Emmy is here! Her first week of life has had its ups and downs, but she is something to celebrate, for sure. I have never been more in love.
Day 1, April 6th:
Wes and I woke up bright and early Friday morning to head to the hospital for our scheduled C-section, due to Emersyn being breech. It was such a crazy mix of emotions getting ready that morning and leaving our house for the last time as a family of 2. We got to the hospital about 5:15 and headed up to labor and delivery. I was prepped and just hanging out in our room and some of our close family came in to visit with us briefly. Before I knew it, they were giving Wes his operating room outfit (super cute, btw) and we were headed to meet our little girl! After what seemed like forever of them trying to get my spinal in, things moved so quickly. I heard the doctor say "Someone go get Wes!" and within minutes we heard Emmy's sweet cry. (That might be the last time we consider her cries sweet lol). As I looked over my shoulder and saw the nurses holding her for the first time, all I could think was "That baby is not 5ish pounds like they predicted!" haha. Wes got to cut the cord, snap some pics, and bring her over to me. The absolute best feeling in the world. Wes went with her to the nursery, I was taken care of and wheeled back to our room, and eventually we were reunited. Emmy had lots of friends and family there to see her on her birthday. She had a good first day of life, and we were so in love.
Day 2, April 7th:
Shortly after waking up that morning, a nurse came to get E for some more lab work. I showered for the first time since surgery and ate breakfast as I waited on her to get back. When she returned, we put on our matching outfits and hung out for a while. Soon after, the doctor came in to check on us and had some news to share. They had started to hear a murmur when listening to Emmy's heart. We had planned on doing another echocardiogram soon anyway, so he decided to go ahead and order it for that day, and assured us that it was probably nothing and this would just rule out anything serious. Later that afternoon, I noticed her breathing had gotten a little faster and more shallow. The nurses mentioned the same thing and were monitoring her oxygen levels, especially while feeding. After what seemed like forever and basically hearing more of "we aren't sure what's wrong, but we're still checking on it" we finally got a diagnosis. The cardiologist at Children's read Emmy's echo and found that she has a rather large VSD. Ventricular Septal Defect is a hole in the wall (septum) separating the ventricles of the heart. VSD is the most common type of heart malformation present at birth (congenital heart disease). VSD lets blood shunt from the left ventricle to the right ventricle. We aren't sure exactly why this wasn't seen on her fetal echo, but after plenty of tears and coming to terms with it that day, I realized it really wouldn't have mattered if I had known. In fact, it probably would have caused more unnecessary worry. Seeing her sweet face and holding her makes any diagnosis a little more bearable. This day was really hard on me. As always, I was thankful for the support of Wes and my family. So many prayers have been prayed and will be prayed for this little life, and I'm thankful. I would be lying if I told you my mama heart wasn't sad and tired at this point, though.
Fast forward to that night. We had the best nurse and she monitored Emmy's oxygen levels several times that night and would come in every time I fed her to see what was happening and watch for anything alarming. At about 3:00 in the morning, her oxygen levels dropped enough that they decided to call her doctor and make a plan.
Day 3, April 8th:
Emmy was admitted to the NICU early Sunday morning. We were treated so kindly, met the most friendly nurses and neonatologist and gathered more information about Emersyn. We were told we would be able to go see her for every feeding and every diaper change while she was in there. We went to feed her about 8:00 and spoke with the neonatologist again. She said she was not worried about Emmy's oxygen levels at this point. She was eating extremely well and they told us a few things to watch out for that would warrant immediate attention. She was very pleased with all the monitoring they were doing and told us Emmy would not be in there long. Praises!! That was a long morning, and I got just the slightest glimpse of what some parents go through, and I have so much respect for those that have spent many days and months in the NICU. E got to come back to our room by Sunday night and I was so relieved. The doctor's continued to explain Emmy's diagnosis to us and we were kept in the hospital that night to make sure everything stayed how it was. We are still awaiting a cardiology appointment next week at Children's, but what I know right now is that the hole in her heart is large enough that they don't anticipate it closing on its own. We all know it can and who the ultimate healer is, but we understand the need medical professionals have to tell us what could come. They expect Emmy to need open heart surgery and are hoping that would not have to be done until around 6 months of age. If she for some reason develops other problems, stops feeding well and gaining weight, that could come sooner. If she does well and is assessed again at 6 months, they could push surgery off even farther. They would really like to wait as long as possible to expose her to anesthesia.
Day 4, April 9th:
Discharge day! YAY. Before going home, we again met with so many people with lots of information about our girl. At the hospital they were so good to get our follow up appointments lined up for cardiology, therapy, and more. I'll spare you all the details, because I'm sure there will be more to write about later. The best news of the day was getting to go home as a family of 3!!
Day 5, April 10th:
We had a good first night at home. Emmy is sleeping about 3-4 hours at a time. She is still eating well and mommy and daddy are IN LOVE. I'm also sure none of you have noticed how much I love dressing her up ;)
Day 6, April 11th:
First doctor's appointment! Emmy proceeded to have two somewhat explosive diapers within 30 minutes of each other at the doctor's office, but aside from that, she did great! Her doctor set us up with several more appointments. She will need a hip ultrasound at about 6 weeks because of her being breech. There are also several other things that babies with Down syndrome are more at risk for, so she will need to see a genetisist, optometrist, have her thyroid levels checked, be assessed for early intervention services, and more. Emmy also has a wonderful home health nurse that comes to see us once a week to check her weight, listen to her heart, and more. Emmy enjoys spending most of her days eating and sleeping, and talking to mommy and daddy while shes awake.
Day 7, April 12th:
Mommy had a doctor's appointment today, and Emersyn did such a fabulous job tagging along. I am healing well and the doctor was satisfied with my progress. I feel much better than I did several days ago, but boy will I be glad when I can move around as much as I did before. Snuggles from my girl make every day better.
Day 1, April 6th:
Wes and I woke up bright and early Friday morning to head to the hospital for our scheduled C-section, due to Emersyn being breech. It was such a crazy mix of emotions getting ready that morning and leaving our house for the last time as a family of 2. We got to the hospital about 5:15 and headed up to labor and delivery. I was prepped and just hanging out in our room and some of our close family came in to visit with us briefly. Before I knew it, they were giving Wes his operating room outfit (super cute, btw) and we were headed to meet our little girl! After what seemed like forever of them trying to get my spinal in, things moved so quickly. I heard the doctor say "Someone go get Wes!" and within minutes we heard Emmy's sweet cry. (That might be the last time we consider her cries sweet lol). As I looked over my shoulder and saw the nurses holding her for the first time, all I could think was "That baby is not 5ish pounds like they predicted!" haha. Wes got to cut the cord, snap some pics, and bring her over to me. The absolute best feeling in the world. Wes went with her to the nursery, I was taken care of and wheeled back to our room, and eventually we were reunited. Emmy had lots of friends and family there to see her on her birthday. She had a good first day of life, and we were so in love.
Emersyn Ann Holman. 7 lbs. 12 oz. 19.25 inches
Day 2, April 7th:
Shortly after waking up that morning, a nurse came to get E for some more lab work. I showered for the first time since surgery and ate breakfast as I waited on her to get back. When she returned, we put on our matching outfits and hung out for a while. Soon after, the doctor came in to check on us and had some news to share. They had started to hear a murmur when listening to Emmy's heart. We had planned on doing another echocardiogram soon anyway, so he decided to go ahead and order it for that day, and assured us that it was probably nothing and this would just rule out anything serious. Later that afternoon, I noticed her breathing had gotten a little faster and more shallow. The nurses mentioned the same thing and were monitoring her oxygen levels, especially while feeding. After what seemed like forever and basically hearing more of "we aren't sure what's wrong, but we're still checking on it" we finally got a diagnosis. The cardiologist at Children's read Emmy's echo and found that she has a rather large VSD. Ventricular Septal Defect is a hole in the wall (septum) separating the ventricles of the heart. VSD is the most common type of heart malformation present at birth (congenital heart disease). VSD lets blood shunt from the left ventricle to the right ventricle. We aren't sure exactly why this wasn't seen on her fetal echo, but after plenty of tears and coming to terms with it that day, I realized it really wouldn't have mattered if I had known. In fact, it probably would have caused more unnecessary worry. Seeing her sweet face and holding her makes any diagnosis a little more bearable. This day was really hard on me. As always, I was thankful for the support of Wes and my family. So many prayers have been prayed and will be prayed for this little life, and I'm thankful. I would be lying if I told you my mama heart wasn't sad and tired at this point, though.
Fast forward to that night. We had the best nurse and she monitored Emmy's oxygen levels several times that night and would come in every time I fed her to see what was happening and watch for anything alarming. At about 3:00 in the morning, her oxygen levels dropped enough that they decided to call her doctor and make a plan.
Posing already
Day 3, April 8th:
Emmy was admitted to the NICU early Sunday morning. We were treated so kindly, met the most friendly nurses and neonatologist and gathered more information about Emersyn. We were told we would be able to go see her for every feeding and every diaper change while she was in there. We went to feed her about 8:00 and spoke with the neonatologist again. She said she was not worried about Emmy's oxygen levels at this point. She was eating extremely well and they told us a few things to watch out for that would warrant immediate attention. She was very pleased with all the monitoring they were doing and told us Emmy would not be in there long. Praises!! That was a long morning, and I got just the slightest glimpse of what some parents go through, and I have so much respect for those that have spent many days and months in the NICU. E got to come back to our room by Sunday night and I was so relieved. The doctor's continued to explain Emmy's diagnosis to us and we were kept in the hospital that night to make sure everything stayed how it was. We are still awaiting a cardiology appointment next week at Children's, but what I know right now is that the hole in her heart is large enough that they don't anticipate it closing on its own. We all know it can and who the ultimate healer is, but we understand the need medical professionals have to tell us what could come. They expect Emmy to need open heart surgery and are hoping that would not have to be done until around 6 months of age. If she for some reason develops other problems, stops feeding well and gaining weight, that could come sooner. If she does well and is assessed again at 6 months, they could push surgery off even farther. They would really like to wait as long as possible to expose her to anesthesia.
Snuggles with Mom before being taken to the NICU...
That evening when my girl was back in my arms.
Day 4, April 9th:
Discharge day! YAY. Before going home, we again met with so many people with lots of information about our girl. At the hospital they were so good to get our follow up appointments lined up for cardiology, therapy, and more. I'll spare you all the details, because I'm sure there will be more to write about later. The best news of the day was getting to go home as a family of 3!!
Absolutely the best day ever
These two are pretty smitten with each other and they both have my heart
Day 5, April 10th:
We had a good first night at home. Emmy is sleeping about 3-4 hours at a time. She is still eating well and mommy and daddy are IN LOVE. I'm also sure none of you have noticed how much I love dressing her up ;)
Already giving me the "seriously, Mom? More pictures?"
Day 6, April 11th:
First doctor's appointment! Emmy proceeded to have two somewhat explosive diapers within 30 minutes of each other at the doctor's office, but aside from that, she did great! Her doctor set us up with several more appointments. She will need a hip ultrasound at about 6 weeks because of her being breech. There are also several other things that babies with Down syndrome are more at risk for, so she will need to see a genetisist, optometrist, have her thyroid levels checked, be assessed for early intervention services, and more. Emmy also has a wonderful home health nurse that comes to see us once a week to check her weight, listen to her heart, and more. Emmy enjoys spending most of her days eating and sleeping, and talking to mommy and daddy while shes awake.
We had to keep one eye open because we weren't so sure of this doctor thing at first
Day 7, April 12th:
Mommy had a doctor's appointment today, and Emersyn did such a fabulous job tagging along. I am healing well and the doctor was satisfied with my progress. I feel much better than I did several days ago, but boy will I be glad when I can move around as much as I did before. Snuggles from my girl make every day better.
melt. my. heart.
As always, you guys rock if you are still reading. Lol. Going forward I would ask that you pray with me for the hole in Emersyn's heart to close on its own, and that if it does not, surgery will be successful one day and our hearts would be peaceful and content throughout the process. Also pray that Emmy continues to eat well and gain weight, so there will not need to be any intervention earlier than necessary. Thanks for loving our girl so well.
-Morgan
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