Wednesday Update

Today has been tiring and confusing. We were given a dissapointing report on our timeline with Emery last night. Told not to expect to take her home until Sunday or Monday. I was looking good and told I would be discharged today.


Well, today there was a shift in both Emery and my updates. Emery has been able to control her body temperature and is in a small bed without a heat lamp. She is still sleeping with the "glow worm" for the jaundice, but her numbers are not rising. They even took her off of the IV and have her nursing a little and filling up with formula afterwards. Whatever it takes to get her home. Because she came so early it is taking my milk a little while to come in. She is now allowed to visit my room during feedings as well! She just spent about 2 hours in my room for some loving and feeding! It was heaven to this mother's heart... The neo-natologist said that as long as we can get her take the formula and continue to work on nursing, she thinks that maybe Friday they will be able to release her!



Now, our worry is that Emery will be released and I won't. My doctor came in this morning to check on me and I expected to be released after her visit. Instead she opened the door and closed it behind her and asked if I had been able to get out of bed... Surprised, I answered, "Yeah, I feel pretty good." She spent the next few minutes explaining that I was severly anemic(which they had been watching my entire pregnancy)... Unfortunately since my arrival in at hospital, my hemoglobin(sp?) had dropped to what they would consider a danger zone - worthy of hospitilization and a blood transfusion. I looked at Blake and I saw the shock on his face that I am sure was showing on mine.

We decided that she would send up a hemotologist and discuss whether we needed to do a blood transfusion or could attempt consecutive iron transfusions. The hemotologist ordered enough testing for 12 vials of blood and recommended I attempt 1 iron transfusion today. They will test my blood in the morning and if it has dropped any lower(it is at a 5 right now) they will recommend a blood transfusion. If it remains the same they will probably keep me another day for observation and another iron transfusion... and I will have to have several more that I will hopefully be able to do as an outpatient procedure. Both doctors were mystified that I could even walk a few steps without being out of breath or fainting... I have been walking back and forth to the nursery all day long and never even felt lightheaded.

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers. I am typing this alone in my hospital room because Blake is utterly exhausted and needed a night of sleep without nurses coming in and out. Will and Riley really needed some parent time as well so Blake spent much of the afternoon and all of the evening with them. He called me after putting them down and said he held Riley until she went to sleep and layed with Will until he fell asleep... I was so envious. But also blessed because I got to spend so much time with Emery this evening and hold her as she slept. Please continue to pray for Emery and her continued growth. It looks like she had put on an ounce since we began the feedings which is a huge praise. And of course that my hemoglobin levels will at not some down anymore. The iron transfusions will take a wk or two to show any great improvements, so as long as I can maintain where I am I believe they will allow me to go home soon.

It would be so wonderful if Emery and I could be home with Blake and the children by the weekend!