NICU Memories.

 

We volunteered to do a story of our experiences for the NICU to hang on their wall of success stories to encourage parents during their babies stay. Even five years later I still cry when I look at pictures, read or write about our experiences with our kids. I love that it always reminds me how truly blessed we are to have these two special kids in our family. I know you have all heard the story, but I thought that I would share what I wrote as a reminder to all of you that miracles do still happen every day.

 

 

Taya at birth.

 

Taya at 5 years old.

 

Taya's story....

 

Our little miracle girl Taya was born at 26 weeks 4 days gestation. She weighed 1 lb. 6oz. at birth and was 12 ¼ inches long.  After a very quick peek at her, she was whisked through the operating room window to the NICU doctors and nurses waiting on the other side to help her. She needed a lot of help to get her breathing.  Taya spent 2 ½ months on and off of the ventilator before she could finally move onto the CPAP and then eventually on to a nasal cannula.  Her biggest struggle in the NICU was breathing on her own. Her right lung kept collapsing each time she was extubated.  After numerous tries she was finally successful and strong enough to get air into her lungs. After being on the vent for so long we worried about ROP. She did have stage 1 ROP that corrected itself before she left the NICU and has had no lasting effect.  When it was time to learn how to eat Taya again struggled with keeping her oxygen level up.  She would desat almost every time she ate.  Sometimes it was discouraging because it was a very slow process to get her up to a full feed in an acceptable amount of time.  It took a few weeks and a specialized feeding plan but she caught on!  After 96 days of the ups and downs of the NICU life we were ecstatic to take her home with the help of portable oxygen and a pulse-ox monitor!   Taya thrived at home and was able to go off of the oxygen completely within three weeks.  When Taya was 18 months and still not walking on her own we suspected something was wrong. Taya was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy by the time she was 2. Even though we expected some long term effects from her premature birth, it was hard to hear the diagnosis.  Not knowing what to expect we feared the worst.  Five years later we realize how blessed we truly are. Taya is a fully functional, happy, smart, funny and beautiful child.  She has a strong will and does not let her CP limit her.  She continues to amaze us every day with her determined and uplifting spirit. She truly is our little miracle!

 

Garrett at birth.

Garrett at 18 months old.

Garrett's story...

Three and a half years later we once again found ourselves in the operating room with our baby being whisked through the window to the NICU staff waiting on the other side.  Our second little miracle, Garrett, was born at 30 weeks 5 days gestation. He weighed in at 3lbs 3oz and was 16 ¼ inches long. The extra 4weeks in the womb made a big difference for Garrett. He was able to get off the ventilator within a few hours of being born. He was on the high flow cannula for most of his NICU stay, but on very little oxygen.  Garrett was much bigger than his sister and seemed to be more stable. He had fewer IV lines and his PICC line was in for a much shorter amount of time. We did go through a few things we hadn’t experienced with his sister though. He was quarantined for a 24 hour period because he showed signs of a having a virus. He also had a grade 1 bleed on his brain that was detected on his “30 day of life” head ultrasound.  We were worried and didn’t know what it would mean in the future, but as of 19 months later he shows no sign of any kind of developmental delay.  Garrett was what they like to call a “feeder-grower”. He just needed time to grow and develop a little before being able to come home.  He was a good eater and gained weight steadily.  After 41 days he was able to come home with no extra equipment attached! Today he is a very active and rambunctious little boy who loves to play and laugh. It was hard to be a repeat NICU parent, but it made it a little easier to know the routine and already have faith and trust in the awesome staff.   We are very blessed to have two amazing miracles in our lives.

Without miracles and modern day medicine the three of us would not be here today. I am so grateful for all of the blessings that Heavenly Father has given us.