Our Little Miracle

We've been home for a week now and life is starting to form a new normal. We love having this bundle of joy in our lives and so do many, many other people. She has people come to visit her every day. Friends and family just can't get enough of her. Who can blame them? Neither can we! She truly is our little miracle girl. I've uploaded lots of new pics of our little miracle to our Flickr site. Click here to view them.

Since it's been awhile since I've really posted I'm going to try to summarize the past two weeks in one giant post. If you make it through this entire post I'm very impressed.

Back to Saturday, May 19th. We did actually sleep the night before our new arrival. But not a lot. I didn't just have butterfly's in my stomach I had parrots. We were both filled with such excitement and fear. We got up early, 4:00 am, in order to be at the hospital at 6:00. Even though I'm not a morning person I was alert as could be that day.

Believe it or not, on the way to the hospital, Shelly actually went into labor. By the time they got her hooked up to the monitors her contractions were well on their way. Riley was coming that day, planned or not.

We filled the waiting room that morning. Grandma Connie, Grandma Shanni, Grandpa Gary, Uncle Steve, Aunt Angie, Aunt Amy, Aunt Trish, and Aunt Peggy were all there for Riley's big arrival.

8:00 am hit and it was time to head to the Operating Room. First Shelly to get prepped and then me once she was ready. We were both so nervous, not knowing what to expect. The big worry was that the Hygroma was impacting Riley's airway and could cause her not to breath, which would require intabation. Because of this, once the procedure started, we just kept waiting to hear that first cry. I didn't know what to do during the procedure. I felt a little helpless. I was afraid to look over the curtain, and didn't know what I could do to help Shelly. I just kept saying, "Are you okay? Are you okay?" Shelly finally laughed and said, "I'm fine, are you okay." Which brought a laugh to both of us.

Prior to the C Section our doctor told us that because the Hygroma was so large she was going to cut from top to bottom versus side to side which is normal for C Sections. She needed the extra room to get both the Hygroma and the baby out. Once she made the incision the Hygroma immediately popped out. They then had to work to get Riley out. Our doctor was giving us a play by play as this was happening. Then, we heard it, a small cry. Followed by our little miracle giving us hell. She came out screaming. The minute Shelly heard her screams she broke into tears. Our miracle could breath on her own.

Our doctor held her up and it was the most beautiful site. Yes she had a Hygroma but you looked past it. It was Riley. And she was beautiful.

They passed her through the window into the NICU and we waited. And waited and waited. We kept asking the nurse in the delivery room to check on her and give us updates. She said, "There are only three people working on her, which is a good sign." Then they gave us her stats. Born 8:55 am, 8 lbs. 3 oz. APGAR scores of 8 and 9. Yes, 8 and 9! Our little miracle was quite healthy.

I ran to the waiting room to update the family. I remember feeling like I was floating as I walked down the hall. And the smile on my face was so big my cheeks felt like they were going to explode. I shared the good news with everyone and saw a wave of relief spread across their faces. Then, back to the OR to sit with Shelly while they closed her up.

Once they got Riley stabilized I was able to go in and see her. She was gorgeous! Because she was doing extremely well the waiting family was able to come in and meet the princess. But Shelly had not seen her yet.

Soon LifeFlight arrived to transport her to Primary's. Thankfully, because she was stable, they were able to take her to see Shelly first. And, they let Shelly hold her. She may not have been the first person to see Riley but she was the first person to hold her. 9 months of work, 5 months of intense worrying, and she was holding our miracle.

Steve went with me and Riley too Primary's. They got her admitted, went over in and out procedures with us, and Riley's stay at the Primary NICU began. Everyone at Primary's loved her. They thought she was so beautiful and if it weren't for the Hygroma, she was perfectly normal. Somehow, when we looked at her, we didn't look at the Hygroma. Now when we look back at the pictures we can't believe it was ever there.

The surgeon came to see Riley late on Day 1 and was smitten. We had to keep an eye on him because I think he was thinking about stealing her. He just kept telling us how beautiful she was. I told him it was his job to tell us that. He said, "Absolutely not. She is a great looking kid and I'm not the only one who thinks so." Of course we beamed with pride.

Day 2 was a big day. That was the day they did the Echo cardiogram and MRI on Riley. It was also the day Shelly started going downhill.

That night Shelly started having severe pain. Unbelievable pain. For 12 hours straight she had severe stomach cramps. Come to find out she had an Ilius, or small bowel obstruction. I've never seen someone is so much pain. They kept giving her pain meds but nothing was helping. They told us they'd called our doctor several times. Come to find out they'd called the resident, never our doctor. When our doctor arrived the next day and saw the pain Shelly was in, and that no one had called her, she was fired up. She had us moved off the "No Baby" floor to regular Post Partum within 30 minutes. Once there Shelly's care was wonderful and she started feeling better.

Day 3, Monday, was surgery day. Shelly hadn't slept since being in the hospital, and because of the pain, almost didn't get to see Riley before her surgery. But pain wasn't going to stop her. She made her family take her over to see Riley, pain or no pain, she was holding our baby before surgery.

Amy was with me when they came to get Riley for surgery. We escorted her to the OR. There we were met by a team of people. The Anesthesiologist, Pediatric Surgeon, and Plastic Surgeon all met with me individually to review what they planned to do. And all three commented on how beautiful she was prompting Dr. Nichol, the Pediatric Surgeon, to say "I told you she was a gorgeous baby." Knowing Riley was in excellent hands, and many kisses later, Amy and I left Riley to the experts.

The wait began. Shelly was at least feeling much better. We had a new room and better nurses. At 3:45 we got a call. Riley was doing well, she was under Anesthetic, and they'd just made the first incision. 4:45 another call. The Hygroma was gone and they were moving on to close. 5:45 the final call. The surgery was over. Everything went well. Soon a knock on our door and Dr. Nichol's walked in. He told us the surgery couldn't have gone better. The Hygroma was completely superficial and they were able to get it all. The risk of recurrence is extremely low. She does have a large scar that goes from the center of the back of her neck to the center of the front of her neck. Because there was quite a bit of excess skin involved she may need to have a follow up surgery to fix the scar at a later date. And, the Hygroma weighed a about a pound. His concern then moved to Shelly. He checked her vitals and asked several questions out of concern for her well being.

We quickly got ready and headed over to the Primary's to see Little Miss Riley. She was still sleeping from the anesthetic. She was gorgeous. No Hygroma. Just Riley. She did incredibly well the next 24 hours and only required one dose of pain medication.

By Day 4 Riley was doing well but continuing to lose weight and dropped her temperature a couple of times. They kept her in a heated bed and finally started to feed her. She was receiving a combination of breast milk and formula.

Days 5, 6 and 7 were all quite similar. Riley doing amazingly well but not gaining weight. Everyone checking on her to see how wonderful she was doing. As soon as she gained even a gram she could go home.

One week after her birth she went from 6 lbs 6 oz to 6 lbs 7 oz and was coming home. Our baby girl was coming home within a week of her birth. We never expected to have her home so soon. I had only arranged for a weeks vacation intending to take vacation when she came home. I scrambled to adjust my schedule so that I could take most of the week off in order to spend time with our baby girl during her first week home.

She's been home for a week. We know and understand her better every day. She smiles and giggles in her sleep. She also frowns and puckers. We spend hours watching her sleep. She likes being held. She's a very calm and happy baby. She doesn't cry much, it at all. Crys happen when we don't get her fed fast enough. She's sleeping in four hour increments. Nights aren't too bad because of this. She's beautiful and is loved, loved, loved. Not just by us but also by wonderful family and friends.

We took her for her first pictures Friday which I've shared throughout this post. She's our sunshine, our sweet baby girl. Thank you to everyone who shared in this journey with us. We couldn't have asked for a happier ending. We believe the many thoughts, prayers, energy, shared by all of you, and our family and friends, helped make this miracle happen. Thank you.

As we begin our life as parents our new normal is starting to take shape. I go back to work tomorrow. I'm sure it will be a hard and emotional day. But, at the end of the day, I come home to Little Miss Riley for the first time. The new normal begins.

And, finally, BIG CONGRATS to Jennifer and Nicole at Arcane Matters. Their twin baby girls are here!!!