Month: October 2016

Evelyn came home on Thursday October 20^th! She was over double her birth weight and doing so well. It is crazy to believe that she has been home for 5 days! What an amazing God we have.

These past 9 weeks are the hardest thing Nate and I have faced together, or ever.  I am not sure I’ve ever cried so much or been so anxious about anything. However throughout this entire experience there has been a true sense of calm and peace.

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Nate and I spent a week away from each other while I was in the hospital on bed rest. I never thought I could miss him or Eleanor so much. We knew it’s where I had to be, but it didn’t make it easier. Giving birth to a 28-week-old preemie is terrifying. Nate told me when I texted him early morning on Aug 21^st, he was terrified of the idea of his sweet girl coming so soon. He prayed all the way to the hospital for contractions to stop. God had a different plan. A better plan.

Our time in the NICU, while exhausting, was also a time to pull together and give God glory for all that he is doing in our lives.

We don’t know what prematurity means for Evelyn. She has tons of dr.’s appointments and we know that children born that early can have all sorts of delays, cognitive and behavioral issues.  But as I sit and look at my two sweet babies who are both napping, I can’t help but know that we are so blessed.

The past week has been crazy and so good! We have an awesome God.

On Thursday the 13th we were told the goal was to have Evelyn go home on Monday.

The removed her from her isolette.  We started doing all feeds by mouth.  Her ng tube was removed on Saturday. She could eat everything by mouth, gain weight, and maintain body temperature.

Sunday morning, she had her first non self-stem heart rate in 7 weeks! It’s an automatic 5 day stay in the NICU. She just decided she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her drs and nurses. The dr was not concerned about the low heart rate. She said it was likely due to all that happened over the weekend; she had her ear exam twice, an 1.5 hour car seat challenge, a discharge exam, blood drawn from her arm and head.

Evelyn gained almost an oz last night!

She was able to nurse again today.

The neonatologist said we just have to get her to eat by mouth for all her feeds to go home! We decided with her team today that she will learn to nurse and bottle feed. It would be impossible for me to be there around the clock with a toddler.

Evelyn officially weighs 4 lbs!!

She is still a bit congested. But God is so good and has kept her from getting sick. We know that He hears the prayers of his people. We are so thankful for his Grace in this. He continues to pour His blessings on our little family of 4.

Evelyn Joy. We picked her name because her name means “Life”. We loved this name from the time we heard it. It seemed so suitable when we decided at 20 weeks for this to be her name. We weren’t sure if she was going to make it when I had a placental abruption at 11 weeks. But God is good. We picked her name so that we, and hopefully she, remembers to find joy in the life God gave her and to share that joy with others.

Eleanor reminded us to pray at lunch today! We forgot :/ she grabbed Nate’s hand and wouldn’t let it go until we prayed! What a blessing. For those of you wondering, Eleanor means shining light. Nate and I both loved the name before we even knew each other. However, it fits her perfectly and we hope she always remembers to be a light to others, showing God’s amazing grace.

Thankful for my kids, my husband, and this crazy rollercoaster of a life we are having. As we remember to seek God in the uncertainty, we are filled with his Grace and Joy because of it.

Love you all!

Evelyn gained 128 grams last night, that is just over 4 oz! They only have had to suction her nose once today and barely got any mucus. Praise Jesus for her starting to get healthy. Unfortunately with Eleanor being sick, and me not feeling great we can’t go to the NICU. For Evelyn’s safety they don’t recommend us coming back until everyone in our house is healthy. The hardest thing is being away from your baby days at a time.

We took Eleanor back to the Dr today because she won’t eat or drink. She has been having 2, maybe 3 wet diapers a day at most. the Dr said if she isn’t better by Tuesday to call and they will prescribe an antibiotic.

I have mastitis! Yay to more antibiotics and another infection. It is has been a roller coaster of a pregnancy and postpartum. But God is so so good, and my sweet babies are great.

Eleanor started to show signs of being sick. She is actually not eating or drinking right now. Evelyn caught a little cold. We were told my the NICU that she has had thick yellow mucous in her sinus. Which oddly is not what Eleanor is sick with. They have to clear out her nose every 3 hours at a minimum. She has started to lose a little weight.

We have been doing a lot of cuddling and practice nursing. On Monday Evelyn nursed for the first time! We didn’t get a pre and post weight since this was the first time she nursed. Evelyn had her Eye exam today. She does have level 1 Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Level 1 almost always works itself out and will not effect her eye site later on. They will do another exam in 2 weeks to make sure it isn’t getting worse.

She is getting so big! Tuesday the nurse weighed her before she nursed. She ate 32 grams of food! God is so awesome. She would normally be fed 35 grams from her NG tube. She was able to nurse an entire feed. She comes so tired from nursing.