Five Weeks...Already!

Hesedah's first Sunday at church

It's hard to believe that five weeks have gone by already since we first brought little Hesedah home.  She has grown so much during this time and it has been such a joy for us to see all those changes.  She is a wonderful little girl who likes to sleep, eat, and sleep some more.  She's a fairly easy baby to take care of.  She only seems to cry when there is something really bothering her (diaper, hungry, etc.)  She sleeps well through the night.  Most nights she is out for six hours, but she has had a few eight-hour nights, too.  At her last appointment, she weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces and that was two weeks ago already.  This means she has already gained two pounds since birth.  Her next appointment is at two months and she will receive her vaccinations at that time.  My favorite thing about Hesedah at this age is when I wake her up in the morning for her breakfast.  She stretches her arms over her head, blinks her eyes a few times, and gets a little smile on her face as if to say, "Good morning, daddy!"  She is a precious little girl and has been a huge blessing in our life.  God is good!

Hesedah's Pretty in Pink

All clean after her first bath.

Mommy giving Hesedah her first bath.

Welcome Home Hesedah!

Hesedah doing her favorite thing - sleeping.

Mommy and Hesedah at the hospital.

Daddy and Hesedah at home.

First family picture at the hospital.

Hesedah (pronounced heh-SAY-dah) was born July 23, 2011 at 7:28 p.m.  She was 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 18 3/4 inches long.  It has been such a joy watching her grow these first hours of her life.  She is precious, adorable, and we couldn't be any more proud.  Her birth mother is such a special young woman and we are so grateful to her for choosing us to be the adoptive parents of her baby.  Hesedah is home now and doing well.  She quickly showed us what parenting is really like that first night as she needed diapers changed, bottles delivered and pacifier in place.  We are impressed that she is eating so well and we can already see her growing so much.  Hesedah is an answer to our prayers and evidence to us of God's loyal love.  Thank you all for your love, prayers, and support during this time.  We are so grateful!     

Panoramic Shot of Baby Room

 

I took this panoramic shot of the baby room this afternoon.  Click the photo for a larger image.  The brown rug is not oddly shaped, but that's how the camera put the picture together.  This gives you a good idea of how it looks.  We are hoping the baby arrives soon...maybe within the next week. 

Orphanology

This is a great, challenging read for anyone who shares God's heart for orphans.  The authors' insight comes from their own adoption experiences, as well as, the opportunities they have had speaking about adoption and orphan care.  While the content of the book will challenge everyone, I think it provides the greatest challenge for church leaders to take up the call to orphan care.

Some Unexpected Things

It was supposed to be a routine check-up last Wednesday for Amanda's second pregnancy.  We thought we could squeeze in an appointment with the doc before heading out that evening to Arizona for a wedding.  Everything went well at the office and the doctor was able to get us an ultrasound that afternoon.  She thought it would put us at ease since we have a history of miscarriage. 

We went for the ultrasound and the technician found what she called a cyst on Amanda's ovary.  She didn't make a big deal about it, but said we'd check things out again in a week.  Later that afternoon, we took Amanda's dad out for a late Father's Day supper.  While munching down at Texas Roadhouse, the doctor called Amanda.  She told her that after looking at the reports, it appeared that Amanda had an ectopic pregnancy.  An ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that forms anywhere other than the uterus.  If the baby continues to grow, it could burst the tubes and Amanda could bleed to death.  Because of this, she advised us not to go to Arizona.

We stayed put in Sioux Falls Wednesday night, had more tests done on Friday, then more tests in the morning on Sunday.  The doctor admitted Amanda to the hospital Sunday afternoon for observation.  Based on blood tests, the pregnancy failed, the baby was no longer alive, and the options at that point were to have surgery to remove the ectopic pregnancy or to take medication for it.  The pregnancy had already ended, we just needed to get it cleared up for Amanda's physical health.  For various reasons, we opted for medication.  Around 8 p.m. on Sunday, the doctor released us to go home. 

Emotionally, we are doing well.  Physically, Amanda still has some pain, but is slowly improving.  Our biggest question is, "Why would God allow us to get pregnant, share the exciting news, have plans for Arizona, then end the pregnancy?"  I think it's a question that we will never have the answer to...at least in this life.  This is tough stuff, but we continue to put our hope in Jesus and know that God is in control. 

On a brighter note, we were able to "see" via ultrasound yesterday the baby that's due in a few weeks.  We saw the hands, feet, fingers, nose, mouth...but no gender.  It's a beautiful baby and we cannot wait to bring it home.  By the way, because of the birthmother's size, they are not going to let the baby grow larger than 7 pounds before delivering.  The baby is now 5 pounds, 14 ounces.  A baby grows 1/2 pound per week.  This means the baby will be 7 pounds in two weeks.  That's two weeks earlier than expected.  It could come on July 16th, which is also our birthdays -- Amanda and I share a birthday.  How cool would it be if our whole family had birthdays on July 16?  

Thank you for the many prayers and overwhelming support during this time.  We are so thankful! 

Baby Room

We've been working hard on the baby room.  Here are some photos of what we have so far.  Two walls are lime green, one wall is light lime green (almost white), and the fourth wall is milk chocolate (the paint in the can looked like hot fudge - mmmm.)  We added a glider to the room yesterday.  We also have some shelves and frames on the wall.  The pattern on the valance in the top photo is also the pattern we used for the bedding in the crib and on some other accessories.  It's called Trend Lab "Giggles."  All of this is fun, but our favorite part of the room is the little yellow duckies scattered on the floor and sitting on shelves.  Can't wait to bring the little ducky home.