Jane Baird is Here!

Jane Baird was born on March 26 at 1:46 pm. She weighed 7lbs 5 oz and was 20.5 inches long. It was a wonderful delivery (quick and w/out pain). Sadly, a few hours after she was born we found out that she had TEF (Tracheoesophageal Fistula) and needed surgery to correct the problem. She went into surgery around 1:30 yesterday afternoon at Children's Hospital in Birmingham and came out around 4:30. She is now in the NICU recovering and will be there for at least a couple of weeks. Jane Baird is doing well right now. She was in a lot of pain today and we were not able to touch her. We haven't been able to hold her yet but we are hoping that she will be well enough to be held in a few days. She is on IV fluids and will be for a few more days. She will get her first bottle in a few days but the nurses said that it may take a while to get her to eat b/c it will be painful. Once she starts eating the doctors will check for leaks in her esophagus by giving her barium dye. If there are no leaks, she will be released from the NICU once she has healed. If there are leaks, she will have to have another surgery to correct the problem.

Alan and I go visit with Jane Baird everyday in the NICU. We usually get there right as visiting hours begin and stay with her until they kick us out. She sleeps a lot but she will open her eyes every once in a while. She looks right at us when we talk to her and seems to recognize our voices. She looks just like Alan from head to toe except for her mouth. She has my personality--very feisty and does not like to be messed with!

We know that Jane Baird is on just about every prayer list in the southeast and we appreciate all of the prayers. I will do my best to keep everyone informed on her condition.

This is a little info about TEF: Infants born with esophageal atresia (EA) have a portion missing (a gap) in their esophagus, the tube that goes from the back of the mouth to the stomach. With part of the esophagus missing, the baby cannot swallow food or even its own saliva.