Baby Layla

Soon after my wedding in October of 2007, I joined a website/message board called The Nest. Josh and I had lived in our house for almost 2 years, but we weren't happy with the way we had decorated it, so I was looking for ideas. I started frequenting the message boards pretty often and found some really great insight. When I got pregnant in January of 2008, I quickly moved to the parenting version of The Nest called The Bump. There were several message boards for (mostly) women in all stages of parenthood. There, I 'met' a lot of women experiencing the same things I was going through. It goes without saying that after going through so much together, people eventually form bonds.

Over the next 4 years, these girls and I have experienced just about everything life throws at us. We've had a lot of laughs, a good amount of sadness, births, deaths, divorces and new relationships. A lot of us have even branched out and met the other girls in real life. It is always nice to know that if I ever need to get something off my chest, or share exciting news, or find the greatest pins on Pinterest, I have those girls.

This brings me to the point of this post. Baby Layla. Jeni is a fellow poster on the message board I am (proudly) a part of. She gave birth to her daughter Layla on October 28th, when she was just 24 weeks, 2 days pregnant. Layla weighed 1 pound 8 ounces. The first few days were scary. We didn't know whether or not Layla would survive. She was almost 16 weeks premature. Over the past 15 weeks, we have witnessed just how strong Layla is. Today is such a special day for Jeni and her family, because little Layla finally gets to go home. Every time I think about everything Jeni has gone though, I cry. She is such an amazing woman. She not only spends as much time as she can with Layla, but she has another daughter at home too. She has been so strong throughout this experience. She is someone to look up to.

Anyway, so join me in celebrating this awesome news. We are so happy for you, Jeni, and so thankful that this day has finally come.