She's Here!!!

We are pleased to announce the birth of our BEAUTIFUL baby girl Emma Anne!!! She was born at 8:50 am and weighed 9 pounds 10 ounces! The c-section went smoothly and without any complications! Praise God!!!

As we expected her back was covered and wrapped, then she and Peter went to the NICU at Good Samaritan while they finished up my c-section. There she was weighed, and they started an IV and prepared her for transport to Children's Hospital. They had a VERY hard time starting an IV, she gets that honestly from me, but they finally got her started on one and brought her down to me in the recovery room before she was transferred! This was really the first time I got to see my sweet baby girl! She is GORGEOUS! I was in so in love with this perfect little angel from the second I heard her cry! 

They transported her to Children's and Peter, my mom and his mom all went there too. They got Emma all settled into her pod and then they allowed family to see her! At Children's they gave her a day to just chill before she had to go into surgery. Surgery happened Tuesday around 12:30 pm. She soared through it beautifully. Her hydrocephalus was pretty severe though so they had to give her an EVD, which is an external temporary shunt. Dr. Stevenson didn't want to do both surgeries at once given the length of them both. Also due to the size of her lesion they had to make incisions on either side of her abdomen so they could use that give to close her back up. This was done by a plastic surgeon so her scarring will be minimal. 

Her recovery has been beautiful! She's uncomfortable though obviously because of all the things that she has had done in a week, but also because of her EVD and back closure she has to lay on her tummy with her head facing left at all times. She isn't allowed to turn her head over at all. This will change though with her permanent shunt. This has also made eating difficult, but we have it sort of figured out for now.In the pictures you can see that she had to get an NG tube, this was because they have such high expectations of how much she should be eating (80 ml, which is about 2.5 oz) so she can have the best nutrition heading into another surgery and just to aide in her recovery. They expect that she eat this amount every three hours, which is A LOT for a newborn to eat. She can still try the bottle and whatever she doesn't eat from that she has to take through the tube. All the doctors are so pleased with her and how she is progressing. Right now they are discussing surgery for the shunt placement on Thursday the 4th or Friday the 5th. 

 Peter and I are over the moon in love with this little girl! I knew the kind of love that we had for her while I was pregnant with her but never imagined how much more I was capable of. 

We appreciate your prayers, thoughts, and concerns for our little family! We ask for continued prayer as she recovers and heads into another surgery that God would watch over and protect our little girl we pray that he keep her out of as much pain as possible! We ask for prayers for comfort and peace to come over us as we watch our baby girl go through so much more then Peter and I could ever imagine enduring. 

Now I leave you with pictures, because like I've said all along, she is all that matters!!! 

Pardon the spit up... its hard to eat while laying on your belly. 

We celebrated our first Easter! The Easter Bunny even came! 

(Not sure why this one won't rotate), but aren't I cute sideways too? 

Like my bunny hat? 

Thanks Gigi for my Easter basket! 

One happy family! 

Her humble abode

I thought since Emma's due date is QUICKLY approaching I'd post some pictures of her sweet room! We've been working hard on it over the past few months. I told Peter if we were having a little girl I always wanted a pink and green room for her. He obliged, and gave me full reign on decorating it for her while he and my mom did all the work. We picked a lady bug theme and we are SOOO very pleased with how it turned out! I hope Emma loves it as much as we do!

Can't wait to get Miss Emma home and in her room!!! 

YAY!!!!

Our Last Week

So this past week was our last week of testing for Miss Emma!

Monday was a good day, we started at the NST and she had to be buzzed only once! Poor girl, her last week and she had to get buzzed. But its all ok, it got her moving! The fluid check went well. It was 20.7 so it went down a lot from Thursday which is a relief even though the doctor wasn't concerned about it being high last Thursday!

Thursday was our last day of testing EVER for Emma. Its kind of bittersweet. I know it was a lot but it was starting to become "normal" to me, I was starting to find solace on Monday's and Thursday's routine but like all else in life everything has a season. We have gotten to enjoy Bonnie over the past weeks and she will be missed. We've promised that we will bring Emma into see her once life settles down. She said that she is so involved in this part of the baby but she never gets to see the "finished product". So we will have to take Emma in and show her off.

Emma passed her NST on Thursday like the champ that we all know she is. You have to lay there for 20 minutes and Bonnie said that she had passed very early into the 20 minutes. So she was just showing off for the later half of her test, that's my gal! At the fluid check it came back at 25. There must be something about Thursdays, lol. But its all good, the doctor wasn't concerned. And of course our girl is still breech! I mean I understand I wouldn't want to hang out for weeks on end upside down either if I don't have to, so Emma and I are on the same page there! We got one last look at our sweet girls face! Her and her chunky cheeks and her hair will be here in 2 days! I can't wait to put a BOW in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peter and I have so enjoyed this pregnancy! We are beyond thrilled that we can soon see Emma face to face, however as I'm sure you can imagine this doesn't come without its own set of anxieties. We appreciate everyone's support, love and prayers but we ask that you keep those coming especially in the coming days/weeks/months. Please pray that God provide our family with comfort, peace and wisdom, that Emma's initial surgery and all subsequent surgeries go smoothly and without complications. That she recover quickly so that our family of 3 can be home together where we belong. Please pray for the doctors that will be involved in her care, that God guide their hands and do the best they can for our sweet girl. We appreciate you all! Thank you again for your support, we are truly blessed. 

Our schedule for the next week is as follows, Monday we have to be at the hospital at 6:15 am. They will begin my c-section at 8:30 am. Peter will be able to follow Emma to the NICU at Good Samaritan where they will start an IV, gather her vitals, and check her all out. They will bring her back down to me in recovery so I can see her before they transfer her to Children's Hospital. Peter will follow her to Children's and I'll get settled in at Good Sam. As of right now her surgery is scheduled for Tuesday at noon, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be praying! The doctor told me on Thursday that I wont be able to see her Monday night and this breaks my heart but I'll be over there as soon as I can Tuesday morning. Right now that is all we know. I am going to do my best to keep this updated to let you all know what is going on and of course to post pictures. One's that aren't black and white and fuzzy looking. 

Again we so very much appreciate your thoughts and prayers. KEEP 'EM COMING!!! 

At the end of the day this is all that matters:

My sweet girl deep in thought! 

Another week bites the dust

Hello world! We had another round of testing this week and she did really well. She's finally getting into the swing of the NST's now that were rounding rounding third and heading home (for all you baseball fans out there).

Monday was a status quo day! She passed the NST with flying colors didn't have to get buzzed at all! WOO HOO little girl! The AFI also went good my fluid level was good too so it was a good day.

Thursday was a fun day, we had our NST and Emma's heartbeat was higher then usual (which isn't a problem) but it made her baseline higher which means she had to work harder at meeting her goal. She got buzzed but only once and then she got her butt in gear! My fluid check was a little surprising it was at 27. From the start we've been told that it shouldn't exceed 24 so I was a little concerned about what the doctor would have to say about that. We had a sweet ultrasound tech who showed us her sweet little face and of course her perfect feet! We met with the doctor and he wasn't to concerned. He said they'd be worried if it was below 5 and thank goodness that isn't our issue.

Emma is still breech at this point and I don't believe she has any plans on changing that. Since I'm having a c-section it wouldn't change that, the only thing that it does affect is the type of incision I'll have to have.  Because of the different incision any future pregnancies will have to be delivered via c-section. But we've learned through this process that Emma marches to her own beat and doesn't do what she doesn't want to do. OH MY we're going to have our hands full with this little girl!

As of today we have 8 days until our princess is here. 8 days until our life is completely and forever changed because of one sweet, chunky cheeked little girl. 8 days until we can finally see her chunky little cheeks. 8 days until we can kiss her face. 8 days until we can see the beautiful little girl that we've only seen through ultrasound. 8 days until we can see if she looks like Peter or me. 8 days until we can finally tell her to her little face that we love her. We can't wait, but at the same time can you say FREAK OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you all for your continued prayers, and support. It has been such a blessing to our families. We ask for continued prayers and thoughts as we enter into the last week of our pregnancy, please pray for a smooth delivery, and that Emma's recovery from her surgeries, and my recovery go smoothly and without complication. Also please be praying that God provides us peace, comfort, and wisdom through what will be one of the most trying times in our lives! Thank you again, it certainly doesn't go unnoticed!

At the end of the day this is what matters

Getting Closer

Sorry for the lull in posting, we've been preparing for Emma's fast approaching arrival. As I sit here and right this we have only 17, I REPEAT, 17 days until she is here. I don't know if you read that right, I'll repeat 17 DAYS!!!!!

Thursday the 28th went well! Emma cooperated for her NST and didn't require to be buzzed at all! WOOP WOOP go baby girl go!!! Then we headed to our AFI and that was good as well, we had a very sweet girl which always makes me happy. My fluid was good at 21.4 so its holding steady! I finally got the courage to ask if we could see her face and she obliged us. We got to see her sweet face, and of course her eency weency (those aren't technical words) feet! The tech measured her foot and said it was 7 cm, which works out to be about 2.8 inches. So tiny! We have lots of little socks that her sweet little feet are going to look so cute in!

Monday also went well, Bonnie wasn't in our NST so that always puts a kink in things. The nurse we had is sweet as can be but its just not Bonnie. Emma knew something was up too, she cooperated once, but then decided to be stubborn and was done, so she had to be buzzed. That really pretty much made her mad because by golly her heart rate got up there which made the nurse happy! My AFI went well, my fluid was good. I believe it was 22. We didn't get any extra's this go round we had a grouchy tech. But to each your own, as long as I can walk out of there knowing my baby girl is healthy that's what really matters! 

Thursday the 7th went REALLY well. Seeing as it was the first Thursday of the month it was our growth scan. So that meant and extended look at sweet baby girl! Everything is looking good and right on track for whats going on with her. Her vent's grew again, well her left one did, the right one stayed pretty much the same, which is good that at least one didn't change! She weighs a WHOPPING 7.8 pounds. That means we are on track for a 9lb baby! AHH, we thought she'd be a chunky monkey! She was folded in half like a taco (in my words) meaning that her feet were at her face. Talk about uncomfortable. This didn't seem to bother her to much though! Her NST went well too, although she had to buzzed again. But that's alright, she's just tired of behaving for those silly things! All in all everything was good! And I have a few pics to share! 

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We think she is smiling here! You can see it in her cheeks! This was right after she stuck her tongue out at us! She thinks she's sooo funny!!! LOL! 

Thank you so very much for  your continued love, support, prayers, and thoughts. It means so much more to Peter and I then I can ever express! Thank you, thank you! 

At the end of the day our healthy baby girl is what matters...

She's done it again!

I think were on a roll folks (however I don't want to jinx myself)! On Thursday we had another NST and AFI! She did the NST like a champ (like we all know she is), there was no buzzing involved! WAHOO!!! She's getting to be such a big girl! Makes me so proud. Although even when she does have to get buzzed I'm still proud. Our AFI was good as well, she is still breech! Although this doesn't matter much because we already have a c-section scheduled. My fluid levels were good holding steady around 19, so I'll take that!

Today (Monday) was a good day too, again she rocked the NST like the growing baby that she is! There was no buzzing involved whatsoever! She even made Bonnie proud! The AFI went well as well, again there wasn't much to it, the tech did what she was there to do today, however today I worked up the nerve to ask to see her face, and she obliged! So we got a quick peek at her cute, chubby little face!

Peter and I are sooooo very blessed. We have had 2 baby showers in the past two weekends and the love and support that was there is amazing, and so very humbling! We'd like to thank each and everyone of you for your continued support, it means so much to us! Even if we've not met and its just through prayer, it doesn't go unnoticed and as they say prayer can move mountains!

I'd like to just ask for your continued prayer, there are so many requests that we have, all mainly surrounding our sweet baby girl, but there is a specific one for us. That is that God gives us peace, as her due date approaches we get more anxious. We know that this is all in God's control and we are thankful for that because that would be quite the burden to carry however we still need our anxious hearts calmed.

Thanks again, and I've yet to receive any new pics, so we'll just reminisce with an oldy but a goody!, at the end of the day my sweet, healthy, precious, baby girl is all that matters!

Celebrate

Sorry for the delay but were back at it!

Bust out your party hats and noisemakers folks, we're having a party!! Emma graduated, well for a day anyways!! Our appointment on Monday Feb 11 was a GREAT day!!! Bonnie was right, its like something magical happens when the baby hits 32 weeks! Emma didn't get buzzed AT ALL!!! We had our own little party in the NST room. LOL! Our fluid check was also great, we've been able to stay with in the normal range. I walked out of that hospital like I'd just accepted an Oscar (on Emma's behalf of course).

Thursday was a good day, she didn't cooperate as well but you know life's tough when your trying to grow! There are some days when you just don't feel like behaving, I know that happens to me sometimes. This poor girl has come down with the hiccups, they aren't your run of the mill hiccups either they are SERIOUS, last about 5 minutes and happens at most 3 times a day! This day was no exception, we were going about our business listening to her precious little thump, thump, thump of her heart beat when all the sudden she got the hiccups. I blame Bonnie, lol, she had to buzz her which I believe scared the hiccups into her. These hiccups lasted for what seemed like forever, they had to call in the doctor to make sure she was reactive enough and as soon as the doc looked at her graph she said the baby has the hiccups. LOL... they were that identifiable. But the doctor cleared her and sent us on our way for the AFI. That was a quick check, the levels were all good and we were on our way.

That brings us to this past Monday. Our sweet baby girl cooperated (well sort of), she only had to be buzzed once, this is progress compared to last Thursday. She got to the 150's on her own once and then Bonnie was waiting till the end to see if she'd do it again, alas she did not. So she got buzzed. But that ticked her off she jumped up to 160 and then hung around there for a while. I can imagine she was saying to herself, I'm going to make this buzz worthwhile. Oh baby girl. We went to the AFI and that was good. The ultrasound tech's have been turds lately and haven't given us anything extra to look at, just telling us we are good. Which of course I appreciate, I just always like to get that extra look at my baby's sweet chunky face!

That about sums it up for us. Thank you all so much for your love and support, it means more to Peter and I and our families then we'll ever be able to express!! Thank you thank you!

At the end of the day this is what matters