Pictures

Here are some pictures we have taken of Charity since she left the hospital.

Charity is in her car seat ready to leave the hospital.

Finally Home!!!

Charity is final home with her parents!!!  About 6:30 last night, Charity was released from the hospital.  She got home and took a long nap.  Jamie and I are both totally exhausted!  We are hoping to be able to have visitors sometime next week.

So here is what is going on...

Charity has an appointment with her doctor on Monday to get another check-up.

In August, we are going to see the surgeon about her surgery.

A week or so after our appointment, Charity will have the surgery.  It sounds like it will be one surgery one day and then a week or so for recovery.  Hirschsprung's Disease will basically mean that the lower part of her intestines will be removed.  We are hoping that it is a small segment, not a great amount of the colon.  After the surgery, she should be completely healthy and not have any more bowel problems.

In the meantime, Charity is going to have her poo hole cleaned by her mommy and daddy.  It isn't really on my bucket list, but it makes her feel much better and allows her to be home over the next month, so we will "doo" what we gotta "doo."  (Pun intended.)

After I stop rambling on this post, I am relinquishing my posting rights back to Jamie.  She is much better about posting pictures, so expect some very soon.

Again, thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers.  They have meant a great deal to us.  Please keep Charity in your prayers as she prepares for her surgery and recovery in a month.

After about a month, our little girl will be all ours!

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates...

I'm sorry for not updating this yesterday.  We pretty much spent the day waiting for information without really getting any new info to share.  Charity did move to a less severe part of the ICU, however.  It is much quieter and we have a ton more space to get comfy in.  Charity also now has 3 big windows that she can look out. :-)

Today was a different story.

We got the results back on Charity's test.  She tested positive for Hirschsprung's Disease after all.  That means surgery.  We have an appointment with the lead pediatric surgeon at OSF tomorrow at 11 AM.  There we will find out more info on how everything works.

When we finally got to talk to the doctor in charge of Charity in the ICU, we found out that the Hirschsprung's test had a sample that did not seem accurate.  As a result, the surgeon was going to discuss things with the doctors in charge of the test.  Basically, that could mean that she may not have Hirschsprung's after all.

So in summary...

1.  Charity tested positive for Hirschsprung's Disease which means home and then back to the hospital in about a month for surgery.

2.  Charity's sample from the test may not have been accurate, which could mean a false positive.

3.  More information to come after our 11:00 appointment.

It does sound like Charity should be home either tomorrow or Friday, but we don't know for how long.  She may be home for a month or 2 until the surgery or she may not require surgery and may stay home with us with a few extra check-ups.  Of course, there is also some room for in between.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

One Week Ago...

One week ago today, Jamie went into labor.  This week has not gone as planned!

Jamie and I had a rather frustrating day at the hospital to begin with.  It seemed as though things were not really progressing.  Several of the key people involved with Charity were off for the weekend, so we went into today needing answers.

Luckily, we spoke with the doctor pretty early in the day.  The end of the story is that when they can figure out how to make Charity poop at home - which could entail Jamie and I cleaning out her poo hole - we can take her home.  They are trying to figure out the frequency of the clean outs.

Earlier in the morning, the surgeon stopped by to do a little test at Charity's bedside.  While he was there, he tried to work on the obstruction Charity has.  As the day went on, it seemed to work.  Charity passed 2 stools today on her own before we left at 9 tonight!!!  If she goes again tonight and a few times tomorrow, she should be home in no time at all!!  Jamie and I are both so excited about the possibility!

In the mean time, Charity is eating very well.  Jamie has been trying to nurse, but Charity hasn't quite got the hang of it yet.  We had a nurse who was trained in breastfeeding try to help us tonight which was a big help.  Charity is back to suntanning.  There isn't a real need for it, but the doctor just wanted to do a little more for her.

Basically, we are in a "wait and see" mode.  I am hoping that the next entry I write will be about her coming home on her original due date - July 20th.

Thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayers.  You have no idea how much they mean to all of us.  Please keep on Praying for Poop!

Test Coming

Today went very well.  Charity pretty much slept and ate today.  Luckily, she still had enough energy to look at her parents from time to time!

Jamie did try nursing today, but Charity didn't quite get it yet.  She wants to, but she isn't too sure how to do it.  We are going to have a lactation consultant come in for a feeding tomorrow to help out.  We don't want Charity to be frustrated over food!

Tomorrow, Charity is going to have her Hirschsprung's test, but it is just a formality.  We are hoping they will find out what is going on in her poo hole so we can take care of it, but there is no word on when they are going to do that.  Hopefully they can take care of things right there and send her home ASAP!

She did not poop at all today after 2 last night.  Please keep praying for poop!

Poop's Coming!!!

When Jamie and I got to the hospital today, we found out that Charity got upgraded to a crib (no more warmer), had her IV removed, was wearing a onesie, stopped suntanning, and was able to begin eating more.  We were so happy to see all of the improvements!  We are now able to hold her when we are in there without having to always get permission from the nurse.

As we were oohing and aahing over our little girl, the nurse said - by the way, we are decreasing her poo hole cleanouts (ok, not what she called it) because she pooped (again she used stool, but that's not as fun) a few times last night!!!  Apparently, the obstruction is starting to give away and Charity is getting things out on her own.

As we are holding her, she looks perfectly happy and content.  We even saw a smile for the first time last night!  She is doing great.  We haven't heard of a possible date for her to come home, but we are thinking that it will be very soon!! :-)

Jamie is going to try nursing for the first time since we got to the hospital for a few minutes, so I had better go.

Once again, thank you for all of your prayers!  God is listening!  Please keep up the Prayers for Poop.  The more she poops, the sooner she will see her nursery (but, I am not talking about diarrhea!).

Finally, more pictures...

Food is Flowing!

Charity keeps on improving.  We just met with the doctor.  She had her food almost doubled for the last feeding and it is going to keep on increasing.  If everything holds, Jamie should be able to nurse once a day starting tomorrow!!!

Charity did have a stool about 10 minutes after prodding, which is a first!  Usually, she doesn't have anything after the prodding is over.  Her obstruction seems to be giving away a little bit.

I will try to put up some pictures soon.

Pray for Poop!

Pictures

We haven't been to the hospital quite yet, so no new news, but I do have some pictures and a video from yesterday.

Before eating, Charity finally got her nose tube removed!  It was the first time we have seen our little girl's full face since she was just 12 hours old!

This is Charity's first feeding.  Once she got going, she drank her bottle in a heartbeat!

After eating, Charity got back to tanning. (The nurse was watching her as she was on her stomach of course.)   

Today, when we get back to the hospital, Charity should be done with her tanning and still have her face tube free!!!  We can't wait to see her!

Finally Food!

Charity enjoyed her first meal at about 11:30 tonight (I know that it is 1 in the morning right now, so the date will not make sense, but it is still tonight to me!).  She drank 7 mL of milk within about 30 seconds!  Jamie got to give her the bottle.  Video and pictures will be up as soon as possible tomorrow.  The food seemed to settle in very well.  The only problem was that she was still really hungry, but that's a good sign.  She will be feed every 3 hours and I am sure that Jamie will be able to feed her whenever we are there.

As she was eating, Charity did pass a little gas down south, so we were very happy.  It was the first time that we actually heard gas come out on its own!  Yes, things were too tight to even let gas out!

Thank you for all of your support.  We love reading all of the comments.  They give us something to look forward to when we take a little break from our little one.

Since some people asked and I haven't really mentioned it, Jamie is doing well.  She is still sore, but she is moving pretty well.  She is getting to have fun in a wheelchair on the way to Charity and the way back to the parking lot, which is great in such a large hospital.  She is still taking Tylenol with codeine which is helping.  Luckily, she feels the need to take it less and less.  She still gets a little uncomfortable from time to time.

Keep the Poop Prayers coming!

The Night is Still Young

The glorious food isn't quite a go yet.  The nurse had to turn off one of Charity's tubes in order to feed her.  They want to be sure that she isn't going to throw up on an empty stomach.  As long as she doesn't throw up, she will be eating around 11:30 tonight.  If she keeps that down, she would lose the nose tube and be fed every 3 hours.

As for the poop, she is still getting it out of there, but with help.  The good news is that the obstruction seems to be getting a little easier to get around, so hopefully that means that it is starting to break down.

You know what I am going to type next...

Pray for Poop!!!!

Food, Glorious Food!

As of right now, Charity is going to receive her first meal around 8:30 tonight!  It is dependent on if her stomach seems ready, but hopefully our little girl will be eating by the end of the night.

The Doctor Was In

We talked to the doctor a little bit ago.  She had not talked to the surgeon yet, but she is on board with whatever he wants to do.  As a results, Charity should be having her first bottle later on today.

Nothing new on the poop front, but I thought for sure I heard her fart - for the first time.

Pray for Poop!

The Poo Report

My computer is finally working in the hospital, so here comes the updates!

The surgeon who saw Charity yesterday stopped by and told us that he can rule out Hirschsprung's Disease!!  That means that she will get all better now and stay out of here!!

We are waiting to hear from the doctor on the day shift to get a report about how things have progressed, but the surgeon wants to allow her to begin eating the milk Jamie is supplying for her.  She looks so ready to eat!  Hopefully, we will hear that she has been cleared to eat and that they will schedule a colonoscopy to see exactly what is going on.

I will update as soon as we talk to the doctor.

Meanwhile, they are still clearing her poo hole regularly.  She is pushing out what she can when they are helping open things up a little.  It seems like she is pretty well cleaned out right now, so let's bring in some fresh stuff (food!).

Keep the Poop Prayers coming!  They are still working!

No, Charity is not sunbathing!  They are stimulating her liver.  It isn't a problem, but it happens if you haven't seen the sun yet!

Blog Info

I changed the settings on the blog.  Anyone can now leave any comments you may like without signing in.  I forgot to change a setting when I was setting things up.

We are about to go to the hospital.  I will post updates as soon as I can.

Update

I'm sorry I didn't update earlier, but the computer I took to the hospital wasn't liking the internet there a whole lot.  I am taking a different computer tomorrow, so hopefully I can update earlier.

Today started out to be a pretty normal day until the doctor came in to give Charity an examine to find out something about her inner booty (and I don't mean beauty).  Your Prayers for Poop are working!!!!  As he was trying to put the probe in her, he noticed an obstruction.  He used his finger to get a better feel for things and noticed something was partially blocking her poo hole.  With his finger, Charity's stool came flowing out.  I was never so happy to see poop in all my life!!!  

The test he was going to do today, will be done tomorrow instead, but the doctor - who is a surgeon looking at her x-rays - seems to think that the surgery I posted about earlier probably will not be necessary.  For now, Charity is going to be receiving enemas and a probe to help the poop keep coming.  There will be a colonoscopy ordered this weekend or early next week to see what the deal is.  It is soft, so they don't believe it is a bone structure at all.

We don't know exactly what all this means, but, for now, it is looking like Hirschsprungs Disease is not likely.  This could be something that will simply be stretched into shape or it may require a much less evasive surgery.  It is still too early to tell, but Jamie and I are ecstatic that we saw poop and that it appears to be something that may keep Charity away from us for a few days instead of a few weeks.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and Poop Prayers.  Please keep them coming!!!  The more brown we see, the sooner our daughter can come home and meet everyone!!

Here is a clip from earlier (I know that not everyone may look at it, but I am a proud daddy, so what else would you expect?).

It's a Girl!!!!

Jamie and Charlie had a baby girl, Charity Lynn Blanchard at 4:36 AM on Tuesday, July 13th 2010.  She weighed 6 pounds and 9.9 ounces and measured 19 inches.

Now for the details....

Jamie's water broke Monday morning at 8:20 and we ended up in the hospital at 11:30.  It was a little rough, but little Charity came out.  (We had Gilmore Girls on the whole time, so now the theme song will be permanently in everyone's head!)  Jamie pushed for 2 hours before Charity said hi to the world.

Jamie did not get much rest the next day, but we had a little complication anyways.  At around 5:30 pm, Charity was taken to the nursery in order to get some gunk out of her mouth, but they were not able to get the vacuum tube into her throat.  That lead to a call to our doctor which lead Charity to her first car ride - an ambulance to St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, the leading children's hospital downstate.  She was immediately admitted into the baby ICU.

After some long hours, Jamie was up for about 41 hours by the time she went to bed early Wednesday morning, it was decided that there was not any problems with Charity's throat.  However, their testing lead to the discovery of another problem.

As x-rays were being taken, it was realized that Charity needed to poop!  She had not done this yet, so there was a concern.  As of right now, we still do not have any definitive answers.  According to the doctor, there could be a plug holding things up.

There is also a possibility that she has a problem with her intestine called Hirschsprung's Disease.  This isn't quite as scary as it sounds.  Essentially, it would mean that she has a little bit of intestine that has nerve problems which is not allowing her to push stool out.  It would mean surgery for Charity, but she would be fine in a month or two.  There is nothing permanent about it.  If things do not progress, she will get a test done as soon as today to see if this is a problem or not.  The results will take about 3 days.  If she does have the disease, she will receive some more tests.  After her tests, she would have the bad part of her intestine cut out.  After a week or two of recovery, she will be home with us and a colostomy bag for somewhere between a week and a month.  After that, she would be back into the hospital for 1-2 weeks for another surgery to reattach the good ends back together.  Afterwards, she would be all ours to take home without any other repercussions or signs.

We got back home last night around 12:30 and while we were at the hospital, Charity passed 2 stools!  They were not quite as fully formed as they wanted them to be, but something is coming out!!!  We are praying that when we go back today they will tell us that she has been stooling full stools all night and she is looking better.

Now for the summary...

To sum it up, Charity Lynn's birthday is going to be on July 13th, so you can go ahead and mark your calendars now.  She is in St. Francis Hospital in Peoria where she is going to stay until she eats and poops (she definitely has the whole peeing thing down.)  She may need surgery, but she may not.  No matter what, she will be home in our arms for sure, nothing about this is life or death, just an inconvenience.

One more thing - Charlie has hijacked this blog from Jamie.  Her job right now is to eat, drink lots of water, and rest so that she can get plenty of breast milk for our daughter and to pray .  As we are at the hospital, I will be updating this thing as much as humanly possible to keep everyone informed.

We appreciate all of your loving thoughts, but we will not be answering cell phones much right now.  We will need them off while we are visiting Charity.  We may not even call back.  Please don't take it personally.  This blog will have the same info as we have, so just check back here.  We will be off and on Facebook, but again we may not be able to respond a whole lot, so thank you again for your thoughts.

More detailed labor/hospital stories are in the works for those who love details!

We do have one more favor from everyone reading this blog - Pray for Poop!

Now for something I know that you will really like...

Baby's First Picture

Baby's First Trip (Neonatal ICU in St. Francis)

Video Time

38 weeks!

Yesterday we hit 38 weeks!  Only two more weeks left (till the due date)!  The last doctors appointment was just a routine check up and everything is going well.  Tomorrow we have another appointment and we will see if I am dilated at all..