Hernia surgery

72 days old/days in NICU

Weight: 6 lb (+2 oz)

Today Ella had the hernia surgery. We weren't sure if she would need it or not but apparently the situation was a bit more severe then we thought. In all babies, there is a hole that for baby boys, their testicles will drop through and go into their scrotum. In baby girls, the hole should close. Well, in preemies, that doesn't always necessarily happen. What happened with Ella is her ovaries dropped through that hold and were bulging through and you could feel them on the outside of her vagina. It was CRAZY. They did the surgery, put the ovaries back where they're supposed to be and closed up that hole. While there were in there, they also fixed her umbilical hernia which is a hernia in her belly button. The stomach muscles aren't closed all the way in preemies and her intestines were bulging out her belly button. Yes, it was gross. They said it was a REALLY good thing they did the surgery now because her ovary was stuck and it was difficult to get it back up. Had they waited, Ella would have lost at least one of her ovaries, if not both of them. 

The surgery does put off her homecoming date...although we aren't sure when. There's still a good chance she could come home on Friday if she's doing really well, or it could be this weekend. I have pretty high hopes for Friday but I'm trying not to be too disappointed if it's NOT Friday. 

Today, Ella weighs 6 lbs exactly! Whoo hoo! Tomorrow is my due date and Ella is without a doubt the size of a newborn. She's over 20 inches and weighs 6 lbs. A small newborn, no doubt (well weight wise!!) but still, a newborn!