Day 12- July 30, 2011 (Chloee came to visit!)

Noah's Stats
Oxygen Level: Mid 20s
Oxygen Machine: CPAP
Weight:

Chloee came to visit Noah today! So sad that she wasn't able to actually see him though :-(. In the NICU, you have to either be over 15 years of age or a sibling with all of your immunization papers in order to get in to see the babies. Unfortunately, Chloee is neither of those, although she could pass for his big sister! LOL. She has been asking questions about Noah since the day she realized that her mom left to come to Orlando because Noah was born. Well...that's a lie. She's been asking questions about him since she found out that I was pregnant!

I remember how scared I was to tell her that I was pregnant, like she was my kid and was going to be heartbroken that she wasn't the center of my life anymore. But...she took it pretty well! She was really excited...until she found out it was going to be a boy! LOL. The funniest question Chloee asked me was "Are you going to have a white baby or a black baby?". This is when I remembered that she was 6 years old!

Even though Chloee wasn't able too see Noah, she did come to the hospital with her mom and Aguillard, and waited in the waiting room watching movies until we were ready to go. The night they got there, I didn't get to see her until I left Noah's room and was headed home. She then gave me this picture and told me that she colored it for Noah! How sweet of my cutie pie to do something like this for her little cousin! She just doesn't know how much that picture meant to me! To make it even more awesome, when we got to my parents' house, she kept asking me if i wanted Noah's gift now or later....Chloee bought Noah an outfit! She is such a sweet girl :-)...my baby girl! Even though my sister is her mother, I still love her as if she was my own.

Chloee, you are such a loving and thoughtful child. There's never a time when seeing you doesn't bring a smile to my face. The love I have for you is unconditional. I love you like you were my own, and Noah is so lucky to have such an awesome big cousin like you to show him how to get things done around here! Thank you so much for being who you are...the best niece/goddaughter in the entire world. Tatie Jessica loves you!

Day 11- July 29, 2011 (Kangaroo Care!!!!)

Noah's Stats:

-Oxygen Level: 25%
-Oxygen Machine: CPAP
-Weight:
-Day Nurse: Carrie
-Night Nurse: Mary Edith

Today was the first day that I got to hold my son! It was an AMAZING experience! Kangaroo care is a method of holding a baby that involves skin-to-skin contact. Noah only had on a diaper and was placed inside my shirt, between my "pillows" and covered by warmed blankets. I was a little nervous at first because of the fact that Noah has so many wires stuck unto him that I didn't know how they were going to get him to me while still being connected. The nurse, Carrie, was really sweet and made me feel very comfortable. Can you imagine having a child for the past 11 days and never getting to hold them in your arms? This is something that I have been waiting for! Holding Noah's hand and rubbing on his back is fine and dandy, but getting to hold my boy made me feel....like a mom!


Carrie got him all set up, put him in my shirt, and not once did he make a fuss! I got to hold him for 1 hour. I just closed my eyes and listened to his heart beat against mine. It was so peaceful. His machine never made one sound either! They say that Kangaroo Care is good for reasons such as maintaining body warmth, regulating heart and breathing rates, and weight gain. All of these are things that Noah can benefit from, especially regulating his breathing rates. After the hour, Carrie came to take him from me and he cried :(. It was an awesome bonding moment and I can't wait to do it again!

"Motherhood is priced of God, at a price no man may dare to lessen or misunderstand" - Helen Hunt Jackson

Day 10- July 28, 2011 (A better day?)

Noah's Stats
Oxygen Level: Low 20s
Oxygen Machine: CPAP
Weight:

Was today a better day then it was yesterday? Definitely. I was able to sleep without having someone come in and wake me up at 12, 4, 8, and every other hour under the sun when a doctor wanted to come see me! But...I still woke up on my own at 4, ready to go to work if I had to! Instead, I just called the NICU and checked up on Noah to see how he was doing. Of course, everything was fine. When I woke up around 9:30, I had to take my medication. Oh, i didn't tell you guys that the doctors gave me like 16 million medications to go home with?! Ok maybe not 16 million but I am on 6 blood pressure medications, oxycodone (as necessary), an iron pill, and a watere pill. From the person who doesn't like to swallow pills?! This is a lot. At least 2 of them are patches, but everything else needs to be swalled....sigh. Here is a pic of my cocktail!

Carl went to work today, so i had to keep myself busy. What did I do? Re-arrange the blocks I had gotten for our maternity pic session (which was scheduled for August 21st) about 20 times to take a good pic. How did I do?

The doctor said that I can't drive for 1-2 weeks, which means I wil have to be dependent on someone to take me to the hospital to see Noah. Thank goodness for my awesome parents! They have been so supportive (as always!) this whole time. My dad came to pick me up around 1:30 (even though I wanted to be there by 2 for feeding and diaper changing...) and we spent a good amount of time at the hospital. Carl later came to the hospital to see Noah and to pick me up. He is an awesome dad! Even though he thinks that Noah is little, he has now begun to touch him without feeling like he is going to break him. I have the best two men in my life :-)

Day 9- July 27, 2011 (I'm going home... bittersweet)

Noah's Stats:
Oxygen Level: Mid 20s
Oxygen Machine: CPAP
Weight:

The day has finally come...I'm going home. I really don't know how to feel about this because it's not like I get to go home and I don't have to come back to this hospital...I actually have to drive a pretty good distance to get over here, and that's a big difference from walking down the hall to see him. My blood pressure this morning was 130/94. It's not where the doctors wanted it to be, but it has been pretty consistent and they felt comfortable sending me home with plenty of medication. Carl went to work that day, so my parents came to pick me up. I didn't know I had to much stuff to to take home from the hospital! It felt like I had moved in with all the bags I was packing up! The ONE thing I was happy about is that I wouldn't have to eat this nasty behind food that the hospital kept giving me! Yuck! But it was really hard to know that I would be leaving Noah behind :'-(.

I stopped by to go and visit him. I wish he were back on the nasal canula as opposed to the CPAP because this thing just covers all of his super handsome little face. I spoke life over him over and over and over. He was getting a blood transfusion that day because his breathing was off and they say that most of the time, this will help stabilize them. It was only 20ml, but it would take about 4 hours for the transfusion to be done. My parents got to the hospital, and it was time to go. I dont know how many times I delayed us leaving by going to the NICU to get little containers, and waiting for the nurse to provide me with information on how much Noah weighed since birth, etc. I finally went back to the room, got all my prescriptions, and called for transportation. Once they came, we got everything loaded up on the wheelchair and made our way downstairs. I tried my best to hold it in. I know I was with my parents, and really didn't want them to see me cry and then start to cry. The hallway to get downstairs was really long, so i just kocked my head to the side and let the tears flow slowly. Why am I leaving without him? I know he needs all the care that this wonderful team of nurses and doctors can give to him that I can't, but why can't I just stay until he's ready to go home? I felt like I had a hole in my heart. Would he know that I wasn't there? Would he feel like he was abandoned? Am I not being a good mother? All of these thoughts ran through my mind as we made it downstairs. I wanted to run back upstairs and let Noah know how much I love him, that I was sorry if I did anything that made him come early, that I would live my life making sure that his would be the best it could be. I was sorry....so sorry for leaving him, and never wanted for him to feel like he was abandoned by me, because he wasn't. If i could, I would have taken him with me, but i'm not an expert and can't make him get bigger and stronger without all of the methods and procedures that they can at the hospital. This was the feeling I dreaded...it had now become a reality.

I got in the car, and my dad began to pray for Noah before we left the parking lot. I couldn't hold it any longer and cried my heart out. They tried to console me, and I finally came to terms with it. When I got home, it felt like something was missing in the house. No one was kicking in my belly anymore, I wasn't walking around with my sunflower seeds, or throwing up...but I missed all of that. Instead, it was just Carl and I. I teared up a little, but knew it wasn't going to do me any good right about now. Carl really helped with the transition. I have a great husband. That night, i took my medication, called the NICU to see how Noah was doing, prayed with Carl, and went to bed. Tomorrow would be a better day.

Day 8- July 26, 2011 (An Ode to My Nurses!!!)

Noah's Stats

Oxygen Level: Mid 20s

Oxygen Machine: CPAP

Weight:

Ahhhh....my nurses! There have been so many over the past 8 days in the hospital. I must take the time out to salute the most memorable ones, who have made this experience very....interesting, despite the circumstances.

On the Mission Stephanie: This nurse right here tried to get me to swallow pills. I told her I don't swallow pills and she went to get some pudding to help me out. She told me "Oh you're going to swallow pills today!". This was on Day 2. She had about 6 spoons in a cup and told me to turn around. She was going to put the pill in one of the spoonfuls of pudding, and I wouldn't know which one it was in. Now...for most people, pudding goes down in 1 gulp. For me...i chew pudding, so this wasn't going to work. Of course, I found the pill each and every time, and after 30 minutes of trying to swallow the pill, she realized it wasn't going to work, called the doctor to prescribe another pill, and kept it moving. Thank you so much Stephanie for your effort. I truly appreciate you!

The Gold Toothed Lady: I can't believe I forgot her name, but she was one of the SWEETEST nurses I had. She always came in looking fresh, and kept my water cup and orange juice supply full! LOL. Now the gold teeth....i dont know why she even had them! On her 2 front teeth to make it worse! The 1st day she was my nurse, she let me know that she talked really fast, and I assumed that I could keep up with her, but with the amount of medication that I had in my system, sometimes she really DID talk too fast! Once my family came to visit me and were in the room, she began to WHISPER fast. Who the hell does that? How the hell am I supposed to understand what you are saying?! All I kept doing was looking in her mouth and picking up the important words she said, and then rephrasing everything to make sure I understood what she was saying. Yes, I know she was probably whispering for privacy reasons, but boy oh boy am I glad her breath didn't stink because she came so close to me when she was whispering that she almost bit off one of my eyeballs! Thank you so much for being such a gentle nurse. For taking out my staples efficiently, and making the experience a lot better then I expected it to be. You were the bomb!

Tight Panty Pam: Oh Pam, how you were the entertainment for my sister, Carl, and I for many nights. I laughed so hard I was afraid to bust open my incision! Every night you came wobbling in like a duck with pants and panties that were TOO tight, and insisted on bending down to grab the trash out of the garbage, or anything else that was on the floor. We all were hoping that the next time you came in, your pants would be a little looser so that your backside would breathe, but each and every time...you failed us! You were also forgetful about the orange juice, but that wasn't our biggest problem with you...it truly was the pants. We were truly afraid that if you passed gas, you would blow a hole right through those bad boys! LOL. Thanks Pam for being such a good nurse. You were very understanding and a pleasure to talk to :-)

Tough Cookie Elaine: Oh Elaine, I had a love/hate relationship with you. I loved mostly everything about you except when you told me that because my blood pressure was too high and that I would not be able to see my son in the NICU because you didn't want me walking around. I know this was your caring side, your awesome nurse values, but honestly if i had the strength, I would've punched you right in between your eyeballs when you uttered those words to me! It was very hard being stuck in a room and knowing that I cannot leave because in order for me to go to the NICU, I would have to pass the Nurses Desk. You made me stay in my bed for 3 nights woman, and I didn't enjoy it, not one bit! But I do thank you for being good to me the rest of the time.

Last but certainly not least...

Mrs. Marva Brown: This is the lady that got me to swallow pills! Well...her and the cutest motivation under the sun (Noah)! For all the days I had been there, every nurse crushed up my pills for me. When Mrs. Marva came, she told me she isn't crushing any pills for me today. I said "what?", she said that she will cut them with a pill cutter into smaller pieces, but that I will need to go ahead and swallow them just like that. And that's exactly what she did. She cut each pill into 4 pieces, and I went ahead and swallowed each piece. The next time I had to take pills, she came with all of the pills whole, dropped them on my tray, and left. I looked at the door thinking "What am I supposed to do with these pills?!" Well...i sucked it up and cut them in half and swallowed them. She kept coming with whole pills until the end of her shift. By the time 4 o'clock rolled around, I had swallowed my first pill! I was so excited that I ran (well...walked fast) to the Nurses Desk and told her " I SWALLOWED IT!!!!" She smiled at me, and said "Good". That's all she wrote. Before she left for the night, she came by and gave me a hug. I teared up. I was SO thankful to have had her as my nurse because she really pushed me to swallow these doggone pills, in her own special way. She was the best nurse in my book. Thank you Mrs. Brown for pushing me to where I needed to be. I will ALWAYS remember you :-)!

That's all folks!

Day 7- July 25, 2011 (Nurse Lillie= Nurse BANNED!!!)

Noah's Stats
Oxygen Level:
Oxygen Machine:
Weight:
Day Nurse: Lillie.....

Today was the day that my alter ego came out. Her name is Jessiqua. You probably don't know her unless you're family or one of my best friends because I usually do a pretty good job at keeping her from rising to the surface. Jessiqua comes out when I am enraged, to say the least. If you try to attack one of my family members, she will be there. If you try to do one of my best friends wrong, she will be there. And if you're the nurse that's on duty to watch over MY son and you're not doing your job...SHE WILL BE THERE!!!

With that said...please meet Lillie, the nurse who made Jessiqua show her face. Every morning, I call the NICU to see how Noah is doing. This morning when I call, the tech lets me know that Lillie is busy with another baby, and that she will call me back. No problemo, I understand that she has more than one baby to look after. She calls me back an hour later and lets me know how Noah is doing, etc. Around 12, I call again to get an update on him, because my head is really hurting and I don't feel like I can physically go to the NICU just yet. Again, the tech tells me that Lillie is busy with another baby and will give me a call back. So I wait. 1 o'clock....2 o'clock...3 O'CLOCK....really?! did you plan on ever calling me back?!

After seeing that 3 hours had passed and that this "nurse" didn't call me back, I went to go take a shower, brush my teeth, do my hair, and headed to the NICU. This chick must not have known that I was IN the hospital. She must've thought I was just a mom from the outside checking in. Little did she know I wasn't. I walked up to the NICU, got my sticker, washed my hands, and rolled in there (since I was holding on to a wheelchair for support, and also for a nice place to sit when I got in the room). So I see Lillie...chatting it up with the mom of the other baby that is in the room next door to Noah's. It really looks like they are gossiping about something, but I just pass by them. She let's me pass by her and doesn't even stop her conversation to acknowledge me. I get inside Noah's room, uncover the isolette, and then go get some foam so that I can touch him. All of a sudden I hear "Oh please don't do that!". Huh?! Hold up....What?! You actually see that I am present, and when you see me about to touch my son is when you want to utter your first words to me?! "Hi, you're Noah's mom? I'm Lillie. Yes, please don't open up the isolette. I will explain to you why in a few minutes". So...I wait! Once she is done with her conversation with the other mom, she strolls in Noah's room and begins to explain that she just gave him a bath and that his temperature is kind of low, so that's the reason as to why she didn't want me to open up the isolette; because his temperature hasn't gotten back up to where it's comfortable. I understand her reasoning behind it and then begin to question her about his stats, since she never bothered to call me back (and yes I DID tell her that).

She begins to tell me about how well he has done for her today, bla bla bla. This morning, Noah had a head ultrasound to determine if there was any bleeding in his brain. I asked her if the results came back. She looks in the computer and then comes back to say that a doctor is the one that should really interpret the results for me, and that she really isn't supposed to say anything, but the results appear to be normal, but I should contact Dr. Lugo if I have any questions. I ask her if it is possible for her to have Dr. Lugo contact me, or stop by to see me since I am in the hospital and he knows where my room is. She says she will. I politely leave and call it a day. I'll come back later because apparently, I can't touch Noah, and secondly...I didn't like her.

Later that day, my parents come to visit me, and then go visit Noah. My dad comes back and tells me news that probably made my blood pressure rise. When he got to the front desk of the NICU and passed the doors on his way to Noah's room, someone calls out to him "Are you here to see Noah? I'm his nurse". It's Lillie. Where was she? Chatting it up with the tech at the front desk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Noah's room is at LEAST 50-75 meters away from the front desk. His is actually the last room in the hallway. So what in the H-E-double hockey sticks are you doing at the front desk when your post is in between the 2 rooms of the babies that you should be watching?! THAT was the straw that broke the camel's back (in this case me.). I flipped! I was FURIOUS to say the least. I already didn't like the way she had been with me all day, but for her to have been at the front desk later on that night chatting before her shift was over....put a fork in me, i'm done.

So i text my sister and let her know of this. Of course she's as mad as me. I tried to let it go. I thought that maybe I should talk to someone about it, but then I really didn't want her to be on the same floor as him and when his nurse went to lunch, she would have to watch over him and then...you know...i mean you never know with someone. I don't want Noah to have to pay for anything because of the fact that I have a bone to pick with a nurse. But I couldn't take it. When i called that night to check up on Noah, I asked the tech if his Lillie was scheduled to be his nurse again tomorrow. She told me no. That made me really happy. She also said that if I did have a problem with her, that there was someone that I could speak to. I decided I might as well. The next morning when I called to check up on Noah, one of the Head Nurses wanted to speak to me to find out what the issue was. I explained to her that I didn't feel as if she was giving my child the proper care and that there were some things she did were negligent. She asked me if I wanted for her to not work with my son again, and I said yes. But then thought about it and said that I don't want her working with my son until I have a chat with her because I want to make sure that this was not a misunderstanding that could be cleared up. The Head Nurse told me that she could go ahead and set up a meeting with us, and that she will give me a call back to let me know when this would happen. I felt at ease then and was able to get a good night's sleep (as good as it could be in the hospital). So....Nurse Lillie is BANNED until further notice. That'll show you!

Day 6- July 24, 2011 (My sis left yesterday :-(...)

Noah's Stats

Oxygen Level: in the 20s
Oxygen Machine: Nasal Canula
Weight:

Noah has been doing pretty well on his oxygen levels, as well as starting to take in more of his feedings. He surely is one little boy that is L-O-V-E-D! My sister, Herline, came down on Tuesday night after we texted all of Monday during the day and night so she can be updated. She came and spent the whole week with us, traveling back and forth from my parents' house to the hospital everyday and staying until the wee hours of the morning chatting with Carl and I, and going to see her handsome godson, Noah! I love my sister....more than she will ever know. She's the kind of person that is willing to move mountains for me, as I would do for her! Seeing her leave was bittersweet. I know she has her family and responsibilities....but it felt so 'natural' to have her here! God knew what He was doing when He gave me such an awesome sister :-). Of course, she left yesterday, but since it was Carl's bday, I wanted to go ahead and dedicate that post to him. So here's to having an awesome sister. She plays MANY roles in my life, and I love her even more for it. Noah, you don't know how blessed you are to have this wonderful woman as your auntie and Godmom. She's simply AH-MAZING!

Day 5- July 23, 2011 (Daddy's Birthday!!!)

Noah's Stats

Oxygen Level: 21%
Oxygen Machine: Nasal Canula!!!!!
Weight: 2lb 2oz

First and foremost, I want to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the most wonderful husband AND father, the one who made me the Mom to the most handsome little boy in the entire world....my hubby Carl! May God continue to bless you abundantly and add many many more years to your life! I pray that this birthday is your best one yet, and even though I am terribly sad to be in the hospital on your birthday, it's for a great cause and I promise to make it up to you next year ;-)

I guess Noah wanted to wish his daddy a Happy Birthday as well because on this day, they removed the CPAP and changed him over to the nasal canula! The nasal canula looks like the little prongs they stick up your nose for oxygen prior to an operation. It's definitely not as invasive as the CPAP, and the best part of it is that we get to see a lot more of his face!

Today we got a visit from Grandma, Grandpa, Godmom/auntie, Mickey, Sandra, and Susie. It was a full house and they all got to see Noah! It was so nice to see everyone come to see my little snickerdoodle. A bittersweet day it was for me since the nurse told me that my blood pressure is too high and that I wasn't allowed to get out of bet and go to the NICU to see him. Don't get me wrong, it was great to hear everyone tell me how good he was looking and etc, but I really wanted to see what everyone else was talking about for myself and wasn't able to. Well...tomorrow's another day! Crossing my fingers that my blood pressure is better and that I can go see him. Thanks again for stopping by everyone!

" A man's worth is measure by how he parents his children. What he gives them, what he keeps away from them, the lessons he teaches and the lessons he allows them to learn on their own" - Lisa Rogers

Happy Birthday Daddy, Love Noah :-)

Day 4- July 22, 2011

Noah's Stats

Oxygen Level: 21%
Oxygen Machine: CPAP
Weight: 2lb 1 oz

Today was Noah's 2nd day of phototherapy, so I wasn't able to see his face but the nurses said that he appeared to be doing really well! His oxygen level was at 21%, which is the oxygen we breathe and wasn't showing any signs of difficulty.

On the other hand, my blood pressure is still high. A doctor came in today to ask me if I was ready to go home. My answer? No! I didn't want to be sent home with this uncontrollable blood pressure, and I definitely wasn't ready to leave Noah. I had a rough morning :-(. I cried for a good 30 minutes just thinking of the possibility of me being discharged and having to leave Noah behind. Carl had slept at the hospital with me that night and tried his best to console me. I called my sister and cried some more. Finally, Carl told me that this wasn't going to help my blood pressure at all and that everything was going to be fine with Noah; that he was receiving the best care possible here and that he would soon be home with us. It made me feel a teeny bit better, and I figured he was right. I didn't end up getting discharged that day, but just the possibility scared me. Gotta woman up!

" To a child's ear, 'mother' is magic in any language" - Arlene Benedict

Day 3- July 21, 2011

Noah's Stats:

Oxygen Level: Mid 20s
Oxygen Machine: CPAP
Bowel Movement? No
Weight: 2lb 1 oz

Today, Dr. Lugo said that it was ok to start Noah on breastmilk. They planned to give him 1ml every 3hrs in order to see if he was able to tolerate it, and if he was able to, they would go ahead and increase the dosage tomorrow. How exciting!

Pumping milk is a little hard...actually it's a lot harder than I thought. Maybe because I'm always so tired! Doing this every 2-3 hours has me doing this like it's a full time job! But I know that it is necessary for my little warrior. The amount that I am pumping is getting to be a little more then it was yesterday, but i'm still not filling that bottle to the top! Slowly but surely...i'll get there!

Also today, Noah started something called phototherapy. This is when they place him under a blue light because of the fact that he has jaundice and his bili rubin level is high. He has some hater blockers to cover his eyes from that very bright light. I really wasn't able to see much of his face today, but as long as he is getting better, I am greatful for it. Below is a pic of him during phototherapy. Hoping that his bili rubin levels go down within the next few days so I can see my son's handsome little face :-)

Day 2- July 20, 2011

Noah's stats:

Oxygen Level: Mid 20s
Oxygen Machine: CPAP

Bowel Movement? No

Weight: 2lb 1oz (apparently it is normal for babies to lose weight in the beginning, and then it will go back up)

Today, I went to go see my little man and he appeared to be doing well! My goodness, he is tiny, but i know that everything will be just fine regardless. The love of a mother is simply amazing...to be able to love someone from the minute that you meet them is incredible. Some of the fears that I had is that Noah wouldn't recognize me or feel who I was because I didn't get to hold him as soon as he came into this world. There are so many precautions that need to be taken when dealing with babies in the NICU. Wash your hands for at least 15 seconds with soap, then lotion, and then when you want to touch the baby, you have to foam up your hands. I am SO grateful for the precautions that people take for these little babies :-). I decided to stick my hand in Noah's isolette and touch him...he grabbed my hand and I felt so relieved! It was like he was telling me that I don't even need to worry about him not knowing who I am, because I AM his momma, and he knows that. He's a wonderful little boy...he's MY little boy!

The lactation specialist came in yesterday and provided me with a breast pump for me to start pumping while I'm in the hospital. She wants me to use it for one month because apparently THIS pump is better than the pump I was going to buy, for premature babies (at least for the 1st month of life). She makes me sign for the pump, and then immediately talks to be about Donor Milk. What is that you say?! Well apparently, if I cannot pump milk for myself, they have a company that will send breastmilk to the hospital and provide it to Noah. Needless to say, I wanted to make sure I could pump milk for myself because I just know that this Donor Milk was going to cost me an arm and a leg on top of the NICU bill! So...i tried the machine...and this is what I got :(! They told me not to worry and that milk will come in a few days, so i'm hoping that it gets better. Pray for me! Oh, and the reason as to why the milk is kind of yellow and thick is because this is COLOSTRUM. It's what will first come from a breast, and it has a lot of nutrients and stuff that help babies fight infections, etc. Some good stuff right here!

Day 1- July 19, 2011

Noah's stats:

Weight: 2lb 2oz
Bowel Movement: No
Air Machine: CPAP
Oxygen Level: probably mid 20s

He had a wonderful nurse...i just can't remember her name! One of the sweetest people. I thought she was a little rough with Noah, but she knew exactly what she was doing, and he didn't seem to mind.

My stats:
The doctors came to see me, said that I was recovering well. Blood pressure was still high, but it was getting better. Apparently, post partum lasts 6 weeks, so they believe that in 6 weeks, I should be back to normal. Hoping that I am :-)

Helpful Terms

I figured if you're going to be reading this blog, you're going to need to know some terms to keep up on how Noah's doing. So...here they are:

Blood gases: levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.
Brady: Slow heart rate.
C-PAP: Air is delivered to a baby's lungs through either small tubes in the baby's nose, or through a tube that has been inserted into a windpipe. The tubes are attached to a mechanical ventilator, which helps the baby breathe, but doesn't breathe for him.
Echocardiogram: A specialized form of ultrasound that is used to examine the heart.
Kangaroo Care: Holding a baby with skin-to-skin contact.
Nasal Cannula: Soft plastic tubing that goes around a baby's head and under his nose, where there are openings (prongs) to deliver oxygen.
NICU: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Oxygen level: The level that a child breathes (we breathe 21% oxygen)
Phototherapy: Treatment for jaundice, involving placin the baby under blue fluorescent lights, sometimes called bililights.

That's pretty much all I have for now, if the doctor tells me anymore terms, then I will go ahead and add them here, and make this a reference point :-).

You know what's so amazing about all this?!

The most amazing thing about all of this is that a few days ago, I had a conversation with God about Noah. I had been really sick the past couple of weeks and felt like 12 more weeks was soooooo far away when it came to giving birth. I wasn't sure that my body could carry Noah for that long :-(. I told God that if for whatever reason Noah happened to come early, He needed to promise me that everything was going to be ok; but if things looked a little hazy, then I would just deal with this sickness for the next 12 weeks. All I can say is that God must have known that my body truly wasn't able to continue carrying my precious son.

Despite throwing up 4 times a day, hating the smell of most rooms wherever I went, having to consistently spit in a bottle, eating sunflower seeds to try and keep from spitting, backaches, and waking up every hour, I loved each and every moment of my pregnancy! I loved going to the doctor's office to see my little "cashew" that has now turned into a big boy, I loved rubbing on my belly and getting kicked from the inside, I loved putting Carl's hand on my belly so he could feel all those kicks on the outside, I loved watching my belly grow, I loved buying clothes for him, but most importantly, I loved that God chose me to be Noah's mom. Motherhood is a blessing that unfortunately some people take for granted. As for me, I was honored! As Ecclesiastes 3 says "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens..." I guess this was Noah's time to be born, and my time to become a mother. This role makes me feel complete, and I am so excited about where this journey will take us :-)!

"Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn't know you had, and dealing with fears you didn't know existed" - Linda Wooten

I went in for a regular Dr's visit, and then...

everything went into whirlwind mode!

I had a Dr's appointment at 11:30 am on Monday morning (July 18th) to see how the baby was growing and also to see if there was a possibility that I may have gestational diabetes, since my mother had it when she was pregnant with me. Carl and I had bought tickets for us to go to NY on Friday (July 22nd), so he switched his days off from Monday/Tuesday to Friday/Saturday in order to not miss too many days of work. Well...he forgot to tell me that...and I'm assuming also forgot that we had a Dr's appointment, so he wasn't able to come along that day. I called my mother and asked her if she would mind coming with me. Of course she said YES! By the time i got to her house to pick her up, my father was finishing up getting ready because he wanted to come to the appointment with us as well.


I had been really sick the week before and told myself that I needed to go ahead and write down all of my symptoms so that I can share them with my OB, including the massive headache I woke up with that morning. My symptoms were:

- vomiting excessively

- swollen feet

- headache

- spitting

- excessive mucus

As you can see, I was ready to tell the doctor EVERYTHING! I had been hesitant in the past to take this medication called Zofran because I thought it was Zoloft (which is a depression medication), but today would be the day that I was going to ask for that prescription!

I walked into the doctor's office a little late. They brought me back, looked at my urine sample, and took my blood pressure. All of a sudden, everyone was looking at me kinda funny....they re-took my blood pressure (BP) and asked me if I was ok. I told them "yes". Well....my BP was about 180/120 when in reality it should be somewhere around the lines of 130/70 or something like that....people with that high of a blood pressure have a tendency to stroke out, and so the doctor made sure that she was very careful when handling my case.

After finishing up the test for gestational diabetes, my OBGYN told me that I should go over to the hospital where I planned to give birth, and see if they could go ahead and hopefully stabilize my blood pressure. She also told me that if push came to shove, they may have to transfer me to another hospital downtown because they specialize in babies that are less than 34 weeks, whereas my hospital didn't. Thank goodness my father had come along because he was able to drive me to the hospital! We got there, ate lunch, and then went up to Labor and Delivery.

To make a long story short (sorry it took so long to get here...LOL) they weren't able to stabilize my blood pressure. MY OBGYN came and told me that there is a possibility thay I may have a BABY today, and that it may be through C-SECTION. An ambulance came to get me but saw my blood pressure was too high so they refused to take me on board. I waited for another ambulance to show up, it did, and we went down I-4 in about 10 minutes. I got to the downtown hospital and they got my vitals, tell me that it doesn't look good, and then...say we're going to get ready for a c-section in 45 minutes. All I could say was "OK". I mean really...what else could I really say? I have a child inside of me that is in danger, I am in danger, and the only cure for this SEVERE pre-eclampsia is for me to deliver him ASAP. So i put on my "big girl pants" and did what I had to do! Although throughout the whole day, I had a sense of God's peace. I was never worried! From the time the doctors told me about the high BP, the possible strokes, or the fact that I may give birth...I never worried about how things were going to come together, because I knew that God was in control!

Ok back to making the story short... we go inside the c-section room, they give me anasthesia, and let Carl in. I hold his hand and sing praise songs while they are cutting me open, and at 9:48pm my little Noah Alexander was born! They sew me back up, patch me up, and place me in a recovery room for what seemed like an eternity (although i think it was like 3 hrs). I got to see my son at 2:30am the next day...(1st pic I saw of him below) and fell in love immediately. A few hours later I was knocked out in a bed, severely drugged up, but glad that all of this was over, and that my son was here....i was a MOM :-)

How did we get here so fast?!

Our little boy Noah was set to grace the world with his presence on October 9,2011 but decided to shake things up and showed up on July 18, 2011 at 9:48pm due to some complications that I apparently was having. All of this was unexpected and now...i've entered a whole new world with terms and numbers that are very unfamiliar to me, but that I am willing to learn in order to provide my son with any and everything that he needs and will need in the future. I imagine that this blog may be emotional on some days, and very heartwarming on others. I just wanted to find a place where I can express all of my emotions and jot down all the memories I have surrounding Noah's birth, his process through the NICU, and his transition home. Carl, Noah, and I appreciate the prayers, love, and support we have received thus far from our wonderful families and friends! Please know that it continues to strengthen us everyday and has made a great deal of difference in our lives.


Thanks for reading :-)