update on our little mamas

Written on 11:38 AM by gracefully discovering:

It's been a minute since I've updated you all on the growing journey of our baby girls...my apologies, but there hasn't really been much to tell except that they are growing...and kicking...and moving around in there a lot!

We have decided on our girls names. We really put a lot of thought into this because we wanted their names to mean something special- and kinda describe who they are. We also wanted them to have "N" names...like their daddy. So here is what we chose!
Nia: (formally known as Fat-Fat) means purpose in Swahili. We figured that with her special heart, God put her in our lives for a special purpose and her existence on earth will serve a great purpose to all of those who come into contact with her.
Naomi: means pleasant and beautiful. She is very pleasant...i'm telling you- this girl doesn't move a whole lot, she is always just chillin! Unlike her rambunctious big sister! The beautiful part is a given...there is no way that these girls won't be drop dead gorgeous...I mean look at their parents :)

As of today Nia weighs 2.5 pounds and Naomi weighs 2 pounds even! I am very happy that they are growing right on schedule and that Nia is still my little fat mama...because the bigger and stronger she is, the better she will be able to withstand her long journey of surgeries that await her.

Speaking of surgeries: Monday, we went back to the Cardiologist (and remember how we asked you all to pray that she would either move closer to the white part of the heart spectrum...or all the way to the Black part of the spectrum), well...she moved completely to the black. Which means that the left side of her heart (which is responsible for pumping blood and oxygen to the brain and the body) didn't develop and can't do its job....thus the diagnosis of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.
So in order for Nia to live, she is going to have to get a 3-stage surgery. The first surgery (named after her daddy...how cool) is the Norwood procedure. She will have this within the first week of life. I posted about all of the surgeries a while ago...so if you're interested in learning about them...you can go to the older post titled "Our baby girl has a special heart" (I can't seem to figure out how to link it)

The girls will be delivered at St. Lukes and then they will take her on over to Texas Children's Hospital. This is where all of her surgeries and after care will be done. We couldn't be in a better place right now! TCH was named the 3rd best Hospital for children in the world! So I am very confident that she will receive the best treatment available!

I just can't imagine that her little tiny body is going to have to withstand open heart surgery within the first week of life...but it's what has to be done. I can already tell that she is a little fighter because she definitely moves around like crazy inside her little 5 star hotel that she has lived in for the past 27 weeks. Also, I was talking to someone (can't remember who) but she was talking about how resilient babies are, and how they recover so quickly from things that we would whine and cry about for months!

Anyway- in about 10 weeks, our journey will begin with her surgeries, recovery, rehab, etc. So please keep us in your prayers!