Annaliese is here!

Annaliese was born Wednesday, April 2 at 8:32 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. and was 18 inches long. She has light brown hair, blue eyes, long eyelashes that curl at the end, delicate lips and long fingers! She is such a sweet girl and we are convinced that she is already smiling at us! Ethan is so excited to be a big brother. He loves to give her kisses and help Mommy & Daddy with her.

We brought her home the first time on Friday and enjoyed a couple of fun days together. Then on Sunday we had a follow-up visit at the hospital to check her bilirubin levels and they were really high. They had us come back again Monday to see if they improved, but unfortunately they were even higher. So, they re-admitted Annaliese - this time to the NICU - for photo light therapy. I think Jaundice is probably the least serious thing the NICU treats and I know we are very fortunate because a lot of babies are in facing much harsher ailments, but it is still very hard being in the NICU seeing your precious child in an incubator with little goggles over her eyes and monitors tracking her vital signs. Thankfully, due to a sympathetic nurse going the extra step for me, we were able to get a private room and I was able to room-in with Annaliese. Annaliese responded really well and very quickly to the therapy and we were released 24-hours later with a very positive prognosis. We will have to return to the lab over the next day or two to make sure we're in the clear, but it looks like this is behind us!

So, we are back home now and really enjoying our time as a family. We are so blessed to have such supportive friends and family that have rallied around us to celebrate Annaliese's birth and also pray for us for her quick recovery.

I'll post more pics in the coming days....and even try to get a little video up.