Gracie's big day!

Gracie just got wheeled away by the kindest,  most gentle people. My entire heart went with her.  

She's so little for such struggles and walking away from her was the hardest thing I've ever done.

Nikko and I cope different.  We are actually as different as two people can be.  The saying,  "opposites attract" couldn't be more accurate.  He's spontaneous - I'm a planner; he's adventurous - I'm cautious; he's messy - Im organized; He wakes up crabby - I wake up in a pretty good mood; he worries when things occur - I worry and try to prevent things from happening. So naturally, we'd be the opposite now. Nikko wants to go back to RMH, or at least be away for a while and return once she is comfortable. I now don't want to be anywhere but the hospital, where I know she is. 

Spoiler alert, we stayed in the hospital. 

We ended up getting something to eat in the cafeteria and waiting. Her surgery was pretty quick, only about 45 minutes. 

Dr. Taylor came down to see us and said surgery went great. He described her tongue as "substantially sized" 😳. He opted for a peripheral excision as well as what they call a keyhole incision. This allowed him to reduce the width of her tongue and adjust the shape. He also found her to be somewhat tongue tied. In tongue obstruction cases, a tongue tie works against the baby, not allowing them to stick the tongue out fully and can cause more of an obstruction.

Dr. Taylor was able to take care of both issues on the table. 

Gracie is very stiched and very swollen. Seeing her wake from surgery was difficult. She wrestled and kicked, flailing her arms. Her BP was elevated which indicates a high level of pain. She will be incredibly uncomfortable and on a ventilator for quite a few days. 

For now the team will do all they can to keep her comfortable. She is on a pain management plan and when we went back to see her late in the night she looked as comfortable as she can. 

Thank you to anyone who prayed for our baby girl. We can feel the army behind her. Now it's time for Mommy and Daddy to go shower, rest and reset.