the 5th of July

July 5, 2006 we added Suzanna Faye to our family.....

she was 8 lbs. 3 1/2 oz.
20 inches long

We arrived at the hospital that morning at 5:30 and by 7:54 I could finally kiss her cheek.
She was born by c-section (like the other 3) and I remember thinking during surgery, "Why is this taking so much longer?" or am I just so impatient to meet this new baby girl? We found out after surgery that the Dr. had a little bit of a hard time getting her out of my ribs...she was wedged into them.

I loved watching my other 3 children meet their new sister for the first time ever. Everyone wanted to hold and touch this new little miracle!

grandma khankeo
One of my favorite parts of having a baby is all the friends and family who come to join in the excitement! I love when people come to visit and it's so cool how many people came to welcome Suzanna Faye.

grandma & grandpa g

Aunt Melissa & Uncle John

Aunt Holly & Makayla

aunt arlene & uncle jon

Kevin, Sherri, Caedmon, & Kaiya

Crystal, Madalyn, Travis, Kristin, Lauren, & Lawson

Lyndon & Krista

Our neighbors and friends Erick, Amee, Abi, and Aden

There were many other visitors...just figured you are getting weary of all the pictures.....

Our second night in the hospital, we let Isabella stay and help with Suzanna. She was so excited! We were not sure if the hospital staff would allow it...so we just did it, and hoped that no one would make her go home. I loved how she hurried through her shower so she could get back to my bed and hold her new sister. Isabella had been praying a long time for a baby sister, and now she had her. It was so neat to see those 2 bond. Isabella was a great help while we packed the next day being my legs and getting things for me while Donovan filled out paper work and got everything ready to go.

After we arrived home and got settled Great Grandma & Grandpa came to see our new little girl. We had so much fun settling in and putting our new baby in her new room. We had spent one night at home....and the next morning we woke to the biggest scare of our life. I had gotten up once during the night to feed Suzy and at 6 a.m. I thought it was kind of weird that she hadn't yet cried to eat again. I got up and went to her crib to find her shaking, arching her back, and she looked as if she was choking. Her eyes were also rolled to the back of her head. I was so scared and panicked, with no idea what so ever to do for her. I took her to the bathroom and got a cold washcloth to put on her face. Hoping to stop what ever was happening to her. I kept looking in her mouth to see if she was choking on something. She was not. I called for Donovan who caught just the tail end of "this." "This" thing that was happening lasted for about 45-60 seconds. Uncle Jon who lived down the road came immediately and Donovan and I rushed her to the E.R. I kept thinking the entire way there that she was dying. She was very un-responsive and lethargic. I tried to feed her all the way to the hospital and she would not nurse. She laid in my arms with no response. But she was breathing. Praise GOD. We arrived at the hospital where they did a CAT scan, a chest X-ray, blood work, a urine analysis, and a spinal tap. They determined that Suzanna's blood sugar was too low. They ruled out that any permanent damage was done. And that the low blood sugar was the only thing that had caused the seizure. However we needed to be admitted to make sure that she would maintain her blood sugar on her own.

She was hooked up to an IV with a blood sugar check every 3 hours. Around the clock. It was so sad to see her little heels and arms turn black and blue. It was so sad to watch and she got poked so many times.

We kept track of her blood sugar on this chart...one time it dropped below 60 and we had to up the IV fluid....preventing us from being discharged. Her blood sugar had to be maintained for 6 hours in order to wean her off of the IV fluid...in order to be discharged. It was so discouraging and tiring. After being in the hospital for 2 days we were discharged with her. She had maintained her blood sugar with out the IV for several hours. The Dr. said this is one of those newborn things she hadn't yet figured out to do on her own. Kind of like when babies have problems with Jaundice. I was still so scared after all we had been through. What a journey. I am so thankful that God put me in her room at just that right time to see her seizure. And thankful that he had the best Dr. ever to help us when we arrived in the ER. Someone willing to admit she didn't know and call the Children's Hosptial in Indy. Willing to transfer us if we were not comfortable with the care we were getting. A doctor willing to walk us through all the steps to make sure we understood everything happening with Suzanna.
That Dr. didn't "happen" to be working that day. God put her there.
We came home again...and this time for good. We came home to meals and more friends coming to see this little miracle.
my friend, Beth.

I will never forget that week of our lives, and I'm so glad for pictures....to keep fresh in our minds God's faithfulness and answers to prayers on the behalf of our daughter, Suzanna Faye.

My cousin, Rosetta Faye...also named after my mom.

Happy Birthday my sweet, sweet daughter. I have loved you before I knew you. It has been an amazing 3 years getting to know you & your adorable self.