Sunday, July 7, 2013

Happy Birthday Jenni Anne!

I have been meaning to post this post for about 2 days now, but we have been too busy celebrating. My sweet baby girl turned one on Thursday. That's right she is a July 4th baby.

Now, her journey to being a little firecracker was not a smooth ride. For starters, I had four doctors tell me that I was unable to have children, but God had other plans. The day we found out we were pregnant with Jenni Anne was one of the happiest days of our lives. It was an amazing journey, but it was not an easy one. I went into preterm labor at the beginning of my third trimester. So, I spent all of June on bed rest. I wouldn't have made it through that month had it not been for my amazing husband, family, friends, and some Saved by the Bell, Army Wives, and Nicholas Sparks.

Jenni Anne wasn't due until August 5, but here came July 4 at 2:45 am. I woke up for my usual midnight snack and bathroom break, when I realized that my water might have broke. I wasn't quite sure right away, so what did I do? I went to the kitchen, opened the cabinet, got my usual scoop of peanut butter, poured a glass of milk, and prayed to God that I would know what to do. I wasn't scared of the baby coming or my water breaking. What scared me was that it was still 1 month away. She would be considered a preemie for another week. I called my mom, woke Caleb up, called the doctor and headed to the hospital.

When they confirmed that my water broke and I was officially in labor, I looked at Caleb with a mix of joy and fear in my eyes. We were so excited to meet our baby that we have prayed for, but we just wanted everything to be okay. The labor part was a little more complicated than what was expected, but I still had faith that God was going to let everything be ok.

When Jenni Anne finally arrived into the world, she wasn't breathing. I was too worried about what was going on with her to know that I was losing a lot of blood. Come to find out I almost had to have a transfusion, but I had no clue. My mind was focused on what was happening with my baby girl. Why wasn't she breathing? Why wasn't she crying? Was she ok? Why wasn't anyone telling me? All the why's were flowing through my head for what seemed like eternity, but what was actually less than a minute. They gave her a few breaths of oxygen and she was great. She was perfect. All 4 lbs. 13 oz. and 18 in. of her. Absolutely perfection.

We were worried about her heart, lungs, and everything. The nurses looked at us and said, "You have one strong baby girl. She is a fighter." Those words are still true for this little girl. She has been through it all.. staying in the NICU after we had to go home, RSV, MRI, eye surgery, acid reflux, reflux in her kidneys, hospitalized 2 times, multiple ER visits, febrile seizures, glasses, torticollis, delayed on crawling and walking, and those are just what I can think of off the top of my head. This baby has been through more than any child should have to go through in the course of a year. Many people would ask how could God do this? and I have to admit, I have thought why so much, but the truth is that He is preparing her to be a strong person. All of these struggles this young are building her up and I can see that now.
The day Jenni Anne was born.

5 Days old in the NICU

12 Days old








1 Year Old



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