so close...

so, I have been out of town for a week...and I'm SO glad to be back home! here's the latest on Miss Harper Lynn... we have completely mature lungs, people!! that's fantastic! Harper is also very close to five pounds. Pray with me that five pounds is an under-estimate...and that she continues to gain lots of good weight over the next several days...weight is VERY important. When Harper is born, she will be on an IV drip of a medication that will help keep an important extra vessel in her heart open (that will later be closed...yes, the NICU is full of paradoxes). However, we generally don't feed babies who are on this medication. So, beside being like every other baby who loses approximately 10%(ish) of their body weight the first week of life, we won't be putting anything in to help her regain. In addition, sweet girl will lose weight after surgery because her body's metabolic demands will be extremely high as a part of the healing process from surgery. We also don't feed babies immediately after major surgery...see, babies are sort of like men. they have a one track mind. In Harper's case, we want her body to focus on oxygenating and making that heart work. If we feed her, that steals blood and energy away from the healing process, and her body is concentrating on too many things at once. However; no foods means no weight gain (beside water weight, which isn't good weight gain and will go away anyway), In short: pray for poundage!! At this point, Miss Harper's birthday is scheduled for April 5th. The c-section is scheduled for 7:30 am, so sometime around 8:00 am, sweet Harper will be making her grand entrance, to quite the audience: pray for Dr. Killeen (Amy's regular OB) and the assisting physician (another OB). they will be the ones performing the c-section and taking care of Amy. also pray for the anesthesiologist...for good spinal anesthesia and pain control for Amy, as well as no nausea. After anesthesia is deemed effective, daddy Dustin will be escorted back to the OR. Pray for courage for him, and that he and Amy will be filled with the Peace that passes all understanding. I'm not sure whether Dr. Robinson (the cardiologist) will be present at the delivery...generally he shows up in the NICU and performs the echocardiogram after baby comes back from OR. But pray for clear images and good reports from him. This echo will give us the clearest picture of Harper's heart and blood flow thus far, and will go a long way in determining what surgeries and/or procedures she will have in the first week or so of life, as well as the overall severity of the defect. Aaaaand we can't forget the NICU team. :) There will be two nurses, possibly a respiratory therapist, and one of two neonatologists (Dr. Contreras or Dr. Carroll) present to take care of Miss Harper. She may require immediate intubation for poor respiratory effort. However, since her lungs are mature, we are hoping for the other scenario: all you mommas...do you remember the first time you heard your brand new baby cry? Do you remember the first time you met the sweet thing you'd been waiting to meet for all those months (or years, Jennifer)? Do you remember counting their toes and touching their sweet, still-covered-with-vernix faces? Pray that for Amy and Dustin. Pray they will be able to have a moment with sweet girl before she is whisked off to the NICU. Pray they will get to hear her "hello world, why is it so COLD out here???" holler. Pray they will get to have a first few pictures with this precious life. And pray for Miss Harper. Being a brand new baby in the NICU is not the funnest experience. Bright lights, lots of people and noise, needle pokes, things being stuck to her chest, being restrained to keep her from "helping" during central line placement...lots of new things. Pray for God's comport and peace to Harper during her first few hours of life. Lastly, but definitely not leastly...please pray for Harper's big brothers Eli and Landon. They have been hearing about this new baby sister for a while, and won't understand why they don't get to meet her right away. Pray that God will give them patience and understanding in their two year old minds and hearts, and extra measures of love while mommy and daddy are away. Pray also for the fabulous grandmas and other friends and family members who will be with the boys in the coming days, that they will be able to comfort Eli and Landon and keep them reassured. That's all I know for now...will keep y'all posted. Keep praying it up!