One Month Old!

Can you believe that our little Lucy is one month old today? I can't! What a joy to have her here, and to be one month into all of the feeding/diapers/sleeping/etc. that is involved in having a newborn. She has been a really great baby - eats well, sleeps well, is generally content. She has started to have some more alert time during the day which is fun - the boys LOVE when her eyes are open! I can't wait to see how she grows in the next month!

Christmas Cousins

We were able to spend three nights in Harrisonburg with my family after Christmas - it was a treat to see them and have them all meet Lucy. Lucy met a total of 14 family members in one week! She did a great job traveling which we are thankful for! Here are some pictures of the cousins enjoying each other. We had some more time as adults chatting too which was great!

Owen and Anna - sweet friends (playing Wii!)



Lucy getting some cousin love.



Snuggle time with Megan - she is a sweet big cousin!



The Gillan/Purdy cousin crew!
(Left to Right: Reese (12 1/2), Nathan (3), Owen (4 1/2), Baxter (2 1/2), Anna (4 1/2), Jake (2 1/2), Megan (10), Lucy (3 weeks))



Lucy with Aunt Becky and Cousin Megan (Megan is the one who Lucy's middle name, Grace, comes from. We love you Megan Grace!)

All dressed up...

and ready to head to church in the snow!

Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas Day - I can't believe it. It honestly doesn't feel real still. Even though we attended our Christmas Eve service at church last night, opened stockings and presents and ate monkey bread today. I guess being on bed rest since September has left me feeling like it should still be fall, but it is winter and Christmas. Even though it doesn't feel like Christmas to me, I am thankful that the reality of Christmas is still true. That Jesus DID indeed come to earth, born as a baby, born to be our Saviour. That is good news, regardless of how we feel!

Some pics of our Christmas times...we go to Harrisonburg Monday, barring too much snow!...to continue the celebrating.

Our first family of FIVE picture taken at church last night



Our THREE kiddos :)



The Girls



The boys



Owen with his new guitar strap and pic!



All of the kiddos with their stockings...







Baxter opening a sticker book



Lucy in her VERY pink activity mat

The last week or so

We have been slowly trying to get into a normal swing of things the last week. My time with all three kiddos has gone well, and we've still had some friends come help from time to time too. It's been great for Matt to be back in the office in a more normal routine (though he is still working from home during naptime) and to get a little taste of what life will be like. I am recovering well - though still limited physically. I can't wait to be back to 100%, but I think it will be a while. Lucy is doing great - eating and sleeping like a champ! Here are a few pics of the last week or so...









A trip downtown to the James Center to see the lights - unfortunately the indoor train set was broken, but we enjoyed the lights none the less.



All bundled up to play in our first snow of the season...we are supposed to get 3-5 inches today into tomorrow.

A few hospital pics

Here are a few pics from the hospital that we haven't posted yet. One is from playing cards in my hospital bed and the other is our "Final Four" dinner two nights before Lucy was born. Oh, I'm so glad to be home!

THREE sweet babies

Owen:



Baxter:



Lucy:

Brothers, bath time and sweet girl

Not many words needed to describe these pics!







This one is funny - captures the craziness of her first time in the bouncy seat. Owen wanted to record it, Matt as supervising, and Baxter wanted to be in with Lucy.

HOME

We are home! We have been since yesterday at lunchtime. It was so neat/strange to drive out of the hospital parking lot with Lucy in tow. What a blessing to be done in the hospital and done with bed rest! We are so thankful.

The boys could not have been more excited or dear with Lucy than they were. We'll put up pictures soon. It was the first time they had seen her (other than through a window) and were so tickled - B kept giggling and O kept saying things like "she's yawning," or "she's moving." They have continued to be very dear and helpful - mostly :)

Last night went really well for her first night home! Today I am at home from church napping with her and resting up. Matt will get some rest after church during rest time. I think we'll be going to be at 7:30 or 8:00 for the next few nights!

Thank you for praying - please know how thankful we are for you - we could not have made it with out the Lord and He works through prayer!

Pictures to come I"m sure!!

Lucy has graduated!

Lucy has graduated from the NICU to the regular newborn nursery! Praise God! Please pray for her to get the hang of breastfeeding more and more each day - she is doing well, but because she was born early this will take her a while to get the hang of. Thankful she'll take a bottle of breast milk in the meantime!

We'll post more pics sometime soon - I think she's ready to get out of the hospital onesie and blanket and into some of her own clothes :) Or maybe it's me that is ready for the cute things we brought for her!

Some more pictures of our little girl

Enjoy!

(Also, I just saw our pediatrician and he let me know that sometime today Lucy will get to leave the NICU today if all continues to go well and move into the normal nursery!)

Pictures and update

Here is a quick update and more ways to pray...

We are doing well. Lucy is actually in the NICU, she was having some labored breathing, and so they wanted to keep an eye on her. It seems that it's just caused by the cross between being born at 36 weeks and having some fluid in her lungs. All other tests and vitals are looking good. One of our pediatricians said it could take a day or a couple of days to get the fluid out. We are not scared, just looking forward to getting to be with her. Matt was able to visit last night. I will go today after I'm up and around. I have been so exhausted and recovering from the meds and such from delivery. The delivery went great - my blood loss was minimal. I just had some "real food" so I hope to be getting stronger as the day goes on.

Please continue to pray for the Lord's hand in our recovery and in Lucy's breathing. Here are a few pics Matt got in the OR. He has a few from the NICU we'll put up later. To us, she looks JUST like her brothers did as infants.

Lucy Grace Is Here!

Praise God! She was born right at 5:00pm, weighing 6 pounds 7 ounces, and both Mom and baby are doing great! We'll post some pictures soon.

This is the day!!

My nurse came in this morning at 6:20 to take my vital signs, and listen to Lucy's heart beat. They do this every morning. (Not sure why they come at 6 instead of 7, but that is besides the point.) I have had this nurse for three of the last four nights. She walks in and says "Good Morning...you get to have a baby today!" I rubbed my eyes having just woken up and said "what do you mean?"

It turns out that the second test they ran from my amnio yesterday (which is the more detailed and "golden standard" test) came back with great results. They don't know why the first test was negative, but my doctor and the high risk doctor feel great about this and we're going to go for it!

I am scheduled for 4pm - barring any delay in Labor and Delivery.

I am still in a state of shock - I am excited, and amazed and a little bit unsure what to think. This whole bed rest ordeal is finally coming to a close. We get to meet our sweet Lucy Grace and learn how to live as a family of five.

Please pray for a peaceful day leading up to the surgery. Please pray for protection for Lucy and I during delivery and recovery. Because of my placenta issues, I will likely bleed more than normal, so please pray for protection in that way and that the doctors will act quick and with great wisdom and stop any bleeding.

We'll let you know when she's here!

More waiting...

We just heard that Lucy's not quite ready to be born...we are disappointed and a little sad that we have to wait longer and that I have to be away from the boys longer, but we're trying to trust that all of the Lord's paths are perfect! We will know more tomorrow from a second test that they ran. We'll keep you posted!

Waiting for the results...

The amnio this morning went well - we are waiting for the results. We should know by 3, but we'll see!

Amnio Monday morning

Just a quick reminder...we have our amniocentesis (the test to see if Lucy's lungs are mature) at 9:45 tomorrow (Monday) morning - please pray with us that her lungs will be mature and we can deliver at 4pm via c-section. Also pray for safety and health for Lucy and I during the c-section. And pray for our hearts - we need to trust that the Lord's ways are perfect and full of love and faithfulness! If tomorrow is not to be Lucy's birthday, pray that we'd trust the Lord and wait patiently and full of peace.

Precious Boys

This is not an easy time for our boys, but these pictures capture the amazing grace of God to our boys in this time. Even though their mommy is on bed rest and is now on bed rest IN the hospital and their daddy is ping-ponging between home and hospital and work, look at these precious smiles. Thank you Jesus that you love our boys so much!! And thank you to all of our friends and family who have loved on our boys while we have not been able to as much as normal!