Gabby Update

Chris and I were just at the hospital and here's where things stand. Gabby seems to be holding her own with the hood set to 50% oxygenation. Her blood oxygenation levels have slowly risen all day with this hood- 62% at 6am, 64% at 10am and 68% at 2pm. She's providing plenty of wet and dirty diapers and has maintained a consistent body temperature. We think they want to get the blood oxygenation levels to around 85% before they will try to start to scale back the oxygenation level in the hood.

We will feel much better if she continues to maintain and hold constant overnight.

Thanks again for all your prayers and thoughts.

the focas

...and Gabby makes three!

It is with great joy that we announce the arrival of Gabriella Marie Foca (Gabby) to our family! She arrived August 29th at 10:30pm, weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces and was 17.5 inches in length. She's a fighter. We tried the majority of the day on Friday to delay the labor, since she was five weeks early, but she insisted on making an apparearance. Due to her prematurity, she has been transferred to Children's Hospital in Knoxville at about 5:30am on August 30th and is currently in their NICU ward.

Information is spotty and constantly changing, but here's what we know thus far (my apologies to all medical professionals, I'm trying my best to understand :)):

- she is peeing and pooping quite nicely, Chris was able to change her first poop when he and Kathryn Dyksterhouse were visiting Gabby Saturday morning

- her weight is very good for a preemie

- she is having trouble with her breathing. The current theory on what is going on(as much as I can understand) is this: I was put on magnesium to try to delay labor on Friday. Magnesium didn't work, but one of the side effects of it is that it makes babies very lethargic and prone to apnea (when babies stop breathing for brief periods of time) at birth. So when she was born, she was very relaxed and laid back due to the magnesium, and didn't appear to have any problems breathing. Unfortunately, as the mag has worn off and she has gotten more and more awake and active (a good thing), she has had more trouble breathing (a bad thing). They like for babies to breathe approximately 40- 60 breathes a minute, she, even with the help of an oxygen hood (which concentrates the oxygen in the air she's breathing) is breathing about 90-100 breathes a minutes, a lot of work for a little one. When Chris and I visited her last night at 6, the very kind doctor and NICU walked us through everything and said his best assessment is that he expects her to be there 10-14 days. May be less, if she turns a corner, but we should prepare for a longer stay than initially thought. There is also a distinct possibility that she will be put on a ventilator for a couple of days, so she can rest and her lungs can develop surfactin better. Now, this was last night at 6pm, and of this morning at 4am they had not put her on a ventilator, so I will update as soon as I know more about that.

Here's what we're thankful for:

- that she had a safe and easy delivery (once it seemed inevitable that she would be delivered)

- that Chris and I were able to spend a good hour with her Friday night (while she was pretty lethargic) and could hold her and be with her

- that she has great care at Children's Hospital, that the doctors and nurses seems so willing and open to take the time to explain everything going on and deal with emotional parents

- that this seems to be something she just needs to work through, that in the grand spectrum of baby issues, it is not critical

- that with the hood, she is producing strong oxygen saturation levels, which means (I think) with the additional oxygen in the air, she is able to keep her blood well oxygenated

- that we have such a strong social network who are helping us with our girls, providing meals for us, and lifting us up in thoughts and prayers

What we're praying about:

- she seems to have not "turned the corner" as it were. When she got to Children's Hospital, the hood was concentrating the oxygen in the air at 30% (regular air is concentrated at 21%)- ok I didn't say that right, but I'm hoping that makes some sense. When I called to check in at 4am, they have increased the concentration in the hood to 50%- it had been increasing incrementally all day. We'd really love for them to be able to start decreasing the oxygen in the hood, which would indicate that she's getting stronger, and better able to breathe on her own

- The possibility of a ventilator is intimidating.

- The ability to balance being with her, being with the girls and recooperating so that we can do both is very hard. Add in a good dose of guilt, and Chris and I both feel imminent responsibility to be in 3 places at once at all times.

- Ainsley and Emma are weathering, but don't understand much. We think (if she doesn't go on a ventilator) that we will bring them to see her this afternoon- they can't go into the NICU (obviously) but the nurse will bring her to a window... we've shown them pictures, but want them to feel comfortable and not be scared by the wires. Also, that they would feel security and consistency. In that, we're so grateful that our sister-in-law, Kathryn, was here during the labor and delivery and that my parents are currently here to provide a sense of normalcy for them.

We will do our best to keep this blog updated. Please know how grateful we are for all the love and support!

Catherine, Chris, Ainsley, Emma and Gabby