She made it!! And I LOVE this first picture, blurry and all. Lots of helping hands, seen and unseen surrounding her. Shelby Grace. 7lbs 12 oz 21 inches long.
Ok now rewind and here’s the play by play in pictures so far:
APRIL 23, 2014 Sometime mid day - Kristi with her Momma getting ready to head in.
8:00 PM - Headed into the hospital with Susan and Scott for the scheduled induction (can’t believe Shelby held on that long but super glad she did!)
9:15 PM - All hooked up and ready to go. All calm. Now the action begins.
9:30 PM – Just chillin’ listening to the baby’s heartbeat. Kristi coughs and it makes the heartbeat monitor make a loud noise – scares the poop out of Susan who jumps almost out of the chair. We all start laughing our heads off and Kristi’s jolly belly is bouncing away and in that moment Kristi proclaims “my water just broke!” With the last 3 births, the water breaking brought fast and furious labor so we took deep breaths and expected things to go fast!
9:30 PM – 6:00 AM – No labor starting so they gave a little prostaglandin and we talked and watched the heart rate and contractions on the monitors until 3AM thinking things would pick up. Things were moving slowly so we all went to sleep.
12:00AM – HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNAVERSARY! What a way to celebrate 10 years married to the greatest woman alive!
APRIL 24, 6:30AM – turns out Kristi’s water only partially broke, and there was still enough fluid that the baby was not moving into position. This was a huge blessing because the ideal time for her to be born was in the morning so that all the specialists would be there ready to go. The doctors broke the rest of the water and WHAM! Full on labor. She was dilated to a 3/4 at that time and within 30 minutes or so she was at an 8! At that same time the epidural was wearing off and Kristi was handling it all the pain like a super champ. Not just a champ – a super champ.
7:50 AM – Fully dilated and ready to push! Several NICU and heart specialists needed to be there at birth (to take care of her and test her and get her into a stable situation as soon as she was born) and the regular delivery room was not big enough for everyone, so they whisked us into the operating room. Big plus – I got to wear this special jumpsuit.
8:10 AM – SHE’S HERE!!! She comes out with a big healthy cry right off the bat and is immediately taken to the other side of the room and surrounded by NICU doctors and cardiac specialists.
8:10-8:17 – Check breathing, insert oxygen tube, weight, temperature, and lots more. 7lbs 12oz 21 inches! Intense time and everything is going well.
8:17 – Off to the NICU down the hall where they hook up all kinds of monitors.
8:20 AM - Set up a special IV in her hand and in her umbilical cord to give her a special drug that will keep a hole in her heart open to allow for enough oxygen to the lungs. The doctors are awesome about keeping me posted and answering my questions and once all is connected, the doctor looks me straight in the eye and tells me that she is doing very well and outperforming expectations. I feel a flow of gratitude for all the prayers being said on her behalf.
8:30 AM – I head back to check on Kristi who is full to the brim of mother love, and filled with this special kind of relief and gratitude to have her baby here safe and doing well. In awe of this beautiful baby.
9:30 AM – They wheel Kristi in to the NICU to be able to touch Shelby for the first time and hang out with her for a few minutes.
Grandma and Grandpa peek in through the window of the NICU (the staff was awesome to turn her bed so that they could see her.
10:30 AM – The Children’s Hospital of LA (CHLA) transport team arrives to prepare Shelby for the transport. They put her in a special incubator on wheels.
11:00 AM – The transport team brings Shelby to Kristi’s room so she can say bye for the day and my Mom and Dad arrive just in time to see Shelby before the transfer. My Dad and Scott join me in giving Shelby a special blessing. Monitors go off during the first part of the blessing so we decide to finish at the other hospital.
11:30 AM – Out the door, Shelby get’s her first sunlight, and into the ambulance.
In the ambulance for the 50 yard ride to the other hospital.
12:30 – All settled into the new surroundings at the CTICU at CHLA. We finish the blessing and I am in awe of what a special little girl this is.
Throughout the afternoon – special echocardiograms are performed on her heart and all other tests are coming back with good results (everything was tested to be sure there were no other issues in addition to her heart condition)
Brain ultrasound
Once all is settled with Shelby, I head over to check on Kristi next door who is doing fantastic and her parents have been taking such good care of her.
9:00 PM – Back to CHLA where I meet with the doctors to discuss the findings from the echocardiogram and other tests. The doctors explained that after close examination of Shelby’s tests and ultrasounds, the recommendation is to perform a catheter surgery on Monday where they plan to go into her heart through a vein to attempt to balloon open the pulmonary valve and place a special stent in her ductus arteriosis to keep it open for additional blood flow (this is the hole that is currently being kept open by the special drug called prostaglandin and the stent is like a tube that will keep it open without the drug after the procedure). Isn't that crazy that it is even possible to do such a thing!? Shelby's heart is the size of a walnut. Opening the pulmonary valve would give her the possibility of growing the right ventricle over time so that it can become more and more useful. If successful, this would allow her to skip open chest surgery at least for now.
As with any special medical procedure, there are several risks to this but they have a high degree of confidence that everything will go smoothly. The person who would be performing the the catheterization is one of the best in the world and has a lot of experience.
One of the alternatives to this route is open chest surgery right off the bat to insert a stent like described above or a shunt that would allow the blood to be pumped from the left heart to the body and the lungs. There are pros and cons to open chest surgery as well but we think the pros of the catheterization right now with Shelby's particular situation outweigh the cons. Her catheter surgery is scheduled for Monday morning. We feel so grateful to God for all these amazing doctors and medical machines that make this all possible.
9:30 PM – back over to Presbyterian hospital to be with Kristi and celebrate our anniversary. Nothing more romantic than flowers bought from a flower vending machine in the hospital lobby to celebrate 10 years right!? Definitely an anniversary we will never forget!
What a day!
It’s been 2 days now and there are more pictures to post including McKay and Lyla’s first meeting but I couldn’t resist ending with this picture form today. After 2 days we got to hold Shelby for the first time and here is the first hold by Momma. I gotta be honest, this one makes me cry. These are GOOD girls.
23 comments:
Congratulations! You don't know me (I found your blog via Shawni's), but I am praying for you all here in Germany. All the best!
I hope you keep sharing this journey! I love the Eyre family. I did joy school with my young children many years ago. I have always been inspired by your amazing family. I enjoy all your parents and siblings blogs. So glad things are going as well as expected. You have a beautiful family!
That last picture is amazing! The love, and joy, and gratitude are just palpable!
Congratulations with your little girl! I also found your blog via Shawni's, and as a doctor (with an interest in paediatrics), I've been anxiously waiting for this blogpost. I'm so glad she's doing well :) I'm not religious, but I'll keep her in my thoughts tomorrow, for the catheterization!
Oh my goodness Noah and Kristi--this post makes me cry so much. So beautiful!!! Shelby is such a precious baby. And you two are amazing, strong parents. Noah thank you for the play by play. Loved reading all the details of your miracle girl. CHLA CTICU is such a special place. I think angels must walk those halls. I'll never forget our time there with our baby. Praying so much that tomorrow goes perfectly and that you all will be strengthened and comforted. xo Darcy
This post makes me cry! The Eyre family is really amazing! You are very strong! I will be praying here in Brazil for its preciously Shelby.
I've been waiting for news of your baby girl. As a heart mama myself I know what you are going through. Many prayers for tomorrow's procedure. I found you through Shawni.
Blair
I too wandered here from your sisters' blogs. I will be keeping you all in my prayers but especially Kristi and little Shelby. May God's sweetest blessings be yours.
What a precious little child. You guys are all in our prayers, especially little Shelby. Thanks for the updates, Noah.
Love,
Jeff and Cheryl Clark
What an amazing 10 year anniversary! To get a beautiful baby; she is gorgeous. You guys are awesome and inspiring. I am glad she is doing so well and will be praying for her during her surgery.
I too am in tears.
There are SO many people who love you already, Shelby Eyre!
love shelby grace so dang much! can't wait to come meet her. i know she will be super strong. she has such a special heart. love you guys so much.
Thank you for sharing all the details. We are so happy to hear that little Shelby is doing so well. . . And that she's so well cared for. Our prayers are with you as she goes into surgery tomorrow.
Kristi, I've been anxiously awaiting this post, as I talked to your Mom and Dad at church last week and they said they were on their way. I'm so happy to see that things are moving along well for you and your beautiful family. We'll keep praying.
Great pictures! All our love.
Shelby could not have been in a more loving, faithful and positive family. She was meant for your home. Kristi, I'm dying that you had to wait two days to hold that beautiful girl. I understand those tears of joy. I'm sure she couldn't wait to get in your arms too.
This post made me cry. Kristi you are a beautiful mother and Shelby is just as beautiful.
So sweet!
Beautiful. Praying for you from New Zealand :)
So happy little Shelby is doing well, I will keep you all in my prayers, strong mamma and a strong baby you got there:)!
What a precious bundle of joy. Will keep your family in my thoughts and prayers.
I am over here from 71toes and just wanted to say congratulations! April 24th is the best birthday! (it's mine too). Babies are so precious and beautiful when born. She's amazing and hope all is going well with her heart issues!
This is awesome! I just came over from Shawni's blog and had to read all the updates. I'm a mom of four, the youngest two with CHDs (mitral valve stenosis and HLHS). One year, we actually had three open heart surgeries and two caths between the two girls. (Where's my gold star? ;) )
One thing I feel I should share with you is regarding siblings. During our especially high stress times with the heart girls, I also worried about the children at home. What would this do to them? Were they going to be completely messed up because we were always leaving them behind to go to the hospital? I'm sure a lot of credit can be given to the wonderful friends and family members who stepped in to care for the siblings in our absence, but Heavenly Father worked a lot of miracles for our healthy kids, too. Six years after the last heart surgery, I have two teenagers who are the kindest, most compassionate and caring people. I can't tell you how many times a teacher or parent has told me about something one of them has quietly done for another student who was physically or mentally impaired or someone who needed a friend. A family in our ward recently brought their baby girl home with oxygen, feeding tube, etc., and my 15 year old daughter picks that baby up and carries her around as if it's the most natural thing in the world. I see my children doing things like that as if it's not a big deal, and I am able to see the how God continues to make what I thought would be a terrible burden become a blessing not just to us, but to others.
Anyway, I've learned some great tips for reducing baby/toddler/kid stress during appointments, test, and procedures that I would be more than willing to share. My email is ruth@windmillwords.com. Love and prayers for you, Shelby, and the rest of your family.
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