Bath time!

Now that her belly-button is healed over, Gracie had her first real bath!







And after bath time, it's towel time!

Four Generations

Here is Gracie with Mom, Grandma, and Great-Grandma.










And here she is with Mom, Grandpa, and Great-Grandma (and Toonces sneaking into the picture).

Grace does three things well...

and here is one of them. (Actually, she pretty much only does three things at all).

Countless diapers, two days without a post, but one cute baby

Amazing how something so small can produce so many poopy diapers. Grace has honed the skill of soiling a diaper that we changed just moments before. She is a tricky one. But when she is as cute as this, you forget pretty quickly. Because she is small, but long, we have a hard time finding clothes that fit her well. Preemie outfits that are one-piece tend to be a bit short, and Grace swims in newborn outfits. So we have mostly been going with preemie two-piece outfits. The sweater in this picture is the same one Laura came home in when she was a newborn.






By request, here is a picture of Grace's long fingers.










And since we went too long without a post, here is one more picture of Grace with Grandma.

Grace is doing better and better.

Grace had a follow-up doctor's appointment today. Her bilirubin's are the lowest yet, which means her jaundice is improving. Also, she gained a couple ounces since Tuesday, which is also a good thing. We also went on a stroll today, so here she is sleeping away while we were out. She pretty much sleeps all the time, unless she is eating. The funny thing is how little sleep we can get, but how much sleep she is getting.

In other news, I received a job offer in Leesburg today, and hours later found out I passed the bar. The past couple weeks have been fantastic!

Another day, another trip

Gracie went for a little ride again today. We had to go to Target and the grocery (there are very few SuperTargets here, and not any all that close to us. But there is a Wegman's which is the greatest grocer ever).

We were hoping to take her for a stroll around the neighborhood, but the weather did not cooperate. Tomorrow is another trip to the doctor to find out how her jaundice is doing. Hopefully the bilirubins count will be down.





In the meantime, another cute picture.

Grace's First Outing!

Sounds more exciting than it was. We went to the pediatrician today. It was a three hour ordeal! When they took her blood for the to test her bilirubin score Mommy cried almost as much as Grace did. Her bilirubin score is back up slightly. We are going to work more vigorously to keep her belly full because the breast milk helps to counteract the affects of the jaundice. So we are off to bed until the 12:00, 3:00 and 6:00 feedings....Who needs sleep anyway?

Grace comes home!

Well, yesterday the doctor said Grace might be able to come home today if her jaundice had improved. Overnight, and without the therapy lights, it got quite a bit better. So she is on the road to getting rid of her bilirubins all on her own.

When we went to the hospital for her late morning meal, the doctor had already completed her discharge paperwork. So Grace came home with us just after noon today!

Since we got home, we've been busy taking care of our little bundle of joy. Toonces (our cat) does not know what to think yet.

One step closer to home

They removed Grace from the bilirubin lights today! She is now in an open crib rather than the isolette that they use to keep the baby's warm. When we left the hospital they had her in her car seat so they could run some tests on her ability to tolerate it. They reviewed all the preemie baby care with us. She may be home as early as tomorrow but if not Tuesday seems very likely.

Grace makes progress

Grace's bilirubin is down quite a bit from yesterday. She was up to three therapy lights (one that uses tubes like a fluorescent light, a spot light, and a blanket that gives light from underneath her), and they stopped using the spot light because of her progress. Once she is over this hump, the hospital will move her to an open crib for a couple days to see how she does. Grace is getting close to coming home! And because pictures are the best part of the blog, here she is this morning during one of her many feedings.

Our Birth Story

So here is the scoop from the Mommy perspective... (I love saying that).

I had Dave take this picture in the parking lot of the last day of me pregnant with our first baby.

When we arrived at the hospital the nurse said my water had definitely broken and we knew for sure that we would be having a baby soon. It was all such a shock I was convinced I would hold out for a few more weeks. I arrived 2 centimeters dilated and labor progressed quickly. Things seemed to be going along great. When exactly that changed is a bit of a blur.

The baby's heart rate was fluctuating and the doctor was quite concerned. It is very anxiety provoking when the nurse pushes a button and asks for help and 10 people show up in your room. That happened several times and I stayed calm externally but was panicking inside.

When there was no OR available the doctor said the baby had to come out NOW one way or another and told me to start pushing with all my might. This made matters worse and they rushed us to the OR. They worked frantically to prep me for surgery and the anesthesiologist tried to keep me calm. After what seemed to be an eternity of the nurse pushing the baby up and the doctor trying to pull her out the finally freed her. Then I waited for what seemed like an eternity for her cry. Finally the sound I had waited 8 months to hear flooded me with relief. Things were such a whirlwind. It was not until much later did I realize the seriousness of all of this or how appropriate her name turned out to be.

It is through Gods Grace that she is with us today.

Laura's coming home today

Laura will be home later today, as soon as her doctor discharges her. Luckily, we live five minutes from the hospital, so it will be easy for us to get to the nursery to see Grace. If she is up to it, Laura will post the experience from her angle later today.


As for Grace, her bilirubins were up slightly today. The light therapy has slowed them down, but they are not down yet. Hopefully the numbers will go down tomorrow. In the meantime, here is a better picture of her under the lights (I remembered to adjust the white-balance so it is not so blue from the light therapy).



Here is Grace after a feeding and before the nurses covered her eyes and turned on the lights. She is wide awake and showing off her pretty eyes! She's a bit of a wiggle-worm, so the picture is a bit blurry.

Grace working on her tan already?

No, not that. She is jaundiced from her extensive bruising caused by her traumatic birth (and preemies often have a bit of jaundice anyway). So she is under the lights to help deal with bilirubin. She'll be getting the light-therapy for two or three days. We knew it was coming, and are glad it is here because it just means that she is that much closer to getting over the jaundice and getting home. Besides, if she ends up with my complexion, she will never be a sun-worshiper!

Other good news: Grace is off her IV.

Sneaky Mommy

While Grace and I fell asleep together, Laura sneaked into the nursery and took our picture. Grace's cute little face is peaking out from under her blanket. Click on the picture to see a bigger version.

Also, we found out that Laura can stay at the hospital until Friday, so she is doing that in order to get more rest and stay closer to Grace. Grace will be there for a few more days still.

Grace gets up close and personal with everyone

Laura was able to feed Grace today, and after that I got to hold her for a long time. So, as requested, here are pictures of Grace with me! Grace is doing very well. Her body temperature is on longer a concern and she has been able to hold down some breastmilk, so hopefully she will have her IV reduced and will soon be getting her nutrients all from Laura.





The grandparents wanted in on the Grace love, too. Laura's parents are here helping us out, and today they each got to hold Grace for the first time!





As you can see, Grace is getting lots of love. Laura should be coming home tomorrow, so she'll be able to post a bit about the experience from her perspective. But also, she will need to get lots of rest. As you might expect, everyone has had a hard time getting Laura to take it easy. Sometimes she is a bit too tough for her own good.

Some more time with Grace

Grace will be spending the next few days in the special care nursery, where some fantastic nurses give her lots of attention. Laura is scheduled to leave the hospital on Thursday, but Grace will have to stay a few days longer than that (at the least).

In the meantime, we get to spend time with Grace in the nursery. Here is a picture of Laura holding Grace this afternoon, which we were able to do for around 90 minutes. At one point, all three of us were asleep in some comfy recliners.

Meet Grace Elizabeth

So here are the promised pictures of Grace (click on the pictures for a larger image).

This first picture is Grace just a few minutes after she was born. She has some bruises from her attempted trip down the birth canal, but she is healing pretty quickly from that.







Here is Mommy getting her first close-up view of Grace. Obviously a very happy mommy!







A little while later, in the special care nursery. The nurses cleaned Grace up, and are keeping a close eye on her.









Mommy and Grace spending some quality-time together.





We'll post some more pictures and stories as things go. For now, Grace has to stay in the special care nursery until she gets her body temp up and can eat. Hopefully she'll be able to come home in a few days. Laura also has to stay at the hospital for a few days so she can recover from the c-section. Unfortunately, the hospital does not have wireless access, so you'll have to rely on my posts...Laura won't be able to post for a few days yet ;)

Welcome Grace Elizabeth!

Grace Elizabeth was born just before 2:00 PM today. She was 5 pounds 12 ounces, and 19 1/2 inches long. Since she is just over a month early, she'll be spending a couple days in the special care nursery, until she gets her body temperature up and can eat on her own (well, get nutrients without an IV, not really on her own - that would be impressive).

She was born by c-section after she decided that the usual way was just not going to work for her.

Unfortunately, I left my camera at the hospital, so I don't have pictures with me to post. I'll get them up later tonight, or tomorrow.

Surprise

So we have been bad about posting any information. All of the doctor appointments have been par for the course. Nothing really has been happening...until today! Laura's water broke and I am on my way back to the hospital. I came home to pick up some stuff for her to help her pass the time. But the baby should be out in the world within the next day!