Izzy

Isabelle Whittaker

I love her so much!

When I was pregnant by the time the girls were big enough to feel moving around in my belly, I could tell them apart. Izzy was always stubborn and strong. She sat in the middle of my belly and held her ground. When her sister would kick and try to move into her space, Izzy pushed back and NEVER gave up her spot. She would push against my belly so hard! Sometimes I swear she would plant her feet against my spine and her hands against my belly and push, and push, for hours! I would joke that she was going to come out with a body builders body because she was using those muscles like crazy! At 30 weeks, Izzy stopped gaining weight and I was put on bed rest at 32 weeks. My girls had Twin-to-twin syndrome. Which means one baby was taking all the nutrients and the other was not getting anything. I remember having a serious talk with my girls one day. (yes, while they were still in there) I told Izzy to start fighting and to not let her sister push her around. After all, she was Izzy, stubborn and strong!

She came out at 4 pounds and as far as I could see was strong and healthy. They did take her in to the NICU anyway, just to be safe, but within a day or two she was taken off the warming bed and iv's. The nurses told me all the time that she was so strong and was doing great. One time during a feeding in the NICU I was burping her and she lifted her head with complete control, just then a nurse walked by and stopped looked at her and said "holy cow, what do you think your 4 months or something".

Since we have brought her home, she has proved to us that nothing has changed. She is still stubborn and she is still strong. Whenever we feed her she always reaches a point where she is done eating. She clamps her lips shut and arches her back. There is no point fighting it. She is done! I never knew a baby could be so stubborn.

She is the biggest daddy's girl. She loves her daddy, and they love to snuggle together. She falls asleep on his chest all the time. I think the two of them have a special bond because Izzy is just like Cory. She doesn't like the blanket on her feet when she sleeps, just like daddy. She likes to watch baseball, just like daddy. She is not a big eater, just like daddy. She smiles just like daddy. She sleeps with her hands by her face, just like daddy. She has the biggest dumps, . . we will stop there.

She really is a joy to have as a daughter. She makes me laugh and I can't believe that my Heavenly Father blessed me with such a prefect little girl. I hope that I can be the mom I want to be for her. She makes me want to be better and I know that the next 18+ years are going to be the best, because I have the best girls.

Thank you Izzy for being you!