Gracious May: Products With Value
VALUE: The worth of a thing; it’s utility and ability to produce or procure good. As we work to fill your orders here…
Quite possibly the tiniest fashionista in human history, Miss Azlyn Lucille is famous for the way she styles her Gracious May shoes and Snugars accessories!! With an Instagram fan base of nearly 27,000, Azlyn adds an irreplaceable dash of sparkle and sweetness to the World Wide Web. What may be lesser known, however, is that this tiny princess made a spectacular entrance when she was born prematurely at just 26 weeks gestation. Today in an interview with her beautiful mama Naomi, Gracious May is taking a closer look at the amazing grace of God that walked this now-thriving one year old through her critical first weeks of life!
Gracious May: Welcome, Naomi!! Thank you so much for joining us to share about your Mini Miracle! For those who aren’t familiar with your story, will you take a few minutes to introduce yourself and tell us about Azlyn?
Naomi: Hello! My name is Naomi, and I’m mama to my little lady, Azlyn. After two miscarriages my husband and I found out we were expecting for the third time! Azlyn’s was a very difficult pregnancy. I spent the majority of my pregnancy in the hospital (hyperemesis) and then, at 17 weeks, I was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix. I was on bed rest from 17 weeks until Azlyn made her grand entrance at 26 weeks! As you can imagine, being born 3.5 months early comes with a laundry list of trial and worry. From the start, however, Azlyn’s shown herself to be a tiny fighter and we are so excited for the great plans God has for her life!! Azlyn came home after spending her first 11 weeks of life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She turned a year old on April 14th and is constantly beating odds and surpassing all of her doctor’s expectations!!
Gracious May: Azlyn Lucille: tell us why you chose this amazing name for your tiny girl.
Naomi: Growing up, Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis was one of my favorite books. After finding out we would be delivering Azlyn prematurely it seemed even more fitting to name her after the fierce lion, Aslan, from that book! We changed the spelling from Aslan to Azlyn to make it more feminine. Azlyn constantly lives up to her name! Lucille (Azlyn’s middle name) is after the most amazing woman I know – my mother!
Gracious May: Once Azlyn was born, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced during that 11 week stay in the NICU?
Naomi: The first few weeks were overwhelming to say the least. One of the moments I will never forget was when Azlyn was about 10 days old (at which point I hadn’t even held her): Azlyn’s oxygen levels dipped dangerously low and she started turning blue. Instantly, doctors and nurses surrounded her bed and began resuscitating her. This incident was, and is, by far the most traumatic thing I have ever been through! As a parent watching your less-than-2-pound baby fight so hard for simple things (like breathing) is so difficult. But, while there were so many hard and terrifying moments in the NICU, every bad moment was countered by five amazing moments. If I can say one thing about our NICU experience with Azlyn it is this: miracles do happen!
Gracious May: There might be a mom reading this right now who is fighting alongside her micro-preemie in the NICU. If you could encourage that mom with a word or two from your experience, what would you say?
Naomi: Love your child today and do not worry about tomorrow! My biggest goal in the NICU was to spend every day with Azlyn in ways that I would not regret. I fought for every chance to touch her, change her diaper, help with baths, etc. In the NICU you don’t know if you will have a tomorrow with your baby. Instead of getting caught up in that, I chose to spend every moment I could celebrating the day. I celebrated every gram Azlyn gained, every minute she didn’t have a BRADY, and so on. Do not waste your time fearing tomorrow!! The future can seem so overwhelming when you are holding your tiny baby’s finger (a finger that doesn’t even wrap around your finger tip!), but I promise you will never regret just simply loving your child and enjoying the moment you are in.
Gracious May: Azlyn certainly holds a special place in our hearts; but can you take a minute to tell readers what Gracious May means to you, and why you/Azlyn enjoy our line of apparel so much?
Naomi: First off, to support a small shop is so amazing! To uplift and support other mothers and women, and see all the love and care that goes into each and every piece is such an honor. Not only is Gracious May’s quality amazing but also it means so much to my family and I to support a faith-based company. I love seeing how they incorporate Scriptures and such into what they do. Azlyn has an amazing collection of Gracious May & Snugars goodies and we are so excited to continue growing it! We will be life long supporters of this amazing company.
Thank you so much for sharing, Naomi!! If you’re like us and you can’t get enough of Azlyn, be sure to follow @AzlynLucille on Instagram for a daily dose of pint-sized cuteness!!
Would you like to have your story featured on the Gracious May Blog (birth, adopotion, NICU, etc.)? Email us with 2-3 sentences that describe the experience you want to share about and we might feature you!
“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Psalm 139:13-14
