Pregnancy Update: 22 Weeks

Posted on December 18, 2014 by justeeni

A couple of weeks ago, Dan and I took the girls with us to see Baby’s 20-week ultrasound screening. Because we’re not trying to find out if this is a boy or girl, we had to miss a lot of the screening while the ultrasound tech did her job with the screen turned away from us. Nevertheless, we did get some peeks at Baby and some cute pictures to share.

Here’s a shot of Baby’s face.

The head is on the right side of the screen, looking right at you.

Our ultrasound tech said this was the most beautiful baby she had seen in a long time. By that she meant that Baby cooperated and allowed her to see everything she was supposed to see.

Here’s a picture of Baby’s hand and foot.

At one point during the ultrasound, our tech showed us that Baby was resting his/her head on my artery. Every time my heart pumped Baby’s head would move up and down with my heartbeat. It looked like s/he was having a little dance party in there.

Here’s the foot again.

Toward the end of the ultrasound we got to see Baby’s profile. S/he was pressed right up against the placenta. It looked like s/he was giving it kisses.

Everything from the ultrasound looked good and everything in the pregnancy is progressing normally. The next couple weeks are exciting for us as Baby is approaching the age where s/he will be big enough to survive if and when I do go into labor (early). Until then I’m trying to take it easy and keep life as uneventful as possible.

Just for fun I took a picture of me with Baby at 21 weeks to compare with my 21 week shot of Abigail. Abby’s on the left, Baby 3 on the right, and I even wore the same shirt for easy comparison. What do you think? Can you tell a difference or do Abby and Baby 3 look the same this far along?

Our next appointment is scheduled for tomorrow. We’ll do another ultrasound, and talk about our plans for the weeks ahead as we enter the time when Baby will be getting old enough to survive if s/he comes that early. We’re hoping, though, for another 10 weeks.

Abby Update: 15 Months Old

Posted on December 16, 2014 by justeeni

As Christmas approaches, Abigail is as joyful a baby…er…toddler(?) as ever. She’s not toddling yet, but she’s not exactly a baby. So, while I’m not sure how she classifies title-wise, I do know she is the smiliest little person I’ve ever met.

Abby is always happy unless she is very hungry or very tired. She’s always smiling unless she’s very unhappy or sucking her thumb right after a nap. Those cuddly moments are sometimes my favorite.

Abby’s crawling around pretty efficiently using her one-armed, one-legged army crawling technique. It gets her where she wants to go so she’s happy to keep using it for now. She can crawl up a step and is pretty fearless, so she keeps us busy chasing her around.

Though she hasn’t taken to sign language like Lydia did, Abby is starting to use a few words. She can say “daddy”, “uh-oh!”, and “buh-bye”. When she eats her food and wants some more she makes a certain little grunt. She tries to say “mama” but more often than not it comes out as “baba”.

Abby’s all-time favorite thing to do is eat.

And she eats a lot! She’s not too picky as long as she has food when she wants it in a nearly unending supply. If you interrupt her during a meal for any reason, she’s give you a harsh rebuke. If someone else is eating something different from her and she thinks it looks tasty, she’ll give you a few grunts until she gets a sample. Once she’s done eating she wants immediately out of her high chair so she can play or, more often, take a nap. After all of our struggles trying to get Lydia to gain weight, it’s nice to have an eager eater.

Abby is a joy to the whole family. If find it so entertaining to hear the girls (who share a room now) chattering back and forth after we tuck them in for bed or naps. I find it just as heart-warming to hear their synchronized thumb-sucking once they do fall asleep. Lydia loves her little sister and we all have fun playing with her, tickling her, and getting her to laugh and smile in any way we can.

Preparing for a NICU Baby

Posted on December 4, 2014 by justeeni

This Monday I reached 20 weeks in my pregnancy, halfway for most people. However, as we have a history of preemies, Dan and I wanted to be well-prepared for another long NICU stay, if that’s what ends up happening. By the time I reached 20 weeks, I was told I would need to limit my activity a little bit, so those preparations all had to be done by Monday, and I’m happy to say that they were. The last few weeks have been crazy with all the things we’ve been trying to get done, but now I get to rest and I’m sure in a few months, the preparations will pay off.

So what kind of preparations did we do? The first task was to unpack. What a relief it is to finally be unpacked and moved in. The closets may be messy, and I have piles and piles of the girls’ clothing to sort through (someday), but the bulk of the work is done and everything else can wait or be done when we have spare time. I’ll try to post pictures of our unpacked home soon.

The second major task was freezing meals. Life with a NICU baby is very busy, so cooking is always an issue. Sure, you can eat out, but that gets expensive and unhealthy. Since we’re expecting some amount of a NICU stay this time around, I made a meal plan that would last 12 weeks (that’s how long Abby was in the hospital). As things became overwhelming I cut back, cancelled meals, and recalculated. As of today we have three freezers full or half-full of food ready-to-eat when Baby comes. Once I reach 23 weeks, Dan will go on a mega shopping trip to stock up on all sorts of nonperishables to complement our meals along with some more items to freeze. For now we have 34 breakfasts, and 88 lunches/dinners frozen and waiting to be enjoyed.

The final task was to get our Christmas decorations up. This was so fun. It really didn’t take very long, and the girls stayed up to help with the tree. Then they headed off to bed while we finished with the lights, ornaments, and a few other festive items. I am loving the decorations every night as I curl up by our fire place, work on Christmas presents, and sip some tea.

As far as the pregnancy goes, things have continued on as expected, for the most part. Last Wednesday I had some concerning contractions, but we’ve sorted out the root of the problem and it’s been smooth sailing ever since. The “big” ultrasound screening is Friday morning and we’ll find out how Baby’s doing as well as how much I will be allowed to continue to do. Any signs that Baby is on the way and I’ll probably be stuck in bed. For now we’re just taking it easy, soaking up this season, and enjoying our cozy Christmas lights.

My Thankful for 2014

Posted on November 25, 2014 by justeeni

When Lydia was not yet one year old, I started a tradition that I hope to continue with each of our children. Instead of creating a Baby book by hand (I’ve never been much of a scrapbooker) I designed a photo book online. A month or so ago, I continued this tradition with Abby. This is really irrelevant to the rest of my post except to explain the pictures. The pictures used in this post are taken from Abby’s little book. Moving on.

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, our family has taken time to reminisce on the past year and share some of the things for which we are the most grateful. Lydia’s favorites have been Sandy rides at Meijer, and the color pink. Some of Dan’s top blessings have been God’s provision for us with a new home and job, and Abby’s long awaited homecoming last December. Abby’s only “Thankful” has been food. Although, she is, in general, pretty happy about everything.

Today I thought I’d share one of my “Thankfuls”.

About a year and a half ago, we were still living on campus at Dan’s college, and I was pregnant with Abigail. Since we didn’t know why Lydia had been born early, we didn’t know whether or not Abby would follow in her footsteps. It was a struggle not to be anxious. Would Abby be born early? Would she be born earlier than Lydia? Would she be born too early to survive?

Frequently I would lay in bed at night praying over these questions and God would bring to mind Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” It felt like a Word from God assuring me good things for Baby, but not answering my questions about when she would be born.

As it turned out, Abby was born early. She was born earlier than Lydia, and she stayed in the hospital far longer. She had more issues to deal with and was a puzzle to the doctors. There were even nights I wondered if she would ever come home.

Finally, last Thanksgiving Day, Abby had two surgeries that allowed her to come home. Her surgeries were Thursday and we brought her home Sunday morning.

Shortly after Abby came home, I was holding her one morning as I sat in my glider. She was asleep and I was praying for her and asking God what specific things I should be praying for her future. Among other things, I felt led to pray that Abby would bring joy to others. Abby wasn’t even smiling yet, and the prayer didn’t spring from anything I had observed in her character, only what I thought the Lord had in mind for her future.

Soon Abby learned to smile, and since then she has rarely stopped. Others have observed, and I agree, that she is simply the happiest baby we’ve ever met. A week or so ago, as we were tucking Abby in one night, Dan commented that, “Our family wouldn’t be the same without Abby. We have more joy because she’s here.”

This year, among a host of other things, I am thankful that God gave us Abby: that He created her and protected her, brought her home, and had a plan for her future. Even while I was laying pregnant in bed anxiously praying for an unknown future, God could already see far beyond the pregnancy, the hospital stay, and even past today. How reassuring it is to know that a good God holds our futures in His hands, and the futures of our most loved ones as well.

Pregnancy Update: The First 18 Weeks

Posted on November 20, 2014 by justeeni

Dan and I found out we were expecting Baby 3 while we were still camping out in the basement of some generous church friends. As God’s timing would have it, we found out we were pregnant only a few weeks after first hearing about the house that is now our home. It’s a good thing too, because I would have given up the house hunt if we had found out about Baby first! The timing was perfect, so, while the house buying process was going on, we began out hunt for a new doctor.

My last doctor was great, but she retired this summer. We called a couple of different offices and eventually chose a doctor who has turned out to be terrific. He has years of experience working with high risk and unique pregnancies, so mine was no surprise to him. At our first appointment we got our first glimpse of Baby 3 and a guess on the due date: April 20.

The first trimester wasn’t too bad for me, apart from the stress of trying to get settled on the house. I was sick for three weeks in a row with various viruses. Maybe I was feeling sick from the pregnancy too, but if so, those symptoms were masked by the other illnesses. My most obvious pregnancy symptoms were the cravings and aversions. Cheese and pickles were favorites, with random weird and short lived cravings like rice with soy sauce and tomatoes or chicken salad. As usual during my first trimesters, I couldn’t stand lentils or broccoli.

A couple of weeks after the first appointment we were back at the office again to check on Baby and start working on a game plan. Here is Baby at 12 weeks:

(That’s his/her head on the right side.)

There are a few things we’re going to try this time that may or may not help keep Baby from coming as early as Lydia and Abigail. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. One of those precautions is limited activity for me from 20 to 28 weeks.

Now, when you’re moving into a new house, preparing for Christmas, and anticipating another possible long NICU stay, there’s a lot to do. That’s part of what has kept us so busy lately. I’ve been working away at making some Christmas gifts a little every day. I’m happily making progress on unpacking and our goal is to be completely settled by next Tuesday. Of course Thanksgiving is coming and we’ll be hosting Dan’s family this year, but we’re keeping things simple and those present will all be pitching in to help with the meal. 🙂

The bulk of my extra time has been spent cooking and freezing meals for the time after Baby is born. If Baby spends as much time in the NICU as Lydia or Abigail, we hope to have enough meals to get us through most dinners and lunches without having to take the time to cook. We have three freezers right now (our chest freezer, the one on top of our refrigerator, and an upright some friends brought over a couple of nights ago). Two are packed full and I have two weeks left to finish my cooking!

Once twenty weeks hits, everything is going to stop. No more unpacking. No more cooking and freezing meals. No more running around like crazy buying things we need for the house. I have ten days left.

Our next Baby appointment was at 14 1/2 weeks, and here’s Baby:

S/he is bent over like someone who fell asleep in school, and his/her arms are up behind his/her head.

So that leads me to another new decision for us. We’re hoping to be surprised with this baby, instead of finding out early if it’s a boy or girl. With ultrasounds every two or three weeks, it’s likely we might unintentionally find out, but the goal is to be surprised. That said, I will be referring to Baby as “he” from now on, even though we don’t know if he is a boy or girl yet.

During November I had a small surgery done that was another one of our attempts to keep Baby from coming as early. Afterwards, I had an appointment where we confirmed that everything was well and Baby was happily staying put.

Here’s Baby at seventeen and a half weeks:

That’s a head-on picture with the head on the left. You can see the eyes and brain (kinda weird!), and everything looked good.
That brings us up to today. During the past few weeks I’ve felt the first little kicks and Baby is starting to take up my stomach and lung room. I have had a lot of energy, which has been great for getting all my preparations taken care of. But more recently I’ve been getting tired out more easily, so I’ve been having to take more breaks to rest, nap, or just prop my feet up.

Our next appointments are on December 5 (two weeks from tomorrow). The first will be the big 20-week ultrasound screening, and right afterwards we’ll be heading back to our doctor for another check up.

Whew! That felt like a lot. From here on our I’ll be able to update more frequently with any Baby news, pregnancy changes, and more pictures of our little Pumpkin.

One Year Old!

Posted on September 11, 2014 by justeeni

Well, it’s been a whole year since our Abigail was born, and what a year it has been! Today we celebrate a whole year with Abby Faith. We celebrate that she even made it this far, that we’re no longer driving back and forth to see in her in hospital every day, and that she is a happy and healthy baby girl. Most of all we celebrate that God entrusted her to us and for all the precious memories we get to share in the years ahead. We love you Abby!

Abby Update: 11 Months Old

Posted on August 14, 2014 by justeeni

In the past few weeks Abby has really gotten the hang of sitting up. Mostly she just sits in this propped up position until she wants to get somewhere else, than she just plops down onto her tummy. She’s still not crawling, but she can get anywhere she wants to go pretty quickly by rolling around.

When she’s crawling around, Abby will put anything in her mouth. We have to watch her pretty carefully to make sure she’s not eating dirt, grass, rocks, bugs, hair…you name it. Lydia is a pretty handy helper, always willing to run and get Abby a toy that she can put in her mouth.

Solid foods are coming along slowly. Sometimes when we’re eating a meal Abby refuses to eat what we give her. Other times she jabbers away angrily until we share some of our food. Her favorites right now are cooked broccoli and raw bell peppers, and she absolutely refuses avocado (and gives us a nice face to let us know how terrible she thinks it tastes).

Unlike her big sister, Abby’s first word is “mama” and she says it anytime she’s hungry, wants Mommy, or right after she wakes up from a nap.

She loves attention and she loves playing with or being tickled by her big sister. It doesn’t look like Lydia’s going to be the “big” sister much longer because Abby is catching up. When I was taking pictures of them together this morning I was surprised at how close they are to being the same size already.

She’s a delight in our home. There’s nothing like seeing her smiles and hearing her jabber away. Here’s a little video of her smiles and giggles. I hope they brighten your day like they brighten mine.

Abby Update: 10 1/2 Months Old

Posted on July 22, 2014 by justeeni

I know this update is late. It’s been busy around here and mostly I just haven’t gotten a chance to take pictures of our adorable Abigail. And I know you all really read these updates mostly for the pictures. 🙂

Last month I told you all that Abby was very smiley. Now I want to make it known that Abby is the happiest baby on the planet. It certainly wasn’t our doing or I would give everyone our method, because I think everyone should share the pleasure of having such a happy baby. Abby smiles almost all the time. The only times she isn’t really smiling are:

1. When she is asleep.

2. When she wakes up hungry. Or anytime she is hungry.

3. When she is being denied food at the dinner table, or if anyone takes something away while she is playing with it.

It’s true, Abby has a bit of a temper. She doesn’t really like to stay on her back during diaper changes and she will yell at you if you take away her toys. But it’s not hard to get a smile out of her even after snatching away a toy, shoe, or whatever other odd item she picks up during her wanderings.

Abby is becoming more and more mobile. She’s still not quite sitting up, but she can rotate and roll to get anywhere she wants. Despite her active wandering, Abby has kept her chubby cheeks. She’s not as heavy as those cheeks make her look, but it makes us so happy to see her plump and healthy after such a rough start.

Abby and Lydia are best friends. One day I asked Lydia, “Who is your best friend?”, thinking she would mention one of the friends she had just seen that morning at church. She answered me very matter-of-factly: “Abigail”, and went on playing.

When I go running, the girls hold hands. When I change Abby’s diaper, Lydia lies down next to her and makes her laugh. When Abby is hungry and crying because I can’t get to her right away, Lydia talks to Abby while she waits and Abby loves it. It’s enough to melt your heart.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, and it’s not obvious in the pictures, but Abby has red hair. She doesn’t have a lot, and we’re not sure if it’ll stay or change, but right now we love her red locks. She still has brilliantly clear blue eyes, making her the smiliest, chubbiest, blue-eyed redhead in this household.

Abby Update: 9 Months Old

Posted on June 19, 2014 by justeeni

Weight: 14 pounds, 4 ounces

This month has been a busy one for Abigail, but mostly she is just full of smiles. Abby will sit in her jungle, bouncy seat, or on a blanket and play happily until someone gives her attention. Then she greets them with the biggest grin!

This month Abby got her first tooth, and her second tooth is really close. She also ate her first and second foods: avocado and sweet potato. At first she gobbled it right down, but lately she hasn’t been too interested. That’s ok, we’re not in a hurry either. Abby is also (dangerously) close to sitting up. And she’s becoming more and more mobile. One evening I changed Abby’s diaper on the floor, then left to throw it away. When I came back, Abby was gone! I found her under our bed with a big grin on her face.

Abby is as sweet as can be, and I am so thankful that she is one content little girl. She loves to get attention though and will make friends with anyone who gives her any. Everywhere we go we catch people smiling and talking to Abby from all around us, out for walks, at garage sales, in restaurants…Now if only she would sleep as often as she smiles, I would be one happy Mom! Abby has lately been getting up 3-4 times a night. Let’s just hope this is a growth spurt. That’s ok. I’m still getting my naps in on most days and she’s so adorable I just can’t stay mad at her for long even when I am tired.

Abby Update: Eight Months Old

Posted on May 13, 2014 by justeeni

Weight: 13 Pounds, 7 ounces

Abby is a lot like me. First of all, she looks very much like my baby pictures. The only real differences are that my eyes were not so blue and my hair was not so red. Although, Abby’s hair seems to be a little less red these days. It’s hard to tell because there’s just not too much of it.

My mom always told me that I was very adaptable. I don’t know about that now, but with all of our packing and unpacking and moving, Abby has displayed some adaptability of her own. She just eats when she’s hungry, sits in her bouncy seat, and smiles at anyone who will take a moment to give her a grin. She is very content and really, a very “easy baby”. The only exception is that she still usually gets up once a night. Again. But sometimes she’ll sleep nice and long and she still takes regular naps, so we’re doing ok.

Abby has officially found her thumb. And, like me, and Lydia, Abby sucks her left thumb. It brings me great happiness to hear the sound of thumb-sucking echo through our basement home as the girls nap.

Abby is also ticklish, and, like me, she doesn’t like being tickled. It’s so cute to watch her try to fight it as you tickle her tummy. She lets out little resistant grunty giggles, but she’s so ticklish that she really can’t resist very long.

But no one can make Abby’s face light up like Dan. When he gives her his attention she gives him the biggest, cutest smile you’ve ever seen. There was a period of a couple of weeks when Abby liked to stick out her tongue all the time. It was a little weird, I thought. But one time Dan just reached out and gently grabbed it. She thought that was the best thing in the world and continued to stick out her tongue in a way that made it look like she was fishing for Dan to grab it again (and he did).

As I wrap up this post, Abby is sitting in her bouncy seat chattering away: “Ehhha, ah, wah, huhhh, ayahhh, huhh, huhh, aieeyabubu”. She is more adorable than words can possibly describe.

MI Taylor Family

We live in Michigan.

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