Happy 3rd Birthday to Laila!

It's so hard to believe I was giving birth to our first little blessing 3 years ago today! Happy 3rd birthday to our first daughter, Laila Grace! You are the sweetest little girl we know and we have loved watching you grow these past 3 years. You are our firstborn and we are so proud of you. We are so excited to see you as a big sister now...we know you will be wonderful at the new role God has given you! We love you so much and are so thankful for you!

Update on Paityn

Paityn is doing great, but unfortunately we are still in the hospital with her. They had taken her shortly after birth to the transitional nursery to monitor her breathing, etc. After more time and tests, they determined that she had some kind of infection. They don't know exactly what caused it, but they decided to transfer her to the NICU and keep her for some extra days so she can complete a full round of antibiotics to be on the safe side. It has been very difficult to see all the cords and monitors they hook to her as they monitor things, but I am so thankful I have been able to stay with her and continue to nurse her and be with her thru it all. Our family and friends have been a huge help with Laila, meals, and everything else this week. Knowing Laila is in good hands, has definitely made it slightly easier for me to be away. I've been able to spend some time with her here and there, but I miss her so much! She ran up and gave me a big hug yesterday and I felt like she had gotten bigger and grown up so much since I saw her last. I hate that Laila hasn't officially met Paityn yet...she's only been able to see her through the glass at the nursery. Definitely not how I hoped it would be the first time she saw her, but soon enough they'll get to be together and start their lives as sisters! The only upside of all this is that I've been able to have some one-on-one bonding time with Paityn. She is so precious and reminds me so much of Laila as a baby. I can't wait to get Paityn home and to get back into a routine with our little family of 4. I can't wait for you all to meet her!! It's hard to believe she'll be a week old already when we take her home on Saturday. I am counting down the days and hours!

We really appreciate all the calls, sweet messages, gifts, meals, and visitors so far this week. I haven't done the best job of getting good pictures of Paityn or of everyone whose come to see her, but I know you'll still enjoy the pictures and memories I have captured so far of our new precious daughter!

Paityn Amber Schuck

We are so proud to announce that our new daughter, Paityn Amber Schuck is here...finally! She was born on May 28th at 1:43 p.m., weighing 8 lbs 3 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. After being about 2 weeks late and with a very long and astonishing 42+ hour labor, she is doing well overall. To make a long story short, we did most of the laboring at Heart 2 Heart Birth Center, but then needed to be transferred to Winnie Palmer where we are thankful that she was still able to be delivered by natural childbirth in the end. Right now she is in the transitional nursery because they aren't quite comfortable with her breathing and a few other things yet. The hospital pediatrician we spoke to tonight seemed encouraging that she was doing well overall, but they are going to keep her in there for at least overnight. Please keep praying for her and pray there will be no other complications and she will recover nicely and quickly. These past 3-4 days have been the longest days ever yet a whirlwind at the same time. We obviously have not slept much over the past few days and are pretty exhausted, so please say some prayers for us well. We feel so blessed and are so excited to be a family of 4! Paityn is so precious and and is one of the greatest blessings from the Lord we have ever received, just like Laila is. We can't wait to take her home and for all of you to meet her! We haven't been able to take a ton of pictures yet, but here are a few for our family and close friends to hold you over until you meet her! :)

Proud Daddy and Mommy minutes after Paityn's birth!

Picture of sweet little Paityn sleeping in the nursery

Waiting on Paityn!

Well, I was hoping the previous post I added would be the last before Paityn's arrival, but it's been 13 days since then and she is still not here yet! We are obviously so ready to meet her and the anticipation is overwhelming at times, but I'm getting through each day knowing she will be here soon and that the Lord has the perfect day set aside for her birth day. Spraining my ankle at 41 weeks pregnant almost sent me over the edge, but there was one sweet thing that came from that story. We were on a family walk around the neighborhood and I rolled my ankle while walking on the uneven brick roads. I was already pretty frustrated at the time with being extremely tired and over being pregnant, so when I hurt my ankle I immediately got emotional and wanted to have a complete break down. Laila made it all better though when she kept saying, "It's okay Mama! Just take a deep breath and relax." (I guess she's heard us say that to her a time or two before!) When we got home, she gave me her stuffed animals to cuddle with, and the next morning, the very first thing she said when she woke up was "How is your boo-boo, Mama?" Her kind heart and caring spirit brings my heart so much joy....I think seeing her react that way made the pain worth it! Although it definitely hurt to walk for a few days, luckily the sprain wasn't too bad. It's starting to feel better now, though it's not completely healed and I'm still trying to be extra careful with it.

Although I would much rather be holding her in my arms right now, I'm trying to find some positive reasons for Paityn's delay. One thing is that it's given me more time to prepare mentally and emotionally for her birth and get a little more organized at home. We have also been able to make some more memorable moments with Laila before we become a family of 4. She has been saying the funniest things lately and always keeps us laughing with her goofy little ways! She talks about Paityn all the time and is so excited to meet her...I think she is going to be an awesome big sister and I can't wait to see them together! Nate also had the opportunity to compete in his first triathlon this past weekend. Unfortunately, it was very early in the morning and I was feeling too miserable to get out of the house, but our friends got some really good pictures for me to see. He did so great and I am so proud of him! Can't wait to be cheering him on at the next one with both of our girls there as well!

Well, back to Paityn! Many of you know that we are planning on having Paityn's birth at the Heart 2 Heart Birth Center. The midwives and every one there have been wonderful and I feel very much at peace about being in their care. I have no idea how the whole thing will end up playing out in the end with her birth experience, but I know I am in good hands and that no matter what happens Paityn and I will be well taken care of. Since I'm past due and 41 weeks now, I had to have an ultrasound today. They said everything looked good and Paityn is doing great! I guess she is just comfy in there and not quite ready to make an appearance :) We've started doing some natural induction techniques, but it seems like they will give me at least a few more days to see if she comes on her own before we take the next steps of induction. I would like to do things as natural as possible, so as long as we are both healthy, I'm trying to be patient and not rush things along too much. We'll see what happens! I know the Lord has a plan for all of this and I am constantly in prayer asking Him to protect her and give me wisdom and guidance each step of the way (just like I'll be doing for the rest of her life!). I would really appreciate your continued prayers as well for a safe delivery and for her health....I truly covet your prayers!

Hope you enjoy the pictures below, and hopefully next time I'm writing on here will be to announce Paityn's arrival!!!

Laila and Mommy make a shirt for Paityn!

Baby belly at 40 weeks

Baby belly at 41 weeks

Slideshow of Nate's first triathlon....so proud of you Daddy!!!

Full of Joy!

Here are pictures from each month of Paityn growing in her Mommy's belly! :) I am so, so, so thankful this has been a healthy pregnancy so far and I would love your continued prayers for her safe delivery. Hopefully we'll be posting pics of her arrival very soon!

Almost ready to pop at 39 weeks!

Month 8

Month 7

Month 6

Month 5

Month 4

Month 3

Month 2

Month 1

Preparing for Paityn!

I just realized I haven't officially announced on our blog yet that we have chosen a name for our new baby girl! Her name will be Paityn Amber Schuck. We chose Paityn mainly because we thought it was a pretty name. One of the meanings we found for her name was "warrior of faith", and we pray that the meaning will hold true in her life and that she will live all of her days for the Lord. We chose Amber as her middle name after Joy's mom, who is a Godly christian women that has been so influential in our lives as a mother, mother-in-law, and a grandmother. We are honored for our daughter to share her name! We know she'll love her Ammy just like Laila does :)

It has been so fun preparing for Paityn's arrival! Nate has been working hard at my "honey-do" lists (thank you sweetheart) and I've been busy nesting to get organized and get the house ready for our soon to be family of 4! The nursery is pretty much staying the same from how we had it with Laila, and Laila has recently moved into her new room with a big girl bed! She loves it and it's been a very easy transition for her. We're so thankful for the hand-me-downs and for family that helped us prepare. Ammy, Great Nana, and Great Aunt DeDe were a huge help in getting Laila's room together. I love looking around the rooms and seeing pieces from different family members and the memories they bring :) Here are some pictures from the girl's new rooms!

Paityn's bassinet in Mommy and Daddy's room

Paityn's nursery

Laila's new big girl room!

In April, my best friend Erin, my sister Holly, and my mom threw a "Sprinkle" for me to celebrate our new little blessing on the way! It was a wonderful time with a small group of friends and my immediate family and I was so thankful to have this time to celebrate Paityn's upcoming arrival and to be showered with sweet gifts to help in preparing for her. I didn't do a great job at getting pictures of everyone that day, but check out the slideshow of pictures below from the "Sprinkle", as well as a few pregnancy pictures that Nate's sister took that same day.

Spring 2011

This Spring has been full of many special memories! From playdates with friends, a field trip to the farm with Laila's class, and celebrating Easter and Mother's Day with family, we have had so much fun! We've been very busy getting ready for the arrival of Paityn in mid May, but it's been nice to have had these moments with Laila before we begin life as a family of 4. We are SO excited to meet Paityn and it's been especially fun to see how excited Laila is to be a big sister :)

Paityn at 33 weeks in the womb!

Ammy treated us to a 3D/4D photo session so we could get a glimpse of our new little baby girl's face! Here is Paityn at 33 weeks in the womb! All of God's grace in one sweet face! :)

Daddy/Daughter Dance

Nate and Laila shared a very special date night together in March at Northland's Daddy/Daughter Dance! Laila was so excited to go to the "ball" and wear her new dress! As they were leaving she even looked over at Nate and said "Come on, Prince Daddy!"....so, so precious! They made so many awesome memories that night and hopefully it is something they'll be able to do together for years and years to come!

January & February 2011

This new year is flying by for us so far! We've been staying busy with work, Laila, and preparing things for our new baby girl on the way! Check out the slideshow below to see some of the fun things we've been up to these past few months!