Taylor Lynn Oenema

Hello Everyone!

First, I want to thank all of you for your prayers. We appreciated it so much and truly were put at peace while we were experiencing the unexpected with our little sweet pea. Taylor is small but very healthy and doctors don't have any concerns, and I am recovering well. So praise the Lord!

So, Tuesday September 17th I went in to the hospital because I thought that my water might have broken and it was still 1 week and 1 day before my due date. They checked and baby girl was healthy and my water had not broken. I was a little disappointed by this, only because I was already getting anxious to meet her and Ian was soon going to be working out of town and I did not want to go into labor with him gone.

The nurses were just finishing up with me to send me home when one more doctor wanted to do a last check. She said it didn't seem like baby was in the right spot so they did an ultrasound. We then discovered that she was breech. This is not something you want to hear when you are basically 39 weeks pregnant. The doctor then told me I could try and have baby turned from the outside but that there was only a small chance that I would be able to deliver naturally and they would probably need to set up a date for a scheduled c-section. I then lost it... if I have talked to any of you, you know the only thing I really really didn't want was a c-section. Here I was wishing I had brought my husband, but the nurses and doctors were kind and understanding. It was shocking because for weeks my doctors had been telling me that she was head down and ready for delivery. I suppose it is hard to tell a little bum from a little head from the outside.

Everything went really fast from this point on and I can see how God had his hand in every part of the day. Thankfully there was the best "baby-turning" doctor on that day and he said he could make time to do the procedure at 7pm. So I could go home, grab my husband and be back by 615pm.

After arriving back at the hospital they put in an IV and we waited for what would be the most painful 5 minutes EVER. Who knew?? Both an intern and then the "miracle doctor" himself tried to maneuver our baby from outside. Ouch. In the end her bum was so deep in my pelvis that I was left with some hefty bruises and still the necessity to have a c-section. They gave us the option to go way south to a different hospital to try delivering naturally with her breech, but we thought the risks were too great, so we opted out.

They then grabbed their book to book the appointment and discovered that there wasn't a free slot until Sept 27th. 10 days later. BUT as the Lord would have it they had extra staff on that night and were willing to go through with it right away. So, YIKES, no turning back at this point. Again, everything went very quickly from here on.

Remember, we had the turning procedure done at 7pm.

At 9:18pm, Taylor Lynn was born. She weighed a teeny tiny 6lb 3oz and was 19 inches long. The doctors tried to have her delivered at 9:17 because her birth day was 9/17 but alas it took them 1 extra minute haha. But, she was healthy and strong. She passed her Apgar (??) test with flying colors!

We then stayed in the hospital for about 42 hours, and Thursday Sept 19th they let us go home!

Since getting home we have already had two visits from nurses, Taylor is still healthy, I am still recovering well, and I no longer have frankenstein staples in my belly!

So there you have it! Praise the Lord our baby is home and healthy :) And so thankful to mom and dad for coming to help out and cooking up a storm before they leave tomorrow!

Thank you again for all your prayers! They are still very much appreciated in this new crazy time of life and readjustment! 

With love.

36 Weeks, 4 to go!

Good Labor Day to you all!

This weekend has been very exciting! Not only did we both actually have most of the weekend off together (half of Saturday, Sunday and today! Such a rare treat!), we also got a few more things ready for our little sweet pea who is going to be "full-grown" come Wednesday!

Although I don't think that she will come much, if any, earlier than her due date just the pressure of knowing that she could be born at any time after Wednesday, without doctors trying to delay her birth, without her being considered a preemie, really made her coming arrival seem more real and SOON. Holy moly. I was feeling a bit stressed with that we hadn't put her carseat into the car (or looked at it since it was given to us :S), hadn't set up her stroller (which I know is not completely essential right away but still, it was just sitting in our hallway looking pretty in its box), had not put up the shelving in her nursery, had not washed all her clothes, blankets, sheets etc., and had not packed any hospital bags. At this point today not all of these things are done BUT they are much closer to being done!

Ian set up the stroller on Saturday :) Here's how it looks not in a box (with me and Tookie at 36 weeks):

Here we have it with an almost completely packed diaper bag for baby girl:

And how I will see it most days:

So after setting up the stroller, bringing out the carseat, packing the diaper bag (complete with adorable "bring-our-daughter-home-for-the-first-time" outfit :D), washing all her clothes, sheets, blankets etc., and putting up shelves, all we have left to do is actually put the carseat into the car (this will happen today!) and pack our own hospital bags! Hurray, things are coming together! I actually feel like if I went into labor we would be as ready as we need to be, because the way I figure... who is ever ACTUALLY ready to go into labor?? If anyone has tips on being ready for labor (other than being so uncomfortable that you want your baby out or that you just really want to meet the baby you have been carrying around with you for 9 months), I am all ears!

Hope you all have a wonderful day! 

With love.

A Beautiful Weekend!

Good Morning!

Well, I knew it would happen eventually I just didn't know when. I missed a week in my final countdown! I feel there was good reason though!

Last weekend my wonderful friends Amanda and Michelle threw me and baby girl a baby shower! It was simple and perfect! Both my sisters, my mom and mother-in-law all came down for the weekend which was so special! The only part of the weekend that was less than pleasant was coming down with swimmers ear (and no I hadn't been swimming, if I had at least it might have been worth it!). I woke up in the middle of the night with intense ear pain and knew that Saturday morning before the shower I would be going to the walk-in (woohoo!). Thankfully living in a smallish town, it took about 15 minutes to get looked at and be on my way to getting my prescription filled. I still had a wonderful time with everyone and loved having family in town! I only wish I could have been more alert for all the visiting :) Thankfully today (a full week later) I can once again hear out of my ear and feel much better! Now it is time to start cleaning up the house after having company ;)

I won't put up too many pictures but just give you a glimpse and show you a picture of my family of 3 at 34 weeks!

Amanda and Michelle:

Mom and Erin: 

Alida:

Me and Mom with the beautiful quilt she made:

A close up: 

Kristin doing our craft (everyone made little Tookie a unique onesie!):

Ian, Me and Baby Girl (34 weeks!):

I felt so truly blessed to have such a wonderful baby shower put on for our little one! Thank you everyone who came and also thank you everyone who couldn't come but wanted to shower our baby with love and some pretty cute gifties! 

Hope you all have a great weekend! To be a little random: Can you believe there is only one more week of August? I cannot! I feel a little sad to see summer leave but mainly excited to be soon in the month of baby girls expected arrival! And also, who isn't ready for a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte?!?! Right? It may be my favorite part of fall :) Anyhoo, off I go!

With love.

33 Weeks with only 7 Weeks to go!

Hello All!

I hope you have had a wonderful Tuesday! For most of you out there tomorrow is probably the middle of your work week so that's an exciting thing!

Baby Tookie is feeling quite large in me this week. As I said in a previous post, the little feet under my ribs would probably become an annoyance at some point, and well.. today is probably the first day that I have really started to feel that annoyance haha. It seems these days at work and around the house I drop things a lot more (I am sure I don't but with it being more difficult to bend down, it sure does feel that way), and today she was just all up in there making it difficult even to sit with a slight slouch, let alone bend all the way down to pick something up. All that being said, it is exciting to know the end is soon near and she will be with us out in the fresh air!

Here we are (apologies for the worst picture ever!):

I also just wanted to share a passage that left me feeling very convicted this afternoon, as well as encouraged, and blessed. 

Ephesians 4:1-2

"Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. ² Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love."

Happy Tuesday and thanks again for joining us in our countdown!

With Love.

32 Weeks Along, 8 Weeks to Go!

Hello Hello!

This is going to be a short one but just to be sure I am posting our weekly growth here we are at 32 weeks!

Hope you all had a wonderful long weekend! 

With love.

31 Weeks Along - Only 9 to Go!

Hello Everyone!

This post is a little late but I am still 31 weeks along with only 9 weeks left in my countdown! It's crazy! I know I said that last time too, but seriously. Another countdown I have going on is to my last day of work :) Only 7 and 1/2 more weeks! I know these next weeks will go fast but they surely feel like they are dragging a bit at this present moment. It could be because I have a tendency to round weeks and months down when I am doing a countdown and then feel stuck in the same place for a while haha, I am really trying not to do that anymore at this point. The countdown I lay out above is legit, and not rounded down :)

These days it is fun to see little body parts moving along my stomach and I am even enjoying the little nudges under my ribs (I know this will probably get old soon, but for now I am enjoying knowing our little baby girl is actually in there stretching and almost ready to come out and meet us all!). Not so pleasant parts of life are having little swollen hobbit feet (without the hair) by the end of a day at work, and without exaggeration, having to pee 2-4 times between the time I get into bed and the time I actually fall asleep. Sheesh.

Anyhoo! Here is how we are looking these days:

The other big thing going on in our lives mainly involved Ian :) He has been finishing our backyard so that we might be able to enjoy the last little bit of summer outside but still at home. He put a little planter box in so that we can attempt to grow veggies NEXT summer:

He also made a beautiful patio for us to lounge on (it's handy having a certified journeyman Concrete Finisher in the house!):

And we planted a little apple tree! Which we hope will actually yield good fruit that can be eaten and baked with :) :

That is kinda what has been going on this week. I hope you all have a great day! 

With love.

It's the final countdown..

Hello All! 

I cannot believe that I am at 30 weeks in my pregnancy! It is crazy! People kept telling me time would fly by and I truthfully did not believe them but here I am and time has flown by so wha'd'ya know! I only have 10 weeks left (yes, I realize these 10 weeks could turn into 12 BUT I am still calling it 10 and excited for it!) and am calling it my final countdown! And yes, I do have the song in my head ;) 

I hope to post a picture for every week until she comes showing her growth, so here you go. Us at 30 weeks: 

There you have it! 

With love.

Yummy EASY Ice Cream!!

Hello!

I just thought I would share a recipe that turned out to be the easiest Ice Cream recipe ever! No waiting around for flavours to meld and yada yada..

Combine in blender:

1 can coconut milk
1 cup each strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries
1/4 cup honey

Blend until smooth and pour into ice cream maker! Voila! You have delightful ice cream!

I was inspired by a recipe on pinterest but changed quite a few things just to try it out. Originally it was just a Strawberry coconut ice cream recipe.

Yum Yum Yum!

With love.

New to our world.

Hello everyone!

It has been a reaaaaally long time since I have gotten on here and posted anything, it might even seem that I had abandoned this blog but that was never my intention and I hope to be on here more in the weeks and months to come!

So, not that I want to make excuses but one of the major reasons I have not blogged in over 8 months is because I am pregnant!! I still cannot believe it, but it is the most exciting thing ever! Ian and I could not be more thrilled!

I am now pretty well 21 weeks along, with our baby girl, YES baby GIRL, due September 25th 2013 :) Just over half way! So really, I only have an excuse for the past 5 months of why I haven't been on here but we will just have to over look that!

Last night was a very very exciting one in our house. I had been praying in the morning that I would feel her move as, even though every time I have a checkup I hear that both baby and I are perfectly healthy (praise the Lord!), not feeling her has left me to worry some days. Ian got home from work late last night so I was already in bed, but as for our tradition he said goodnight to our baby girl and listened to the rustling in my stomach for a little while. It was then that we both felt and almost saw my stomach move and there was no question that it was her. SO praise the Lord he has answered my prayers! It was such a special moment, especially since we were both there to experience her first official, no question in our minds, kick! She must already be a daddy's girl is all I have to say about it!

Here she is:

With Love.