Happy Birthday Caroline Grace!

Hello world! Aren't I precious? I decided I was ready to meet my mommy and daddy and see what this big ol' world is all about. I'm doing great but I could sure use your prayers over the next 24 hours. My mommy will tell you why if you keep reading.Whew...what an amazing ride we have been on. When I showed up for my regular OB visit last Thursday I had no idea that I would be heading to St. Lukes a few hours later to meet our precious baby girl. She definitely surprised us all! I was only 36 weeks and Miss Caroline was not scheduled to arrive until September 7th! I was in complete shock to say the least. Here's a quick run down of what happened....

I had not been feeling all that great last week but wrote it off as normal last trimester pregnancy symptoms and being back at work full time preparing for the start of the school year. During my appointment the nurse checked my vitals and I had unusually high blood pressure, which I never have. Dr. Kirshon decided to do an ultra sound to check on baby girl and noticed that she had not gained any weight since my last US a few weeks ago. With my symptoms and her low weight he was very concerned. His exact words were, "So, how do you feel about delivering your baby today?" I about fell off the examination table! I was NOT expecting that! Before I knew it I was in the car heading to St. Lukes to get checked in.David left work, rushed home to get our bags and got to the hospital as soon as he could. When I got checked in they did some blood work and discovered that I had Pre-eclampsia, which was the reason for the high blood pressure. I was definitely going to deliver Caroline some time that evening. We started making phone calls and our families rushed to the hospital to be with us. Daddy getting suited up and ready. He was so excited. Here we go!Welcome to world Caroline! Happy birthday sweet girl! You were born August 19, 2010 at 10:33 p.m. You weighed 3 pounds, 15 ounces and you were 16 3/4 inches long. You are so perfect and beautiful! Mommy finally got to hold you but just for a minute because they had to get you to the NICU right away to check your heart. Look at those long legs!!I finally got to see you on Friday. I could not get there fast enough!Mommy's first time to feel your soft skin. You are were so tiny and sweet. You look just like your daddy. You definitely have his chin, lips, and toes. Our first picture as a family of three.

You love your daddy! When he held you for the first time you perked up, opened your eyes and just stared at him. It completely melted my heart to see how much the two of you have already bonded. He loves you so much!

I could stare at you forever. I can't believe we created this precious little being and that you're all ours to keep forever. I never knew I could love something so much until I held you for the first time.

Mommy is suppose to be resting but I just can't stand to be away from you. This was taken Saturday night. You are doing so good in the NICU. Your vitals are staying within normal range and you have started eating. Your nurses always tell us what a good baby you are. We are hoping you will gain some weight soon.

You have lots of tubes so the nurses and doctors can monitor you closely.

You love skin to skin time. As soon as I lay you on my chest you go right to sleep. I could do this forever.

We are so proud of our little miracle baby. You have surprised all of your doctors and nurses with how strong you are. They took you off the prostaglandin medicine only a few hours after you were born and have been monitoring you ever since to see if the PDA (artery connecting the heart to the aorta) would close on its own with out affecting the aorta. So far so good! The next 24-48 hours are very critical. They will do another echo of your heart on Monday to see if the PDA is closing properly and if it is then you may not need surgery!! God is truly answering our prayers and healing your tiny little heart. We needs lots of prayers from our friends and family so that God will cover you in love and protect you from any complications.

Please cover me in prayer world!