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Abigail "Abby" Graceland Werner
Born November 29, 2006 |
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"My Father's Joy in the Land of Grace"
Abby went home to be with the Lord on November 29, 2006 |
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Click here to visit Baby Abby's Memorial Page |
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Baby Abby's Journey from Conception to Birth ... |
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Guess what??? |
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We're having another baby!!! |
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4/15/06 - We have been blessed with a double miracle and couldn't wait to share it with you!! We just found out today that we are pregnant again and Benjamin is going to be a big brother before his 3rd birthday!! Our baby is due on December 18, 2006. For those of you who don't know, nine years ago (March 1997), I had outpatient surgery and it was determined that I had stage 4 endometriosis with severe scarring. We were told at that time that it was likely that we would never have children and I should go on Lupron hormone therapy right away. We responded to the doctor that we believed in God and that only He could make a final diagnosis so we decided to trust Him for the outcome and enjoy our first year as newlyweds without the pressure of hormonal shifts and trying to conceive.
Three years later and two years after we had started "trying," it was discovered that I had a rare reproductive malformation called a bicornuate uterus. Two years after that, I had surgery to remove an ovarian cyst that almost took my left ovary. Things were not looking good, but we chose to continue trusting God. Then, in July, 2003, we found out that we had finally gotten our miracle ... we were finally pregnant! In March 2004, seven years after the initial diagnosis that we would never have children, I gave birth to a healthy baby boy (Benjamin) with the help of an incredibly humble and gifted fertility doctor named Neeoo Chin. That was our first miracle! The second miracle is that, not only are we pregnant again, but we didn't need help and it only took 6 months this time!! :-) So, the couple who were supposedly never going to have children are now going to have two!!! How's that for a miracle??? Yeah God!!! |
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Big brother Benjamin holds the evidence! |
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Chad said "nu-uh" and made me test twice! |
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5/11/06 - 7 1/2 weeks: We finally had my first doctor's appointment this week and he was surprised and elated that we had conceived "without help" this time!! He did an ultrasound (but no printouts ... boohoo!) and said the baby could not look "more perfect" ... he has never seen such great detail on an ultrasound this early before! The sac looks perfect, the baby looks perfect and the placement is great! Now I just need to get rid of this awful morning sickness ... ugh! I didn't have any with Benjamin, so I was spoiled. We will schedule our next appointment with Seton Center (the high risk group that delivered Benjamin) and likely get spoiled with weekly ultrasounds again! I can't wait for Benjamin to get his first glimpse of the baby in mommy's tummy!! |
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5/18/06 - 9 weeks: We had a little scare this week. I started bleeding on Monday, but the same thing happened when I was 8 weeks pregnant with Benjamin, so I assumed it was the same situation. Ben's doctor had said it was because I am bicornuate and that my left side didn't realize that my right side was pregnant and tried to do it's monthly thing ... kind of like the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing!! Weird, huh? Well, we only had some spotting for a few days and then it stopped, so it's all good! I was just told to take it easy for a few days and see what happens ... God is in control!! |
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5/30/06 - 11 weeks: Yeah, we have pictures!! I had another ultrasound today. Went to the doctor after some additional spotting this weekend. He did a thorough check just to be sure, but confirmed that it was the bicornuate issue and said not to worry ... the baby is doing fine!! Here is our first official look at Baby Werner "2" in an upside down position. The tiny white arrow near the bottom is pointing toward the head and the feet are above it to the right. We were relieved to know that everything is fine and are looking forward to our next visit on June 16th at the Seton Center!! Oh, and more good news ... no more morning sickness ... hallelujah!!! :-) |
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6/16/06 - 13 1/2 weeks: We finally got to meet with our doctor at the Seton Center (at Good Sam Hospital) today for our "initial" exam and ultrasound (ha ha, we've already had two!). The baby is just a little over 3 inches long from crown to rump and has a heartbeat of 154 bpm. He/she is doing great and so is mommy!! Our next ultrasound will be scheduled for week 20 and we will (hopefully!) find out what we are having! Will it be a girl? Will it be a boy? Check back and find out! In the meantime, here are a couple of pics from today's ultrasound ... |
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Baby Werner's profile ... what a cute little nose! I think I'm in love ... again!!! :-) |
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The little arrow is pointing to the baby's hand (the strange looking thing in the middle ... see it?) |
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6/17/06 - I failed to mention in my last "blog" another praise report! When we were pregnant with Benjamin, we were considered very high risk and I was scheduled for weekly ultrasounds to check my cervical length for the first 26 weeks to make sure my cervix was "competent" (due to the bicornuate issue). Then I had to have weekly NST (non-stress tests) to further monitor my progress from weeks 30-40. I was put on bedrest twice during the pregnancy: once in the first trimester for bleeding and the second time at the end of the third trimester for high blood pressure. However, when we met with the doctor yesterday, she said that my body had proven itself and that this would be more like a "normal" pregnancy! We were thrilled to say the least! So, we will only go to the Seton Center every 4 weeks for a checkup and have our next ultrasound at 20 weeks. They will perform another ultrasound after that only if it is medically necessary. And having the NST weekly is normal from weeks 30+ for women over 35, or we wouldn't have to have those either!! I just had to praise God for the awesome healing He has done in my body. It is such a miracle to go from 6 years to conceive Benjamin and a closely monitored pregnancy to 6 months to conceive with this baby and be told that I am "normal" for the first time in my female history!!! Praise the Lord with me!!! It is no small thing! :-) |
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7/13/06 - 17 1/2 weeks: We had another doctor's appointment today. Benjamin came with us this time. He got to hear the baby's heartbeat and had a look of total amazement on his little face!! I think it is becoming more "real" for him now, too. He likes to kiss my tummy and blow raspberries on it as he says "baby!" Now that I'm showing more, it is becoming obvious that something is changing in mommy's body!! I've also been feeling the baby kick since about two weeks ago, which has been a lot of fun. I loved that when I was pregnant with Benjamin! I somehow feel more "connected" with the new baby when I feel it move. We will likely find out the sex of the baby in two weeks when we return to Good Sam for our ultrasound, that is, as long as he/she cooperates! The good news is, if he/she doesn't, they will reschedule me for another one! :-) I can't believe we are already almost half way there! Time's a flying by ... more to come on Baby Werner #2!!! |
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7/20/06 - 18 1/2 weeks: Tonight we asked Benjamin if he wanted a girl baby or a boy baby (we are going to find out next Thursday). His initial response was simply "baby!" But, after asking him a few more times and reminding him that mommy is a girl and daddy is a boy, he said, "gurrl!" and pointed to mommy. When asked again, he gave the same answer ("gurrl"). Later, however, his answer went back to just plain "baby" so I'm not sure if his "girl" response can be counted as a real answer or not!? I guess we'll just have to wait and see what we find out next week!!! :-) |
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Voting ended and you're right ... it's a GIRL!!! |
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Baby Werner "2"'s profile ... who does she look like? |
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Baby Werner "2" yawning ... or laughing??? |
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7/27/06 - 19 1/2 weeks: Yes, you read the captions correctly ... the results are in and it looks like our pollsters were right ... IT'S A GIRL!!! We had our ultrasound today and the ultrasound technician was confident that "she" had the necessary "three lines" to confirm it. So, Benjamin is getting his baby "gurrl" after all!! |
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The "evidence" that Baby Werner "2" is a GIRL!!! |
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Baby Girl Werner waves at the camera! |
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8/2/2006 - 20 weeks: As you know, we found out last week we are having a baby GIRL! I'm sure lots of you think we're nuts, but we can't help it ... it's just too exciting not to include our family and friends and it makes the whole experience a lot more fun when we do!! :-) We've created another poll on our website and we really do need your help!! This time we are stumped on two girls names ... Chad prefers one while I like the other (but we both like them both!) and we need our family and friends (YOU!) to provide the tie-breaking vote! :-)
Please click the link below and read the text carefully before voting so that you understand our dilemma and how you can help make the deciding vote. Also, be sure to sign our guestbook while stopping by and include any comments about the name you chose and why (it will help in our decision)! We did the same thing when we were expecting Benjamin and it really did help us, so we're hoping this will settle it and we can start calling this little girl by her name!
Thanks in advance for your help!!! :-)
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CLICK HERE TO SEE RESULTS FOR OUR BABY NAME POLL NOW!!! |
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20 weeks pregnant ... Only 20 more to go!!! |
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8/6/06 - 21 weeks: The results are in and it's official ... she's an "Abby!" Our baby is going to be named "Abigail (Abby) Grace Werner." Abby beat out Kate by 7 votes, and in our hearts, we knew this was the right name for our little girl all along!!! :-) After reviewing the results of the poll, especially the comments (see below), we agreed and felt "My Father's Joy" was the best meaning for her first name. She will not only know she is her earthly father's joy, but her Heavenly Father's joy as well! And after spending 7 years in youth ministry, we have seen personally how important it is for girls to know they are treasured by BOTH daddies!! Also, Abby is Benjamin's favorite of the two name choices. Whenever we asked, "Do you like Kate or Abby," he always said "Abby" ... and he can say it quite well, too! :-) The "Grace" is to honor God for His grace at work in our lives and for the gift of this precious baby daughter to nurture and love. Another neat little bonus ... my maternal grandmother's middle name was "Graceland" and AGW just happens to be Chad's paternal grandmother's initials (Anna Ganelle Werner) ... just another way to bless and honor both of our families with this special little life! All things considered, we agreed that Abigail Grace Werner is the right name for this little girl. Thanks for participating in the fun and helping us choose the right name for our precious daughter. Here are a few of the wonderfual comments we got for this name that helped to confirm our decision:
I picked Abigail Grace because I really like the meaning of "my father's joy" and I do think it is so important that girls' know that they are not only their earthly father's joy, but their Heavenly Father's joy as well. I do like Pure Grace too but my vote is with Abby! Looking forward to hearing the final decision!
I, like you, love both those names and yes, what Katherine means is terrific! It's just that I lean towards Abigail because I believe that it's a BIG deal for a girl to know she's No. 1 to her Dad. How a girl learns to relate to men and how they should treat her, comes from her relationship with her Dad. Either name will bless her and as the others said, what she's called will be up to you & she. I love you both bunches and am praising God with you for His wonderful, gracious & loving hand on your all's lives!!
Although I love the name Katherine, I considered your explanations and voted for Abby. Both names have beautiful meanings. I know Kate/Abby will be greatly loved and cherished. Thank you for including me. |
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9/1/2006 - 24 1/2 weeks: We finally had our fetal echocardiogram today and the fluid around Abby's heart is officially GONE!!! :-) For those of you who did not know, we were told at our last ultrasound (about 5 weeks ago) that she had a heart condition called "pericardial effusion" (fluid around the heart) and that we would not know the severity of the problem until a round of tests and a fetal echo was performed by a prenatal cardiologist from Children's Hospital. They gave us a best and worst case scenario and scheduled the procedure for week 24 of the pregnancy ... and so we prayed ... and waited!!!
Today, during the "echo," they did a close-up ultrasound of her heart to get a better look at the problem and make a diagnosis. However, when they looked at the heart today, they found NOTHING WRONG!!! Praise the Lord!! I smiled and said, "That's what I thought" and the doctor said, "How did you know?" I said, "Lots of prayer and not freaking out over the last 5 weeks!" She laughed and said, "Now that's the way to live!" Amen!! :-) Although the news was initially startling, we had peace and trusted that everything would be OK with Abby's heart. After all, we have seen too many miracles to start worrying now!! We chose not to tell everyone, but thanks to those of you who were in agreement in prayer with us ... and thank you Lord for healing our precious baby girl! :-)
The team that met with us today actually did a double take when they saw that there was no fluid (it rarely disappears on it's own) and re-checked the initial ultrasound to make sure it was really there in the first place. After looking again, they were all in agreement that there was, indeed, fluid around the heart 5 weeks ago and that it is no longer there (Praise God)!! In fact, they were smiling and laughing all throughout the procedure and saying how amazing and beautiful her heart looked!!! :-)
The bonus ... we got to see 3D images of her, including her face, hands and feet (pictured at left in that order). The computer actually takes a 2D image and translates it into a 3D image, so it's not an exact science just yet (there are some distortions in the images including her hand covering her face) ... but it was amazing to see so much detail of her tiny little body!!!
Again, thanks so much to all of you who prayed!! We'll have another Baby Abby update coming soon!!! :-) |
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9/30/2006 - 28 1/2 weeks: Not much to report right now ... just that we've been busy decorating the baby's room and working on our "to do" list before Abby arrives. Benjamin has been a great helper and is a very enthusiastic big-brother-to-be! He frequently asks to "see the baby" which, of course, means to see my growing belly! He gives her (my tummy) lots of hugs and kisses, too. I think it is clear that she is going to be one very loved baby sister. :-) |
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10/23/06 - 32 weeks: We are down to the final 8 weeks and are now going for a weekly amniotic fluid index and twice weekly non-stress tests at the hospital (that means we'll be spoiled with weekly ultrasounds until delivery!!). Below are some pics from this week's visit. Her profile has become much more distinguished (left) but the photo to the right looks a bit distorted still. Guess she's going to keep us guessing on what she looks like until the big day! Right now we're just trying to figure out whether it would be better to take the doctors advice for a scheduled c-section (their recommendation due to my previous c-section, having uterine abnormalities and being over 35 ... as well as having carried both babies transverse throughout each pregnancy). It is likely that this baby will not "make the turn" out of the birth canal just like her big brother, but we're still praying and weighing our options!! We'll post more pics on the site as they become available, but this may be one of the last updates until she arrives! Thanks for taking this exciting journey with us and for all your love, support and prayers along the way!!! |
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Baby Abby's profile ... looks like she's got those sweet baby girl rosebud lips already!! |
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In this face view, her hand is resting on the left side of her face covering the left part of her mouth and chin. |
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11/06/06 - 34 weeks: We had our weekly NST, AFI and doctor's visit today. We met with the fifth of eight doctors in our high risk practice and received the same advice as we received from the others: do a repeat c-section as opposed to trying for a VBAC. They have all agreed that the VBAC would be much riskier for me than for the average woman due to my physical issues, but have ultimately left the final decision up to me and Chad. So, to make a long story short ... after much prayer, counsel and contemplation ... we have scheduled a c-section for Monday, December 11th, at 9:30 a.m. It feels weird to know the exact date and time our baby will be born, but it's a relief to have finally arrived at a decision. If I should go into labor prior to the 11th, then we'll try for the VBAC. Otherwise, she'll be born on the 11th!! *WOW* That's just 5 weeks from today! Guess I'd really better get all my Christmas shopping and "to do's" done early this year! :-) |
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12/01/06 - 37 1/2 weeks: First we wish to thank you for so much loving prayer and support throught this week ... it has truly sustained us and we can feel the power of your prayers helping us make it through this time. Emily went into labor late Tuesday night and Abigail was stillborn on Wednesday, November 29th at 11:26 a.m. She weighed 6 lbs. and 12 1/2 oz. and looked remarkably like her big brother, Benjamin! We were able to spend some time with her as a family before releasing her to the Lord.
We are inviting friends and family to visit with us on Monday morning, December 4th, from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. at Craver Riggs Funeral Home in Milford. A service will be held in the Craver-Riggs chapel at 11:00 a.m. followed by a short graveside service at Plainview Cemetery in Newtonsville at 12:30 p.m. You can visit the Craver-Riggs website at www.craver-riggs.com for directions or additional information (her obituary will be listed there later today). We are trying to keep life as "normal" as possible for Benjamin right now, so we would appreciate limiting phone calls and visits, but we welcome as many prayers you can continue to send our way!
We feel the "peace of God which surpasses all understanding" (Philippians 4:7)and again feel strength in the prayers, love and support that has surrounded us this week. Thank you so much!
With Love,
Chad, Emily & Benjamin
PS - Be sure to click the link below to visit Baby Abby's memorial page, light a candle in her memory, leave a prayer, tribute and/or view precious pictures of our baby girl!!! |
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PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VISIT BABY ABBY'S MEMORIAL PAGE |
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Click here to visit links to our other pages on this site including
Benjamin's baby pages, pics & annual christmas letters! |
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Back to the Werner Family Home Page |
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Back to the Clarence J. Werner Family Page |
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visitors since 4/17/06 |
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