Emery's Birthday!

Pssst!...move out of the way ladies...we want to show off our little boy!

Right after Emery was born they held him up for me to see and promptly took him out of the OR where the pediatric specialists were set up to evaluate him. I'm glad David got a few photos because I was not able to be there for that part. I saw him a while later after they had David and I all set up back in our room and him all settled in the Holden NICU.

The pulled a bunch of fluid out of his tummy right away and placed the tube down his throat to continue sucking out more. He would keep this tube in there for a while. The band you see around his right wrist is to measure the oxygen in his blood, and the cuff around his left leg is for his blood pressure. Fairly standard stuff.

This one will be in my memory bank forever as the first time I got to touch my baby boy. At this point I remember feeling so sad to see him this way, knowing that he will have to have surgery and not knowing how long he would be needing all of the tubes and wires. By the time we got to the NICU to see him they had already put the breathing tube in, started the IV in his right hand, and the arterial line in his left hand (strapped to the little white board). The little black and white wires are to measure his heart beat and respiration rate. Aside from his very bloated belly he looked so perfect to me even if he was a little on the skinny side everywhere else. He had all of his fingers and toes and his head was shaped nicely.

At first they kept the top on the incubator, which they called the isolette, with the warmer on to regulate his body temperature. They let us take the top up for pictures though.

It is amazing how fast things move from baby inside of my body to baby lying in front of me. David and I were both happy to see him and take it all in. Emery was in a room with 8 other babies who had varying concerns. He was the largest preemie in the room- but does that surprise you much? We were excited to see that he weighed more for a preemie because we were sure that would help him stay healthy and do well through his upcoming surgery. The next few days would be full of tests and observation to see exactly what type of surgery he would need to have to fix his belly.

Little fingers and toes...so beautiful. Everyone made comments about how very long his feet and fingers were when he was born. He is a very long and skinny little preemie.

The very first photo of the three of us. The beginning of a new adventure and a new experience with raising a child.