Happy Birthday Faith.....

Our Little Angel

Faith Byrd

November 29, 2006

It's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by so quickly for us. It is definately a bittersweet day for us as we remember our daughter Faith on her birthday as we hold our other daughter Jaylen in our arms. We are blessed to have both girls in our lives and hearts. A year ago I felt as though my world had been turned upside down when we lost her but I know I am a stronger person today. Hard to believe that we had 2 babies in the same year. I didn't ever think we would get another child so quickly but thank God so much for blessing us again. We adore Jaylen and wouldn't change a thing but we'll always remember our little angel who is safe in Heaven with our Father. How awesome is our God who continues to bless our lives each and every day.

1 week checkup.....and more pics

We took Jaylen for her 1 week check up today with Dr. Stephens. He said she checked out perfectly. We thought she still had some yellow color to her and he agreed but said it was residual coloring from getting out from under the lights and that it would continually lessen as she continues to pee and poop. We were thankful that she checked out great and is ready to start putting on the pounds! Her birth weight was 5 lb 10 oz and today she was back up to 5 lb
2 oz so she's getting there. She is still sleeping ALL the time. We wake her up for pretty much every feeding. She was awake for about an hour and a half today during a feeding and her bath. She loves getting her hair shampooed (is that spelled right?). She just looks around and doesn't cry a bit.

My mom, Grandmother, came today to spend several days with us as Gavan had to go back to work this morning. She can't believe how much Jaylen looks like Gavan. Neither can I. I can hardly claim anything on this child. Gavan gives me credit for her nose but it looks just like his baby pics too. She is already a daddy's girl, I guess.

Here are a few more pics from today. Aunt Miranda bought Jaylen several preemie outfits and this is one of them. We thought she looked adorable in them. They are so tiny!

Her socks don't fit but that's no surprise.

She just had a bath so her hair has lots of body! We love it.

Sweet little girl

Mom just couldn't stop loving on her!

We've already had to change the changing pad sheet. Tonight G was changing her diaper and apparently she was in the middle of a poop. I was in the room and he said "Oh, here's some poop", then he said "Oh, here's some pee", then he said "Oh, here's some spit up". I was just laughing watching him try to catch all of the bodily functions that were happening at the same time. He did great but we did need to get a new sheet. Jaylen didn't mind all the excitement as long as she got to finish her business, I guess!

O Christmas Tree....

Well, I'm officially back to the blog world. It's been a crazy last week but so nice to finally be home as a family. Today was G's last day to be home with us before going back to work. It was so nice to have him the last 8 days. We took down all the fall decorations and put up our christmas tree and stuff. He had already put the lights on the house before Jaylen was born and when the weather was nice so we're ready to go. Actually, no we're not cause we haven't bought one present yet. This year we're going with gift cards and we don't feel bad about it either! Who doesn't want a gift card anyway?! It was nice to clean the house and put up all our stuff.

Jaylen gets checked out by Dr. Stephens tomorrow. I'm anxious to know her weight. It's only been 2 days since she was weighed but I'm curious. She's such a good baby, right now anyways. Since she was premature we were told that she'll sleep alot at first and that is exactly what she does. We wake her up to eat and then she conks out again. We were cleaning and vacuuming today and she didn't even get phased by the noise. We'll wait and see what she's like in a few months!

My mom is coming tomorrow to stay for several days and spoil her first grandchild, I'm sure. I know she's excited to get back down here to see Jaylen cause it's been a week since she saw her! Get excited cause it's only 28 days till Christmas!!!!!

Home Again

We are home once again! Jaylen's jaundice level was down to a 10 this morning so the doc sent her home. We'll go back in on Wednesday for her first check up and to make sure the jaundice is under control. It's very good to be back home and get things back in order. I'll let Mel post when she gets caught up with everything.

-Gavan

Quick Update

Jaylen's bilirubin level is down to 13.6 as of an hour ago. It should get down below 12 by tomorrow morning and we expect to go home then. We'll probably have the in-home lights we will put her under for a couple days but being home again will be great.

-Gavan

Back in the Hospital

We spent last night in Mercy hospital. When we took Jaylen home Wednesday we knew she had a little bit of jaundice. By Friday evening we called our pediatrician's after hours number about it and they said to come in Saturday morning. They tested her levels Sat morning and it was pretty high. So we had to bring her in around 2:00 yesterday. They had to poke her 5-6 times to finally get a good IV in her. That wasn't any fun to watch. But now that she's been on IV and under the lights her billirubin level is down from a 24 to a 15. If you've had a jaundice baby these numbers and terms will make sense. She was a bit dehydrated so that's the reason for the IV. The doc came in this morning and thinks we'll be going home in the morning. Her color is so much better today and we're hopeful to get her home tomorrow. We'll keep you posted.

-Gavan

Day 2

Well, we survived night #1 at home with Jay. We got home around noon yesterday. She slept all day (except for nursing times) until we put her in her crib for the night. Then she remembered that she's a newborn and should be keeping mommy and daddy awake! But we got her down about 1:00am and she slept until Mel woke her to feed at 3:30. She slept through to 6:30 when Mel woke her again. She went back down for a bit and I got up with her at 7:30. All in all, a pretty good night. Today mommy and Jaylen enjoyed her first Thanksgiving Day parade on TV. We've enjoyed laying on the couch together, hanging out with our new little girl.

Mom and dad are bringing food over later today for Mel and I. I'm sure they might also find a little time to spend with their new grand daughter as well. I'm experimenting below by posting a video. We've never tried this before. This is from the morning after we had Jay. Enjoy!

We are truly convinced she's the cutest baby we've ever seen! Funny how that works isn't it parents?

-Gavan

Picture Time!

A few more pics for you all to enjoy. Real quick explanation on the first two. Jaylen shares a birthday now with Addisyn Alyse Walker and Vivian Mae Stansberry. The Stansberrys and Walkers are also in our Just Starting Out Bible class at Memorial Rd. All three of us had girls, on the same day, in the same hospital! It sure made it easy for all of our church friends to come up and see all three at once.

Jaylen and Addisyn

Jaylen and Vivian

See Jaylen's little scratch she gave herself?


Proud mommy and daddy.


We'll get a slide show of pics up within a couple days. We're excited to go home in a few hours!

-Gavan

Jaylen Jane Byrd

Jaylen Jane Byrd

Look at all that light brown hair. We love it!

This is right after she was born.

Jaylen entered this world last night at 8:48 weighing in at 5 lbs 10 oz and was 19 inches long. It was a quick delivery and she's a healthy baby girl. I'm doing good pretty good just tired and sore but so thankful she made it safely and we finally get to hold her!!!!!!!

More pictures to come after we get home and get settled! Thanks for all the prayers that went up for Jaylen!

Well, it could be anytime now......

First off, thank you, thank you, thank you to all the ladies that helped put on my shower as well as everyone that attended. I was wonderfully overwhelmed at the shower and couldn't feel more blessed than I did yesterday. Honestly, I was just so excited to see everyone and the gifts were just a side note! I do wish I couldn't of talked to more people but that's what happens. Again, we're so blessed to have the group of friends that we do.

I just got back from my doctor's appoitment, which went great. I had gained a couple more pounds over the last week and the baby sounded great. I got to take my pump off during the apointment and now I feel like a free woman! It's weird how much of a difference it makes just knowing that I am not wearing it anymore. I don't feel any different but it's a good feeling to know that I don't have to shower with it anymore!

She checked my dilation to see if I had changed from last week and to get a baseline and she laughed as she said I was at a 4 1/2 or 5!!!!!!!!! I've been at a 2 forever but not anymore! She's in town all week so I'm not worried about her missing my delivery. My chart says to call her for the delivery so I'm not worried about someone else having to do it. It's a little weird knowing that I'm dilated to almost a 5 but I'm so excited to have the baby. I had several girls ask me yesterday during the shower if I was nervous about the delivery and I said no because I'm just so ready for it and excited.

Just keep checking the blog for updates! Mom and I are actually off to Target to pick a few last minute things so pray that my water doesn't break while I'm there!!!!!!!

One shower down.....one to go......

Well, I made it through yesterday without going into labor and now I just need to get through tomorrow's baby shower. I've come this far and hopefully I can go today and tomorrow and then I okay with whatever happens. It was so nice to get out of the house yesterday and I did pretty good with everything too. Obviously I got fairly tired due to the fact that I haven't been "going" for 7 weeks now. But I rested in between activities and last night too. Today will be pretty low key with me just here at the house so I think I'll be good to go tomorrow for the church shower. I did start to notice a little swelling in my hands yesterday but that is the first swelling I've had all pregnancy. I wouldn't of noticed but I tried to put my wedding ring on and it was too snug so I went without it. My feet and face haven't started yet so maybe they won't.


Gavan & I took some pictures after we got back from the shower yesterday cause we hadn't gotten very many of us together when I actually have nice clothes on (and not wearing pj's). We had a little fun with the timer on the camera and our poses.

I know my belly is getting big but it looks huge in this shirt.

And even bigger in this shot!

Yep, I even wore heels.

Well, I'm out for today and on to my lovely couch. But this is my last full day of bedrest. I can't really believe it. The past 7 weeks have gone pretty fast if you can even imagine that. I'm excited to see my friends at my shower tomorrow too! Yea!!!!!!!!

Picker's Visit

Adam and Heidi are our good friends who are missionaries in New Zealand right now and they came back to the states for a visit. They came over last night for dinner and to catch up. It was so great to see them and talk with them about everything they've been doing. We've missed them so much since they've been gone and it was so fun to see Heidi pregnant. When they left neither of us were pregnant and now we are both showing belly bumps! We took a few pictures for memories!

Bump to Bump!

Tomorrow is a big day for me! I get to go get my hair done!!!!!!! I'm so excited about it. After that, we have our first baby shower at Chesapeake tomorrow afternoon too! It is such a huge day. I actually get to be around people again. It's 7 wks of bedrest but it is coming to an end. We are definately counting down the days of my bedrest and we are down to 4 days. After we take the pump off I'm not going to do the bedrest thing cause it's okay for her to come now. Aaaahhhh......we could have a baby in less than a week! We are very excited....haven't I said that a lot lately?!

Well, guess I better get to bed and rest up for my big day tomorrow!

Our little one weighs in at.......

a whopping 5 lbs 9 oz! She gained a pound in the last 2 weeks, which is on schedule for right now. The ultrasound showed she was just under 35 weeks of growth and everything looked great. She is still in the head down position so she shouldn't turn now. We actually got to see her moving her mouth in a sucking motion on the ultrasound. It was really cute. She didn't have her thumb in her mouth but at least we know that her sucking reflex works! She showed off by putting her put above her head too. She did great on the NST, as usual. It only took about 25 minutes to get a reactive strip on her cause she was moving constantly. My doctor was actually gone today so I didn't get to see her. I have an appointmen this coming Monday, Nov 19th, for her to take me off of the pump. That is assuming that I continue to do well with the medication and the baby keeps growing, which it looks like it will be fine. After we do that, anytime is fair game for us to have a baby!

Last night Gavan was taking some more pics of my belly and we thought this one below was good enough to post. There was liquid in the glass and I even started laughing a bit but the cup didn't budge!

This is also the couch I've been living on during the days for the past 5 weeks. It's quite comfy but I'll be glad to only be trying to squeeze a quick nap on it in the near future!

This next picture we took this morning before I went to the doctor. I never know when the last pregnancy picture of me will be taken cause I never know if they are going to let me leave the hospital after my appointments!

I guess it really is true what they say about wearing black that it makes you look slimmer. My stomach is bigger than it looks in this picture.

I still can't believe I've gotten this far. When I went into the hospital at 29 weeks, we were worried about having a baby less than 3 pounds and now she's almost 6 pounds. God is so good. I thank Him everyday for giving me these weeks at home to get my little girl bigger and stronger. When all this started happening I kept asking why I was having a pregnancy like this. I just thought He would bless us with an easy road this time after what we went through with losing Faith. But as I kept thinking about it I started telling myself that He never said this life would be easy. I know that he is blessing us with a healthy baby girl this time but I still have to work hard to ge her here. He puts these obstacles in our lives to make us stronger and in my life I have seen this happen. Over the last year, I really feel that I have become stronger. My faith in Him continues to grow everyday and I just keep realizing how amazing he truly is.

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of things we do not see".

35 weeks......

Nice belly. Not sure what I'm looking at but oh well.

That's my terb pump hanging on my right side, in case you were wondering.

First off, I haven't posted any bare belly pictures during my pregnancy but I thought I'd give you one but probably just one. We took it last week and notice that I'm having to "shop" out of Gavan's t-shirt drawer most days. I just can't get my own t-shirts on anymore. Go Bengals.

Yep, I've made it to 35 weeks and it's really getting down to the nitty gritty. On Saturday morning early, like 4 a.m., I woke up to some decent cramping in my lower abs. This was a new symptom for me so I started thinking she was going to be coming in the near future. I had the cramps off and on all day on Saturday but nothing more happened and I did fine on my monitoring sessions that day too. I'm averaging 2-3 contractions per session which is higher than previous weeks cause I usually have 0 or 1. I guess it just keeps getting closer and closer to baby time! We go back on Tuesday for another appointment. We have another ultrasound so we'll see how big she is this week. We're thinking around 5 1/2 pounds, which is awesome. I wonder how long we'll have to wait for them to call me back this week!!!!



I'm officially tired of being on bed rest. It's been 6 weeks since I've been on bed rest with 2 of them being in the hospital. Crazy as it sounds, it has gone by pretty fast for me. I honestly can't believe that I'm at 35 weeks in my pregnancy. We're so thankful for my mom who has stayed with me so much during these weeks at home. I know I wouldn't of made it this far without her help. Things are just getting old like monitoring twice a day, sticking myself with a needle to change my pump site every 5 days, laying on the couch, showering every other day, not wearing anything but pj's except when I got to the doctor, etc. I just am really starting to miss things like going to church with G, running to the store, shopping, taking Paisley for walks and just being able to normal things! I actually started to miss work too! I just had to leave so suddenly and didn't get to have my "last day of work". I know that's weird but they are like family to me! I know you all are saying just soak up this time of relaxing and getting to sleep cause it will all change when the baby gets here. Yeah well, whatever. I say bring it on. I'm ready for it. I'm just ready to get back to normal or I guess a new normal for us, whatever that will be!



We just keep saying that she'll probably be here in like a week or so and it so crazy that it is that close. I just hope I can make it through this next weekend cause I have 2 baby showers on Friday and Sunday! We'll keep our fingers crossed! Everything is ready here at home so she can actually come whenever she feels like it now. Have a good week everyone. We'll keep you updated if anything happens!



Oh yeah, G gave me a surprise tonight by taking me to Braum's to get a shake! It was so nice to get out of the house and actually ride in the car. It was nice to hear the radio too! It's so many little things you miss when you are stuck inside for a month straight! Thanks babe.

34 weeks and 3 days....

Like I've said before, every single day is so crucial for our little Byrd so we count each and every one. I went for my NST and dr's appointment yesterday and starting contracting too much during the NST like I usually do. I don't know what it is that makes me do that. It could be sitting in the waiting area for 40 minutes before they call me back and then laying on my back during the test. That's what I think it is. The baby looked great still with a strong heartbeat and lots of movement. The NST nurse said she would call my doctor upstairs and let her know what was going on. She had me come up to her office for my appointment and I took my NST strip so she could see the contractions and irritability I had during the test. She admitted that I had quite a few contractions so she wanted to check me to see if they had caused me to dilate anymore. She said I had stayed the same as 4 weeks ago and was surprised. I told her I didn't feel like it was normal to have that many contractions cause that is not what has been happening at home. She measured my belly and said she could tell this baby was growing like a weed and said I could go home. Thank goodness. I never like it when the nurses say they will have to talk to my doctor to see if I can go home. That's what happened when they admitted me! Anyways, I came home and rested that evening and had zero contractions during my monitoring session here at home. Go figure.

We are just so happy I've made it this far. She's still planning on taking my off my pump around 35 or 36 weeks so said. We're still hoping she'll wait till after my baby showers! She's just so pleased at how well I'm doing and that I'm actually following her instructions by staying on the couch most of the day! Hope all is well with everyone. Our baby Byrd will be here soon!!!!!!!!