Hello friends and family. This is Chris. The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind, but all is good. Adelaide Elizabeth was born yesterday at 5:08 p.m. at the IMC in Murray. The doctor saw additional fluid starting to pool around the liver and felt we should proceed with the delivery immediately. Desi was taken down to the delivery area and induced right as the solar eclipse was starting. It took about 7 hours, but Addie was born vaginally without any complications and without any intervention from the doctors. Addie was quite swollen and lifeless due to all of the fluid in her tummy and head. They immediately passed her through a window into the NICU unit where they got her breathing with an oscillator and drained the fluid from around her lungs. I was not able to see her until 10:00 p.m. Unfortunately, Desi had run a fever and was coughing due to the stress of the delivery. She was not able to see Addie until this morning when her temperature returned to normal and her cough went away. Addie has tubes inserted in both sides between the ribs, where they continue to drain any fluid that her body does not absorb. She has an IV inserted through the umbilical cord where she receives food and antibiotics. The only trouble they have had is getting the right balance of oxygen through the oscillator. I believe one lung is stronger than the other, so they are struggling to get the right balance of carbon dioxide. Addie is in an incubator and cannot be held. She is sedated and does not move much, beyond her vibrating chest. Her head and face is still quite swollen, but the rest of her body looks more normal and is pink. She was 5 pounds 7 ounces after they drained the fluid from the lungs. They said that she still has a lot of fluid, which is inflating her weight.
Desi was up and showered at 6:30 this morning. Her doctor did not want to discharge her, but has no more reason to hold her now that her fever has broke and her white blood cell count is normal. Desi is hoping to come home this afternoon. The baby will remain in the NICU unit until all functions are essentially normal. They told us to plan on her due date, which is around Oct 21. If she does well, they will release her sooner. Babies do not learn to suck until 34 weeks, so it just takes time for the baby to complete her development.
We want to express our great gratitude and love for your faith and prayers throughout this experience. Some may feel that the fast on Sunday was not effective, but you must know the miracle that took place. Saturday night as I opened my fast and prayed for impressions as to what the Lord's will was, my mind was filled with several negative potential outcomes. I began to panic and was filled with anxiety and fear. I worried that the thoughts were preparing me for the worst. However, I quickly recognized that these thoughts could not be from the Lord (Thank you Gentri). I knelt back down and cast out the evil spirits that had tried to take over my mind. The feelings of fear and panic immediately left. Sunday morning, I had sought out the Lord again for direction. In pondering again, I received clear direction as to the Lord's will. This was confirmed again at Church during the sacrament. As I blessed mom and baby later that day, we knew that Addiewould be coming soon but would be healed in the process. We didn't realize she would be coming the very next day, but I guess Addie was very anxious to get here. We feel very blessed to have her and see the hand of the Lord in getting her here. This knowledge was very comforting to both of us yesterday. We remained calm throughout all the excitement of the day and knew that everything was happening according to God's plan and will. Thank you to all who have offered assistance and continue to ask us what can be done to help. I am sure that next two months is going to seem like an eternity and will keep life interesting, so there will be many days in the future that we will welcome a break from the busy routines and work. We will keep you updated with Addie's progress. She has her mother's determination and fight, so she will be coming home earlier than expected. You can count on that.
Thanks again.
Chris and Desi
