BEST NEWS OF ALL!

Emerson got to come home today - Monday January 26th! HOORAY! I will post pictures and more of the story once things calm down around here! Ha Ha!

More Great News - Sunday Night

Mimi and I went to see Emerson this evening and when we arrived we found her in her brand new crib! She has graduated to a regular nursery crib because she no longer needs to have her temperature regulated by a warmer. She also got moved to the other side of the room with a lovely view of Houston.

My room with a view!

I am quite a fashion icon!

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While we were visiting, Nurse Jean decided that Emerson was ready to try feeding from a bottle. Up until now her breathing rate has been too fast to have a bottle. For this she had to remove Emerson's feeding tube that had been in her mouth. Once the tube was removed, I got to change her diaper and then got to feed her! It was a great moment. Emerson took the bottle easily and had no problems eating and breathing at the same time. She downed the 2 ounces quickly and burped. Then she promptly went sound asleep!

Total Contentment!

Sunday Morning

Emerson and mommy having some girl time together!

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Before we left the hospital yesterday, Chad and I went for one more visit with our little angel. Grandmother had woken up with a cold, so she wasn't able to go in. She did, however, get to watch through the window.

Emerson was facinated by daddy's hat.

Grandmother peeked in through the window in the hallway since she had a cold.

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Charlie and daddy woke up with the crud this morning, so I called on Jessi (Emerson's godmother and one of my best friends) to take me to see her at the hospital. We arrived about 10:30 and Nurse Jean reported that she had been a naughty girl in the night. She had pulled out her IV twice! They had replaced it in her arm, but Jean said that it was looking irritated so she might have to move it. I got her snuggled up in my arms and she calmed down for a little while. But, Jean quickly came over and said that the IV seemed irritated so she was going to remove it. To my surprise, she said she was going to leave it out! This is great news because that means that they feel like she is able to get all of her nourishment from the milk! They still can't give her a bottle because she is breathing too fast, but that is improving too. They gave her an ounce and a half through the tube while I was holding her and she immediately calmed down. My little piggy was just hungry! Once she was fed she immediately went to sleep. Jessi and took turns holding her and loving on her. We gave her instructions to continue making good progress so that we could bring her home soon. With Chad still feeling bad, he is passing on going to see her today. The last thing we want to do is expose her to any germs. I will see who I can convince to take me over there later today - since I require a chauffeur!

Holding hands with mommy!

My godmother Jessi and I are going to be very special friends!

Weekend News

Hey everyone! I wanted to give you an update and let you know how things were going. Emerson has had a great day! She went the whole day without any help from the oxygen machine. She was fed several ounces of breast milk too and tolerated it perfectly! They still have not tried to feed with a bottle because her breathing is still very fast and they don't want her to choke, but this is huge progress. Chad and I had two long visiting sessions today. The first one happened about noon just before I was discharged from the hospital. Charlie was able to watch through the NICU window, too. This was the first time he was able to see her! While he was excited to see his new sister, he was more excited to see Nurse Jean's blue gloves. :P After we got Charlie down to sleep tonight, Chad and I went back to the hospital for another visit. It was awesome! We stayed almost an hour and just held her and sang to her and loved on her. I can't wait to get her home so that I can do that all day long. While we still don't know when we will be able to bring her home, I am confident that it will be soon and that she will be healthy when we do! As always, thank you for every prayer being lifted up in Emerson's name. We feel so blessed to know that God chose us to be the parents of this precious angel!

More updates to come!

Bonding with my Mimi

Mimi stayed with me tonight and we went for a late night visit to see Miss Emerson. She had just woken up and was ready to be held. She started to get upset and the nurse gave her her new favorite drug - sugar water! She is a junkie for sure! Mimi was delighted to spend some quiet time with her newest little "bug"!

Face to Face with my Mommy

Eskimo kisses!

Once I was bundled up and in my mommy's arms, I settled down, finally!

I talked to the NICU doctor today at 1pm and she told me the best news I had heard since we arrived here Tuesday! She said that Emerson was being removed from the oxygen hood. She said that I would be able to hold her this afternoon! Thank you Lord! This was what I had been hoping and praying for all day. I wanted so badly to get to hold my little girl before I went home. Of course, then everyone convinced me to stay at the hospital one more night so that I would get to see and hold her several more times before I went home. So, that is what I have decided to do. We hope that this huge turn will mean that Emerson will get to come home soon, but even if she needs to stay, being able to hold her makes all the difference!

Good Morning Sunshine

Hi, my name is Emerson Grace! I just wanted to say good morning!!!

Emerson is doing great this morning! Her oxygen support is down to 24% with 96% saturation in her blood. We are getting close to her hood being removed. At that time we will get to hold her! There are still other obsticles we have to overcome - like avoiding jaundice and gaining weight - but we are seeing great improvements. Please continue to pray for her little lungs to dry out. The pediatrician came by this morning and said that one of the reports is showing that she has high pressure in her lungs. (pulminary hypertension) This is unusual for full term babies and he doesn't know why this is showing up in her report. We will try and see the NICU doctor before we leave to see if we can get any more information as to the cause. The good news is that she continues to make progress in the right direction!

Thanks for ALL of your prayers and your calls! We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Thank you for your prayers

I want to say thank you to everyone for your continued prayers for our little girl. She was awake and alert this morning when I went to see her. They were unable to lower her oxygen support yesterday, but we are hopeful for more improvement soon. Aunt Lacy is coming over this afternoon, so I am sure she will have a long talk with Miss Emerson about how to be a Drama Queen the right way! Most of all, we want to make sure that she is healthy and comfortable. With my time at the hospital drawing to a close, the reality of going home without our little girl hit me hard. Balancing Charlie, healing my own body from surgery and getting back up to the hospital to see Emerson on a regular basis seems like it will be so hard. I just pray that God gives me wisdom on how to do this in the best way for everyone! I will continue to post updates as we know more. Thanks again for all of your love and support.

Meet My New Sister

Emerson Grace, my little sister, joined the world yesterday morning - January 20, 2009. She weighs 7 pounds 15 ounces and is 20 1/2 inches long. She has been having a little bit of trouble breathing, so the doctors and nurses decided that it would be best if she went to the NICU to get some oxygen. She has been making improvements each day and we hope that she will be lots better very soon! It doesn't look like she will get to come home with Mommy on Friday, but as soon as she is better she will get to come to stay at our house for good. I can't wait for that day to come - and neither can mommy and daddy! While we wait for her to get better, mommy is going to help me keep you updated on her progress!

Here is a picture of Emerson just to give you a peek:

She looks like a little space cadet with her oxygen hood over her head.

There are lots of lines and tubes, but they are all helping to make Emerson better!

Today's update: Emerson is needing extra oxygen through the hood to help saturate her blood fully. Right now she is needing 37% assistance - while normal rooms give off 21%. This is a big improvement from Tuesday when she was needing 52% and more. Once her blood oxygen level is stable, they will remove the hood and will let us hold her. At that time, they will also move her to a regular bed and will begin feeding her normally. Right now she is being given food (sugar water) through a line in her belly button. Everyone assures us that she is moving in the right direction, she just needs time to allow her lungs to fully mature. It could take up to two weeks. I will be in the hospital until Friday, and then I will go home but Em will stay here. She is in great care and we want her to be 100% healthy before she comes home. We will keep you posted on her progress!

Playing With the Boys

On the eve of my little sister being born, my daddy and his friend Bob invited me to have a little boy time with them. We grilled hamburgers and played Guitar Hero. It was awesome! Check out my technique!

Trying to hold my guitar just right.

Me and Bob - Future Rock Stars!


Daddy gave me some pointers.

Jam Time!

I need some practice, but I'm getting it!

Bedtime Tradition

Nightime is my favorite time of day. After dinner and a bath, my daddy and I snuggle up with Big Bear and read. Right now, my favorite book is The Cat and the Hat Comes Back. I have heard it so many times that I can even fill in the blanks if daddy stops reading! I love my daddy - and story time!

Big Work Day

Mimi and Papa came over to help mommy finish Baby Emerson's room today. I was a BIG helper! I crawled under everyone's feet and played with all of the baby's toys. After working all day, here is the almost finished look! A few minor additions remain, but you get the idea!

The picture on the changing table will hang in the middle of the dark pink dot on the wall.

Emerson's name will hang on the wall above her bed. You can see some of the letters resting on the back of the crib. They were out of Os, so we are on hold until we can find one!

Baby Emerson is almost here!

Mommy and Daddy have been working hard to get baby Emerson's

room ready for her! Today I helped daddy build her crib!

It was hard work, but we did it together!

Happy New Year

I went to my first New Year's Eve party at my friends Alex and Emma's house. Their mom Ms. Nicole and mommy work together. It was a great time! Ms. Nicole went all out - she even had balloons drop from the ceiling! Cupcakes, horns, and a disco room - what more could you ask for! They even had a wand so that I could turn mommy into a frog when I wanted to! Happy New Year Everyone!

I got to decorate my own cupcake at the "Chef's Corner".

"Turn mommy into a frog...whap!"

More Christmas Fun!

This is my cousin Grace. I don't get to see her very often, but she was fun to play with!

Hanging with my cousins Abby and Anna Jane.

Poor Abby, no alone time even to take a bath.

Gracie and I had a great time playing in Mimi's castle!

Dinner time!

My great-aunts Ebby and Sarah came to visit and brought with them more cousins. It was fun, but seriously, I would love another boy to play with. I am surrounded by GIRLS! I am holding out hope that my aunt Mando and Uncle Bo will give me a boy cousin sometime.