She's Here, But Not Home.

Our little girl has arrived, but has not yet been held by Mommy or Daddy.  She was born a little after midnight (I don't actually know the time come to think of it) but wasn't breathing.  Once she was stabilized enough she was taken to a NICU about 45 minutes from where we live.  My husband was able to go right away with her, but I had to stay a bit longer.  Fortunately because her birth was natural and I had minimal tearing, I was discharger about 12 hrs after her birth and able to join everyone at the NICU. 

She has now been officially diagnosed with bilateral choanal atresia which is where both nasal passages are blocked.  As babies are obligate nose breathers, this kept our little girl from getting any breaths after birth.  She will require surgery, but they want to rule out other conditions as choanal atresia is typically seen with other problems.  She has already been weaned off oxygen and blood pressure meds and a heart murmur she had when she first arrived has resolved itself.  She is on antibiotics for possible pneumonia because she has so much junk in her lungs. 

Please be praying for our little girl and also her parents and sister.  Little Miss is having a rough time being uprooted and not seeing Mommy as often, but the girl is also helping keep my supply up along with pumping so hopefully her sister will still get to nurse at some point.  Hopefully by the end of the day we will have some idea of what the next step is and how soon they can fix her nose.

And even though I haven't held her or seen her entire face yet, I can tell you she is quite the cutie and quite the little fighter.  Cannot wait until she's in my arms and I can look at that sweet girl for hours!