Good-bye "Greys Anatomy" - The Final Chapter

Upon arriving at Stanford 9 months ago, Josh was flooded with so many different doctors, attendings, residents, etc. It was explained to him, that this hospital (a teaching hospital) was a lot like Greys Anatomy. Well, yesterday the girls and I rode over the hill for one last follow-up visit. As I drove into the Stanford area, my stomach got the ever-familiar pitted feeling I would get when we first visited Selah there - lots of memories. We met with one last resident or attendee - I'm not really sure and then finally with her Surgeon. It was niced to end with him - to tell him thank you and to hear him say "I think we are done." We were told when we first started these visits that we would probably be doing them for the first few years. And here we are only 9months later and we are done. As we started walking out the door and into the parking lot, a flood of emotions hit me really hard. The realization of what has happened in our lives the past 9 months - I almost broke down crying until Ocean (oblivious to the depth of all that has gone on) snapped me back into the world of 20 million questions. As crazy as this sounds, while I was so excited and grateful to hear the words "you are done", there was apart of me that felt sad. You have to understand that this place is a large part of our family, of Selah's story, of an amazing work of the Lord. And to one day have that stop just seems well, a little emotional. I couldn't help thinking of all the children that weren't "done" that day and the many families who had only just begun their time there.
And so we say good bye to OUR Greys Anatomy... Thank you Father for the reminder we have in Selah of the great things you have done. May we NEVER forget!!

Update on Selah...

We went to Stanford last week to do a barium dye test on Selah's esophagus and make sure it did not need it to be stretched before she starts eating solids in the next few months. The test went great, they could barely even tell where the surgery had been. We go in a few weeks for a debrief and hopefully hear we do not need to come back anytime soon. What an amazing blessing this has all been. Selah has finally seemed to work most of her kinks out and has become the smiliest baby. Sometimes she looks at me and I think she is going to explode she smiles so big. She has this "spark" about her. What an amazing journey this has been. Thank you Lord for the many was you have chosen to lavish your love on us.

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:3

Happy Three Months Selah!!!!!

Wow! Where has the time gone. It seems like only yesterday we were driving back and forth to the hospital to visit this little baby we hardly even knew. And today Selah turns 3 months. You know, the more and more I get to know this little girl, and the more I think back to what she went through the more my heart begins to break for her. At the time of all this craziness, we hadn't even begun to bond with her and now I can't imagine going through it at this point. I still think of the mother who was at the hospital with her 3 month old when we were there... she had it way harder than us. Having that bond makes all the difference. Perhaps we wouldn't have been so calm and trusting...yet again, the Lord working things out.
After some hard first months and MANY days filled with ALOT of crying and NO sleep for Selah, we now have this amazing little baby who blesses me with soooooo many smiles. My heart leaps just thinking about it. Today, I couldn't even concentrate at a meeting because Selah was so smiley. I even kept distracting my friends into looking at her with me. What a Joy in my life!!!

Thank you Father, for the many ways you have blessed our family - for trusting us with your children - for allowing us to be apart of something bigger than ourselves and continuing to see us through. May we never forget...

Welcome Home Selah!!

Big sister Ocean (in her "I'm the Big Sister" shirt) went with us to pick up our beautiful baby girl from the hospital. She was so excited about her new baby sister that she told everyone we passed in the halls (including the construction workers) "this is my baby sister, Selah." She talked the WHOLE way home and finally crashed at the end. We are currently enjoy the quiet of both girls as they are napping. Josh keeps asking me, "what do we do now." It was very weird leaving the hospital after being there for 12 days. But, we are glad to all be under one roof together. Thank you all for your prayers and support!!! We are overwhelmed and truly blessed!!

There are no Strings on Me...And My Belly is Full!

Well, almost! Just a few monitor wires and one PIC line remain. We arrived yesterday at the hospital with a wonderful surprise. The dye test that was to be preformed on Monday had already been done that morning and they saw no leaks!! Apparently, the took pity on her during rounds that morning since she was so hungry and so inconsolable. They said they pleaded to radiology to try to find a spot for her that morning and were successful. Sooooooo, yesterday they took out her feeding tube and started feeding her breast milk (with a bottle) starting with 10 ml and increasing 10ml every 3 hours. She sucked it down as fast as she could. As of 9am this morning, she was up to 70ml which was the goal of a full belly. We are waiting to hear from the surgeons for the go ahead to begin nursing. I keep thinking of the verse of how God uses ALL things for good... including what we thought was a set back (blocked feeding tube) and here it has put her in an even better place. Thank you, Father, for your faithfulness!!

She has been freed from the heat lamp

The billy ruben counts are down and they have moved her out from under the heat lamp! YAHHOOOO! We are now allowed to hold her as much as we want. We are also allowed to pick her up without a nurses assistance. They have taken another IV out, so she is down to one IV in her foot and one tube in her nose. She seems much happier now that she can be swaddled and rocked.

Wendsday's daily update

The Doctors started out the day with an ex-ray that determined that the drain tube from surgery could be removed. They also pulled out one of the three remaining Iv's. We are excited to see any of the tubes and wires go away. Her billy ruben levels were down (which is good) but she still is going to have to be under the heat lamp for another day or two. Robyn got to hold her for the first time today since the surgery on Monday. We cant wait for her levels to come down low enough that the heat lamp can go away and we can hold that beautiful little girl as much as we want! They tried to feed her through the feeding tube tonight but it was not working for some reason. They are going to have to wait for the surgeons to do there rounds in the morning, for them to determined what is wrong with the tube. When they get it working they will be giving her 5cc every three hours. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery and that she would continue to impress the Doctors with how well she is recovering. We are trying to give God the Glory with every conversation we have with all the medical professionals.

Surgery went Great

Selah was in surgery from 1:30 pm to 6:00pm on Monday. She was a real trooper! The piece missing from the esophagus was minimal so the repair went well. In fact, they were able to do the surgery laproscopicly minimizing scaring and tissue damage. She is recovering and resting well. The expected breathing tube was removed shortly after the surgery putting her ahead of the game-LETS HEAR IT FOR OUR OVER ACHIEVER! In one week, we will test for leaks in the esophagus and if all goes well, we will begin the nursing process. Thanks for all of your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery. We are waiting with anticipation to bring her home and be a true family of four!

Welcome to the World Selah!

Selah Brynn Anderson

January 31

7.7lbs, 20 inches long

10:05 pm

After giving birth to Selah late Thursday night, we discovered a condition with her that will not allow her to get food to her stomach (this was the cause of all the extra amniotic fluid I carried) Within six hours, she was transported to another hospital about an hour away where she waits for surgery. (see below for more info) She is a strong girl and doing very well. We look forward to bringing her home in the next week or two.

We chose the name Selah (found in the book of psalms) because it is said to mean "rest" or "pause and reflect". From the beginning, this pregnancy has proven to be a gift from the Lord. We began, thinking this was to be another miscarriage and before even seeing the heartbeat, I felt a confirmation from the Lord that this baby was going to be. Every time something else would come along and make me question if all was well, the Lord would remind us to "rest in his promise". Even now I feel the Lord whispering for us to keep "resting in Him" as he works out His mighty plans before us. We are very much at peace with all that is going on! Thank you Father that your plans are greater than ours will every be!!

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance MUST FINSIH ITS WORK. So that you may be mature and complete, not lacking ANYTHING! James 1:2-4

Visiting Selah

Today we took Big Sister Ocean to see Selah. She wanted so badly to hold her and was kissing her so cutely!! I can't wait to bring Selah home so they can really start getting to know each other. oh, yeah - Ocean's baby (that was in her belly) is now out and also has an "owie" in her throat too.

Proud Moo Moo!!

Moo Moo and Selah

Transesophageal Fistula (TEF)

Basically, Selah was born with an esophagus that is in two pieces and does not allow food to make it to the stomach. She also has an extra passageway that connects the lungs to the stomach. This would allow liquids from the stomach to go into the lungs and cause major problems. While she is doing great and very stable, she will need surgery to repair these defects so that she can live a normal healthy life. As of right now the surgery is scheduled for Monday, however, this could change should there be a greater need for someone else at the hospital. The recovery would be at best a week and probably a little longer. Right now, the hardest part is that she is feeling hungary and wants to eat. While she is getting nutrients from the IVs, her belly says she needs to eat. Hopefully, one surgery will be all she will need. We will try to keep the blog updated as we are being loved on by so many and want to keep you all update as best we can.
We are all doing well, and are in great spirits. We are confident in the plans our Heavenly Father has for our family and pray he can use us to share his love during this time.

THANKS to all of you for your prayers, support, and amazing ways the Lord is providing for us through so many of you. We are so BLESSED to have such a great cloud of witnesses that surround us.
PRAY for Selah that she would remain strong during this time, the doctors and nurses for wisdom, and the many other families we have already started making contact with at the hospital. May they all see Jesus and be transformed!!

It Just Keeps Getting BIGGER...

So, we have now been to a specialist and back to the regular doctor and both agree on the follow: not to extract the fluid and to rather let me continue to grow until I 1) cannot breathe anymore or 2) go into labor.
At this point we are almost 34 weeks and measuring 42 centimeters. I can feel the numbness and extreme sensitivity of the separation of the ligaments in my belly moving outward from the belly button and upward. I keep wondering just how far my belly can really go. I guess we will see.
As for the baby, she is doing fine, swimming laps in my belly whenever I lay down to rest. She is about 4.5+ lbs. and would be fine to come at any time, however, 36/37 weeks would be optimal. My mom is staying with us and helping me out until this baby decides to make an appearance (we are hoping in a few weeks).
How can you pray?? Well, we are trying to hold out until week 36 or 37 and at that time I will be praying hard that the Lord will send me into labor.

"The Skinny" on the Not So Skinny

"Oh, My!!"

So, I took these pictures to let all of you that haven't actually seen me in person get to experience in picture the reaction I get from people when I turn around. I believe that most commonly used phrase is "oh my!" Of course, the crazier part is that I am actually bigger right now than I am in these pictures I took a few weeks ago. We went to the doctor on Friday and found out that I am overly large due to something called Polyhydramnios which basically means there is too much amniotic fluid in my belly making me measure larger than I should. In fact, on Friday I measured 38 weeks and just turned 32 weeks only yesterday (Monday). And more than that I had actually grown the equivalent of six weeks since my last appointment two weeks prior.
What does this mean for us and the baby? well as far as the doctor can tell the baby seems fine and there really is no reason why this is happening. There is always a chance that this could fix itself or continue to increase to the point at which I cannot breathe. I believe I am on route for the latter as my breathing is getting more labored and I cannot sit for very long without getting woosie or do anything without getting very winded. Should it get to "that point" then they will have to extract some of the fluid.
We go on Friday to a specialist in town to get a second "blessing" that the baby is okay and there is nothing else wrong with me. I will be anxious to see if I have continued to grow at this point and what this doctor has to say.
For now, this simply means that all my complaining (and there as been quite alot I'm sad to say) was not in vain. I am extremely, increasingly uncomfortable and have taken up residence on the couch at night so that I can sleep sitting part way up. Everything takes about 10 times more effort and my child is running circles around me... the BLESSING is that nothing is wrong with the baby!! And while I will probably still complain, I am truly grateful it is me and not the baby having these complications.
We will try to keep you all posted as we find things out. Until then you can pray that the Lord will continue to keep us at peace with whatever He has for us- for we trust Him completely with the next Little Anderson. Oh, and you can pray that I could get a little more comfortable as I still have two more months to live as the size of a "due any day" person.