Avery update

The goal for the last couple of days has been to start to put a little pressure into Avery's lungs to try to help them open up. They are starting really slowly as to not cause anymore damage so this will be a very slow process. They have administered Surfactant (a protein that your body makes which helps your lungs to function properly) which will hopefully help the lungs to function once they are open. Many premature babies are born without Surfactant. Avery is in need of it because her lungs were so incredibly damaged that her body no longer has it nor is it producing it. We hope that her lungs will open and that the Surfactant helps them to function as they should. There is no doubt that she is a fighter. We pray that our Heavenly Father will continue to comfort and protect her little body. We love her so much.

We continue to be grateful to all those who have done so much to help us during this time. We truly feel blessed to have so many friends who care and love us. We are also grateful for our families and for the strength that we draw from them.

Avery update

Yesterday was a fairly uneventful day, which at this point, is better news. She seems to be fairly stable (other than being on 100% life support). It does look like she is getting an infection but they don't know what yet. She has been on antibiotics since her first surgery to combat any infections that might come and they have continuously given her the medications so hopefully these will work on whatever it is. They are starting to move her lungs around a little bit just so they don't become a breeding ground for infection and they will probably start to put her back on a respirator in the next couple of days. For now, they continue to try to keep her stable and allow her lungs to rest.

Avery update

Not too much new happened today. Avery stayed pretty stable throughout the day which is a welcomed change from the last few days. They are still trying to rest her lungs so they have let them collapse and she is getting all of her life support through the heart/lung bypass machine. Allowing her lungs to collapse and just be on the bypass machine is not something that they have done before but they don't see any other option. She is also on a dialysis machine which is helping her kidneys recover as well. She has 5-6 different specialty teams working on her condition including heart doctors, lung doctors, kidney doctors, blood doctors, infectious disease doctors, etc. I think she has baffled every doctor in the hospital (which is not always encouraging). They have never seen her condition in a full term newborn before so they are in somehwhat unchartered territory. Each day brings something new.

We feel so blessed and honored to be Avery's parents. While she's only been awake and aware for about 9 days of her life, we feel like we have come to know her spirit. It's amazing how much we feel like we know her. While the days are stressful beyond belief, she brings us so much peace. We are grateful for the precious time we are granted to be with her and continue to pray that we might be able to bring her home with us.

Avery update

I've decided I'll try to post updates as often as I can about our sweet little Avery. Someday, after all this has passed, which will hopefully be after she comes home with us, I will tell her story from the beginning. However, at this point I don't think I can spare the time or tears. While I won't go into too much detail, I'm not going to say that we had a good day if we didn't. The purpose for this blog is not to worry or depress those who are intrested, but our situation at the moment does not have too many highlights yet. Our highlights do, however, come from our faith in a merciful and loving Heavenly Father who we know to be at the helm. We know that He is aware of us and that He is perfect, and consequently, His plan for Avery has been made perfectly. We believe in His power to heal her, and feel that He will, but if He decides to bring her home with Him, we know that she is still ours forever. We are so grateful that our family is eternal and are so comforted by the knowledge that whatever happens, she will be part of our family for the eternities.

To be honest, the last two days have been difficult. Yesterday, Dr. Raff (our incredible surgeon), was hoping to get her off the heart/lung bypass system which she has been on for about two weeks now and which she has been relying on for life support. Her heart actually seems to be working well. Her body was doing about 90% of the work by itself so it seemed like she should sail through without any problems getting her off. Minutes after they took her off, she was completely unstable. After looking into her chest, Dr. Raff noticed how bad her lungs looked. We knew that her lungs were getting bad, but apparently they are extremely sick and that is why she could not get off the bypass machine.

Until today, the bypass machine was connected to her heart with her chest open (there's a patch over the opeining in her chest, so no, you can't actually see her heart). They closed up her chest and connected the machine into a vein and artery in her neck in order to rest her lungs. Because her lungs are so diseased they want to try to rest them for at least another week and see if they improve at all. And until then, we pray that her lungs will recover.

We are so thankful to all of our friends and family who have shed so many tears and spent so much time on their knees in Avery's behalf. You will never know how much we love you. While we cry often for Avery, a good portion of our tears are shed because of the love and kindness we feel from all those who are supporting us. It is truly overhwhelming. We love you all so much. I will try to update on a daily basis but I make no promises.

Avery

Avery Christine Bouck was born on March 19th at 1:03 pm weighing in at 8lbs. 6oz. and 19 inches long. We're so excited that she's finally here! I'll post more about the birth after I get a few more hours of sleep but I promised I would post our most recent pictures.

Me and Avery 15 minutes after the traumatic delivery (traumatic for me that is). That smile definitely wasn't there when my epidural decided not to take.

Figuring out what's going on.

Just hanging out with dad.

Mike and Avery.

A craft for the not so crafty

So I've been meaning to put Kara's name up on her wall for about...oh...2 years now. I finally did it. After shopping around for a while and not finding anything I liked, or finding ones that I did like that cost $20 a letter, I thought "how hard could it really be?" It was the simplest craft I've ever done. Let's hope it doesn't take me another 2 years to mount them on the wall.

How To: A lot of people have been asking me how to do it. So here is how I did it (but I'm warning you...I am literally one of the uncraftiest people on the planet so I'm sure there's a better way to do it).

The products you will need are : finished or unfinished wooden wall letters of your choice (you can find these at Michael's, Joann's, wal-mart, or any craft store), scrapbook paper, mod podge, sponge brush, and exacto knife (or scissors).

1. If the letters are not finished, paint them a coordinating color with the paper you purchased (you'll just see it from the side). I bought straight edged/white letters which made it easier. Some letters have a little lip on them which makes this project a little more difficult.

2. Now you can do this two ways, you can either trace the letters onto your paper, cut the letter with scissors and then mod podge onto the letter(with a sponge brush) and place your paper onto the letter...or...you can mod podge the whole paper onto your letter and let it dry. You want to make sure to work out any bumps or air bubbles or you'll get big bubbles on your letters.

3. If you cut the letter out with scissors, all you need to do is apply a few coats of mod podge to the finished side of the letter (letting dry between coats), that leaves it with a nice shiny finished seal (it dries completely clear and with no streaks). Let it dry and your finished.

If you glued the whole paper to the letter (which is how I did it), place the paper so it is faced down on a hard surface with the letter glued to the top. Take an exacto knife and trace around the letter. Once the paper has been traced and your letter is how you want it to look, apply a few coats of mod podge to the front of your letter (letting dry between coats) and you then will have a finished product.

I plan on adding some ribbon to them, but who knows, that could take another 2 years.

Have Fun!!!

Kate's birthday

We decided to give Kate a little birthday party with a few friends this year since her birthday is a day after the baby is due. Much to our surprise the birthday party was a success. It's amazing how much fun these little kids can have doing the simplest things. They got to decorate their own cupcakes which they did by LOADING on the frosting and only eating the "muffin top." As for the presents, a few the kids thought that the presents they brought were for themselves so they proceeded to open them and play with "their" toy for the rest of the time. It was pretty entertaining. Good thing Kate was patient and waited to play with her new toys once everyone left. All and all, I think it was a success (mostly because we avoided any big melt downs).