Eden's Arrival

Eden Camile Swenson
Born on December 28th, 2009
At 9:02 a.m.
St. Luke’s hospital, Boise, Idaho.
1 lb. 1 oz.
10.4 inches

Eden was born almost 4 months early, at 23 weeks and 2 days gestational age. Her due date was April 24th, 2010. She is currently in stable condition in the St. Luke’s NICU. We hope she continues to do well and stays in the NICU for at least a few months and then eventually home with us.

Eden came early due to pregnancy complications. Rachel was on strict bed-rest at home since December 22nd and on bed-rest at the hospital since December 26th. Rachel had been bleeding since October 13th due to SCH or Subchorionic Hematoma (a gathering of blood between the membranes of the placenta and the uterus). The bleeding usually resolves, but in Rachel’s case it never did. The constant bleeding began irritating the uterus in December causing cramping, which then caused contractions, which led to pre-term labor over and over, and then her water broke. Once Rachel’s water was for sure ruptured and signs of infection were showing, her doctor decided not to stop labor anymore. Jeremy and Rachel depended on bed-rest and prayers to make it another week.

On December 28th, in the most miraculous birth, Eden was born in Rachel’s hospital room. Luckily Eden was caught by her nurse, Heidi, who responded within seconds to Rachel’s emergency call from the bathroom. Within seconds 15 NICU doctors and labor and delivery nurses crowded into Rachel’s room and took over Eden’s care.

Like we said, Eden is currently in stable condition, given her size and age in the NICU. Premature babies like Eden go through a roller coaster of health issues. The next 48 hours and then the next week are very crucial. Being so little and fragile, we would love prayers from everyone. She is a fighter and has already survived so much. We call her our miracle baby.

Rachel, feeling up to it, decided to check out of the hospital December 29th and after a brief visit home to shower and see Noah and Paige, Jeremy and her returned to the NICU. Currently Rachel and Jeremy are camped out at the NICU most of the day and night together for the next week. Like we said it is a very crucial time for Eden.

Rachel’s parents, Camile and Roger Morris from Utah are watching Noah and Paige for this week. Our church ward has been wonderful to prepare meals for them the last few days. Next week, Jeremy’s dad, Val Swenson from Utah will be watching the kids. The following week, Rachel’s sister, Hillary will be watching the kids and then the next week after that Camile again will take over. Rachel and Jeremy will try to spend as much time going back and forth from home to the hospital.

We are so blessed to have Eden as part of our family and love her so much. There are several ways we can interact with her in the NICU and hope to do all we can to help her continue to thrive. There is a quote on the wall in the NICU that says, “Every birth is a miracle and every baby is a gift from God.” Eden really is a gift from God for us. Please keep her in your prayers. We will keep you updated. Feel free to forward this to anyone we may have missed.

With love,
Jeremy, Rachel, Noah, Paige, and Eden Swenson