{"id":613,"date":"2008-02-13T11:35:53","date_gmt":"2008-02-13T18:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/x.jimanddoni.com\/?p=613"},"modified":"2008-02-13T11:35:53","modified_gmt":"2008-02-13T18:35:53","slug":"heresheis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimanddoni.com\/?p=613","title":{"rendered":"HERESHEIS"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I have spent so much time over the years daydreaming about how I would write this post.?? Imagining what that day would feel like and what I would say.???? Now it has come and I am nearly speechless.<\/p>\n

Birth Announcement<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Jim and I are the PROUD parents of??Tori Savannah Brinkman<\/strong>, who entered into the world on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008<\/strong>.?? God chose another??premature baby for our family??- she arrived at 33 weeks and 5 days<\/strong> gestation.?? She was born at 1:24 AM<\/strong> and weighed 5 pounds 8 ounces<\/strong> and was 18.5 inches long<\/strong> (which I think is phenomenal for her level of prematurity).?? She was released from the hospital after only 48 hours.??<\/p>\n

??<\/p>\n

The Rest of the Story…<\/strong><\/p>\n

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(Pictures above and below??taken Monday)<\/p>\n

Because Jim has been working a lot of hours lately, he took Friday and Monday off.?? Little did we know that God was planning something grand behind the scenes.?? We kept trying to decide how we would spend Monday and ultimately we just slept in with no decision made.?? At 10:00 AM??on Monday<\/strong> our adoption agency called.????You have no idea how excited??I was to hear I had a daughter and would get her within 24 hours!!!!!?? At 2:00 we were invited to the home of her foster family, where she had spent 6 days with the most precious Christian couple.?? What a surreal experience to meet our daughter for the very first time!?? I kept getting choked up looking at her and the whole experience felt other-worldly.?? It was so hard to leave her Monday??but we had A LOT to do to be prepared for her!?? Imagine a 24 hour pregnancy!????Monday was pure craziness.?? We left the foster home and headed straight for Target then to Babies R Us.?? Daniel and Brooke were at our house by 8:30 PM and they helped us clean, mop floors, pack stuff away, unpack baby stuff, set up playpens and bouncers, organize blankets, grocery shop…the whole 9 yards.?? They didn’t leave until 1:00AM.?? THANK YOU DAN AND BROOKE!!!!!!!?? What a precious time spent preparing for our baby with you two!?? (They also came and brought dinner last night for which we were very thankful!)<\/p>\n

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At 2:00 AM I attempted to go to bed but sleep would not come (hmmmm…wonder why?).???? I laid there daydreaming about pink headbands, how I would do her hair and dress her up, what her temperament would be like, what a mother\/daughter lifetime relationship would be like….on and on.?? At 4:00 I decided to get up and read hoping it would make me sleepy.?? It didn’t.?? At 5:00 AM I tried to go back to bed but ended up just laying there getting more and more anxious by the minute.?? By 6:30 I said “forget it” and just started my day.?? Who could sleep knowing they were going to be picking up their DAUGHTER in a matter of hours??? I didn’t want to make too much noise so I chatted on the Grace forum a little while and then I just stood in front of her closet staring at her stuff.?? :)?? Side note:?? Jim is mocking me for turning our house pink!?? She looks WONDERFUL in pink.?? I think she will wear primarily pink but I will allow an occasional purple and red and pink mixed with brown, blue and green.?? I LOVE pink and lime green.?? LOL.?? Side note 2:?? This week Ty told me I smelled yummy and I asked him what I smelled like.?? He said “PINK”.?? LOL!!!!!?? This was BEFORE his sister came.?? Maybe he had an inkling?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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??<\/p>\n

We picked her up yesterday at 10:00 AM.?? The foster family that God chose for her was such an answer to prayer.?? Jim and I just loved them and we hope to keep in touch with them.?? She was their 15th little baby they had taken care of and it was so obvious that they just loved and nurtured her while in their care.?? We took some pictures with them and we all prayed together for her.???? It was so precious.?? Then I put her going home outfit on her and put a pink headband in her hair and home we went.????Her grandmothers??had??bought a 0 to 3 month homecoming outfit for her but I had to make??another trip Monday night for preemie clothes because she would be completely swallowed up by 0 to 3 month clothes right now.?? In fact, we all laughed when we looked at her next to the outfit I originally prepared.?? Strange to think she came home even younger and smaller than TY!?? Ty came home at 37 weeks weighing 6 pounds 6 ounces.?? She came home at 34 weeks 5 days and I am quite certain she is under 6 pounds.?? I keep laughing about how the Lord thinks I need “BONUS” weeks of inutero time since I didn’t get to carry them.?? Isn’t God so sweet to me??? \ud83d\ude42 \ud83d\ude42 :)??<\/p>\n

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This was Tori yesterday as we were getting her ready to GO HOME!?? She needed a towel under her or something because she was just so tiny in that car seat.<\/p>\n

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We have her first check up today so I”ll find out what she weighs now.?? I heard Brooke on the phone telling a friend of ours that Tori was just “a little bit premature” and I had to laugh at how our frame of reference has changed.?? Under different circumstances, a 33 weeker is more than a “little” premature but in light of our former 25 weeker….hey….that’s darn near full term LOL ;).?? We can handle this!?? (But yes, she will be under some amount of lockdown folks!?? Sorry!?? It’s a TERRIBLE RSV season).<\/p>\n

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(Amanda bought me that “maternity” shirt but since I only had a few hour “pregnancy”, I had to wear it on homecoming day!)<\/p>\n

We got her home and put her in her glider\/bouncer just long enough to eat.?? We bought the same one her foster family had because they said she loved it so much.?? After we hurried through our lunch, Tanner was begging for her.?? Once she was picked up, she was not laid back down until almost midnight!!!?? She learned VERY quickly, that in this house she has only to whimper and someone is right there.?? I tried the co-sleeper last night AND the bouncer that she has been sleeping in the last week and it was to NO avail.?? Our girl is no dummy.?? She would have NONE OF THAT now that she has two perfectly good parents and two brothers.?? So yes, she spent the majority of the night in my arms and daddy’s.?? We both slept out on the couch and were awake far more than we were asleep.?? In fact, I pulled a 40 hour stretch with NO sleep.?? Jim didn’t sleep much either.?? At one point near 2:00 AM, I was laying on the couch and Jim had his x box controller in his hands, his daughter<\/strong> on his chest, and his headphones on so the noise wouldn’t bother??us, and everyone was perfectly content.?? I would have taken a picture of it but I was trying to sleep since daddy was on duty.?? Funny.?? Monday night I couldn’t sleep because she wasn’t with me and all I could do was think about her.?? Last night I couldn’t sleep because she WAS with me LOL.?? Partly, like most newborns, she wasn’t so sure she wanted us to sleep.?? Partly, we didn’t want to miss a minute with her and I couldn’t let myself sleep because I wasn’t done staring at her and kissing her yet. :)?? I mean just look at this little darling??? Wouldn’t you just HAVE to kiss her??? (And, as is obvious from this picture, she wanted to kiss mama back \ud83d\ude42 ).<\/p>\n

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??<\/p>\n

WE ARE IN LOVE WITH HER!!!!!!<\/strong>?? She has this household soooo wrapped around her pinky.?? Daddy is absolutely smitten.?? He probably had her more during the night than I did because she slept on his chest between feedings. He thinks she is so adorable and I think HE is so adorable loving on her.???? Tanner was fighting me for her all yesterday.?? He held her so many times and we kept arguing with each other over whose turn it was.?? He is holding her right now actually while I finish this.?? Good babysitter already.?? ??:).?? Ty held her??a little bit but he was pretty occupied with family yesterday.?? It was hilarious though because he kept forgetting her name so he renamed her “Sophie”.?? LOL.?? Speaking of names….a couple of days ago, I asked Ty what he wanted (a question I repeat periodically), a brother or??a sister.?? He answers, “Or……….a monkey<\/strong>.”?? :)?? When I told him we got a baby sister for him and named her Tori he gave me an unhappy expression and he said “I thought Dexter!”<\/strong>??<\/p>\n

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Poor Papa and Sweetie couldn’t come hold her yesterday due??to illness so they had to look at her from outside the window.?? It was very sad!?? Darin and Jodi and Uncle Dave and Aunt Beck are out of town so they haven’t seen her yet either.????<\/p>\n

Tori’s First Visitors Yesterday<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aunt Aimee, Zandi,??Zane, Papa, Sweetie, Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle Daniel, Aunt Brooke, Noah, Graham, Braxtyn, Uncle Dusty, Michelle, Matt, Amanda, and Malakai, ??We are trying to be very cautious about germ control and exposure but yesterday a party (of well people \ud83d\ude42 ) was in order.<\/p>\n

About Tori<\/strong><\/p>\n

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(Poor Sweetie looking through the back window).<\/p>\n

She is such a little doll baby!?? Her hair is so thick and so black and she has these long eyelashes!?? Another one!!!?? Yeah!!!?? Especially impressive for her gestational age too. :)?? She is the absolute sweetest and has such a good contented little nature already.?? She was just an angel yesterday.?? Of course, she does demand to be fed on time, changed appropriately and held at all times and treated with all proper respect due a princess.?? :)?????? She has??this confidence about her as if she knows she is where she is supposed to be and not a bit surprised by that.?? Like she knew God had it all figured out and she is perfectly content with how His planning is moving along thus far.?? She makes the most adorable expressions in her sleep and she cries pretty loud actually (which is great for her lung development).?? She likes music and movement and is already AWESOME at tracking sound and people.?? She was even batting at the toys in her bouncer on Monday – again…awesome developmentally for her gestational age.<\/p>\n

She is very skinny right now.?? You don’t see it in her face so much but her little arms and legs and bottom have just NO fat.?? Her tiny legs have the skin just sagging on them like a little wrinkles puppy because she just has no chub to her at all.?? We are working on fattening her up!?? I have her on 22 calorie formula and she ate a full 2 ounces this morning which is a first for her.?? I have got to post a picture of those legs so you can see them – so cute.<\/p>\n

I have exhausted my blog time and I must be about mommy duties now so I will sign off for now.?? Thank you for your continued prayer.?? GOD IS GOOD!?? ALL THE TIME!!<\/strong>?? We are just singing His praises over and over for her.?? It is the most incredible thing in the world to know that God hand picked your child for you.?? That He prepared and planned for this moment and arranged everything perfectly to bring THIS child….THIS beautiful baby girl to THIS family.?? I am in awe of God today<\/strong>.?? Completely in awe.?? Can you believe we have a baby girl??? I still can’t.?? I am still in shock.?? Ty??is in shock too.?? He woke this morning and said “Mommy is she staying her??? Is she going to spend the night?”?? LOL.??<\/p>\n

Feel free to leave sappy comments about how amazing, adorable, beautiful and perfect she is!?? I am expecting plenty of them LOL!?? \ud83d\ude42 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Signing out,<\/p>\n

The P R O U D Mommy!!!!<\/p>\n

??<\/p>\n

P.S.<\/p>\n

Tanner is about to lose that top tooth and he looks so adorable right now.<\/p>\n

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P.S.2<\/p>\n

Yes Tanner got two staples in his head this weekend.?? Ty threw a rock.?? It wasn’t his fault.?? I’ll get back to that one later.?? \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have spent so much time over the years daydreaming about how I would write this post.?? Imagining what that day would feel like and what I would say.???? Now it has come and I am nearly speechless. Birth Announcement Jim and I are the PROUD parents of??Tori Savannah Brinkman, who entered into the world […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mamas-diaries"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimanddoni.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimanddoni.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimanddoni.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimanddoni.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimanddoni.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jimanddoni.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimanddoni.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimanddoni.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimanddoni.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}