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Thursday, October 8, 2009

Our Baby Girl is Home!!



We brought our precious baby girl home yesterday. Her platelet levels have stabilized and are at an all time high of 167,000 (they were at a dangerous low at only 23,000 before her transfusion last Thursday). Her jaundice is much better and she is still feeding like a champ. We were able to "room in" with her Tuesday night at the hospital. She did great. I actually had to wake her up every three hours to feed her.




She met her big sister, Grace for the first time yesterday. The meeting went better than expected. Grace was very interested in Reese, touching her toes and even giving her kisses. It was a precious moment and one that I will forever cherish. And seeing them together made it real..I have two beautiful daughters! What a blessing!




With this past week behind us, there are a lot of emotions and things we are still trying to process. We have kept one significant detail to ourselves mainly because we were awaiting the results of one test. However, we knew pretty much after a few hours of life what the diagnosis would probably be. We got the results yesterday before she was discharged.

Reese has Trisomy 21, better known as Down Syndrome. Even as I type this it is hard for me to comprehend. We were so concerned with the possibility of Reese having a stroke in utero like her sister, that this never crossed our minds. Also, me being only 31 years old, we were ignorant to the fact that it does occur in 1 out of 877 births for woman my age. The statistical probability I believe is 1-2%. So although the odds seem unlikely, my children fall within the these small statistics.

We do however believe Reese is a gift and a miracle. My OB told me that if we had delivered naturally that Reese most likely wouldn't have survived or would have most definitely bled internally (in brain or intestines) due to her blood platelets being so low. We know God protected her by not allowing her to flip which in turn caused me to have a c-section. I thought maybe there was a cord around her neck but the low blood platelet was something I couldn't see and was much more severe. So thank you Lord!!

I know that many of you are feeling bad or even sorry for us. Please don't feel that way. We may not understand and may never will but we are so blessed and so thankful that God chose us to raise these special children. Good news is that her ECHO cardiogram came back clean..no heart defects or problems. That is great news as many children with Downs have heart problems. She also passed her hearing test and her CT Scan and many more important tests. She is healthy and we are going to be meeting with a genetic counselor soon to ask our questions and get more information about how to make her quality of life the best we can.

We love you and all can't express in words how much we appreciate your prayers and all you have done for our family. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives. We couldn't have gone through this with out you and we know you are there with us on our journey as parents to both Grace and Reese.


15 comments:

Natalia said...

You have a beautiful family Tiff! We love you all so much! God is SO good! Thank goodness she didn't flip...know that we support you in all that you do!

The Rileys said...

Tiffany...such little miracles you have! We feel so blessed to be a part of your lives and look forward to watching Reese (& Gracie) grow up! You are such an amazing person with an amazing family! We love you guys!!!

Anonymous said...

Tiffany, we are so proud of you guys and happy for you! Reese is going to bring so much joy into your lives and Grace and Reese are going to be the best of friends through it all! I know with out a doubt that God has your family in the palm of His hands.
Isaiah 43:2 When you go through deep waters,I will be with you.When you go through rivers of difficulty,you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,you will not be burned up;the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God!

LuLaRoeMeg said...

Tiffany, your strength in our Sweet Savior is unique. I heard from a friend the other day, who has 2 special needs babies, and her advice was, "This is not God's plan B. This is His perfect plan A". I know you know that already, but I thought it was profound.

Praying, praying, praying.

Andi said...

Tiff, these are such little precious angels that God has given you and I am so glad that lil Reese didn't flip! Know that you and Matt are loved and supported! God has had His almighty hand on you all!

rosemary said...

Reese is gorgeous! I love all of these family pictures of you guys. Grace looks so so excited to have her very own little sister - adorable! The miracle of life (twice none the less) is a wonderful blessing! Can't wait to meet Reese.

Stefani said...

Hey sweetie- everything happens for a reason an sometimes we don't understand that. An I am sure you know that. Your two little girls are wonderful and beautiful and I can't wait to see all the pictures and keep up on their growing up. I love you, I am here and I will always keep you and your wonderful family in my prayers. -Stefani

Aletta said...

and what a blessing they are:) I am here for you and as you know I didnt need told having a niece with downs you just 'KNOW' but th eupside is you REALLY know what a blessing it is to be a part of these 'special children of GOD lives!!!! I cant wait to share in your journey and I am still in aww of the fact GOD knew she couldnt survive and saved her!!! what a awesome and loving compassionate GOD we have Tiff!! I love you all so very much and know I AM ALWAYS HERE!!! MAybe can even answer some questions or give you lots of positive wonderful advice and thoughts of my special girl in my life!!! I know GOD knew what he was doing when he choose you and matt to parent these AMAZING children :) GOD bless and continue to thank him for his wonderful grace!!

Alicia Marie said...

I am so glad Reese is home! She is amazing, her mommy and daddy and big sister are amazing! I am excited to see God's plan for you all unfold. I am also excited to cuddle that little girl! Love you guys!

Unknown said...

Tiffany & Matt-I am overwhelmed as you might imagine,reading what you have put on your blog. After Joy spoke with me,my heart filled with emotion for you,prayers,tears,wanting to be there with you,to encourage you,but I know God heard my prayers for you & Reese.It is a miracle how God protected Reese during birth.I am so happy her tests show she is healthy and that she is nursing well.Clair and I love you all and know God brought you(Tiffany and Bethany)into Joy's life and ours during Joy's junior year in HS.What a blessing you have been, your entire family.May Jesus bless you abundantly,take one day at a time and always bask in His love. Mary and Clair-The Martins

Anonymous said...

You know I am ALWAYS here to answer any questions the best I can no matter when or what time it is. I'm also here to just listen to you if you want. I Love you Lots and your family. Just wishing I wasn't so far away. My Mom can surely help with questions and would be happy to do so. I love the pics of Reese and Grace! Adorable sisters. They will be so close. JOY:)

Nancy Stowell said...

Tiffany & Matt, What precious girls the Lord has blessed you with. He knows exactly who to entrust with these treasures. We know the emotions, the questions, the concerns and we also know that God has all the answers and will always be there for each of you. As you will soon find out there are a lot of support groups for you and as you have seen throughout these past days you have the support of your family and many, many friends. Some may feel badly for you and for Reese but you will learn more through these 2 precious girls than you will ever teach them. Special children teach us how God loves. They do not discriminate, show no favoritism, are not hurtful. They are full of love and joy. You have seen this with Brooke & her friends. You are blessed! We will pray for God's wisdom and guidance for you both. Wanted to share this poem with you:
Special Child
by Sharon Harris
You weren't like other children,
And God was well aware,
You'd need a caring family,
With love enough to share.

And so He sent you to us,
And much to our surprise,
You haven't been a challenge,
But a blessing in disguise.

You winning smiles and laughter,
The pleasures you impart,
Far outweigh your special needs,
And melt the coldest heart.

We're proud that we've been chosen,
To help you learn and grow,
The joy that you have brought us,
Is more than you can know.

A precious gift from Heaven,
A treasure from above,
A child who's taught us many things,
But most of all - "Real Love"

Jim and Tricia Friddell said...

As parents of two little girls, we are anxious for you to see how much they will loooooove each other and become best friends. Saying that you have two tiny "blessings" on your hands is almost an understatement, but how on earth could our savior Jesus Christ be understated? He brought these gifts into your lives. We look forward to following this incredible journey. Smoooochies to Gracie and Reese!

The Kretsingers said...

Tiffany and Matt...you are surrounded by an amazing family and amazing friends. I am blessed to have you as a friend that has the strength and courage that just shows how deep God's love is. I see you as a living testiment to your beautiful daughters. They are lucky girls to have a mom, and dad, like the two of you.

Ashley Knox said...

Tiff & Matt!!!!
I can't wait to meet the new edition! Congrats! :) Ash