She's Here (and Mostly Healthy)!

As I write this, I’m sitting in a place I thought we’d avoided this time around – the NICU.  After being home for a day-and-a-half, we were unexpectedly readmitted to the hospital.  But first things first!

She’s Here!

Flora Marie White was born at 8:45 pm on July 15, 2017 at 36 weeks and 4 days (a “late-term preemie”).  She weighed 7 lb. 4 oz. and was 19.5 inches long.  She had a few small hiccups (low blood sugar and body temperature, slight jaundice, and a need for a little oxygen) due to her early status, but nothing that warranted admission to the NICU.  Overall, things went very smoothly in the hospital – sibling visits, a photo session (thank you, White Ivy Photography!), and she ate like a champ.  We are so, so grateful for this strong little girl.

Jaundice

Flora’s bilirubin count was higher than it should have been when we were discharged from the hospital Monday night.  We were sent back to the hospital Tuesday and Wednesday for blood draws, and the bilirubin results consistently came back higher.
Her little body did look slightly orange, and the whites of her eyes were yellow.  Because the level jumped significantly between Tuesday and Wednesday, we were readmitted to the hospital for phototherapy to break down the bilirubin and get rid of the jaundice.

NICU 

Being admitted to the NICU after being home totally blindsided me.   Flora was so healthy otherwise – her weight, her length, good diapers and lots of eating…and we’d been home already!  Now we had to go back for wires and IVs and monitors?

I watched as the nurses admitted and evaluated her, took more of her blood for testing, put an IV in her tiny arm to give her fluids, put the mask over her eyes and turned on the bilirubin blanket and phototherapy lights, and I cried.  In the following hours, my emotions got the better of me.  This situation and everything leading up to it finally overwhelmed me – being in danger of delivering way too early, having Flora, starting to settle in at home with the other kids, Flora NOT being healthy and needing to be in the NICU, worrying about and missing my other kids…it felt like too much.

Perspective

I was able to get some surprisingly good rest last night, which really helped improve my outlook and mindset.  Jaundice is not even close to being a hopeless situation, especially considering the amount of help she would have needed at 29 weeks in Nashville.  This time is very quiet and has given me a chance to adjust a little bit to having a fourth baby.  And our other kids are doing just fine with Jeremy and our moms, but I still miss them.  Most importantly, God is still sovereign and in firm control over our situation and Flora’s health.  He is truly before all things and is holding all things together.  For all of this, we are grateful.

Prayers

We are definitely still in need of your prayers.  Please pray for:
• Flora’s bilirubin count to continue to decrease
• My ability to keep a good perspective as we face these challenges so close to Flora’s delivery
• Jeremy as he keeps things going on the home front
• Micah, Asher and Josie as they continually adjust to new situations

Thank you, friends, for your prayers and the incredible support you’ve given us for these last two months.  We love you!