Will came home on Saturday November 2, which just happened to be his 4 month birthday! That week was a crazy one. The doctors had started talking about discharge with us and said it (most likely) be that week, but the previous Sunday (oct 27), Will had a really off day and wasn't wanting to eat anything. That made us nervous and we thought we would be staying longer because of it. BUT he picked up right where he left off eating the next day. The next few days went by so quickly! The nurses began doing all the discharge teaching with us and we were scheduled to "room-in" on friday night. Luckily Matt had already taken Friday off of work so it was going to work perfectly.
We quickly finished up the gifts we put together for our nurses! Here's a picture of it. It's a glass ornament with Will's profile silhouette inside with his name and date of birth. Then we attached this cute note we found on pinterest that says-
"A little something for your tree
For when you see it think of me
And how you saved my life that year
And eased all of my parents fears
You may not wear a cape
You job's not fighting crime
But when i think of super heroes
It's you that comes to mind"
We cleaned up the house and packed a bag for the night! We were so excited to spend the first night with our man. For the babies that go home on oxygen & monitors, they have the parents stay the night with the baby in a room to make sure everything is working and functioning as it should.
Here is the room we stayed in with Will. It was our first night on our own with Will!
We LOVED it so much. We didn't want to put him down!
The picture below is of his 'bikini top' as my mom referred to it! Underneath it are two leeds that read his heart rate and respiratory rate. They hook up to a monitor that will alarm when his heart rate is too fast, too slow, or if he is periodic breathing. Most of the time it is only alarming because the leeds are falling off, or if we forget to plug it in to charge.
He is such a snuggle bug!
The next morning the doctor came in and said he was discharging us! We had forgotten the 'coming home' outfit at home in the hustle of everything, so we just put some clothes that we had already been keeping at the hospital for him. We put him in his carseat- he wasn't too happy at first!
And we were off!! I can't describe the emotions we felt that day. It was all so surreal. It didn't really hit me until we were actually home and I was feeding him. Tears came to my eyes, I hadn't ever imagined what it would be like to have him home because we had never known any different than the hospital!
Matt is SO great with Will. Especially during the night! He is so helpful and willing!
On Sunday afternoon my mom and mason arrived! Mason was SO sweet with Will and just wanted to hold him and touch him. It was the cutest!
My mom came to visit when Will was first born, but at the time he was still in an 'incubator' when he wasn't able to be held. So this was the first time she was able to hold our miracle boy!
James had been showed pictures of Will on a daily basis so he knew who he was. He was so sweet with Will the first time he met him and it is so fun to watch him interact with him!
It was SOO nice having my mom here. She helped so much. Especially during the night. She would take Will and rock him when he was fussy so that we could sleep. She is the best!
It has been SO nice having Aly live so close! Yesterday she and James walked over to watch Will while I showered. She's THE best!
Grandmother and Poppy came to visit!
Kara just happened to overlap with my mom for a few days, so we had a family dinner with everyone on Friday night.
We hated to say goodbye to my mom :( But one day we will live close together!
Just missing sweet Taryn!
We went on our first walk on saturday- Will seemed to like it!
I am so lucky to be able to snuggle this boy whenever I want!
He loves crossing those ankles! We even have an ultrasound with him crossing them!
We think he is going to have hazel eyes!
He is growing up so fast. It's hard to believe he's already been home over a week!
Love this boy with all my heart.
After 4 months, 123 days in the NICU, we finally have our sweet little miracle baby home. We are still adjusting to the nights, but he give us good 2-4 hour increments where he sleeps and sleeps so we do too! We are so thankful to have him home.
We drove by the hospital the other day, and tears (lots) came to my eyes. 4 months of our year were spent there. We cried there. We laughed there. We hoped there. We loved it there. It was our second home. We became so close to our favorite nurses. During our 4 months there, we didn't know any different. We didn't know what it was like to bring home a baby from the hospital after he was just born, we didn't know what it was like to have a newborn at home. But now, looking back, it is safe to say it was the hardest journey we have ever traveled. It tested our faith, our love, and our strength, among many other things.
I am so so thankful for the medical technology that we have today that allowed the doctors and nurses to save our little boys life. We will never ever forget them. It is thanks to them that I am able to snuggle my little boy every night. We are so so blessed.
Thank you to all who have contributed prayers to us during these past 4 months. We definitely saw the Lord's hand at work on a daily basis. We couldn't have made it through without all the love and support that was shown to us. We will never be able to repay you, but just know we appreciate you so much.
And last of all, I want to publicly thank our Lord, our Savior, for giving this sweet spirit to us to care for. I don't always feel worthy of His love, but i feel it constantly. I see the light of Christ in my sweet little one all the time. I am the luckiest mama and so thankful that our Father in Heaven trusted me with this sweet boy.
xoxo
