Jenna and Gavin

On Friday we asked the nurse if she would hold Jenna up to a window and let Gavin peek in at her, she said YES!! I went and got Gavin from the waiting room and told him he could meet Jenna, he was so excited he ran down the hallway so fast! He jumped on Kurt's shoulders and got a good look. He was so happy to meet her- I started to cry! I know what a baby:) It was just so sweat to see his face when he saw her for the first time. Jenna is still trying so hard to eat- she has a different suck pattern and it is hard for her to get the milk out even though she is sucking so hard! We will keep trying and working on getting her home.

Progress and frustrations!

Well, I haven't posted for a while because we found out something about Jenna that just killed me! When things really get to me or make me feel sad I tend to just hold them in until I am able to deal with them. And that is what I have been doing, learning to deal with things. We found out last week that Jenna's Optic nerve never developed in one of her eyes. When the doctor told me I said okay, so she will just need glasses or surgery to fix it? I was being hopeful. He said that she will never see out of that eye, there is not a fix for it. My heart just broke, after all she has already been through and overcame I just looked at her sweat face and thought for the first time in a while WHY? Why her sight? Out of everything she has, this for some reason was the tip of the iceberg! It took me a lot of tears that night and some prayers to know that this is in her plan- she will overcome it! We will make the best with it.

Other than that Jenna is doing great!! She is such a sweat baby all the nurses just love her! The doctors would like to keep her for at least another week- she needs to gain some weight and also make progress with her feedings. I got frustrated over the weekend because she wasn't doing great with eating, but Monday was much better! She is staying awake more and able try harder. She takes a bottle alot better than the nursing, so we are trying both. She just needs to get bigger and stronger!

Kurt has been sick since Sunday so they wont even let him in the NICU. It has been hard on him not to see her for 3 days. Hopefully he will be getting better soon so that we can work on getting her home together!

Gavin still has no clue where the baby is or why we decided to move in with Grandma Barton. He has done great though, he loves being up here and playing with Grandma when we go to the hospital. He is going to be the best big brother ever!!

Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and gifts they have been much appreciated! We are so lucky to have such great families and friends, and also the Gospel. What would we do without our faith and prayers???

Yesterday we tried to give Gavin a normal day:) As best we could anyway!
We got up and had breakfast and then went to the Discovery Park by my Grandmas house. He had such a good time playing, he even found a friend there to play with. I have felt so bad that he has been out of his element and pushed around between Grandmas and us. He is really confused on where the baby is. He sees the pictures but still thinks she is in my belly:) I just love both these kids so much! I never thought it was possible!

Jenna is doing so well, she is such a little angel. All the nurses just eat her up:) She is a very quiet baby and doesnt fuss very much. She still has some oxygen, but not too much. They are hoping to be able to take her off of it soon. She has only lost an ounce, so she is maintaining her weight very well. We are still working on nursing and she did so well today! We are trying to get her to nurse twice a day. In order to take her home she has to nurse for all her feedings. She is showing good signs and much improvement. We just love her and can't wait to get her home!! Here is an overload of pictures:)

Jenna Update

Jenna is still doing very well. Her billi went up a little so she is under the lamps getting a sun tan. She is tolerating it very well though. She has been tolerating her feedings and digesting them so today at 2 I am going to go and nurse her and see how she does. We tried last night and she latched right on, she is such a strong little girl! I will be leaving the hospital tonight and going to Pleasant Grove to stay at my Grandmas. We are so fortunate that we have family so close up here! I will keep you all updated as soon as I know things!

Miracles Happen....

...and ours was born Friday September 11, 2009 at 6:48pm.


On Friday I went in for my AFI and non-stress test appt in Richfield, the non stress was okay and the fluid level was very low. She tried so hard to find any fluid and measured me at 3cm of fluid- I had 6.5 two days prior. So...this doctor called that doctor and they said drive up north and get to the specialist...and plan on a baby tonight! So, after my minor freak out we packed our bags, said bye to Gavin and had Kyle give me a blessing. I cant say thanks enough for that! It is amazing how a blessing can calm nerves and make such a scary situation seem fine. Kurt and I drove up north and the specialist couldn't find any fluid. He said the best thing for me and the baby would be to deliver her. So we agreed and they checked me into the hospital. They told us that it would take a few hours before they were ready for my surgery, so I thought I had some time. Well 45 minutes later they said they were going to be getting me ready within 30 minutes. This is where I really freaked out!! I think my temp spiked to 300 degrees and I really thought about running! My cousin was able to come in and be my labor and delivery nurse- I was so happy to see her! She helped calm my nerves and it was a blessing to know this baby was being taken care of by her. So off we went to the OR to have Jenna born. It took about 15 minutes and they pulled her tiny little body out. She immediately started to cry- what a great sound. Everybody was so happy that she was crying and kept crying!! My surgery went really well and I am recovering great!

Jenna will be in the NICU for a week or two for a few things. She needs to be able to eat and digest the food. She was on a CPAP machine for a few hours after birth to help with her breathing, but they took that out rather quick. She has been breathing on her own since then. She is a very strong and amazing baby! Her IV lines are difficult so they have the IV in the top of her head, but they arent having to use it too much because she is now eating a full feeding through a tube that goes down her little nose. Her weight is good and she hasn't really lost much at all. We are waiting for a few tests to come back on her genetic problems. They are hoping they will show her capabilities so that we dont push her too hard or too little. She is doing amazingly well for being a premie and for her different choromosome problems.

All the doctors keep saying they can't explain her that she is just a miracle! She is overcoming so many obsticles already and she is only 3 days old! Now that we have met this little angel we know we were meant to be her parents and she was meant to be our daughter. Our Heavenly Father knows us and loves us and blesses our lives in different ways- this little girl is such a blessing to us and we just love her! We cant wait for her to meet Gavin, we know he already loves her so much!

Thanks to everyone for all their help we definitley could not have done all this alone!! We love you!!

Jenna

Today we went to Provo for yet another doctor appointment. We were supposed to meet with the delivery doctor and also do a non stress test and measure my fluid, key word supposed to! The fluid level was lower than it should be so we ended up meeting with the specialist who did another ultrasound and measurements. Jenna is measuring a little small (5lbs) and there isn't a lot of amniotic fluid. So...he scheduled a C-section for September 21st. I will go in early that morning and do another amnio to make sure her lungs are developed and if so we will be having a baby around 12pm that day!!! YIKES! I think I might freak out:) That is 3 weeks earlier than expected-so we are going to be working like crazy to get things ready for this little girl to join our family!!