A picture speaks a thousand words 4/2013 to 7/2013

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The blanket made of Jewels clothes that are identical to Jemma's

 

 

Jewels heart pillow it weighs the same she did at birth

Angels on earth....

Little miss Jemma is doing great she is growing great on June 7 she weighed 10lbs 8oz and was 23 1/2 in tall. My best friend Lisa has let them move in with her and is helping Jade make it through the times of colic. The cardiologist is still waiting to do open heart surgery until Jemma gets bigger. Doc says there is no reason to do it while Jemma seems to be thriving.

Miss Jemma and Auntie Lisa at Jemma's baby shower May 5th 2013

And it doesn't get any better.....

Little miss Jemma is now 8 lbs 3 oz yep that's right she is growing like a weed. She got to go home a week after her first angioplasty. Surprisingly she did very well in Tahoe. We took her to meet her new pediatrician the day we got up there and O2 saturation was 98% which was excellent. She has continued to thrive. Unfortunately last week when she came down the hill for her cardiologist appointment we learned that her pulmonary stenosis has worsened and that it actually extends into her arteries. She is very close to critical levels of pressure in her heart and the doc said she is not allowed to return home to Tahoe it is too much work on her heart up at that elevation. So in jade and her little family moved with me. Jemma is going to have another angioplasty in 3 weeks( they can't do them to close together) to try to give her heart a chance to grow a little more before they do the open heart surgery. We were devastated by this new but we are pushing onward enjoying every minute with our sweet little miracle baby. I will update you when We more

I spoke to soon

Yesterday at 7 in the morning I posted on Facebook how excited we were the time had come to take Jemma home. My aunt Laura took the carseat By the hospital so they could do the carseat challenge. It is a test to measure a baby's ability to handle the stress of being in a carseat. Believe it or not a lot of babies don't pass it and end up stay a little longer. Jade was so excited she took it down to the NICU wondering when can we start. Unfortunately we won't anytime soon the horrors stories of the NICU roller coaster ride have just become our own. We are on a downward spiral upside down hands in the air screaming at the top of lungs stop this ride please when is this going to stop,

Jemma has been diagnosed with a very severe pulmonary stenosis. This is a birth defect of of her pulmonary valve inside of her heart. They are moving her to another hospital to do a procedure on her heart. They hope to be able to correct it with a balloon an catheterization however the cardiologist believes it is to severe to be corrected by this method. We are possibly looking at open heart surgery. The transfer should be happening this morning and as soon as we are updated on when all of this will happen I will let you know.

The thing that is keeping us sane is this saying by Shakespeare

Drum roll please....the news we have all been waiting for!!!

Jemma gets to come home on Friday march 8th. And I will say it again SHE IS FIERCE! Her gestational age would be 35 weeks. Her NICU stay will just be 3 days short of 8 weeks. So yes that means she is almost 2 months old. She weighs 4lbs 12oz, can you believe it? Time flies!

So all of this week they have been D/C all her lines. She has been eating all her meals from a bottle for a week now and her NG tube got removed last week. She has also been off of O2 for almost a week. And they believe she is ready. We are so thankful to God for this miracle baby and all the strength he has givin her!

Jemma Jean free of all her tubing 3/3/13

Growing like a weed....

Jemma Jean 2/17/13

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Little Miss Jemma is a little over a month old and is doing fabulous. She now weighs 3 lbs 12 oz. Yep that's right she has gained 2 pounds. She is also just on a nasal cannula for oxygen support. She will hopefully be moving to a NICU in Reno so she can be closer to her parents. Jade and Jaycee are living in a trailer at the hospital and it isn't easy. Thank God for making everything better. Jemma's NICU stay has been uneventful for such a premature baby. We have been blessed! I actually got to hold her for the first time on Sunday Feb 17th and it was amazing. Here are some pictures taken that day and today.

She is fierce....

I am sorry I haven't had time to stop in and update I started nursing school the week after our precious little one was born and I haven't had time to finish my other posts or add a new one.  But here is a little summary of how the journey has been going....


Jemma Jean is one fierce little miracle. Her time in the NICU has flown by. She has done amazing she now weighs 2 lbs 12oz. yep thats right she gained a whole pound. Yeah Jemma. She is 30 weeks today and 3 weeks of that being out here with us. Except for the incident because of the UVC she has had no problems. She has done better on the outside than she did inside. Thank God they delivered her. God has blessed this baby and I am grateful. The doctors are saying that they believe she will get to go home in about five weeks. Please continue to pray for her.

Here are some pictures that share some of the story until I have time to update again!

To be cont'd..........

One day old

First Kangaroo Care at a week old.

Mommy Daddy and Jemma

Me and Jemma