Happy Five Months, Peep!

~Still our precious Peep, but also known more and more as "Happy Girl"

Happy 6 weeks, Peep!

Peep is 6 weeks old today! She's crying tears, giving us little smiles, and trying hard to lift her precious head...

So Grateful!

It's been a day full of praises, but I'll just quickly mention two of them. First of all, my appointment with my OB went very well, and there haven't been any complications from the catheter. As my little Boo said when she saw me come home without it, "Praise the LORD!"

Peep also had her follow-up appointment with her pediatrician. She's growing beautifully, having gained over a pound in just the past 10 days. She now weighs 7 lbs.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Love,
Queen Mom

Happy One Week, Claire!

Because Grandmas Can't Get Enough....

and Aunties and Cousins, too! Here are more pictures of our precious Claire, her doting siblings, and Daddy, too! Is there anything as sweet as snuggling with a newborn?Little Bit loves her new baby sister and cheers on Boo as she does a great job holding Claire.

A Little Mouth to Kiss and Two More Feet to Make Music

"Here is a little mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God, and the body in which it dwells is worth all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother's heart, welcome to her time, her strength, her health, to her most tender cares, to her life-long prayers! Oh how rich I am, how truly, how wondrously blest!"

~Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss

Here's "Peep"

It's wonderful to be home! Mountain Man, "Peep", and I got home around 5:30 this evening. The children were so excited to see us, and we were welcomed with lots of hugs and kisses and sweet notes and signs, as well as Caity's famous chocolate chip toffee scones. :) We missed our children so much. The two days seemed so much longer.

I didn't just come home with a brand new precious baby, however. I'm toting around a lovely catheter, trimmed in a beautiful green, and attached to me for the next two weeks. Yes, it was very disappointing to have to wear this again. I am a bit discouraged because, as I told my Beloved, I can't really do much since I have to carry the "Thing" (as my OB calls it) everywhere!My Beloved gently reminded me that this is the way things are for now, and I just need to accept it, and accept all the help I have available.

We have lots of praises:

~I didn't get sick at all during the delivery, and God truly gave me a calm spirit throughout the surgery. (I did get sick as soon as I was brought into recovery, but thankfully, after a few hours, the sickness stopped.)

~My anesthesiologist did a great job, and we were blessed with very kind nurses.

~"Peep" (as Mountain Man has affectionately named her. He'll post later about why he chose that particular nickname) is healthy (with the exception of a nasty "newborn rash"), and she stayed with us in the room the entire time.

~We were given a "semi-private" room, so Mountain Man was allowed to actually sleep in a bed.

~The children did a great job in our absence, and they had a wonderful time with Caity and Marissa. (Thank you again!!)

Here are several pictures of us in the OR as well as of Claire. I'll post more as the days follow.

"Peep" doesn't care for diaper or clothing changes, which is obvious here, when Mountain Man gets her dressed to go home.

Please continue to pray that there would be no complications as a result of needing the catheter for a couple weeks. Pray, too, that Peep's rash would disappear quickly and that she would grow well and be healthy.
Love to you all,
Queen Mom for all of us

She's Here!

Ahem. This is Scribe, here to report that Claire Jubilee Poff was safely delivered this morning at 8:08 A.M. She weighs 6 lbs. 5 oz., is 19 and 3/4 inches in length, and looks like she'll be a blond (not that that's any great surprise :)). Currently she is in fine health. Thank you for your prayers!

Queen Mom is still in recovery right now, so I'll ask for you to continue praying that she will be completely healed, and that there will be no complications or infections.

Pictures of Claire will be posted at a later date, when Queen Mom and Mountain Man return.

Persevero,

Scribe

This Woman Deserves A Party...

Well, not really. I didn't deserve a party, but the lovely Spencer ladies so graciously blessed me with a most delightful baby shower/tea party this past Friday anyway. Everything, from the table decorations to the marvelous food, was truly a feast for the eyes. It was so humbling to see the elaborate display that had been prepared to celebrate the arrival of Claire Jubilee.

These are the beautiful petit fours we feasted on, and they turned out to be Little Bit's favorite dessert from the "tea box" I was able to take home.

Here's the breathtaking display of cream scones, homemade strawberry curd, clotted cream, and strawberries.

Everyone had tea at an elegantly decorated table, and chocolate mousse with cream was calling all of our names!

Of course, this party had lots of pink tissue paper, pink wrapping paper, and pink gift bags!

Miss Caity made Claire this magnificent baby blanket, trimming it in pink satin ribbon.

Boo was my very capable assistant, making sure Mommy kept on track and passing the gifts around for everyone to see.

Here's just a sampling of the wonderful clothes I received. My friends did such an amazing job of getting me what I needed, from baby booties to onesies to dresses to diapers to baby gowns (I LOVE baby gowns!), etc. I must say that all of my friends have quite the talent for choosing just the right gifts.

My neighbor and friend, Debbie, blessed me again with another handmade blanket. She's given one to both Boo and Little Bit. This one was just as lovely.

Here are Claire's handmade blankets. What a blessed baby she is! Miss Caity made the one to the left with the elegant ribbon, and Miss Marissa gave me the one in the middle, which is so soft and cuddly and just plain adorable. The one on the right is from my friend Debbie, who happens to be teaching Whistler how to crochet beautiful blankets such as this one.

Ok, Mom, here's the "I'd like to see a picture of you in your last weeks of being pregnant" picture. That's the sweet Medora (affectionately called "Dori" and "Dora" by our cute Boo). She and Marissa give great back massages by the way.

Here's a delightful group of lovely young ladies. On the left, to the front, is Marissa. Behind her is Medora, who is seated next to her sister, Camilla. On the front right is Caity. Marissa and Caity are 2 of the 3 Spencer ladies who did all of this hard work! Their Mom, dear Linda, somehow managed to escape my camera. She, of course, taught her talented daughters how to be such masters of hospitality. My friend, Debbie, asked me on the way home if Linda entertained "professionally" because everything was so beautifully done. :)

Here's Boo and Miss Marissa. Boo loves to have her hair done by the Spencer girls.

We were blessed to have many "little princesses" at the party, too. From left to right are, Charlotte, Emma, Judith, Liana, Boo, Whistler, and Rue.The girls quickly donned the aprons for play time outside.

I'm so grateful to all of my friends who blessed me with their presence, their thoughfulness, and their gifts. (I remember being given a shower for the arrival of Little Big Man. My dear friend prepared everything, and NO ONE showed up. I felt horrible for her. ) It was such a blessing to have my friends choose to bless me with their time. I hadn't seen some of them in months and even years! Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you, too, to my dear friends, the Spencer ladies, who so selflessly blessed me with an amazingly special day. I truly felt like "Queen Mom," and I'm grateful to you beyond words.
Thank you, Miss Caity, for taking all of these lovely pictures for me!
How blessed Claire is to have so many precious friends waiting to love her and encourage her in the LORD. How rich I am to know the generosity of such dear, dear friends who have given me such joy.

The Story and the Name--Part 2

Several years ago we had a Pastor who was teaching on the topic of "miracles." He came to the conclusion that miracles don't really happen today. I can't remember what definition he used in his understanding of a miracle, but I do remember teaching Scribe and Little Big Man when they were little, from a Baptist catechism, that a miracle "is something that only God can do."

Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology, defines a miracle as a "less common kind of God's activity in which He arouses people's awe and wonder and bears witness to Himself." That very kind of activity is exactly what God did with the original diagnosis that we had received from the perinatologist.

Mountain Man and I arrived at our follow-up appointment with complete peace. This peace was such an amazing manifestion of God's grace. Never in my own power could I have willed myself to be at peace about such a potentially life-threatening diagnosis. Yet, God gave us such calm spirits, ready to accept whatever His will was, and it was truly that "peace that passes all understanding."

The perinatologist (the one I have seen for my past few pregnancies) looks at the ultrasound and immediately says, "The placenta is no where near the uterus. There's definitely no concern about placenta accreta. The other doctor must have looked at the ultrasound wrong."
What? The other doctor, who just happens to be an expert in placenta accreta diagnosis and treatment, whose most recent surgery related to placenta accreta took 16 hours to complete, resulting in a hysterectomy for the Mom and partial loss of her bladder, happened to look at the ultrasound wrong? No. God did the very thing my other doctor said could not happen. He moved the placenta, so that there wasn't even a concern of this very serious condition!! Mountain Man and I were stunned!

We had prayed that God would not allow the placenta to penetrate the uterine wall and that He would give us peace. Not only did He give us peace, but He answered our prayers beyond what we asked. We didn't have to wait and wonder for the rest of the pregnancy, and we were deeply humbled by God's mercy.

Having experienced such a miracle, we wanted to give our baby girl a name that would bring glory to God, expressing our praise for His amazing deliverance. Thus, Next Girl will be named..

Claire Jubilee

Claire is Latin for "bright" or "illustrious." "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)

Jubilee is Hebrew for "one who rejoices." "But I have trusted in Thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the LORD because He hath dealt bountifully with me."
(Psalm 13:5,6)

We rejoice in the miracle that God has done with this pregnancy and our hearts rejoice in the light of His salvation. Won't you praise Him with us?

The Story and The Name--Part 1

"We don't have statistics for you," replied the perinatologist (one who was filling in for the doctor I normally see). She had just finished explaining that my first ultrasound gave cause to be concerned about an alarming diagnosis of placenta accreta. Her response regarding statistics was in regards to the fact that I will be having my 6th c-section with the delivery of Next Girl. The look on her face was one of incredulity, akin to , "I just can't believe you're this stupid."

The ultrasound showed that the placenta was covering the uterus. Thus, it was a concern that the placenta could attach too deeply to the uterine wall, creating the condition known as placenta accreta. When this condition happens, it almost always results in a hysterectomy at the time of delivery and there are varying degrees of this complication that can result in damage to other organs, such as the bladder. The placenta looks for things to "feed on" and attach to, almost like a cancer, and often it attaches to other organs.

Of course I was upset, and when I saw my regular OB and told him the news, I quickly tried to draw out some reassurance from him. His response was not reassuring at all. If I did end up having placenta accreta, he wouldn't be doing the surgery. (I later found out that cancer specialists often do these types of surgeries because of the intricacies and danger involved in detaching the placenta.) So, I said, "But the placenta can move, right?" He gave a sigh and confidently stated, "The placenta is not going to move."

The perinatologist said we would do additional bloodwork that would give us more information and, of course, follow-up with another ultrasound. Simply not knowing and yet having to wait was so difficult. I searched the internet for more information, and most everything I read was devastating.

Of course, Mountain Man and I prayed. We also wanted to ask others to pray, but honestly, we were cautious because we knew that some of the potential reactions might not be compassionate or favorable and some family and friends might worry excessively. So, I shared our request with a couple of friends, asking them to pray that God would remove this danger and that the placenta wouldn't attach abnormally, but most importantly, that God would give us peace regardless of His will.

The wait to return for that second ultrasound seemed to last forever, and the diagnosis was nothing that we expected to hear.

Halfway There

Here's your picture, Mom. :) I'm 20 weeks~hard to believe we're halfway there!

By A Landslide

The poll is officially closed, and we are overwhelmed by the responses! An amazing number of visitors voted (FIVE! Aren't there more people than that reading this thing?) in our poll regarding Next Girl's name. The "Other Letter" won by a landslide! It just so happens, too, that Mountain Man and I have selected a name that doesn't begin with the letter "E." But, we'll save that for another post...

Love,
Queen Mom

It's Always Amazing

Here's Next Girl at just 13 weeks! (almost 5 weeks ago) Amazing!

Precious Moments

A conversation that happens in our home several times a day......

Boo: "Mommy, may I see the baby?"

Queen Mom: "Sure, sweetie."
(Mommy shows her tummy, and Boo rubs her little hand across it)

Boo: "That's our baby. That's my baby sister. God made that baby."

Queen Mom: "Yes, Boo, that's our baby."
(Who never tires of hearing her little one delight in a miracle from God)

Three in a Row

It's a girl! The perinatologist told us at yesterday's ultrasound that this precious Poff baby is a girl. We're very thankful that everything looks good, and I don't have to return for another ultrasound until 28 weeks. So now the question is--do we stick with the "E" names (even though that was never intentional) or go with a completely different letter? We'd love to hear your thoughts and will be sure to take your recommendations lightly! :) We'll post later about the amazing mercies God revealed at this ultrasound.

Love,
Queen Mom