*****: Baby Group

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Baby Group

Twice a month a group of us get together and have a play date. Our babies obviously can't play yet but we sit around and chat and eat really good food. So far there are eight of us. I love these women and their babies. Seven of us have a baby with Down Syndrome. Our babies all range in age. Sarah being the oldest and Emma being the newest. We share ideas, goals, and worries. It is such a great support group. It is so fun to get together and compare notes and see the babies at their different stages. I cannot explain in words to you how wonderful these women and their babies are. I feel so honored to be around them. They are truly amazing and teach me so much. Even though we are all at different places and have different lifestyles we are all the same. We all share a bond that will last forever. These beautiful little babies. I couldn't feel more in heaven when I am in the room with all eight of them. They are all angels.

Belle (screaming about the ears), Jacob 11 months, Sarah 21 months, Evan

Tommy 10 months and Evan 7 months

Rachael 6 months (no extra chromosome) Maddie 5 months

Emma our newest little angel 2 months

5 comments:

Raven said...: What a great group of kids! My favorite is the bunny ears picture--so classic!; April 16, 2009 at 8:59 AM
DaLynn said...: They are all so stinken cute!! How lucky you are to find a support system like that, good for you.; April 21, 2009 at 3:14 PM
alisha said...: I'm glad that you have such a great support group - and I am sure they benefit much from your wisdom/experience as well. Belle is such a cutie. I am so happy for you. :); April 21, 2009 at 7:31 PM
The Steels said...: They are all beautiful!; April 23, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Unknown said...: Aw...I bet that is so nice to have that support group. All of those babies are beautiful!; May 9, 2009 at 10:35 AM

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Belle's Story

We initially had decided that we were done having kids after Tate. But four years later it all changed.......
From the minute we found out I was pregnant I was so so sick all day everyday. It was definitely different from my other pregnancies. When I went in for my first appointment Dr . G mentioned to me that because I would be 30 a bit after the baby was born she was going to put me in the next age bracket and have all the testing that goes along with that. She told me about the down syndrome testing and how I could just have a blood test done or I could have the blood test and an ultrasound. I of course quickly chose the second option initially out of wanting to see my baby so early. Before the appointment was done though I had thought about it and I hate surprises and definitely wanted to know what to plan for. We went to Idaho for Thanksgiving and convinced my Aunt Linda to come back with us. Tony left for a week long business trip the day after we got back and that day Linda and I went in for the ultrasound. We were so excited to see such a little bug at 13 weeks. She was absolutely adorable. She was this little wiggle worm waving and flipping everywhere. They did what they needed to and then the ultrasound tech told me she was going to go talk to the doctor and that the doctor would be in to talk to me in a minute. By this time my 20 min. appointment had turned into 45 min. and I was starting to get nervous about making it home to get the boys off the bus. I thought it strange she would leave me all lubed up, but everything with this pregnancy was so different than before. After 10 min. of waiting my stomach became nervous and I had just leaned over to Linda and said "I think something is wrong," when the doctor came in. She advised me that from what they saw minus the blood test that my beautiful babies chance of having downs was 1 out of 2. I should note that with my age bracket it normally is 1 out of 1000 something. Dr K. told us if we wanted to find out for sure then we could either wait for 3 weeks and then have an amnio or we could do a CVS right now and know within 48 hours. I chose the second knowing that there was no way I would be able to get through 3 wks. of wondering. My 20 min. appointment had turned into a 3 hr. appointment but we were finally on our way home. I was in shock but had this comforting feeling that everything was ok no matter the outcome. It was so hard to tell Tony knowing that he had to deal with it all alone. I am so thankful that Linda was here with me. This experience was definitely a testimony builder. I know that my Heavenly Father knows me personally and knows what I can handle and can't. I know with all my heart that he loves me and my little family and believes in us. He knows our full potential. Those 48 hours were the longest and hardest hours of my life. The second day I woke up early that morning and just knew that my baby had downs but that everything was going to be ok. It was a very comforting feeling. When the call came in that night it was confirmed and we also found out that we were having the little girl we longed for. Throughout the pregnancy baby and I were both monitored very closely. There were a few scares, the threat of bed rest, placenta problems, non-stress tests not being passed, and the constant worry about her little heart. But in the end we made it through. Finding out so early made for a really long pregnancy but by the time she came we felt like we had learned as much as we could and we were very comfortable with what the future of our family looked like. The night before her last NST Jonah said that he hoped that Belle wouldn't pass the test so that she could come out. The next morning he kept telling her not to pass the tests because he wanted to hold her. Sure enough she didn't pass and after almost 6 hours at the dr's office and the hospital they told us they would start me the next day. The delivery went smoothly and within five hours we had our long awaited, beautiful baby girl, with her one extra chromosome in our arms. She was 2 1/2 weeks early and weighed in at 6lbs. 3 oz. She stayed a few nights in the NICU but soon was home with us. She is a very healthy happy baby girl. Her heart is healthy and we couldn't ask for anything better. She is amazing. She is truely our little angel. We feel so blessed to have her in our family and can't imagine life without her. We are so grateful for our family and all of our friends and their support and love. We are thankful for this opportunity that our family has to go on this little journey that we probably wouldn't have had without Belle. We are all completely smitten with Belle. She is as beautiful as the day is long. Thank you for joining our journey.