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My little girl had many medical visitors today. Above you can see her in her first full-face picture. They placed her in a special thing with a hole cut out to lay her on her back for a test they had to do for urology. We got a quick pic before they began. Couldn't pass up an opportunity to see more than half her face at once! :) Too bad you can't see her eyes better in the photo. They are this lovely deep grey-blue that is the color of the sea when the sun begins to set. I'm not sure what color they will become after they've had a chance to "settle in" to their true color, but I really hope its close to how they are now.

Well, she had her two ultrasounds before I got there. Nobody mentioned the renal (kidney) ultrasound which I take to mean all is well. Her bladder showed a bit largish and so they ordered an additional test which enabled me to take the face shot you see above. That test went well. We still have the "big" uro test tomorrow. Its called a VCUG and it tests lots of things like bladder pressure when the bladder is full, if there is reflux into the kidneys, etc.

Physical Therapy also stopped by before I arrived today. The therapist peeked in after I got there to give me the report. Basically, she said her leg strength is great! (same as orthopedist said) and that when she can lay on her back they can do more detailed evaluations and make suggestions for ways for us to work with her in any needed way. Right now, she is recommending the baby get some "side time" in her bassinet. The neuro agrees with this. Laying on her belly so much is keeping her from flailing her arms the way newborns do and its making her arms stiff.

Occupational Therapy dropped in on us just before her 2 o clock feeding. O/T unlike P/T deals with coordination and neurological milestones etc. The O/T said our baby was "organized" and "skilled". Not entirely sure how a newborn can be organized but from what I gather it means she can coordinate herself with the task of rooting around for food when she's hungry. She can wake and be alert at appropriate times. She can self-soothe when she starts to get upset. (She has this thing for stuffing the fingers of her right hand into her mouth. She sleeps with it close to her face for just such a purpose. In fact, even as I'm trying to give her the bottle, she's often stuffing those tiny digits in her mouth making for a comical moment when both bottle nipple and fingers are getting sucked on till mommy pulls her hand away.) The O/T said she had no real concerns except her arms (echoing the P/T). Those stiffness issues should resolve soon though once she can lay on her back and move them freely around. She, like the P/T will continue to follow up and do more evals once the baby is more recovered from surgery.

Neuro stopped by as well (also before my arrival. sigh.) and did an eval and took off her surgical dressing so now we begin wound care on the incision site. They are pleased with how it looks for 7 days in. Below I will post pics of what her boo-boo looked like before surgery and today.

Pre-op and

7 days post-op...looking pretty good. The white stuff on the right side is a cream that we later wiped off.
She has some swelling and only a light discoloration from bruising. Once we could see her belly today, we noticed she has a bruise in a straight line at the base of her belly which must also have come from surgery. Perhaps the way they positioned her?

Despite all the good news, I was not feeling so good today. I had a GREAT day physically yesterday and today I was just sick. When I stood up at one point I got really dizzy again like I was doing my second day in the hospital after my c-section. Evangeline's nurse was there to see me go all white and pasty and she made me sit down and took my pulse. She said I wasn't leaving NICU except in a wheel chair- she didn't want me falling out. I also was not able to stand to do things with the baby like change her diaper etc. My mom or the nurse would hand her to me while I was sitting so we could cuddle and feed etc but I didn't want to risk passing out while I was standing with her. I have been resting this afternoon and drinking fluids and all that other jazz. If I don't feel better tomorrow, I'll phone my OB and see if they want to see me since I'll be in the building anyway. 

Well, more news to come soon, I'm sure! All this information can be overwhelming, but my God is big and knowing that He will be with me makes my fears seem small in comparison to his humongous-ness. God is faithful and capable of handling them all!

Isaiah 51:12-13 “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass,  that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor?