M to the 4th Power!

 This little bundle of Joy will be six months old tomorrow. In honor of her half birthday I thought I would share her birth story and how she got her name. It was a fun one!! 

It all started here:

 But don't let that smile fool you. When I found out I was pregnant it was a split second of excitement and then the panic set in. I did the math. If this baby came on time I would have a not quite 3.5 year old and two 21 month olds! Yikes! I am not going to lie. I cried. How in the world would I be able to handle all that? Then came the fear of having twins. If it was twins again I would have 5 kids in less then 4 years. How in the world would I go grocery shopping?! (That really was what I was worried about at the time!) I facebooked my OB and told her I need a sonogram so she could ease my fear of twins. I really have the best OB in the world! She brought me in the next day and reviled that it would only be one baby. 

 This is me at 18 weeks. The belly bump had arrived. I really had a fun pregnancy. I love being pregnant! I love the way my body holds and grows a new little life. I love feeling them kick and move! I am even one of those crazy ladies that loves when strangers touch and talk to my belly!

This is me and my sweet twin girl on my 31st birthday. I was 30 weeks and 1 day.  We decided to keep the baby's gender a surprise. We didn't know who was in there! We had a boys name picked out, but could not agree on a girls name. I was almost sure it was a boy- so I wasn't too worried about the name issue. My best friend in the whole world was the only one who knew the gender. She did an amazing job of keeping a secret. Almost every other day I would try to trick her into tell me who was in my belly!

I think I was 37ish weeks here. My husbands sweet aunt gave us a baby moon one night get away. My mom and mother-in-love watched the other crazy kids so we could go! Woooohooo. Our family rocks!

I had had 2 previous c sections, but was determined that this baby would come out naturally! My OB was not comfortable with letting me try so I asked around and found and OB who said that if the conditions were right, he would let me.  I went in for my sono at 38 weeks to see if I could try for the natural deliver, but my dreams were squashed. The sono tech kept asking me if I had had any fluid leaking and how had I been feeling? I was a little confused because I felt great! I guess after a twin pregnancy, having just one baby was easy peasy! The tech told me to get dressed and meet her in the hall way. While I was standing there I heared her say to the midwife, "I don't see any fluid around this baby." Hum? I thought, 'She must be talking about the mama she saw before me. Everything is fine.' Wrong. The midwife came in a told me just what I had heard in the hallway. The baby would need to come today, by c section. I was in tears, alone and all the way in Arlington!

I called my regular OB and asked if she would deliver me. She told me to come to her hospital and check in. My hubby meet me at the hospital and then we waited and waited and waited! Since I had eaten breakfast (what prego doesn't??) we would have to wait.  At this point I started to freak out about not having a girls name. We had sort of decided on a name, but at this point I started to have second thoughts! We still did not have a name pinned down!  

Surgery time. I was so scared. I was not sure if baby was ok. How long had s/he been without the fluid? Why had I not known that my water broke? What mom who has had 2 other pregnancy's doesn't know these things?

My husband prayed over me as the staff started. In no time our sweet little GIRL was born! "A girl?" I yelled. "What is her name?" my husband named her at that time. And I was so happy with the choice he made!

Love at first sight: 

She was 7lbs and 12oz of pure, perfect Joy!!

I often tell people that she is the happiest baby that Jesus ever made. She is number 4 in our family and the 3rd girl. She is easy and sweet. We are so blessed by her presence in our home. She is only 6 months old but she has already seen lots of 'firsts'. She has had her first trip to the beach, fair, the zoo and the pumpkin patch. She has her first two teeth! Her first bite of apple sauce. 

Even though I was scared at first, I can not imagine our lives without her now!! 

 

We dedicated her to the Lord at our church on October 26 2013. It was a fun night! Both sets of grand parents were there. My best friend came (the one who knew who she was before the rest of us did). One of my brother in laws with his fiancee also came to support us! Our family is truly wonderful!

I am excited to see who she becomes. My prayer for her is that she grows to know and love the Lord. That she is kind to herself and to others. That she will be strong and confident but that she will also know how and when to bend. I pray that she will always know how much we really love her!