She is here!

Miss Brooklyn is finally here! She was born via C-section yesterday at 4:49pm. She is a little peanut at 6 lbs 1 oz, and oh my goodness is she cute! I may be a little biased, but she has the sweetest little face. Oh how I wished I could have kissed it yesterday, but Jeff promises me he gave her plenty of “cuppy” kisses last night.

Although her diagnosis (at least for now) appears to be the same as we were told early on, God is still performing lots of little miracles for our baby. First of all, she is extremely stable. She is breathing on her own and her oxygen levels have been 100%, which is awesome (88% or higher is considered “good”). She was able to be transported very quickly to Children’s and is charming everyone she meets! They are even performing surgery less than 24 hours after her birth, which means that even at such a small weight, they think she is more than strong enough to handle it. Such a tough little cookie!

Her hydrocephalus (fluid in her brain) has not caused her head to swell at all, and she does have movement in her legs. Her feet are still clubbed and her legs are not positioned correctly, but we are waiting to see what the orthopedic specialists and the x-rays show. But somehow she is managing to move her legs, so we are still very hopeful!

So far today, they have performed three tests—a renal exam, an ultrasound of her head, and an echocardiogram. They all came back fine, and they are common tests they run before she heads into surgery. Her blood tests show her electrolytes are good, and Jeff says she is very active. Her eyes are wide open, and she is sucking and grabbing onto anything you put near her face. And this may be surprising to all of you…she is very vocal. I know, shocking, right?! ;)

Right now, the main focus is keeping her open defect moist and protected until they can close it up later today. They have been positioning her on her side and stomach, and Jeff says she seems comfortable. Her surgery is scheduled for around 4pm or 5pm today, but as we all know, things don’t always happen on time in a hospital environment. We are just pleased that the surgery is happening today. Because she was born so late in the day, there was a chance of switching the surgery to Thursday or Friday, which would have meant we would have had a different neurosurgeon. But, praise God, we are still able to have it today, and our original neurosurgeon is definitely performing the surgery.

The other miracle has been my recovery. I am feeling extremely good and the c-section went very smoothly. I will spare you the details, but let’s just say my body is healing well and the nurses and OB are willing to possibly let me out today! That’s a mere 24 hours after surgery, which is amazing. Jeff and I have –ahem – differing opinions about what is best for me, but I am ready to get out of here as soon as they say go. BUT I know I need to be conscious of my healing so that I don’t end up back in the hospital. We’ll see how I feel after the 24 hours has officially passed and go from there. I just miss her so much!

Well, I think that’s about if for now. We appreciate your prayers for today’s surgery, and we’ll be sure to let you all know how it goes. Sorry there was a delay in getting you this update, but now that my computer is all set up, I should be able to update much more often.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you all for literally showering our daughter with prayers yesterday. We felt them, and the peace Jeff and I have is unbelievable. These last 2 days, I have felt nothing but comfort and acceptance and encouragement. The negative hasn’t found its way into my heart yet, which I know is because of all the love and support I received from so many of you.

God has truly provided me with more strength than I thought possible, and He is doing the same for our little Brooklyn. She is proving to be as spunky as we had hoped. :) To God be the Glory…great things hath done!