News of Surgery

Ivy had her MRI today for the doctors to get a better look at what is going on with her heart so they can plan for surgery. They discovered that her aortic arch isn't fully interrupted, it just gets smaller. It doesn't change what they are going to do, just how they are going to do it (if that makes any sense). They are planning for her surgery to be Thursday morning, because tomorrow morning they have a meeting to discuss the specifics. Of course the surgery could always change, but we are hoping this time that they are ready. We will keep you posted.

Ivy's latest update

Hello family and friends. Ivy is still doing very good. Today at the hospital, we found out that her heart surgery is now no longer scheduled for tuesday. After another chest scanning, the cardiologists decided that they wanted to have an MRI scan done to make sure they are not missing anything. She was not able to have the scan done monday so she will have it done on tuesday at 3:00 pm. Hopefully they will be able to see everything they need to see so they can take the best course of action. The surgery will most likely be wednesday now, but there are no guarantees. We will update again as soon as we can. Thank you all so much for your support and love during this time. We love you Ivy!

P.S. If you send us a text or try to call us, please don't be offended if you don't receive a response. We don't want to repeat the same update multiple times. Just keep checking the blog! Thanks.

Piggies don't eat people, they eat sticks!

We thought we would post another video of Ivy from the last few times we went to visit. Enjoy!



The title really doesn't have anything to do with this post, it was just something funny that Corbin said.
We haven't been posting a lot lately because there hasn't been anything new happening for a while. Ivy is just slowly getting better as the days go on. Our family had been sick for a few days and had to stay away from the hospital. We finally got to go back yesterday and our sweet baby is looking great! We are waiting for her to completely heal and then she will have her next surgery, hopefully next week. We are still hoping she will at least be out of the hospital by Christmas.

Introducing....

Ivy Maxine Brunson



Ivy joined our little family on Friday, November 7 at 2:13pm. She weighed in at 6 lbs 14 oz and was just 18 inches long. Our biggest baby so far. I was able to stick out the relatively short labor without any pain medication (although I regretted it in the last few moments of her delivery). She came out screaming, but looked great with lots of dark curly hair. The NICU nurses instantly took her through a window in the wall into another room to check all that high-risk newborn stuff and I was only able to see her for about 7 seconds. Scott was able to see her a little more while I was being stitched up and all that other fun stuff that happens after the baby is born.
I was finally able to see Ivy and kiss her cute little head a few hours later in the NICU, she was so beautiful. I didn't want to leave her there, but I knew she was in good hands. I returned a few hours later to visit again and was finally able to hold my baby in my arms. I can't describe the overwhelming joy that I felt at the time, but it is an amazing feeling. Scott was able to hold her after me, and it made the last three months of uncertainty worth it for both of us.
On Saturday the doctors told us that the ultrasound on her abdominal area showed that she most likely does not have a spleen and that her liver is on the wrong side. Later that day they did another test that included feeding her a dyed substance to show them if her intestines were twisted, they were, its known as mal-rotation of the intestines. Although they are twisted she still has a clear path from mouth to bottom so she is not in need of immediate surgery to fix it (more on that at a later date). Since she has the clear path, the doctors gave the okay for me to try to nurse her. I cried a little because it was such great news. I tried to feed her at that time, however she was too sleepy and wouldn't try. A few hours later we tried again, and this time she took a few swallows before falling asleep for the second time. So it didn't really work out, but it was nice to try. The nurse told me to come back on Sunday morning to try again.
On Sunday morning Scott and I arrived in the NICU right as the doctors were removing an oxygen tube from her nose. They told us that overnight she had begun breathing too rapidly so they were trying to calm it down with oxygen. It didn't really work so they removed the tube. She is still breathing on her own, but every once and a while she will breath really fast. All this means that I no longer get to nurse her because of the risk of her choking. I am still pumping though, and saving my milk for a later time.
The doctors have scheduled her heart surgery (to repair her aortic arch) for Tuesday morning. She will not get to eat again until after the surgery, but is receiving nutrition from her IV. Also, She was moved from the NICU to the PICU Sunday afternoon (which only means she is closer to the Cardiologists now). We are very pleased with how well she is doing right now, and are praying for the best possible outcome for her surgery. We will update when more info is available and have time to post. Thank you everyone for your support. We love you Ivy! You are such a sweet angel.

The Big Day

It is officially the big day! In about seven hours Scott and I are due at the University Hospital in SLC to be induced to have our sweet baby girl. I should be sleeping, but of course, I can't. I don't think I have ever been so nervous in my life. In anticipation of this day, Scott and I have done a lot of praying and fasting with our family and friends (I pray, not fast, I am pregnant after all), and have tried very hard to remain optimistic. On Tuesday we went to the Jordan River Temple, just the two of us, and sat in the celestial room, just hoping for some peace. It was really nice and comforting for us, and I am thankful that we were able to do it. Scott, my dad, and my father-in-law also gave me a blessing tonight, and afterwards the two dads gave Scott a blessing as well. We are very scared about everything tomorrow, but are willing to accept God's will. We just wanted to thank everyone who has helped us in any way over these last few difficult months, even if it was just through prayer. It really means the world to us that so many people really care. We also want to thank everyone for being patient and understanding when we shut everyone out to deal with things on our own, and for respecting our wishes when we didn't want to talk about it. We love you all and appreciate all the support we have been given.

On a different note, since today was my last day being pregnant with this baby we decided to take a few belly photos for posterity. While I was pregnant with Dex we did some pics of Corbin kissing my belly, so we thought it would be fun to do that again. So if you don't like seeing stretch marks, don't look (I am covered with them), but if you don't mind enjoy. I think the pics turned out very cute.

I don't know what to say

Yesterday Scott and I had our appointments with the doctors in Salt Lake City, and it did not go as well as we had hoped. The baby likely has a condition called heterotaxy which not only effects the heart but several organs such as liver, spleen, kidneys, lungs and intestines. We don't know the severity of the damage, and cannot know until after delivery. I can't really talk about it right now, because I am having a hard time not being overcome with sadness in front of my boys. Our induction is scheduled for either Oct 30 or 31. I may or may not update in a few days after things have sunk in.

Miracles Do Happen!!

Just an update on our precious baby girls heart condition. Scott and I had our appointment with the baby's cardiologist today, and he was able to get a better look at her heart (due to the fact that it has been 2 months and she has grown a lot since June). I am happy to report some good news, the condition is not as bad as we had thought. Dr. Womack (the cardiologist, obviously) looked at the baby for probably about an hour (which was excruciating for my back) and was able to see that indeed the left side of the heart is smaller than it should be, but is functioning well. This was awesome news because it basically means the baby does not have Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome ( It is hypoplastic in that it is underdeveloped, but is not as extreme) like we thought. The main problem is that the aeorta is either pinched off or stops all together, therefore she will need surgery to correct it within her first week of life. This means that we will still have to go to University Hospital/Primary childrens in Salt Lake City to deliver the baby so she is able to have the surgery as soon as possible. She will also need two subsequent surgeries to repair some other small problems that will arise as she grows, but they are minor. Dr. Womack was also able to see that the problem he thought he saw in the previous ultrasound that led him to believe that the baby would have down syndrome, was wrong, and he no longer thinks that will happen (unless by coincedence). We still don't have a date that we will be in Salt Lake to be induced, but we were told that we will need to be there in the next 4 to 6 weeks to meet the surgeons, and allow them to do their own assessment of everything. At that time we will be able to schedule the induction and have a clearer view of things to come.
We just want to thank all of you who have fasted and prayed on our behalf, we have felt so much love over these past two months, and feel very blessed. We want everyone to know that MIRACLES DO HAPPEN, and Heavenly Father does answer prayers. It is true that our baby is not perfect and will have hardships, but it could be a lot worse. We feel like we couldn't have recieved better news. As soon as we know when we will be in town to meet the surgeons, we will let all of you Utahns know. Thank you all for your love and support.