We've Waited For You, Anna Lynn!

Our Anna Lynn is here!  She was born February 13, 8:36 a.m., 7 lbs., 6oz., 19 inches.

God told me I'd have a daughter named Anna years ago when Brian and I were dating.  I already liked the idea of naming a daughter of mine Anna, and God spoke quietly in my heart when Brian and I were in a Christian bookstore one day.  I looked up and saw "Anna" on one of those Scripture name cards that used to be so popular, and it was the only name I even focused in on, out of all the others.  God whispered to me that day that I'd have a daughter named Anna.

I had thought about the name Anna as a name for a daughter, because it is the last four letters of my maiden name.  It has always been a part of me.  I was always very aware of the "anna" at the end of my name, from when I was a child, to when I became a teacher and I wrote my name on the white board to introduce myself to my students.

My middle name is also Ann, and my parents, for the first few years of my life, called me "Ann" or "Annie" more than they called me "Courtney".

At the time, I wasn't even thinking about the Anna from the Bible.  We purposely chose Bible names for our boys:  Caleb from the Old Testament, and Silas from the New.  It seemed like God took care of that for me.  Long before I realized I'd want to name my children after godly people from the Bible, God already took care of this little detail.  You'll find Anna in the book of Luke, Chapter 2.  She was a prophetess who spoke about Jesus.

When we were pregnant with Caleb, we chose to be surprised about the gender.  Brian agreed wholeheartedly to the name Anna, so we needed to settle on a middle name.  So many names go well with Anna.  "Anna Grace", "Anna Mae" for example.  I actually had a student for one year whose name was "Annalynn".  I always loved how it rolled off the tongue, and while I cannot say I'm naming my daughter after my former student, this student of mine was sweet and kind, and that certainly didn't hurt my view of the name.  So, after some discussion, Brian and I were settled on our daughter's name.  We chose this name before we even chose Caleb's name!

We've waited for her for years.  We love her so much!  She is absolutely beautiful.

Every birth has its own story.  The next post will be Anna's birth story!

We're Waiting, Little Girl!

"Oh, how hard it is to wait for one's heart's desire!" ~Jean De Brunhoff, Babar And His Children, says Babar, as he is waiting for his child to be born

End of 38 weeks

We've reached 39 weeks, and I am glad for it, because baby's brain is done developing and baby is completely full term.  Not that the brain is done developing, because it will be developing until she is 25!  But at least what needs to be done in the womb.

So, my mini watermelon and I are getting by.  My back is aching at this point.  I have had horrible scoliosis since I was 7, or at least that was the earliest we discovered it.  The extra weight has put a ridiculous strain on my already tender back, and I am terrified of going into labor on a day when my back is at its worst.  Certain chores and cleaning (ahem, I'm looking at you, bathroom), only serve to increase the pain.  

Brian has taken to rubbing my back at night to try to ease the discomfort, and then I put a heating pad on it he got me for Christmas.  His back rubs have truly made a difference.  While they certainly don't get rid of the pain, they do help to ease it.  I know it can hurt his hands to continue the massage, but he is determined to help me through this time, and I really appreciate it.  No doubt, he'll be doing the same between my contractions.

I see my midwife later today, and we have briefly discussed the idea of inducing if our girl doesn't come on her own.  I am tired of all this waiting, and then there is the weather to worry about (Winter Weather Advisory tonight).  I reminded myself that no woman is pregnant forever.  But it isn't my own comfort I am concerned about.  I worry about the level of amniotic fluid at this point, and my baby's overall well-being.

I had a dream two nights ago about her.  I went in for a check-up, and my former midwife, who delivered both boys, was there.  (She moved away, but we still keep in touch.)  She said she had to do a procedure on my baby and my baby's eyes had to be shut.  She showed me a way to peek in my abdomen and see the baby's eyes.  I felt so stupid, because how was I at the end of my third pregnancy and I didn't know there was a peep window?  And there were my girl's eyes, bright and shining blue, just like her brothers'.  Then the nurse proceeded to press down hard on my abdomen so as to shut her eyes, so whatever this strange procedure was could be accomplished.

It's time to stop dreaming about my little girl and meet her already, wouldn't you say???

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my boys from a couple of weeks ago when we had some snow.  And one of me and Silas because it is too cute.