Tuesday Update

Rebekah has had several different tests run today, so we have not been able to see her yet. We did take a few pictures last night after she was hooked up to the ventilator.

Mommy and Bekah

Rebekah on vent

Rebekah was able to rest much better once she was on the ventilator. She will remain on the vent until after her surgery or until the doctors determine if she can be taken off the medication to keep the ductus open.

This morning Rebekah had at least one echocardiogram (like an ultrasound on her heart). She also had a CT scan of her heart so the doctors can try to gain some more information about the blood flow to her right lung. Based on that information, the doctors hope to be able to determine whether or not she will need to remain on the medication to keep her ductus open and when they will be doing surgery. We hopefully will be able to update with more information later today!

Nancy

Thanks to our Lord and Savior

Now that things have slowed down to a controlable crazy instead of wide open crazy some very much needed words that need saying.

Dear Lord,

Thank you Lord for our little girl. Thank you for a great delievery and for the grace and strength to face this new adventure in our lives. She is yours and we are so undeserving of your trust in us to raise her. May we always teach her and raise her in your word and will. All the praise for her and her safe arrival goes to you who is in perfect control of all things.

In Jesus name I pray

Rebekah Updates

After a day (and night!) of contractions, Rebekah decided to arrive at 1:40 this afternoon with only a few pushes. Congratulations to Rebecca Wood (a good friend from college) for coming the closest with her guess of 6 pounds even and 18 inches long. Rebekah was in fact 5 pounds and 15 ounces and 18 inches long.

Rebekah has taken to sucking on a pacifier, which is very good for learning her suck and swallow reflex. Right now she is not being allowed any foods until the doctors decide when they will be performing her surgery. Rebekah has an IV that she is receiving nutrition through for now.

All of the ultrasound technicians commented that Rebekah had lots of hair, and she does! Her hair is light to medium brown and for now is quite wavy. I'm hoping she keeps the wavy curls! :) Like all of her brothers, she also has blue eyes.

Rebekah has a couple of buddies sharing her crib with her. Drew and I used some gift money that was given to Rebekah to purchase the little pink and white puppy dog. She doesn't have a name yet - any suggestions? Rebekah also has a little pink teddy bear from Grampy and Grammy in her crib.

Now for the medical updates: We met with Dr. Walsh (a cardiology fellow) tonight and learned about some of the tests that have been run on Rebekah so far. Pretty much everything that the doctors have seen has confirmed their original diagnosis. Rebekah does have Truncus Arteriosus and will definitely require surgery to correct it. We also knew that there was a question about the pulmonary artery leading to her right lung. From the tests that the doctors were able to do today, we still do not have a clear picture of how blood is being supplied to that lung. There has been some discussion of doing a CT scan tomorrow to see if that will shed some more light on how the blood flows to her lung. For now, the doctors are assuming that the blood is flowing through a normal hole in her heart called a ductus. This ductus closes within hours after birth, so she is on a medication to prevent the closing of the ductus just in case it is supplying her lung with blood.

One of the side effects of this particular kind of medication is that it tends to make babies forget to breathe. Rebekah had three apnea spells this evening (two of which we were in the room watching). During the last apnea spell, the nurse had to blow air into Rebekah's face to stimulate her breathing again. Dr. Walsh recommended intubating Rebekah and giving her a little help breathing with a ventilator. We agreed that it is the best option at this point as long as she has to remain on the medication.

Tomorrow we will be meeting with two of Rebekah's main cardiologists and discussing the possibility of the CT scan and the results if they decide to go ahead with it. Based on the results of the CT, the doctors will decide the best option for surgery.

We are heading back to the PCICU to see Rebekah before going to bed. We will update again tomorrow after meeting with the doctors and hopefully having a better idea of where we are headed in the next few days.

Nancy

She has arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rebekah Grace Ellis has arrived. She is 5lbs. 15oz and 18in. long. Mom and Bekah are doing great!! So far Rebekah is breathing on her own and not showing any signs of trouble. The doctors are working on running all kinds of tests to determine the extent of her heart defect and if there are any other problems. Praise the Lord our little one has arrived. He is so gracious and we give all the praise to Him.

D

Heading to OR

We are ready and heading to the OR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are delivering in OR as a precaution not having a C-Section.

Water......

They just broke Nancy's water. Still at a 4. Things should move along faster now.

D

Epidural

Nancy just got her epidural. She is doing so well on her own they are holding off on the pitocin. Next they will break her water in a bit.

D

Morning All

We had a long night. Well I snuck in some sleep, but Bekah and Mommy are tired. Nancy is doing well. She is currently at a 4 and waiting on her epidural to be put in. After this is done they will wait a little bit and then break her water. They are also going to start some pitocin shortly after the epidural is in. Shouldn't be to much longer and little one will be here.

D

Pain meds

We are progressing along. So far Nancy is dealing with the pain of contractions well. She has just gotten her first dose of IV pain killer. They are coming back in to start some insulin in a few minutes. Nancy's sugar is to high. They don't want Bekah to have a sugar crash when she comes out. Nancy is trying to get a little sleep for a bit.

Drew

Progress!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After having fairly steady contractions for the last two days, I checked in today to find that I am still at 2 cm, but I am 50% effaced!! I am excited!! Since being hooked up to the fetal heart monitor, I have been having contractions every 2 minutes. It would be so cool to have Rebekah all on my own without pitocin, but we will wait and see what happens. IF I stop progressing, the plan is to start with pitocin in the morning around 8:00 or so.

By the way, the doctors are allowing me to eat supper, so I am happy!! :)

Updates to follow as soon as something happens!

Nancy

We are checking in to

We are checking in to musc.
Drew

Last Day to Guess!

Today is the last day to guess Rebekah's birth weight and height! We've been having lots of fun seeing how much each of you think Rebekah will weigh. Click here to add your guess!

As you can imagine, we are very excited to meet her. We were even wide awake this morning at 6:00 even when we had the opportunity to sleep in! We'll be hanging out at the hotel for the morning and then some sight seeing before checking in this afternoon.

Contractions have been pretty steady through the night, so maybe things will progress quickly tomorrow! :)

Excitement!

We safely arrived in Charleston around 7:00 this evening. Our hotel room is great - very relaxing!! When we first got to Charleston, there was a round of severe thunderstorms moving through, and even a tornado in the area! Thankfully, where ever the tornado was it wasn't near us!! We have had several storms roll through and saw a really fantastic lightning show.

Our plan is to rest and relax for tonight and in the morning. We were able to get a late check-out time, so we don't have to be out of our room until 1:00 tomorrow afternoon. Before we check in at MUSC tomorrow, we will have a little lunch and maybe do some sight seeing. Our check-in time is at 5:30 tomorrow afternoon and induction will begin as early (possibly) as 4:00 Monday morning. Hopefully things will go quickly since I have been having contractions off and on all day. :)

We will be updating as much as we possibly can through the delivery and beyond. Thank you for all of your prayers!!

On the road to charleston.

On the road to charleston.

Charleston Bound!!

The results are in, and Rebekah's lungs are fully developed and mature!! Which means that we are heading to Charleston today (Saturday) to be induced tomorrow (Sunday). Our check-in time is tomorrow afternoon at 5:30, but we are heading down today just as a precaution. I would rather be there in case my contractions get longer/stronger or my water breaks. It's probably a slim chance that either of those would happen between now and tomorrow evening, but we would all rest better if the hospital was across the street and not four hours away!! :)

We will post more updates through tomorrow and Monday, and of course, we will post pictures as soon as we can get some!!! :)

If you haven't posted a guess at Rebekah's birth weight/height, scroll down a couple of posts and leave your guess. Only a couple more days to guess!

Nancy

Nothing New......

Well, the answer from the first preliminary testing is sit and wait for the results of the second test! Not really what we were hoping for, but at least we will get to go to the VBS program tonight with the boys.

We should have the results of the more in-depth test by noon tomorrow and at that point we will see what the plan is from there.

If you haven't seen the post below, check it out and cast your vote for Rebekah's birth weight/height. :)

Nancy

A little "weight"-ing game!

Yes, I know it is almost 5:00 in the morning, but I woke up thinking of things to do and couldn't go back to sleep! :) Not that I'm excited about the possibility of having our baby girl sometime today. Nah, not me!!

Anyway, I meant to post this to the update last night and forgot, so I'll do it now! Before our amniocentesis yesterday, Vickie did a quick measurement for us to see how big Rebekah might be. Rebekah wasn't perfectly cooperative, but the measurements showed her to be somewhere between 5 lbs. 9 ozs. and 5 lbs. 13 ozs. Of course, measuring in utero is not always accurate or sometimes even close (Caleb was measured at 6 and 1/2 pounds, and he was born at 8 lbs. 5 ozs.!).

If you would like to play along, leave a comment in the comments section (just click on the bottom of the post where it says "comments" and use your google account to sign in, or leave an anonymous comment with your name included). In your comment, guess how much Miss Bekah will weigh at birth and how long/tall she will be. I will post the winner who guesses exactly or comes closest to her actual birth weight and length sometime after delivery. Happy guessing!! :)

Nancy

P.S. If we don't end up going to Charleston today, I will re-open the guessing game the day before our actual delivery day so you will have a chance to guess again.

We're Ready!

Our bags are packed, Rebekah's room is ready, and now we are waiting to see when she will arrive! Because the amniocentesis was done so late in the day, we will not have the results back until sometime tomorrow morning. If Rebekah "passed" (her lungs are fully mature), we will be heading to Charleston sometime tomorrow for an induction. If not, we will be waiting either for me to go into labor or until her lungs are more developed, whichever comes first. We are really hoping that her lungs are completely developed so we don't have to play a guessing game as to when I might go into labor and we have to rush to Charleston!

Definitely a girl's closet! :)

There are still more things that are going to be put up on Bekah's walls, but we are still waiting on them to be completed. For now, her room is "done" and we are excited about her coming home to stay in it! If you can't see well enough in the picture, the lamp has butterflies in the shade that shine through when the light is turned on. It is really cute! :)

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as this might be a very big weekend! We will continue to update with any new information as we get it.

Nancy

Finished amnio. Not bad at all! Should have preliminary results in a couple of hours.

Waiting no longer!

We are leaving in a few minutes to have the amniocentesis done at Dr. Greig's office. Will update everyone on what the results are when we have them. We might know something as early as tonight or possibly not until Saturday. So, I guess in some ways, we will still be waiting! :)

Nancy

Waiting Game

There's not really much to update at this exact moment, except to say that I am now 2 cm dilated! I am waiting on a return phone call from Dr. Greig to determine if we will be doing an amniocentesis tomorrow or waiting until Monday, which was the original plan. We will be sure to post more information when we have it!! :)

The New Plan

After meeting with Dr. Greig today, we now have a little more direction for how the next couple of weeks might play out. :)

First of all, Dr. Greig was not concerned about the irregularities that have been showing up in Rebekah's heartbeat. They are "normal" irregularities (How is something irregular normal???) caused by my contractions and Rebekah's movements. So, for now, her heartbeat is irregularly normal and looking just fine for her gestational age.

As far as the plan for delivery goes......we are planning on July 9th, and we are planning to go earlier. Confused yet?? :) Don't worry, so are we! Because there is a good possibility that I may go into labor earlier than July 9th (the date we are currently scheduled to check-in at MUSC in Charleston), we are packing and planning to be able to leave by the end of this week if necessary.

For this week (unless I go into labor before Thursday), we are waiting until my Thursday doctor's appointment with Dr. Lattimore. If I have made any more progression in labor, (dilating, etc.) Dr. Greig is recommending that I have an amniocentesis done next week to determine the maturity of Rebekah's lungs. If her lungs are fully developed and mature, then he will send us on to Charleston to deliver. If her lungs are not fully developed, we have the option of waiting longer or possibly undergoing steroid shots to boost her lung development. A lot of that decision will be based on how much progress, if any, I have made toward delivery. So, no matter how things work out, Rebekah should be here in less than three weeks!! :)

And on a good note, we have a huge praise! Rebekah has turned around and is now in the head-down position!!! Thank you all for your prayers.....we are very grateful not to be facing a c-section right now, even though it may come to that later.

We will post another update after Thursday's doctor visit.....unless something happens before!! :)

Nancy

A dip in the road

Well, it seems that just when we think things are going according to schedule, Miss Rebekah decides to shake things up a little! :) During today's NST (non-stress test), Rebekah's heart rate was showing several dips during times when her heart rate was accelerating. Dr. Lattimore was concerened enough to consult with Dr. Greig about it, and the opinion is that even though there is some concern about the dips in her heart rate, at this point, the risks of her coming this early are still too great to induce labor right now. So for the time being, we wait on a week-by-week, visit-by-visit basis to see what happnes. The best case scenario is that we make it three more weeks until our scheduled induction date, but if that doesn't happen, we would like to get as close as we possibly can. I will be asking Dr. Greig several questions during our appointment on Monday including whether it might be time for Dr. Lucas (cardiologist) to have a look at the NST results for his opinion.

In other news, things are beginning to progress to delivery! When Dr. Lattimore checked, he was surprised to find that my cervix was "very, very soft!" I have also continued to have contractions off and on for several weeks (not enough to concern the doctors, but obviously, they are doing something!). So, Rebekah continues to have her own schedule and agenda no matter how much we plan! :) We will have to see if she actually makes it another three weeks or decides to come earlier on her own.

I have been sorting, washing, folding and ironing little girl clothes and having fun doing it! Zachary commented yesterday that there was too much pink in our living room! :) The boys are getting very excited about meeting their sister, and I can't say as I blame them!

Please pray for all of the doctors involved in making decisions about Rebekah's delivery and care. Pray that Rebekah will arrive in the Lord's timing and that her lungs will be fully developed when she does arrive.

Nancy

Another week closer

Monday - yet another Dr. appointment. Not much to report so far this week. Nancy and Rebekah are both are doing well. Thankfully the Lord allowed whatever heart fluctuations from last week to go away. So we are marching onward towards July 9th. Nancy is busy finishing Rebekah's room and thinking of packing for Charleston. We are continuing to lean on the Lord and to trust him for all our needs as we prepare for one of the biggest challenges we have faced together since we got married.

D

Today's Chaos

Nancy is at her regular OB visit and the doctor has detected a dip in Bekah's heart rate. They are doing an NST. The doctor doesn't like the fact that Rebekah is not showing the heart rate accelerations that they want to see. Nancy is still there and we are waiting to see what the doctor will want to do. We will keep you updated as the day progresses.

D

They are sending Nancy home. Rebekah started being more reactive and with further testing they feel that all is normal and Rebekah is doing fine. They will continue to moniter her each Thursday and we will see what happens at the next appointment on Monday.

D

Doctor's Update

For all of you who were waiting, here comes the update from this morning's doctor's visit! Dr. Lucas, Rebekah's cardiologist, spent quite a bit of time studying her heart, and he feels that everything is the same as it was when we saw him a little over a month ago. At this point, unless there are other heart issues or complications that arise, we know as much about Rebekah's heart defect as we can know before she is born.

Rebekah measured well today - she is in the 43rd percentile! That is great news as far as her growth goes! My fluid dropped almost in half (from 25 to 13), but it is still within the normal range, so there is no concern there. It is fairly common for the fluid to decrease somewhat due to the baby taking up more space. :) I will be going to see Dr. Greig on Mondays for a BPP (BioPhysical Profile) to check Rebekah's heart, movement, and how well she practices breathing. In three weeks, we will re-check her measurements and hopefully she will continue to show good growth.

One prayer request from today is for Rebekah to turn around. Right now, she is bottom down, which will mean a c-section if she does not turn. We are praying that she will turn in the next week or so before she gets too big to turn.

Miss Bekah's diaper bag!

Thank you all for your prayers. We are getting excited about meeting Rebekah Grace! :)

Nancy

Getting Ready!

Hello all! I promise that I will post shower pictures as soon as I have them! Being that our shower was a complete surprise, I didn't have my camera with me (for obvious reasons!), so I have to rely on getting some pictures from friends who were there. They will be posted as soon as I can get them on here! :)

We are working hard on organizing/cleaning out/getting Rebekah Grace's room ready. We received some beautiful gifts at the shower, and I am so excited about getting things all ready and then sharing pictures with you all. A very good friend (who is an incredible artist!) made an absolutely stunning print with the words from one of my favorite songs "You formed me in my mother's womb/according to Your plan/You made each little finger/and You made each tiny hand." The words are so appropriate for Rebekah Grace especially, and I am so grateful for Sarah's work to put it in print. Also, Aunt Aimee made a beautiful keepsake shadowbox that I can't wait to display! Rebekah Grace was named for Drew's grandmother, Grace Ellis, who went home to be with the Lord several years ago. Aimee used one of Grandma's very delicate hankies to form a butterfly in the shadowbox, and I know it is something that we will cherish for Rebekah.  Aunt Aimee also made a beautiful hairbow/ribbon hanger that is just incredible! She is so talented! :) Pictures will be coming, I promise!

We also received some gift cards which I used to order a small three-drawer organizer and some baskets to put some of Rebekah's clothes and other things in. Hopefully they will lend a bit of organization to what is right now a very cluttered room! :)

Our shower was so much fun, and I am so thankful for the friends we have who put it all together and those who came. We received so many sweet, girly things! From curtains, to a lamp, blankets, bedding, a boppy cover in girl colors (!!) burp cloths, bibs, pacifiers, toys and lots and lots of clothes, we truly felt "showered" with things for Rebekah!

Rebekah and I have two doctor's visits this week. Tuesday morning we will have another ultrasound and our final meeting with the cardiologist before going to Charleston (providing everything looks the same). We are praying that Rebekah's growth will continue to be stable. Then on Thursday we have a routine OB visit with Mommy's doctor. We will update with any new information after our visits!

Thanks to all of you who keep up with the blog and are praying for us. It means so much to know that there are people literally all over the world who are praying for Rebekah Grace!