Hi all Friends and Family, (this is an update from 10/3/09)

Here’s an update on our precious little girl. She had an awesome night and is doing very well. They are able to keep decreasing her oxygen, so hopefully she’ll be breathing on her own very soon. Her brain x-ray came back good with no bleeding on the brain. Her heart is slowly getting stronger. (I really want to say each day, but I realize she’s not even 2 days old, yet….) Her kidney’s decreased production last night, but the doctor isn’t overly concerned about that. Her blood sugar keeps flip-flopping between high and low, but that really isn’t of too much concern either. So, for specifics, her kidneys are the thing to be watching right now. She is so precious. They’ve had to tie down one of her arms because she keeps pulling on her breathing tube. They also had to give her some medication to keep her still. She’s already working on keeping up with her big brothers. She will have a CAT scan/MRI done sometime next week to check on brain activity. The doctor thinks this will turn out great, too, because she is reacting so well to everything (she went a little while without oxygen to her brain). Thanks for praying for our little miracle! I’ll continue to keep you posted.

Here’s the story on exactly what happened. I began having side cramping on Thursday night about 8pm. We had some friends over, but I dismissed myself to go take a bath to see if it would help the pain. It didn’t ever let up. Then I began having contractions about every 5 minutes apart which made the cramping hurt worse. I called the hospital and my dr. and they both decided it would be best to come on it. I thought I was being a wimp and didn’t want to be “that person” with preterm labor that’s nothing but gas :) My awesome hubby told me we need to go in and just get it checked out. Praise God for my hubby’s wisdom. My parents were able to come over quickly and watch Carson and Coop. Anyway, I got hooked up to the monitor and the contractions were showing up every couple of minutes. I was put on IV fluid and given medication for the contractions. At this point Ella’s heart rate was at 150 but wasn’t fluctuating at all. This became a concern. My doctor talked to me on the phone and realized she needed to come in. Soon it was decided I was going to need a c-section. The Dr. did an ultrasound and Ella wasn’t moving. The Dr. found a blood clot on my placenta. Then, Ella’s little heart rate dropped dramatically. All of the sudden, I was having an emergency c-section. When Ella was born, she wasn’t breathing. I was trying to figure out everything and looked over and saw many people working on my lifeless little baby. Then, I heard a precious little sound. She had responded to CPR and a shot of epinephrine. I don’t remember much from that point. But, I do know Ella is a miracle. My Dr. told me we are very, very blessed after everything that happened.

It’s going to be a journey, but thank you all for walking this journey with us! God has blessed us with such great friends and family. Thank you for all of your support, and thank you even more for your prayers!!! We love you all!

Jason, Traci, Carson, Cooper and Ella