Friday, March 30, 2012

Ada is 13 Weeks!

Jen,

Its been a few weeks weeks since I’ve given an Ada and family update. Ada is eleven weeks old and our family is so in love with her! She smiles at us a lot and when she grins her little ton sticks through her bitty infant lips and she coos. It's adorable! She is still a lightweight and is just 9 pounds. 


Ada receives two therapies a week where she gets a lot of tummy time and stretching. She can lift her head up really high when she pushes up with her hands. She now nurses twice a day and the rest of the time takes pumped breast milk with the potential of one formula bottle a day. The bottles that contain breastmilk have an added supplement to boost calories for weight gain.

June is concerned when Ada is not in the room but otherwise June doesn’t pay much attention to her. Catina on the other hand can’t get enough of Ada. Every morning all three girls come into our bed and Catina wants to be the one to hold Ada. She can’t wait to see her when she gets up from sleep or comes home from school. It's very precious.


When we first found that Ada was not nursing well I became concerned about her food supply. Nursing her was one way I believed I could provide for the family financially and I believe in all the good immunities breast milk provides. We have received a bunch of formula from about five different families who had cans left over from their babies. All the same brand and same kind of formula that we started using for Ada! In the beginning I felt the Lord telling us He would provide and He certainly has. We even had a mom who was weaning her child and pumped some extra milk for Ada!

A few weeks ago we received a check in the mail for medical expenses. Some of our friends pitched in for Ada’s future. It was very overwhelming to receive such a gift and we are so grateful. We have set it aside for Ada’s future needs such as special shoes, glasses, etc. Since then we have received money more from friends who wanted to give to Ada. I’ve written over 40 thank you notes!

In this, I am speechless. What do you say to such generosity? Is just saying thank you enough? I am praying people believe and feel our gratitude and most of all thanking Jesus for using His people to show us a tangible way that He is near.

Ann

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Jen,

So many praises!

I really do relate to the speechlessness. But I just think of how excited I am to give, especially when I know it cannot be repaid, and how these people are experiencing that blessing of joy right now! I think realizing the gift is appreciated does make it sweeter, but it's really just knowing you were able to be a part of someone's life that makes it really special.

So many people love you guys and I bet they are elated to have the chance to reciprocate some of the love you've shown them.

Jen

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Mom in Waiting: Lindy

This post is the first of a new series, Moms in Waiting, in which we'll highlight the stories of women we've been praying for over the years. Are you a mom in waiting? Visit our prayer page and let us know how we can intercede for you.

My friend Lindy suspected from a young age that one day she’d struggle to conceive. Until she was married and in her 20s her periods had been practically nonexistent, maybe occurring once or twice a year.

In the fall of 2007, after one round of ovulation induction, Lindy and her husband celebrated a positive pregnancy! In the summer of 2008 they joyously welcomed their firstborn.



I remember seeing her weeks before he was born and I announced our long-awaited pregnancy (for Elisabeth), and her reaction melted my heart, she cried such happy tears for us.

A couple years later when they weren’t conceiving “naturally,” they knew they needed to pay another visit to their fertility specialist, the reproductive endocrinologist.

In the summer of 2010 Lindy started the regimen of injections to prepare for another ovulation induction, feeling like a human pincushion. I remember asking her how she felt about all the shots and she had the best attitude, saying it’s just what we have to do to get our babies!

Sadly this round of assistance did not end in conception. It did, though, end in uncomfortable cysts that made even picking up her 2-year-old difficult. And the financial strain of infertility was starting to hit home:

We are beginning to feel the financial strain of all of this and I am not sure how much longer we can keep going. It seems like we just started and already the bills get bigger and bigger. Man, the money just drains away so fast when you go through this. Please pray.

By fall, Lindy and her husband felt ready to take on another round, her 2nd. She spent days administering the medications, making her ultrasound appointments, but her body just didn’t take:

So backward news today. I started my period, ON MY OWN! Why now of all times for my body to freak out? I am extremely disappointed, but am trying to trust that God has His plan that is best for me.

In December of 2010 Lindy began round 3 and found out she and her husband were finally pregnant! I remember her saying she just didn’t feel confident about this pregnancy for some reason and she looked forward to going in for the ultrasound to confirm it. (When you have assistance you typically have a 6-week ultrasound.)

I remember getting the devastating text while I was in the hospital, days after my Hayden was born. She was a couple months along. Lindy says the miscarriage was the worst 2 days of her life. Ugh, that too-familiar feeling of grief plus the fear that This is it? Will there be no baby?

A short time later Lindy underwent one more round of “help.” This was the 4th round and the last before taking on IVF. She had a great attitude but was growing weary and scared. Why wasn’t this “working”? As she waited on results from this last cycle, I remember the message she sent to Ann and me, who were fervently praying for her and her husband:

As the evil lady from the movie Tangled says "All good things to those who wait". We will happily wait for whatever God has that's good for us.

In their case, evidently “good” came in the form of babies. In December 2011 her and her husband welcomed their adorable twins.



Lindy is a beautiful woman and artist. See her amazing work here: http://lindypatterson.com

Friday, March 2, 2012

One More Month

Ann,

When I look back on those years of trying to conceive, I have a memory of constantly thinking “just one more month.” It’s so hard to reconcile the fact that time might take care of the issue versus biology, and the fact that for some people, a little help is just necessary.

Help can be something as basic as taking heparin, a medicine that thins the blood and increases the flow to the uterus (my doctor suspected this is why I once had a very early-term miscarriage), or it can be in the form of in vitro or a surrogate. The possibilities are practically endless, even though our hearts and wallets aren’t.

I remember being prescribed clomid for the first time. I was so convinced that it would render me instantly pregnant that I carried it around in my purse for SIX MONTHS (obviously looking for the perfect conception date). When I finally took it, and took it again and again, I could not believe it wasn’t working!

Soon I learned that no drug or procedure could “make me” pregnant. I was so thankful for the genius of these doctors and interventions, but it was up to the Creator to breathe life into me. This was actually an incredible comfort; it took away the nagging feeling that we were manipulating something, that we were “making me” pregnant. It’s actually laughable. But when you’re in the trenches, with people getting pregnant so easily all around you, it’s hard to believe that it doesn’t just happened that easily for everyone. Especially if you’re willing to wait just one more month.

My hope for these women and their spouses we’ve been praying for is they would find peace about their journey, and that their next steps would be made clear to them.

Jen

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AMEN!

Jen,

So crazy that you should write this because I was just thinking about this the other day. When things were not happening for Greg and me, I remember a friend recommending a fertility specialist and I was very resistant. Somehow I couldn’t comprehend why we weren’t getting pregnant. I kind of felt like a failure admitting we may need medical help, even though logically that doesn’t make sense because HUMANS CANNOT CREATE BABIES, ONLY GOD CAN! Even if medical help is used, babies aren’t guaranteed unless God ordains it.

The only reason I moved forward with going to see a doctor was because respected friends urged us to at least have a consultation. At that point we were more open with people about wanting to be pregnant and how it wasn’t happening for us. You can only hear so many comments and questions about the “when” from people and I wanted people to know it wasn’t for lack of trying. I wish I could say that once I saw the doctor it was an easy decision what to do next but it wasn’t. I’m glad I did but it wasn’t the funnest thing I’ve ever done.

Ann