Thinking back… 2 years ago today I was in the hospital, battling pre-eclampsia…. 3 years ago I was experiencing heartache afer heartache, loss after loss…. I looked up this post from August 14, 2013 and have tears of joy! Tears of joy! Tomorrow, my baby will be 2! I have a 9 year old son and a soon to be 2 year old daugther. Tear of joy I tell you.
THE DRESS
I rarely do personal posts here, but I felt on this subject I had to. There is such a story behind this dress…. I’ll try and be brief.
This dress was bought by my mother for my niece (her first grandchild) 12 years ago. I loved it at first sight. Watching my adorable niece (who will be turning 12 in a few months) in that dress just made me fell in love with it all the more…. It might have been passed down to my other niece (8), I’m not sure. All I know is I grabbed it when they no longer had a need for it. I put it in my closet. I think it was before I even had my son. I loved it that much.
Fast forward almost 8 years… Lucas arrives. My precious bundle of joy. My beautiful son. But of course, this dress wasn’t for him. I closeted it again….
Fast forward 4 years… We started to try and have another baby. As most of you know, this was quite a struggle filled with heartache and loss. 7 miscarriages, broken hearts, babies in heaven…. I sought medical treatment and did quite a few painful procedures…. Still no luck. During that time, I saw the dress hanging in the closet. There were a few times I thought this was never going to happen, maybe I just should get rid of it. But I didn’t…. I cried… I held it… But I kept it.
Finally, the good Lord blessed us with a viable pregnancy in 2012! Such a miracle. I just knew it was going to be a boy, but I still kept the dress. My husband has 4 uncles, they all had boys. His dad? 2 boys. There are no girls in the family.. So the odds were, this beautiful baby was going to be a boy, so no need for the dress. But I still kept it.
WRONG! We found out it was a girl! A Girl! A beautiful miracle twice over! The fact that I was pregnant and the fact it was a girl!!!! Yes! Yes! I can keep the dress!
Fast forward 7 months. There were a few early pregnancy tests that alluded there could be complications… And they were right. I was hospitalized around 31 weeks for high blood pressure. Extremely high blood pressure. I was on the road to eclampsia… My beautiful little girl, all healthy and perfect inside me and my body was giving out…. Thanks to the wonderful team of doctors and Jesus, she was ok…. As my blood pressure kept climbing, it was eminent that we would be meeting our precious daughter earlier than expected. And so it was. She was born at 33 weeks and 6 days…. She stayed in the NICU for 16 days and I stayed in the hospital another week until they found the right cocktail of meds to control my blood pressure….
Fast forward 6 months. We are here. Healthy. Happy. And blessed. And this dress finally has its place on MY daughter!
Such a wonderful story!
What a precious baby girl! God is good!
I see why you kept the dress! And what a beautiful story – Such a great testament to never giving up!
You are blessed!
Thank you for sharing this beautiful story! She is adorable 🙂
This is a beautiful story. It is so hard to go through painful times but what a joyful outcome. Your daughter is a cutie! God bless you. =)
What a cutie! She has a strong, beautiful,talented mommy and wonderful family.
Amazing and so beautiful! God is forever faithful!
Thank you for sharing such a beautiful story of hope and that miracles do exist! Hugs from Hawaii.
What a wonderful and heartwarming story, my friend! Your daughter is so cute and I love that dress. Simply adorable! Big hugs! Xoxo
THANK YOU for sharing your story Laurel!!!
Hope you all have a wonderful time celebrating her 2nd birthday together 🙂
She is beautiful. God Bless you & yours always.
beautiful story! i am so happy this moment is here!! (and so thankful it didn’t fall on a wednesday!! ha ha!)
happy birthday to Lily! and to the perfect full family! <3
Dearest laurel
You are blessed to have this little girl….
God make you a wonderfull gift because of your belive….your trust….
Girls are blessed
Girls are the flowers in our life
They do stay with mummy and dad after they pass the bad years of revolution…..
Girls are full of heart
Full of love
God bless you and your little angel
Kisses
Thank you for opening up and sharing your heart with us all! It’s never easy to open up but there are so many women going through similar situations so it makes it nice to know they are not alone and that there is hope. Happy birthday to your amazing, beautiful, blessing from above…your precious baby girl!
♡♡♡
Thank you for sharing Laurel. You have thee most beautiful family♡
Laurel, your story brought tears to my eyes; moving, personal, heart-warming and heart-touching! The ‘message’ of the dress (you obviously kept it for a reason!), your perseverance, determination, stamina and resilience have rewarded you with two wonderful children, and especially, the miracle of your beautiful little girl! Thank you for sharing your most precious gifts with us! Happy 2 Years Old, little one!
Hugs~c
That’s such beautiful picture of both of you, time goes by so fast, enjoy your babies! I wish you the best!
What a beautiful story. I’m inspired by your Faith and positive attitude. Your daughter is absolutely precious!
I wanted to have several children and preferred all boys. My first pregnancy, I purchased a dress and a train outfit. God gave me what I could handle, a girl. So the train outfit went in the closet. We decided not to have another child for a few years. Well, that few years turned into 12! Then we found ourselves pregnant again. This time I wanted to know if we were going to get to use the train outfit. But again, God gave me what I could handle, a girl. This being our last child, I gave the train outfit to someone else for their precious boy. I should have kept it however, as my first grandchild, was a boy! My faith should have endured 8 more years. I am now a proud Nana to the world’s best little man, Bentley Avery!
I wish for you many happy memories with both of your children. They really are the best things in life!
Sweet dress, sweet baby… and a sweet ending to the story.
I am glad that you took the time to post a ‘personal’ journey story. I think a lot of people will appreciate reading your struggle to see they are not alone..and that sometimes determination has a successful outcome. I too struggled with ‘baby’ issues for years. (this was years ago)…at the time, I felt alone in that struggle. I am sure someone will see this post and feel comfort knowing ..they are not alone!! Congratulations on that cute little bundle..and that dress is adorable.. So happy you held on to it…
Thanks for sharing your story! So inspiring and so reassuring to know that miracles do happen! Your little girl is such a cutie! My little girl was born at 28 weeks of pregnancy. A little 2 lb baby. After 90 days in the NICU, she was able to come home to us! Our children are so precious and I thank God everyday for my 2 healthy little girls!!!
What a beautiful precious gift. Love the dress.