Lena Joan Frantz was born at 12:40pm on Friday, October 1! Everything with the delivery went incredibly well, and we are so grateful for the thoughts and prayers of all our family, friends, and support network over the past few weeks. Weighing in at 6lb 14oz, and roughly 18.5” long, our sweet little girl has been such a champ over the past few days as the doctors and nurses complete their initial evaluations and she begins her feeding/sleeping regimen. The gift of life is truly a miracle, and watching her develop has been incredibly encouraging, even in these most early stages of her life.

As for Lena’s overall condition, she amazes us over and over again. We could not be prouder of what a strong little lady she is. We are in the process of screening for any additional genetic anomalies or disorders common in children with omphaloceles, but the doctors don’t have any reason to believe these could be present. Her omphalocele contains the liver and intestine as anticipated, and we are optimistic her skin will soon start to develop around the sac to provide a more secure, durable enclosure. In the meantime, the doctors and ourselves will continue wrapping the omphalocele and treating the area with care in the coming weeks. Now that they have determined her condition is stable, we will be working to prioritize her feeding schedule under supervision of the NICU staff to support healthy growth while working to learn proper wound care and dressing application for the day when she is ready to come home.

Caroline is recovering from her C-section well, and we are grateful to still be in the hospital - only one floor up from our little girl in the NICU. We are able to see her throughout the entire day and night, and get some much-needed rest in Caroline’s recovery room when we pull ourselves away. Although visitation is limited at this time with COVID and only Caroline and I can be in the NICU with her, we are so grateful to have the continued support of our families who have rotated in and out of Caroline’s recovery room to check in. The NICU staff has been great, and we’re confident in continuing to work with the VCU Pediatric Surgery team. Having Dad around has been a blessing and has brought ourselves and our families so much peace as we begin to navigate what’s going on and what’s to come. We know Lena Jo is in good hands, and our hearts go out to NICU families everywhere.

Thank you all again for your love and support during this time. We can’t tell you how relieved we are to see her omphalocele in an isolated condition and her status progressing well. Please keep lifting Lena up in your prayers as she continues to grow. Lena Joan is truly beautiful, incredibly strong, and extremely blessed to have such a great support network. We can’t wait for everyone to meet her! A few photos from her first couple days are attached.