Less than 2 weeks old, and little Bridger has had open heart surgery and recovered in only 1 week. Today we got to leave! :D We are absolutely amazed and astounded by how God was with her this entire time. We’re currently at my parents, but will head back up to Fargo sometime shortly. We’re so shocked and excited!!!
I wanted to write down all the specific prayer requests that God answered during our time here, both for our record and to share with you:
- We prayed that labor and Bridger’s birth would be quick and easy. Labor was only for about 4 hours (not counting induction) and Anna only had to push for 11 minutes!
- We thought they would have to rush Bridger away from us to do initial check ups, but Anna got to hold her on her chest and I got to cut the cord. :) We didn’t pray for it, but what a blessing!
- We prayed that Bridger wouldn’t need that balloon procedure after her birth, and she didn’t! There was good mix of blood within her heart.
- We prayed that we would get a room in the on-site Ronald McDonald House, and we got one on the exact day Anna was discharged from her postpartum room. Godly timing! (And later on, our stay got extended without us even asking for it, so we got the room for the entirety of our stay!)
- We prayed that Bridger would be able to feed well from breast and bottle, and she had great successful practice at both of those before her surgery!
- We prayed that Bridger’s surgery would be easy and uncomplicated, and it was!
- We prayed that Bridger’s breathing tube would be removed quickly, and she was only intubated for a day and a half after her surgery!
- We prayed that Bridger would pick up feeding again quickly, and she definitely did! She started guzzling from breast and bottle only 4 days after surgery. She also quickly got on a feeding/sleeping schedule, which was awesome for us!
- And I mean, leaving the hospital this early was definitely an answer to prayer!!!! Now Anna can spend her maternity leave at home instead of a cold hospital room. Praise God for everything.
And of course, there were many prayers for us parents too. I told Anna this last week, but there were moments during our time that I literally “felt” prayers being prayed over us. It was kind of surreal and so amazing. Anna and I are so incredibly thankful for the Lord being with us on this journey. And thank you again to all of you for praying. We could not have done this without you, as this post proves. THANK YOU!
-Nathan
PS: Shepherd, we sure do miss you. We’ll take care of your sister down here. And we can’t wait to unite as a family and meet you someday. We love you.
