Chrismation!

Lucy was adorable in her chrismation gown and very well behaved through the whole thing. Here she is with Uncle Peter and Aunt Rebekah who are now her godparents as well.

So cute...

Lucy is now almost 5 months old! Her blood sugars are still great and she's such a happy girl. She now really likes to have a personal entertainer rather than just being content with looking at what's going on around her. She has the cutest little giggle and loves sitting in her Bumbo and playing with her toys. This picture is actually from a few months ago. Her hair is getting thicker and blonder and it appears the blue eyes are here to stay!

New Pics

With Aunt Marie in the Baby Bjorn
Big smiles!
With Grandma DD at Andy's birthday part at Pump it Up

An update on my life!

I turned three months old last week! As you can see I have grown a lot! I lead a somewhat busy, but content life. I am VERY entertained by my older brothers as you can see from some of their crazy antics! Noah is leaning a little to the left politically these days (just kidding, see Holly's blog for comments) and Andy is very fascinated by Native American tools/weaponry. I enjoy taking little field trips to the Neil Smith Prairie (the largest restored prairie in the nation--there are roaming buffalo there!), the Science Center of Iowa, and grocery shopping at Dahl's. I also went for my first "swim" last week. As you can see I have started sucking my thumb, looks like Grandma Sandy passed the gene to Aunt Kristin, Aunt Marie, cousin Luke, Noah, and now me! *I can't speak for the Peterson/Young side of the gene pool! Mommy likes to take lots of pictures of me because I'm so cute! Enjoy!

Snapshots from my life... For commentary read my mommy's blog

Pictures of Lucy on Flickr

Doing great!

It has been a while since I last posted. Lucy is doing really well. Her blood sugars have really stabilized and she's a very happy baby (she doesn't like getting poked every 2 hrs though...). She will be 8wks old on Tuesday. She weighs 11lbs, is 21in. long, and has the tiniest little feet! Noah and Andy really like their baby sister and have done a great job with all the changes that have happened in their lives over the last few months. Scott and Holly are adjusting to life with a newborn (and the sleep reduction it brings...). Holly is excited to be back at her yoga classes. Lucy had her churching on April 22nd (in the Orthodox church the mom and baby don't go to church until 40 days after the baby's birth, there's other stuff too). I'll be back next weekend and will try to post some more new pictures (we haven't taken a family picture yet...).

Aunt Marie

New pictures!

These pictures were taken Easter weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Mommy likes to wear baby Lucy in her Hotsling. The other pictures are Aunt Bekah holding Lucy at Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's house before Easter dinner and Lucy and Daddy taking their Sunday afternoon nap. Lucy looked very cute in her Easter dress.

She's home!!!

Sorry for the delay in updating the page, Lucy Bea arrived home around 12:45pm on Thursday afternoon. She gave us a couple of scares with low blood sugar but has stabilized and actually hasn't had any insulin for about 36hrs! She still has a little bit of pancreas (1%) that is keeping her stable without insulin for the time being. She still gets her blood sugar checked every 1.5 hrs or so. She is doing well in eating and sleeping and likes to sleep from 12am-5am (skipping a feeding). She has done that the two nights she has been home and has still kept her blood sugar stable. She went for her first outing today (although she stayed in the car the whole time) while Scott and Holly alternated doing some shopping (they actually took all three kids!). She is getting some nursing visits at home and today they brought a baby scale we can keep. Please pray that she continues to grow and gain weight normally. She had been on pancreatic enzymes in the hospital following the surgery but they discontinued them when she went home and so far so good (we have to watch her stools for proper digestion and her weight/length for growth--abnormalities in either could be a signal she needs the enzymes). She weighed 9lbs 14oz when she was discharged and today she weighed in at 10lbs 1oz! Please pray that her blood sugars would continue to be stable and that she wouldn't need the pancreatic enzymes. I'll post some more pictures when I get a chance, she certainly is a cutie! I have to go back to Omaha tomorrow afternoon and will miss being a part of all the fun! I'll try to continue to post periodic updates (including pictures).

Auntie Marie

Going home?

There is talk that Lucy might come home sometime tomorrow. Her blood sugar was pretty stable today (no lows and only 1 high). Please pray that everything would work out for her to come home tomorrow!

Marie

Scary day!

Scott and Holly were trained how to work the insulin pump today. Things went well until around 2:30pm. The doctor prescribed a base insulin dose and a change in dose during/after a feeding. Holly changed the setting to "feeding" as prescribed but Lucy didn't take all of her feeding and Holly suspected the insulin dose would be too high. She was right, her blood sugar started to drop, fortunately we were able to wake her a little bit and she ate some more and her blood sugar started to rise, Holly also suspended the pump so she wouldn't get any more insulin. They continued to check her blood sugar several times to make sure it went up. It went up for a while but then dropped from the 80's to the 20's and she had what we think was a mild seizure. They were able to get her to eat a little more by mouth (formula and also sugar water) they also gave her dextrose through her PIC line but it took a couple of hours of no insulin and lots of sugar water to raise her blood sugar. The nurses in the PICU have not been trained on the pump so Scott and Holly have all the responsibility for her insulin.

Please pray they would find the proper dose to keep her blood sugar stable and that she would not have any adverse effects from the seizure (and that she can come home soon!).

Auntie Marie

Waiting...

Things are going very well. Lucy is taking all of her feedings by mouth so bye-bye NG tube! She nurses, takes a bottle of breastmilk, and a bottle of formula and gets 2-3oz every three hours. She is on insulin and will be forever but that's okay. Dr. Cook wants to try her on an insulin pump so she won't have to have injections but we have to wait 2 days for the pump to get here and then wait for her blood sugar to stabilize and figure out the proper dosage. Mommy and Daddy are getting antsy to bring her home. The only thing they use the PIC line (the big hunky iv in her arm) for now is for insulin so when the pump gets here hopefully it will come out! Please pray for the pump to get here miraculously soon and that her blood sugar would stabilize quickly so she can come home! When the PIC line comes out she will be able to wear more of her clothes, Lucy says "thanks Aunt Kristin for the little dresses with the snaps at the top so I have some clothes to wear." She loves her little rainforest waterfall crib toy (you can see it in the background). She was on her tummy yesterday and was mad that she couldn't see it and lifted her head like a pro to look at it. She got to meet Andy and Noah for the first time on Friday night. Noah hasn't really paid much attention to her but he is more than willing to make sure her toys get played with (he also loves the rainforest waterfall toy). Andy has patted her head and talked to her a little bit. He likes visiting her because he get to watch cartoons on tv.

Thanks for all the prayers, cards, meals, etc. they are all very much appreciated!

Aunt Marie

Pretty in pink!

Pictures taken 3/23/07

Read Holly's blog...

Read Holly's blog for today's update on the surgery (the title is the link or you can click on the link at left).

In surgery...

She went into surgery around 2:00. She is at Blank Childrens Hospital for the surgery due to extenuating circumstances with the surgeon. Scott and Holly would really like to move her back to the Mercy NICU for her recovery. Please pray that the insurance would allow it.

Thanks for praying!

Auntie Marie

Surgery today!

Sorry I didn't get this post up sooner. Lucy is having a pancreatectomy at 12:30 today (in an hour!). Please pray that surgery would go smoothly, a quick recovery, and that her blood sugar would stabilize and for feeding to be reestablished so she can come home soon! Please pray for Scott and Holly as they are very anxious for this to be over! Please pray for the boys and their caretakers during this time as well.

More on HI...

I thought some of you might be interested in finding out more about Noah and Lucy's condition. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is the leading force in HI treatment/diagnosis. They have a lot of information on the condition on their website including videos. Click on the title for this blog post, it contains the link (more on HI). Noah and Lucy have diffuse disease.

Surgery update...

The surgery is Monday the 26th but a lot of details have yet to be worked out. Please pray for wisdom for Scott and Holly and the medical team. They've been able to keep her blood sugar above 60 which is great and she's doing well eating by mouth. Someone will post when we find out more.

Hanging in there...

Please continue to pray that Lucy's blood sugar would stay up until the surgery. She is still having some in the forties. Also, please pray that her bilirubin count would go down so she can have more cuddle time with Mommy and Daddy (she's still under the lights).

Please pray for Andy and Noah as they are spending a lot of time away from Mommy and Daddy. Noah is currently having changes in his blood sugars right now (he started on insulin 2 months ago) and is still having some highs. Please pray for strength, encouragement, and wisdom for Scott and Holly as they have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders right now (especially decisions regarding Noah and Lucy's healthcare, praise the Lord that Andy is VERY healthy!).

I think you can get emails regarding updates to this page (if you scroll to the bottom) it says "subcribe to: posts (atom)

Here's the link to Holly's blog www.hollylooyah.blogspot.com

I made it back safely to Omaha, thanks for praying!

Auntie Marie

Mommy, Daddy, and Lucy!













Aunt Marie and Lucy's first photo

Welcome to the world baby Lucy!

This blog is for any and all who want to follow the progress of baby Lucy. Lucy Beatrice Peterson was born Tuesday, March 13, 2007 weighing 9 pounds, 1 oz.

We had been concerned throughout Holly's pregnancy that she would have the same genetic condition as her brother Noah (congenital hyperinsulinism, AKA PHHI). Dr. Cook (Noah's endocrinologist for the last 8.5yrs) has been working on her case and has diagnosed her with the same condition. The only reliable treatment for this condition is a subtotal pancreatectomy.

Scott and Holly had consulted with a surgeon Dr. Cook recommended several months ago in preparation for this possibility. The surgeon left for vacation today and the surgery will be scheduled sometime after his return (the week of March 25th).

Right now her bilirubin count is a little high so she has a blindfold (well I'm sure it has a more civilized name) and is under the lights. She's doing really well at eating by mouth but has a nasogastric feeding tube to help keep her blood sugar up when she decides to sleep through feeding times!

Please pray that they can keep her blood sugar in a safe range until the surgery. Scott and Holly decided against a carepage so this is your method of update. Feel free to post comments.

Signing off,

Auntie Marie