Macy's Diagnosis

Finally after 5 LONG horrible weeks of blood tests, hospital visits, scans, biopsies, sleepless nights, etc...our little Macy was diagnosed with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. This is a liver disease in infants and a lung disease in adults. Unfortunately it is also a genetic disease that was passed down by Louis and I since we unknowingly were carriers of the specific genotype. It is a very rare disease to detect and that is why it took so long to know what was wrong with her. All of our kids have a 25% chance of inheriting this. We will have both Baylee and Savana tested because they too can have the genotype and not show symptoms yet. We are REALLY praying that they do not! We are very grateful to finally have an answer for Macy though. Now we can move on to treating her. She will have to be on meds and supplements everyday and constantly be watched. She needs to be thriving and gaining weight like all healthy infants. Her next 2 years of life are crucial for her liver to make it. So far she is doing well despite having the condition. We are praying everyday that she continues to. Here are some pix in between all of the mess we were going through. Thank you again for everyone's prayers.
Macy, 12 days Old
We LOVE you SOOOooooooo much Macy!

Macy's Baby Blessing

Sunday May 15, 2011 was a very special day for us. Our little Macy Anna was given a beautiful Baby Blessing at Church by her dad. She was just 5 days old but we wanted some of our family that were in town to be there. And with her being sick, we felt it was the right time to do it. It was a very emotional blessing for me and I cried through it all. After the blessing Louis handed Macy right to Baylee and she was so proud to be the one to get to hold her. It was so sweet of him because it made Baylee's little life. She was just glowing! She sat the rest of the meeting holding her and never moving or saying a word (that has never happened in church!). It was so sweet to see how much she loves her baby sister. Louis had to give a talk in Sacrament meeting that made me keep crying through the hour. He did so great as always. I am so proud of my family!
Here are a few pictures of Macy's day!

Our FamilyOur Family with Omi and Uncle Rogerand with Grandma CyndeMy mom had made both Macy's beautiful Blessing dress and yummy cake! Thank you mom, you are so talented and are the best!
Thank you mom and Cynde for all of your help with the girls while you were in town and for making Macy's Blessing day so special! We were so glad you could be there, but really wished that all of our family could have been there too! It really was a special day. We love and miss you all!

Finally...

She Finally came! And Finally I am updating my BLOG!
Macy Anna Isom was born on May 10th 2011 at 8:13pm, weighing 8 lbs. 4 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. She came 8 days past her due date but was the fastest delivery I could ever imagine having. I made it to the hospital just in time to push her out! My contractions puttered for 30 hours before that...until my water broke! And she was here about an hour later! It was the most intense hour of my life, especially the 30 minute drive to the hospital! All the hypnobirthing I had been practicing for the last 9 months went out the window. I lost all focus because the contractions were so long and intense and so close together. I was also scared that I was going to have her in the car! Poor Louis was driving 90 mph in the emergency lane and running every red light and calling the hospital all at the same time. We were so afraid that he would be the one delivering her! It was quite the adventure. Right out of the movies!

The moment she enterered the world, we were in love. She arrived beautiful and healthy as can be! We were such proud parents of another little angel and enjoying every new second with her. But what we were about to learn 2 days after her birth was something we were not prepared for. Her blood tests came back with dangeroulsy high direct bilirubin levels, a sign that her bile was not being broken down or excreted from her liver. As the days passed her numbers kept increasing. We even had to stay an extra day in the hospital and had to return for more tests the following weeks to rule out any life threatening illnesses or disorders. Right now she still looks and acts healthy and normal so it is hard to imagine anything wrong with her. But the doctors say that that is how liver diseases are, especially in newborns. The disease progresses over time and eventually she will have ill signs and symptoms. We are still in the process of finding out exactly what is wrong with her liver. We find out her results soon and we are really praying that it will be something mimimal.

So needless to say it has been a difficult few weeks in our home. We are grateful for all of our friends and family that have supported us and helped us get through each day. We APPRECIATE everyone's prayers! It has been really hard for me to stay stong and be there for my other girls. But they have kept me going. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and dad for Macy and that she has two older sisters that absoultely adore her. Baylee prays for her every night and that brings me to tears every time.

Here are some pix of our Macy's first few moments and days!

Proud Mommy!
Proud Daddy!

The Proud Big Sisters!Omi meets Macy!Uncle Roger meets Macy!Finally going home from the hospitalMacy after her first bathGetting lots of love and attention from her sisters
Welcome to the family Macy, we Love you! Love, Mom, Dad and Big Sisters

The Waiting Game!

I never thought that I would go 8 days past my due date with this baby, but here I sit! It has been hard physically and mentally. I have tried just about every natural method of induction too. My poor dad is leaving to go back to California today and won't even be able to meet her. I've been telling her everyday how excited we all are to see her and she still refuses to come! Louis says she is already a 'stubborn Isom'!

On a happy note, I did have a wonderful Mother's Day with my family. It was really nice to spend it with my own mom and girls! I am so grateful to have such a great mom in my life and to be a mom of almost 3 little Angels!

Easter 2011

Here are my Easter Egg Hunters! Our Church had a fun Easter egg hunt and brunch on Saturday. Baylee had a great time, but my poor Savana started to spike a bad fever that morning which lasted for the next 48 hours. All 4 of her canines were coming in at once! So she had a pretty rough Easter weekend. I made the girls fun Baskets this year with things I knew they would love! And they did! Louis hid the baskets around the house and Baylee had a ball looking all around over for them.After church we had a little Isom Egg Hunt in the back yard and Louis dyed Easter eggs with Baylee while I comforted my sick Savana. I am so glad I didn't go into labor that weekend because she really needed her mommy during those couple of days.

But it's go time now! I am officially on maternity leave and I am so ready! My parents are flying in today and it's down to 2 days til' D-day. The kids are healthy, my bags are packed and the house is cleaned and in order!

It's time to come and meet the world my little Angel!