The journey in photos...

We are bundled up inside today enjoying being cozy and warm as it snows outside. It's nice to feel like I'm exactly where I want to be and there's no reason to try heading out in the storm. J is on his way home from work now and has the whole weekend off as well!

I know so many of you are praying and I so appreciate your prayers. I really feel like we're seeing God answer your requests as we live these moments here. I was prepared for the reality of a really long night with Sadie, but she jumped right back into her regular routine. We did a 9:30 feeding and then I woke her up at 5 AM to get her started for the day.

She is amazing!

Here are a few of the picture moments from our journey these past couple of days.

6 AM on Wednesday: Arriving at the hospital Sadie was in fantastic spirits considering she was about to have surgery and she hadn't eaten anything since 2:30 AM. She grinned at me as I got her out of the car.

6:45 AM: We snuggled her to sleep as we waited in the pre-op area

7 AM: We were back in pre-op getting set for everything. She actually giggled a little when we took off her sleeper to put on the hospital gown. Talk about tiny...she looked like such a little thing in that mini gown. And that hair, everyone mentioned the hair!

7:10 AM: Snuggles with daddy as we waited to check in with the residents and doctor performing the surgery.

7:26 AM: She drifts off to sleep snuggled into mommy.
J was putting away the camera when the anesthesiologist and the surgery nurse came in to take her off to surgery. It was a brief moment of information about what was about to happen and then I had to hand her to the nurse. Not fun, and I want to cry again just thinking about it. I was so glad the nurse carried her down the hallway because I think I would have absolutely died a little if I'd had to listen to her scream as they wheeled her away in the giant surgical crib.

10 AM: Settled into our room after the surgery.

She was a sleepy little thing!

3:30 PM: still super sleepy and enjoying a little nap with daddy.

6 PM: Dinner with the fam.

Gigi brought the kids up to visit for a little while and we enjoyed having them in the room. They had lots of questions about Sadie and were all very curious to see her "new" lip.

8 PM: Still out...

I'd anticipated a really fussy night from Sadie, but she was sooooo sleepy. It was nice that I didn't have to hear her crying in pain, but it was hard to feel like she was lost somewhere in the fog. We had to wake her to try and feed her and that was rough. She slept quite a bit, but she kept us busy through the night for sure.

9:30 AM on Thursday: Time to go home!

We were excited to get her changed and get all the wires, cords, and IV unhooked so that we could head home.

8 PM: Just finished a little snack with daddy.

I really felt like Sadie was through most of the pain. She working through the unfamiliarity of things and figuring out the logistics of having a seal when she closes her lips, but my girl is back! We've been able to keep her happy with tylenol and the only time she really gets upset is when we try to feed her.

11:30 AM today: Mealtime

Can you really blame her for hating this? It's one tiny syringe at a time, but she's learning to figure out a new system for getting it down. We'll be back to a regular bottle this time tomorrow. I know that won't solve all our problems, but I'm glad to reintroduce something more familiar.

Naptime!

I prepared myself for the reality that Sadie would have a really hard time sleeping. While I think that may be coming as her body recovers from the trauma of the surgery, I've been amazed at how well she has done so far. We have her all nested in to the stroller and she's able to sleep feeling safe, secure, warm, and elevated. What an amazing blessing to feel like we're all able to get some rest!

Thank you again for your prayers and encouragement. You have blessed us in so many ways!