May 17, 2007 was an emotional sort of day. It was the birthday of our 4th child....a girl. Her name is Reeve Antonia (Antonia being a family name shared with her grandma, great grandma etc...which is extra special because it's the name of Henry's biological mom, someone who never though she would know her son and especially his children.) The birth of every child is usually met with excitement and the wonder that is new life. Reeve's was no different, except that perhaps these feelings were amplified. You see, Reeve wasn't expected to live.
I have had 4 miscarriages. 3 of these happened directly after Logan was born (our 3rd child) and before Reeve. 2 of these miscarriages were traumatic, including ambulance rides and ER visits. My first loss was at 7 weeks, and the other 2 at 13 and 14 weeks. After our 3rd loss, we opted for a D&C because of how difficult it had been the first two times. After an emotionally and physically draining 2 years Henry and I thought that perhaps our family was complete and had put having another child out of our minds. You guessed it....I was pregnant shortly after. I called my wonderful midwife Nikki and she scheduled me an appointment once again to see Dr. Power at the Early Pregnancy Assessment Center at University hospital. Ultrasounds were done every week as well as blood work every 3 days. Things didn't look very good. My HCG levels weren't doubling like they should be. Ultrasounds didn't look right either. There was lots of concern and we were told to expect the worst and perhaps, said Dr. Power "you might want to start thinking about your options". There was only one option we told him. We pray and we wait. We prayed so hard that God would let us hold this child. We made it to our 20 week ultrasound. We went to that appointment cautiously. We were told there were problems with the child's kidneys and several other issues.
Fast forward 4 months....7 days overdue. Anxious and excited. Induced at 5pm for stress test complication reasons and after a *yucky* labor (Riley and Logan's births were amazing....natural and "easy") at 7:56pm, a round (9lbs 6 oz!), chubby, pink and fiesty baby girl was born. We marveled at God's grace.
Grandma Nettie with her namesake.
She has been a joy. She has livened up our home with her adventurous, feisty ways. She adores her Dad (who I think is pretty great myself), she loves cheese and meat but won't eat her vegetables. She is curious about God and the world he has created. She is loved deeply, by many. And we think, that for a child that we were told would most likely die before 12 weeks gestation, she looks pretty healthy :)
Praising God for 6 wonderful, healthy fun years. Praying for MANY more.
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