Jonathan, David, Melissa & Noah

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Here are some of our family pictures and couple pictures that Jane took. I hope that everyone enjoys them, I know that some of you have been almost as anxious to see them as we have. I have said it before but I will say it again... we are so happy to have these wonderful pictures to cherish as memories in the future. Thanks again to Jane for all of her hard work.

David, Mommy & Noah

Here are some more of Janes lovely pictures.

Cherishing Pregnancy

I love this picture with Jonathan's hands in the shape of a heart over my belly. These pictures were all take by Jane of JanePhoto. We were thrilled to get a wonderful CD with our pregnancy pictures in the mail the other day. We weren't expecting them this early so they have been a wonderful Christmas surprise. Thank you Jane and NILMDTS!

More tears still to come...

Tomorrow marks the 8th week since we first discovered there were serious complications with Noah's health. We were told that same day it was likely trisomy 13 or 18 and the results were confirmed only 2 days later.
Today marks the 29th week of my pregnancy with Noah. This means I potentially have 11 weeks left. Time is passing so differently now and lately I have really been wrestling with the uncertainties ahead of me.
Knowing that we have come so far in the last 8 weeks from the first day we found out encourages me that the next 11 weeks (should we go that far) can continue to be weeks of growth. We have mamaged 8 weeks, surely we can survive another 11... almost half way to our due date. But the uncertainties seem to be catching up to me.
I have begun preparing for when I go into labour since it could be any day. I have a few things packed for Noah, though I don't have anything that would fit him at his current weight (almost 3lbs). I am getting my lists ready... who to call... what to do... what to bring. Starting to read about labour and getting back into that mindset. How do I prepare when it could be any minute or not until the beginning of March?
More than the timing of his arrival are the questions that remain about his health and the length of time we have with him. How can I prepare at the same time for the death of my son and/or caring for a baby with special needs? Do I pack away my baby things or get them ready? No one can answer these questions for me. No statistics have answers. Each case is so individual.
I know I need to be thankful for each day I have and when Noah greets me each day with his morning kicks I smile and am thankful that he made it through another night. Sometimes (like now) it is just really difficult to maintain that as my focus.

We love you Noah!

On Monday, December 10th we had some pregnancy pictures taken by Jane Eaton Hamilton, a professional photographer who volunteers for NILMTS (Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep). Jane has created some beautiful pictures of my pregnancy with Noah that we can cherish as memories when he is no longer with us. Jane will be with us to take pictures of Noah shortly after his birth aswell and I cannot fully explain how much comfort it brings us knowing we will have these treasured keepsakes. Here are a few sneak peaks of the beautiful moments Jane captured for us last Monday. Thank you Jane!

Noah's Dedication

DEDICATION OF
NOAH JONATHAN NEUFELD

Dear Noah,
Today we thank God for the gift of your life. We are thankful that God chose us to be your parents and for the opportunity to have you as our precious son. As we think of the hard times we have come through this pregnancy, and the difficult times still to come we reflect on the truth found in God's word.

Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV)
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 (NIV)
5 As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.

These words remind us that God is in control of your life and of all our lives. Though we do not know how long God plans for us to be together, we will cherish each day and hold you close in our hearts forever.

As we dedicate you to God we rededicate ourselves and your brother David. We ask that God will continue to give us strength as a family and wisdom to make the right decisions as we go through life. We think of the lyrics to "Blessed be Your Name" and we know that no matter what our circumstance... God is good.

Our prayer for you is that you would experience God’s love and the love we have for you. You are so very loved. We pray that God gives you peace and comfort and that we will be able to comfort you aswell. Amen

Jonathan's 25th Birthday

Today Jonathan turned 25! I can bug him that he is 1/2 way to 50 but I know that I am only 3 months behind him. He is a good sport about it anyway. We had a nice day together and even though it was busy we were able to celebrate him. I celebrate him everyday, I am so thankful to have him as my husband and father to our children. It has been about five years that we have known each other and yet it seems like he has been with me my whole life. I couldn't imagine life without him and I hope we are blessed with many, many, many more years together. It keeps getting better. Love you Jonathan!

Kids Christmas Party

Today was a busy day! After Noah's dedication we left for BC Place where Jonathan's work hosted a kids Christmas party. As you can see from the pictures it was lots of fun. David got to see Santa, dance to Christmas music, decorate a cookie, eat some food, bounce, run and play. He is going to sleep well tonight!

Sneak Peak

Introducing Noah! Yesterday Jonathan and I got to spend 50 minutes watching Noah via 3D ultrasound. It was a non medical ultrasound courtesy of a bunch of friends and family who wanted to give us this beautiful memory of our son in utero. Thank you so much to those who have contributed to this special time. We have a DVD of the session as well as pictures and video clips. And we were so happy to see Noah's beautiful face. His nose is completely formed as you can well see and there was no sign of a cleft pallet. We also got a peak at some of his male parts which have descended (not always the case with Trisomy 13).

Side profile, you can see Noah's ear and maybe even some hair on his head?
Here he is flexing his big muscles for the world to see.

And here we can see his left arm and right hand. Needless to say we are a very proud mama and papa and we look forward to meeting our little guy when the time comes.

Click Here For More Photos

Today is the beginning of my 3rd trimester. We are 27 weeks pregnant so that leaves 13 more weeks to go. I am definitely feeling the discomforts of pregnancy though my hip/back are almost healed. So far Noah is continuing to grow at a normal pace which means he weighs a little over 2lbs and measures approximately 15 inches from head to toe.

Family Fun In The Snow

Even though the snow wasn't supposed to last long, we decided to make good use of it. David had a lot of fun, but we had to cut it short because he was quickly soaking through his jacket and pants.

Work Christmas Party

Last night we went to a Christmas Dinner for Jonathan's work (the store in Cloverdale). He caught up with some of the people he used to work with and we enjoyed a nice meal. This year we even got to stay for dessert (as last year David was screaming for gramma and grandpa and we had to leave early). Before we left we took a family picture since Jonathan and I were dressed up. David was really tired but this one turned out okay. Can you believe it is December 1st?

Snow

I just wanted to update everyone with a few pictures from our visit to the Island. We did get a bit of snow which David got to walk in. He thought it was pretty neat but we are going to have to get him a full snow suit if he is going to further explore.
And yes he is wearing a tutu but don't blame mom... it was my cousins. I would have taken more pictures but he wasn't too happy with the new frilly pink thing.

Fun in the back yard

Jelly Belly

Last night I said I would try to post some more pictures of David soon and I couldn't resist this morning when I caught him with a mouth full of jelly beans. I was in his room packing clothes for this weekend and I thought things were a little too quiet. Sure enough he had pushed a container to my dresser and helped himself. I thought it was fitting to include him getting into the celery earlier this week. He grabbed it off the cutting board while Grammy was making stir-fry.

Trisomy Bracelets

Hello everyone... Just wanted to let those who have requested bracelets know that our order arrived today! David and I are getting ready to visit family on the Island so we are looking forward to that. Hope that everyone is having a good week. I will try to post more pictures of David soon.

Please watch...

Elliot's Story
(click above)
I just watched this today and I would really appreciate it if everyone would take a few minutes to watch it as well. Elliot was diagnosed with Trisomy 18... very similar to the Trisomy 13 our Noah has been diagnosed with. We don't know how many ballons will be released for Noah but we know that he is alive... we feel him moving every day.

Baby Boy

Some of you have been asking if we have named our baby boy and we are very excited to share with you that we have.
Choosing a name for our son has been very important to us. We chose both names for their meanings and of coarse he is named after his daddy as well.
Noah Jonathan Neufeld is the name we have given him.
Noah means "Peace; Comfort; Rest" and Jonathan means "God has given; Gift of God"
Along with naming Noah we are currently preparing for his Dedication which will take place at our home church on December 9th (the service begins at 11am and if anyone would like more information please contact us).

Time

Time is a strange thing. When we feel different emotions it seems to either pass by more slowly or more quickly... usually the opposite of what we would like. When we first learned that our baby boy was very sick and that he isn't expected to live, time almost stopped and I wondered countless times how I can manage the next four months of my pregnancy (should I carry to term).
Almost 3 weeks have passed and I am beginning to realize that time is a good thing. We have had time to learn more about Trisomy 13.
Time to accept that we may not have much time with our little boy.
Time to come to terms with things as a family.
Time is helping us to prepare.
But mostly I am thankful for time because it is helping me learn how to love. When we first found out that baby was very sick I couldn't help but try to distance myself and prepare for the worst. More and more as I am processing everything... recovering from the shock... and beginning to heal... I am learning to love.
I am thankful for each day that I have left in my pregnancy and I will love him through every moment we have in this special bond we share. I am thankful for any and every moment God gives us with our son before He takes him home and I will love him every minute, every hour and every day that we have with him for however long we are given. And when the time comes for him to go to heaven I will love him every moment of the rest of my life.

How are you doing?

I have been wanting to give an update on how everything is going and when people ask "How are you?" it is really a difficult question to answer. I can say that Jonathan and I are doing okay but what does "okay" really mean? It means that we are sad that we won't likely have much time with our baby boy if any. It means that some days are better then others and that each day has its share of heartache. With so many questions that remain unanswered we really have to take things "one day at a time." Will I carry to full term? Will we meet our son before he goes to heaven? How long do we have? How sick will he be? These are all questions we will not have answers to until the time comes. Despite our sadness we still smile together. David makes that very easy for us and we are even more thankful for him now then we have ever been. This morning he spat his soother out and gave me his first "real" snack on the lips, puckered up kiss and I am reminded once again that the joys of motherhood make all the difficult times and sleepless nights worth while.

I know our family and friends have been doing their own research on Trisomy 13 and I wanted to share a website from one of the support organizations for anyone who is interested. www.trisomy.org
I also wanted to let people know that there is a Trisomy bracelet available for $5 (please don't feel obligated) I just would like one for myself and if anyone else would like one I will be placing an order on Monday. www.trisomykidsarespecial.com
I also wanted to thank everyone for their support. We really appriciate your prayers, phone calls, e-mails, cards, hugs, and all the kind things you are doing to help us through this difficult time. So many of you are even sharing our tears and we are touched.