Welcome to the world, Little Theo!

(The original email -- written on Wednesday, November 30th)


Friends and family,

I apologize that we have not sent a mass email out until now.  We have not had access to our computer until tonight, so our communication to this point has been haphazard.  As some of you know, we were anticipating Theo's arrival on December 5th.  He decided to come meet us a bit earlier; we are overjoyed to announce that Theodore Bruce Foy was born on Monday night, November 28th at 9:03 pm.  He weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and is 20.5 inches long.  

Nick and I could not imagine a more perfect little boy.  He is absolutely gorgeous, and we could not be more in love with him.  Based on all the tests done over the last few months, we knew that Theo may have a long road ahead of him.  The journey started as soon as he was born; although he came out crying, it was clear that his lungs were underdeveloped so he was immediately taken to the NICU, where he is being loved on by a great team of nurses and doctors.  He is a fighter and seems to be doing well so far.  Nick and I were able to go and see him a few hours after he was born, and he couldn't be any cuter.

Over the last few months, we were preparing for the fact that Theo's kidneys may be severely damaged.  The lung issues took me a little by surprise.  The doctors are pleased with the progress of his lungs so far, though.  They put a tube into one of his lungs last night to help keep the lung from collapsing.  They hope in a few days that the air sacs will have healed a bit, and Theo can be taken off the respirator eventually.  In the mean time, Theo's kidneys are also very sick.  So, they are planning to put a catheter into his peritoneal cavity on Friday, and after that surgery heals, they can start peritoneal dialysis.  (Peritoneal dialysis is different from adult hemodialysis and works better for most babies.)  We love the doctors and nurses who are caring for him, and we are taking it one day at a time.  We are encouraged by the fact that so many people are praying for him, that he is a good size for the NICU, and that he has not run into too many hurdles in his first few days of life.

My family was able to scramble to change their tickets once they knew Theo's arrival was imminent, so Nick and I love being surrounded by them.  I was officially discharged from the hospital tonight, but they are letting us stay for a few extra days to be close to Theo.  We are looking forward to the day that we can hold him!  All in all, Nick and I are doing well.  We are emotional, which probably won't surprise anyone who knows me well.  :)  But, we can honestly say that we know Theo is a gift from God meant just for us, and we trust that God is at work.  Plus, I know that he is the most precious thing in existence.  (The nurses agree with me.)

We continue to be blown away by your support and prayers.  Please continue to pray that Theo's lungs will heal and grow, that his kidneys will do well (hopefully without dialysis -- but this looks unlikely at this point), that the doctors will act with wisdom, and that Nick and I will continue to love him more and more each day.  

We also could not be more pleased with the care that we have received from the doctors and nurses.  So far, all three of our main OB doctors, our high-risk maternal fetal medicine doctor, and the genetics counselor who we have worked with for the last five months have been by to visit and check in on us.  We have met all new doctors in the last few days, and they were all prepared and ready to meet Theo.  We cannot say enough positive things about our experience so far.

Instead of sending out emails going forward, I have been convinced to start a blog to keep everyone up to date on Theo's progress.  Once I have some time, I will create a blog and will send around a link.  My email list is far from complete now, so please feel free to forward to others.

Thanks again for all of your support!  We feel so thankful.

Love,

Nick, Natalie and Theo