Friday, June 25, 2010

She's here!!

Elliana Grace Dauphin

The Lord Has Heard

7 lbs, 4 oz 19 inches

Born at 8:20 am


We woke up bright and early and headed into the hospital. I immediately recognized the nurse that had attended Caleb's birth and who I LOVED. She basically got me through labor. I had written her a thank you note and so when she saw my name, she remembered me and asked to help prep my c-section. What a blessing from the Lord! I felt at ease almost at once.



After all of the prep work was done, I walked down to the OR carrying my own IV and hopped up to the table to get my spinal. That went much better this time as well. Elliana was born 20 minutes later. She immediately started crying and I asked Steve to make sure she was a girl. She was. But a few minutes later, the NICU nurse brought her close to my face let me see her for a brief second and then whisked her away. Evidently, she was working too hard to breathe and so they needed to get her stabilized.


I was sewn back up and headed to our room to recover. Elliana still was in the NICU and I began to understand that she would be there for quite some time. The nurses there and doctor were fairly certain she just had too much fluid in her lungs (and because she was a c-section, she hadn't had the benefit of it getting squeezed out while going through the birth canal). But they couldn't be certain. After a chest x-ray, they determined she did have fluid and started antibiotics to insure quick action if she was developing a pneumonia. Evidently, a pneumonia and too much fluid in the lungs from birth, look exactly the same on a chest x-ray. She started off with 50% oxygen saturation.


Around 1:30 pm the nurses wheeled my entire hospital bed into the NICU so I could hold my little girl for the first time. It was a wonderful moment. She and I stayed skin-to-skin for about an hour. By 3:30 they had weaned her off of all of the oxygen and she was breathing calmly on her own. She's been doing really well ever since. We still cannot have her stay with us until at the earliest, tomorrow morning but she is really doing so much better. And tonight I got her to latch on for the first time all day! She actually ate pretty decently on one side. I was so encouraged. It seems that she is pulling through and getting better as the hours go on.

I'm doing all right. I'm fairly comfortable and am thankful for the great care of the nurses and hospital staff. God is so faithful to carry us regardless the circumstances. I'm greatly encouraged by that fact and feel able to rest in His comfort and grace.

So...the name Elliana has been an absolute favorite of ours for over four years; we just kept having boys!! And the meaning seemed so appropriate. The Lord Has Heard. He has heard and has given us a daughter. We couldn't be more blessed.


14 comments:

  1. Nikki, She is beautiful! And you are an amazing mom, and woman to have the birth all documented already. Congratulations on the birth of you long awaited baby Girl :-)
    Amanda Masters

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  2. "The Lord has Heard"
    Thank you, Lord, for this precious granddaughter. Nikki and Steve, we are so thankful for you, Isaac, Caleb, Joshua, and now little Elliana Grace. Blessings!

    We love you, Grandma and Grandpa

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  3. Yay! She's here, praise God! So glad that she is doing better now! We're praying for strength for your recovery and a smooth transition.

    LOVE the song! You definitely have to post the lyrics to share with everyone. I looked them up and teared up listening to the song while reading them and thinking of you and your precious girl.

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  4. I'm crying. Thanks for the update. We can't wait to meet her. Love you guys.

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  5. Oh, what a beautiful baby! What a beautiful song! What Joy! Praise God!!!!!

    Thank you so much for sharing this sweetness with us.
    Congratulations!!!!

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  6. Our Granddaughter is gorgeous! How Blessed you and Steve are to have Elliana and Isaac, Caleb, and Josh. This song is beautiful and so appropriate. Love Mom and Dad (Yia Yia and Papou)

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  7. Love it! Congrats you two! So happy for you!

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  8. Praise the Lord! We are so happy for your beautiful family. Welcome Elliana.

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  9. I have tears in my eyes. Congratulations!

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  10. Ok...so must be a strange GOD THING for certain....

    Although I was sure we were having a girl, we ended up with a boy (and he fits perfectly in our family!). However, our girl name has been picked for a long time, especially since we miscarried last summer. And guess what? It's Elliana. Amazing. It's SO fun to see your little Elliana...for now, my wishes have come true in your Elliana. :) Maybe someday we'll have our own. I couldn't help but be amazed when I saw that's what you named your daughter! We love the name too--for its meaning to us.

    Welcome Elliana!!!!

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  11. Welcome to the world, sweet girl. Beautiful name, you guys!

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  12. I am bringing you a meal on Wednesday and am looking forward to meeting your beautiful girl!
    Love to you and your family!

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  13. Congratulations Steve and Nikki!! The birth of a baby is such a blessing and I am teary reading your most recent birth story! Elliana is beautiful and will be the little princess with 3 strong brothers to care for her and protect her! You have such a cute little family and I love being able to keep up with you guys on your blog! Thank you for sharing :)

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