Day 8 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BROOKLYN!

well, little miss brooklyn turned one week old this morning! after celebrating from home, we came to the hospital this morning to receive the INCREDIBLE news that our little girl's brain scan IS CLEAR!!!!!! sean, being the neuro boy that he is, could not be happier! what a relief. this does not mean that she is out of the woods just yet, but it is a HUGE milestone in her development. Having now TWO clear ultrasounds, it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that any blood vessel-relate issues would appear in her brain in the future. this was the first piece of good news we received this morning.

the second piece, we heard back from dr. baker (the dr. that delivered b.) about the placenta. the placenta had been tested for any type of infection to see if they could detect any reason as to why brooklyn was born so early. the results came back, and what they tell us is that there were VERY early signs of infection.

typically in pregnancy, if there is an infection, the pregnancy will terminate itself. because of our LOVING GOD, our daughter not only came out in JUST THE RIGHT TIME, BUT she was spared ANY infection!!!! as i understand it, had she stayed in me for any longer, the pregnancy would have resulted in a still birth, OR if the placenta had abrupted any later, the infection would have reached her and she would have suffered severe brain damage and illness.

and this is where we can PRAISE GOD FOR HIS UNENDING LOVE, FAITHFULNESS, AND GOODNESS. i am in AWE of His great love for our little family. throughout this past week sean and i have been thinking "if she had only stayed in me for just a little longer..." we are now reminded that are ways are NOT God's ways, and our timing is NOT His timing. the timing of our daughter's birth is proof of this, and we are forever grateful that we have such a loving and faithful God.

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1:3-6 (NIV)

please continue to pray for her rapid growth and continuous good health. we are continuously humbled by your prayers, and grateful for such an incredible community of friends and family.