NICU Days 115 & 116 (March 31st & April 1st)

~Sanding the hutch for Noelle's clothes & baby items~

The last two days have been a bustle of activity as we prepared for Noelle's home coming scheduled for tomorrow.  Thankfully, we had obtained her crib early in the pregnancy but had taken it to a friend's {the Shaws} home to paint it and then ended up storing it there after our first ultrasound revealed initial bad news.  We moved to a new place only a few weeks before that sad day and once we had the first news report, we decided not to put together a room to which we would have to close the door for an amount of time if things went as the doctors said they would.  Things began to change only a few short weeks before Noelle was born; and then once she was here, we practically moved into the NICU and have lived there the past nearly 4 months.

~Alex helping Uncle Tom~

Needless to say, we never did get things painted or her room put together, so we spent Saturday performing prep work on the furniture pieces.  We are moving some things around in our home, painting them, and re-purposing them to work for our needs.  I look forward to the day when we can reveal the final results, but we were excited at how much we were able to accomplish yesterday.

~Sanded and ready for the next step~

After finishing the sanding, we met the oxygen care people at the hospital for our training on Noelle's oxygen support and apnea monitor.  We're hoping she will be free of these things after gaining a couple of more pounds, but we are thankful to have these items for our transition home.  Then came the fun part for which we have waited many days.

~Noelle getting set up on oxygen in the parenting room~

We had the privilege of spending the night in one of the parenting rooms with our little girl.  Ironically, we were assigned the same room in which we had stayed during the week in January when she had become extremely sick with pulmonary hypertension.  Thankfully, we will have more pleasant memories of that room as of last night since Noelle did very well through our trial run; and we are looking forward to our first night at home with her.

~Settling in for the night in the parenting room~

If all goes well, we will be home with her by late tomorrow afternoon and are filled with anticipation and excitement for this new path in our journey.  Simultaneously, we are saddened at the thought of saying "see you later" to our NICU family who has embraced us and taken such wonderful care of us these past many weeks.  We are so grateful to God for not only bringing us through this trial but for the way He has brought us through this trial and for the lifelong relationships we have established along the way.  We will miss everyone tremendously!!

~Amanda: Noelle's Admit Nurse & Discharge Nurse~

~Amanda admitting Noelle on December 8, 2011~

The plan tomorrow is for Amanda to be Noelle's nurse and walk us through the discharge process after morning rounds and the discharge orders are written.  This was special news to us as she was Noelle's admit nurse on the day she was born and has taken wonderful care of her at different points through the past nearly 4 months. What a bittersweet day it will be!!  Thank you so much for your continued prayers.  We know this new path will not be without its own bumps and hurdles, but God has promised to never leave or forsake us, and He will finish the work He has begun in us.  We look forward to continuing to share His goodness and declaring His glory!!

~We will certainly continue to update this blog.  I will probably cut back to once or twice a week {depending on what is happening} but will certainly continue to update everyone on Noelle's progress.  Thank you for praying!!~
~FOX 8 News is running a home coming story tomorrow evening at 10:00p.m.  We will post the link and pertinent information tomorrow evening before it airs~