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Sarah and Samantha are one month old today!  They still seem so new; it's hard to believe.

Since I last wrote, we spent a few more days in the hospital getting ready to go home.

Then, two weeks ago, on Sunday January 26th, Samantha was discharged from Primary Childrens' Medical Center.  It was very exciting and we got on the road as quick as we could to get back home to our other children.

We spent the next few days trying to get unpacked and settled into some sort of a routine.  Sarah was eating and sleeping like you would expect from a newborn.  Samantha was getting fed through a feeding tube every three hours.  We had in home nurse visits and a doctor appointment.  We also got to spend time with family and let a few more of them meet our new babies.

Then Samantha suddenly started getting blood in her stools.  We called the doctor and he said it was likely a protein intolerance and switched her to a special (and very expensive) formula.  He said it wouldn't go away right away, but should help.  We also made an appointment to see him first thing in the morning.  That night she was very irritable and hard to console (she had always been easy to calm down before this).  By 5 am she was totally inconsolable.  After an hour of crying (screaming), I took her into the ER.

She was running out of steam by then, so I'm not sure they believed me, but they did x-ray her belly, test her stool, and call her doctor.  After all this, they got worried.  Her pediatrician actually came in and talked to us.  They saw signs of Necrotizing Enterocolitis.  It usually happens in preemies within a week or two after they are born, but they said it could be a result of low blood pressure causing low blood supply during her surgery.  Since then, I've read that it is actually not uncommon in full-term children with CHDs (congenital heart defects) because of the poor oxygen circulation.  Anyway, it is very dangerous and needed to be handled right away.

So, less than five days after being discharged from Primary Childrens, she was admitted to St. Lukes Hospital to the NICU.  They took more x-rays and blood samples, and called in the surgeon.  Everybody rushed around for awhile but the surgeon said the x-ray showed no perforations, so she would go do another surgery (on another patient who was waiting) and then come back and look at more x-rays to see if how and if it changed.

Eventually everyone concluded that surgery was the right course.  Samantha was very weak and pale.  Nobody wanted to risk waiting too long.  They wanted to do an exploratory laproscopic surgery and fix the bowels if they found any problems. So off Samantha went to her second surgery in her first month of life.

We were all relieved to find that there was no perforation in any section of the intestines.  This meant that the most dangerous scenario was not playing out and she did not have to be cut open.  She did have very inflamed intestines so she was put on three antibiotics and put on bowel rest - that means no food in her belly - for 10 days.

Samantha, cozy in her hospital bed

She has been very irritable, probably from pain from the infection, pain from the surgery, and hunger.  I was hoping some of that would be alleviated since today she was supposed to be able to eat again.  She was allowed 10 ml of Pedialyte at 12:01 am (doctors!) which I stayed up to give her.  She took it pretty well considering she had not eaten anything by mouth since she was 5 days old.  She ate lazily, but even so it does not take much to eat only 10 ml (think 2 teaspoons or so).  After she ate she remained restless and seemed even more agitated.  After awhile she threw it all up with some bring yellow-colored fluid.  That sent the nursed and nurse practitioner running.  They came inserted an NG tube, emptied her stomach contents, listened to her belly, and overall checked her out.  They decided no more food for now.  So we are waiting on the doctor to hear from the surgeon about when she can eat.  (Which is crazy because the surgeon told the nurse practitioner last night that she would be able to try again in the morning.)

Anyway, so we are in a waiting pattern again.  We are hoping that she is recovered from her colitis and simply needs time and patience for her stomach to be ready for food.  I want so badly for her to not have to be in pain and to be able to come home and be with the rest of us.  I am working on being more patient and handling uncertainty and change.  I have a long way to go on these, I am afraid, so I must rely on my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Again, we are grateful for your prayers in our behalf.  Thank you!

Junior and Carolyn taking care of Sarah and waiting for Samantha to come home to join them