Josh and I had the chance to go see Maeby again last night and she is doing so much better!  She’s out of her astronaut hood, breathing room air, and her Breaths per Minute are at a calm rate now.  Which meant she was able to try eating from a bottle last night!  According to her mommy, she sucked it down quick!  And I just saw today on her dad’s Facebook that they have removed all feeding tubes and extra IV’s from her!  Yeah!  They are still waiting for results from a blood test that showed something growning in her blood, so continue to keep that in your prayers.  Also, continue to pray for Bert & Laura as they were discharged yesterday from GBMC and now have to spend nights at home with out their darling little one.  You can keep up to date on all their happenings at the Rode Family Blog.  Here are some quick photos we got last night!  Enjoy!

My husband’s sister, and my lovely sister-in-law, Laura and her husband Bert welcomed their second daughter into this world yesterday.  Delaney Mae, or “Maeby,” was born shortly before 8pm yesterday, April 13, 2009.  And she is precious!  She has a full head of hair, weighs 7lbs. 7 oz, and is 20 inches long.  Laura’s water broke Monday morning around 9 and she labored most of the day until Delaney made her debut.  Since Laura had a fever before delivery, Maeby was born with one as well and subsequently is having some difficulty with her breathing.  As you can imagine, she is going through a multitude of tests.  If you have time in your day, please remember to keep Maeby, Laura, Bert, and big sister Mackinzie in your prayers.  We’ll keep you updated on her status.  Here are some photos of my first shoot with her…hopefully one of many!

Many of you may have read about my sister, Maggie, in a previous post.  Well, she finally had her baby, Leah Beth, yesterday at 11:16am.  We are glad she’s finally arrived, but she isn’t completely healthy just yet.  Leah was born quite quickly and has some fluid in her lungs that she needs to get rid of in order to breathe completely on her own.  She is currently in the NICU at John’s Hopkins in Baltimore, and is being given oxygen to help her breathe.  This situation is completely dejavu for me and my family because about 16 months ago we were in almost the exact same situation with our youngest daughter, Brooke.  She was born with a birth defect called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and was in the NICU for one month and then in another hospital to learn to feed for an additional month.  At the time of her hospitalization I wondered what God had to teach me through all of this.  He taught me a lot, but now, especially that my baby sister is going through a similar situation, I’m glad I am able to offer her support in this unsettling time.  So, if you’ve been trying to get a hold of me, or waiting for me to return your e-mails, I have been slightly preoccupied with my newest niece.  Enjoy a few pictures of Leah…


If you are interested, you can keep up on updates about Leah on my family blog by clicking here.