She is still pretty swollen in her face from surgery.

Avery is doing well, she is still on oxygen, but a very low setting. I was told today that they will keep her on the oxygen for a few more days to keep her comfortable and then start weaning her off. They started doing shock treatments this morning to see if her muscles would twitch. By this afternoon she was moving, that was a good sign. She is on a lot of pain medication, so she is sleeping all the time. Her incision on her back looks a bit worse than yesterday, but the doctor warned us that it would. In the picture of her back you can see blue ink, those areas were marked to be cut but they didn't need to. I was discharged today and am staying in a nesting room. I will stay as long as I am able. Jeremy is juggling the kids, school and sports while I'm away, he seems so tired when I talk to him but he's doing a great job. The physical therapist came in and showed me a few more stretching and massaging techniques for Averys little foot.

Avery is out of Surgery

                                                       Avery after surgery

Avery's back after surgery

Well, Avery just made it out of surgery and is doing very well. Surgery took about 4 and 1/2 hours.The plastic surgeon had a tough time closing up her back since she didn't have a lot of skin to work with. The neurosurgeon said that on the ultrasound that was taken after she was born was showing pockets of fluid or something in the thoracic area of her spine. They are going to get the MRI that was done in Philadelphia to see if there are any changes. Dr. Garton (surgeon) also is concerned with the chiari malformation, which is at the base of the cerebellum and is pulling on her spine. Still a lot of things to look at, but we are one step ahead. They also told us Avery will have to be on her tummy for 3 weeks. She will be able to come home before then, but will have to stay on her tummy. They have a special carseat that is more like a car bed that she will ride in. As soon as I'm able to see her I will post some pictures. It should be anytime.

Surgery to fix her back

The pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Garton made it back from Denver today to cover Avery's back. This was our first time meeting him, but he seems very nice. They took her down at 2:30pm. He said the surgery will take about 4 hours. He will do his part and then the plastic surgeons will do theirs. He did mention that Avery doesn't have a lot of extra skin or tissue where the opening is so the plastic surgeons will have there work cut out for them today. Please keep praying!

More good news!

After 2 hours of sleep last night and only being able to see my baby girl before bed, I was up ready to go this morning. We went down to the NICU at 10:30am and I was able to hold Avery, such a joy. We were told that an ultrasound was done on Averys back and head to see about the hydrocephalus and her spine. They let me start nursing right away since they were unsure when her surgery would be, I have nursed every two hours all day long, in between seeing the anestisiologist, plastic surgeons, and neurologists. Busy day not a lot of time to rest, boy has it caught up to me.  The last few nursing sessions have been difficult, because of Averys open wound on her back, as the day progressed her back became more sensitive due to trying to nurse her. So her last feeding which was 10pm, I gave her a bottle so I wouldn't have to move her, she seemed much happier. All the pediatric neurologists are in Denver at a conference, one is flying home tonight and the surgery is scheduled for 2pm tomorrow. They said the surgery will take about 3-4 hours. Avery will then have to remain on her tummy for approx. 3 days. Still no signs of hydrocephalus, but that can change after the surgery. Otherwise she is doing so well, she coos a lot, as if telling you her life story. We also met with the physical therapist today and he has shown us how to do some stretching and massaging on Averys clubbed foot. Well off to bed, I am exhausted. More to come tomorrow.   

She Is Here!!!!!!!!!

Enjoying Sunday afternoon with my family, we went to church and then to pizza after, which has become our  Sunday tradition.  The weather was spectacular 70 degrees, we came home, the kids immediately put on their swim suits and got the slip n slide out. At 4:30pm my water broke, what a whirl wind. We got to the hospital at 6:30pm. They took me in and said that a C-section would be happening now. They had an emergency c-section that needed to be taken before me, so I waited. I was finally taken back at 11:40pm and little Avery was born at 12:27am on 4/11/11. She weighed 4 lbs 13 oz and is 16 3/4 inches long. She is breathing on her own and doing very well. I didn't get to see her until 4:30am, when I was taken out of recovery and brought to my room. They took me in the nursery on a bed and let me hold her for about 10 minutes. What a dream, she is perfect and so beautiful.

It is now 9:30am and doctors are doing a ultrasound on her head to see about the hydrocephalus and on her back to see what kind of damage there is to her back.  We are waiting to hear if she will have surgery today on her back. I can't thank you all enough for your prayers, she is a miracle and we are blessed.

Good News

Today we had another Dr. Appt. It went well and we got some good news. Averys venticles have gone down and are now at 13mm, she is measuring on time and weighs approx. 4lbs 11oz. That is a whole pound in 2 weeks, amazing! We got a pretty good view of her back and it looks like the opening is down in the sacral area. This is good because the lower the better. We are set to be induced on May 10th in the evening, thats if little Avery doesn't pick her own date. Which if I had to guess she is going to come when we least expect it.

Baby Shower

Bailey Boo my niece

Shelley my best friend

Madi my daughter playing one of the games

Madi again, such a beautiful smile!

Cousin Amy, drove all the way from Chicago to be with me on this special day!

Everyone was given a quare of material to write a message to Avery, I will put a blanket together for her with all the squares.

My daughter Madi and I

The four amazing women that made this day possible, from left,Amber, me, Barb (Ambers mom), Shelley, and Rita(my mother in-law)

I found these online and decided to give them a try, with the help from my friend Shelley, they turned out great.

This is a diaper cake that Barb made me. These are diapers and onsies rolled up with ruffled socks at the top that look like flowers.

After I finally got everything put away, Averys little corner is ready for her.

This little bear was passed around at the shower, everyone said a prayer and gave it kiss. This will be Avery's first Teddy Bear!

Yesterday was fantastic, we had our baby shower. With the help of four fantastic women, it turned out wonderful. Today I organized everything put stuff away and set up the bassinet in our bedroom to get ready for little Avery. I really feel like she is going to be here soon, and I will be ready for her.