Gobble Til You Wobble

Four generations of Trapp/Forster/Frosch family women.
Great Grandma Trapp, Grammy Forster, Mommy, and Baby Emerson


Emerson had a blast at her First Thanksgiving! This year we were with mommy's family in New Smyrna Beach. Grammy told everyone the great news that she will be moving to Orlando in late December!

Pretty Girl

Sweet Baby Girl on her 9 week birthday!

9 pounds 5 ounces!!

Today Emerson had her 2 month vaccinations. She cried for about 30 seconds until mommy was able to pick her up. She has been sleeping ever since we've gotten home. Dr. Carr was very impressed with her weight gain, 22 ounces from last appointment (2 weeks ago). She has put on about 2 ounces a day, which indicates that her heart is not working too hard/burning too many calories! Dr. Carr graciously offered mommy use of his scale anytime we would like to drop in and weigh Emerson!

Younger Men

Today we met up with Emerson's new boyfriend. It seems to me that she is interested in younger men! During her stay in the hospital, she had many younger boy roommates but they all left her to go home. Hopefully, Will will be sticking around for awhile. Will is the son of a co-worker of mine. His mom Angel was also due on October 9th. Emerson was born on 9-27 and Will on 10-07, so neither of us made it to the 10-9 due date.

*Emerson is now sleeping 5-6 hours through the night. We put her down at 10 pm and she sleeps straight until 2-3 am. She has adapted to home life beautifully.

Enjoying the Cool Weather!

Emerson got all bundled up to go walking with mommy. Actually, Emerson got all bundled up to fall asleep while mommy walks!
*Today I noticed some green in her eyes. I think they might change to look like daddy's!


Our cute little froggie! Too cute!!


Travis was so excited that he finally got to build his baby her first fire in the fireplace. I came out from the bedroom to find Emerson in her Boppy admiring the fire. Travis was a proud daddy!

First Cardiologist Appointment

Today Emerson had her first cardiologist appointment to discuss her heart defects. She has a combination of two defects that will need to be corrected with surgery. Luckily, the doctors will be able to fix both at the same time. The first defect is called AV Canal which is common in Down Syndrome children. Basically, there is a hole in the middle of the heart in between all 4 chambers. This is causing blood to transfer rapidly through the heart. To repair they take a graft from the pericardium (the sack that surrounds the heart) and use it to divide the hole into 2 separate chambers. The second defect is called Tetralogy of Fallot. There are 4 components with this defect. From what I understand this is thickening of muscle in the valves leading from the heart to the lungs. The doctor said that Emerson is "fortunate" to have both defects because they are counter-acting with one another. He predicts that her surgery will be sometime in the Spring depending on her symptoms. We are to be looking for loss of appetite/low weight gain, blue spells, and trouble breathing. Travis and I had many questions in regards to crying and holding. Dr. Fleishman reassured us that we need to treat her like a baby! That was very reassuring to hear! We will visit the cardiologist every 4-6 weeks to monitor any changes. We are praying that we can prolong this as much as possible so Emerson will be strong for her surgery. She is a champ!!!

First Weekend at Home!

Emerson had an eventful weekend meeting many of her relatives. My uncle took a few pictures of the cutie and we wanted to share them!

*Emerson went to her pediatrician today for her first check up. She has already put on 10 ounces in 5 days! She is weighing in at 7 pounds 15 ounces and measuring 21 3/4 inches!!! With her heart condition we were told it will be harder for her to gain weight, so we were extremely grateful for this news. She has an appointment with her cardiologist on Thursday to discuss upcoming treatment.

We have overcome the first hurdle, on to the next!!

Welcome Home Emerson!

On November 5, 2008 we finally brought home our beautiful baby girl! We have been having a great time introducing Emerson to all of her fun things! She has had many "firsts" in the past two days. I've attached pictures of a few:
All of the cards she has received from friends and family, nap with mommy on the couch, walk in my stroller, tummy time (which she loves), and bouncing in my Boppy!
Although she had wonderful care in the NICU and met some extraordinary people, she is happy to be at home with her family!!

A+ on Car Seat Test #2

EMERSON PASSED HER CAR SEAT TEST!! We are so proud of her! I placed Emerson in her car seat at 6 pm and had to leave (I was so nervous). Being the anxious mommy that I am, I called at 7:30 on the dot! Her nurse gave us the good news that she passed!!!
Her x-ray that was taken today also looked great! Her doctors have told us that she will be able to go home on Wednesday if not late Tuesday night. Travis and I are so excited, it feels too good to be true! We can't wait for everyone to meet our little angel!!

Happy Halloween

Emerson was a huge hit on Halloween. When I got into her room at 7:45 am, she already had 5 staff members waiting to see her costume. She was the "Happy Ghost" unlike many babies dressed as pumpkins. We had the lactation specialist come for our 2 pm feeding but she was NOT needed. Emerson had no problem remembering what to do! She has been fully breast feeding as of Friday at 2 pm. The breast feeding has allowed her to get more on a baby schedule. Lots of eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom!!!

At 6 pm the nurse was changing her octreotide to a half dose. She will be on that until the morning and then taken completely off of the medicine. We have a x-ray scheduled for Monday morning to check for fluid.
GO TEAM EMERSON!!!!