6.10.10 Day 2

This is the picture Aaron brought me this morning. He is still intubated and still as cute as can be. Today they will attempt to extubate him and see how he does on a machine called a Si-Pap. It is like a Bi-Pap machine people with sleep apnea use at night. If they are able to do that, they will also do some tests on him including some scans of his brain to see if he has any bleeding, which is highly likely and common for a preemie of his gestation. They also plan to insert a PICC line in his arm so that they can remove the umbilical line they placed in his belly button. This will allow us to hold him, as their is less risk for bleeding if it were to come out. Please Lord, let this plan for today work. I just want to hold my baby!

I finally make it up to the NICU and what to I see? My tough cookie with just oxygen through a nasal cannula! I couldn't believe it. He was intubated for less than 24 hours and already on oxygen! That's my boy! I was finally able to get a good look at his cleft lip and palate, as well. It is funny how that was the last thing on my mind at this point. Before, I was so worried about how that would affect him and now it was not a concern.

I took this picture as the nurses were messing with him. He kept swinging his little fists. He tried his darndest to hit one of them! He was done being messed with! Of course we all just laughed at him, but it was wonderful to see how feisty he was! He had so much fight in him!!

Later that afternoon placed his PICC line and I was FINALLY able to hold him! I was scared to touch him before, so now I am terrified to hold him. I sat in the recliner, shaking, as the nurse organized his wires and tubes. They placed him in my arms and I melted. He was so tiny! He snuggled right up close on my chest. I was in heaven.

June 9, 2010- The day that changed our lives forever.

1am: It begins to storm.

3am: I wake up with contractions. They must just be Braxton Hicks, walk around for a minute, get a drink of water, go back to sleep.

5am: Wake up again, this time to get ready for work. I am still having contractions. Much stronger, closer together contractions. This cannot be good. I call my parents to let them know something may be up. Call the OB/GYN on call, tell Aaron to get dressed, and begin to pray.

6-7am are a blur. I know I ended up at the L&D of the hospital where I work as a RN. They started an IV, inserted a foley catheter, asked me 101 questions, and assessed me. I see the doctor for a few minutes. I throw up. I am told I am 6cm dilated. And I begin to freak out. Without anyone saying a word, I knew I was going to have my baby soon. WAY TOO SOON. 12 WEEKS TOO SOON. I close my eyes and cry, while praying harder than I have ever prayed in my life. I receive a dose of steroids to help Aiden's lungs produce the surfactant they have not yet produced. I throw up again. I am loaded onto a stretcher and taken down to an ambulance. I am being transferred to a hospital, literally across the street, that has a NICU. That 5 minute ambulance ride was the longest 5 minutes of my life. I was strapped to a stretcher with 2 nurses, a paramedic, and my terrified husband staring down at me. My doctor and my parents were in cars behind us.

8am: We arrive at Suburban Hospital and are taken upstairs to L&D. Again I am asked 101 questions, one of which was if I wanted an epidural. YES PLEASE! The anesthesiologist comes in and places my epidural (after the first 2 attempts.) I meet Dr Ellis, the neonatologist and Dr. Nusz who is taking over for the OB/GYN who was on call.

9am: I start chomping on some ice chips, when the delivery team wheels in their cart and goodies. Once again, without anyone saying a word, I knew that this meant I was having my baby. This time it meant right now. I hand Aaron my cup of ice and tell him to start praying. He still hasn't realized what was about to happen. In the room are Aaron, my mom, and his mom. All crying at this point. The nurse begins to tell me what I have already assumed. Dr Nusz instructs me when to push. The epidural is really throwing me off, it was so hard to push when you cannot feel a thing, but I kept pushing... and crying.... and praying.

9:10am: I hear the most amazing sound I have ever heard.... my baby's cries. I see him for a few seconds and he is taken to the other side of the room where Dr Ellis and the nurses check him out. I am breaking my neck to see him, as my doctor tries to stop my bleeding. I continue to pray while Aaron takes pictures and video of out little guy. Then I hear what I was waiting to hear.... he was healthy! Perfect APGAR scores, 10 fingers, 10 toes, lungs that sounded as healthy as could be. Aiden Michael, our miracle, weighed 2 lb 15 oz and was 15.5 inches long. Much bigger than we expected!

Awesome Giveaways @ It's A Preemie Thing.com

I am going to spend all morning on it It's a Preemie Thing @ http://blog.itsapreemiething.com/category/current_giveaways/ registering for all their amazing giveaways!

Cute teething necklaces: http://www.facebook.com/EllieAdorn?sk=wall
It's a Preemie Thing gift cerificate

BabyLegs grab bag giveaway: http://www.facebook.com/babylegs?sk=app_150807158264426

Simply Silhouettes: beautiful custom artwork: http://www.facebook.com/SimplySilhouettes?sk=app_392248091048#!/SimplySilhouettes?sk=wall

Wrapsody: The Wraparound Baby Carrier: http://www.facebook.com/wrapsody?sk=wall

Hope we win something!!

One nasty little bug...

It seems like everyone is getting the dreaded RSV! Every time I sign into baby center.com or face.book someone new has posted that it has been confirmed that their little one has it. UGHH.... that is what I fear more than anything. Aiden only has one more round of the vaccine to go (in March) and *knocks on wood* we have been safe from it so far. I guess we need to quarantine him or put him in a bubble when we go out, but we all know that isn't going to happen. Both mommy and baby would go insane if we couldn't leave the house!
Hopefully I won't be jinxing anything- but Aaron and I were just talking the other night about how lucky we were that Aiden hasn't been sick. His doctors had pretty much guaranteed  us that he would need at least one set of ear tubes (if not multiple). But *knocks on wood again* so far so good.
If we can just make it through the rest of winter without any problems we will be in good shape. I am beginning to think maybe we are finally catching a break. Maybe the big guy upstairs realized he gave us enough to handle right now and that we don't need anything else going on. Maybe we just got lucky. Whatever the reason, I am thankful. We do not need that nasty little bug in our house!

Meet Aiden

Meet Aiden- our 8 month old miracle. He has a smile that will melt any heart that sees it, but he hasn't always had that smile. He was born with a much different smile, what many call a "wide smile." Aiden has a unilateral cleft lip and palate.

He was also born 12 weeks premature. In his short life, our little boy has been through so much, and has more to come. He spent 2 months in the NICU and has had 1 of many surgeries to correct his cleft.

Through this blog I hope to spread the story of our amazingly strong little man, one post at a time.

Every smile has a story...... this is Aiden's