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From the beginning of our journey both Alan & I envisioned having
a little girl, she would be "daddy's little girl" and we
both looked forward to daddy doting over his "little princess".
At one point in our journey, Alan and I discussed possible baby names
(we were just dreaming), we only thought of girl names as we had
a feeling we wouldn't need a boy name. No names were concrete though.
I decided to pray and ask God what name he would name our future
daughter. My prayer was answered in the form of a song I heard while
driving to work one day. This was just one of those things that I
was positive was from God, as I felt him speaking to me deep down
in my soul. The song is by U2 and is called Grace. Our future daughter
would be named, "Grace". The middle name was still up in
the air. Alan was sweet and started a special web page for our future "Grace".
It was a work in progress, but it was the thought behind it that
counted, at least to me. The page flashed part of the song text across
the top, and also had a link where you could look at the entire lyrics.
Note of special importance: This was prior to my TR and two years
before we got a positive hpt
WE ARE PG WITH GRACE - HER STORY
On October 1, 2002 after already having confirmation that we were pg with our
first TR miracle, we saw the baby's heart beat . They informed us then that
we wouldn't get another u/s until we were 22 weeks, then we would be able
to see the sex and we were not the type to wait till the birth to find out-LOL.
So the clock started ticking.
This was the longest wait I ever experienced. We wanted a girl desperately
and we even called the baby "Grace" before we knew for
sure that it was a girl. When we were finally 22 weeks and we went
for the u/s, the baby wouldn't be still well enough for us to see
the sex. The OB took a guess that it was a girl but gave us this "it
is not 100%" speech. Although we could not see the gender, what
we did see brought tears to both of us. We saw arms, legs, feet,
little tiny fingers (which appeared to be snapping-LOL) and a beautiful
little face that played peek-a-boo with us. No other u/s would be
offered unless we had complications. This was not what we had expected
and we were both terribly disappointed that we still didn't know
100% if it was a girl or a boy.
WE FINALLY LEARN THE GENDER
Then I heard of Fetal Photos, a company that you could pay to do a 3D u/s.
This wasn't a medical facility they were a for profit operation so it wouldn't
be covered by our insurance. We would have to pay for it out of our own pocket,
but they guaranteed they would tell you the sex and we'd also get a video.
If the gender wasn't visible they offered a complimentary visit to look again.
So we rushed to sign up! On Feb. 15, 2003 (28 weeks pg) we went to Fetal
Photos, and saw our baby GIRL!!! Yes that's right a girl. Finally we could
rest assured that calling the baby "Grace" would not be psychologically
damaging-LOL. And we were able go shopping for girl clothes, which we were
afraid to do previously for fear of jinxing it. By this time we also had
picked a middle name for her, so now it was official her name would be "Grace
Eliana". Eliana we learned was Hebrew and meant answer to prayer. Very
suitable indeed.
PREPARING FOR HER ARRIVAL
We denied urges to shop for much, as one of my aunts volunteered to throw us
a baby shower. This paid off cause we got plenty from the shower. We however
did buy some big stuff like a crib and a stroller and car seat. We had agreed
that we didn't want to be too materialistic with our baby shopping, we would
keep it simple and cheap if we could. Just the bare necessities. The crib
would be in our room, so we saw no need for a bassinet. I didn't even want
a changing table because I'd had one before that was rarely used except for
storing junk on. My other kids had been changed on beds, couches, and floors.
Instead we bought a $20 book case to keep diapers and other supplies on,
and there was also had space for books and toys we acquired for Grace. We
proved that having a baby didn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Happiness
is more important than things!
HER BIRTH STORY
I had hoped that since my other three children had been born between 39-40
weeks gestation, that Grace too would be born in that time frame. She proved
time and time again that this pregnancy was not the same as my others. With
the others I had no morning sickness (m/s), no Braxton Hicks, and had fairly
easy vaginal deliveries. It was pretty much wam bam and then there was the
baby. Grace had to be different! I was sick for like 4 months with m/s, I
spotted throughout my pregnancy, I had weeks of Braxton Hicks, she went past
the due date, and I ended up having to have a C-section because she wasn't
presenting in the proper position-LOL. And around 30 weeks gestation she
tried to be born early, so I had to go to L&D to get the labor stopped.
They said the cause was a urinary tract infection (UTI); I ended up having
recurring UTIs and had to take antibiotics for the remainder of my pregnancy.
But finally, on May 14, 2003, one day before our fourth wedding anniversary,
she was here. And she was so precious!!!
The most disappointing part about having to have a C-section was
that I barely got to see Grace after the delivery and I didn't get
to hold her until much later. I didn't even know how big she was.
She looked tiny at my first glance, but not abnormally so. It had
just been so long since I'd seen a new born that I had forgotten
how small they are. The C-section was good for Alan though cause
he got to go with Grace to the nursery while I was recovering from
surgery. He fed her a bottle in a rocking chair they had in the nursery,
and he took pictures of her getting her first bath. He was still
in the sterile clothing they made him put on for the surgery (very
cute on men-LOL). It really was a special bonding moment for him.
Nearly three hours after her birth Mommy finally got to hold the
precious little angel. I immediately put her to my breast and she
nursed beautifully. I found out that she weighed 6 lbs. and 6 oz.
and was 19.5 inches long. Unlike my other children, Grace was very
quiet. When she cried it was more like a whimper, the others were
screamers. She seemed so peaceful at all times. She was very alert
for a newborn, and I believe her quiet nature endeared her to the
nursing staff of the hospital. They seemed to take an immediate liking
to her, as did everyone that came to see her.
After two days we came home with our precious bundle, and we've
been in heaven ever since. She is so loved by everyone in our house.
We have worn out the camera taking pictures of her, and we just can't
keep from lovin on her. She has the most adorable chubby cheeks that
make you just want to pinch them; mixed with the fact that she has
her Daddy's blue eyes. Wow! I tell you I have one cute baby.
SHARING HER WITH THE WORLD
Grace's Daddy (yes she is very much the "daddy's girl" we envisioned)
added a picture gallery to her already existing web site so our family and
our friends could see her right after she was born. They are spread out across
the country so the world wide web was the quickest way for us to share her.
As she as grown and as we've added another baby to our bunch, it became difficult
to maintain her original web page, so we changed our site and made a family
web site for sharing photos of the whole happy lot of us. To see our personal
photo web pages click on my LINKS.
CURRENT UPDATE
Today (October 7, 2005) Grace is nearly 29 months old, and we have thoroughly
enjoyed every minute. She is a great big sister to Sarah-Rose. Although some
might worry that she is too rough with her baby sis, I find it's all pretty
much based on love, and we make sure she doesn't do too much damage. Our
Grace is a busy girl, busy getting into all sorts of trouble every day. The
messes she creates seem never ending. She is independent and care free. Her
vocabulary grows daily and we get such a kick out of deciphering what she
is saying. Her newest word is "waff-aubers" which we finally discovered
was her version of left-overs. And this morning as she was helping me send
her Daddy off to work she said "see ya way-ter baby" (see you later
baby). That sure gave us both a laugh. She is definitely the queen bee around
here, and someday soon we'll regain control of our land. lol But not before
we give her a ton more hugs and kisses.
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