Our Sweet Little Ev

Everett Knight Wigginton

June 30, 2011

8 lbs 15 oz 20 1/2 inches long

Long dark hair. Snuggly and sweet. Beautiful dark grey eyes.

That was the blog post I wanted to post. Short and simple, just to inform everyone that he was here, we are in love and that life with us is good...oh so good.

But unfortunately that is not my post to blog.

The first two days with Ev were pure bliss. He loved to be held and I loved to hold him, which worked out pretty well for both of us. After having T in the NICU as a baby, I appreciated every second of the time I was able to bond and love on Ev during the time right after birth. He was so new and fresh and perfect. He ate like a champ and never cried. It was awesome.

But he started heading downhill and I started to notice. He didn't want to eat. He was irritable. He was super tired. The nurses thought I was crazy and said that I shouldn't worry, but I did. Finally one of the doctors listened to me and had him sent to the nursery to be monitored. They ran all sorts of tests, and before I knew it my little Ev was being sent to the NICU. Another baby in the NICU...oh bother.

Things after that happened fast. It turns out that Ev has a congenital heart defect that was not seen in prenatal ultrasounds or testing called coarctation of the aorta. I don't know a lot, but I'm learning that the aorta carries blood from the heart to the vessels, and because his aorta is narrowed that blood is having a hard time getting to where it wants to go. He has been attached to pretty much every machine in the NICU, was intubated, was transferred to a bigger hospital in the area and they tell us he will have heart surgery in the next few days. He is fighting hard and is seriously my hero. You would all be so amazed at his strength.

My pregnancy with Ev was such a positive, beautiful experience and his first few days of life have been just the same. I am so aware of Heavenly Father's hand in our life, and in retrospect can see the many ways he prepared me for this and directed me so that I could feel peace. I'll share a few of those experiences in the days to come. It's been a hard day with a lot of emotions, but I have faith and I am oh-so grateful for all of our blessings.

Please pray for our little fighter. We love him so much and want nothing more than to have both our boys together with us again.