Amryn Nicole

"The LORD has done great things for us,
and we are filled with joy." Ps. 126:3


Thrilled!!

Thankful!!

in awe . . .

in love . . .

and amazed . . .
after witnessing God's miracle of birth.

I received God's gift into my arms at 5 am on Thursday morning. After weeks of contractions I finally felt some "real" ones on Wednesday morning. By 9 pm I called my midwife who came to do an assessment and gave us the disappointing news that I still hadn't dilated....very hard for me to believe!
At midnight I was convinced things were progressing, as the contractions were much more intense and closer together, but by this point I was unsure about calling anyone, since I had been wrong before...
I finally called my Mom and at her suggestion tried some relaxation techniques and tried to sleep, but the contractions were not slowing down-- they were getting worse! At 2 am I called my midwife again, and asked my parents to come over. Ann said to meet her at the hospital for another assessment (she still didn't believe me) so we waited for my parents to arrive. It seemed to take forever for them to come, since the contractions were now coming 2 and 3 minutes apart and were really painful. We rushed to the hospital at 3:30 am, and when Ann examined me, found I was already 5 cm dilated!! After that, things went really fast. I was determined and so was our baby (: After only being in the hospital for a little over an hour, our little daughter was delivered into this world... bright eyed, vigorous, and finally here!! She weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces (our smallest baby) and was 52 cm long, with long feet, long fingers and skinny, long legs. Just wait till she gets some of my milk...then she'll be as chubby as the others in no time! (:

We gave her the name Amryn Nicole. Nick made up her first name-- in an inspired moment about 2 months ago, the name came to him and we both liked it....but we couldn't find it in any baby book, so we had no idea of the meaning! We liked it anyway, and decided we could make up our own meaning (still need to agree on that part) Nicole, of course, is after Nick (Nichol-John). Lydia and Robyn liked the name right away, too. If we ever suggested any other, Lydia would emphatically insist, "Nooo...it's Baby Amryn!!" We tried to keep the name a secret, but two days before her birth, my sister Rachel asked Lydia when she thought the baby was coming and she said "Baby Amryn is coming soon" Oops-- that's what you get when you tell a secret to a 3 year old... at least she kept it that long!

Amryn and I left the hospital only 11 hours after her birth, crazy, I know...but my bed is much more comfortable than the hospital's! Robyn and Lydia were not home, and Nick had the day off, so it was nice to get settled and comfortable in our own surroundings and have some quiet time to bond. I can't take my eyes off this little bundle. She is so small and precious and so alert! She watches my face so intently and I swear she smiles whenever I talk to her. I think she looks a lot like Nick and more like Robyn as a baby than Lydia or Rachel. She has stolen our hearts and we love her to bits!! So far Amryn seems to be healthy and strong. We will have to continue to look for signs and symptoms of mito disease, but we continue to pray that we will not need to worry and that everything will be fine. It will be a difficult time for the next few weeks...trying not to worry and just enjoying every moment we have with her. Only God knows what the future holds, and we continue to put it in His hands.

Below is a link to more photos. She is changing by the minute, so I thought I better post the newborn ones before she changes too much! You can already see the difference a day makes between the first and last shots. Enjoy them, as we are enjoying her.

Click here to see more photos of baby Amryn.