Looking Back - Tessa's Arrival

Tessa arrived on April 8, 2010 at 10:19 p.m. At 38 weeks, she weighed 4 lbs 15 oz and was 19 inches long. She was "healthy just small" they said.

Other than some jaundice, Tessa's only other struggles were maintaining her body temperature and gaining weight. They ran lots of tests, but everything was coming back normal. It was good news, but there was still so much confusion. It wasn't a comforting thing to see perplexed doctors. I was reluctant for weeks to post any pictures of Tessa anywhere. I had an aching feeling in my heart that something wasn't right. She was born at 38 weeks...only 2 weeks early, but so tiny. I just couldn't accept "she's just small".

In the months prior to finding out Tessa's Congenital CMV diagnosis, I had been praying, asking God to finally put my fears to rest. Asking for His help for me to accept Tessa for exactly who she was and rest assured that her life was in His hands. Little did I know, the information to come, would reveal the profound application of those exact prayers.

~Whitney