Omphalocele - Sadie's Story of hope

Today, (January 31st) is Omphalocele Awareness Day.
We are taking this opportunity to share Sadie's story. Every journey with an Omphalocele (Exampholos) baby is different but this is ours.
These babies are fighters! And Medical science and knowledge on Omphalocele's is developing rapidly. Our O warriors are strong, and they are certainly worth the fight!
We were so blesses to have come into contact with the ever growing Mother Of Omphalocele (MOO) group during pregnancy. It is more than just Mothers, it is Dad's (Doo's) Grandparents (Goo's) and even some Adult Omphalocele survivors. There is such an amazing level of support, advice, triumphs, and sorrows shared among the group. I do not know how I would have made it through everything without my MOO family! But, while I once needed the group for support, and still do sometimes... It feels wonderful to have the opportunity now to offer support and advice to others.
We were so blessed to have been seen during our pregnancy by the Minnesota Perinatal Physicians Staff, who were WONDERFUL and so helpful and supportive! They put us in contact with the Minneapolis Children's hospital and Mother Baby Center where our daughter was born, by a C section performed by Dr. Wagner from the Perinatal Physicians.
While I had to recover in the Mother Baby Center, it was wonderful that our daughter was treated in the NICU just down the hall, and an elevator ride away. So, even though, we had to recover in separate places for a couple of days, I could still go down as often as I wanted to visit her before I was discharged. (I had some wonderful nurses in the Mother Baby center who helped me get to the NICU when needed, and allowed some flexibility so that I could spend time with my baby during the day)
Our daughter was treated at that same Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. Our Doctor (Dr. Swenson), Surgeon, (Dr. Feltis), the nursing staff, social worker, lactation consultants, and the entire hospital were absolutely helpful and amazing!