Isolation..

Let me preface that this week has been a constant reminder that the Lord is in control.
Sometimes we tend to forget that but I am always thankful that in some way or another, through family, friends, events, scripture, or certain circumstances...that He brings us back to Him and the GREAT truth that it IS NOT up to us, but IT IS up to Him.
John 10:10 is a verse that Blake and I have come to know, love and turn back to often.

"The theif comes only to kill, steal, and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full."

With all that we are surrounded in these days, whether it be the CT tragedy, terror, war, health issues, work issues, etc, etc. we are thankful for a God who is honest (he promised we would have trouble in the world) and gracious (he also promised that this is our temporary home and while we are here he will care for). Our prayer lately is that in this ever increasing dark time that His light will continue to shine brighter and brighter and that others will come to know him in a way they never have before and that new believers will be born.


This week has been a true test for Blake and I as parents. I'm sure it will not surprise you all when I say what a pain in the rear insurance is. (insert moans and groans). Well, we have had quite our share of literally hours on the phone with the insurance companies, my work, dr's offices, pharmacies, etc. trying to get things figured out why it is taking so long to get Hatch added to our policies. Mainly because we are on a strict time constraint on getting his next Synagis shot (thats the shot that helps protect him from RSV, a respiratory virus, that could be detrimental to his health). He is supposed to get 3 shots, he received one in the hospital, is due for one this week and then again in late January. Anyway, to make a long story short once he finally gets added to my insurance and the shot goes through the approval process we've been told insurance may not even cover him for his last two shots. :( Aghhh!!!! Apparently there is a strict approval process so now we just pray, wait and see. Unfortunately, out of pocket, the shots cost over $2500/shot so at this point Blake and I are praying hard that they will chose to cover him. If they chose not to cover him we know the Lord was part of that and that Hatch is His child before he is ours, he loves him even more than we do (which is crazy to imagine because we love him SO stinking much) and that he will take care of him better than we or any shot could.

That being said, I have spoken multiple times with the pulmonolgist (the lung doctor) who gives the shot about what we can do if he is not covered....and yet again, we hear this... "I know it is hard with the holidays coming up but ISOLATION through cold and flu season is his best defense. Keep him in and away from everyone." Talk about deflating my tires...we've been living in isolation for the last 5 weeks and to imagine living this way through March, sheesh! I may go CrAzY! Please pray for me specifically because I am more than willing to stay in and take care of/protect our precious angel, but goodness after a short stent of bed rest and nearly 6 weeks of isolation this lady wants to get out to: grab lunch with a friend, go to the mall, have a play date, workout, get my nails done, and last but DEFINITELY not least...show this little man off!

We're constantly hearing of someone close to us who is sick though, so it is a quick reminder of why even we, Blake and I, need to stay in and not risk the chance of being around someone who is sick and then come home and spread that to the little man. So with the prompting of the grandparents we've decided to keep masks at the house for visitors who are going to be around Hatch to wear. We realize this may sound silly, but we absolutely don't want to risk anything, and with him potentially not getting his 2nd and 3rd dose of Synagis we feel masks are our way of providing that extra protection for him. We are praying constantly for the protection of his and our health this cold and flu season.

On a good note, his ears are looking really good and we'll get his ear wells off in the next week or two! Hooray!!


Besides that here are some pics of the little guy that keep us smiling and paranoid (about his health) all at the same time :)

This is before our family trip to the park. We got all dressed up because we were meeting up with Libby, Katie, and John Paul for a stroller date.

Love this passifier and bib that were gifted to us! Grandpa Charlie says it looks like he could be living up on the ranch with him and that he needs to start practicing his roping skills ;)

I'd like to note...pretty sure he's got a mini-"Gig'em" going on there! WHOOP!!!
After all, everyone says it was the A&M vs. Alabama game and that Johnny Football that re-ignited my contractions that Saturday night!

It is so fun for Blake and I to have both our teams playing in Bowl games here in Dallas this year! Too bad we don't have tickets to either game... :/

This weekend we have decided to have family date night and go look at Christmas lights. We've heard of a couple of "new" locations to look at lights, the typical HP, if you have any suggestions...send them our way!
http://www.vitruvianlights.com/

We also will have our very first family Christmas eve and Christmas morning to ourselves (this is also Blake's and my first to be in OUR home-typically we're always staying at a relatives) so we are in the midst of talking about the traditions we want to establish. So far we've gotten as far as food/menu! You know, the important stuff, right?! Haha! We are such fatties!

What Christmas traditions do you all have?
Obviously, we're in need of some ideas other than ones that involve calories ;)

Until next time, have a VERY Merry and Blessed Christmas. We pray each of you experiences the joy of time with family and friends, laughter, and a true remembrance for the reason of who is at the center of why we come together and celebrate this time of year.

xoxo

We have a ONE month old!

Seriously, we are parents to a one month old?! REALLY! We still can't believe we are parents...much less to a one month old. Everyone always says how time flies with these little bambinos and now we are part of that club! Time DOES fly SO fast!

Since we last wrote Charlie has visited us...finally! Charlie is my dad who requests to go by Charlie-not grandpa ;) Little does he know, but we're still thinking of some fun names for him...with his Mexico/spanish/ranching background we're bound to pick something fun! Like Pancho, Jefe (spanish for boss/chief), cowboy, etc...If you have any ideas send them our way. :)

We had so much fun with Charlie and can't wait for him to come back at Christmas to spend more time with him. I adore both sides of my family and the Mertz side still hasn't gotten to meet him yet so he'll also be bringing my Nanny and Papa, Aunt Marilyn, and hopefully some of my cousins too!
I mean how can you not L-O-V-E this group

Here is my weekly growth comparison...touchdown!

Mommy and Daddy went on their first post-me date night

I went on my first stroller date with my girlfriend Libby, Katie and John Paul's baby. Here I am all dressed up for Libs

I had my 1 month Dr appointment yesterday and here are the stats:
I weigh 7 pounds and that is the 41%!
My length is 20inches and that is the 70%!
My head circumference is 33cm which is 19%!
Of course all of these percentiles are based on my gestational age, which is 38 weeks-cause I'm still supposed to be in my mommy's tummy. If you compared me to a full term one month old I wouldn't even be on the charts because I'm still so little. BUT, the Dr. did say I am a "superstar" with all the progress I have made. I have another appointment at 2 months and at that time he'll let us know if I can stop taking my "muscle milk" twice a day. He also told my mommy that it might be another 2 months or so til I sleep longer periods of time (in comparison to a full term baby) because I am so small she and my dad might have to keep waking up every 2-3 hours at night to feed me. Yay for me to get all that food though right?! ;)

Here are some pics that my mom doesn't want you all to miss out seeing of me.

This is McKenzie, she is my other mommy. We get along REALLY well and she is SUPER protective of me. Anytime someone other than mom or dad holds me she sits right by them to supervise and anytime I cry or get really loud hiccups she comes to check on me. So it's only fitting she fit herself in one of my 1 month photo shoot pics.


***sorry the photos are off center and mis-labeled. Like I said this blogging thing is new and when I previewed it I saw the mistake but keep trying to fix it and can't figure out how. Yes, I know it's probably super simple but I need blogging help!

Almost 3 weeks!

*warning-lots of words in this post...if you just want to see pics, scroll to the bottom*

Tomorrow marks 3 weeks since Mr. Charles Hatch has blessed us with his presence!
Happy early birthday!

We can't stop talking about what an incredible blessing he is and how great and loving our God is who has truly, truly walked beside us on the path to become parents. As some of you know, almost exactly a year ago Blake and I started infertility treatment due to something I have called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)I was diagnosed with this in college and knew that getting pregnant could be difficult but per my longtime OB/GYN she didn't think it would be an issue as I wasn't the "typical" patient who has this syndrome. Well, apparently God had other plans and I did have trouble getting pregnant, so we were sent to an infertility specialist last December and started our first treatment in January. The doctor that we saw here in Dallas, his nurse, and sonographer all told us that medications alone would likely not work for me as I had "the most polycstic ovaries" they had seen. They said from the begining that IVF would be our answer but that we needed to go "through the process" for insurance and saftey purposes. So we started with the most basic treatment options. Blake and I processed all of this with our closest friends and community group and prayed for wisdom and guidance on where/what treatments we should participate in. I got involved in Shiloh, a ministry our church created for women struggling with infertility,which was the most incredible resource and source of strength, wisdom, and hope for me during that time. I also have the most incredible husband and helpmate who encouraged, loved, and supported me every step of the way. The Lord gave us clarity on what treatments we were willing to try, which ones we were not, and provided peace and patience during that time. Although we wanted to start a family, he allowed us to feel/know that HE was in control and this was not our timing and/or decision, this was His. Well, after 3 rounds of treatment in which my body did not respond at all to, we decided to take a month off as we needed a break, plus we would be out of town for the "critical" times when I would need to be monitored. So off we went to Florida to take a breather and then to Haiti for a mission trip.

In God's mysterious ways, this is the exact month when we became pregnant! Funny, how yet again, the Lord showed us that even when we think we have control of a situation (aka going to one of the top infertility docs in Dallas, doing treatment, etc) he does not NEED us to do ANYTHING to accomplish what His will for us is.
I had a completely healthy pregnancy and so preterm labor wasn't even a word that had crossed mine or my dr's mind. In fact, I went in for my 34 week appt the morning I went into preterm labor and everything checked out perfect.

We yet again were blessed to have a child born at 34 weeks, especially a boy (they don't develop as quickly as girls) without any severe medical issue. The fact that he did not need help breathing, oxygen, or any other support besides for feeding and temperature control is a miracle. Then our little warrior surpassed every doctors prediction for him and was not only able to latch for breastfeeding, but actually did better breastfeeding than bottle feeding. He had absolutely no confusion between the breast, bottle, or passifier-which so many infants do. Praise the Lord. While I also felt INCREDIBLE. No pain issues, soreness, exhaustion, etc. Blake and I know that God was freeing me from these symptoms and taking care of our precious angel so that we could focus on other things.

Blake and I share this now so that everyone can really understand how INCREDIBLY grateful and blessed we have been on this journey...and to share it with you so that if you or anyone you know has been or is going down this path we know this isn't something we should be ashamed/embarrassed of, but to use it to help others. We also can't stop praising our God for how he has provided for us EVERY STEP of the way that it's hard to keep our mouth shut about His goodness.

And now...we are home and this kiddo is still fighting. He is an EXCELLENT feeder and we think in the middle of a growth spurt right now. We know he is getting stronger everyday!

As promised, here is a picture of our little guy with his ear well on. He will wear it for 4-6 week, it isn't painful and does not bother him at all, just looks funny.(we are 1 week in already and hopefully will get it off for Christmas) We will go in to have it re-adjusted in another week and have a better idea then of when he'll get it off.

Here he is smiling to the sound of his Great-Papa's voice. I was talking to my Papa on speaker phone and this little guy didn't stop smiling the whole time Papa talked! It was the most precious thing ever

Our first family trip to the new Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas. LOVE this park, can't wait to go back!

Just chilling. I'm a pro at this nap time thing...

Our little boy is SO tongue tied. Bless his heart, he is getting that "clipped" this Wednesday by an excellent physician we know, Dr. McClay. We've been praying on whether or not to get it down now or when he is older and really feel for feeding purposes we'd rather get it done sooner than later in hopes that is won't be as hard of a transition back to the breast/bottle for him once it is clipped.

Drum roll puh-leeaaaassssseeeee!!!!
For our grand finale pic....the ONE and ONLY, Aunt Taylor is BACK IN TOWN!!!! She surprised us yesterday by just walking in our front door. Blake got it ALL on tape and says I cried like a baby when I saw her. I don't deny it, this lady left to live in New Zealand before I was pregnant and sadly missed my entire pregnancy. When Hatch, she claims that will be his name, came early she couldn't stand it (I'm sure coming back for Christmas, her mom, and brother also played a part too) so she came back a couple weeks early.

Is that not the cutest picture ever? Look how much his Aunt-T loves him already. She is beside herself giddy. Hatch loved every second he was in her arms...he asked if she'd come back soon and not go back to New Zealand :) I agree-Texas is a better fit for Miss Taylor.