Of course she's a Jersey Girl!

So our medical update of the day:

Annelise's lung x-rays are showing that her lungs aren't fully opened to where they need to be for extubation.  The team changed her ventilator settings slightly to try to give her lungs the support they need to expand.  Her rate is down though....that's the amount of breaths that the ventilator gives her.  But she's breathing over the vent on a consistent basis.  So that means that she can breath on her own, just not deep enough to stay oxygenated yet.  So we're giving her more time to expand her lungs a bit.  I would say within the next week to two weeks, our little girl will be breathing without the aid of a ventilator!

In the meantime, they've increased her feedings of breast milk.  She's still getting it through her NG (nasogastric) tube right into her stomach.  BUT, that means that she's reacting well to the milk and not having issues spitting up or a lot of gas.  GERD (reflux) is very very common with CDH babies.  She may develop it as they increase the amount, but so far so good.  Yay!

Today when we visited with Annelise, she was alert for a little while.  Then she fell asleep again.  The nurse took her out of her Snuggly to change it, and Annelise got a much needed stretch.  She loves to stretch her hands and feet out of the Snuggly, and without it swaddling her in, she could stretch her arms and legs as much as she wanted.  Well, I caught her on camera.....

Like a true Jersey Girl, Annelise was fist pumping in her bed!  I put this as my screen on my phone, and every time I look at it, I laugh a little!  So cute!  I can't wait to show this in a slideshow at her wedding!  :-)

Matt holds his first baby....ever!

Today, it was Daddy's turn to hold Annelise!  He was a little nervous I think, he had never held a baby before.  And holding Annelise could intimidate anyone.  She's feisty, has a large tube down her throat, and another tube in her nose, as well as multiple iv lines and wires hooked up to her chest.  But Daddy did a phenomenal job!  Annelise's vitals stayed stable the entire time, and Matt looked like he was in heaven.  He even remarked "I could hold her forever!"  Aww.....however about 1.5 hours later, his arms were tired of our 5 lb. 5 oz. baby girl, and his butt was numb from sitting and not moving.  So we put her back in bed.  She loves being out though, and I can't wait to do this every day!

Pictures of Daddy and his girl:

20 days old and I FINALLY get to hold her!

Today was such a great day!  When I talked to the nurse last night, I found out the cultures for infection were NEGATIVE!  Yay!  No infection!  Annelise received her last bit of the blood transfusion last night also.  She was giving the nurse hell when I called at 2am.  :-)  That's my spitfire!

Matt & I got to CHOP in time for rounds this morning.  We like to do that a few times a week to make sure we see the team of doctors and nurse practitioners.  When they rounded to Annelise's room.  They talked about the negative results and how good she looked this morning.  They said they wanted to wean the rate on her ventilator and start steroids tomorrow to get her ready to come off of the ventilator this weekend!  YAY!  So we'll try the extubation again.  The neonatologist really believes that she's ready for this.  All of her films and her effort when she was briefly extubated says that she can do it.  She just needs a little help to keep her airway non-inflammed.  So that's where the steroids come in.  Can't wait to see how it goes.

As we were sitting there, I mentioned to her nurse, that once the ventilator was out, I wanted to hold her.  She said that she would check with the doctors, but she didn't see why I couldn't hold her today.  So she checked and they said yes!  It literally took 3 nurses and about 15 minutes to get her out of the bed and into my arms.  There are very strict rules about holding the babies.  Mom or Dad only (sorry grandparents/aunts/uncles....I double-checked for you!), has to be at least 30 minutes of holding, and only once per day.  Since it was such a production, I was SO grateful to the nurses.

So we did skin-to-skin contact.  I wore a hospital gown over my bra and they laid Annelise on my chest.  Then we wrapped both of us in the gown.  It was so awesome!  I don't know if I appreciated it more because I haven't been able to for so long.....but wow!  How powerful having such a little person in your arms!  She was craning her head to see my face, and messed up the tape on her breathing tube.  (Oh well!)  She fell asleep on my chest for the 40 minutes I had her out.  Her vital signs were so good the entire time.  The nurses were surprised how well she did, considering she has a little hissy fit anytime one of them tries to touch her to do her diaper change, take her temperature, etc. 

This is me and my baby girl!

We got our first family picture while she was out of her bed also.

She wasn't happy to go back into the bed.  She cried.  I was sad too, I understand.  But she calmed down very quickly.  So tomorrow, if she's doing well again, Matt will get to hold her. 

2 steps forward, 1 step back

Yesterday afternoon, they extubated Annelise.  (took out her ventilator).  They put her right to CPAP (a mask over her nose giving her continuous oxygen).  But she was struggling so much, the team decided to re-intubate her.  :-(  They think that her trachea was inflamed.  She couldn't move the air past her throat.  They decided that they would try a course of steroids for 1-2 days prior to the next attempt to help reduce any inflammation.  She looked so sad after the re-intubation.  It was heartbreaking.  She had her eyes open and was crying. 

After re-intubation, her temperature was high....a little over 99 degrees F.  Also, her heart rate was high.  The nurse on Sunday had said that they were watching her hemoglobin levels and may need to do further blood work to see what was up.  Annelise looked worse and worse as the afternoon went on.  She was inconsolable, even though Matt and I were taking shifts standing at her bedside and rubbing her head and holding her hand. 

The nurse gave her a rescue, and then took blood to check her hemoglobin.  Then the NP came to look at her.  She did a very thorough exam of her.  There are many reasons for the fever and high heart rate.  Withdrawal from the sedation/pain meds that they stopped on Sunday, the hemoglobin being low, exhaustion from the extubation/re-intubation, or a possible infection.  They decided to run a bunch of tests to see which it was.  We found out late last night that her hemoglobin was a little low, but not seriously low.  So they started a blood infusion last night.  And then they continued it today.  The cultures for infection are being tested.  The withdrawal is something that we'll have to see if it gets better with time, as well as the exhaustion.

So poor Annelise is having a rough time.  She's not really happy lately and wants to be left alone by everyone it seems.  She seems the calmest when no one's touching her.  The nurses say that this is a combination of her CDH and being a preemie.  It's horrible not to be able to comfort her.  So Matt and I sat there for most of the day and watched her lay there.  She wasn't awake much at all. 

The plan from the neonatologist is to see if there's an infection.  She's on antibiotics preventively right now.  If there is, they'll treat it.  If not, then they'll start the steroids and maybe try to take the ventilator out this weekend.  We will see.

We really appreciate everyone's support through this journey.  It's hard to handle days like yesterday  and today, when it seems like she'll never get better.    But it is a journey, and Annelise is the strongest little girl I know.  She's such a fighter.  She just likes to do things on her own schedule.  So we wait for Annelise to tell us when she's ready to breathe on her own.

Ventilator...out?

We're hanging out at CHOP today with Annelise.  When we got here, her nurse Emily said that she may get the ventilator out today!  She's been doing so well since her 2nd hiccup on Friday.  I'm surprised and a little nervous.  But I know that they wouldn't take it out unless they thought she could handle it.  Her lung has expanded more since that last little bit of fluid drained.  That shows the doctors that her lung volume could be enough for her breath on her own.  Also - she's breathing above the ventilator.  So she's doing a lot of the work on her own.

When I went to get bloodwork done today, I got asked if I had just gotten out of the hospital.  As parents, Matt and I have to wear these navy blue hospital bracelets with Annelise's name and information on them.  They identify us to the CHOP hospital staff as parents.  It's interesting to explain it to people when they ask.  I say that my daughter was a preemie and in the NICU at CHOP.  Then they ask how she's doing....and I get to say "Okay!".  Because she is doing okay right now.  I'm glad that I get to tell the truth! :-)


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More weaning

When we arrived at CHOP today, we met up with Pop (Matt's dad) and Uncle Dave (Matt's brother) who visited with Annelise.  After, we all went to lunch in the CHOP cafeteria....it's actually really good hospital food!  They even have a sushi chef there each morning who makes fresh sushi.

Annelise freaked out a little when Pop and Uncle Dave peeked in after lunch to see if her eyes were open.  (Sorry guys!)  BUT, it was for a good reason.  She had her NG (nasogastric) tube placed in her left nostril so that they could begin feeding her.  It must be so uncomfortable to have that shoved down your nose into your stomach.  They fed her 5 ml of colostrum/breast milk at noon.  She did very well with it.  Also, they took off her sedation medicine entirely.  She can get "rescues" (small doses of pain and/or sedation medicine as warranted by her freak outs) each day, but the continuous infusion of sedation has been turned off.  So all of these things added up to a freak out yesterday around noon. 

The rest of the afternoon, she was a perfect angel for Mommy & Daddy.  She had her eyes open for quite a while.  She wouldn't let go of Daddy's finger either.  Everytime Matt would take his finger away, she would sit there with her hand open, like she was waiting for him to put it back.  She's so cute!

Yesterday was rough

Yesterday was a rough day.  So rough in fact, that I couldn't even blog about it until today.  I wasn't sure how to describe it, or if I even wanted to.  But then I realized that I can't just post the happy days.  If you're reading this, you care about Matt, me and Annelise and you want to know about this journey....good and bad.  Yesterday was a rough day.

Matt and I got into CHOP about 2pm due to more appointments in the morning.  Annelise had a nurse who we'd never had before.  When we got there, she was laying flat on her back, was paler then I had ever seen her, and seemed to be fighting for her life.  Every breath seemed forced.  When I went to put my finger in her hand and pick it up, her hand fell lifeless to the bed.  When the respiratory therapist did a heel stick to draw blood, Annelise grimaced slightly and then no reaction.  Heel sticks hurt!

So of course I got emotional and so did Matt.  We told the nurse that this was unusual behavior for Annelise and we wanted to speak with the Nurse Practitioner.  She called the NP on call and within 20 minutes the NP, surgical fellow, and the neonatologist were bedside.  We explained our concerns and after discussing it, they agreed to re-position Annelise so her chest tube could possibly drain better, do an ultrasound and another x-ray.  (They had done 2 x-rays already that day).  The team left and the nurse re-positioned Annelise.  Immediately about 5 ml of fluid and a few pockets of air drained out of the chest tube....and Annelise pinked up!

Within 15 minutes, Annelise was a different baby.  She was back to her old self.....looked pink and healthy, trying with all of her might to open her eyes, gripping her little hand around Daddy's big finger, sticking that cute little tongue out.  She had her eyes open for about 45 minutes right around dinner time.  That was the longest period of awake activity we'd ever had with her, so of course I broke out the toys and books!  Matt and I played with the ring toy to get her to follow it with her eyes.  I read her a book, "Mommy's Little Girl", where I changed the little girl's name to Annelise.  She loved it.

Today was more of the happy and seemingly healthy Annelise that we had yesterday afternoon.  She had her eyes open and was awake for most of the time we wer there.  It was REALLY cute how she fought to stay awake, even when her eyes didn't want to stay open.  It was like she was afraid we'd leave if she fell asleep!  Her chest tube came out last night.....YAY!  This morning during rounds, the team decided to take her Salem Sump out (the tube in her mouth that was draining her stomach).  The feeding tube should be going in shortly now that the Sump is out.  We left her in good hands this afternoon - Aunt Denise (Kadunc) was there and Mom Mom was on her way. 

Regardless of the great ending yesterday, it started out so poorly that we were left emotionally spent and a little rattled.  Annelise has quickly become our world.  When she's not doing well, it affects my entire being.  This is so much harder then I ever imagined it would be.

Houston, we have poop!

(That was totally stolen from my mom, Annelise's Mom Mom!)

We had a busy morning with appointments and odds-and-ends to take care of.  So we didn't get to CHOP until about 2pm today.  Annelise had a little present waiting for us when we arrived.  Her nurse Meghan had just changed her diaper, and there was poop!  Lots of it!  :-)  Well, mecomium actually....but her intestines are working and we can start the feeding tube soon!  YAY!  That might explain her scrunched up faces this past week.

Annelise's First Poopy Diaper

The neonatologist came around and said the chest tube had drained about all it was going to drain.  So they would be taking it out very soon.  It didn't drain as much fluid as they had hoped, so the fluid was most likely not the main reason for the left lung not expanding.  They'll be doing more x-rays to see how it's expanding.  It may just take time.  As with everything at this stage, it's a waiting game.

Her vitals were very good all afternoon.  And then....she opened her eyes and was wide awake for about 20 minutes!  She hadn't done that in several days, and we attribute it to her not feeling well.  She was interacting with us, and of course, Daddy snapped about a million pictures of his precious girl.  She's really filling out and looking like the cutie pie we know she is.  Mom mom (my mom) was there to see her eyes wide open and we were all so excited!

Tomorrow, Annelise is 2 weeks old!!!  Oma (Matt's mom) is going to visit tomorrow morning and then we'll be there again in the afternoon.  It feels like a lot longer then only 2 weeks since our angel arrived!  It has been the best 2 weeks of our lives....we wouldn't change a thing!

Our Introduction to the NICU Rollercoaster

Everything I read prior to having Annelise said that the NICU is a rollercoaster.  I didn't really think we were taking that ride with her.  She seemed to be doing so well and amazing everyone with her recovery.  Then Monday when Matt & I arrived, she seemed different.  The nurse and the nurse practitioner said that she was still doing fine.  But I felt like something was off.  Her carbon dioxide readings were up and I had kind of expected her ventilator out that day.  Tuesday was not better or worse.

Today, when we went in, the nurse said that during rounds the doctors looked at her x-ray from Tuesday and there was excess fluid inside her chest.  For the time being, they were going to watch it.  It's on the left side, where her left lung needs to be expanding to.

We were there for a few hours when the surgical fellow came down and said that after some thought, the team decided that it was necessary to place a chest tube in to drain the fluid.  Evidently everyone's body makes fluid, but usually absorbs it.  He said that our bodies don't like empty spaces of air, and will make fluid to fill them up.  They're not sure why there was excess fluid there (if it's infected or just normal fluid) but they need to drain it to allow the left lung to expand.  This is very common among CDH babies and they considered leaving the chest tube in after her initial surgery, but decided against it because she went into the surgery in such a good place. 

We went to the waiting room and in about 30 minutes, he came out and said that the chest tube was in, and the fluid was draining and looked normal.  They sent some off to be tested for infection.   They should know today if placing the chest tube allowed the lung to expand at all and if her breathing gets better.  She still is doing very well with her ventilator settings, and they think she'll be able to come off of the ventilator soon anyway.

So for the time being, our little girl has another tube in her!  :-( 

Daddy's Girl

Yesterday was a sleepy day for Annelise.  The doctors are weaning her pain and sedation medicine.  The nurse practitioner said that Annelise is doing a lot of the breathing work on her own now, so she's sleeping a lot more....like a regular newborn!   The picture was taken yesterday when Annelise was 1 week 3 days old!

How cute is our little Daddy's Girl?!?!

Today when we got to CHOP, the nurse had a present waiting for us......a poopy diaper!  VERY small amount of poop, but some poop is better then no poop!  (I can NOT believe that I just typed that sentence!  How quickly things have changed!  :-)

Anyway, the doctors are waiting for more before they start to feed her, but it means that we're well on our way to getting her fed with milk and not iv vitamins & fat.  There's a tube in her mouth now that's draining whatever is in her stomach...keeping it small so that her intestines and other abdominal organs had a chance to adjust to being all together.  Now that she's starting to poop, they'll remove that tube and put a feeding tube in it's place.  They start slow...maybe 1 teaspoon of colostrum/breast milk per feeding.  They will increase as she tolerates it.

However, she's done quite well with just iv vitamins & fat.  She's gained another 1/4 lb.  Putting her at 4 lbs. 11 oz.!!!  What a champ!  She even looks bigger.

Wow! What a year!

Today is our 1 year wedding anniversary!  It's been an eventful year for us.  What a perfect end to our first year of marriage.....our sweet little Annelise!  We spent the afternoon at CHOP with her.....she even got us an anniversary card!  She thanked us for taking such good care of her.  Really cute!  (Nurse Jennie made it during her down time for us, what a sweetie!)  There's no place I'd rather be today!

We went to church this morning together before coming up to CHOP, where Reverand Larry baptized a little boy.  He gave us a little shout out during the baptism and prayer, which was really nice.  Everyone's prayers have been working, Annelise is doing well.  There's talk of taking her ventilator out sometime soon!  She's such a strong girl! 

Big day for our little girl!

Today Annelise had a big day!  First of all, she's gained weight since birth - 1/2 lb!  So she's now 4.5 lbs!  This morning after rounds, the doctors decided that they should turn down her sedation to allow her to do more breathing on her own.  This made for a wide-awake Annelise when Matt and I got there today!  She was looking all around.  Matt took some video of her with her eyes open, and she looks kind of scared in it!  Haha!  She's darting her eyes back and forth trying to figure out where she is, or maybe trying to avoid the camera that was all up in her face.  One or the other!  She doesn't like paparazzi already - smart girl!

She calmed down after a little bit, and Matt and I were all over her.  We just kept talking to her and rubbing her head.  Matt likes to have her tiny little hand grip his finger.  Her whole hand doesn't even fit around his finger!  She does seem to recognize our voices and faces.  Well, I think she does.  We went to eat lunch when she started to nap, came back about an hour later.  The nurse and respiratory therapist were doing something, and said to me "Oh, looks who's awake!", so I said "There's our sweet girl" and they said she looked like she smiled.  It could've been gas.  But I'd like to think it's a smile for her Momma!

This afternoon, Annelise's umbilical iv came out!  They'll now have to stick her heel to draw blood and use a cuff to take her blood pressure.  But this is a great thing, because it means that I can hold her sometime soon!  Each day they'll assess how her vitals are and then see if we can try.  Even with the ventilator in, they'll let either Matt or I hold her.  I didn't think that was the case, but they said it's fine and may even help her recover quicker.  I can't wait! 

Oooh...Ryan Seacrest & Selena Gomez!

Ryan Seacrest & Selena Gomez are at CHOP today.  When we got here, it was very crowded.  We had to park on B level (the lower spookier level).  There's super security around and we had to show our blue parent bracelets several times to get by different security guards.  Ryan is here because his foundation donated this radio station/media thing to the lobby area.  It's for kids here to play with and the radio station will broadcast in patient rooms.  Such a great idea.  I can't imagine being a kid stuck here - patient or sibling.  It would get very boring.

In Annelise news....
We got here in time for rounds today.  Spoke with her neonatologist and the surgical fellow.  They said she's doing great.  Much better then most babies following surgery.  It's only Day 2 post-surgery, but they're excited.  Right now, we're just waiting for her to poop (so she can start to eat) and also to slowly wean her off of the ventilator.  The jaundice light is off.  It may go back on at some point, depending on her levels, but that's not a huge concern right now.  Daddy got to change her diaper again today AND learned how to take her temperature under her arm.  I got to feed her with the swab again.  She so adorable.  I'm amazed at how perfect she looks - it's hard to believe that she had a life-threatening defect! 

I asked about dressing her.  I really can't wait to get some of the adorable outfits we've been given as gifts on her!  Right now, she's still a preemie - and they have issues holding a steady body temperature.  So she's under the heat and has to demonstrate that she can hold a steady body temperature before they'll take it off.  The nurse today (Meghan) said that maybe this weekend they'll try to turn the heat off and see how she does.  Everything is a waiting game.  I'm not too worried.  We'll get there. 

Oh - and I made my post-partum appointment at HUP.  It's on my due date with Annelise - August 15th.  How funny that I'll be "fully recovered" by the original date she was due!

Daddy changes his first diaper

Today when Matt & I visited Annelise, her nurse, Heather, taught Matt how to change a diaper.  We had registered for Baby Basics class so he could learn how to care for an infant, however our class was scheduled for Saturday, July 10th.  We obviously didn't make it!  It was so cute how gentle he was changing the diaper.  He was very concerned and careful not to hurt Annelise at all. 

When the doctors did rounds, they decided to switch her ventilator setting and see how she did.  The setting it was on, the machine did most of the work.  The machine basically breathes for her, pushing oxygen into her lungs.  With the new setting, when Annelise takes a breath, it triggers the machine to give her oxygen.  This allows the doctors to wean her off of the ventilator a lot quicker.  Initial results were good.  She is on only 28% oxygen right now.  (Regular room air is approximately 21%).

After Matt changed her diaper, I got swab her mouth with breast milk.  She is soooo cute.  She grips onto the swab with her mouth and sucks on it.  I think she's almost ready for food!  Then she opened her eyes real wide for us!  We decided enough was enough, she needed some girly accessories.  Mom Mom had bought her some cute headbands, so we got out a white one and put it on her.  She opened her eyes again and looked at us - we snapped a picture.  She didn't look amused at all.  But she's so pretty with her little bow, I just can't take it off! 

*UPDATE*
Figured out how to post a picture.....here's sweet Annelise with her white headband on!  Her left eye is a little puffy because she had been laying on that side of her face all day. 

Today was a good day!

Today was a good day. Surgery is over.  Dr. Flake came out to let us know that everything went really well. Annelise held stable throughout the entire surgery.  They were able to move her stomach and intestines into her abdomen (where they belong). They were also able to repair the hole in her diaphragm. He said it was a good size hole, so they sewed a Gore-tex patch to the muscle that was there to close it. The muscle around the patch should grow as her body grows.  He also said that her left lung looks good.  He said it's about 2/3 the size of a normal lung - a VERY good thing. With severe CDH cases, he said that left lungs are usualy 1/4 to 1/3 the size of a normal lung. So..WE'RE NOT A SEVERE CASE! :-) (my interpretation of his comments!)

There were tears of joy all around the waiting room - it was Matt, Mom Mom, Oma, Pop & I here all day waiting for the surgery to finish.  It was so nice to have the grandparents' support.

Matt & I went to see her just before we left and they have the blue light on her - she's got a touch of jaundice and looks like a little alien baby with her black goggles on.  Other than that, she's doing as well as she was prior to the surgery!  SUCCESS! Today was a good day!

Surgery...continued

We are currently in the CHOP NICU waiting room. Surgery has just gotten underway. I will update once we hear anything. Matt & I looked in on her before surgery and she looked good.  Keep Annelise and her surgeons in your prayers this afternoon.

Surgery?

We got a call this morning (6:15am) that surgery was scheduled for 7:30am.  Matt & I got up, showered and dressed, called the grandparents, and headed out.  Then we get another call from the anesthesiologist that they were pushing it back to 8am because when they adjusted Annelise's ventilator (they had to, in order to support her lungs for the duration of the surgery), she wasn't doing as well.

Then....we get another call from the anesthesiologist saying that we are NOT having surgery this morning.  Her stats were not "optimal" and they couldn't get them back to optimal.  The doctors did not want to proceed this morning.  This is a good thing - the doctors are cautious about when they do the surgery and want her to be perfect going in so that she has an easier recovery afterwards. 

Meanwhile, we're at CHOP hanging out because if she does better today, they will do the surgery later.  We did get to speak with the actual surgeon, Dr. Flake, when the doctors were doing their rounds.  He said that her CO2 levels were not great when they adjusted the ventilator for surgery.  He said this is very common with CDH babies, and they will be making other adjustments to try to get her ready for surgery.

So surgery today, tomorrow....we are playing the waiting game.  I know Annelise is going to stabilize and get through her surgery with flying colors when the doctors decide she is ready for it.

The Honeymoon is over...

Well, the honeymoon period that is!  And Annelise is still holding stable.  It's Tuesday, July 12th and Annelise is doing so well, they're going to try to do surgery on Wednesday.  We spoke with a surgical fellow and an anesthetia fellow while there and signed all of the consent forms.  It seems pretty straight forward.  They're going to make an incision, then bring her stomach and intestines back into her abdomen where they belong.  They'll look at her diaphragm and see how to repair it.  If there's enough of it there to stretch it and sew it together, that's what they'll do.  If not, they'll put a Gortex patch to cover the missing area.  Then they'll check out her lungs and heart and close her up.  The hard part will be timing the surgery just right, and then the recovery.  Her lung strength will be tested when the surgery is over.  She may need a lot of support (medical) after the surgery.  We will see.

Annelise opens her eyes for Mommy

When Annelise was 2 days old, on Sunday, July 10th, I went to visit her and she opened her eyes for me!  Matt said that any of the times he had visited, she hadn't done that.  She opened just her left eye like a pirate and had a weary look on her face - as if to say "Why are you people bothering me?"  I got to do "oral care" with her - using a large cotton swab, you dip it in the colostrum and rub it inside her mouth.  It gives her immune system a boost.  She loved it.  She was moving around her tongue and all.  Then I moved from her right side to her left side, and she followed me with her one-eyed look.  She blinked opened both eyes at one point, but seemed a little annoyed by her over-eager parents.

On Monday, July 11th, I was released from HUP and Matt & I went straight to CHOP to hang out with our girl.  She was having another good day.  It was so nice to sit there next to her bed and just relax.  They said surgery was imminent.  She was doing so well, they wanted to strike while the iron was hot.  When we had spoken with the social worker during our NICU tour, she said that they would not give us a lot of notice about the surgery.  Most likely, it will be a quick decision when all of Annelise's stats are good.  So we know it's coming soon, just waiting on word from the doctors.

I get to see Annelise!

When Annelise was just 1 day old, I got to see her for the first time!  I was moved to a different room at HUP after my 24 hours of magnesium were done.  I was able to move around and basically just recovering from the c-section at this point.  It hurt to get up and move, but the pain medicine helped a lot!

Aunt Denise (Kadunc) & Aunt Kristi came to see me at HUP and decided to travel (via tunnel...oooh!) with us to CHOP to see Annelise.  HUP transport came and wheeled me over with Matt, Denise & Kristi all following.  *The tunnel was nowhere near as spooky/dark/cold as you would imagine.  It was really like a basement corridor of a big building!

I got wheeled right to her room, and WOW!  She is SO beautiful....I really lucked out!  She definitely has her Daddy's ears and my nose.  She has some crazy dark brown hair that was all matted to her head from delivery.  They didn't want to wash it and disturb her until she was better.  She can't keep her tongue in her mouth either.  The ventilator tube was in there and she has her little tongue sticking out under it.  Soooo cute!  The nurses said she was having a good day.  She seemed to be doing well when I was there, especially compared to how we saw Grace when she was in the NICU.  It's like night and day.

1st day of life - Friday, July 8, 2011

Annelise was transported to CHOP soon after birth.  Given how well the intubation went, the doctors were all very hopeful.  She didn't need any medicine to keep her blood pressure good, and they started to reduce her oxygen levels almost immediately!  (A very good sign!)

Daddy (Matt) got to visit her in the NICU.  Some other family members were there to see her also.  They had come to HUP when they heard I was having the c-section, and stayed to see the baby.  Friday evening, Mom Mom, Pop Pop, Oma, Pop, Uncle Dave, and Aunt Denise (Kadunc) got to see her.  They were all amazed at how well she looked.  She was pink and looked big.....even though she's a little peanut at only 4 lbs!  She was long though....17 inches!  She takes after her Daddy it seems.  I didn't get to see her that first day because I was recovering from the c-section, as well as trying to feel better from the preeclampsia.

My blood pressure was doing well.  They were still concerned with my kidney functions though.  So they gave me magnesium to clear out my kidneys and also help prevent eclampsia (seizures).  It makes you feel really horrible - try to avoid it if at all possible!  I was sweaty and felt like I had a really bad case of the flu.  Although I already knew this from my last bout with HELLP syndrome when Grace was born in 2009.  At least this time it worked in 24 hours!

First Post - The Birth Story

On Friday, July 8, 2011, Matt and I geared up for another "routine" doctor's visit to the MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine) doctors at HUP.  We had an 8am appointment for a non-stress test.  To see if the baby was doing well inside.  The test went as usual, non-reactive, so we settled in for an ultrasound to catch a glimpse of Annelise doing her practice breathing.  The ultrasound went well and we waited for the doctors to review the results.

Ten minutes later, our favorite fellow (fellow - a post-residential doctor getting experience in his speciailization field) Dr. Nold, walked by and waved.  He stopped and we went over to talk to him.  The MFM nurse came up with my blood work and he said, let me review this.  So the ultrasound tech took us to the conference room to sit while he spoke with the other fellows and doctors outside the room.  Matt overheard "deliver today".  Uh-oh.

Dr. Nold came back in and said everything about the blood work looked fine, except my Creatinine level.  It was high, which meant that my kidneys were starting to be stressed.  Given that they had diagnosed me with mild preeclampsia exactly one week prior, this was no surprise.  He said they had to keep me there.  So up to the 7th floor, labor and delivery, for monitoring. 

On the 7th floor, they drew more blood to check the levels.  2 more fellows, an attending, and a resident came into the room to see me where we discussed all of the possible outcomes.  It was not looking good, so we called the family.  Just about an hour later, they sent in the "bad news fellow" to tell us we were delivering that afternoon.  The Creatinine level was still high and the doctors didn't want to risk my health.  Even though little Annelise was only 34 weeks 4 days AND only about 4 lbs, they couldn't wait any longer.

At 1:55pm, Annelise Nicole Hallinan was born at University of Pennsylvania Hospital via c-section.

She came out crying - a big surprise since most CDH babies don't.  The CHOP NICU team whisked her away to be intubated after a super-quick look from us.  After about 20 minutes, Daddy (Matt) got to go in and see her.  He took 1 really good picture, at right, on his phone.  The doctors were/are amazed at how well she "pinked up".  The intubation was very easy and she did very well.  I always said that she was going to be a fighter.  She was such a trouble-maker in the womb, that she's going to fight like hell outside too!