one day old
3 weeks old
BIRTH DAY
Our sweet little Heidi was born January 24th at 6:42 pm. Heidi weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was delivered via c-section. We arrived at the hospital at 7:00 am for a planned induction but when it came time to push she just wouldn't come down and was also face up. The doctor tried to turn little Heidi but she just wasn't having it. The doctor suspected that something else was going on and decided that a c-section would be the best move. The doctor's intuition was right- there was something else going on. Heidi had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Gratefully, the operation was successful and Heidi was finally here.
NAMESAKE
Joe and I both love the name Heidi. Heidi is the name of Joe's late aunt. She was a wonderful woman and I have never met a Heidi I didn't like. Marie is my middle name. We were thinking that since Heidi is a family name on Joe's side, it would be appropriate to pick a family name on my side of the family. I was thinking of the names on my side: My dad's mother's name was Elva Mary and my Mom's mother's name was Vivian Frances. My mom's name is used a couple times already in the family. So, we decided to use my middle name for Heidi's middle name.
HEART ISSUES
Heidi was born with a heart murmer and the doctor ordered an Echocardiogram and EKG. The Echo showed that there were holes in Heidi's heart that didn't naturally close off after birth. The pediatric cardiologist is optimistic that the holes will close off on their own. We have a follow-up appointment on Wednesday.
BLESSED NEWBORN
We are so grateful to have little Heidi with us. She is a wonderful newborn. I think she saved our family. Before Heidi was born Joe said, "If this baby is anything like Maia was as a newborn, we're done!" For those of you who didn't know Maia as a newborn, she was extremely difficult. She was colicky and had formula issues and never slept. We were also brand new parents and had no idea what we were doing. Heidi is the complete opposite so far. She is a great eater and a great sleeper. She is a dream.
TOUGH RECOVERY
She has been a blessing to us. About a week and a half after Heidi was born, my c-section site became infected. It pushed my recovery back and made it more difficult to take care of my two girls. Luckily Heidi is a good newborn and gratefully we are living with my mom and sister. They have been the biggest help. I don't think I could have done it on my own. Joe has also done an amazing job stepping up to the plate and running things around the house. He has taken over all my usual jobs and more. He's done a great job and hasn't complained once. He has also been my in-house doctor when it comes to taking care of my wounds. (I'm not kidding. My doctor put him in charge of it. Usually a nurse of some sort would have to come into the home to do it but Joe does a great job and my doctor has been thoroughly impressed with his medical skills.)
BLESSINGS
On the day I found out about the infection, I was feeding Heidi when the doorbell rang. I didn't know who it was and thought it was just the UPS or FED EX guy dropping off wedding stuff for Amy. When the doorbell rang a second time, I thought I should answer the door. I put Heidi down and went to answer the door. No one was at the door but I saw a car parked outside the house. I tried to see who it was but the person in the car didn't see me. I decided to go back inside. As I was making my way back inside, that is when I discovered the infection making it's presence known. I tried to call Joe but he didn't answer. I called Amy, and my sisters but no one answered. I was alone. Joe called me back after I sent him an 'emergency' text. I told Joe what was going on and he told me that he was just on the phone with Bro. Codiga from the ward. Bro. Codiga was at our door trying to drop off dinner for us (which we had cancelled all meals since mom and Amy were taking care of us). Joe called Bro. Codiga back to come take a look at my infection. Bro. Codiga is a surgeon at Mission Hospital AND Saddleback Hospital. He called the group of doctors right away to see if I could see an on-call doctor instead of going to the ER. He got a hold of my own doctor who was at the hospital after hours waiting to deliver a baby. I got to talk to my doctor and she suggested that I go to the ER. Both Bro. Codiga and my doctor called the ER to see if they could get me in asap. They found out that the ER was slammed. My doctor called Bro. Codiga back and said that she would see me if I met her at labor and delivery. Gratefully, she was able to see me and I didn't have to pay for an ER bill or do anything major. Joe picked me up and we were in and out of the hospital within an hour- just in time to feed Heidi again. I felt that the Lord was watching over us and put wonderful friends and doctors in our path to care for us.
This has been quite the exciting journey welcoming baby Heidi into the world.
