Bubbles & Bottles

Henry is moving along nicely. We're grateful. He is now breathing without the aid of his ventilator, and his abdomen is also healing well. Tonight, we were able to bathe him and feed him milk from a bottle! He's currently consuming around 12 ML per feeding. His nurses will slowly increase this amount as Henry allows. It's still too early to tell when he'll be ready to come home, but we've been encouraged and humbled by his progress.

Claire also seems to be giving him more attention, and that makes us smile as we try to imagine these two growing up together.

Much gratitude to everyone who has offered encouraging words, warm meals, or lifted us up in prayer. Your kindness means more to us than we can express.

Our Sweet Baby Burrito

A Bath from Mom...

... And a Bottle from Dad.

A Great Report

We visited with Henry this morning and received a good report from the nurse. Henry has moved to the lowest setting on his ventilator, and it may even be removed completely either tonight or tomorrow. He also filled his diaper this morning - great news because it means that his digestive system is functioning. Once he's off his ventilator, he will hopefully begin receiving small amounts of breast milk. We weren't expecting this to happen so quickly, but we're anxious to get that little guy home. We're excited and encouraged about his quick recovery.

One Week Old

Henry is one week old and sailing right along. I called his nurse this morning at 3:00 - a good chance to check in on him because I'm up pumping anyway :). She said he had a good night, and his lab results are coming back much better than they had yesterday. They were even able to lower his ventilator settings. They still have him mostly sedated, and are keeping him comfortable with Morphine and Tylenol. He is responsive, though, when they interact with him. All encouraging news!

He's Rounding Third!

Whew! Finally a chance to sit, catch my breath, and enjoy the quiet evening knowing that Henry is on the road to recovery. It's been a loonng day of waiting, so it's good to be on this side of it. We arrived at the hospital early this morning and visited with Henry for a bit before they prepped him for surgery.

Here, Claire sits and reads a few books to her baby brother.

One last look at Henry before they transport him to surgery. I thought it cute that he was holding his cords.

Claire enjoyed the Operating Room play area, which was good because the surgery took three hours rather than the one hour we were expecting.

Joe plays peek-a-boo outside the window.

Shortly after surgery, we went back to Henry's room to see him.

And now for the big reveal...Drum Roll Please...

Look at that tiny tummy! The doctor seemed pleased with how the surgery went. He said that in removing the membrane (covering) from the omphalocele, they discovered it contained mostly liver, which made the procedure a bit more complicated. Regardless, they were able to place everything back inside Henry's abdomen. They used a small patch - about an inch in diameter - to close the abdominal muscle, and he had plenty of skin to cover the opening.

So the next step is to get Henry's digestive system working properly, and then he will be able to start eating. Soon after that, we'll take him home! We don't yet know how long this will take, but anticipate that it could take a few weeks. Then in a few months, he will have surgery to repair his hernias. This is a rather common procedure, and he may even be home the following day.

I cannot believe this is all happening so quickly. I was scheduled to have my C-Section at 11:30 this morning - the exact time Henry went in for his surgery. We were also expecting it would be a couple of months before Henry would even be ready for surgery, but here we are, as Joe's Dad put it, "rounding third and heading home". Truly, as his middle name, Samuel, indicates - "The LORD has heard". In my mind, there can be no other explanation. The LORD has heard.

Success!

Hi everyone! Henry is out of surgery and resting peacefully. I'll write more later, but just wanted to let you know that the surgery went well, and we're optomistic about his recovery. Thanks to everyone for your prayers!

Set for Surgery

Henry loves snuggling with his froggy.

I'm sorry I haven't been updating the blog as I had hoped to, but it continues to be a blur of busyness around our home. We're so encouraged, however, as we continue to receive good news from the doctors and surgeons. In fact, I know it's short notice, but I wanted to let everyone know that Henry is scheduled to have his first surgery tomorrow (Tuesday) at noon. I will post an update on how the surgery goes as soon as I am able to. Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Oh Henry!

As many of you may know, we now have the pleasure of introducing you to the newest member of our family, our handsome son, Henry Samuel.

Though my C-Section was scheduled for the seventeenth, by about 1:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, my contractions were only two minutes apart, and so we went into the hospital, and I was prepared for an immediate C-Section. Henry was born at 3:47 a.m. - a bountiful 8 lb. 2 oz., 21 inches long. He was taken by the neonatologists to be cleaned and examined and then moved to his room in NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Soon afterwards Joe and I were able to visit with him there, and I tell ya what - He is one handsome little fella!

And now, Joe and I are resting in our room, reflecting on the past 40 hours. What a whirlwind! But I am eager to share with you all the encouraging news we've been getting. We spoke with the neonatologist, whose name is, ironically, Dr. Ben Doctor. He's been doing ultrasounds of Henry's heart, brain and kidneys, and everything is functioning perfectly. We also met with the pediatric surgeon this afternoon as she began the steady process of compressing Henry's omphalocele back into his abdomen, which she does by wrapping it tightly with an ace bandage. She said that in Grand Rapids, they treat about a half dozen babies with omphaloceles each year, but she rarely sees such a case where the baby has no other health concerns. She was incredibly encouraging, saying that while it will likely take 2 to 3 surgeries to repair Henry's omphalocele over the next 6 months or so, the process is extremely manageable and his full recovery is promising. The surgeons will meet again on Monday to assess Henry's condition, but as of now, they're hoping to do the first surgery next week, even as early as Tuesday! Then depending on his recovery, he could be home in a matter of weeks, until he is ready for the second surgery.

As you can imagine, Joe and I are thrilled. There were a lot of unknowns coming into all of this, but it seems like many factors are falling into place to make for the most ideal situation given the circumstances. On a non-medical, more personal note - I just have to brag about our boy. He seems like such a good baby. So content. So peaceful. We love him so much and feel so fortunate to have him in our family. We can't wait for you all to meet him, but in the meantime, we'll continue posting pictures and updates on the blog. Thanks for reading, and thanks especially for praying. We're so grateful for you all.