Kara is here. We are thrilled - She is 7 lb, 20 inches long
We have been absolutely in awe of God's goodness and His choosing to give "good gifts" to us, His children, this last 24 hours.
I will upload photos when my Dad brings the camera cord (currently just have the SIM which doesn't work in the laptop, oops!), but for now here are some of the blessings we're thanking God for:
LABOR:
* Going into labor on my own. (2 a.m.)
* Already had a perinatologist appointment (next door to the hospital) to go to at 11 a.m. so we didn't have to worry about going to the hospital too early or too late.
* Jeremy was home for us to get the car packed and house ready, Mom was home to take Katie and Connor (ear infections) to the pediatritician's just before we headed into the hospital. Dad was still home to stay home from work with the kids.
* Our perinatologist let us admit from her office.
* The same nurse was with us the whole time. She was outstanding and stayed 4 hours past her shift to see us through delivery.
* Our perinatologist (O.B. also) switched "calls" to be here for us. She said her other alternative was to just be here and not get "credit". Wow!
* The perfect epidural (I had a not so perfect one last time and only now do I appreciate the difference!)
DELIVERY/RECOVERY:
* Great staff on hand - 3+ for baby, 4+ for me, Mom and Jeremy
* Delivered at 10:30 p.m. Close enough to midnight so I can stay an extra day if I want (Kara will be staying so this gives me an option of a more comfy bed).
* Awesome nurse just after delivery. Very kind and considerate, took me up to see Kara when I was ready to go (about 90 min after delivery, WOW. Talk about different from c-sec).
* Able to get some sleep afterward because of the time of the delivery - not so many nurse interruptions after 1 a.m., and also because I was not a c-section.
* I am recoverying VERY well. Was able to take care of what I needed to do, in the midde of the night, on my own. I have VERY little pain (and I'm a bit past due for my tylenol and ibuprofen).
KARA:
* Apgar of 8/9 (deductions for color only), cried at delivery, and was able to breath so we were allowed to hold her. This is all WAY above what we anticipated or could have expected.
* Extremely kind, caring, and skilled staff working with Kara.
Kara Update - Last night (and continuing to this morning) the neonatologist and staff continue to problem solve. She is (as we have known all along) quite unique in her circumstances. The shunt remained in place during delivery (it goes from the cyst in the mass in her lung to her back). So they had to clamp it to prevent airleakage. After a chest x-ray, they saw that Kara had oxygen inside the cysts in the mass as well as oxygen between the lungs and the chest wall. They closed up the skin outside the shunt with stitches and steri-strips to see if that would prevent the leakage outside the lungs. Kara is under an oxygen hood and her vitals are usually within normal, respiration rate is a bit high but not worrisome. She will continue to get x-rays every few hours.
Prayers/thoughts - My anticipation is that, with the shunt capped off, the cysts are going to reaccumulate fluid which will make the mass larger. They can open the shunt clamp to release this but don't know what the solution would be long-term (as long as Kara has the shunt in, we're staying in NICU). My prayer is that if Kara needs surgery now (in the next few weeks) that it would be evident sooner rather than later so we can move forward. Otherwise, healing and stability so we can hold off on surgery until 4 months would be amazing.
Please join us in thanking God for His provision. He truly has done above and beyond all that we could ask or imagine, and we are humbled by His grace. God has been so gracious to unfold His plan to us one step at a time. I'm thankful we had to (and still have to) walk through uncertainty and trust in Him, knowing He gives grace sufficient for our weakness and that His mercies are new (and enough) every morning.
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