Update!

Hello everyone! This is Nick, writing on Emily's behalf. I'm sure she'll provide more information soon, but I wanted to give everyone a brief update.

After this morning's ultrasound revealed that Oliver's blood flow was continuing to deteriorate, we made the decision around noon to deliver the babies. Things moved quickly after that. Emily was in surgery shortly by 2 o'clock, and in recovery by 3 o'clock.

The delivery was successful! The babies cooperated and came out in order: we welcomed Mavis and Amos at 2:12, Oliver at 2:13, and Lena at 2:14. Mavis and Amos weighed in at two pounds, Oliver at one-and-a-half pounds, and Lena at one pound.

The doctors were amazing. They were able to intubate all of the babies, and Emily made it through surgery without any complications. We are so grateful for all of the skillful hands that have kept Emily and the babies safe during this journey.

After a couple of hours of recovery, Emily and I were able to go to the NICU to meet the babies. They are beautiful, but tiny! The hospital was so kind to block off a suite of NICU rooms for us, so they are all together. They are all facing the same challenges, namely breathing and staying warm. So far, so good! They are snuggled in warm isolettes and covered with what looks like Saran Wrap to help their skin retain heat, and they have teeny tiny ventilators helping them breathe. Oliver is doing the best of all: he is breathing "room air" through his ventilator, while the others are breathing oxygenated air.

We also were able to introduce the babies to their grandparents. The hospital staff was so gracious to accommodate our troop of people leaning over the isolettes trying to get a better view of our tiny treasures.

I'm going to sign off now, but I want to thank everyone for the warm thoughts and prayers. Emily and I have been so encouraged by all of the support we have received along this journey. We had a lot of peace about the decision to deliver today. We have found that knowing that so many people are praying and hoping for us gives us the courage to keep hoping for the best. We have had nothing but the best possible outcomes, and we are going to keep praying for healing and growth for the babies and their mommy.

Sorry for the dry blog post. Your regularly scheduled programming (Emily) will resume as soon as Emily is off the morphine.