The long journey home

We FINALLY got to take our little girl home!

Thank-you all for the thoughtful and supportive comments - I can't tell you how much the power of positive thinking and reassurance made a difference (and continue to make a difference) in my mental and emotional state during the past few weeks.

The wee one did end up getting surgery to place a shunt for the hydrocephalus. This amazing little girl endured two major surgeries within the first few weeks of her life, and has come out just as sweet as ever. Her fortitude amazes me.

Now that we finally have her home, a new journey begins (full of lots of follow up appointments with specialists!). We haven't even had her home for a full 24 hours yet, so we are still adjusting, and I doubt I'll have much time to post here in the near future, but I will try to let you all know how we're doing from time to time :)

And to end with, I will leave you with another picture of the wee one, in her daddy's arms (this time with eyes open for extra cuteness!).

The life of a NICU mom

It's exhausting.

It's emotional.

It's overwhelming.

But the wee one is a superstar! She had surgery on Thursday to repair the diaphragmatic hernia, and she's done so well! The doctors and nurses keep telling us how great she is doing, considering how sick most babies with diaphragmatic hernia's usually are. She didn't even need to go on ECMO (a heart and lung by-pass system that they typically need).

AND, she might finally get to come off the ventilator tomorrow!!! Then we'll be able to hear her again (haven't heard her since her first few cries in the delivery room!).

We've been lucky enough to be allowed to hold her twice - and both times it was heaven.

I just love her so much it makes me cry. I just can't wait until we can take her home with us. Day by day she gets stronger. So keep those positive vibes coming our way, because they seem to be working! :)

A wee update...

Thank-you all for your comments and support!



Here is an updated picture of the wee one - she is getting stronger! The neonatologist was very optimistic today, and she said that our wee one is looking fantastic - so of course we were very relieved to hear that! She will have to undergo surgery - to help fix her diaphragm, and then hopefully her wee lungs will get stronger and no longer need any assistance to keep her breathing (she can breathe on her own, but does much better with help from the ventilator). And it looks like although she has a larger head, they don't think she has hydrocephalus afterall! But of course, they'll look into that more after the breathing issue is fixed. One thing at a time. But overall, very good news :)

She's Here!

Just a quick update as i'm still pretty out of it myself... the wee one arrived just before noon. She had a few more complications than anticipated but she's a fighter. Heres a picture of her (the tape on her face is to hold a tube to help with her breathing). Feel free to send good thoughts our way so that she can get strong and healthy as quickly as possible.