The Grand Appearance

Introducing Miss Josephine Elora Sanford!  Born on Tuesday, May 27 at 2:54 p.m.  Six pounds 9 ounces and 19 inches long...and might I add, most beautiful baby ever. :)

 

Though she has been doing a pretty good deal of simply sleeping these first few days, Josephine has already revealed quite a bit of her personality.  She has an amazing angry/scrunchy face which she enjoys showing when moved between guests too frequently...or when Aunt Becky boops her nose one too many times. (Grandma says scrunchy face reminds her of E.T...so when scrunchy E.T. face is paired with a right index finger that glows red due to the attached vital signs monitor, I'll agree she looks about ready to eat some Reese's Pieces and phone home. :)  )

 

Her favorite music so far has been lullaby rock classics.  She prefers Metallica, but Depeche Mode runs  a close second.  She hasn't been too keen on opening her eyes much - primarily because the world is just so bright!  She does give a quick peek every so often so we can tell that her eyes - for the moment - are a bright bluish grey.  She has a tiny bit of dark bonde-ish or brownish hair that covers her entire head, and big hands with long  slender fingers just like her mommy.  We haven't decided yet who is to blame for her rather large feet. (When you have two parents who are relatively tall and have feet just shy of hobbit-size, it's hard not to end up with something similar. Sorry, Josephine. :p )

 

Medically speaking, the doctors are fairly encouraged.  She has been breathing well on her own and hasn't needed any supplemental oxygen.  Her vitals are all good.  She had a CT scan yesterday which turned out as expected...and she was such a good baby while it was in progress!  No sedation or anesthesia needed.  They simply swaddled her tightly, gave her a pacifier with a little sugar water on it and she laid still while they captured the images needed.  While they've not made it official, news is the surgeon is favoring shunting instead of stenting. No set time, but it's looking like the first procedure will happen on Monday.  We're learning that pretty much everything in CICU is tentative.  If another case pops up that is urgent, Josephine could easily be bumped because she is relatively stable.  I'll count that as a blessing (both that she's stable and that, should she need it, urgent care will be made available to her regardless of what the schedules say.)

 

Thanks for all of your positive thoughts and prayers.  We're humbled by the outpouring of love, and so honored to be the parents of this amazing little being. :)

The Final Countdown

I'd like to say the past few months pending parenthood have gone quickly...but that would be only slightly short of completely inaccurate. "Painfully slow" about covers it from my perspective.  We've made it through some pretty significant milestones, but I've discovered that when babies are involved (especially when it's YOUR baby), you never really stop worrying.  Quite the lesson in surrendering control...

According to the doctors, Josephine is growing and developing well.  Over the past month, she has aced all of her biophysical profiles with a perfect score - 8 of 8 - each time.  The heart issue is still there of course, but we're encouraged by the fact that she has made it this far and they've not identified any other areas of concern.

A few things we now know about our sweet little girl:
1.) If ultrasound is to be believed, she has precious, pinchable chubby cheeks and beautiful full lips. As of three weeks ago, she was right around 6 pounds 7 ounces.
2.) She hates speed bumps. Even when I warn her they're coming, she flails about dramatically whenever we hit one.
3.) She's a bit defiant of authority.  During one of our more recent ultrasound check-ups, she stuck her tongue out at us, then kicked at the ultrasound technician. (We're gonna credit her daddy for that trait. :) )
4.) She loves Mexican food and sugary treats...although too much sugar gives her hiccups.
5.) She's really flexible and loves her feet.  She almost always positions her feet right up next to her head...practicing ninja moves, I can only guess.
6.) 1/2 a heart...but twice the kidneys!  You read it right...she has a bilateral duplication of the kidney system, which basically means she has one fully functioning kidney on each side with a bonus mini-kidney positioned just above. A pair and two spares.  Can't beat that. :)
7.) She loves having her back rubbed.  Several times a day she pushes her back up into my side for a quick massage.
8.) She doesn't like the sound of the blender or the noise made when paper is being ripped.  The blender I totally get (way too loud).  The paper is a bit of a mystery.  Perhaps she's already a writer/book-lover at heart. :)

The news of the day is that we're going in for a "trial induction" on Monday, May 26. (I'd never heard of such a thing, but basically it means they're going to "set the stage" for her debut.  If she shows signs she's not yet ready to make her appearance, they'll send us home and try again - probably more aggressively - the next week.)  Honestly, my hope is that she'll decide to come on her own before any intervention is started...prayers to that end would be much appreciated! 

No matter the exact details of her entrance, our precious little pea (who I've taken to calling "Pheeny") will be here soon.  We can't wait! :)