Kwantfamily Corner: 2011

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Valerie and Hannah♥♥♥

Mom and Hannah.

Cute Hannah! I love you Hannah!

Hannah and her presents.

love, Valerie (Hannah's sister)

Merry Christmas!

Last years in front of the Christmas tree picture!

Merry Christmas! May be we remember the reason we celebrate this season! Jesus is the reason. I am so thankful that God sent His Son to this earth so we can go to heaven. That means one day we will get to see sweet Hannah one day.

Have a blessed time celebrating with family and friends.

Luke 2:1-20

¹ And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³ So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife,^[a] who was with child. ⁶ So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold,^[b] an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
       ¹⁴ “ Glory to God in the highest,
      And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”^[c]

¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made widely^[d] known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Love, Sandi Kwant (Hannah's mommy)

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Happy 1st Birthday! Hannah Grace! (12/7/11)

Here is how we celebrated Hannah's First Birthday. She was not with us but we celebrated all the wonderful memories we had with her! What a blessing she was to our family! (I wanted to make this day a day of good memories not a sad day for the kids)

We all put together a gingerbread house. This was our first gingerbread house we ever did!

We made this cool "Happy Birthday Hannah" sign!

We remembered Hannah had a hook finger. We called it Hannah's famous finger.

Nathan remembering Hannah's hook finger. Hannah's special fingers!

Here is the special Happy Birthday Hannah sign.

Here is a close-up of what we put on the Birthday sign.

Here is another close up of the Birthday sign.

The girls made a very special layered birthday cake for Hannah's birthday. It tasted wonderful!

Our special friends remembered it was Hannah's birthday and we were blessed with this beautiful boutique of flowers. What a blessing to know people remember Hannah.

We brought pink and yellow ballons to Hananh's grave. It looked so nice. Everyone went and we met Rick there to bring the balloons.

Cassie's special balloon.

Heidi's special balloon!

Valerie's special balloon.

Our family picture on Hannah's birthday. (our tradition is to take a family picture on everyone's birthday) Hannah is remembered in our family pictures is the brown pillow pet. This pillow pet was the pillow I feed Hannah on. She lay on this pillow as I pumped breast milk and she was fed with her feeding pump. So this pillow is very special here at our house.

For Hannah's birthday present. The kids got a small pillow pet of Hannah's special pillow pet. Now the younger kids take turns sleeping with the little pillow pet.

Here is a special sign we put together and brought to Hannah's grave.

We did not spend this day in sadness but we rejoice in the blessing of Hannah. She added such a richness to our family. We miss her so much but look forward to the time we will see her again in heaven.

Psalms 139:13-18

¹³ For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;^[b]
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

¹⁷ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
¹⁸ If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

Love, Sandi Kwant (Martin, Sam, Cassie, Heidi, Valerie, Nathan, Terri Lynn and Hannah's mommy)

Hannah And Valerie♥♥♥

Hannah is so cute! I love her! I miss her! She was in the NICU for a week.

Hannah i n her cute sunday Dress.

I hope you is having a fun time in heaven!

I miss you Hannah♥♥♥♥♥♥

love, Valerie (Hannah's sister)♥

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

More Cousin Lydia pictures!

I love all the cool pictures Lydia has blessed me with! Thanks Lydia!

Love Love Love Lydia's design! Thanks Lydia! We love you!

Headed to Children's Hospital!: Day 61 (2/5/11)

Hannah Grace from my cell phone! I love you, Hannah!

Headed to Children's Hospital

Today started our stressful and continued to be a high stress day. I constantly had to give my fears to God. I did my normal routine in the morning, I fed Hannah first and then took a shower. Today I had her in the bathroom with me while she sat in her little bouncy seat. I finish my shower and I'm drying off when I notice Hannah's looking blue again. I right away grab her and watch and listen for breathing. Well I hear and see no breathing. So I decide I need to do CPR. I'm getting ready I lay Hannah on the ground, I start ripping her clothing open so I can see her chest. (All the while I'm unclothed!) Anyway Hannah starts breathing again. I'm shaking by now and start crying. My baby was not breathing and I felt like her life was in my hands. (I know life is in God's hands) But I felt such a responsibility for my baby!

I finished getting ready this morning (little did I know I'd be wearing these same cloths for the next 3 days). I was praying alot for Hannah and for me for wisdom and strength! Mariam and Karen came over for a visit. I did not tell each of them that Hannah had a weird breathing episode today. But I did tell both of them that Hannah has been breathing weird lately! Mariam and Karen sat sweet holding Hannah. I warms my heart to see my friends hold and love on Hannah!

It is Saturday today so we are not doing school but we are doing stuff at home. Around 4pm, I was holding Hannah on the couch when I notice once again she is turning blue again! I watch and listen for breathing. She was not so I lay her on the ground to start CPR again today. Once again as I'm ripping open her clothing she starts breathing. I'm so relived! It is so hard to even comprehend the stress I felt caring for my baby today. But I got through it with God's help.

I went out to find Rick. I told him Hannah stopped breathing again. He told me to call Dr. Levine. Dr. Levine had given us his personal pager number. So I waited for him to call me back. When he called me back Rick came in and held Hannah for me. Dr. Levine told us to go to Children's and suggested we drive. While I was on the phone Rick came to me and told me Hannah turned blue again. Rick says we need to go now! I get off the phone and Rick is very stressed and urged that we need to go now. Hannah's breathing is not good. He told me now he understood my concern and my stress. We get ready to go.

I give instructions for dinner to Cassie. We leave in Martin's car. I'm sitting in the back of the car with Hannah so I can watch her breathing. I forgot all Hannah's supplies. I should have grabbed her feeding pump and her diapers, blanket and pacifier. And my breast pump. I totally forgot all the stuff.

While we were driving Rick called his mom and she went over to our house to be with the kids. (The kids could have handled everything without Rick's mom but she really wanted to help). I called my mom and told her we were heading to the hospital and to pray! I also called my friend to start the prayer chain.

As we are driving we get to Seattle, and we come to a stand still! How stressful to be in a traffic jam on the way to the hospital because your baby is not breathing right! Anyway Hannah seems to be doing ok, but then while I shine my little flashlight at Hannah I think she is turning blue again so I rip her out of her car seat to help her. She is fine. The traffic is not moving much so Rick told me to keep holding her. We finally get off the freeway, I am still holding Hannah in my arms. I continue to hold her all the way to Children's hospital. (I almost give my coat to a beggar on the side of the road. She had no coat and it was raining). We finally arrive at Children's Hospital in Seattle. Dr. Levine had called ahead and gave all Hannah's info to the receptionist so we did not have to do paperwork. We arrive and very soon we are walking back into the emergency room so the Doctors and nurses can help Hannah.

Right away they put oxygen and an IV on Hannah. She got a chest X-ray, CAT scan of her head, blood test. We went walking though the halls of Children's in the evening. The halls were dim and quiet. Her chest X-ray showed an enlarged heart and liver, her blood draw showed she has had low oxygen levels for a while already (see I knew it already), her CAT scan showed a smaller cerebellum (most likely just because of her Trisomy

While Hannah was sleeping sweetly in my arms, we were told Hannah is going to be admitted into the hospital. We just need to wait now for the nurse to come down from floor 2 to get her and us. So we waited a while. We waited for about 20 minutes and then the nurse came into Hannah's room. She took us though the maze of Children's hospital to her room on floor 2. I can't remember her room number but what I remember it was like 222. Anyway the nurse got Hannah and us all settled into her room. We have a roommate and she makes alot of noise at night. Anyway, Hannah's feedings were the nurses responsibly now not mine. We were also told that we could hold Hannah whenever we wanted but we were not to sleep in the chair with Hannah in our arms. What Hannah is used the sleeping right next too me in my bed. No wonder she wakes up alot at Children's. I sit with her alot in the night. I do try to lay her down so I could sleep to but she wakes up and then I get no sleep. I also continue to pump breast milk every 3 hours around the clock. Life in the hospital is no fun but we are thankful to be here with Hannah and hopefully we can go home soon.

Hannah's on oxygen with a nasal cannula. I'll get used to it but I feel so bad for Hannah, I'm sure it bothers her nose.

I love you Hannah so much! We will fight for you and for your life! You are a treasure and we are thankful to be your family!

Thank you to Marian and to Karen for your visit. Your visit truly blessed me. I loved seeing you hold Hannah. What a blessing you were to our family!

Isaiah 26:3-5
³ You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
⁴ Trust in the LORD forever,
For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.^[a]
⁵ For He brings down those who dwell on high,
The lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.

Love, Sandi Kwant (Hannah's mommy)

Cassie and Hannah Grace♥♥♥

This is some thing that I found in my stuff. I had wrote this last year when Hannah was still here.

Hannah

Her name is Hannah Grace. When she was born she was 4lb 11oz but now she is 5lbs. She sleeps most of the time which helps her grow. In this picture I am holding her isn't she so cute

we all call her our little miracle girl.

This is another one that I found. It has some of the same things as the other one.

Hannah grace kwant

She is very cute when she was born she was 4lb11oz. That is so tiny. Because her glucose levels where low she went to the NICU for a week. She sleeps a lot of the time. Because she is not strong a nought to suck she has a feeding tube in her nose. We are so thankful for every moment of her life.

With Love Cassie (Hannah's oldest sister)

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Breathing Seems Weird:Day 60 (2/4/11)

Hannah in my lap at home! This is from my cell phone.

Hannah's weight: 5lbs 14oz

Hannah's Height: 18in

Breathing Seems Weird

Today we did our normal school routine and feeding Hannah routine. I am really getting all things Hannah and all things my family down and not feeling overwhelmed. I'm sure it is because God has been with me all along the way. He is helping love being Hannah's mommy and all the special things I do for her! I love my sweet baby. As well as my older children! I have been noticing Hannah's breathing is different. I did tell Rick about it and he said I'm becoming a worrier. I usually am not a worrier. Anyway, I am starting to feel stressed more and more over her funny breathing. She seems to stop breathing for a few seconds which is not normal for her. She sometimes seems a bit blue to me too.

Hannah had a doctor appointment with Dr. Levine today. After lunch I decided to run to Joann Fabrics so the girls came make some more baby blankets and pillowcases. We picked out all the fabric got it all cut by a sweet lady we see about every time we go it. She asked about Hannah and I told her all about Hannah and Trisomy 18. I was a great conversation. It make the task of waiting for the fabric cutting nicer! When the fabric was all done being cut we went to wait in the other paying line. I noticed Hannah was looking a bit blue. I was so worried I started calmly rubbing her as I was taught in the NICU and praying alot. I did not want the whole store be become worried for Hannah also and have and EMT come and help her. My prayers helped as she started breathing without on worry for anyone. I will never forget the fear the just pierced through me as I was praying for my baby to breath! I told the fear to go away as God has His hands on her!

Yesterday we received a handicapped parking permit. Today we used it for the first time at Joann's. I only really wanted to use the permit when I'd park at Children's hospital. Today we used just for fun and the kids were all excited to use it. Little did we know this would be the only time we'd get to use it with Hannah!

We then headed to Dr. Levine's office. I had in my mind I'm going to talk to Dr about Hannah's weird breathing! We get into the room, get weighted and measured, and wait for Dr. Levine. He takes a look at Hannah. Her coloring looks great. Dr. Levine decided to put a pulse ox on her after I told him about her weird breathing. Her numbers on the pulse ox were great (pulse ox is a machine that measures the oxygen levels in her blood). Dr. was happy how Hannah looked. He was a bit concerned that she is not gaining weight as good as he hoped. He also gave her his own cell phone number with instructions to call anytime if Hannah is having trouble. It meant alot to me that he'd give me his cell number. (little did I know that I'd use it the very next day) I felt better after talking to him. He said babies just do that weird breathing sometimes. I've been so in tune to Hannah I notice every thing different. I'm a good momma! For the night I kept her on my chest I feel like having her on my chest helps her breathing to stay regular.

We got home and did our normal evening routine and nighttime routine! I love each and every one of my children!

I Peter 1:6-9

⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, ⁸ whom having not seen^[a] you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, ⁹ receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

Love, Hannah's mommy (Sandi Kwant)