A lot has happened since I last updated this blog. Wyatt has lived in the NICU since the 15th and is expected to stay there till October 27th, his actual due date. We have had a lot of ups and downs in the last week and a half. Lots of joy and tears, breakdowns and celebrations, fear and ultimately trust again in the Lord's sovereignty even in this tumultuous time in our lives.
We are living in Springfield at the Ronald McDonald House. It is such a blessing! The house is amazing and the staff take wonderful care of us. They are totally spoiling the kids and we are loving being together as a family. Mitch has to go back to work tomorrow so it will be just me and the kids in Springfield and my mom is going to be there too until we get to take Wyatt home.
So here is the update. Wyatt was off of respiratory treatments, breathing on his own, maintaining his body heat, and was started on a feeding tube and was up to 18 milliliters per feeding on the 17th. Mitch also gave him his first bath that day. He had to be put under the bili lights because his bilirubin level went from a 8 to a 14.5 in less than 12 hours. He opened both of his eyes for the first time on the 18th. Until then it he would just open his left eye. It was fun to see him open his eyes and be more awake that day. He continued to do well with digesting food and took a pacifier for the first time on the 19th. Premature babies work from taking a pacifier to taking a bottle and then move to mom. So taking a pacifier for the first time was a great step.
One really cool thing happened on the 20th, a harpist actually came into the NICU to play for the babies. It was really neat to hear the music and cool that she comes to give the gift of music to the babies.
Another step forward on the 21st at 1 pm Wyatt took his first bottle and drank 10mls! We are on the way!!
I got to have my first skin to skin touch time with Wyatt on the 21st at 7pm. Mitch took the kids to a football game that night and they had a blast. They took Wyatt's pic line out so he was no longer on IV fluids after 10pm and he drank again from the bottle with Mitch.
Wyatt took another bottle the next day and I was telling the kids about it at breakfast. Kennedi asked "how many mls of milk do you want me to drink mama?" Too cute.
Wyatt is still under the lights on the 22nd and having a hard time keeping warm in an open crib with just a diaper on so they put him in an enclosed crib to help keep him warm. It helped a lot, hopefully he will be in an open crib once his bilirubin levels come down to a 7.
We had a step back today. Saturday the 24th. They had to start fortifying my milk with additional protein and minerals and Wyatt did not handle it very well. He didn't digest it at all overnight, so they had to put in an IV line again and reduced his feedings from 40mls to 19. It was really hard to see that IV back in and to see him go from doing well to not handling food. We had good talks with the doctor and nurse practitioner and felt better. Thankfully he was doing better the next day.
Kennedi and William get to visit Wyatt once a week for 30 minutes. They met him for the first time on Saturday the 17th. Kennedi had a lot of sweet things to say. "He's so cute" "I love him so much" William didn't have much to say. Wyatt is not very entertaining right now. Kennedi isn't very happy that she can't touch him, hold him or kiss him. She really wants to cuddle.
More to come...
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Welcome Wyatt
Wyatt was born Sept. 15th at 2:04 pm. He was 34 weeks and after 10 weeks of living in a very shallow pool, it was time for him to make his way into the world.
He arrived as we expected, weak and needing lots of help. But soon showed us the "war strength" (the meaning of his name) that was in him. And that all the prayer for the last 10 weeks was powerful indeed.
He was intubated as soon as he got to the NICU. His lungs were premature and not working as well as the doctors would have liked. The doctor thought he would be on the respirator for at least a few days. After a dose of surflactant (lung medicine) and a short 14 hours, the tube was out. He was breathing on his own with a shield that increased the oxygen level to give a bit of a boost. He continued to have the shield for the rest of the day on Friday but by the end of the day didn't even need that anymore.
He was being fed through and iv with glucose water and under a heating element to keep him warm. But the fact that he was breathing so well day 1 was a miracle.
We got to hold him for the first time at 7pm Friday. It was wonderful!!!! Finally cried. Such joy in being a mom and loving the children that I have been given. It was so sweet to finally just be with him and not have to watch others take care of him. Have loved every minute of holding him since. Mitch took tons of pictures and I'll put some up in the next day or so.
Saturday was another day of greatness for little Wyatt. We came to see him first thing in the morning and he was in a normal crib. He was a good weight so they thought they'd see if he could maintain his body temp. Mitch got to change his diaper and put on his very first outfit. Then we wrapped him up and held him for a while. They had also said that it would probably be a few days till he could start a feeding tube with formula and/or breast milk, but they were starting that at 2pm. He is such a strong boy! I got to hold him for the full 30 minutes it took for him to get the 10 mls of formula and then held him awhile longer so reflux wouldn't be an issue. He did so great that they started adding 2 mls per feeding all day long!
Kennedi and William came to meet him. They were so excited and got to wear little gowns to keep the germs off. They liked dressing up and getting to meet Wyatt. Kennedi was sad that she couldn't hold him or touch him yet but kept saying that she loved him and he was so cute and he looked like her. William was not so enthusiastic but he's 2 so go figure. He had a good attitude and smiled for all the pictures so that is really good.
By the end of the day Wyatt has already been taken off respiratory treatments and his breathing well on his own, is maintaining his body heat, digesting the food well enough for them to continue to increase it, and had his first bm!
We are such proud parents and are so thankful to God for taking such great care of him! We are blessed to be chosen to care for him and blessed to see every day how powerful God is to heal and protect this little one.
Thanks again for your prayers...more Wyatt fun to come!
He arrived as we expected, weak and needing lots of help. But soon showed us the "war strength" (the meaning of his name) that was in him. And that all the prayer for the last 10 weeks was powerful indeed.
He was intubated as soon as he got to the NICU. His lungs were premature and not working as well as the doctors would have liked. The doctor thought he would be on the respirator for at least a few days. After a dose of surflactant (lung medicine) and a short 14 hours, the tube was out. He was breathing on his own with a shield that increased the oxygen level to give a bit of a boost. He continued to have the shield for the rest of the day on Friday but by the end of the day didn't even need that anymore.
He was being fed through and iv with glucose water and under a heating element to keep him warm. But the fact that he was breathing so well day 1 was a miracle.
We got to hold him for the first time at 7pm Friday. It was wonderful!!!! Finally cried. Such joy in being a mom and loving the children that I have been given. It was so sweet to finally just be with him and not have to watch others take care of him. Have loved every minute of holding him since. Mitch took tons of pictures and I'll put some up in the next day or so.
Saturday was another day of greatness for little Wyatt. We came to see him first thing in the morning and he was in a normal crib. He was a good weight so they thought they'd see if he could maintain his body temp. Mitch got to change his diaper and put on his very first outfit. Then we wrapped him up and held him for a while. They had also said that it would probably be a few days till he could start a feeding tube with formula and/or breast milk, but they were starting that at 2pm. He is such a strong boy! I got to hold him for the full 30 minutes it took for him to get the 10 mls of formula and then held him awhile longer so reflux wouldn't be an issue. He did so great that they started adding 2 mls per feeding all day long!
Kennedi and William came to meet him. They were so excited and got to wear little gowns to keep the germs off. They liked dressing up and getting to meet Wyatt. Kennedi was sad that she couldn't hold him or touch him yet but kept saying that she loved him and he was so cute and he looked like her. William was not so enthusiastic but he's 2 so go figure. He had a good attitude and smiled for all the pictures so that is really good.
By the end of the day Wyatt has already been taken off respiratory treatments and his breathing well on his own, is maintaining his body heat, digesting the food well enough for them to continue to increase it, and had his first bm!
We are such proud parents and are so thankful to God for taking such great care of him! We are blessed to be chosen to care for him and blessed to see every day how powerful God is to heal and protect this little one.
Thanks again for your prayers...more Wyatt fun to come!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Expect the Unexpected
We were wheeled over to labor and delivery Wednesday night at 10pm. We were excited and nervous but hopeful that all would go well and that I would deliver Wyatt sometime the next day.
The doctors had anticipated that I would be dilated to at least a one and be able to use a non-medical procedure to help me progress. Sadly after I was checked I was not a full one and was not able to do that procedure.
Pitocin it is. Bummer.
They started off slowly but I was soon contracting every 2 to 4 minutes. I wasn't able to sleep. Not because it hurt too bad, just a lot of distractions: Blood pressure checks, alarms on the iv drip going off, etc. After 12 hours of labor the doctor checked me again and I had not progressed past a 1 and still could not get the balloon in place. A few hours later the doctor came back in with news that Wyatt's heart rate had been erratic for over an hour and that after much thought and consulting with the high risk doctor, they thought it was time to get him out. If I had been dilated at all they would have been more patient, but because it looked like we would be in labor for another 12 hours or more. And Wyatt wasn't going to handle that much more labor.
I was disappointed, but the labor had been the hardest of all three labors so I was ready to be done. Just didn't want another caesarian. But God was in control and the doctors that were there were given to my by Him to take care of both Wyatt and myself. So I chose to trust their decision. Very shortly I was wheeled to the operating room.
I was really nervous. Last time I had a caesarian I was totally under. The idea of being awake for it was a bit menacing. But they got me all ready and let Mitch come in and then a few minutes and some very uncomfortable pushing by the doctor on my belly later, Wyatt was born and the neonatologist was looking him over. Mitch got to see him before they took him to the NICU. He said he looked just like Kennedi. It was weird not to get to see him or hold him after he was born. He didn't cry or anything either. They had to help him breath at first. All very strange but God took good care of him. And the pain of rest of the procedure soon distracted me from wondering how he was.
After being monitored for 2 hours they let me go see Wyatt in the NICU. He didn't seem too small at the time. All the wires and tubes going in and out of him were a bit daunting but he seemed to be doing well and was in good hands. So with the help of my friend morphine, I let them do their jobs and went back to the room to sleep.
More about Wyatt to come...
The doctors had anticipated that I would be dilated to at least a one and be able to use a non-medical procedure to help me progress. Sadly after I was checked I was not a full one and was not able to do that procedure.
Pitocin it is. Bummer.
They started off slowly but I was soon contracting every 2 to 4 minutes. I wasn't able to sleep. Not because it hurt too bad, just a lot of distractions: Blood pressure checks, alarms on the iv drip going off, etc. After 12 hours of labor the doctor checked me again and I had not progressed past a 1 and still could not get the balloon in place. A few hours later the doctor came back in with news that Wyatt's heart rate had been erratic for over an hour and that after much thought and consulting with the high risk doctor, they thought it was time to get him out. If I had been dilated at all they would have been more patient, but because it looked like we would be in labor for another 12 hours or more. And Wyatt wasn't going to handle that much more labor.
I was disappointed, but the labor had been the hardest of all three labors so I was ready to be done. Just didn't want another caesarian. But God was in control and the doctors that were there were given to my by Him to take care of both Wyatt and myself. So I chose to trust their decision. Very shortly I was wheeled to the operating room.
I was really nervous. Last time I had a caesarian I was totally under. The idea of being awake for it was a bit menacing. But they got me all ready and let Mitch come in and then a few minutes and some very uncomfortable pushing by the doctor on my belly later, Wyatt was born and the neonatologist was looking him over. Mitch got to see him before they took him to the NICU. He said he looked just like Kennedi. It was weird not to get to see him or hold him after he was born. He didn't cry or anything either. They had to help him breath at first. All very strange but God took good care of him. And the pain of rest of the procedure soon distracted me from wondering how he was.
After being monitored for 2 hours they let me go see Wyatt in the NICU. He didn't seem too small at the time. All the wires and tubes going in and out of him were a bit daunting but he seemed to be doing well and was in good hands. So with the help of my friend morphine, I let them do their jobs and went back to the room to sleep.
More about Wyatt to come...
Monday, September 12, 2011
Due date and Time
We now have an official time when they will wheel me out of this room that I have lived in for 2 1/2 months and take me to labor and delivery. They will move me over at 10 pm this Wednesday! Less than 3 days from now. How unbelievable is that?! And we will start the induction process that night.
Please keep us in your prayers that all will go well and we will all be safe. We are in His hands but it is still hard not to be a little anxious about this unknown. I know he will be faithful so I will hold to that. Thanks in advance for all your prayers for the labor process. We will update Facebook and this blog when little Wyatt makes his way into this world.
Thanks for following us through this process. I'm sure life in the NICU will give me plenty to fill you in on as well.
Still so thankful to God for giving us the full 34 weeks of pregnancy and great doctors here at St. Johns Mercy. And for all of you and the prayers that you have sent on our behalf.
He is faithful, He is Mighty. Praise the Lord.
Please keep us in your prayers that all will go well and we will all be safe. We are in His hands but it is still hard not to be a little anxious about this unknown. I know he will be faithful so I will hold to that. Thanks in advance for all your prayers for the labor process. We will update Facebook and this blog when little Wyatt makes his way into this world.
Thanks for following us through this process. I'm sure life in the NICU will give me plenty to fill you in on as well.
Still so thankful to God for giving us the full 34 weeks of pregnancy and great doctors here at St. Johns Mercy. And for all of you and the prayers that you have sent on our behalf.
He is faithful, He is Mighty. Praise the Lord.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
33 weeks!
We are 33 weeks today. 7 days from today and Wyatt will be here. I little intimidating, yes, but exciting too. The weeks and months that follow are a total unknown to us. We've never had a premi before. But God has taken us this far, so I know he will continue to carry us through.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. We'll let you know when he gets here!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. We'll let you know when he gets here!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Week 9
I have now lived here for 62 days. Tomorrow will be our 33 week mark. How amazing is that? In 8 days I will be holding a baby boy! Can't believe it. Feels weird that I have been waiting for 9 weeks for this but am still anxious about the reality of the 15th being Wyatt's birthday. You'd think that since I've had two kids already the idea of a newborn would be a snap to grasp but not quite. Lots of unknowns that I don't really want to think about...but will become reality soon enough. So thankful that starting on Saturday afternoon, Mitch will be off for two weeks. Couldn't have planned that better ourselves could we? God is so good! We also have family in town, my dad's cousin, that have opened their home to us to stay as long as we need. They live just up the road and have given us free reign of their basement when we need it and as long as we need it. How amazing is that?! Again, God is good!
So even though things are scary and unknown, I Know that He will take care of us, No matter what!
Here are a few verses I found today. Take a look. God is good. He is good All Of The Time!
Psalm 146: 1-2
Praise the LORD! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lords as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Psalm 146:5-10
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!
Psalm 147:3-5
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
Psalm 147:10-11
His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
So even though things are scary and unknown, I Know that He will take care of us, No matter what!
Here are a few verses I found today. Take a look. God is good. He is good All Of The Time!
Psalm 146: 1-2
Praise the LORD! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lords as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Psalm 146:5-10
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!
Psalm 147:3-5
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
Psalm 147:10-11
His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Finding Peace
There have been many ups and downs in the last 61 days here at the hospital. Sunday night I had another down. I had been praying for peace for a few days. Feeling silly that I had less than 2 weeks left and was finding it so hard to have joy. I asked and asked God to give me peace but it did not come. That night watching my kids drive away was more than I could handle. The tears came and I let them come. I may be closer to the end but that doesn't diminish the trail that I have been going though. Thankfully Mitch got to stay with me that night since his parents were in town taking care of the kids. We had a lot of fun together but my mood was still fluctuating. That night we had just gone to bed and I couldn't sleep. I laid there for 2o minutes or so but sleep alluded me. I prayed for rest, for peace, for hope... finally I got up to go to the bathroom and started to cry again. I was tired not sleepy just tired. Tired of being here without my family, tired of this hospital room, tired of my circumstance. Mitch woke up and prayed with me and had good words of encouragement as well. After reading for awhile and praying some more I finally fell asleep.
I woke the next day with joy. I was so thankful for it because it had been days since I had felt real joy, joy of the Lord. We had a great day that day. Our friends the Phaups came to visit on their way out of town (we love them so much and seeing them even for a short time was very uplifting), Mitch's parents got to spend some more time with us before they left to go back to Texas (we had such a great time with them over Labor Day weekend and were so blessed to have them here. The kids love them so much and we were all sad to see them go. But still grateful that they got to come at all. We miss them very much), and my parents came for the week (I am glad that they are here and that my mom is staying till after Wyatt is born. It is nice to know that we will have the help we need to get back to life as "usual" after all of this. Whatever the usual will look like with three kids. But at least we will be home and be together!!! Amen to that!)
When spending time with the Lord this morning I was finishing a devotional that Mitch's Nanie sent me and it was on Peace. Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You."
My peace was not an instant peace, not the peace that I wanted days ago. My peace came with daily, sometimes hourly supplication to the Lord. I wanted it to come quickly...have I learned nothing from my waiting here at the hospital? But God in his mercy made me wait. And in the waiting came a deeper dependence on Him for the peace that I so desired. I could not make it come. I did not have the strength. But He did. And how much sweeter was the answer for having had to wait for it.
Most of my lessons take time to learn...Thankful that He is willing to take the time to help me learn to trust him for the outcome and not myself. His power is made perfect in my weakness.
I woke the next day with joy. I was so thankful for it because it had been days since I had felt real joy, joy of the Lord. We had a great day that day. Our friends the Phaups came to visit on their way out of town (we love them so much and seeing them even for a short time was very uplifting), Mitch's parents got to spend some more time with us before they left to go back to Texas (we had such a great time with them over Labor Day weekend and were so blessed to have them here. The kids love them so much and we were all sad to see them go. But still grateful that they got to come at all. We miss them very much), and my parents came for the week (I am glad that they are here and that my mom is staying till after Wyatt is born. It is nice to know that we will have the help we need to get back to life as "usual" after all of this. Whatever the usual will look like with three kids. But at least we will be home and be together!!! Amen to that!)
When spending time with the Lord this morning I was finishing a devotional that Mitch's Nanie sent me and it was on Peace. Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You."
My peace was not an instant peace, not the peace that I wanted days ago. My peace came with daily, sometimes hourly supplication to the Lord. I wanted it to come quickly...have I learned nothing from my waiting here at the hospital? But God in his mercy made me wait. And in the waiting came a deeper dependence on Him for the peace that I so desired. I could not make it come. I did not have the strength. But He did. And how much sweeter was the answer for having had to wait for it.
Most of my lessons take time to learn...Thankful that He is willing to take the time to help me learn to trust him for the outcome and not myself. His power is made perfect in my weakness.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Celebrating 28 weeks picture
Steve and Brenda said that if we made it to 28 weeks we would have to have a party. They took it upon themselves to supply the treats and balloons! How cool is that?! They are very sweet and we are very blessed by them. Love you both!!!
32 weeks!
I can't believe we made it! Only 14 days left and we'll have beaten all the odds.
I've lived in the hospital for 57 days and am in the less than 1% of women who stay pregnant this long after a premature rupture of membranes. All is going well. We had a bit of a scare on Friday...some contractions that turned out to be nothing but they sure did drive me to pray, pray, pray! God was gracious to keep Wyatt safely inside me another week! Even if I were to have him today he would be so much better off than a week ago. We are ever so thankful for every day that Wyatt has had to grow inside my "incubator" as the doctors here like to call it :-)
We had an ultrasound this week and it all looked good. Wyatt is growing well and they think he's about 4 lbs 4 oz. All of his organs etc looked great and though the amniotic fluid is down to a 4 they don't seem worried about it. All of our Non Stress Tests are still going well and he moves around a lot! All good things as far as his health and safety go. So keep Praising God with us, he is doing great things!
Mitch's parents got here last night and are taking care of the kids for a few days. We are so glad that they got to come up. Part of me wants to have Wyatt while they are here so they can meet him, but we'll let God's timing be sovereign (not that we have a choice). It is great to have family here. We were so blessed by those of you that opened your homes to our children. We couldn't have made it through this without you. But there is something about the kids getting to stay home and Mitch not having to drive somewhere every day that makes life less stressful. And he deserves less stress. That man has taken on all of my jobs while still doing his. He even mopped the floor last week! I got a great guy in him and am more thankful for him every day. Thanks honey, I love you!
I've lived in the hospital for 57 days and am in the less than 1% of women who stay pregnant this long after a premature rupture of membranes. All is going well. We had a bit of a scare on Friday...some contractions that turned out to be nothing but they sure did drive me to pray, pray, pray! God was gracious to keep Wyatt safely inside me another week! Even if I were to have him today he would be so much better off than a week ago. We are ever so thankful for every day that Wyatt has had to grow inside my "incubator" as the doctors here like to call it :-)
We had an ultrasound this week and it all looked good. Wyatt is growing well and they think he's about 4 lbs 4 oz. All of his organs etc looked great and though the amniotic fluid is down to a 4 they don't seem worried about it. All of our Non Stress Tests are still going well and he moves around a lot! All good things as far as his health and safety go. So keep Praising God with us, he is doing great things!
Mitch's parents got here last night and are taking care of the kids for a few days. We are so glad that they got to come up. Part of me wants to have Wyatt while they are here so they can meet him, but we'll let God's timing be sovereign (not that we have a choice). It is great to have family here. We were so blessed by those of you that opened your homes to our children. We couldn't have made it through this without you. But there is something about the kids getting to stay home and Mitch not having to drive somewhere every day that makes life less stressful. And he deserves less stress. That man has taken on all of my jobs while still doing his. He even mopped the floor last week! I got a great guy in him and am more thankful for him every day. Thanks honey, I love you!
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