Audrey Maria was born on Friday September 28, 2007. She weighed 5 pounds 5.3 ounces and measured 17 1/4 inches long. Though scheduled to have labor induced on that day, Sara (Mom) went into labor on her own the night before. Her water broke (again, on it’s own) about 9:00 AM, and labor proceeded relatively normally. Late in the morning, the baby began to show some signs of stress – her heart rate was a little higher than normal, would drop just after each contraction (which is normal) but then take longer than usual to recover. Around 5:00 it was decided that to proceed and wait for the natural delivery to run it’s course, the baby’s interest could best be served by performing a C-section. The procedure began at 6:30 and at 6:36 Audrey was born. As she was cleaned up and run thru the normal post birth inspections, injections and other indignities, her heart rate remained elevated. It was decided that she should be taken into the ICU for monitoring and testing.
The following hours and days are a blur of testing and waiting a watching. While all of the causes and perhaps all of the effects are not yet known, what is known is that Audrey has a large ventricular septal defect (a hole between the main chambers of her heart) and a small patent ductus arteriosis (an extra blood vessel between the heart and lungs that normally closes off just after birth). The latter appears to be closing on its own and may not be an issue in the near future. The former will require surgery to repair. Ideally that surgery would be in a few months when she has had the chance to get a bit bigger and stronger. In the event that it is keeping her from being able to gain weight and grow, it will need to be done sooner. She is not able to eat on her own, so is being fed (Mama’s milk) thru a tube that runs thru her nose down into her stomach. She is processing her food well (big messy poops!) and the remainder of her systems appear to be functioning well. All other testing done to date has revealed no other significant issues. Some test results will not be known for several more days.
As to Audrey’s nature and characteristics, she has quite a bit of long black hair (not unlike Rachel’s at birth) and dark gray eyes. She has long feet and fingers. During the long and difficult pregnancy she hung on surviving several early scares where we thought we had lost her. She lived with a placenta that had issues (partial detachment etc.) that may (?) have contributed to her current condition. And now she continues to perservere in spite of a body that is less than perfect. However imperfect her little body may be, we know her to be a beautiful and priceless daughter of our Heavenly Father. She has brought out the best in her parents and siblings and we cherish each and every moment with her.
And so we wait and watch. Sara is released from the hospital on Wednesday 10/3, and will be continuing to pump and make daily trips into Walnut Creek to participate in the feeding process. Audrey’s family greatly appreciates the outpouring of love and prayer and good wishes on her (and their) behalf. We are moving forward in faith, full of hope and are grateful beyond measure for the gift of Audrey as a member of our family.