The Story of Nicholas' Early Arrival: 6 Months Old

Saturday, May 9, 2009

6 Months Old

Nicholas turned 6 months yesterday. It is really hard to believe half a year has gone by. He had an appointment with the retina doctor for his ROP yesterday. The doctor said his eyes look great. We have to go back in 6 weeks and then we should be done with that doctor. We still have to go to a regular eye doctor and our first visit is in June. I talked to the neurosurgeon's nurse yesterday about the swelling around his stitches. She said that they have seen this happen a lot and it could take a few weeks for his head to heal and then it will stop. We go in on Monday to have his stitches taken out so we will see what the Dr. says. He might want to do another CT just to be safe. We haven't had any alarms with his apnea montior since coming home. He is also eating like crazy. He must be going through a growth spurt. Or, he might not have been eating well because his shunt wasn't working- hard to tell.

3 comments:

Aunt PatMay 9, 2009 at 4:59 PM
Happy Birthday to the little guy! He looks like he can't wait to get into some trouble. Much love and best wishes.

Aunt Pat Matthews
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Grandma TerriMay 9, 2009 at 8:34 PM
Happy half-birthday little guy! What a ride its been! Six months of joy and worry, heartache and happiness and many surprises. Through it all Rin and Mark have loved Nicholas unconditionally and been his greatest advocate. You are all very lucky to have each other. Enjoy your first Mother's Day, Rin. Love to all.
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The Adventures of DJ and KatelynMay 9, 2009 at 9:00 PM
Happy Mother's Day!!!
So glad he is doing well. I love the hat. He looks great. Take Care!!!
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Preemie Experience

The Preemie Experience
The preemie experience is the shattering of all your dreams
For a normal, healthy delivery,
Of the ability to carry home a beautiful squirming bundle
After a short stay in the hospital.
It is lying there in your hospital room listening to
The happy sounds of whole families joined
Together by the birth of a grandchild, cousin, niece,
or nephew, and knowing that your
Child is miles away and may not survive long enough
For you to see or simply touch.
It is that first glimpse of a skinny, scrawny, not much bigger
Than a Barbie doll child
And feeling, fear, awe, and joy for such a fragile soul.
It is sitting by your baby’s “bedside” day after day,
Week after week, month after month,
Alternating between the emotional high of “Look, his eyes are open,” or “he’s crying!”
And the lows of “I’m sorry, something has shown up in the ultrasound,”
Or even “There is nothing we can do…”
It is hearing the alarms go off for the twentieth time in less
Than fifteen minutes because your
Child’s heart rate keeps hitting zero.
It is watching children dying around you, wondering if
Your child will be next.
It is hearing your child’s cry of distress as the nurses
Insert yet another IV and do another
Round of daily blood tests.
It is meeting other parents of children who are doing far better
And wondering, “Why me?”
And meeting parents of children who have just died,
And praising God for His mercy
To your child and feeling guilty because your child is alive
And someone else is grieving for theirs.
It is days of nightmarish testing and coping with less
Than positive results to the tests.
It is days of joy at seeing the first eyelash appear,
The child gain a whole ounce in one day,
And two bright shiny eyes look at you and into your soul,
And knowing that your child now recognizes you as Mama or Dada;
Or perhaps looks at you and does not see you at all…
It is that final hurdle before coming home!
It is the sorrow of waiting for the monitor company Representative to show you what to do
If the alarm sounds when your child is choking,
Gasping for breath, or simply dying.
It is the joy of just being away from all those nurses
And tubes and wires and beeps, and
Walking into the nursery you hastily prepared because,
after all,
The child wasn’t due for another four months!
It is thinking the nightmare is over…only to realize it still Continues in the form of
Such acronyms as PVL, RSV, BPD, CP and numerous others.
It is the final realization that those developmental delays
Have to be dealt with,
That reflux is a normal and unfortunate
occurrence in most preemies,
That the constant fight to gain weight is in direct proportion
To a preemie’s ability to do so.
It is watching a child struggle to pick up his or her head, sit, Crawl, or walk.
It is witnessing only silence when the child should be babbling,
Because the child cannot hear.
It is the mental images of a child running and playing
And communicating with others in a
Perfectly normal manner that are marred when you face years of therapy
In order to simply get the child to eat by himself or herself,
To talk or walk and then run.

The preemie experience is a journey…A journey through your soul in order to find the faith and strength to cope,
A journey of the mind when you face the emotional weariness,
A journey of the heart…to accept that, no matter what,

This child is yours,
And you will love this child no matter what.

The Story of Nicholas' Early Arrival

Saturday, May 9, 2009

6 Months Old

3 comments:

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