Layla's Birth Story

For those of you who don't know, our baby girl Layla, IS HERE!! She was born a month early and it wasn't anywhere near planned. The difference between her's and Stassi's births are extreme. 

I thought I would have another calm labor and delivery experience. I LOVED giving birth to Stassi. It was so easy, and it was just a loving & very personable experience. So I was a little sad it wasn't the same with Layla. But here is why...

On June 26th, I woke up and I started to clean the kitchen when all of a sudden I got this weird cramping feeling in my right side. It was very uncomfortable but I figured it was just another pregnancy pain, because I had experienced so many pains with being pregnant with Layla. As the day progressed, the pain was gradually getting worse and worse. And by the time 3pm hit, I was going crazy. Pacing the house, crying my eyes out, and just couldn't even believe I was having so much pain. So my amazing, wonderful husband called my mom and asked her to meet us at the hospital so she could take Stassi. I was screaming in pain. It was the most excruciating pain I've ever felt. Even worse than contractions I had with Stassi. So they did urine tests & blood tests and gave me pain medication but the medication would only last 30 minutes. Their initial thought was that I had a kidney infection and/or stones but all my tests came back negative for anything so they told me it was a muscle spasm and sent me on my way home telling me to use a warm compress to relax the muscle. HA! Yeah right...nothing was relaxing anything in my body but we went home for a full excruciatingly painful night (where we slept MAYBE a total of an hour to and hour and a half) and nothing was working to stop the pain. So we headed back to the hospital the next morning and told them they needed to help me! So they took an ultrasound of my kidneys and everything came back normal and homies were trying to send me home AGAIN with a warm compress. Oh heck no! Yonatan told them absolutely not and they needed to figure out what was wrong because I was obviously in major pain and it wasn't going away with warm compress. So instead of calling my doctor, they called the doctor on the floor and he came in and worked his magic because he actually cared & he ordered another ultrasound for my liver and they found out I had gallbladder stones. So because they knew what was causing the pain, they didn't send me home & they were giving me pain medications but had to leave me on a baby monitor to see how Layla was responding. 

Layla didn't respond well after awhile and the doctor came in and said "WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A C-SECTION. I DON'T LIKE THE WAY THE BABY LOOKS."

Whaaaat?! 

One would think that I would have been extremely stressed or worried but I wasn't. I was more in the mindset of "let's get his done and get her out healthy" and Yonatan, my sweet husband, was SO worried and asked the doctor multiple times "like...RIGHT NOW?!" 

They took me into the room first after they prepped me for the c-section so I could get my spinal tap & then they brought Yonatan in. It was so fast after that. When they took her out of me, I heard her cry and right away I started talking to her even though they had a sheet up so I couldn't see anything. They took her over to the side to clean her and called Yonatan over. He never left her side after that which I loved about him. He's SUCH a good daddy. 

Yonatan and Layla had to leave the room so they could monitor her breathing while they finished stitching me up. Once I was all put back together, they wheeled me back to my room where my mom, dad, and sister came and saw me. I was so in and out of it that I don't remember much until they brought my little Layla back to me to experience our first skin to skin contact since she had been born. And I LOVED that so much. 

Overall, I had serious complications and Layla's health was put at risk. So I am so thankful that God kept us both healthy. We definitely didn't expect her this early, but her daddy and I couldn't be more thrilled. Layla Grace, you are the perfect little addition to our family and we couldn't be any happier with you and your sister. We can't wait to see you grow and already love your sweet little expressions, your head full of hair, and the way you just seem to grab our hearts with your tiny little fingers. We love you baby girl!

& 11 Months has arrived!

Well, our sweet baby girl is slowly turning into a toddler and is officially 11 months old today! What?! That's crazy. She needs to slow her roll ;)

At 11 months:

-Stassi is a WALKER!! She walks everywhere. She only crawls when she can't get away fast enough but even that is turning into her running until she falls. 

-Stassi still tells the dogs to go but she also bosses them around with her little attitude. Who knows what she's saying lol

-Stassi says mom, dad, mama, dada, papa, nana, jijah (elijah), dodger, outside, go, down, dog, angel (my grandma's dog), hi, hey, baba (bottle), sh, ish (fish) yes, ya, no -- and I may be missing a few words lol she tries SO hard to repeat what people are saying 

-She growls now so that's fun!

-She laughs when something is funny. 

-She does a grunting laugh if she's trying to make you laugh

-She will act like she's going to give you something and at the last minute she will take it away and laugh

-She usually won't give me or daddy kisses until we show her that we kiss and then she smiles and wants one of her own

-She has started the whining stage when she wants something so that's been a bit of a struggle. 

-She grunts when she gets mad or upset 

-She is about to move to her playpen and then her own room (mommy is sad lol)

-She loves her shoes. She loves putting them on and then when we take them off when we get home she likes to carry them around. 

-She is starting to understand when we say "give that to me" or "let me have that" - she will usually bring whatever it is right away. 

-She is starting to point to me or daddy when we say "Where is mommy?" Or "where is daddy?" although pointing isn't new for her, she's starting to associate it with what we're asking. 

-She hugs her puppies and her baby dolls all the time. She just cuddles up right next to them and smiles. 

-She is officially LOVING sippy cups. Although she has been able to use one, she hasn't liked them as much as she does now. Thank goodness because in one month her bottles are GONE. 

-We took Stassi to the park this month and she had a blast just walking around and exploring. Not to mention she LOVES the swings. 

-She loves her Disney channel. Nothing lights her face up like Mickey Mouse clubhouse 

-She recently discovered YouTube videos on daddy's phone so that's been a favorite of hers. 

-She has learned how to open up the wipes and pull them out. She doesn't try to eat them; just pulls them out and leaves them on the floor to dry up...little stinker. 

-Stassi eats so many different types of food from pasta to bread to eggs with cheese to vegetables and fruits - the list just goes on and on and she loves everything. She can eat!

-She is the cutest little dancer and sways her hips from side to side while also bending her legs going up and down...she has SKILL ;)

-She likes to try and brush her teeth without any help. Of course mommy makes sure she gets her teeth but I let her do her thing too!

-She's starting to realize that mommy nd daddy have to leave sometimes, which sometimes makes her cry. Thankfully she stops quick and goes about her day. 

-She is fascinated with fans and will follow them with her hands. 

-She colored her very first picture in sunday clad on Father's Day. It was beautiful.

Although I am sure the list could keep going, here are just a few things Stassi is doing at 11 months and we are so proud and so thrilled to be her parents and watch her grow every single day. We love you Stassi Leighann!! 

Why I pray for my daughters' salvation

Now I know this may be "way out there" for some of you & that's okay. I don't expect everyone to agree with my beliefs or my way of thinking, but I do expect everyone to respect them & not find it your "duty" to correct me. 

I'm a mom of an almost one year old, Stassi. And a soon-to-be mom to a baby girl who's going to be born in July, Layla. And I love that I have been given this responsibility. It is in my heart of hearts that I believe God chose them for me & He chose me to be their mom. 

I prayed a long time for this joy to happen in my life & now that it is here, I don't take this lightly. Which is why I also pray for their salvation. 

For those of you who don't know, I am saved. Saved by God's grace & His grace alone. I believe that God sent His only son to be born of the Virgin Mary. And that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. We don't deserve it, but that's how much God loves us. And I find that to be truly amazing. How many of us could give up our own children willingly? I know I couldn't. I have acknowledged what Jesus has died for and I have asked Jesus to be in my heart. Now this obviously doesn't mean I'm perfect and better than everyone else. Because I'm not & I have made a lot of mistakes and bad choices and will continue to do so, I'm sure. But that's where God's plan of salvation comes in and just pours over me and literally saves my soul so that I am able to enter the gates of Heaven one day. 

This is so important to me that I literally pray for my girls to realize this, learn this, and ACCEPT this. I pray for their salvation. And I find it so important to do so. Why? Not because I don't believe in people choosing their own paths. Not because I believe that people shouldn't choose their own religion, but because there is absolutely NO WAY to Heaven except through Jesus. There is no way my girls will be able to get through life without Jesus. There is no way they will really learn what love is without Jesus. Because God is love. And when you don't know God and accept the love He has so graciously given, there is no way for you to truly know love. 

Like I said, I know that not everyone agrees with this, and that's fine - I completely respect your opinions and beliefs because that is something between you and God...not you and me. But I am so thankful for the salvation I have received. And I will always pray for my girls and I pray that they come to know, love, and accept Jesus into their hearts so we can live in eternity together forever.