3 months old

Will is 3 months old now! AND we hit his due date. Cannot believe how fast he is growing up!

A lot has happened since my last post, i've never been good at keeping up a blog!

On September 10th, Will came down with an infection. The doctors immediately started him on 4 different antibiotics while running some tests to see what he had. It ended up being some sort of E-coli. They believe it started as a UTI and then made its way into his blood stream. He was having a hard time breathing, so they moved him from nursery b (well side) back to nursery a (sick side) and had to intubate him, which is placing a tube into his lungs that breaths for him. It was really hard to watch him suffer and have to back track so much, but we were so grateful the doctors and nurses listened to our concerned as Matt and I noticed he was getting sick. Unfortunately we weren't able to hold him at all that day. My poor poor babe. Luckily, the infection only lasted a few days.

The next day was my birthday, it was a good day. Matthew spoiled me, as he usually does. and I was able to hold Will again. Poor little man had an IV in his head for his antibiotics. It is my least favorite place for IV's!

 I spent the day making some nursery crafts for Will's room.

Since the infection, he's just been growing and getting stronger and stronger.

Today Will is 14 weeks old! He's 6 pounds 4.5 ounces and barely fitting into his preemie clothes anymore! His due date was on Friday, Oct 4th. 

Little man is still working on eating. I breastfeed him 3 times a day, and he usually takes 2-3 bottles as well. Within the past few days, he's not done as well as he had been doing. He has pretty severe reflux so a GI specialist is going to examine him and see if there is anything more that they can do to lessen the spitting up he does. Also, they're going to check his ears to make sure he doesn't have an ear infection. Hopefully it's nothing and he's just going through a phase! We are so ready to take him home, but we also understand he needs to be 100% ready to come home. Every day we get closer to that day! 

It's such a long journey, and I know it's not over yet. I've learned so so much about myself, my husband, and of course, I've learned how strong our little man is. 

I'm currently at the hospital from 7:30a-9:30a with matt, then I go back at 1:30-4 and then Matt goes with me again at 7:30-9. 

This past weekend was LDS General Conference. It was so great to watch and I felt the spirit so strongly. During the Saturday afternoon session, Elder Holland spoke and really really touched my heart. Here are a few quotes i jotted down:

"Our pursuit of godliness will be tested and tried again and again."

This quote made me think of my little man. Boy has he been tested!! and he's passed every test with flying colors. I can't imagine the love the our Heavenly Father has for this boy.

"Believe in miracles."

I've received the biggest miracle his year and will forever believe in them.

"Don't run faster than you have strength."

The past 14 weeks have been such an emotional roller coaster. I have to remind myself that I can't do everything. 

"Through any illness or difficult challenge in life to be hopeful about and grateful for."

This quote brings tears to my eyes. I'm currently facing a difficult challenge. Throughout this entire experience, i've felt so blessed for SO many things. Family, medical knowledge and technology, Friends, and so many more things. I am so hopeful and grateful for my little boys life.

"We are infinitely more than our limitations or afflictions"

Can't wait to see what our little man will become.  I know he is so much more than a tiny baby in the NICU. He is the strongest human being I know, and he is such an example to me already.

During the Sunday morning session, Henry B. Eyring spoke and really touched my heart. He told a story about how a women was asking God why she sent her son to her, and the response she felt was

 "I gave him to you because I knew that you would love him no matter what."

The moment I heard that, I related it to my own life. I haven't asked God why he gave Will to me, or why this situation, but I know now why He gave him to me. God knew that I would be there and love Will no matter what. He knew that I would never give up on him and be by his side through his whole life. 

I am so so thankful that God saw in me what I didn't. I am a new person, and I know how fragile life can be. Will is so so precious to me and he will always be my reminder that miracles DO happen. 

Here are a couple other quotes from conference that touched my soul.

Thank you all for the love and support and positive thoughts during these past 14 weeks. We feel so blessed to have so many people loving our sweet babe. 

xoxo

1 Month Down!

Today is Will's 1 month birthday! 

(He's also negative two months old seeing as his due date was october 4th)

Wow! I really cannot believe that it has already been a month since I delivered this sweet boy into the world. He's been through SO much in this short time. 

The left picture here is from a few days after he was born, and the right is from a few days ago now! He has already grown soo much!

On July 17th, Will had his first surgery at just 15 days old. The surgery that he had is called PDA ligation, PDA standing for Patent Ductus Arteriosus. The Ductus Arteriosus is a vessel that connects the aorta and pulmonary artery. 

During the first few breaths babies take when they are born, this ductus is no longer needed, so it usually closes on its own. Will's didn't close. They tried giving him some 'neoprophin' i think it was called, to help close this ductus. After 2 rounds of doses, the ductus was still wide open. With his ductus still open, his lungs were getting filled with fluid. So, the doctors let us know that the surgery was necessary so that his lungs wouldn't be getting filled. In premature babies this surgery is very common. There were two major risks. One being possible vocal cord damage. There is a very small vocal nerve that they have to move around during the surgery. The doctor said it is about the size of a few hairs! and if they damage it, Will's voice may be soft, or raspy, but when he got older we would be able to do things to help it. The second risk, which we feared most, was fatality due to bleeding out. Of course, it happens maybe 1 in 400 surgeries, but of course it was still possible and we were nervous for our little man. 

So, on July 17th, Will's surgery took place. During the surgery, the doctor went into Will's little body and clamped that ductus shut. The surgery took about 2 hours all together. During the surgery, Matt and I needed to fill our time with something fun instead of sitting around thinking the worst. So, we went to Build a Bear and made sweet little Will a bear to put by his bedside! 

After that, we grabbed lunch and headed back to the hospital. They do the surgery at Will's bedside, so we waited in the parents lounge. While we were waiting, I saw this on the wall. 

It says, "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart."

Will was born weighing 1 pound 15 ounces. He is the smallest thing I've ever loved, and boy does he have my entire heart! I absolutely love that quote. 

After surgery, the doctor came to us in the surgery and talked to us about the surgery. The surgery went really well! There were no complications and the doctor said he was able to see the vocal nerve and move around it, so there shouldn't be any damage. They placed the clamp on the ductus, and placed a chest tube in him to drain the fluid in his lungs. 

The doctor showed us the clamps they use, one smaller and one bigger. He said that his ductus was so large, they had to use the bigger one! Which is very big considering he is so so tiny.

A few days after his surgery, he was able to come of the ventilator that was preventing us from being able to hold him! On July 21 I held my baby for the FIRST time!!!!!!!! man was that an emotional experience. At the moment we get to hold him once a day for 30 minutes to an hour. It is so hard putting him back in his little incubator! 

While I was holding this sweet boy, he got the hiccups! We now call them 'the squeaks' because of his little squeak each time he hiccups! 

Since his surgery, his little body has had a tough time. Last week he got a blood infection, which was of the staff infection nature. It wasn't too severe, and they were able to start antibiotics immediately. One of the symptoms they saw was his heart rate. He kept having bradycardia episodes, which means he stops breathing, and his heart rate drops from 150-170 down to 60. It is really hard to watch this little man suffer! So, to give him a break, the put a tube down into his lungs so that he could have some rest and have the machine help him breath. The blood culture has come back negative this week, so it looks like we got that infection under control! Now, this little boy has pneumonia, and part of his bowel is septic, which is from infection. The doctors say that because all of his body systems aren't fully developed, they're all effected by infections. 

With having pneumonia and having a tube down his throat, he continues to have small episodes. Twice in the past 2 days the doctors have had to take out his tube, deep suction his lungs, and insert a new tube in his lungs because of his breathing problems. We are hoping that they don't have to do that again, as I can imagine that isn't very comfortable to go through for our little man. 

Thank you all who are continually praying for our little man. They have helped so much, and we feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family! 

*Because he is so premature, he doesn't have sucking, swallowing, and breathing all down at once, so I am not able to breastfeed at the moment. So, in the mean time, I am pumping 8-9 times a day, and they are able to feed him limited amounts of my milk! I've been able to swab his mouth with a q tip that has my milk on it and it is so fun to watch him suck on it! Hopefully Will can conquer this pneumonia and get back on track to being a healthy little man. Usually around 34 weeks is when they being trying to have mommas nurse. Will is 31 weeks today! so hopefully soon I will be able to breastfeed my little man.

We expect for Will to stay in the NICU until his due date, so just 2 more months!

1 month down my little man! Let's conquer another month together. Love you oh so much. 

7/2/13://

The day that changed our lives forever.


So, my blood pressure was going crazy. At 7:15am my blood pressure was 196/101. The nurse called the doctor to see what he wanted her to do. She came back and gave me another dose of blood pressure medicine. This had been after staying in bed sleeping for the past several hours. I still had no other symptoms, which still seems crazy to me! My back was starting to hurt from staying in that hospital bed for so long, so they gave me some Tylenol to help with it. About an hour and a half later, around 8:30, by blood pressure had lowered very slightly, 175/99. She called the doctor again and she came back and injected blood pressure meds straight into my I.V. They were checking it every 30 minutes. The next reading around 9:15 was 174/100. Around 10:00, it was 176/106. After this reading the nurse said she was going to go call the doctor to see what he wanted to do.

Around 11:00am,  I got the most terrifying, surprising, unexpected news. The nurse came in and said, "Doctor Drewes says to start prepping for your c section." I couldn't believe it. Anxiety, shock, stress, fright, so many emotions overcame me. Aly and Matt were in the room with me. Matt immediately gave me a blessing, all of us in tears. Soon the nurses came in and started setting up an IV in my right hand. I (of course) was in tears, and the nurse looks at me and asks, "are we hurting you?" UM I'm sorry, but no you aren't hurting me! You just told me I was going into surgery! Why else would I be crying!? hah! They started me on the nasty Magnesium Sulfate again. After they were finished setting up the IV, the anesthesiologist came in to give me the epidural. His phone kept ringing. His ringtone was "Somebody That I Used To Know" and he kept singing along! He was definitely too happy. I rolled over and right before he was going to administer the drugs, he says, "Now, because you aren't feeling any labor pains, this is going to hurt more than usual." Great, thanks for the heads up man. He was soo right though. And since I had been on bed rest, I had edema built up in my back, which made it harder for the meds to go through. SO he had to stick me THREE times. Matt was such a sweet heart. He was holding my hand kept trying to talk to me during it to distract me. OH MAN, did that hurt. And because of the edema, he had to rub it in after he shot it in me! Bah. Worst pains. Soon, but not soon enough, the numbness set it. Dr. Drewes came into the room and explained why they were going to proceed with the c section. Still didn't settle my nerves.

Then, they wheeled me back to the operating room. The last blood pressure reading was 180/110 or something pretty close to that. I kissed Aly goodbye, since she wasn't allowed to come with. Matt held my hand all the way to the operating room. Once in the OR, they rolled me over to the operating table. It was very strange not being able to feel/control my legs! Once I was placed on the table, they put up the sheet in front of my chest. They placed this inflatable paper thing on me, which filled with air that I could tell them when I was cold, and he would make it warm, and vice versa. It was pretty cool, especially since it was freezing in that room to begin with. And boy did I have the shakes! I'm pretty sure that it was from the shock I was in. But the shakes lasted forever it felt like.

Our little boy, Matthew William Erickson,  was born that day at 1:41pm, weighing 1 pound 15 ounces, measuring 15 inches! Matt was able to follow the doctors with our baby to get a video of his precious, yet strong, cry!

Here's one of our first pictures of our sweet baby, Will. 

Aly with our sweet Will.

Every 4 hours, Will has 'cares'. We are able to open his isollete and help with changing his diaper, and taking his temperature.

 This is the diaper he wears right now, and they have to fold it down because it's still too big!

 He has the longest fingers and toes!! So adorable. 

We were definitely blessed with a sweet angel that day. 

Baby Erickson

So, for those who didn't know, we were expecting our first little babe! Little baby boy erickson was expected to arrive Oct 4th. This all changed on Friday, June 31st.

On June 31st, I had my routine OB check up. Matt was able to come to all of my other appointments with me, but this time he had to work, so I decided to ask my sister Aly to come along with me. I really could have gone alone, but boy was I glad I had asked her to come with.

My appointment was at 11:20 AM, but they were running a little late, so they took me back around 11:40 AM. They took my blood pressure and it was immediately high. I think it was 150/102. The nurse brought us into a room and had me lay down in the dark, trying to lower my BP. Soon the DR came in and checked for swelling, and asked some questions about genetic high BP. I let him know my mother had high BP with each of her pregnancies, but it was only high blood pressure, nothing more. He then told me he wanted me to go across the street to Utah Valley Regional Labor & Delivery to be observed and run some tests. Of course that made me start freaking out a little, especially since I was only 26 weeks preggers. They took my BP again before sending me on my way and it had risen to 176/125!

So, luckily, Aly is a stay at home mommy (the best one too), and was more than happy to come with me across the street to the hospital. I called Matt at work and let him know what that we were headed over for some tests. He talked to his boss and was able to leave for a little while. When we got to the L&D they were expecting me. they brought me back into a room and gave me a lovely gown to put on. At this point, I was still feeling fine! I didn't have anything but the high bp. They then took several viles of blood for testing and had me give a urine sample. Matt had to go back to work, but I was feeling fine and didn't think we'd be staying much longer, so I told him that I'd be fine with Aly.

Soon the DR came back with the results. I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. I had only heard this name before, never had I known what it'd meant. The rest of that day was a blur! They immediately started me on an IV of saline and Magnesium Sulfate - which is THE WORST. It made me hot and flushed, nauseated, and so fatigued! Seriously I felt like I was going to die. I was a vegetable.  They gave me a catheter to start the 24 hour urine watch, and my first steroid shot in my bum for the babies development. The DR assume it was severe preeclampsia and talked about possibly having to deliver the baby in the next day or two. YIKES. I was definitely not prepared for that kind of news! I was officially on hospital bed rest. I was going to stay in the hospital until I delivered.


Soon after starting the IV's, they wheeled me down to the first floor to get an ultrasound done to see how baby was. Baby's growth was right on track, but my fluid was low. At 26 weeks the doctor said usually it should measure between 10-20 cm, and mine was at a 6. The doctor explained that this was expected with having preeclampsia, being that it is a placenta disorder. It was exciting to see our baby again, though I was pretty drugged with that magnesium. The ultrasound doctor said that preeclampsia was so fascinating- yeah I didn't agree!

They took us back upstairs and the rest of the night was a blur for me. Matt came back and stayed the night. I started losing muscle strength slowly, and they checked my vitals every hour even through the night, so I definitely did not get any sleep.

Aly would come and sit with me while Matt would go home to shower and grab some things. They ran the tests with my urine, and there was protein in it, but not a whole lot. They moved us to a huge room! It was like the master suites of hospital rooms. One of the lab tech's that came in to draw blood said that this room was one that they put long-term patients in. Obviously the doctors and nurses were thinking (and hoping) I would be able to keep the babe in longer!

I remained on the magnesium sulfate for 48 hours - so from friday night to sunday night. So saturday and sunday were a blur to me as well. My face and feet started swelling, so I started to look like a vegetable, too! It was really miserable. Finally on Sunday they took me off the magnesium, and they also took out the catheter! So, I was finally able to get up to use the bathroom on my own, well, sort of on my own. Because I had been on the magnesium for 48 hours, and had the catheter, my muscles were almost nonexistent, and I couldn't stand up on my own. It was scary! The nurse said that magnesium also relaxes the muscles, so that was to be expected. I still didn't like the feeling at all. I had to have help every time I wanted to use the bathroom for the next 24-ish hours. Sunday night they also let me shower! This was a great thing, but also pretty miserable. I was still suffering from the affects of the mag, so I wasn't able to even shower myself. I sat in the shower, and all I could do was hold the shower head. Luckily, I have a pretty amazing husband, and he helped me. The nurse was impressed and said I had a great husband :)

Monday was a lot better. I had muscle control back, and was able to get up when I needed to use the restroom. My blood pressure was getting better with the medicine they had me on, so they checked me every 4 hours, instead of every hour! That was a nice break. For the most part my blood pressure was staying the same every time. Matt went to work that day, and Aly (such a wonderful sister!!) came and sat with me for the majority of the day.

Tuesday is when life, as we knew it, changed unexpectedly.

                              To be continued...

WOW 

Has life changed in the past 3 months!! 

here are some updates on the Erickson duo! :)

Matthew is no longer a CNA. he decided he no longer wants to be a nurse- so he quit there. and in March he started working at Vivint!For those who haven't heard of vivint, it is a security and home automation company!

He started out in tech support-helping customers with their 'technical' problems when they call in to the call center.. but now he has transferred to field support! so now he helps the installers with setting up the accounts. its a much easier job than tech support. he is working 40 hour weeks most of the time- this week they needed people to pick up extra shifts so matt work like a 56 hour week this week! he's working so hard and i love him so much for it!

I also got a job at vivint! I quit the retail job at shade because i wasn't getting enough hours there. shortly after quitting I applied at vivint and got the job :) i am working in the technical support and customer service department. i am only working 24 hour weeks.

I am also working my nanny job that i started last august. boy do i love this kid. he brightens my day. this is andrew - i love being paid to play like a kid.

Andrew will start kindergarten in the fall so this summer will be my last time nannying him! It will be sad when i'm done! but for now i'm trying to enjoy every minute of it. even if it means waking up early 4 times a week!

This week i start summer classes at Utah Valley University! I'm way excited. For those who don't know-i took the fall and winter off of school to get in-state tuition at uvu.so i havent taken classes for a year! i'm ready to go back for sure. I'm only taking 2 classes so i'll be able to keep both my jobs :) I'll be one busy girl for the next 8 weeks! wish me luck :)

Also- Aly had her baby March 1st!!! SO happy she is here in provo with me! while she was on maternity leave i visited them all the time! :)he is THE cutest baby ever. today i visited them and he was talking to me in his baby jibber! it was the cutest thing. love this kid. 

Also, Mason came to utah for a few days for a college visit! it was so good to see him. can't wait for him to be at byu in june!!! Love him!

Elder Marstella's birthday was april 16th! look how happy he was to get his present! he is doing SO well in the Dominican Republic. can  you believe next month it will be a year since he left?! that means he is HALFWAY DONE! we get to see him in 1 year!!! can't believe how fast time has gone by!!!!! boy do i miss him <3

So we are loving our neighbors and our ward! Matt hasn't gotten a calling yet-but i got one! i'm the assistant girls camp director! so it looks like ill be going back to girls camp! im so excited! the young women are super sweet in our ward. i cant wait to get to know them more!

Also, i'm considering getting highlights again for the summer! what do you think?!

i'm leaning towards yes :)

So as you can see- life is pretty crazy! we don't get to spend too much time together-but when we do have time together, we cherish it. :) So happy i get to be with this man for eternity. 

:) He is perfect. absolutely perfect. always treating me like a queen! I'm the luckiest girl in the world!

thanks for reading the update on our perfectly wonderful life:)

two and a half months down, eternity to go!

yes, it's been 3 months since we last updated this shindig!!

Here are a few updates since last post!

 November 26

WE GOT MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!! most beautiful day of my life!! one day i'll make a post strictly about the wedding :)

December 25

Our first Christmas together! we spent it in Utah. Spending Christmas Eve with Matt's family, Christmas morning together, then Christmas dinner with my family in Layton. We are so blessed to have so much family near us!

December 28

I went to Georgia and was able to be a part of my best friend Morgan's wedding! so precious.

December 31/Jan 1 

The new year began! Matt and I were able to spend time with are dear friends Devrey and Chandler, and our best friend Jen was able to spend it with us as well before going off to BYUI! It was such a fun night.

January 26 

Matt and I had our 2 month anniversary. Gosh time has gone by soo quickly! We absolutely LOVE being married. It's the best! I highly recommend it :)

February 4

 I threw a baby shower for my beautiful sister! Her due date is February 26, but really he could come any time now!!!! and that means my mom will be here soon too! my mom AND a nephew! SOO excited!!

Matt and I made this silhouette of Aly for her as a gift! Isn't that neat?! it looks exactly like her!

Those are just a few of the wonderful things we have been doing! We are staying busy with work! I now have 3 jobs! 2 that are nanny-ing, and I am still working at Shade. We are loving life and each other! Matt is working as a CNA still, as a home health aid. He has about 28 visits a week! LOTS of driving for him! We are living in Orem, UT in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment. We both plan on starting up school again in August! Surprisingly enough-I'm excited for school! :)

Next weekend I get to see my bestfriend JEN THOMAS! and the weekend after that the Tidwell Family is coming to Utah and we will get to meet our adorable nephew graham! AND my sister will be having her baby anytime now!! such an exciting month!!!!

Well, that is all for now! 

xoxo 

The Erickson's

"Happiness is being married to your best friend."