So THAT'S what your whole face looks like!

Today was a big, big day. A little bit of bad news, but still a good day. Dr. Troup came in this morning and told us that Emma could be turned on her back today. He's still concerned about the fluid on her brain, and it's even worse today than yesterday; that's 3 days in a row of fluid growth. She'll definitely have a shunt put in on either Tuesday or Thursday of next week. Emary has to be able to lie on her back for a while because of where the shunt will be, right underneath her skin on the front of her body. Even though a shunt sounds like it would be noticeable, it's really not, unless you know what you're looking for. Dr. Troup said that we needed to "road test" her incision; he was pleased with how it has healed and wanted Emma to start alternating lying on her back and on her stomach.

When it was time to flip Emma over, we started by putting her on a pillow on her back to feed her. First, though, Miracle Worker Jean Brown from the Shriner's Hospital brought over some sort of diaper rash cream that is supposed to be the best thing ever (dork mom alert: excitement over diaper rash cream). So our NICU nurse put Emma on her back, and flips her feet up over her head to put the cream on. Literally, LEGS TOUCHING HER FACE.



I immediately starting cringing because I just knew that this act of contortion was opening up this huge yet delicate incision on her lower back, as her lower back had never been bent even close to this much. After that, my mom got to feed Emma. Judy was crying so much, I was just hoping that her salty tears didn't drown Emma! It was so, so sweet. As Mom sat her up to burp her, I noticed that Emma's incision was bleeding and oozing (gross, I know) onto the top of her diaper. At that point, we decided to only put her on her back to feed her and still put her on her tummy in her bed. I later told a doctor about the feet-over-the-head incident, and she was HORRIFIED. She spoke with the nurse about it, and the nurse was really apologetic - she had no idea that we had to be THAT delicate with the incision because she didn't realize putting her on her back was brand new. I understand where she was coming from, but still....this is what we've been working towards for 10 days, and it felt like a backwards step. I got to hold Emma and feed her at 6, and Russell fed her at 9 - both times, there was more oozing (TMI, I know, I know, but I'm almost done). So we're really praying that her incision will dry out and heal up so that she can spend some more time on her back...maybe on Sunday and Monday?





Was it amazing to feed Emma on my lap? Yes. Do I really feel like I've held her? No. In fact, absolutely not. I knew before she was born that I wouldn't be satisfied with putting her on a pillow on my lap. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the progress we've made and that I can now feed her on my lap. But I think a lot of you with kids will agree that there is absolutely nothing like holding your baby in your arms or laying them on your chest. That's what I'm holding out for.



Emma was so sweet today, and we had a fantastic day together. Man, she's a good baby. My mom and I sat in her room with her, peacefully reading and writing thank-you notes. It was positively blissful. She's been doing well with keeping her legs and hips straight, and she responds to her physical therapy pretty well, too. When we put her on her back for the first time (aka, when I thought the nurse was ripping her incision open), Emma flailed her arms and legs around because she had no idea what to do with them. It was absolutely hilarious. Her eyes were as big as saucers, and I got to see what her entire face looks like - not just half of it!! This is a picture from that first-time experience, and I thought it was funny enough; then my friend Kristen pointed out that she looks like she's on a newborn roller coaster - ohhhh, that makes it even funnier.



Ok, last picture: Russell says she's raising the roof. Once you put labels like that and the roller coaster comment on the pictures, you can really imagine this little 10-day-old baby dancing or on a roller coaster.



In other news, our nephew Mason had two seizures this morning. The doctors ran some tests and were unable to determine what was causing the seizures, so they're keeping Mason overnight and then will probably just send him home tomorrow. My poor mother- and father-in-law had both of their grandchildren in the hospital today. And my father-in-law could only see one of his grandkids since only Mary Jane can come to the NICU. On top of that, you can't visit other areas of the hospital and then come to the NICU, so she couldn't even bounce back and forth between her two grandkids. Please keep Josh, Allison, and Mason in your prayers. Hopefully they can either figure out what's going on with Mason or he'll never have a seizure again!

Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive of us, through bringing us meals, calling, emailing, texting, commenting/guestbooking on the blog, or even simply by praying for us. Russell and I have felt so loved. We know that God loves us and Emma more than we can imagine, but I can't help but think that we get at least a hint of the power of that love through all of you!