Merry Christmas!

Ainsleigh asked me several weeks ago (prior to Addie's birth) what I wanted for Christmas and I told her that I just wanted to have both of my girls home for Christmas. She told me that, no, I needed a present..."daddy and i get you a doggy...or a kitty cat." She ended up bringing me a stuffed dog to the hospital that she thinks is a cat because it has pointy ears. Today I'm pretty excited that I got what I wanted. Addie is 3 weeks old today and sleeping soundly in her bassinet (something she rarely does at night).

She's sounding really congested and her eyes are really gooey, poor thing. I tried so hard to keep her from getting this cold bug that everyone seems to have but don't think I succeeded. We're stuck at home though. Poor Ainsleigh asked where we were going and I feel bad that we're so boring and alone on Christmas. She's been such an awesome big sister, no jealousy. She just loves Addie so much. I walked out of the room with Addie in my arms and Ainsleigh told me to bring baby sister back. Too bad there isn't much to entertain Ainsleigh today. But, I am happy we're all here and have the photos to document it. Hope you all had a great Christmas.

Home!

We're finally home with Ainsleigh and Addie. Ainsleigh was thrilled to find the Christmas tree up and her room and toys still here! We're exhausted and sleep deprived. I got sick last night but am feeling a little better today. Of all times to get sick! Hospice came last night and this morning. They'll come everyday. I was still in my pajamas today so I feel weird having a stranger come and see me not cleaned up. Our house is wonderful thanks to Matt and Carly.

Ainsleigh is happy to have Addie around. She's getting really attached. Today she said, "mommy, i hold baby sister's hand and she hold mine! Isn't that cool, Mommy!" It was pretty cute. I'm nervous about the future and how Ainsleigh will take it. Hopefully the exhaustion will subside so that I can enjoy Addie more. She's been taking more from the bottle the last few feeds. maybe she'll start taking enough that we can remove the feeding tube. Wouldn't that be nice! The feeding tube is a pain.

Thanks for everyone's kind comments and prayers. We really appreciate it. I'll keep you posted.

Our Little Fighter

Well, today Addie Jo is 11 days old. We sang happy birthday to her when she made it to one week. The geneticist said most trisomy 13 babies only live for about 7 days. Addie is beating the odds. We hope to bring her home Monday. I am scared, but glad we can spend more time with her. Pray for us. Pray for Ainsleigh too. We've been away from home for almost a month now and Ainsleigh needs her routine. Addie is doing well but not wanting to take her feeds from a bottle, she has a feeding tube. Today they took her completely off the IV. The dr thought she was getting enough fluids without it. We didn't think that would happen until Sunday.

Wow, what a crazy week it has been. Life changes so quickly.

Welcome Adeline Josephine!

Well, Addie is here! She arrived via emergency C-Section on Monday, Dec 4th at 5:21 pm. She weighed 4 lbs, 2oz and was 18 inches long. She has lots of dark blond, wavy hair. We found out on Thursday that she has trisomy 13, a chromosome disorder that means she probably will have a very short life, depending on how her organs handle things. Most babies don't make it past the first month. It has been a really intense week for us. She was baptized Thursday night and the hospital gave her a beautiful little gown to wear. She's still hanging in there and doing well breathing on her own. Yesterday they even let her nurse for awhile, although she is still being fed via IV. If she can handle food, she might be able to come home and have hospice care.

We're blessed to have this time with her, although it's really hard to understand and manage celebrating her life and grieving her at the same time. Everyday has brought something unexpected and also amazing. She's a little piece of heaven. Ainsleigh got to hold her Friday and sang "you are my sunshine" to her. She's not really allowed in the NICU without a face mask though, so it has been difficult bringing her, she DOES NOT like that mask. All of our brothers and sisters have made it back and been able to meet Addie. We can't even begin to describe how wonderful that is, and how blessed we are to have the amazing family we have.

Thanks for all of your prayers, we know it is the only reason we are having the strength to make it through everything. The decisions we are making now are so difficult. Definitely not something I would have ever imagined having to make in regards to my child. Life is really so fragile, but we are so blessed .

Please pray now for Tim. He has to return to work next week and neither of us are ready. He has used all his vacation time up by taking last week off and we can't afford unpaid leave. Please pray that something will intervene to provide for us financially so that he can spend as much time with Addie as possible. This is all the time we will have with her, so it will be hard on all of us for him to go to Davenport while we stay in Peoria. God has been faithful through this. The nurses and doctors have been awesome. The hospital took pictures of Addie that we are looking forward to sharing.

I'll try to post some pictures as soon as I can and I'll try to keep everyone updated.