Ada June arrives

So at long last, here is the story...
Have you ever had it said to you that you would "just know" when something new and amazing was happening to you?  For example, how do you know if you should get married?  I remember asking that question when Nick and I were in the dating phase of our relationship, and I remember getting the all-too-common response of "You'll just know!"  Well... maybe... yes... but making a lifelong commitment takes more than a magical feeling, I believe.  I was also told that I would "just Know" when I was in labor.

Incorrect.

A couple weeks ago I started feeling kind of gross and in some pain for a couple of days straight, which was new to me.  I'd had a relatively "easy" pregnancy, and had not felt any of the warning signs that labor was imminent.  After all, what is a contraction?  Who can explain it who has not felt one?  So I continued on with my activities.  On Tuesday the 14th I was supposed to have a pool date with a friend, and called her to cancel.  Instead, she brought over lunch and watched me lay on the couch in my uncomfortable state.  I was pretty bummed that I couldn't rock out my maternity swimsuit once again, and instead was feeling this grossness that confined me to my couch.  By the time she left a couple hours later, my feelings of grossness were getting a bit closer together, and I began to think that perhaps something was happening.  I called Nick from the painting job, and by the time he got home and saw the look on my face, he knew that he'd not be getting a shower, or even a change from his painting gear.

We drove safely yet swiftly to the hospital, and upon arrival, spoke to the nurse on duty to explain that these contractions were now about 2-3 minutes apart and that we were a "high-risk" pregnancy.  "yeah, yeah, we know", she said dismissively, and she continued to check us in and get my info.  My guess is that most of her patients must claim the title of high risk, as she didn't even know my name yet, but something telepathically must have given her that information.

A half hour later, I was in a labor and delivery room.  Turns out that I had been in labor for quite awhile without knowing it, and had advanced enough to the point that we were told that we would be having a baby that night!  This blog is neither the time nor the place to discuss all the lovely details of the birth of our baby (you are welcome!), but in essence we ended up having nearly every intervention that we'd hoped to avoid, ultimately including a C-Section delivery.  However, Nick and I had talked in advance about how we wanted to trust the medical professionals and their advice to us, knowing that they would likely be more apt to be cautious, due to the heart condition of our baby girl.  All in all, we were very impressed with our care at St. Joe's hospital, and had a great experience with all of the doctors, nurses, and interns.  Great people.

So we had arrived at the hospital a little after 5pm, and were gazing at our baby, Ada June Pitrone, at 1:47 am, Wednesday, June 15th.  My mom had been able to hop on a plane and arrived at the hospital a couple hours before Ada was born, which was a huge answer to prayer.  Upon birth, I was able to "hold" her, as is shown in the above photo, for a few minutes before Nick and Ada left to the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit down the hall.  My mom was there in scrubs ready to be with me as the doctors finished up their duties and I headed in to recovery next door.  Nick's parents and sister were also able to be at the hospital for 10 hours of waiting until they were able to see Ada at close to 5 am.

As far as her heart condition goes, Ada received an echocardiogram immediately after birth which showed the heart defects that we had been expecting (VSD, transposed great arteries, tricuspid atresia) as well as an ASD (atrial septal defect) and I think an additional valve that was not formed... the name of it escapes me at the moment!  In any case, our daughter has a very special heart... and with that said, she has done remarkably.  Numerous doctors and nurses have raved about how well she has done, and we are so very grateful and consider it to be a huge answer to our many prayers.  We were able to avoid the first of the three surgeries on her heart, that would've happened within the first week of her life.  Instead, Ada was discharged with me less than three days after being born!  Amazing!!

Two weeks later, and Nick and I are home with Ada, beginning a new life as a family.  We've been so grateful for the support of family - my parents were out for a week together, and mom for an additional week, and currently Nick's mom is staying and helping us out - and friends... it has been so fun to introduce our new favorite person to the many loving people in our lives.  Meals have come in to help the new mommy, loving gifts have come for dear little Ada, and countless emails, texts, calls, and cards to remind us that we are part of a large community that will be supporting us through these next days and weeks and months.

Later on we will post more in the way of specific prayer requests that we have now, as well as more pictures (yaaay!).  I also intend to blog about feelings.  I'm a new mom now, after all, and have a lot to debrief.  And I know there are many out there who have been there and we can support one another!

Much love to all of you!

Nick, Anna, and Ada Pitrone