Friday, February 4, 2011

a different kind of challenge...

I haven't posted in a week and a half... Haven't entered a Cricut challenge or done a LYM layout or even opened my February prompt for the OLW class. However, I think I may be kicking butt in the New 52 Challenge!!

On January 26 I headed out early for Austin. My precious daughter-in-law was having some complications with her pregnancy and was put on bedrest so I was on my way to stay a bit and help out. However, before I even reached the interstate, I got a text from my son that they were on their way to the hospital where Cara would be treated for pre-term labor. I got to Austin about noon, dropped my things at the house and headed to the hospital. The next 3 days were a bit of a roller coaster as they gave Cara meds to stop the contractions and at the same time, injected steroids that would begin immediately to make our baby girl's lungs start to develop as rapidly as possible -- just in case.

On Friday evening about 10:00 I was here at their house doing a little laundry and trying to straighten a bit when I got a text from Mickey... It was the real deal. The epidural was being started... and our baby was coming. I headed up to the hospital with Cara's sister and in about an hour my daughter arrived from San Antonio. We were able to see Cara and Mickey and then we went to the waiting room. At 3:47 AM, January 29th, having JUST reached her 26th week of gestation, Zoe Felicity Hanna was born. She weighed 1 lb 14.6 oz and she was 13 1/4 inches long. And today, almost one week later, she is doing GREAT!

Zoe won't be able to come home for about 3 more months. The neonatalist doctors have been very open and honest about all the battles and obsticles she still may have ahead of her. However, every report so far has been very promising and positive. Each occurance of something that was a "concern" was something that was completely expected and anticipated by the NICU staff and we have been reassured that Zoe is quite amazing. She has never been on the ventilator and breathes on her own. She has been under the blue light to combat the jaundice, but that occurs in full-term babies as well.

Yesterday was a really big day as Cara and Mickey each changed a diaper. And last night, for the first time, Cara was able to hold her baby daughter. This skin-to-skin time, or kangaroo time, is as important for Zoe as it is for Cara.

Cara and Mick have a room at the hospital that they have been spending the nights in... a nesting room. Mick goies in to work as he needs to and is working on the laptop from the hospital as he can. Cara spends her days with Zoe and then comes home for dinner and a short while in the evening to re-pack and catch up with bills and paper work. Cara can also start driving tomorrow so I will probably head back to Houston this week-end.

Our family and Baby Zoe have had so much support from our friends and family... so many prayers... and obviously those prayers are working! Thank you every one!

1 comment:

  1. Wow, what a story. Congratulations on your new granddaughter. Wishing you and your family all the best for that little baby girl to thrive and grow.

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