Ingrid Elizabeth arrived last Monday, July 28th after a six hour labor. She was “sunny side up” which hampered progress temporarily (and gave me an unrelenting backache). But once she turned it took just two pushes to deliver her. My water didn’t break until the very end and the midwife noticed some staining in the fluid. I remember we suctioned a couple of times from her nose and mouth, but otherwise everything looked good.
She was a lovely 7 pound baby with fair skin and a crown of pale gold hair, so the name Ingrid seemed to suit her perfectly! Ingrid is Scandinavian in origin and means “Hero’s Daughter.” Elizabeth is my maternal grandmother (may she rest in peace) and comes from the Hebrew meaning “the promise of God.”
The next day, I got a routine follow-up call from the midwife, and I mentioned that Ingrid’s respirations were not slowing down to a normal rate of 60 or less. Because of what we knew about the possibility of meconium aspiration, she urged me to visit the doctor right away. Low oxygen levels and a chest x-ray confirmed pneumonia. That day was a scary one for us, since we lost our daughter Margaret to pneumonia. Was it God’s will that we go through that again with this little girl? While sitting outside the radiology room, I distinctly remember telling God “I can’t do this again.” Later, I apologized to Him for saying that. Didn’t He promise He would always be with me? Doesn’t He say that everything works together for good? Wouldn’t I be a hypocrite if in one breath I said I was open to God’s will, but with another put limitations on exactly what His will should be?
So I promised to be truly willing to accept whatever may come. And after about 5 days of respiratory support and 7 days of IV antibiotics, God has granted healing and Ingrid is coming home, ready to be loved and nursed and diapered and kissed and dressed up by her big sisters and brothers!
Many of you have been praying for Ingrid and sending well wishes our way; what an undeserved blessing it is to have a circle of family, friends AND readers to bear you up during a trial. I thank God for all of you and look forward to posting this month about Ingrid’s progress, our stash of newborn diapers to review and a big newborn giveaway (hey, I kind of feel like celebrating)!!
Im so glad she is doing okay now!
Congrats on a beautiful little blessing. I pop in to your blog now and again. I’m so glad your little Ingrid is on her way home! July holds a special place in my heart because 2 of my boys were born in this month. My seventh was born July 30 last year so we just celebrated him turning 1!! He is such a fiery little man full of laughs smiles and life. Keeps us on our toes each second and refuses to be anything less than the center of attention around here!! To manage that, you’ve got to be pretty special. 🙂 Enjoy your little Leo!
Congratulations on little Ingrid! My oldest daughter says you stole her baby name 😉 My seventh was born July 30 and just turned ONE! Ack. Make it slooooooow down, he’s fixing to run. He has been the biggest joy in our family with the brightest soul… And the most active and challenging of them all! Enjoy your little Leo coming home!
Awww, it’s a great name, isn’t it? Pretty and unusual! So we both have 7 – what a small world!! Your youngest boy sounds like a blast! God is so good, and it seems He likes to send surprises every now and then. 😉 ~Anne
Sorry for the double post! Told me it didn’t leave my comment. Feel free to delete!
Hi mama! I’m not a new follower, but this if my first time commenting…I’m trying to be a better commenter….i.e. not just a perpetual blog “stalker.” Congrats on Baby Ingrid! She is absolutely precious. I can’t imagine the scare you had with her being ill, but I am so glad to hear that she is now home and doing better.
Many warm hugs to you!
Jessica
Jessica, it’s ok – I follow lots of blogs myself and don’t always find the time to comment! 🙂 Thank you so much for your well-wishes and hugs. It means a lot. ~Anne
Oh that is great, congratulations! She is adorable!
Many thanks! ~Anne
Hey Friend,
Congratulations! She is so beautiful and so is the older sister! Ingrid is such a beautiful name! So happy for you!
Hi lady! Isn’t God so good? ~Anne
So glad to hear Ingrid is on her way home. Susanna looks thrilled with her little sister! So cute! Best wishes to you all. Hugs!
Awww, thanks Celeste. You are so sweet! ~Anne
She is beautiful and looks perfectly loved by her adoring big sister.
Yes, she absolutely LOVES this baby girl! ~Anne
Congratulations on your beautiful new addition! I’m so glad she’s doing well and gets to come home. I look forward to reading about her again.
Thank you so much, Libby! ~Anne
Anne!!!
Congrats! Baby Ingrid is beautiful. So happy she is coming home! xxx
Hi Tammy, good to hear from you!! Thanks! ~Anne
What a beautiful, miraculous little gift! She’s so favored to have an amazing mama to look after her!
Cindy, thank you for the sweet comment! ~Anne
Hurray! Glad to hear your beautiful daughters are doing so well 🙂
Thanks!! BTW, I love your nursing infinity scarf tutorial that was just posted! ~Anne
Congratulations and what happy news! So glad little Ingrid is okay now and gets to come home and be loved on 🙂
So sweet of you to stop by with well wishes, Michelle! ~Anne
I am so glad Ingrid is healing and coming home! It must have been a terrifying experience for all of you! She is such a pretty little one and I hope that now you can relax just a bit and enjoy having her to love on.
Having her back home has been a dream! Thanks for the kind words, Joanne! ~Anne
Fantastic news! That last picture is just precious.
Thanks, Regan. I know I promised long ago to consider using your beautiful Irish name but when I saw her golden hair it just had to be Swedish. 😉
All I can say is YAY!
Amen!
We had our baby on the 28th also! Glad little Ingrid is doing better! I love her name! My sisters name is Ingrid. 🙂
Thanks, Dacia – small world! ~Anne
Praise the Lord! What a blessing for you and your family. Ingrid is just beautiful. Praying for her continued health.
Thank you so much, Nancy! ~Anne
Congratulations! What a little beauty she is! Glad all is well now, what a rough week this has been for you. Sending you blessings!
Much appreciated, Lynn! ~Anne
Oh, Anne! How scary that must have been!! We’re so happy that she’s safe at home now! Congratulations and God bless you all!
Thank you so much, Robin! ~Anne
This is awesome news! I am so happy for your family! I wish you lots of speedy recovery and bonding time!!
Thanks a bunch, Holli! ~Anne
Amen!! I am so happy to hear she is home and doing well. Bless you and your family