Our pretty little lady!

September 1st we celebrated the first 6 months of Taylor’s life. It’s hard to believe that half a year has already passed since Taylor came to us early. It was a day of great rejoicing as we reflected on Taylor’s life- born 13 weeks premature at 1 pounds 9 ounces and now 6 months later weighing 9 pounds 6 ounces. Her life is with out a doubt an answer to our prayers. We want to say thank you again to our friends and family who partnered with us in praying Taylor home. God is faithful. 

Taylor had her check up with the pediatrician this week. We haven’t been to see the doctor in a month. The longest stint yet to go without seeing her and we were all pleasantly surprised to discover that our little lady is starting to pack on the pounds! Four weeks ago Taylor was 8 pounds even. At her check up this week she clocked in at almost 9 1/2 pounds – catapolting our little girl from not even on the weight growth curve to the 10th percentile for her adjusted age (3 months)! She’s still getting extra calories in her milk to beef her up- but we won’t be adding vegetable oil to her bottles anymore. Taylor also got her flu shot and no side effects- thank goodness!

The Hunt family is looking forward to a few out of town trips in the next couple months. This weekend we are in Osprey Point for a business trip for me- but it’s a beautiful spot on the Maryland shoreline and Jeff and Taylor will be there too- so look for some pictures soon. We will also be taking a little mini vacation at the end of September- site still to be determined – somewhere in Virginia. And last but certainly not least we are VERY EXCITED about our upcoming trip to Westmont College in October for Jeff’s 5 year college reunion. Lots of fun exciting adventures ahead. We will be sure to share them with all of you. :)

Thanks for checking in on Taylor. Below are a collection of a few pictures we’ve taken in the last couple of weeks. Our little miss preemie is growing up!

Cuddling with Grandpa before he left.

And Grandma too!

Thanks for coming out to visit us! We had a great time and can’t wait to see you again!

TAYLOR: THE LITTLE MIRACLE BABY

SPEECH OF HON. TED POE OF TEXAS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2009

• Mr. POE of Texas. “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” Madame Speaker, Hellen Keller made this observation about life and today I’d like to share the inspiring story of Taylor Christine Hunt. A little baby who I like to call the Miracle Baby. Her story is a moving reminder that prayer, faith, hope, and love can and do overcome the challenges of life.

• Born at 27 weeks and weighing just one and a half pounds little Baby Taylor beat the odds. Last fall my staffer, Nicole Hunt and her husband Jeff Hunt shared their excitement with me as they announced they were expecting their first baby at the end of May. In January of this year they found out they were having a girl. We all rejoiced at the news. However, on March 1, 2009, due to pregnancy complications, little Baby Taylor was born three and a half months premature.

• Taylor was immediately admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and placed on a ventilator to help her breathe. She remained on the ventilator for nearly a week as doctors kept a close watch on her. Nicknamed the “little spitfire” by doctors and nurses because of her sassy and stubborn attitude towards all of their poking and prodding, Taylor would not let anything keep her down.

• Early on doctors detected an irregularity with her heart and took prompt medical action to correct it. Thankfully they were successful. In the first few months of her life doctors also discovered that Taylor had an eye disorder that primarily affects premature babies. Miraculously, it was there one day and gone the next. Today Taylor has perfect vision. Slowly, as Taylor’s body matured, she learned to breathe on her own, take food, and maintain her body temperature.

• While Jeff and Nicole sat by her bedside day and night, they also rallied a huge group of supporters to pray for Taylor. Taylor even had her own website called “Pray Taylor Home” and literally thousands of people all over this country and the world prayed for her recovery.

• On June 2, 2009, after 94 days of hospitalization, hundreds of tests, dozens of specialists, 3 blood transfusions, and one ambulance ride, Taylor was finally well enough to go home.

• Today Taylor has been home for about two months and is thriving. She is almost 8 pounds and is developing beautifully. It has been a pleasure to see this little Miracle Baby beat the odds and I am proud to share her story with this Chamber today.

• Edith Wharton, a famous novelist, once wrote: “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” Taylor is that candle–spreading hope and teaching all of us that we must never give up.

• And that’s just the way it is.

THEN

NOW 

This past weekend the Hunt family headed out to Wolf Trap, a charming outdoor performing arts theater in northern Virginia (http://www.wolftrap.org/). It was Taylor’s first official outing. We planned to see the National Symphony Orchestra perform some of John Williams most famous movie scores including theme songs from Star Wars, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, E.T and lots more. Unfortunately- the weather man’s 0% chance of rain turned into 100% chance of rain- so the Hunt family had to cut the outing short.  Since Taylor was born during the last snow storm of the year it’s fitting that during her first public appearance there were severe thunderstorm warnings.

Regardless we all had quite an adventure and are looking forward to going back again soon- this time on a sunny, rain free day! We got this picture right before the heavens opened and rained down their fury on us! Hope you all are enjoying your summer!