Its a Girl!

So surprise! I guess God didn't really like the date we picked out :) He had other plans for us! Today, February 16, 2010 at 11:45 am Baby Jolee Esther Paugh was born by c-section! She is 5 lbs. 9 oz., 18 3/4 inches. She has a little hair...blondish brown with just a slight tint of red. She is so teeny tiny and precious! She is doing so well that she did not have to go to the NICU at all! Although she is 4+ weeks early, she is acting much like a full-term baby. The only thing we are dealing with is that she has little stamina to nurse. That is pretty common for a preemie. She is taking a bottle pretty well, and hopefully soon I'll have enough milk to feed her instead of using formula. We are so proud of her already. We have moved up to the mom/baby unit and I think both of us will be discharged within 4 days. My doctor said that indeed all the complications were as they had suspected, and so all the precautions we took were very necessary. Isn't God great! He sustained us through so much, and we came out with the best case scenario. My bleeding was minimal, the placenta did not grow into the uterine wall and therefore I did not need a hysterectomy or blood transfusion. Baby Jolee was born breech and did not bleed! We are praising God tonight and oh so very thankful!

Jolee Esther is named after her great-grandma Esther Paugh who passed on to Jesus last spring at the age of 103. The "lee" in her name is named after her mommy and Papa who both share the name Lee as a middle name. Jolee means pretty and God is willing...we thought that was a perfect fit as God proved Himself over and over as willing to sustain and protect this little angel.

Thank you all for your prayers, well-wishes, and encouraging notes! We appreciate you all and want to say thank you for participating in the life of our baby girl.