BeautyRevealed | The Blog of Melissa J. Dillon

“He who keeps you shall not slumber.”

~ Psalm 121:3

Mark made Ava Baby a lullaby playlist on my iPod, and I’ve been playing it over and over while I’ve been here at Jamie and Angela’s house. One song in particular has actually ministered to me so much of the love of God for our little girl, and it makes me cry when I hear it. I just know that the Lord is letting me know that He is taking care of our precious daughter and that I don’t have to fear.

Hush, little child, wipe that tear from your eye
Don’t you be scared of the dark
For someone is watching to guard as you sleep
Protecting each moment you grow
He’ll take care of you
He loves you
He’ll take care of you, my darling, for me
He’ll take care of you
And love you forever and ever
He’ll take care of you, my darling, for me

The scripture that I’ve been praying over her today is from Psalm 91:

“{She} who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’
He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.”

Thank you so much for your continued prayers.

“You hold me by my right hand; You will guide me with Your counsel.”

~ Psalm 73:24

Our day at Fairview was a whirlwind of meetings, information, testing and busyness, but what it did for this nervous mommy and daddy was invaluable. We went from ultrasounds and testing to meeting with doctors and consultants, discussed our birthing plan and went over some added concerns for Ava’s delivery, to examinations, then took a shuttle across the river to meet with the surgeon, back across the river to meet with the NICU doctors and get a tour of where our little Ava will be staying, then on to a meeting with the social worker about accommodations, our insurance, and paperwork… and a lot of little details like parking passes, phone numbers, and places to eat. By the end of the day we had literally walked miles and our brains were tired with so much information, but we felt so much more prepared, calmed, and all our many questions had been patiently answered.

We cannot say enough great things about the hospital and staff at Fairview. With every single person we talked with, they made us feel like our baby and our situation was their highest priority and care. And they made it seem as if they had all the time in the world just for us. We really feel that God has directed us so clearly in the last few days… making it very apparent that Duluth was not the place for Ava Baby to be, and guiding us to Fairview through my friend, Heidi, and many, many confirmations from so many of you. There is such relief in our hearts of being in a place where we know we are getting the best care and immediate attention.

One of the toughest parts of our day was the tour of the NICU. Dr. Rao wanted to show us how Ava will have to be hooked up to tubes and IV’s, so we won’t be taken off-guard when we see her. Both Mark and I had a hard time holding it together as we entered the room with all of the tiny babies in incubators… most of them alone and each one hooked up to so many tubes. To imagine our little Ava Baby in that same room just days from now almost took our breath away with grief. But at the same time, we are so grateful to be living in a time where there are amazing doctors and nurses who can save these little lives. We don’t take this for granted ~ at all!

Mark is back home in GR working hard and will return to Minneapolis to spend the weekend with us and to take us to our doctor’s appointment. Ava and I are already lonely for him. Jamie and Angela are taking good care of me and are keeping their cell phones handy in case I go into labor.

This is the verse I am praying today over our little Ava:

“The Lord your God is in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

~Zephaniah 3:17

Thank you for your continued prayers for our precious girl. We will keep you updated here on our blog. Blessings to each one of you!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
in all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

- Proverbs 3

We are so humbled and blessed by the outpouring of love and care that we have received from all of you… the comments, the emails, the notes, the phone messages and gifts have been pouring in, and we are grateful and overwhelmed by God’s goodness and kindness through all of you. Ava Baby is one treasured girl already, and it has made Mark and I both weep with gratitude. Thank you, thank you, thank you all.

We are all packed and leaving for Minneapolis tonight. We were surprised at how quickly the meetings were set up with the surgeon and doctors. Tomorrow we meet at 8:30 with a specialist for more tests, and then we meet with Ava’s surgeon, Dr. Saltzman, at 1:00 pm. Then we will meet with a Social Worker to get a tour of the neo-natal ward and discuss insurance and other particulars. Please pray that the Lord would just go before us and make this transition at Fairview as easy as possible. It will be so good to finally be able to sit down with doctors and get some answers to our many questions.

Ava Baby and I are will be staying with Jamie and Angela until she is born… we just don’t want to take the risk of not making it to the hospital in time for the delivery with Ava’s condition being so fragile. Mark will return home tomorrow night so that he can continue to work until I go into labor. Then he will be on paternity leave until she is well… which is such a relief to me that he will be able to be by our side the entire time. He’ll come down for the weekends even if I am not in labor yet, so please pray for safe travels for him as he goes back and forth during this time.

I will be taking the computer and keeping you updated through the blog. Hopefully I will even have some time now to return emails. Just know that we appreciate so much all the love and support you all have shown to our little Ava and to us. Bless you all for your prayers! Keep em’ coming! Love you all.

Dear Family and Friends,

Yes, our little girl’s name is Ava. We wanted to wait till she was born to announce it, but as we are writing to ask you all for prayer for our baby girl, we want her name to be lifted up to heaven as much as possible.

On Wednesday evening, our doctor called with some concerns over Ava’s ultrasound pictures that had been taken the previous day. He had sent them to Duluth, and the specialist there wanted to see us right away. So yesterday morning we headed to the Duluth Clinic to have another ultrasound done and to meet with Dr. O’Day. Our “Ava Baby” has what is called Duodenal Atresia which is a blockage in her small intestine. This means that she will have to undergo surgery as soon as she is born to remove the blockage and reattach the intestine. We are told that the incision in her abdomen is fairly small and this procedure, in most cases, should not have any sort of complications arising from it. Our hearts are grieved, though, for our precious little one having to go through surgery the day she is born. She will not be able to breastfeed right away, which of course was our hope… we wanted to begin that bonding process right away, and to keep her safe in our arms~ just loving on her and adoring her. But she will need to  be fed through tubes for the first few days, and then with a bottle, then she will be able to slowly begin to breastfeed. The overall recovery time is two weeks, and of course we will stay with her in the hospital until we can safely bring her home.

At the moment, we are working on getting her in to Fairview Hospital in Minneapolis. There is a Christian Surgeon there who comes highly recommended through friends of ours who’s daughter also had intestinal complications. We have such a peace about this hospital and staff, and it will also be so good to be near Jamie and Angela during this time. My family will be there as much as they can, and it will be such a blessing that they will have a place to stay that is close by. There is so much changing to do now, though. Please pray for us as we meet with the Surgeon, Doctors and staff, and begin the process of working through all the changes that need to happen in the next few days or weeks: transferring, consulting with physicians, insurance logistics, changes in birth plan, lots of questions, packing for two weeks or more, traveling to The Cities, etc. She is due soon, so time is very much a factor for us. We are told that a vaginal birth is still possible, unless other complications arise… so we are praying and believing for a natural and blessed delivery.

There is still so much that we don’t know yet until we meet with the Surgeon and Doctors, but we will give updates here on the blog when we find out more. Please pray with us for Ava’s quick and thorough healing in the hands of those caring for her. We also know that we serve a God who can heal her in the blink of an eye! Our faith muscles have been exercised a lot in the last few days, and Mark and I desire that we would not doubt, but trust in our God who loves us and our “Ava Baby” even more than we could imagine! My Dad reminded me the other day that it is so important to praise the Lord on this side of the Red Sea, and not just when we get to the other side. Too often we wait until we have proof of God’s goodness before we praise Him rather than putting our trust in Him when we cannot see the outcome. The bottom line is: God is good ~ all the time. He deserves our praise no matter what, and we will praise Him in this Storm. Jamie reminded me today that there isn’t one aspect of Ava’s life that is outside of the Lord’s influence and authority! The Lord is intimately involved in all things concerning our precious daughter. And “by His stripes we are healed.”

If you have prayers, scriptures or wishes for Ava, please write them in the comment section… We believe that the Lord will be glorified through this, and we want to show Ava how good her God is! Thank you for all your prayers for our “little bird”… she is so loved! We know she has so many friends waiting for her to come home!

We love you all!

With so much gratitude,

Mark and Melissa

Today marks 38 weeks in my pregnancy. I can hardly believe that her due date is just two weeks away, and yet it feels like forever until I can finally hold her in my arms. Mark held my hand today as we watched our little girl moving around on the ultrasound monitor. It made my heart ache. She’s so beautiful…

Here she is just resting her hand on her belly, and you can see her fingertips. Her belly looks kinda like mommy’s! My hand is always on my belly, too. She makes my heart melt.

Please pray for health and safety for our darling girl during these last couple of weeks and throughout the delivery. The doctor is doing a few tests as a result of too much fluid, but we believe God is her protection and that she is strong and healthy.

Thank you all for such love and excitement you have shown for this little girl. She is so blessed with wonderful family and friends. I can’t wait till she can thank you all in person for all the gifts, prayers and thoughtfulness. We love you all and feel so blessed.

P.S. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

“Babies are bits of stardust, blown from the hand of God.”

- Barretto

Our Itty-Bitty Little Girl had her first ever party last Sunday afternoon! My sweetest Sister-in-law, Angela, and my two very dear friends, Becky and Heidi, threw a perfectly pink party for our little one. It was such a special shower! And despite a very snowy/icy day, almost everyone was able to make it.

Angela decided to use Mom and Dad’s cabin in the woods for the special occasion, and when I walked in I squealed with delight. Pink and white everywhere… it was beautiful! Fresh flowers, polka-dots, ribbons and all things sweet and pretty for this little darling. I can’t wait to show her pictures of how much she is loved and cherished already.

Angela created this sweet collage from pictures of me when I was a baby and child. If our baby girl is anything like I was, she will be c.h.u.b.b.y! Mark is hoping she will be… I’m not so sure.

I loved the diaper cake… it was full of fun things: pacifiers, onesies, diaper rash ointment, a rubber ducky, plastic utensils…

And the delicious cake! I love the little baby carriage on it… it matched the invitations. So many sweet details were thought of by these girls.

Mark and I were so blessed by all of the wonderful gifts showered upon us and our little one. We were overwhelmed by the kindness of so many family and friends. I am busy putting away gifts this week and washing clothes and blankets in Dreft. I’ve been working on her nursery, and it’s so much fun to see it all coming together. The drawers are getting organized and little dresses are hanging in the closet. We are still waiting for her crib to arrive, but her crib bedding is here and washed and ready to go. I’ve been waiting till it’s all done so I can post pictures of the finished nursery. Then I’ll show pictures of all the wonderful gifts from everyone. She received so many cute things!

Today Mark installed her car seat so we’re ready to bring her home whenever she decides to make her appearance! It’s just a little over 3 weeks until her due date, and we’re counting down the days.

Angela, Becky, Heidi and Mom ~ Thank you all for such a lovely party! I was tickled pink! Thank you for showering us with such love. And thank you to everyone who could make it on a snowy afternoon to celebrate our much anticipated “little joy” with us.

We love you all!

Melissa, Mark and little Baby Girl Dillon

“Sugar and spice, and everything nice; that’s what little girl’s are made of.”

- English Nursery Rhyme

I’m sure ya’ll know by now… word of mouth travels fast, but we are so excited that we’re having a little girl! I’ve been so behind in blogging that I’m sure this is old news by now to most of you. Her due date is February 23rd, and she is growing healthy and strong. Thank you for all the sweet gifts that we’ve been receiving already… her room is filling up with pink ~ So sweet. This sweet blessing is an answer to our prayers… and her grandparent’s prayers!

This picture was taken 3 weeks ago before the wedding… now, my garden is completely out of control. Everything is HUGE and running amuck in my little garden plot. One reason is that we’ve been so busy this summer. But the main reason is that I can’t stomach food very well in the past month. Nothing sounds good to me, and I feel ill after eating anything. So nothing is being picked from my garden, and it just grows and grows. And it’s going a little wild at the moment. At least I know that it is a great spot for a garden… it gets lots of sun there. I pulled up an onion today ~ it’s amazing how fragrant it is compared to the ones I buy in the grocery store. Gardening is in my blood now… loving the process of watching it all grow. Now I just need to learn how to can so it won’t all spoil!! Anyone else have luck with their gardens?

“For this child we prayed.”

I know they are blurry and hard to see, but these are the first pictures of little Baby D! I had my second Doctor’s appointment today and got to see the little heartbeat ~ healthy and strong. Such a precious moment for Mark and I, watching our little one with his or her little legs elevated and crossed at the ankles… kickin’ back and relaxing in the womb. I’m taking that to mean our child has a laid-back disposition. I know, I sure jump to conclusions.

We finally got a due date as well. February 23rd. We’re shooting for the 25th, though, which is my brother’s birthday. We’ll see how we do!

And as far as I’ve been feeling, I have good days and bad days. I’ve only thrown up a couple of times, but for the most part it is just some queasiness at certain times of the day. Jodie fitted me with some groovy sea-sickness wrist bands which seem to be helping… and I look really cool, too! Ha! This week a headache was added to the mix, turning into a severe migraine on Sunday. I have a sweet and loving husband, though, who takes good care of me while “I’m baking his muffin” as he calls it. He’s already an amazing and protective father, and I keep falling in love with him all over again as I watch him love our unborn child.

We’re excited to find out whether it’s a boy or a girl, but it will still be a couple of months yet. I’m almost 3 months along, and we need to wait until about 20 weeks (5 months). Then we can start really working on the nursery and preparations.

Our Doctor is a such a wonderful Christian man, and he prays with us during each visit. He asks the Lord to fill us with His peace all along this journey, and for protection and wisdom. I couldn’t have asked for a better doctor to deliver this baby!

Thank you all for the sweet comments and emails, and for sharing in our joy with us. There have been so many questions, so I’m relieved to finally have some definite answers for you. I’m almost done with my first trimester and I look forward to more energy and less queasiness coming up around the bend. Please continue to pray for health and protection! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives to share in this precious time with us.

We leave Wednesday for the wedding… yippee! So we’ll be gone until Sunday night, but I’ll post pics of the beautiful day when I get back. Blessings and love to you all!

~ Melissa Joy (and the little muffin, too!)