One Week Old!

It's hard to believe that one week ago I was blissfully, albeit naively, holding Everett in my arms for the first time. So much has happened and I can't help but feel grateful. This experience has once again proven to me that Heavenly Father knows and loves us each individually.

After the traumatic birth I experienced with T, Heavenly Father knew that my greatest desire was to hold and love on my newborn. He knew I wanted a perfect delivery. He blessed me with an ideal birth and a full 36 hours of love and kisses before the heart condition was discovered. I had time to stare at Ev and marvel at his perfection. I had time to discuss name options with Jim and name our precious heavenly bundle. I had time to kiss him, to hold him skin to skin, to nurse him and to just enjoy the calm. Heavenly Father was so merciful to let me have that time. I know that He loves me.

I also know that Heavenly Father loves Ev. He knew about his heart condition, and he blessed me with the confidence and energy to be his advocate when I could tell something was wrong. He gave Everett a strong, fighting spirit and a healthy body that could withstand this trial. He also gave Ev a peaceful nature that has soothed all around him. I know that Heavenly Father loves his Everett and I'm so grateful He sent him to me!

This week has been another learning experience for me on my earthly journey. I would never desire a trial like this, but I'm grateful for the things I have learned...and I'm sure will continue to learn. One things for sure, we are blessed beyond belief to have Ev in our eternal family.

To celebrate his one week birthday, we did lots of fun things...

We brought out the baseball binkie and let the football binkie take a rest for a while.

We started feeding him mama's milk with a little bottle. His feeds are starting VERY slowly, but he seems to be handling them quite well.

We held him and cuddled him and gave him plenty of love.

Ev had another echo to check on the outcome of his surgery. Looks good!

And...we were visited by Bobby Jackson and Slamson from the Kings. I was (am) a HUGE Bobby Jackson fan, so I was stoked for Ev to have a picture with him. He was so nice and kept commenting on how cute Ev is. He also gave Ev an autographed basketball and a bag of goodies. Hey, I guess there are some perks to having heart surgery!

And on a side note, I just love the heck out of this cute boy. He came to the hospital yesterday and was SO well behaved in the PICU. He even called the doctor by name (instead of growling at her!) He took Ev's special heart pillow home and is keeping it company until Ev can get there. Wow, I'm a lucky girl to have these boys in my life!

In the last 12 hours...

Daddy was able to hold Everett before surgery. It takes a whole lot of effort to get a baby in your arms when they are connected to a million wires, so we are grateful beyond belief for our wonderful nurses that took the time and energy to make this happen.

Ev got one last photo shoot before surgery. The doctors and nurses actually sent him in to the OR with his football binkie (AKA his best friend!) They let him suck, suck, suck until they put him to sleep. Supposedly he was super calm and that process (which sometimes can be scary for babies and kids, and adults for that matter) was smooth.

Everett was the star of his very own parade down to the OR. There were surgeons, doctors, nurses, and lots of equipment. James and I had to walk him down to the OR, which was one of the hardest parts of the day. Sending your newborn into heart surgery is not ideal, but the surgeons and doctors said there were absolutely no other choices (which actually gave us a little more peace). They wheeled him away, and we were left to wait for hours.

The surgeons were very pleased with the outcome of the surgery. They said the coarctation in the aorta was extreme, but the repair went well. They were able to cut out the narrowed portions and stitch the ends together. They said he handled the surgery and anesthesia like a champ. We are so grateful to these doctors and surgeons that are so committed to our baby. I need to get pictures of them for sure.

Ev was initially hooked up to every machine in the book (as can be expected when you perform major surgery on a 5-day-old). He was intubated, had IV's, pic lines and central lines that were all pumping meds, oxygen and fluids into his body. Such a hero!

AND...duh duh duh duh...this morning when we arrived at the hospital he had been extubated and was completely breathing on his own. That little heart of his is working. Woo-hoo! They are slowly weaning him from medications and will slowly (VERY slowly) start feeding him today. He had major liver and kidney damage after birth so they want to take things slow and steady to make sure his body can handle the food. I've been pumping my brains out and am SO excited that Mama's milk is gonna be in his body again!

Ev and I are both suffering from an awful case of swelling! We're like Mama and baby elephants! But his swollen hands and feet are just so cute and kissable (which is more than I can say about my cankles!)

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers and well wishes. We know that Heavenly Father answers prayers and we know that He has watched over Ev and our family this last week. You are all in our prayers of thanksgiving. We'll continue to keep you updated on his recovery.

Prayers Please

Everett is in surgery right now. The echo from this morning showed that the aortic arch was wider than expected (a good thing) so they will only need to fix the coarctation. They are hoping the hole in his heart will heal itself, but it will need to be monitored closely by a pediatric cardiologist. This means they will perform the surgery through his back instead of his chest. It should take 3 or 4 hours.

Please, please, please pray for him. His surgeons and doctors are very skilled, and we know he is in the hands of a loving Heavenly Father, but of course we are still feeling a little anxious. I will update when we get information.

Counting My Blessings

This morning I was feeling awfully blue. I woke up with puffy eyes and a hurting heart. I couldn't stop crying and thinking about our poor baby in his hospital bed, and everything that will happen to him in the next few days. It's funny how one minute I will surprise myself with how brave I am, and the very next minute I will be blubbering and sobbing and uncontrollable. It's official. I'm a basketcase!

But this morning as I was feeling sad I remembered the words to one of my favorite hymns, count your blessings. I asked Jim to sing it to me and I cried as the words touched my heart. I've been working hard to count my blessings today, and I sure have had lots to count! Heavenly Father is so loving and I am grateful.

James and I were able to eat a quick dinner with my parents, brother, and the cutest little 2 year old in the world. T has been such a champ during this last week. His world has literally been rocked, and yet he has been so patient and obedient and perfect for all of us. It was SO nice to see him and give him some loves. I love being his mom.

I am also grateful to be the mom of this little buttercup. And I'm especially grateful that I got to hold him today. WOO HOO! I haven't been able to hold him in a couple of days, and with heart surgery scheduled for tomorrow it will probably be a while before I can get my hands on him again so it was beyond special. He snuggled right up to me and was so calm and comfortable. None of his monitors went off and I was so warm and comfy that I nearly fell asleep. I loved having him in my arms.

I'm grateful that we took this picture of our family of four. We had no idea at the time what was about to happen, and I would have been heart broken if we didn't have a picture all together. I love T's cheesy grin and I love Ev's precious newborness! This is my total favorite picture.

I'm grateful that my mom bought the boys matching fourth of July shirts. I've been excited to put them in them for weeks. I was so sad this morning until I decided to just lay the shirt over Ev. How cute does that look? Happy first holiday baby boy!

I'm grateful, beyond grateful, that Ev loves his football binkie. Big brother T picked it out special just for baby Ev, so it means a lot to me (and to T) that Ev adores it.

These last few days have been full of unexpected turns and sad discoveries, but I really do have a lot of things to be grateful for.

Everett in the PICU

I am so darn biased, but is this not the cutest heart patient you've ever seen? I know he has wires sticking out of everywhere, but he still looks so sweet and I just want to cuddle every inch of him!

Today was actually a good day. We learned a lot and it feels good to have a plan of action. Ev is currently stable and the lower half of his body, including his liver and kidneys (which were not receiving blood flow because of the defect in his aorta) are continuing to improve. We spoke to Ev's cardiologist and heart surgeon today and it was great to speak with them and learn from them. It looks like Ev has two areas of his aorta that are semi-blocked (one more serious than the other it seems) and also a small hole between the bottom two chambers of his heart. They will be doing surgery in the next few days, but they are unsure what surgery they will perform. We'll try to keep everyone updated. Please keep us (especially Everett) in your prayers.

The woman at the front desk of the PICU made Everett this cutie sign for his bed. I loved T's sign when he was in the NICU, and now we have one for Ev as well (although I would definitely have preferred to make one myself!)

I love this picture of Daddy and his boy. I have one just like it from when Talmage was in the NICU. Jim has been such a good dad and such a good husband. They released me from the hospital early so I could be with Ev, so Jim has taken on the job as my doctor. He is amazing! He loves us so much and we are grateful.

Ev is sleeping in serious style here in the PICU. He has his own room and it is FULL to the top with machines and wires and important-looking stuff. This is the view from my chair and I could just look at that head full of hair all day long!

The first days...

I'm sitting at Ev's bedside and thought I'd update the blog with all of the handsome pictures of him from the first days of his life. He had LOTS of visitors, and I'm so grateful that I was so diligent about getting pictures of him with everyone. We love you all!

Showing up at the hospital. 4:45 am and SO excited to meet our baby boy SOON!

First few pics. He is so beautiful with just the right amount of chub. Have I mentioned that I love me some baby rolls?!

Proud Daddy and Everett in the OR.

First bath did not go over so well! He loved the head massage, but otherwise just wanted to be cuddled up with Mommy.

GG and Ev.

Ev and Chaya.

Grammie and Ev. Look at that yawn!

Ev and Papa.

Mema and Ev.

Ev and T and Mema. I love how T is playing with Ev's foot. He was playing "this little piggie." He has been such a great big brother already. Boy are we lucky to have these two!

Uncle Chase and Ev.

Ev and Peapaw.

Tutu and Ev.

Ev and Great Papa and Daddy.

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.