Randomness

Here are some random pictures with captions. We have had BEAUTIFUL weather this week and have been busy outside but I have not been taking many pictures. The girls are playing outside by 8:30 in the morning and don't comeback inside until they are forced to for naps. Then it's right back outside. On Monday I forgot the sunscreen and we started the week off with some great burn/tan lines. I'll try to do a better job with the camera and the sunscreen.

These pictures were taken today after naps. The girls like to cuddle with Melanie after their own naps (for about 30secs). You can see how big Melanie is getting when you see them holding her, well trying to hold her.

This is a picture of the Wassink babies and Melanie. Evan is 9months old and the girls are 6months old. They were born about 2 weeks AFTER Melanie (they are only a couple days apart). This picture shows how small she really is compared to other babies born at the same time as she was. I sure wish Melanie had legs like Kara's, I would squeeze them ALL day long!! They are so cute!!


Baths for everyone after a fun day at the beach with friends. Even little Melanie had sand in her rolls. So thankful she has rolls for the sand to collect in!!! By the way at her 6month checkup last week (even though she's almost 7 months old)she weighed 11lbs 6ozs Still on the small side and no where near the growth chart. Dr. G has increased the calorie content of her milk again. When she left the hospital she was on 22-cal. Every appointment we seem to have to increase it, she's now at 26-calorie. I think she's gaining like crazy right now. She has a follow-up weight check in the middle of June.

6 Month and 2 Year Pictures

Here are Melanie's 6 month pictures and Jayden's 2 year pictures. I did a a couple (yes just two, that's all patience allowed for) of all three girls together!! Two things we found, Jayden tends to have her tongue out just a little bit (she gives kisses the same way), and Melanie has a crooked smile....and we LOVE it!!

Jayden's ABC's

Jayden is now saying her ABC's. Don't get too excited yet...she will only sing them with this car, she has to be pushing the car while singing, and I don't think "walrus" is the same as "q,r,s" and "teev" (what she calls the T.V.) isn't the same as "t,u,v". But, it's a start and I commend her for that :0) Please pay no attention to the random objects laying all over our floor....including the iron mark scorched into our carpet!! It's life at the Westra's lately, gotta love it! My bother walked in Monday morning, his eyes got big, and he asked if a tornado went through???? I actually thought the house looked pretty good for a Monday morning :)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

6 Months Old

Melanie is 6 months old now (ok, so she's well over 6 months....). Where oh where has the past 6 months gone. I can hardly believe 6 months ago we were watching our little baby fighting for her next breaths. That first month in the hospital was one of the most trying times of my life. There were so many fears I felt and so many obstacles to overcome. The only constant was knowing that WHATEVER happened was in God's plan for Melanie's life, and ours. We are so thankful to have made it out of that valley of our lives. When looking back at Melanie's NICU days I often think of the footprints poem. I'm sure most of us can almost say it by heart as we have experienced that poem at one point or another in our lives, but I know the only reason we survived those days was because God carried us through. He held Melanie when we couldn't. He caused the research for the surfactant Melanie received at birth. He gave the Dr.s wisdom in how to treat her pnematoceal. He guided the surgeon's hands during her surgery's. He gave her the BEST nurses to care for her and give her love while we were gone. He made her little body to grow and develop outside of the womb! He caused all of you, our friends and family, to shower us with love, support, and prayers over these past 6 months. And he comforted us with peace even though we didn't understand. Through this trial we have been blessed beyond measure.

So what is Melanie up to these days????
At 6 months old she weighed 10lbs 9oz (hopefully she's up to 11 lbs now). She is still in size 1 diapers and 3 month clothes. Melanie still despises tummy time. 30sec on her tummy and she will start crying, (screaming actually). She is drinking 90ml per feeding is at about 6 feedings a day. She is successfully sleeping through the night now. She goes from 10:00ish at night till about 8:00am~!!!!! Yeah for sleep!! During the day she doesn't really have a sleep schedule. She'll nap on and off all day. I am finding lately that she only takes really good naps in her swing!!! If she's in her bed or being held she'll sleep for about 30-45min and wake up. This will work for now, but she will soon be outgrowing her swing :( Melanie is just beginning to coo and interact with us. When in a good mood she'll hand out the smiles willingly. But if she's tired, she'll just stare right through you like you're not even there!! She is a thumb sucker. I'm trying to discourage it as much as I can, but when she gives me that big, pouty lip I melt and put her thumb in her mouth for her. She detests dirty diapers, wet are okay, but with-in a couple minutes of a stinky she'll be crying for a diaper change (maybe she'll potty train as easy as Miya did). Melanie LOVES to play patty cake, especially the round and round. She also enjoys putting her arm out straight in front of her and staring at her hand as she moves it back and forth, basic yes, but a good sign that she can see her hand and track it as she moves it!!! (an attempt at a picture of her leg chub)
The BEST thing about a preemie is all the extra cuddle time we get with her. Most 6 month olds are eating baby food, sitting up (almost), starting to teeth, and maybe evening beginning to scoot. Melanie LOVES to cuddle. Her favorite position is with her cheek on my cheek cuddled up tight against me. Our other girls were always moving around...Melanie is content to lay on our lap or cuddle close. The baby stage is so much fun (once the reflux is figured out) and I've always wished we could enjoy it longer. We'll, Melanie is allowing us to enjoy that baby stage longer then usual and we are so thankful for it. I often forget what she "should" be doing according to her age until I see another baby her age. Then I just remind myself that I GET to enjoy these cuddle times a little longer!!! As for her development....she is right on track with other babies according to her corrected age. That basically means we need to compare her with babies born around her due date (Feb.4). When we look at other 3 month olds she's doing great and we praise God for that.

I'll end this really long post (sorry) with a couple videos of Melanie taken a couple weeks ago. Please ignore my talking in the video and for those of you in a hurry, there's nothing exciting. It's just a video of of us trying to get Melanie to smile and coo!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

March for Babies

Dads turn...Its been a while since Ive done one of these,so bare with me. Ive been gettin a few requests today for pictures of the March for Babies that we had today in Holland for the March of Dimes.







It was a very sunny day for it, but very windy and cold. We started near the lake shore at Lake Macatawa, which didnt help any because of the west wind, but once we got to walking, we warmed up a little because we got out of the wind.
What a wonderful experience this was. The Melanie Marchers, and probably 2-300 other people walking today which was really cool. There were people walking in remembrance of the children they lost, and those walking for the victory of a premature child born that survived like we have been blessed with. It was really neat seeing so many people and their compassion for the cause of the March of Dimes. It was humbling seeing everyone registering and handing in the money they collected.
Being the Ambassador family meant we had to speak in front of all these people though. That was not nearly the highlight, although it went pretty smooth. Nicki did great :)
We also got to hang out with some friends from the hospital. The Lamar Twinners, as they are called looked adorable. They grew like crazy as well. Its hard to believe these kids born a few months ago weighing 2 + pounds look as well as they do. We are all very greatful.
Afterwards, there were some activities, although it was very cold, so not a lot of people hung around for that. There was a dunk tank, and some poor sap kept getting wet. He was shivering like crazy...unbelievable. There was a girl in a chicken suit whom Jayden despised, pizza, a few games, and of course, the jungle gym for the girls to play on.


All in all, it went pretty well. We now know what we're doing a little better, so we hope to be able to do a better job next year. Sounds like they might want us to do a little more volunteering as well next year, which is cool. Means we weren't total failures this year :)
We again want to thank the March of Dimes for what they do. What a wonderful experience we had at the hospital. It was good to do some reflecting today, especially with the Lamars while on our 5 mile walk. God has blessed this family with a very healthy Melanie, and we are thankful for this.
Hope you are all doing well!

Til next time

March for Babies on Saturday

Somehow it is the middle of April already. The March of Dimes Walk is Saturday. Yes, Saturday, I was just as surprised when I realized how quickly the past month has gone by. As ambassadors for the MOD, we will be giving a quick (hopefully very quick) talk on Saturday morning before we begin the 5 mile walk downtown Holland. The purpose of the MOD is to help all babies, the unborn, the premature, and the healthy ones. They do this through many different avenues; educating parents, hosting programs at the hospital, research, and so much more. We are so thankful for an organization like the MOD that helped research the surfactant Melanie received at birth to help her lungs. Without that surfactant her lungs may not have been able to breath at 26 weeks outside of the womb. The MOD has helped our family in numerous ways so we will be walking on Saturday to give back.

Yes, we are trying to raise money before the walk. We are also looking for others to walk along with us. If the weather is nice we will be taking the whole family and would love to see you and your family too. For those of you that are already walking with us we would love it if you could e-mail us with your phone number and we'll send out a text Saturday morning(after we scout it out) with a place we can all meet and then walk together if possible. Our e-mail is jeffwestra11@yahoo.com

The walk begins and ends at Kollen's Park in Holland

April 17, 2010
East 10th St. & VanRaalte Ave
Holland, MI 49423

Walk Distance: 5 miles
Registration Time: 8:00 AM
Start Time: 8:30 AM
Chapter: Grand Rapids Division
Phone: (616) 247-6861
(I've heard there's a $15 or $20 registration fee which includes a t-shirt, I'm checking on that)

For those of you that are unable to walk and would like to help through donations, check out the website below.
http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1377031
Melanie-first week of life.
Melanie compared to Dad's hand.Melanie-growing, growing, growing!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Jayden at OneTrueMedia.com

Oh Jayden, can it be you're 2 already?? I still remember the details of the day you were born. You showed us that day already that you were going to have a stubborn side :) We love you so much and can not imagine what this house would be like without you. You add so much humor and silliness to our everyday lives! You LOVE to have fun and will giggle at almost anything. You are a daredevil, always climbing on things, touching, and never afraid to try anything new. Your favorite color is purple (even though every color is purple to you), your favorite thing to play right now is house with Miya. You are so tender and caring (with your babies), feeding them while I feed Melanie and always asking us if we want to hold them. Your favorite food is mac and cheese and fruit snacks. You have just begun to string words together to make sentences and are now talking a blue streak. I remember the days when all you'd say was "aah, aah", it seems like sooo long ago but it was really only a few months ago. You LOVE your daddy and run to him every night when he gets home. You always ask to hold Melanie even though it usually lasts for less then a minute. Reading books is another of your favorite pass times; something we thought you'd never enjoy as you wouldn't sit for more then 30 seconds. You are always the one to remind us to read the bible after meals and will cry if you can't put it away when we finish. You like to pick on your big sister and are often found hitting, biting, pinching, or pulling her hair. However, you love her so much and try to do everything she does and go everywhere she goes. You two have so much fun together!

Jayden, we have enjoyed watching you grow into a toddler over the last year and are so thankful for every minute God has given us with you. We are so excited to see the plans the Lord has for your future. Our prayer is that you will serve Him in all that you do. For now, we'll continue to enjoy the moments God blesses us with you. We love you Jades!!!!!!!!!

Before hitting play on the slide show you'll want to scroll to the bottom of this blog and pause the music...even though the first song is the one I wanted to use...those of you that know how to download and upload music let me know!! Just hit the green triangle to start the slide show, ENJOY!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com