All Thanks Be Given to Our Great and Mighty God

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:15

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6

Today one week after welcoming our sweet little Liam into this world we come before God on this Thanksgiving Day with humble hearts more thankful on this than we have ever been before. As I sit here now watching Liam peacefully sleep with a full belly and swaddled tightly by his daddy, my heart is full and overflowing with the boundless love that God has for us. One week ago today, we knew that God had a plan for us and that no matter what He would walk with us through each day and would carry us when we could not walk and that He would be holding Liam in the palm of His hand as he had this entire pregnancy. Well our God is truly an awesome and mercifully God and there is an amazing power in prayer.

We apologize for not keeping the blog more up to date as promised but we are now settled into our own room and will hopefully be able to stay a little more on top of things as the days pass.

On Monday, Liam underwent open heart surgery to repair his truncus arteriosus. We spent the morning hours with him prior to the surgery and we were able to hold him for as long as we wanted. When they came to take him to surgery we did not want to let him go but knew that this was his only chance at life and he was in the best hands possible. I can not even begin to explain what we felt as we walked with him down the hall to OR and kissed him goodbye. We spent the next 3 hours waiting for the nurse who came to update us about the surgery about every 45 minutes. Around 11:00AM she let us know that the Dr. Spray had finished the surgery and would be up to talk with us shortly. He came to let us know that the surgery had gone amazingly well. Because of Liam's size he was able to us one of the largest conduits possible to connect the pulmonary arteries to the right ventricle which will hopefully extend the period of time between open heart surgeries. He also did not think that the leakage in his truncal valve was as bad as what had been seen on the echo. He was able to put a small stitch in the valve to hopefully help contain the leakage and avoid a replacement right now which was one of our biggest concerns and fears. After one small set back in the OR to contain some bleeding that occurred as they were closing Liam returned to the CICU and had already been taken off the ventilator. By God's grace we did not have to go through the pain of seeing our little one on the breathing tube. He did however have in several other lines but seemed to be resting comfortably. He spent most of the day coming off the anesthesia but we were able to be with him and did not leave his side.

On Tuesday morning he was becoming more alert and was definitely in pain but the nurses were doing a very good job of helping to manage it. They decided to pull out the chest tube that he had from the surgery but within a couple hours of pulling it he started having problems breathing and was noticeably in a lot of pain. After doing another chest x-ray they saw that he had air that was compressing his lung and had to put in another chest tube to relieve the pressure. This took us by surprise and as the doctors rushed in very quickly to help Liam we were rushed out in a state of fear and panic. The procedure happened bedside and went very well and very quickly. Liam was heavily sedated but was doing well and we were allowed back in to see him within about 30 minutes. We spent most of the day waiting for him to wake up so that he could finally feed for the first time. Around 9:30PM on Tuesday evening we were able to feed Liam for the very first time. Having not truly eaten at all since birth he quickly "pounded" 2 ounces of breast milk from a bottle with both Rolf and I being able to share in the excitement of feeding him for the first time. Rolf, being a truly amazing father, stayed at the hospital this night a woke up for each and every feeding, not wanting to miss one moment of our little man's amazing life. On the doctor's strict orders, I went to the hotel with my mom to rest and take care of myself, as I was not feeling well at all, knowing that Liam was in very capable hands.

On Wednesday, Liam was continuing to progress and was able to get all of his lines taken out including the chest tube that they had to put back in. This was a very exciting moment for us as it meant that we were now able to hold our baby boy whenever we wanted. We quickly moved into parent mode, pushing the extremely capable nurses out of the way, taking over changing all diapers (one of Rolf's favorite things), swaddling him in his own blankets, and holding him as much as possible. Rolf and I both will just sit and rock for hours, gazing into his eyes, watching his every move. On Wednesday night we were moved to our room, still in the CICU, so that we would have a little more privacy and could begin to work on breastfeeding.

That brings us to today, Thanksgiving Day, with so much to be thankful for. We spent the day hanging out with our little man and began working on nursing with my mom's help this afternoon. Liam immediately latched on to the breast and started nursing like he had been doing it since birth. With a quick break between feeds Rolf, my mom, and I rushed out to enjoy a quick Thanksgiving dinner. Rolf, Liam and I then spent the evening nestled in our room enjoying a quiet evening just being together as a family. Rolf reluctantly went back to the hotel tonight and I am here excitedly looking forward to my first night of nursing Liam.

Also, on this Thanksgiving Day, we are especially thankful for each and everyone of you. Thank you for all of the comments on the blog, emails, text messages, phone calls, e-cards, and especially of the prayers and praises lifted up on behalf of our family and for Liam. We apologize for not being able to respond to you individually but wanted you to know how thankful we are for you and how blessed we have felt over the last week to have you. There is power in prayer and it has brought us such comfort over the last week to know that we were being constantly prayed for by so many people. We fill so blessed to have such an amazing family of faith that extends far beyond those of you that we actually know personally. Thank you for adding us to your prayer lists at church, asking your friends and family to pray for us, and sharing our story with others. Sorry for not updating sooner but I hope that this makes up for it.

All THANKS be given to our great and mighty God for the miracle of life that we hold tonight in our sweet little Liam.

One Hard Days Work...

On Wednesday, November 19, we checked into Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Special Delivery Unit at 6:00AM ready to welcome our little one into the world but as we have learned throughout this entire pregnancy God is truly in control and that was not his plan for this day. After almost 12 hours on pitocin with minimal contractions, the decision was made to call it quits on Day 1 around 7:00PM. Rolf and I settled into our labor and delivery room with a nice dinner and a movie to prepare for the next day when we knew we would definitely be in labor one way or another.

On Thursday, November 20, we woke up around 6:30AM to begin preparing for our second day of induction. Pitocin was started at 7:00AM and my water was broken at 8:30AM, from that point on there was no turning back we were having a baby!! From about 8:30 to 10:30 things progressed similar to the day before but with one big change, each time they kicked up the pitocin my body responded. By 10:30AM we had retreated to our labor and delivery room accompanied by 2 nurse midwives who were in and out all day, several great L&D nurses, and an amazing OB/Gyn. Labor intensified throughout the day and there were several times that I wanted to give up but having Rolf as a labor coach that was not an option. He kept me going, reminded me of our plans for this birth, encouraged me through each contraction, and let me know that he knew I could do this. However, the most encouraging part was that the baby was doing amazing. His heart was accelerating with each contraction as it should, he was slowly but surely moving down. He was handling labor like the fighter we knew he would be.

At 9:00PM, I began pushing and after 2 hours and 43 minutes we welcomed Liam Walter Graning into the world at 11:43PM (just 17 minutes shy of his actual due date). He weighed in at a very healthy 7 pounds, 12.7 ounces and is 20.4 inches long. Since he handled labor so well, the doctor and midwife were able to let me pull Liam up onto my belly as he was born, Rolf got to cut the cord, and we had a few minutes to hold him and hear him cry for the first time in our arms. For us these were truly little blessings as we were prepared for him to whisked off as soon as he was born. Minutes after delivery, he was moved to an adjoining resuscitation room for evaluation by a neonatology team. The team made sure that he was truly stable, put in several lines, and prepared him to be transported to the CICU. On his way to the CICU he stopped into visit with us and was able to meet his grandparents for the first time too.

Rolf and the grandparent's followed Liam to the CICU and were able to spend some time with him as the doctors got me situated following delivery. Very shortly after delivery I was able to go to the CICU where both Rolf and I were able to spend some very special time with Liam.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers for us yesterday and today as we were in labor. It is truly a blessing and a miracle to have been able to experience such an amazing birth with such a special baby. We have many hurdles still ahead but know that God will be with us then just as we was with us on this day.

Sorry for the delay but we hope you enjoy the slide show.

Update on Liam

Sorry we have not been able to add more pictures but I am sure as you know things have been very busy and we have been trying to spend every minute possible with Liam. He has been doing amazing over the last three days and is by far the best baby in the entire CICU but I guess we are a little partial.

This morning at 8:15AM he will go in for open heart surgery. The surgery will last between 3-4 hours. There are still a few unknowns as they head into surgery but we have faith that God will be watching over him and waiting with us.

Thank you for all your kind emails of love, support, and especially prayers. More to follow soon.

Mission Accomplished

After a long day of labor Holly and I would like to welcome into the world our new son: Liam Walter Graning; 7 pounds, 12 ounces, 20.4 inches; born 11/20/08 at 11:43 PM at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Mom and baby are doing fine and both resting. Lots of pictures to follow.

Baby G Update...

This year has been a continuous lesson in not being in control... This is Rolf, updating the blog for Holly as she is currently resting. For all those out there waiting and hoping to see the name and possibly even a few pictures of Baby G, that is not to be today. As planned, Holly and I checked into CHOP early in the morning (before 6:00 AM which is, according to Holly, an "in-human hour..." I think I should let her talk to my residency program director). The day initially went as expected: get checked in, repeat our medical history for the 275th time, get Holly into that cool hospital gown and ugly socks with the rubber soles (plenty of pictures to come). The pitocin was hung at 0900 and by 1100 Holly was having regular contractions. All was going well.

Throughout the day however the contractions never really got more than "noticeable." We were thinking Holly was either incredibly tough (which she is) or Baby G just wasn't ready to come out. By 1800 (6:00 PM) Holly was rechecked and her cervix had not changed even a little bit despite a day full of increased pitocin doses, lots of walking, and incredible back rubs by yours truly. After getting a full list of choices from our OB-Gyn and Midwife (as well as some behind the scenes advice from an OB-Gyn named Walter Neal (Holly's father) who has delivered over 10,000 babies and seems to know a thing or two), we decided to stop the pitocin for the night.

Holly has since had a good meal (she wasn't allowed to eat anything more than ice chips all day) and is already fast asleep. We will awake early tomorrow morning, have her membranes ruptured, re-start pitocin, and pray that she goes into labor sometime tomorrow. As our Ob-Gyn said, "One way or another you will have a baby tomorrow..." Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers and we promise to update the blog as soon as we known more.

Last Day Preggers...

Today is my last day of being pregnant with our sweet little Baby G. We head into tomorrow excited, anxious, scared, hopeful, nervous, and faithful. We know that God will be walking with us tomorrow and carrying us when we can't do it ourselves. We know that each of you are faithfully praying for us as we travel along on this journey and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your love and support. We are eagerly looking forward to meeting our sweet little boy and can not wait to welcome him to our family with the help of our parents tomorrow. He is already loved by so many and has an amazing group of family and friends awaiting his arrival. We will try our best to post an update as soon as we can but please patient with us as tomorrow is probably going to be a very crazy day.

We go in tomorrow morning at 6:00AM and it just depends on how things progress as to when he is actually born. Upon his arrival he will spend just a little bit of time with us and then he will be taken to the CICU where he will be evaluated and several tests will be run to confirm his heart defect. We know that once he is settled into the CICU we will be able to go and spend time with him but we don't really know how long that will be or how we will be feeling after the delivery.

Please continue to pray that we may feel a peace that passes all understanding tomorrow and especially lift up Baby G as we welcome him into the world tomorrow.

All our love and many, many thanks to each of you for your prayers, love and support.

Progress

A quick update from our appointment today - I have progressed to 4cm which is good and that is 4cm out of 10 I won't have to go whenever I do go into labor. I have been having irregular contractions throughout the day today and I am still hopeful that I might go into labor on my own. My sweet husband even let me get a maternity massage today in hopes that it might relax me enough to stimulate labor. I don't know if it worked yet but it definitely felt very nice and was very relaxing. Unless something happens before Wednesday, we will go in at 6:00AM on Wednesday to be induced. I am not at all excited about the 6:00AM part because for those of you that don't already know, I am NOT a morning person in the slightest. I tried to fight this and argue for a later time but I was overruled by a lot of people especially Rolf who is really ready to get this party started and really ready to meet our little man. I am hoping that if I have to be induced that they might be able to get things started by just breaking my water and that I will still be able to avoid pitocin. The fact that I have made progress in the last couple of days is promising and something that should definitely work to our advantage if we have to be induced.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers and for all the kind emails and comments that have been coming our way. We are so blessed to have such amazing friends and family praying for us and sharing our story with others we don't even know, who are also kind enough to also be praying for our family. There is truly power in prayer and it brings us a strength and peace knowing that we are being lifted up.

Please pray for us in the next couple of days that we will continue to have patience and a peace knowing that God is walking with us through this. Pray that as we head into delivery that the baby we handle the transition well and that he will be stable upon birth. Please pray for all of the doctors and nurses and hospital staff that will be involved. Please also pray for our families, especially our parents that will be here supporting us.

Still Waiting....

Another weekend has come and gone and our little man has still not decided to join us yet. We had a great weekend visiting with friends and family but are really starting to grow restless as the days tick down, especially me!

On Saturday, I spent the day hanging out with my friend Julie who came down to visit from Boston after working for a couple of days in NYC. Kindl, another friend from UNC who is in law school at UPENN took us out to brunch at this great little place called Sabrina's Cafe at the Italian Market in South Philly. After that we got a pedicure, ran some errands, and hung out and watched the UNC v. Maryland football game. Rolf spent the day hanging out with his mama in the city. They explored Mary Anne's old stomping grounds in West Philly from when she was in medical school at UPENN and then ventured into the Philadelphia Art Museum for lunch and to see a few of the exhibits.

Today, Rolf's Aunt Rachel and Uncle Harald came up from Baltimore to visit for the afternoon. We took a nice drive around the city showing them all of the sites and then ventured back down to South Philly for brunch at Sabrina's again! I know I just ate there yesterday but you can never get too much of a good thing and this place is seriously good!! Thanks Juls and Kindl for introducing us to such a great place, everyone loved it! After lunch we decided we need to walk it off and of course since we are still trying to naturally induce labor we headed back into Fairmount Park for another hike. Fall has really hit the Philly area and winter is close behind (possible snow flurries this week) so we took a very brisk walk and then hopped back in the car to warm up.

Please continue to pray for patience for us as we wait on our little one. I am really praying that I go into labor naturally in the next couple of days but also know that God has a plan for this little guy and that he will come when he is ready or on Wednesday. Please especially pray for all of the doctors that will be taking care of both me and the baby in the next couple of days. Pray that they will have clarity in whatever situation may present itself upon deliver and that Rolf and I will have the faith, peace, and understanding needed for each moment.

We have another appointment tomorrow afternoon so stay tuned for updates....

Watch Holly's Belly Grow

We started out with great intentions of taking pictures every week for the entire pregnancy but as you can tell that didn't last very long. This slideshow will give you a pretty good idea of how much I and the baby have grown throughout the pregnancy and especially in the last couple of weeks.


**Warning** These are bare belly pics. I am wearing a sports bra and either gym shorts or yoga pants in all of the photos. View at your own risk! :-)

Exploring Philadelphia

We are continuing to explore Philadelphia each day via foot in hopes of inducing labor. This week we discovered Fairmount Park and spent a lot of time walking, hiking, and discovering amazing history of Philadelphia and our country hidden in the hills of this beautiful park. Each day we have probably walked at least 2.5 miles and one day we know that we walked at least 5 miles. We had 3 days of great weather for Philly this time of year - cold and breezy but sunny.


This Thursday Mary Anne, Rolf's mom arrived and unfortunately brought the rain and humidity from North Carolina with her. We of course couldn't let a little rain slow us down so ventured out into the park again and embarked on quite the adventuresome hike for a lady who is 39 weeks pregnant. Rolf made me pay careful attention as I walked and was very concerned that I was enjoying chatting and not paying enough attention to my walking but we safely hiked about 2.5 miles today in the rain.


Check out this slideshow of our latest adventures....

Still Pregnant

I am now 38 weeks, 5 days and still very pregnant. I went to the doctor this past Monday and I was 3cm dilated, 75% effaced, and a -1 station. If you are getting ready to have a baby all of those are very good things but that was Monday and it is now Wednesday and I am still pregnant! We have been doing a lot of walking in the last couple of days in hopes of speeding things along. It seems to be working as long as we are walking but as soon as I lay down to take an afternoon nap, on doctors orders of course, they quickly go away. Needless to say we are starting to get a little restless and really hope that things start naturally sometime soon. We discussed induction with the doctors on Monday and if we have not gone into labor on our own by next Wednesday, November 19th we will go in early that morning to be induced. Although not the end of the world, I would really like to go into labor naturally and I am hoping to avoid pitocin and all of the things that go along with induction. My OB from home was very encouraging and said at this point if I did have to be induced it would be more of an augmentation given how far along I am. So at least we now know that we will definitely have a baby by a week from today, if not sooner!

Stay tuned for more updates to come...

Our 1st Philly Visitors

This past Saturday we had our 1st Philly visitors. Rolf's sister Evie and her husband Sebastien drove up from Baltimore to spend the afternoon with us. We had a great time giving them a very quick tour of the city. We hit the highlights which included a drive around the crazy City Hall traffic circle, a trip to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, Italian food in South Philly, and a quick drive by Pat's & Geno's. They are both vegetarians so we were able to avoid making a stop or waiting in the super long lines however, Evie did have the urge to go ask if they can do a vegetarian version of the cheesesteak. From the looks of things Geno's is way more showy and has a way better sign but based on the length of the lines we decided that Pat's must be the better of the 2. We haven't tried either yet so we can't really make a call on this one. This is definitely on our list of things to do before we leave the city. Maybe our next visitors will be steak eaters....could that be you?

10 out of 10

Today we had another appointment at CHOP for a biophysical profile (BPP) and a non-stress test. We are now going in for these 2 tests twice a week. The baby passed both with flying colors. He scored a 10 out of 10 on his BPP, which means that he was moving all over the place, had plenty of amniotic fluid, was breathing well, and had good muscle tone. He also had great heart tones when he was on the monitor for the non-stress test. They were looking to make sure that when was moving his heart rate would go up and it did when they were finally able to get him to wake up.

Rolf and I were also able to meet another one of the midwives that could possibly be there when we are in labor. CHOP has 8 midwives on staff in addition to the team of MFMs and OBs. We feel very comfortable with everyone that we have met so far in the Special Deliver Unit and feel very blessed to have such an amazing place to give birth during such a hard time.

As for our adventures around the city, we tried to take it easy today. After the doctors appointment we went to an Aveda Institute (beauty school) for what was advertised on TV as beauty on a budget. Last night while watching the local news they ran a spot called "Beauty on a Budget", which talked about a couple of the local training institutes that offer low priced beauty treatments by students. I talked Rolf into giving it a try since he needed a haircut and I wanted a pedicure. We walked right in and while I enjoyed a great spa pedicure for super cheap Rolf struggled through a haircut with someone who must have been new. Needless to say my husband who doesn't have a complicated haircut (buzz cut with a #2) and isn't picking about where he gets it cut (normally Haircuttery) was very disappointed and will probably be heading back to Haircuttery next time! Oh well, it was worth a try and at least he got a bag of Aveda samples for me to use in the hotel.

After dinner, we ventured to South Philly for Italian at L'Angolo on the recommendation of our friends from Philly the Gugger's. This place was totally amazing and we would recommend it to any and everyone. We went early and were very lucky to get a table even on a Thursday night. We enjoyed some of the most amazing authentic Italian food and hope to make it back sometime during our stay. After that and since we were already down in South Philly we drove by Pat's and Geno's just to check them out, I am sure we will be venturing back down there for a cheesesteak before too long.

The Waiting Game

Rolf arrived in Philadelphia on Saturday and joined me in the waiting game for Baby G. We have been trying to make the most of the these last few days with it being just the 2 of us and have been taking advantage of exploring the city. In hopes of getting labor started we have been walking all over the city in even the rain. So far we have done the "Rocky" run/walk up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, which was quite an accomplishment at 37+ weeks pregnant. We caught an IMAX at the Franklin Institute, visited the Liberty Bell, and toured Independence Hall. We still have several things to check off our list of things to do in Philly before our little guy gets here but my mother's intuition and my aching body is telling me that our days our numbered We still hope to visit either Pat's or Geno or maybe both for a cheesesteaks and plan on venturing down to South Philly for Italian tomorrow night.

We are now visiting the doctor on Monday and Thursday each week for close monitoring of the baby in these last few weeks. We were able to meet the Dr. Thomas Spray who will hopefully be performing the surgery on our little guy. He is a world renowned surgeon and we know we are blessed that he will be taking care of our son. Please pray for Dr. Spray and the entire surgical team that they will have the wisdom to heal our son. The baby is still growing the way that the doctors had hoped and probably weighs around 6.6 lbs. He is moving all over the place and surprises Rolf with how strong he can kick. We know we definitely have a fighter on our hands and hope he is ready for the battle ahead. We really can't wait to meet him but know that he is safest inside right now and pray that he continues to grow strong until it is time for him to make his way into the world.

Please pray for Rolf and I that we will have patience in the days ahead, that we will not be anxious, and that we will have faith and hope in the plan that God has for us and our son.

In the meantime here is a slideshow of our time in Philadelphia.

Phinally, it's OVER....

and we survived the World Series craziness in Philadelphia! I know I am a little behind on posting about the World Series but it is still appropriate to let you know that my mom and I survived being in Philadelphia during the extend World Series and the Phillies World Series celebrations that took over the entire city. We quickly became avid Phillies fans and watched several of the games (from the comfort of our hotel room), even staying up late to see the end of game 3. We were able to talk the talk with the locals about the games and even high-fived people walking down the street as they celebrated Friday evening. To be honest, we tried our best to stay as far away from the madness as possible but did get to experience a little bit of the fun Friday evening when we checked into our downtown Philly hotel. The only restaurant we could find was filled with Phillies fans who had been partying since the celebration parade started that afternoon around noon, they had slowed down only to don their Halloween gear and head back out on the town. We have some good memories from the World Series and our time here in Philadelphia and know that this will make for a great story in the baby book.

Go Phillies!!