Baby News - Day 2

Hi everyone,

Here is the news:

Harlie Caroline Holton (fyi - Caroline means "little and strong")
Born at 1:11pm on
September 25th
5 pounds 3 ounces
18.5 inches long

I think you all know that we were anticipating the defects with her heart and lungs. Unfortunately, there were other defects that were not detectable during the pregnancy. The past few days have been very difficult, obviously. We are doing our best at taking all the information in and processing it best we can. I believe that Tom and I are getting stronger each day, learning what we can, and accepting that the road ahead is going to be very challenging for our family.

We have been advised by the counselors here at Children's to not look too far into the future, and to just take it day by day. Everyone that we have dealt with here at Children's has been great. They are all very understanding and compassionate and they are always keeping Harlie's comfort level in mind. They are keeping her asleep since all the tubes would be quite scary and uncomfortable for her. They also hope to start feeding her tomorrow. So far, she has been given all her nutrients directly into her blood.

One of the hardest things that we are dealing with is the fact that we can't hold her for right now. As Tom and I are ready, we will give you more details. At this point, we are still learning new information everyday. The doctors are in the information gathering stage, running a bunch of tests, reviewing x-rays, mri's, ct scans, etc. The game plan is to have a "family meeting" on Friday, where all of her doctors (and there's a lot), Tom and I, the social worker, genetic people, etc. meet and go over her issues. They have run a lot of genetic tests and we are hoping that they will have some answers for us then.

They also think that they are going to do a small heart surgical procedure on Friday in anticipation for the more major one(s) in the future.Thank you again, for thinking of us. I hope that you will continue to keep Harlie in your prayers.

Her nurses say that despite all she has going on, she still shows lots of spunk and is generally doing well all things considered.We'll keep you updated as we can. We left the hospital today and are now staying at the DC Ronald McDonald House, not very far from Children's. Email is the best way to contact us as our cells are off while at the hospital and at night we can take the time to sit and read emails.

Thanks again for your kind words and prayers.

Love,
Tom & Christy