4 months

Mara is now 4 months old. She weighs 12 lbs. 10.5oz, is 24 3/4 inches long, and her head is 16 1/2 inches. She has been out of her original brace 2 weeks now and is wearing a different, step-down brace for naps & at night while she sleeps. We have another appointment and ultrasound in August to see if we can discontinue wearing it all together. She is loving being able to stretch & wiggle around without being confined in her harness! Mara is most content laying on the floor so she can kick and extend her legs & toes! Everyday she's becoming stronger with her neck, head, and limbs & gets closer to rolling over on her own--she loves being read to and is putting everything in her mouth! We're having a great (and busy!) summer so far & are loving watching our little girl grow!
Here are some of her 4 month pictures :)











Photos by Tom & Jessie Schoolmeester

3 months

What a crazy couple of weeks it has been! Mara's now 3 months old & changing everyday! She's adjusted well to mommy going back to work & is LOVING being spoiled by her grandma's 3 days a week:) Mommy & Daddy are loving this too--we come home to a happy baby, clean house, laundry's done, meals baked, etc! It sure does make things a lot less hectic & we have more time to enjoy our little girl! Thanks moms for blessing us by taking care of Mara!



Well...as you can see, Mara still has her brace on. The doctor decided after another ultrasound & xrays to leave it on another 3 weeks. The left hip has molded and is "normal", we're just waiting for that right side to catch up. She's scheduled for another ultrasound and appointment July 8th & then it WILL come off. Please pray for Mara & that her hips will both be normal so that we don't have to worry about casting! We're counting down the days to take it off! Poor girl gets so sweaty & uncomfortable in this hot, humid weather. We're looking forward to see how she reacts when she's free and can start moving her body around more.
We're not sure how much Mara weighs right now, but she seems to keep getting chubbier & longer. She loves playing on the floor and being talked to--she's been cooing, giggling, and smiling and continues to be a content and happy baby.


Cousin Sierra Van Dyke & Mara


I have been @ my new job 2 weeks already and am learning a lot. It's been a big change, but I'm loving being home every night and weekend! Being a nurse in a clinical setting is much different than I expected-we're very busy right now and do a lot of in-office procedures--which is broadening my nursing knowledge greatly!
As you may have heard, we made our first trip to the ER last week. I woke up @ 3:30am with terrible abdominal pain (i'd rather go through another c-section!). Long story short...4 hours later we were released with the diagnosis of possible stomach ulcer and gastritis. We're praying I don't have another "attack" and can divert having to go back in to follow up with a GI doctor.
3 month pictures of Mara are coming soon!:) Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July!

Polka Dots, Stripes, and PINK

I keep forgetting to post pictures of Mara's room and many of you have asked. Her room is just down the hallway from ours & is a nice size for a nursery. The colors are bright pink, lime green, and bubblegum pink. Mara's going to have lot's of stimulating colors and shapes to look at! Thanks to Grandma Prins & Auntie Jessie for painting! We're waiting on pictures for frames yet & plan to hang an Uppercase Living saying on the tan wall that will read "I am a princess and my Father is the King of Kings." So far, this is what it looks like.

2 more weeks

We had another hip ultrasound & appointment with Dr. Carlson (aka mr. personality) yesterday. For the minute he was in the room, he said the brace is working & her hips are forming correctly. We have another ultrasound & appointment in 2 weeks & then we get to take off the brace!! That's wonderful news...because she has in-grown toenails from the footies of the brace & is starting to get heat rash underneath the leg straps! Poor girl..what next?!
Mara will be 11 weeks old this week & is nearing 11 lbs. Every week she becomes more active & responsive to us-it's so much fun interacting with her now that she recognizes our voices & faces. She definitely knows who her mommy is!:)
Mara continues to be a happy baby with the normal "colic" periods in the evenings. She gets uncomfortable and fussy after wearing the brace 24 hours a day and this causes her fussiness too. We are counting down the days till we get to take this thing off! We do take it off once a day for a change of clothes or bath, she stretches the entire time it's off & constantly moves her legs & feet. She knows when she's free. She sleeps anywhere from 3.5-5 hours at a time and likes to eat!When we're hungry, there's no waiting or messing around either! (as you can see, we have healthy, chubby cheeks & a double chin)
We're nearing the end of mommy's maternity leave...only 2 weeks left. WOW does time fly by!? We're keeping busy with weddings, meetings @ church, softball games, and the upcoming chicken butchering @ the Prins farm! Mommy's trying to get as much done as possible before she goes back to work...as she's starting a new job the end of June! I will be working in the Women's Specialty Clinics and am so excited to have a regular schedule--Monday-Friday, 8:30-5pm--no holidays/weekends/night shifts! It will be an adjustment, but we are looking forward to a "normal" routine & life as a family of 3.






Our "puppy" Kya is almost a year old already. Here are a few pics of her lounging around the house. She's FULL of energy...more than we ever dreamed of! A common saying heard in our house is, "Good thing she's cute!"

Hip Brace

When Mara was about 7 weeks old we had to get an ultrasound taken of her hips because of the breech position she was in at (and before) birth. They require an ultrasound for all breech babies to make sure their hips are forming correctly and that there isn't any permanent damage. Well...Mara must've been in this position longer than we thought!
The ultrasound showed that Mara's hips dislocate when pressure was placed on them; called Hip Dysplasia. It occurs 4 in 1000 births, is more frequent in first-borns, girls, and breech presentation. (well we hit all 3 didn't we?!) Earlier this week we had an appointment with an orthopedic specialist and he put Mara in a "Pavlik Harness." The harness holds her hips in place so that the head of the femur (or ball) can mold the acetabulum (or the cup). As the ball molds the cup, it deepens the cup, resulting in a stable hip. As you can see in the picture below, her hips are in a flexed position and "abducted" (to the side) of her body. How's that for a little anatomy lesson?!:)She can still move her legs, but cannot extend them-this is the only time she gets mad because she loves to lay on the floor and kick!
Needless to say, it's been a rough couple of days...mommy's cried quite often. It's been hard having to keep her in the brace 24/7. We only take the brace off for a quick change of clothes or bath. We can still change her diapers, but are limited on clothing with the position of the brace. We aren't sure how long she will need to wear it; we have heard anywhere from 1-3 months, and if this doesn't work then casting is the next step to re-set her hips.
We are asking that you please keep Mara & us in your prayers! It's hard not being able to do anything for your little girl-although she doesn't mind it & continues to be a content & happy baby! So we are taking it one day at a time. We are hoping to find out more information next Tuesday after 3 doctor appointments in the same day! Thanks for reading.

First Mother's Day

Mara came just in time to celebrate my first mother's day! We had a busy but fun-filled weekend! On Saturday, Justin & his brother Corey ran the 5K (3 miles) in the Avera Race against breast cancer and Elaine, Mara, & I walked the 5K. The morning started out chily & windy, but ended up being perfect for the race. You'll have to ask Corey or Justin exactly who won the race...and then who won golfing later that afternoon?! We spent the rest of the day at our house hanging out with the Justin's family & had a great time celebrating Corey's birthday & Mother's Day!
On Sunday the 3 of us went out for brunch after church to Spezia's-it was sooo good!:) The 1 hour wait was well worth it! We spent the rest of the day relaxing (aka napping & being lazy!!) and enjoyed the day together. Thanks Justin for making my first mother's day so memorable! I hope all of you mom's out there got to be pampered & enjoy a day celebrating how special you are! I've realized what a Blessing it is to be a mom & I'm loving every minute of being Mara's mommy!:)
I've added some pictures of Mara at 1 month old. I know...this girl has more pictures of her and she's only 7 weeks old!:)









Photography by Stephanie Van Dyke.

First Family Pictures

When Mara was about a week and a half old we had our first family photos taken. Here's a bunch of our favorites...it's so hard to pick favorites when she's so cute in all of them!!:) Taking pictures was pretty entertaining! Mara's umbilical cord dried and fell off and she peed on me 3 times! I've also added a link to a photo book we created & gave to our parents for everything they've done for us.

http://www.mypublisher.com/bookshelf/bookviewer.py?d=tq>y-cppl`je>3713485&_mp=ArYFR7IliDp3vnwlPGmoThfRAxvhEn8j