Elvis has exited the building.

Christy started having a “different” kind of contraction late yesterday afternoon. We made the trip to Labor and Delivery just to make sure things were all sealed up tight. (Seamus had forced us to make a dry run to the hospital prior to his delivery, and that’s what we thought this trip might be.) But once the monitors were attached and the OB made a trip through some pretty frigid Dallas air to have a look, Christy’s contractions seemed to be progressing. In light of both the behavior of the contractions and that this would be Christy’s third C-Section, it was determined that protracting this process was probably unwise.

At around 11:36 pm, just a few moments shy of the birthday of her grandfather, and in the very same OR delivery room as her big brother, Seamus, met the world four years earlier, Isabella Hope Lafferty, entered into previously uncharted territory. She apparently preferred her time as a fish because it seems she took a venti-sized gulp of amniotic fluid on the way out of her mother. Her lungs were filled to the brim and had to be quickly cleared to help her get some adequate breaths.

She weighed in at a very petite 4 lbs, 2.6oz. Because of the difficulty getting breaths, the neonatologist present deemed it necessary to take her to the NICU, but not before her adoring mother got a chance to cast a loving, tearful glance at her new daughter whom she was surprised to find adorned with a pate of brown, curly hair, (quite uncharacteristic of previous Lafferty children).

In the NICU, an echocardiogram and x-rays were performed. The first hurdle Bella needs to clear is the water-logged status of her lungs. The quicker those dry out, the quicker she can have that ventilator removed–and the quicker she can get her nourishment from her mother.

The echocardiogram revealed that the hole in her heart–the VSD–would likely need attention within a week, rather than in weeks. With the shunting of blood between ordinarily separated ventricles, the heart has to work harder to perform the same output. The harder a heart has to work, the more susceptible to heart failure–the progressive deterioration of the heart’s efficiency. More tests will, of course, follow to get a better read on the timeline of the next step, but we’re so very glad to be near one of the premier pediatric cardiology facilities when the time comes to repair the heart.

As her weight indicates, Bella is a very preemie baby. There’s a lot of development that needs to proceed. Although her actual age is somewhere between 37-39 weeks, she has features more reminiscent of a 33-35 week baby. There may be some genetic factors in play here, but there doesn’t appear to be any chromosomal issues that would make Bella’s fight for maturity more difficult. Interestingly she has only 11 pairs of ribs–one less pair than normal–and those ribs are a bit thin presently–what doctors call gracile. She also shares a couple funky traits with her father: a few webbed toes, and a slight inward curvature of both pinky fingers–both, undoubtedly, preliminary signs of brilliance…and commensurate humility.

It was said to Moses in the earliest days of the Exodus, as Egyptian armies beared down on him and the nation of Israel, “The LORD will fight for you, you have only to be silent.” Bella has been in that moment for a while now and will continue to be, as she is defended by scads of kind and knowledgeable doctors and nurses, and embraced, ever so gently, by two loving parents who are just glad to finally see their little rock star and blessing. As always, thank you for fighting for her in prayer. He has been gracious to let us see her see the light of day. She has exited one chapter and entered another. Somewhere in the heavenlies there is a log book that records the responses to the prayers of His people for Bella.

(Though we feel a wee bit sheepish even to say this in light of the abundance of care and concern you’ve lavished us with, but since Izzy is sequestered in the NICU, and since Christy is recovering from something just a shade less cruel than disembowelment, we’d respectfully ask no visitors at this time. By all means feel free to call us on our cell, but we’ll keep this site updated as opportunity allows.)