NICU Day 105 ~ (March 21st)

Today was a good day but a very long day, and that is to be expected as we trod through these days of growing and waiting to complete the necessary milestones before Noelle can come home.  She currently weighs 1,320 grams / 2 lbs. 14.5 oz. and is continuing to put on weight like a champ.  Tonight as we left and rode the elevator to the first floor, a couple of other people stepped on with us and commented on their long day.  They had been at the hospital all day long...since 8:00a.m.!!  Tom and I had a little chuckle over that one.  In months past, I might have thought the same thing after spending one long day visiting someone at the hospital, but a little perspective definitely goes a long way these days!!  The Lord gave me two encouragements this evening to continue to push me to endure through this journey.  The first was a book on our doorstep when we arrived home.

Stephen and Shannon Conley are friends of mine from college, and their little preemie son, Isaac, just turned one year old.  Shannon reached out to me several months ago when we started on this journey with Noelle as they had lost a daughter and delivered her early, just as we expected to do with Noelle.  Then the circumstances changed and she related to me again when we landed in the NICU as they had only recently come through their NICU journey with Isaac.  It has been a blessing to ask her questions and re-read through their experiences.  I think every preemie family (especially those born at less than 30 weeks) would agree that nothing can truly prepare you for this journey nor can you really understand it until you walk through it.  I know I did not.  I read through Stephen's and Shannon's journey and was concerned and prayed for them, but I had no idea what they were going through physically, emotionally, or spiritually as they battled for Isaac's life.  Thankfully, they have come through that part of the process and are enjoying their sweet little boy. But life at home has not been without its challenges either; and as we prepare for life at home with Noelle, we are thrilled and apprehensive all at the same time.  Caring for a preemie baby is often very different than a term baby; and all the things I would have done or allowed with a term baby have to be reconsidered and often changed or eliminated due to Noelle's situation.  Still, we are excited; and resources such as this will go a long way to helping us handle her at home and create a new "normal" in our lives.  So thank you, Stephen and Shannon.  This book arrived at just the right time and is an incredible blessing!!

The second encouragement came when I called and found out that Noelle's "Uncle Jim" will be watching over her tonight.  Jim has had her many times when she was in NIC 1 but has not been assigned to her since moving to NIC 2, so we were thrilled to find out he will be taking care of her tonight.  He takes such excellent care of her (as do all the nurses, but we just have special connections with some of them), and I will rest easy tonight knowing she is being cared for by him.  This is the only photo that I have so far of them together, so we will have to soon remedy that! 

I am looking forward to calling through the night and hearing, "NICU, this is Jim."  We are so thankful to God for another good day and hope to report the same again tomorrow.  Thank you for praying.