and comfort on her, and to work it out where I could see her before bed that night. This all happened about 5:00 pm, which is very near a feeding for Abby.

We had found out earlier that Abby hadn't been fully digesting all her meals and was having about 5 to 6 mL left after each one. So they were giving her some meds to help her tummy be able to process everything.

My mom kept the girls and Jeff and I got to go see Abby at 8:00 pm. When we walked in the nurse told us she had already checked Abby's tummy and she only had 1 mL left from her last feeding. Thank you Lord for giving me just a small glimpse of what You can do without me. I know I didn't need to have confirmation of my prayers from earlier, but it was so sweet to have.

The feeding was great. Abby stayed awake the whole time and drank all of her 18 mL that she needed. Jeff fed her and she even stayed awake afterwards for a little bit. We got some good pics. I will try to post them later.

Praise God for being with us, each and everyone as we need Him.

Some Pictures

Abigail Louann

Abigail has a wonderful story and it is only beginning. I want to share how amazing and loving God is and how He has shown me that this week.

Monday, June 21, 2010, Jeff and I were very excited to get to see our Abigail in another ultrasound. Dr. Huff had sent us to have this peek at our girl so we could see how big she was. This is mostly because of Samantha and Mackenzie being so large. During the ultrasound Abigail was measuring small. Now, we knew that she was a little small because she had measured one week behind our due date from the beginning. The ultrasound tech was really sweet, and of course she couldn't "say" anything, but I could see where the weeks and days measurement was on the screen, and all the numbers were pretty far behind where Abigail was supposed to be. At the end of the ultrasound on of the radiologists came in and told us that Abby was measuring about 3 weeks behind and that the amniotic fluid around her was a little low.

When the tech was out of the room at one point I remember sitting there praying and asking God to let us see Abigail this side of heaven. I didn't think that He would ask us to give her up so soon, but I was preparing my heart. I know God is faithful even if it was going to be painful, so I just sat there and let Him know my trust was in Him. It was a short moment, but one that helped me keep my heart fully in the hands of my Loving Creator.

That evening I spoke with Dr. Huff and she let me know that she wasn't alarmed, but that she wanted us to see a perinatologist in order to get a plan for keeping Abigail growing like she should. Jeff and I thought that was a great idea and we waited for the call on Tuesday with the appointment. We also looked up quite a bit about what a perinatologist does and what we could expect. Basically this doctor specializes in knowing what is going on inside the uterus during pregnancy. He can tell how healthy baby and placenta are and give us an idea of what we can do to keep things going well.

From about Sunday night on my ribs hurt. The pain was increasing on Monday and there was a place just under my ribs on the right side that was particularly uncomfortable. I really just thought I had some very bad gas. Monday night and Tuesday night I spent much time trying not to hurt and to get some sleep. Both nights I took a bath at 2 am trying not to hurt. One night in the tub I was near tears it hurt so much. I remember talking with God and asking him what the pain was preparing me for. And that whatever it was that I would indeed be prepared.

Wednesday, we go see Dr. Mirable the perinatologist and get to have another ultrasound. After lots of measurements the ultrasound tech tried to do a 4D ultrasound and get a pic of Abigail. It wasn't very clear because of the lack of fluid. After the tech left I told Jeff I thought the fluid looked lower than before, but that I could be so wrong too. We discussed some of the possibilities and I told Jeff that mentally I was prepared for the doctor to tell us we needed to go to the hospital next week, but that I wasn't ready to be told today is it.

Dr. Mirable came in and told us Abigail was measuring really small and that the amniotic fluid had dropped from a 5 on Monday to a 2. (I can't remember what type of measurement that was, just the numbers.) He wanted me to start being on bed rest. We were discussing what that would involve and he told me that if my temperature elevated, or my blood pressure elevated, or if I had a pain under my ribs I would need to go be monitored at the hospital. So, I let him know about my pain for the past three days and he told us to go to the hospital. He gave us the steroid shot to help Abigail's lungs to develop and told us we would have the other one at the hospital on the following day. Worst case scenario, from him, was that we would deliver on Friday after the steroids had time to work.

After doctor left the room I started to cry, I wasn't prepared for the hospital even if it was for observation. Quickly after I started crying I stopped. I knew that I had much to think about and questions to answer and needed to keep it together. After all I could have a moment after all was settled at the hospital.

We arrived at Baptist Hospital and started getting set up for monitoring Abigail's heart rate and my blood pressure. It was about 4:30 pm by the time we were checked in, and I made a list of things we needed from home. If we were going to be at the hospital for 48 hours then we would need some stuff. I really wanted to have my moment, but I still had my contacts in and didn't want to deal with them. So, I figured I would take them out pretty quickly after Jeff got back with our stuff, and when he and I were alone I would have a good cry and be okay.

By the time Jeff got back with our stuff we had visitors coming by just to check on us. There wasn't a moment alone with Jeff, but it was okay because it was getting later and everyone was about to go. Then Dr. Huff came in to talk with us about all that was going on. We found out that while we had been there Abigail's heart had decelerated a few times. Nothing that said we were in an emergency situation, but a concerning one. Before doctor left we knew our time frame had been shortened. We may have to deliver before the next hormone shot. This is where I kept reminding myself of Who was in control and of the small hope given us from the ultrasound earlier. Abigail's diaphragm was already working, we had seen it in action earlier. This gave us hope that maybe she was more ready than we thought.

Almost everyone left after Dr. Huff. It was down to Jeff and I, Shawna and her girls Mary Katherine and Olivia Grace. We talked for a minute and the Shawna suggested we pray. What a sweet moment of taking ourselves to the feet of our Father. Shawna prayed for us and for Abigail, and especilly that he would give Dr. Huff wisdom. Within one minute of the 'amen', my phone rang in the room. It was Dr. Huff. She had been praying on the way home, and was in her her driveway and just didn't feel a peace about leaving Abigail inside me any more. So she headed back to the hospital, and Jeff and I prepared ourselves to see our little miss Abigail.

We called everyone and let them know what was happening. My mom hot footed it to the hospital in order to not miss another grand baby getting born. This was going to be her first time. I finally got to take out my contacts about 2 minutes before we walked to surgery. My moment never came, but it was okay. I spent time off and on since Monday giving myself and Abigail to God. I knew we were in the hands of our Creator and the One who loves us more than I can imagine.

Jeff and I prepared ourselves mentally for whatever might happen and for whatever stage of development Abigail might be in. Dr. Huff prepared us that Abby might not cry right away and that she wouldn't be encouraged to until the NICU staff made sure she wasn't going to inhale anything she shouldn't. At this point we also figured out that we didn't have our camera, baby book, nothing that we would have normally gotten together.

Right after surgery began our camera made it's way into the room. It was great, except it had our long range lens on it and that would be a challenge. All was going well in surgery, and the moment came. Abigail was out! Wow, what a set of lungs. She began crying immediately! She was tiny and so beautiful!!! The nurses took her and checked her out and wrapped her up. In my mind I was just so thankful for that cry. God had proven against the odds at least once that she was alright. Then Jeff brought Abby over for me to see her. She opened her eyes when I talked with her and just blinked at me. She was blowing spit bubbles already and just looking content.

Jeff tried to hand Abigail back to the NICU nurse, but she just said it's okay you can keep her. Jeff and I looked at each other in wonder- wasn't this the part where they swept her away and we saw her later and found out how she was? Jeff got to walk Abigail down to the NICU. He had the oxygen mask on her as he went, and he came back after they started to clean her up. She was 2 pounds 13 ounces. Tiny but wonderful! God is amazing!!! Somewhere along the line in life I had put limits to what I thought God did. I am not sure where my ideas came from, but God was about to show me just how big, faithful, loving, caring, and everything He is.

Abigail has never had to have oxygen other than what was given to her right at birth. She has never been placed on a ventilator. Her lungs were perfect, and the steroid shot wasn't in me long enough to have done much of anything. Every little part of her works just like God made it to. Not one problem!

My God is a God of miracles! The little ones- like preparing my heart for whatever he had in store. And the big ones- a perfect little Abigail! I get emotional about all this but never sad. In my life I have seen how loving and faithful God is. He has brought me through some very hard struggles and given me direction daily. His love has never failed! He has never given up on me. He is the only reason for joy and hope.

I hope Abigail's story shines light on God for the wonderful things He has done. I have done nothing, except be here to tell our story. God's grace is truly overwhelming and comforting. I pray that each of you reading this will be able to live in light of His grace and love.

Welcome

Hello Everyone,

Jeff and I thought that starting up a blog about our family and all that is going on right now would keep things a little more simple for us, and keep our family and friends more informed. Here we will write updates and post pics and videos about our family and how we are growing right at the moment. We look forward to sharing with you our story of God's work in our lives.

Love,

Vicki