Remember sweet little Leesia?

The first little angel I fell in love with from Reece's Rainbow.... is about to come HOME!!  Just another week or two and she'll be flying home along with another sweet little boy from her orphanage to join three other little ones at home who were adopted last year.  Check out all the adorable photos!

http://whitesadoptionjourney.blogspot.com/

Her mama's blog is also on the right hand column under the blogs I follow: Fetching Angels

Johanna is her new name, and she is FULL of personality! :))

My Favorite Thing #7- Chatimal Voice Recorder/Stuffed Toy

Several months back, Evan's speech therapist recommended getting a voice activated toy that will repeat back what you say.  This would encourage Evan to continue making speech sounds and converse back and forth.  The only toy like this I had seen before was a parrot toy at a Cracker Barrel restaurant, and I knew that wouldn't really be appropriate for Evan at his young age.  I wanted something he could hold.

I began my search online and found this cute Chatimal guy:

This cutie is 8" tall- press his little hand and then talk, and he will repeat back what you said only in a cute higher pitched voice (and moves his lil mouth while he talks of course ;) ).  He will go back and forth about three times before you have to press his hand again- a little red light appears so you know when he's "listening".  All the kids have loved playing with it!  Evan has been enjoying it more and more these days as he has really shown an interest in imitating sounds as well as signs.  

Happily ever after....

I have been quite wrapped up in a few adoption blogs lately.... sweet little angels finally finding their forever families....turns me to MUSH!!  Just thinking about what all they have missed these first years of their lives, even the littlest things like giggles- how many times do these angels have reason to giggle while being raised in an orphanage or institution?



I just found this sweet little angel, Dariya, today. :) Such a sweetheart!  You can find her story here:

http://lifeandtimesofalayna.blogspot.com/

The one little girl who has totally consumed me the past couple weeks- precious Mia Kareen.  I can't watch this video without bawling- I lose it as soon as she gets to the car!  You see, Mia's mom blogged earlier about how Mia loved to look at cars while at the orphanage and longed to take a ride in one.... yet if she weren't rescued, the only car ride she would receive would be to an institution.  How excited she would be boarding the car, thinking she was going on some grand adventure... only to be lead into her worst nightmare which would be her life.  But her wish of finding a family to call her own has been granted and she will be arriving home tomorrow. :) I could watch this video all day... accompanied by a huge box of tissues of course. :)




I swear the scene with the pigeons is out of a movie!  I could easily see Mia as the next Disney princess! ;) She is already living her happily ever after. <3  Please do take a few minutes to peruse through her blog- there are soooo many fabulous photos of little Mia showing off her sweet and spunky personality!!  Love her to bits.

And of course, Kirill.... what a movie his story would make... parents going to court only to be denied... and then the whole appeal to the Supreme Court.... to finally coming HOME.



Hoping to share some other very exciting news in the near future, so stay tuned! :)

Justin's birth story- Part 2

So, we had settled into a routine after I was discharged from the hospital.  Thankfully Kaylin was still enrolled in daycare- I had planned on taking her out after I finished school in mid June; she was already registered for preschool two mornings a week beginning at the end of August.  I prayed Justin would be home before Kaylin began preschool so we wouldn't have to worry about schedule conflicts.  This seemed feasible when he first moved up to the satellite nursery in early July.

Kaylin was handling everything very well since her routine was pretty much uninterrupted with going to daycare.  I just happened to be driving a lot farther away each day, and I was usually gone part of the day on weekends also.  I needed to be at the hospital as much as possible, especially to breastfeed.  Justin was nursing well- actually surprised me how quickly he caught on since I had read how preemies often have trouble latching on and have a weak suck.  Let me tell you- he picked up breastfeeding much faster than Kaylin did at birth, and he was SO much more efficient- finishing in 10 minutes as opposed to an hour plus for Kaylin! LOL

Justin in his "aquarium" as Daddy called it

I would drop off Kaylin at daycare in the morning and drive the hour and a half down to the hospital, praying I could find parking in the closer garage, but that didn't always work out.  Then I had to cross my fingers there was still parking available at the next closest garage a couple blocks away, which I usually managed to find a space... but on an occasion or two I had to find parking at yet another garage a few more blocks away.  The security guards at the front lobby recognized me each day, as well as the attendants on the NICU floor, and I was very rarely stopped to show my bracelet.  Not really something I was proud of... I wanted my baby HOME.

I was extremely bitter after Justin was born- the last thing I wanted to hear was, "Congratulations!!"  I was not celebrating.  I was mourning the loss of my third trimester- I should still be enjoying pregnancy and feeling my baby move inside me.  I loved being pregnant, and felt like I was robbed.  I got angry whenever I saw a pregnant woman out in public.  That should be ME dammit.  Instead I must trudge down to the hospital everyday, leaving my other baby behind, chaining myself to a breast pump throughout the day and night- this all was extremely exhausting, both physically and mentally.  I loved my baby to death, but he should still be protected and growing inside me.

So, Justin was in the satellite nursery, his nurse Brenda taking very good care of him.... but I mentioned he was having trouble with his red blood cells and required another transfusion.  He was still having episodes with his heart rate dropping, and often needed some blow-by oxygen for a few seconds to bring him back up to speed.  Then things came to a crashing stop....

Justin not looking so well, even after his transfusion

It was in the afternoon, and I was getting ready to change his diaper before nursing him for the last time that day, as I would be heading home to get Kaylin.  I open his diaper.  It is FULL of bright red blood. Oh. My. God.

I call over to Brenda- she was tending to one of the other three babies in the room.  Now standard practice in the NICU is to test every stool for traces of blood- there is a simple test kit- you smear a small amount of stool onto the slide, close the flap, turn it over, and place a few drops of a special developer on the other side to look for a color change.  She didn't realize the quantity of blood I was talking about, and casually asked if I had done the test.  No, Brenda, you don't understand.  She walks over, takes a look, and immediately picks up the phone.

Doctors rush in and examine him, and I am bawling my eyes out.  What is wrong with my baby??  What could have caused this?  Was it the transfusion yesterday?  They assure me the transfusion wouldn't have caused this.  He is immediately taken off all feeds and put back on an IV.  *sigh* His little arms and legs were already littered with so many little scars from his previous IV's before moving to the satellite nursery.  He even had a couple placed in his scalp since they had run out of veins.  Each IV only seemed to last a few days before it would be knocked out of place or his tiny vein would collapse.  They always had me leave the room when placing an IV in him, and I was happy to step out as it would break my heart to see my baby crying in pain while the nurses work for sometimes a lengthy amount of time to find a good vein in his teeny tiny body.  But, I had been in the room when other babies were getting IV's placed, and I am amazed at the nurses' ability to perform this task. They usually darkened the room, and used a light to shine through the baby's arm or leg to find a vein since their little premature bodies were so small.  Nonetheless, it was always heartbreaking to see the tiny little baby restrained while being poked and prodded, their teeny tiny voices crying as loudly as they could.... heartbreaking since they should still be inside their mommy's tummy, protected safe and sound from the outside world and these foreign objects.

Justin was now moving to the surgical unit of the NICU.  I was reassured that this did not mean he would necessarily need surgery; this is just a different room in the NICU where the babies are much more closely monitored for various issues.  The "sick baby" room.  I was devastated.  We thought we were so close to bringing our precious baby home, and now we have no idea what on earth is going on.  I call Mike through a flood of tears to let him know what's going on and that I needed him to go get Kaylin since I needed to stay to find out what was going to happen.

Justin was hungry.  As you recall, I was just changing his diaper before getting ready to feed him.  He's now taken off feeds, and was poked and prodded to get an IV placed- highly stressed, and wanting to nurse to make everything better.  But I can't make everything better.  I pick him up to try to comfort him- he smells the milk on me and gets even more upset.  I am a mess.  I can no longer comfort my baby and give him the one thing he wants.  I am useless.  I lay him down and try to settle him with a binky, go pump, and head home quite upset.

Justin is seen by a gastroenterologist, and all sorts of tests are ordered...  x-rays and even nuclear tests- I still don't understand what exactly that was, but the computer screen was wild to watch as my poor baby was strapped down to a board for a half hour as this test ran.  Thankfully he slept through most of it.  Whatever the test was, it came back normal as all his other tests had come back.  The doctors still don't know what's going on.  I asked about the vitamin E which was added to his diet three days prior since that's really been the only change other than the blood transfusion.  They deny that had anything to do with the bleeding.  They are now suspecting a milk/soy protein allergy.  After the bleeding had been stopped for several days, they try him on Nutramigen formula.  After a few bottles, the bleeding starts again.  They then switch him to another prescription formula called EleCare, which is broken down even more than Nutramigen.  The price is also much higher- about $60 for a small can of powder.  I am told that if I want to continue breastfeeding, I need to eliminate ALL milk and soy products from my diet.  This was no easy task!  I also had to do this for three whole weeks before trying to nurse him again.  Ouch.  Well, there was no way we were going to pay over $100/week in formula, and I wanted Justin to have all the benefits of breastmilk, so I went on the diet.

While on EleCare, his stools were all fine.  WHEW.  After a couple weeks he finally made it back to Miss Brenda in the satellite nursery.

Ma, bring me some new clothes- these are getting too small!

Justin was still having trouble with his heart rate dropping at times.  Miss Brenda and I talked about it, and she was convinced he had reflux.  She said she could usually time his episodes- they would occur about 20 minutes after each feeding like clockwork.  Most likely, the milk would come back up and he would stop it in his throat, then stop breathing, not knowing what to do at this point.  Typically when his alarm would go off, we would elevate him a little and pat his back to get him alert and coordinated again.

I pushed for the doctor to put him on reflux medication.  The doctors were hesitant since nothing would come up as far as milk or anything, but I pressed, mentioning that Zantac really has no side effects and it was worth a shot.  They agreed.  They put him on two medications- Zantac and Reglan.  There was a huge decrease in his episodes.  Yay!!

Justin was still having some trouble while taking a bottle though, since the milk came out faster than while breastfeeding.  He had a much easier time pacing himself and remembering to breathe while nursing.  I could also watch his breathing closely, and if he paused I would take him off the breast and let him get his breathing back on track.  He needed to go 3-5 days without any alarms before he could go home.  This seemed impossible.  While I could keep him from alarming when nursing him, I was not able to stay 24 hours a day, and it was pretty much given that he would have an alarm through the night while a nurse was feeding him.  ARGH!!  Finally, they recommended I stay at the Ronald McDonald House in town and stay at the hospital for as many feeds as possible.  The doctors would see that I was able to control his feedings and keep him from alarming, knowing that I would be nursing him exclusively when he's home.  I stayed at the RMH for about 3 nights.

He finally made it!  We got through several days with no alarms whatsoever- Hallelujah!!!  Justin finally came home on August 11th, weighing 7 lbs 4.2 oz- he had grown two clothing sizes during his 65-day stay in the NICU.  He flashed us his first smile the moment I put him in his car seat to come home!!  He just knew. ;)

Big sister Kaylin was SOOOO excited that he was finally coming home!!  There really was no adjustment period- she never showed any signs of jealousy adjusting to a new baby at home.  Such a loving big sister...

Justin, you sure knew how to make an entrance into this world.  I'm sure a few of these gray hairs are because of you :-P but my life is all the more enjoyable because you are in it.  You are quite the little jokester, always looking to make people laugh.  I love you so much!!

Justin's 1st Birthday

On a side note:  After continuing on my lovely diet of no milk or soy for a few months after Justin came home, I kept prodding the gastroenterologist to let me reintroduce the foods slowly into my diet and see how Justin reacts.  She finally admitted that one of her fellows found an article linking the vitamin E to the bleeding.  I began eating milk and soy products again and Justin never had a problem from there on out. 

Justin's story... the birth story of all my birth stories! Part 1

Ahhhhh Justin.... the boy who's birth story is one I will remember EVERY exact detail for a very long time to come.... someone with a mind of his own, that's for sure!

Justin was high maintenance from the very start with conception- we had to move on to IVF at the fertility center since our three attempts with IUI were unsuccessful, unlike my pregnancy with Kaylin in which we conceived with our first IUI attempt.  Finally got pregnant, and then around week 13 I had an episode of heavy bleeding and thought for sure I was losing the baby.  At the ER, the doctors seemed quite surprised to find a strong heartbeat, and thankfully the rest of my pregnancy was pretty uneventful... for the most part.

My due date was August 7th, 2005.  We scheduled a repeat c-section for August 1st by recommendation of my OB since Kaylin was an emergency c-section and he determined my pelvis was narrow, hence the reason she got stuck.  I had absolutely no problem with this decision for a repeat c-section.  I prefer having everything planned, knowing exactly what is to come.

It was early June and I was teaching Pre-K in our public school system at the time.  One week of school left with students and then I was taking a leave of absence to stay home with the kids.  I only worked half-time, and about 90% of my check went towards Kaylin's child care- I worked because I enjoyed it.  It made no sense to continue working since I would lose money paying for two kids in child care.  I was looking forward to a much deserved break.

We had workers at the house finishing our basement so we could move the computer room downstairs and make room for baby upstairs.  The house was a mess!  The basement needed to be finished before we could even begin preparing Justin's bedroom.  But we still had two full months to prepare, right?  I had it all planned out....

Saturday, June 4th- I wake up feeling not so great.  Not sure what it was, just not good.  I decide a stroll through the mall would be a good idea- get out of the house for a little while and walk around.  So Mike, Kaylin (2 years old at the time) and I head to the mall.

A little later we get a phone call from my mom.  Now looking back, I know this is God making sure everything plays out for the rest of the day- very mind blowing how everything happens to fall into place....

My mother has NEVER called to say they are going to stop by at the last minute- they live an hour away and visits are ALWAYS planned in advance.  It has never happened again since, either.  This is the ONLY time this has ever happened.  Fate I tell you.  We were planning to head over to my parents' house the next day (Sunday) so I could bring Kaylin over with my mom to my grandmother's assisted living facility for their annual picnic.  Mom was over at a friend's house out this way on Saturday, and offered to take Kaylin for the night and we would go get her Sunday before going to the picnic.  Sounded fine to me!

While my parents were here, I still wasn't feeling right.  I go to the bathroom and notice it appears I may have lost my mucus plug (I know, sorry, TMI).  This was a little alarming, so I figure I better go to the hospital to get checked out.  It's probably just another UTI since I had one earlier in this pregnancy.  With my last UTI I just drove myself to the hospital, but since my parents were taking Kaylin, I figured Mike could go with me this time.  They head out with Kaylin, and Mike drives me to the hospital.

We get in to the triage area of the birthing center- they hook up the monitors... I had some mild contractions showing on the screen but nothing too concerning....  The house OB comes in to examine me.

"Oh, No.  This is NOT good."

Those were his words while he is sitting between my legs giving me an exam.  I start to panic.  What's wrong??

"You are four to five centimeters dilated.  You are 80-90% effaced.  We are flying you out of here.  You will go to either Johns Hopkins or University of Maryland hospital.  I need to go make a few phone calls.  I'll be right back."

I start to FREAK out.  This can't be happening!  I'm only 31 weeks pregnant!  The baby will be too small- what about his lungs?  What about anything else that's not fully developed?  Dammit, I'm not ready to have this baby!  This wasn't part of the plan!!

I immediately start having stronger contractions- strong enough that I have to breathe through them.  They are coming every 2-5 minutes.  The doctor returns as I hear the helicopter approaching on the roof of the building.  He reassures me that since I'm past 30 weeks that the baby should be ok... it will have to stay in the hospital for a little while, but all should be fine.  They gave me several shots- one steroid shot to begin maturing the baby's lungs, and a couple meds to help stop the contractions.  He went on to say that Mike would not be able to ride on the helicopter due to the space and weight constraints- there will be a pilot as well as a high risk OB on board with me and there simply isn't any room.  I am being flown to University of Maryland Medical Center which will take about 20 minutes by helicopter;  it will take Mike about an hour and a half to get down there and find parking etc.  I. Am. Scared.

The helicopter staff comes to get me- they strap me down flat to the stretcher, and wheel me through all sorts of narrow halls as I stare at the lights on the ceiling moving by, all the while breathing through contractions, telling the high risk OB when each one starts.  Being strapped down flat is not exactly the most comfortable position while breathing through contractions, just to let you know.  We get to the roof, and they push me onto the helicopter- through an extremely narrow opening under the tail- not for the claustrophobic!  While inside the helicopter, I could see a control panel full of buttons, lights, and meters in front of me- and that was it.  They let me know ahead of time that we would not be able to hear each other- they would look over at me and give a thumbs up; I was to give a thumbs up as long as everything was ok.  They put headphones over my ears and we were off.

We land at UMMC.  I get wheeled into this much larger hospital, full of commotion.  First they wheel me into a triage area and go over the medications I was given at the previous hospital.  They apparently are in disagreement with the choice of action from the first hospital.  Okay.....

Next, they perform an ultrasound.  They determine the baby's weight to be about 3 lbs 13 oz which was a relief to me.  Since he was well over 3 lbs he should be ok.  Eventually I'm taken to a room on the active labor floor.  I'm not to get out of bed or even elevate my bed at all.  I need to lay on my side as much as possible; I must use a bed pan when needed- my first experience ever with that- ugh!  The floor was soooooo busy with the sounds of nurses running this way and that... the sounds of women screaming out in pain.... the high pitched squeals I will never ever forget of those tiny babies being born- not even sounding human.  Is this what my baby would sound like when he's born?  Will they be able to stop labor?  How long will I be here?

A nurse comes in to let me know my parents are here and worried, wanting to know if I had the baby and if everything is ok.  Wait a minute... where is Kaylin??  Aren't they supposed to have her at their house while Mike comes here??  Where is Mike?  I told the nurse to let them know I am ok, and she would send them up shortly.  Mike arrived soon after.

Apparently, when Mike called to tell my parents what was happening- he told them I was being flown to Shock Trauma since that is at University of Maryland hospital.  My mom interprets this as Shock Trauma = someone's life is in danger, probably mine.  They are extremely worried and make arrangements to take Kaylin to my aunt and uncle's house for the night so my parents too could come down to the hospital.  Thankfully Kaylin handled everything just fine even though she had never spent the night at my aunt's house before.

Plan of action: I would receive a series of two steroid shots to mature the baby's lungs- I received the first one at our local hospital before I was flown out, and I would receive the second shot 24 hours later.  After the complete 48 hours is over, baby's lungs should be fully matured and delivery will be much safer.  Of course our goal is to still keep baby inside as long as possible- I would stay in the hospital until I either went back into labor or I made it to 36 weeks.  Oh, boy.  I wasn't sure which scenario would be better- 5 weeks in the hospital??

Mike and my parents were camping out in my room that first night, but it was so incredibly uncomfortable for them, and all appeared to be calming down now that I was receiving medication and on strict bed rest, so I told them they could go home and get rest.  So many interruptions with the nurse having to come in and adjust the monitors on my belly every hour or so since the baby was so active and moving all over the place.  He did not like those straps on my belly! LOL

By Sunday evening my contractions had stopped completely.  Monday morning they moved me to the next floor down to the long term maternity floor since I wasn't in active labor anymore.  Whew, peace and quiet.

I was currently on two medications to stop contractions- one was only safe through 32 weeks and then could possibly cause birth defects, so as soon as I hit the 48 hour mark for the lungs to mature they would take me off that one.  What I didn't understand was why they also cut my other medication in half at the same time as removing me from the first medication.  I was now given bathroom privileges as well and could sit up a little bit in bed for short periods of time.  All of this began Tuesday morning.

Tuesday evening, Mike decided to bring Kaylin in to see me.  This was the longest I had ever been away from her- she had spent one night at a time away at my parents' house but that was it.  I missed my baby girl SO much, and worried how much she would miss me and worry about me.  I also worried how she would react seeing me in the hospital since she's never been to a hospital before.

My parents decided to come also- another great decision.  They would come in case Kaylin didn't handle the visit well, and Mike could visit with me longer if he wanted.  Well, Kaylin handled the visit VERY well.  I fought back tears as soon as she entered the room, I was SO happy to see her.  She was full of all sorts of energy- wanted to bounce up on the bed, sit on my lap... it was a little challenging to calm her down some and keep her sitting still instead of jumping on my legs.  I inclined my bed a bit during their visit and she kept trying to sit on my lap.

It was around dinner time so they all decided to head out.  As they were getting ready to leave, I felt like I was having contractions again.  I paged the nurse to come hook me back up to the monitors and check things out- while Mike and my parents hung out in the hallway before they left to be sure everything was ok.  Nothing was really showing on the monitors as far as contractions go, but I knew what I was feeling.  She calls for the resident doctor to come check me.

"Ok!  You are now 6-7 centimeters and in active labor!!  You are having this baby tonight!!"

Alright, so I was not prepared for that kind of news nor the manner in which he delivered this news!  Between him and the OB at our local hospital who first examined me I could smack them both!  Seriously, there should be special training for how to deliver news to a woman in labor!!

I immediately start having much stronger contractions, very close together.  The resident doctor continues with his examination.  "It looks like the baby's head is still down."  Baby's head was down when I was admitted just a few days prior as seen on the ultrasound, so our plan was to attempt a VBAC since the baby would be much smaller and should fit through my pelvis without trouble.

I get moved back up to the active labor floor and into the triage area.  Back to the ultrasound machine.  This resident is pressing this ultrasound wand hard on my belly and not relenting.... extremely uncomfortable while I'm having back-to-back contractions.  I wanted to shove that wand where the sun doesn't shine!

"Well it looks like the baby is in fact breech."  He continues with the ultrasound.  I can't believe it- from Saturday night to Tuesday night the baby has totally flipped.  A high risk OB enters the room and tries to convince me to continue with the VBAC even though the baby is breech.  She explains that the only risks delivering a breech baby vaginally would be if the baby's head got stuck in the birth canal due to the cervix not thinning enough.  This most likely wouldn't be the case since the baby is much smaller.

I wasn't going for it.  There is no way I have gone through all this and was going to chance trying for a VBAC.  The c-section was familiar to me- it was the plan.  I needed SOMETHING to go according to plan!  I was in excruciating pain with these intense contractions back to back- no break at all from one to the next.  I feared this baby would decide to deliver himself if they didn't get me to an OR fast enough!  I needed pain relief.  I needed this all to just be over.  As much as I did not want to deliver a premature baby, this crazy roller coaster needed to come to an end as soon as possible.  The next challenge- all the OR's are full.

Finally, one opens and we go in.  It seems like an eternity as the room full of resident and attending doctors get everything sorted.  It was decided to give me a spinal for the c-section but to also place an epidural in case the surgery takes longer than expected- it could take longer since this is a repeat c-section and there will be scar tissue to deal with.  It took the anesthesiologists FOREVER to get the epidural placed as well as the spinal.  I lay on the table stark naked, shivering cold in the fetal position while they are trying to place these needles.  Oh, and still in excruciating pain.  Hurry. Up.

Finally the needles are in place and I'm starting to feel some relief.  Whew.  Now for the surgery.  I am so nervous, praying that our baby will be ok... praying the steroid shots did their job and his lungs are mature... wondering what this tiny baby would look like... what he would sound like... praying he would be able to cry when he's born so I know he is ok... thinking I have no camera with me so I won't have any pictures from the day of his birth.  I was very upset about this as I cherish the photos taken moments after Kaylin's birth.

I make the mistake of looking over at a container on the wall.... a container filling with blood being suctioned... a container which looks like it is about to overflow.  Please God don't let me bleed to death!  Thankfully, the surgery went well.  Justin came out at 7:47 PM weighing a whopping 4 lbs even, cried a great scream, a human scream, and looked absolutely adorable.  He was beautiful, not appearing at all like a little alien I feared he would resemble being born so early.  He was having some breathing issues so they whisked him right away to the NICU.

After my surgery I was taken to my room, another different room on the same floor as the NICU.  Unfortunately, I wouldn't get to see my baby until the next day.  I could barely remember what he looked like since it was such a quick second the nurse held him up before she whisked him away.  Does he look like me? Does he have any hair?  The answers to those questions will have to wait until morning- right now I'm completely drained and need sleep.

Morning comes and I need to get out of bed to see my sweet baby.  My first trip down to the NICU is by wheel chair but soon enough I am walking the halls- my room being the furthest from the NICU.  Down one hall and turn down another.... scrub up with the nasty disposable soap sponges, gown up, and go in.

my hand for size reference

He is beautiful.  You may notice a slight difference in size between these two photos- he was full of fluid at birth and slowly began losing it, dropping down closer to 3 pounds.  His lungs were fully mature thanks to the steroid shots, but he was having trouble remembering to breathe.  He began on a respirator, and after just a day or two moved to a C-PAP machine to open his lungs and make it easier to breathe.  After a week or so he was taken off the C-PAP and given a nasal cannula providing a flow of room air- he didn't need extra oxygen but for a few days.

After he was down to the nasal cannula and a little less scary looking to big sisters, we brought Kaylin in to meet her baby brother.  She was SO excited to finally meet him. :) She picked out a stuffed turtle to give him to keep in his "aquarium" as Daddy called it.

They didn't have child sized gowns, so she had to wear the big adult size gown to go in the NICU. lol  She did great going in and not once seemed scared of all the wires and machines.

After about a month, Justin was making great improvements and was moved to the satellite nursery- a room down the hall- still a part of the NICU, but the room babies are moved to when they are close to going home!  It looked like we were finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.

He was off the nasal cannula, but still having some problems while feeding- he would forget to stop and breathe, causing his heart rate to drop... and he would have some episodes after feeds also where his breathing and heart rate would drop.  Bloodwork showed a drop in red blood cells once or twice, and a transfusion was required which pepped him up a bit.  We were told this is common with preemies.  He'd improve a bit, but then things really started to get worse.

Blood results were showing weakened red blood cells again, and in attempts to avoid another transfusion, they decided to add vitamin E to his nutrition which would strengthen the cell walls.  A day or so later, after deciding the vitamin E wasn't working well enough, Justin received another blood transfusion.  He still wasn't doing very well.

The next day would be one of the scariest days of my life.

To be continued.....

{Click HERE for Part 2}

Oh what a night (and morning)!

~Late December back in '63... oops, sorry... got that Four Seasons song stuck in my head after reading that title. :-P (Thank you, Ingrid, for correcting me on the artist of the song! ;) )

Oh, what a night and morning it was!  It started around 11:00 PM as I had JUST settled into bed... had my eyes closed for about 5 minutes and was just drifting off when the entire house fell completely silent.  Now no, there really wasn't much noise- the air conditioning had just shut off... but this was REALLY quiet.  After a few seconds, I rolled over and continued trying to go to sleep.  I hadn't noticed that the silence was from the lack of sound from the ceiling fan as well as the lack of white noise coming from the baby monitor....

I hear Mike stumble into our room and lay something on my night stand.  What in the world would he be laying on my night stand??  I lean over to turn on my touch lamp.  I tap it several times- nothing.  "What's wrong with my lamp??"

"The power is out.  I laid a flash light on your night stand."

Our power NEVER goes out.  It may flicker during a storm, but never stays out for any length of time really.  This was STRANGE.  No storms- it wasn't even raining.  What's going on?  I get up and look out the window- the entire street is dark except for a street light I manage to see about a block or so away through some trees.  All the street lights are out on our street as well as all our neighbors' interior and exterior lights.  Better call the electric company to report it since it's late and who knows how many other people are up at this hour to report it themselves.

BEEP.

We hear a smoke detector chirp a quick noise as if the battery were low.  Oh great.  Here we go.  There are a bazillion smoke detectors in this house and it's always a great challenge to figure out which one is chirping.  It stops though, so we don't worry about it.

We open the kids' window shades a bit so the moonlight will shine in since the night lights are out.  I crack Evan's door open so I can hear him if he makes any noise since the monitor is out.  I crawl back in bed.

BEEEEP!! BEEEEP!! BEEEEP!! BEEEEP!! BEEEEP!! The noise is LOUD and steady- longer and faster than a low battery signal, yet not fast enough to be a real alarm.  What is going on?? Mike and I run around upstairs trying to figure out which alarm is making this awful noise that is sure to wake up the kids.  There are 5 rooms upstairs with one alarm in each as well as two alarms in the hallway (one was from our security system which we don't use anymore but it still works).  We frantically look up at the ceiling, pinpointing the noise to the spare room upstairs, and then realize it's the carbon monoxide detector plugged in to the wall outlet down by the floor.  It was alarming due to the power being out, not because of any gas being detected in the house.  BUT, we have to make it stop!!  Mike grabs it and bolts downstairs, fidgeting with it to try to pry it open but having great difficulty.  He takes it outside and shuts the door.  I can still hear it pretty loudly inside the house and wonder how many of our neighbors we are waking up! LOL  He finally manages to get it open and take out the battery.  WHEW.

Can you believe all three kids slept through that???  While I was relieved they weren't awaken and scared, I was also a bit concerned that they were able to sleep through that racket.

Back to peace and quiet... complete silence... back to bed.

Around 3:00ish AM, Kaylin comes into our room all worried.  "Mommy, my alarm clock is flashing!"

"Don't worry, hon, the power went out and that's why it's flashing."

"THE POWER WENT OUT?!?!?!"

"Yes, sweetie, but it's back on now.  We'll fix your clock in the morning."  She heads back to bed.

4:00ish- Kaylin comes back in again.  "Mommy, I can't sleep because my clock keeps flashing.  I tried to set it but I can't make it stop."  I go in and set her clock for her and return to bed.

4:15ish: "Mommy, I can't set my alarm.  I tried to set it by myself but I don't know how to fix it."

"Kaylin, don't worry about your alarm.  I'll fix it in the morning."  {Please let me get some sleep!! LOL}

6:00 and the big kids are awake as usual.  We get ready for school, and head out the front door at 8:00 to head for the bus stop.  The kids step off the porch and stop dead in their tracks.  There's a young black lab sitting on the sidewalk just in front of our house- no collar, no owner in sight.

Let me give you a little background info- my kids have always been VERY hesitant with dogs.  Justin had an extreme fear for a very long time, even with cute little puppies.  Neither have ever had any experiences with mean dogs; I guess it's just the fear of being jumped on/clawed and licked.  I have to admit I had a fear of dogs when I was little as well, but it was just big dogs like German shepherds... Ok, so when I was three years old, I was petrified of my Godfather's golden retriever.  I admit it.

So this is a young dog- looks to be less than a year old- not fully grown but still a decent size.  This dog takes one look at the kids and starts RUNNING toward them in a playful manner- kids to play with me!!  Well let  me tell you- I believe our entire town could hear my two kids SCREAM for their LIFE!!  They ran up onto the porch, screaming bloody murder- sheer terror in their eyes.  I was standing over by the garage to get the stroller out of my van for Evan.  I talk to the dog and he immediately bounds over to me, jumping all excitedly, and runs all around.... the kids across the street have been trying to call the dog but apparently it wasn't the dog they thought it was, but soon I see a woman marching down the street with a leash.  Whew.  Nothing like a little excitement to start the day, especially after a restless night!

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Now to start working on my next post- Justin's birth story.  I can't believe his birthday is next week already!  I need to start now since it's quite the story to tell.... much drama, and my scariest birth story by far.