Baby in Belly |
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It was either in New York or in Boston that Luna's
life in Esther-Mirjam's belly began.... |
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2 weeks pregnant  Esther-Mirjam's last ballet class, saying goodbye to her favorite teacher, Donald Stikeleather. |
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3 weeks pregnant  |
Little Luna survives a horrendous bicycle accident
after only a few comfortable weeks, though her mom-to-be is unaware
of the little presence and thinks she is the only one who has suffered.
The picture on the right shows the wonderful farewell present Esther-Mirjam
received from her colleagues at the University of Notre Dame. |
4 weeks pregnant  |
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5 weeks pregnant One more weekend in Chicago before leaving this home-away-from-home to establish a new home in the Netherlands. |
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10 weeks pregnant Here is the home pregnancy test that shows a positive result. Esther-Mirjam is absolutely stunned, but excited at the same time! |
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Even though the pregnancy has not yet been confirmed
by a doctor, Esther-Mirjam figures she might as well start practicing.
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11 weeks pregnant  |
This picture, in which Esther-Mirjam still looks
a little uncomfortable, was taken during her visit to Canada. The little
girl is Carmen, daughter of David Meijer and Amanda Soike. |
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17 weeks pregnant Only six weeks further, and Esther-Mirjam is looking more comfortable already! In the picture on the left, she is holding Carmen Meijer again, now during a canal cruise in Amsterdam. In the picture on the right, she is walking in the red-light district in Amsterdam with Amanda Soike and her son, Samuel Meijer. |
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17 weeks pregnant Here is the letter informing Esther-Mirjam that she is pregnant with a healthy little girl. Yippee! |
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18 weeks pregnant Arno (right), Daphne (middle), and Esther-Mirjam take little Luna on a flight over Arno's home and its surroundings. |
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23 weeks pregnant No, the house is not pregnant, but Esther-Mirjam took these shots when she was 23 weeks pregnant. Pictured are the front (left) and back (right) of the house Esther-Mirjam has bought for herself and her baby-to-be. Unfortunaly, she has to wait until she is 38 weeks pregnant before she will get the key. |
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24 weeks pregnant Arno (left) and Esther-Mirjam (right) participate in a large demonstration against the government's efforts to cut down the welfare system in the Netherlands. |
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| 28 weeks pregnant Esther-Mirjam takes advantage of her last opportunity to fly and travels back to her home-away-from-home in the United States, where the generosity and kindness she experiences is truly heartwarming. The accompanying images are below. |
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This is the lovely lady with whom Esther-Mirjam
stayed during her visit. Her name is Lauri Roberts and she works at
Notre Dame. She is married to Kelly Roberts and has two great children,
Anna and Campbell. Thanks to an ingenious sound machine, pillows of
all sizes, and complete darkness in her bedroom, Esther-Mirjam never
slept as soundly as she did at the Roberts'. |
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 In this row are pictures of the baby shower put together by a Pet Refuge volunteer, Pennie. The baby-to-be is indeed showered with so many wonderful presents! The youngest participant is Finn, Amy's son (see below). The delicious cake sends best wishes. |
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 Esther-Mirjam has a heartwarming reunion with her Pet Refuge boyfriend, Midnight. If only she could fly him to the Netherlands. Whenever she misses him, she looks at a beautiful needlepainting she has of the big guy made by a Pet Refuge volunteer, Mary Benninghoff. |
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 Amy, Tracy and Esther-Mirjam (left) have a great girls' night out. Thanks to Amy and Tracy, the baby has lots and lots of clothes to wear and some good books to have read. Sandra (middle) edits the Pet Refuge website. If she had taken this picture, it would have turned out so much better. Thanks to Sandra, Luna has a very special pair of baby booties. Tori (right) works at Notre Dame. Thanks to Tori, the baby will be kept warm at night for many months to come. It looks like Esther-Mirjam has a pregnant face! |
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 Charlotte (left) is Esther-Mirjam's piano teacher. Thanks to Charlotte, Luna will get to read great books and listen to wonderful music! Kerry (middle) is a Stanford Ph.D. who now teaches at DePauw University in Indiana. Thanks to Kerry, Luna can show her support of the Stanford Cardinal! Sylvia (right) works at Notre Dame and would much prefer for Luna to support the Notre Dame Fighting Irish! |
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Esther-Mirjam's colleagues from the University of
Notre Dame have a lovely gathering at the home of Jennifer Warlick,
who chairs the department, and David Betson, who is a member of the
department. |
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Teresa Ghilarducci treats Luna to Fighting Irish
shoes and Mary Beckman gives her clothing with dog images, since Mary
and Esther-Mirjam share a love for dogs and volunteered together at
Pet Refuge. |
34 weeks pregnant  |
Twice a week little Luna's movements and heartbeat
are monitored for a period of about half an hour. That is, if the baby
moves during that time. If she does not, then it could be 90 minutes
until enough of a measurement has been taken! When mom-to-be gets desperate,
she sometimes tries to get her little girl to start moving by drinking
tea with lots of sugar. |
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5 months pregnant  |
6 months pregnant  |
7 months pregnant  |
34 weeks pregnant  |
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