Beautiful

Today is the one month anniversary of Emma Kate's Norwood. I had been debating whether I should put up these pictures, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to share them. I know that they might be hard to look at, but this is part of who Emma Kate is, part of her story, and she should be proud of the fight she has fought! She is so beautiful and I want to share just how beautiful she is.

This was taken right before she was taken to the OR on August 22. Needless to say, it was a very emotional moment and a very hard day.

After she came back from surgery. It was hard to see our baby like this, especially since she looked so healthy that morning. She is healthier here than she is in the above picture.

After her bath two nights ago. Her incision has healed very well!

One Month Old

Emma Kate, you turned one month old on September 19! I cannot believe it! This month has seemed very long in some ways and very, very short in others. We are so glad that you are home with us and doing well. At one month old you love to sleep, of course, like most newborns. You are a great sleeper! You sleep through the night, which Mommy loves. You are still getting your nutrition thought your NG tube, but I am beginning to nurse you, and you love that much more than the bottle we had been trying. You are still learning how to suck, since you did not have to do so for such a long time. Nursing will take time, but I am confident that you will do well. Other things you love: the Boppy! You sleep the minute we put you down on it. (Even though the warning label says not to let a baby sleep on it! Yikes!) You also love the swing and love looking at the little mobile that plays music above you. Baths are a favorite of yours, too. You love to have your hair washed and to get all clean. Your big sister loves to hold you and when you cry, she comes right over to comfort you to say "Sshh, baby. Its ok." She loves you very much. We all love you very much, you sweet little miracle. Happy one month birthday!

So Peaceful

...and Life at Home

Meeting Emma Kate

Life in the Hospital

We have been home for exactly one week today! The week has flown by and I don't think I've ever been more sleep deprived in my entire life. But I am very happy! I plan to update this as much as possible, but the posts may be few and far between. Emma Kate's feeding schedule is crazy, and that is what is keeping us busy the most. She came home on the NG (nasogastric) tube and does hour and a half feeds every three hours around the clock! Needless to say, we don't get much rest and we're constantly busy! I had a few minutes and wanted to update while I had some time. Here are some pictures of what life was like in the hospital the past several weeks.

This is right before I delivered Emma Kate @ UAB Hospital. We were very excited!

Just one minute old!

Here is Emma Kate after being taken down to NICU.

Mommy visiting Emma Kate.

Anna Brooke meeting Emma Kate for the first time.

These next two were taken the night before EK's surgery.

We spent most of our time right next to her bed!

This was the morning of EK's surgery. I cannot describe the way I felt in words. It was just very emotional.

The day after surgery. It was really hard to see her like this.

Three days after surgery EK was extubated! We were thrilled! She looked like a different baby! So, so, so beautiful!

We were disappointed when we came in a few days later and there was a huge IV in her head! Poor baby!
In step-down. SO much better! EK wasn't hooked up to nearly as many leads, wires and tubes. Much easier to hold her, too. She looks so peaceful here.

Birth Story

August 18, 2008 around 10:30 pm I ate a banana. It was the last thing I got to eat before midnight that night. And actually it was the last thing I ate before 4:37 p.m. the next day. I tried settling down to sleep after my snack. I got about 3 hours total sleep. It was a mix of anxiousness, nervousness and the lady who lives upstairs jumping around her apartment all night long that kept me awake.

The next morning, I got up around 6 or 6:30 am to take a shower and get all of my stuff out the door. My little Anna Brooke was still snoozing away when Brooks and I left, so I didn't really get to say goodbye. Nana was staying with her all day.

Brooks and I got to UAB hospital on Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. We had a great nurse, Jennifer. I changed into my gown and got all hooked up with an IV, blood pressure cuff, and got all my vital signs checked. We had several doctors come in and talk with us about what would happen after birth, including a pediatrician and a couple of cardiologists. Another doctor came in to be sure that Emma Kate was head down. She estimated her weighing around 7 lbs at birth. She also checked me and I was 3cm dilated. I was very surprised, considering the last time I was checked I was dilated zero! Exciting!

Then I was hooked up to a pitocin drip. I was having a few contractions on my own, but nothing too strong. I wanted to go ahead and get my epidural just in case. That took forever. UAB is a teaching hospital, so apparently a "new guy" did my epidural. I surprised myself and wasn't really that nervous. After that, a pediatric cardiologist came in and talked to us again and a few other doctors came in too, off and on, just to check on me. I appreciated that :).

I was feeling really good until around 1 p.m. My mother and father-in-law, cousin Marti and Brooks were all in the room with me when I started to feel contractions on my left side. They didn't really hurt-hurt. It was just uncomfortable. About an hour later, they became more intense and I had to breathe my way through each one. All I was thinking was "this is not right." I ended up having only Brooks in the room because it was getting more painful. Jennifer, our nurse ended up paging anesthesia a few times during the course of the afternoon to give me a bolus of more pain meds. NONE of them helped and I was in a LOT of pain! (Thankfully only on my left side.) Brooks was great. He held my hand (if I felt like it) and helped me through each contraction over about a 3 hour period.

At 4 p.m. Jennifer checked me again as well as another nurse (totally forgot her name). I was 10 cm and ready to push!! I have to say that at that point, I was actually glad that I could feel my contractions. When I was delivering Anna Brooke, I was completely numb and couldn't feel anything at all. I pushed for 2 hours with her. Very exhausting. Pain made it a whole lot easier for me this time around. :) I only pushed for about 30 minutes and there she was. My little Emma Kate. So beautiful. She looked so healthy and her color was great. She even had the sweetest little cry. We took about 15 million pictures before she was whisked away to the NICU. In my mind I knew that she was being taken care of, but all I wanted to do was hold her.

Emma Kate Keisler
August 19, 2008
4:37 p.m.
5 lbs 13 oz, 19 1/4 inches