Home!

Thanks again to all that have been praying, we arrived home from the hospital Thursday afternoon. Emma is doing great and we praise the Lord for His goodness.

Out of NICU!

Just a quick update and praise. About 8:30 pm they brought Emma out of NICU. Tests will continue on an outpatient basis to monitor blood counts etc. She is now with mom in her recovery room and Lord willing she will be going home with mom as early as tomorrow or Friday. Thanks again for all the prayer.

Just a few of the answered prayers
How about the hundreds of prayers offered during the pregnancy that were answered - safety in the c-section, healthy baby, precision, clarity of thought and availability of her doctor to attend to the surgery - 10 fingers, 10 toes, etc.
Our kids at home handing well the time being away from us
Mom and Dad being available to watch them
Specifically the past couple days
Steph being given permission to transfer to Strong to be with the baby
Respiratory concern - baby was off the oxygen within 18 hours
Blood pressure concern - declared fully stable within 15 hours
Results of blood work back after 48 hours - negative (which is the good result)
Reticular good after one day (meaning she is working on making up red blood cells which she is short on)
No answers about why she is anemic but will be monitored as an outpatient - she has not yet needed to receive a blood transfusion
taken off IV's and out of NICU after just 60 hours - We were told best case scenario was 5 days in NICU
Taking well to feeding

We have been blessed beyond measure.

Continued prayer requests
- she has lost 10% of birth weight which is significant - for good feeding and weight gain
- she is Jaundice, that this will not get worse or hinder her departure time
- Steph's recovery (she is doing well, for it to continue)

We trust and hope that all our friends have joined us in being encouraged, amazed and increased in their faith by God's goodness and answered prayer on behalf of our little Emma Joy

Emma Joy - update

What a beautiful sight! Emma and mom had continued improvement yesterday. Autumn, Anna and Sarah came up for the first time (Sarah is too young for NICU) and had a good time meeting sister. They miss having us home although Grandma and Grandpa are taking great care of them.Then of course there was the beak/blanket - Dad's first little gift to Emma. I'm expecting goos, gaahs and smiles right?... not quite
...but she grew to like it!
Emma started eating yesterday and is doing well with it. Once they have confidence that she is eating enough and is responding well is when they will likely release her to mom's room. The other stipulation is tat some other tests come back negative today - 48hr turnaround.
Have a great day.

God is good, prayers continue to be answered. Let God be magnified!

Emma Joy - many prayers answered

Just getting a second to post this as an introduction to my sweet new Baby Daughter Emma Joy Putney.

The Stats:
11/26/07
18.5 inches
6lb 8oz
8:49am



The Story (in pictures)

No, I'm not robbing a bank, just taking the most flattering picture of myself that I could!


Mom is not liking pics being taken while in the midst of a c-section (take note fathers!)
This isn't the first pic but it tells the story of the level of care and monitoring they gave her at frst. Her respiratory rate was super fast (it seemed like her heart was going to beat out of her chest). Her blood pressure was very erratic and her skin was very pale. Park Ridge is a great hospital but not well equipped for babies that need extra care. Within a few hours they were setting up the transfer. Certainly an emotional moment as Emma was in transport and mom had to say goodbye for a few hours.O.K. - no story line but pics of baby feet sure are cuteMore than 24 hours after she was born, mom was finally holding emma!!!!

From the NICU (where she still is) to this pic - you can see how God has been so gracious to us - and so many thanks to all that have been praying. I will take time to list all the answers later...
but for now - my 3 older girls are coming to see Emma for the first time.

Mom: Stephanie is a blessing and a trooper. I have been blessed to see her faith and patience in the Lord as the baby was quickly taken to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) at Park Ridge and then hours later transfered over to Strong for a higher level of care and testing. She is getting around pretty well already and was transfered over to Strong herself last night to be with Emma. Finally this morning had the privilege of holding Emma for the first time. The outlook at first was at least a week in ICU - talk of blood transfusion, infection, disease etc...

Within 24 hours they are talking about having her come out in just a few days and all prognosis is excellent.

The many prayers of our dear friends and the Faithful God who answered them are to be thanked!