It's been a month!

It's official, Baby Lucy is one month old. So much has happened in this month. She is growing super fast and now weighs in at over 10 lbs. She is becoming more interactive and definitely watching our faces and mouths when we talk or sing. She loves to look out the window and up at our skylights. She loves music as well and it can help to calm her when she is upset. She does not get upset very often, and if she does it is pretty easy to figure out what she needs. I have been taking her out and about more and I love carrying her around in her sling or Ergo carrier. I love how cute she looks in the middle of the night when she looks up at me in the dim light and she is ready to nurse. Last night she had a four hour stretch of sleep! I woke at 4am after last feeding her at midnight, and I felt so rested and wide awake! Ha! She is a sweet, wonderful baby and it is so much fun getting to know her. I know that it is going to go by soooo fast and I am trying to live in the moment and enjoy every bit. Love, Koree

4 weeks old!

Baby Lucy is 4 weeks old today. Wow, time is flying! She is getting bigger everyday, and is more and more alert and responsive in her waking hours. Lat night she gave us two three hour stretches of sleep...that was a first. We might get one three hour stretch, but then be up every hour or two after that. We have been taking walks everyday in her carrier, but today I took out the jogging stroller for the first time. We just walked, so that I can get used to having Gracie and a stroller at once. Gracie did pretty good, and Lucy was sleeping the whole time. It being Oregon, it began to rain, but it still felt great to be outside. Thanks to Grandma Marian, Aunt Ronda and Randy for the great gift! Next week I think I will see how a short run feels.

Today is my parents wedding anniversary. Thirty-six years ago today they were married. I am so lucky to have them as parents, and lucky to grow up with such a good example of a positive, loving relationship. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! I tried to upload a video for you, Mom, but I am still figuring out how to do it. :)

It's Time to Celebrate!

I just got off the phone with the surgeon, and he is satisfied that she does not have Hirschsprung's Disease! This is wonderful news. In the full thickness biopsy that was done last Friday, three samples were taken. The pathologist found nerve cells in all three samples, and in both layers of the tissue where nerve cells should be. It is possible that she had meconium plug syndrome, and normal that Hirschsprung's be ruled out using biopsy results. It is not super uncommon to have biopsies showing no nerve cells, like the second biopsy showed, as it is easier to get tissue from the anal canal, where none of us has ganglion nerve cells. This is why they look for the other feature, the hypertrophic nerve trunks, to confirm Hirschsprung's. With the more in-depth biopsy showing everything normal, our surgeon said, "Go kiss your baby and your husband!" As long as she keeps pooping like a normal baby should (and she has!), Lucy is in the clear.

Today is three weeks from the day that Lucy was born, and so much has happened in those weeks. We would not have made it through without all of the love and support, good thoughts and prayers that our family and friends have provided. I am so excited to work on letting this go and moving on. I am sure that I will always be concerned about poop...but that's OK! Here's to all future posts being about "Lucy rolls over now!" or "Lucy's crawling!" We love you all!

Friday Night...

I know that this picture is from her birthday, but I just saw it for the first time today and I kind of liked it...and I did not want to post something without a picture. We are here at Doernbecher Children's Hospital tonight. We had an appointment earlier today with the doc and we thought we would be learning about her surgery and what to expect. Instead we found out that her biopsy results were still inconclusive. They did not find any nerve cells, but they also look for one other thing from the biopsy to confirm Hirschsprung's, and they did not find it. So she had another biopsy which took more tissue, so hopefully we will get some better results from it. Unfortunatley she was having some significant bleeding from her bottom after the biopsy, and I had to bring her back up here. It looks like the bleeding may have stopped...lets hope so! Not the way we wanted to spend our Friday night, but we will do whatever needs to be done for our baby girl. Lucy is hanging in there and so are we. Sorry if this is too much info, but it helps me to write it out. I still have not quite processed her birth, and now it seems like ages ago and so much has been added to the pile of things to process! Thanks for your concern and support. Love, Koree

Lots of visitors!

The past couple of weeks have brought much joy to our lives and brought many visitors to our home. My sister Katie, Marc's Dad and Linda, and my Mom and Dad came from afar. Many local friends have stopped by for shorter visits, and it has been great to see everyone. Baby Lucy is so special and I am glad that our families are getting to see her when she is so young. With all that has been going on, our guests have also been very helpful with things like cooking dinner, doing dishes and holding Lucy when we can't. We are so greatful for your help! Lucy is doing great, growing by the minute...she was 9 lbs, 2 oz today at her 2 week pediatrician appointment! She seems to be getting more interactive, focusing for longer periods on our faces, and more wakeful in the daytime, so we can see her pretty grey eyes. Her doctor said everything is going so well...except for the fact that she does indeed have Hirschsprung's disease. We were hopeful for some different news but we are glad that we know this, and that she is otherwise doing so well. We have an appointment with the surgeon tomorrow and will have more answers then, and hopefully some idea of when her surgery will be. I know that the weeks ahead are going to present us with many challenges, but I also know that we have a great support network, and with eachother, our families and our friends we will all come through this stronger. We are so lucky to have you all and Baby Lucy in our lives! Love, Koree

Baby Lucy is a trooper!

We have had an adventurous week with Baby Lucy. She is a beautiful, mellow baby. She loves to eat and sleep and be held close...exactly what most babies love to do. She has also had many challenges that babies should not have to go through. She was admitted into the hospital on Sunday night to do some tests to rule out Hirschsprung's Disease. In a nutshell, the disease is one of the large intestine, where the nerve cells did not adequately develop and therefore normal bowel patterns do not occur (she had not pooped at all in 5 days of life). Staying overnight at the hospital was difficult and resulted in many tears. Fortunately we had some family in town for support, and we were at Doernbecher Children's Hospital which is where I work. I knew all of our nurses and many coworkers and even my boss came by to visit. It was nice to not feel so lost in a big, unknown place. A biopsy was done, which was a rather simple procedure. The results were that some nerve cells were found, but the doctor is going to do another biopsy tomorrow, as he still is not sure that it is not Hirschsprung's. If it is, she will need surgery in the next few weeks, and after that most kids do just fine. She has been pooping on her own and that is a promising sign. (I did not think I would be so obsessed about poop!) Through all of the pokes and prodding, Lucy has been a champ. She is so brave and strong for a little baby! I can't believe it has been a week since she was born. Marc has been an amazing father and husband, having to have this harsh crash-course in my world of nursing care. I am so lucky to have him as a partner. We will keep you all updated on her progress through this blog. Thanks for all of your kind thoughts and prayers...let's focus real hard on her next biopsy to put her in the clear! Much love, Koree

Baby Lucy is Here!!!

8 lbs, 0 oz. 20.5 inches. She is adorable and already taking mommas milk! It was a rough road for Koree and I'll let her update you all with the details. While not exactly the birth we were expecting, but Lucy is perfect and healthy, so we are one happy family.