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.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween from David the Skunk

Trisomy 13

"God is too kind to do anything cruel...
Too wise to make a mistake...
Too deep to explain himself."
~ Romans 11:33-36 ~ "~ Chuck Swindoll's insight

We have been waiting to post more about our current pregnancy, since our second ultrasound was the last picture I posted. October 3rd we received a call that they had found what might be a spot on one of our baby's organs. We were told this can sometimes mean there is a chromosome abnormality but that it often turns up as nothing at all and that was likely the case for us. Not wanting to cause any worry when nothing was likely to be wrong we have not said much but the next week we had a triple screen test. A week later we got the results and nothing had showed up. BUT a week later we got another call that we had another ultrasound scheduled followed by a genetics appointment. These took place on Wednesday, October 24th. What was supposed to be just a precautionary ultrasound turned into our worst nightmare. Soon the room was filled with doctors whispering abnormalities they were finding in our baby. I cried silently as they continued to scan wondering what was wrong with my baby. The ultrasound lasted over an hour and when it was finished we were told that our baby is very sick. We walked to genetics and waited silently to hear the news in more detail. The short of what we were explained was that it was probably a chromosome abnormality and that our baby was not expected to live. Before we knew it we were headed for our amniocentesis. We expected the results Monday but got them Friday (yesterday) and it confirmed what the doctors were almost certain of already. Our baby boy has trisomy 13, an extra 13th chromosome in his DNA. This particular chromosome causes severe abnormalities which make survival very unlikely. 91% of Trisomy 13 babies will not survive to their first birthdays and most die within the first month. Some will not survive the birth. Thursday November 1st we have another full day at the hospital where we will be speaking to specialists and having more tests. There are decisions we have to make and questions we need answers to. Needless to say this is a very difficult time for us. We are thankful for David's health and we know that this type of Trisomy 13 is not genetic. The chance of us having another child with Trisomy 13 is less than 1%. We appreciate everyones prayers and support as you share this sad time with us.

Meet Baby

Just wanted to post a picture of baby from our ultrasound yesterday. Heart rate was 148 beats per minute and baby was moving around so much that they couldn't even get a good picture. We may have more of an udate in a weeks time.

Wrong Utensil "Mimi"!

I have been letting David have a soon and attempt to feed himself since he started eating solid food. I found out today that I have been giving him the wrong utensil. Before I put him in his chair for lunch he grabbed my fork from the table. Thinking he would just experiment with it I let him keep it and gave him some macaroni. He successfully used the fork to stab and eat all of his noodles. He was very proud of his accomplishment (as was I) so we will have to find him some smaller forks. And if you are wondering where "mimi" comes from it is David's new way of saying mommy... he used to say "mama" now it's "mimi, mimi, mimi,mimi!"

Nectarine Monster

A little over a week ago David decided to climb up on a chair, then onto our table, and from our table he began to take bites out of the two nectarines I had on the counter. So, I decided to wash and give him one. It is his first time eating one whole. As you can see from this video he loves them!

On the topic of food we found out yesterday (the hard way) that our little peanut is well... allergic to peanuts. We have been trying to get him to eat peanut butter as another source of protein and after having a very small piece of toast with a very thin layer of peanut butter he broke out in hives all over his tummy. He was covered within 2 minutes of exposure. Worried that his throat would swell I called the nurse line right away and we took him to the clinic. Thankfully it was a small amount and he had not swelling but we have to be very careful from now one and the doctor said he may outgrow it.

David's First Hair Cut

going...
Some of you have been dreading this moment, others have encouraged it but regardless of how you feel Wednesday was the big day. Here he is getting his first hair cut.
going...
GONE!

Last Look at My Curls

Here is David after he just got his curls washed for the last time.

Bethany's Street Party (Last Weekend)

DeMille's Farm

During out trip to Shuswap this month we visited DeMille's farm and David got to see some animals up close. We then went to Margaret Falls (see entry bellow) and then stopped for some ice cream which was an experience in itself. Here is Jonathan eating 2 scoops which he couldn't finish until the next day. Karen and I each had one scoop and I shared with Grandma Unger and still couldn't finish. Looking forward to more ice cream next summer.

Margaret Falls