NICU Day 117/Home Coming Day ~ (April 2nd)

What an amazing day this turned out to be, filled with grateful hearts and an incredible amount of love.  The day was incredibly bittersweet as we said "see you later" to our NICU family whom we have grown to love immensely.  No words could even begin to describe how thankful we are, not only for the care we received the past four months but also the love and friendships we now have through this journey.  I think the pictures along with the FOX 8 newscast describe that day better than I could ever communicate in words, so please enjoy these special memories captured on "film."

(The people included are not even half of the team that has taken care of her these many weeks.  We still need to go back and capture some pictures we missed with several people!! Thank you, Joy and Lori, for taking so many pictures!)

~Dianne, Noelle's nurse her last night in the NICU (Noelle loved snuggle time with her)~

~We love Dr. Tatum and are so very thankful to God for him and the role he played in Noelle's care~

~Lori, one of Noelle's awesome nurses~

~Dr. Helderman, another of Noelle's wonderful neonatologists~

~Christi & Christina: Noelle's fantastic delivery nurses~

~I asked Donna to dress Noelle in her home going outfit.  It was especially fitting since Donna was the one to dress her for the very first time!~

~All dressed and read to go and snuggling with Aunt Donna (who came in on her day off to see us leave)~

~Noelle's message for the Forsyth NICU (courtesy of Auntie Em ;-)~

~Removing Noelle's things...something I just could not bring myself to do~

~Forever bonded together (I have talked with her at least once a day since Monday!!)~

~Taking it all in~

~Amanda holds a special place in our hearts~

~Joy, one of Noelle's amazing respiratory therapists~

~Candace, another of Noelle's sweet nurses~

~I love all the memories we have with Amy, Noelle's respiratory therapist (her mother made this precious blanket for Noelle)~

~One final kiss before entering the carseat~

~Tiny feet~

~Comfy, Cozy~

~Almost ready to go!!~ 
 

~One final "see you later..."~

~Happy family~

~Home, Sweet Home~

~I think I like it here!!~

FOX 8 Home Coming Update

~Home, Sweet Home~

We will post an update of today at some point when we have some time after settling into home; but in the meantime, Fox 8 news is running a home coming update in the news tonight at 10:00.  You can watch the feed live here or it will be posted online after the story airs.  Today was an overwhelming day, a testament of God's incredible goodness in our lives.  Thank you for your continued prayers for our family.  We look forward to continuing to share with you how God works in and through this precious miracle He has granted to us.

***FOX 8 NEWS STORY may now be viewed here***

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~

NICU Day 114 ~ (March 30th)

~Noelle in her very first graduation cap (courtesy of Auntie Em)~

Last night, Noelle celebrated her upcoming home going with a little graduation party hosted by her Auntie Em and a few of her other nurses and NICU staff who have previously taken care of her.  

~Auntie Em & Noelle in their matching headbands (made by Auntie Em)~

She had a wonderfully "boring" day, but it was also bittersweet as we began to say "See you later" to some of our NICU family members who will not be working again before we go home.

~Noelle & her Uncle Jim~

I do not have the words to begin to say "thank you" to these incredible people.  My heart is full, and we will miss them tremendously.  We are excited for the next chapter in our lives, but we will forever be grateful for the time we spent in the Forsyth NICU and for the lifelong relationships we have developed with so many.  Part of me wishes we could slow down the next two days, but I know they will just fly on by and we will soon be home.  We look forward to many future visits as Noelle continues to grow and change.  Thank you, FMC NICU!!  We love you all dearly!!!

NICU Day 113 ~ (March 29th)

~Surprised.  Excited.  Overwhelmed.  Thrilled.  Thankful.~

~Still in her "big girl" crib~

These are some of the words which describe the gamut of emotions today as we heard the new care plan developed by our medical team: NOELLE IS COMING HOME!!!!!  She has basically reached all of the necessary benchmarks, and they have decided that they can do the biopsy as an outpatient procedure in a few weeks after she has put on some more weight.  The current plan is for her to be discharged on Monday if all goes well over the weekend.  The first few weeks will be busy with the adjustment and doctors' appointments, but we are absolutely thrilled to be bringing our baby girl home with us.  Words simply cannot describe the emotions after such a long journey, but we have a new family in the NICU which we will greatly miss and look forward to visiting them as often as possible.  We cannot even begin to communicate the love and gratitude in our hearts for this incredible group of people who have made this day possible for our little family, and we are excited for the day when Noelle will be old enough to begin understanding who these people are and the impact they have made on her life.  God was incredibly gracious to us in placing us where He did throughout this process, and we are so grateful to Him for His incredibly loving care in our lives.  

Noelle still had a busy day today as we began to prepare for her discharge.  She had an MRI on her spinal cord to evaluate her tethered cord {we will receive results later, and it will probably need to be monitored for some time and possibly will require surgery}.  

~Preparing to go downstairs for her MRI with Aunt Donna~

She also received her "2 month" immunizations which made her really cry and broke my heart AND her Aunt Donna's heart.  Donna was her nurse today and even had a different nurse administer the shots so she would not have to be the "big bad meanie!"  

~Daddy enjoying some of the benefits of the open crib~

We still have a few other procedures to complete and some logistical things to sort, but we are on the fast track, and I know this weekend will fly by as we prepare what we can for her to live at home with us.  From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your persistent, continued prayers before the throne of grace.  We look forward to sharing "the countdown" with you!!!

NICU Day 112 ~ (March 28th)

Today was full of mixed emotions as we took joy in Noelle's growth and the milestones she is reaching daily and then were disappointed to learn the preliminary advisement based on the results of the contrast x-ray.  I have refrained from saying too much before now since much of this was unconfirmed suspisions, but they have wondered for the last several weeks if Noelle may have a condition called Hirschsprung Disease.  We were uncertain if this really was the problem or if her intestines just needed to mature since her issues have been sporadic and she does not have many of the symptoms, but the x-ray today revealed enough concern that the radiologist recommended a biopsy.  This will mean a transfer back to Baptist; and beyond that, we will not know anything until tomorrow.  We are disappointed for certain since we had Noelle's homecoming within our sights, and now we have reached another setback of an undetermined amount of time.  However, as we processed the initial report, God reminded me yet again that this is not about us and also brought to mind the following blessings:

~He has a purpose in which we can rest and trust.
~Baptist is now a "familiar" place, and we now know some members of the NICU staff and also know where to park our car!!  {If you know anything about Baptist, you know it is absolutely massive!!}
~This is the best children's hospital in this area and is the place where every parent wants their child to be if they need a procedure such as this.
~Our neonatologists will still be the same familiar faces we have known for the past 16 weeks.
~Noelle also has some inguinal hernias & an umbilical hernia {both very common with preemies and especially micro preemies} which will require surgery at some point.  If she has to have surgery for Hirschsprung Disease then they can repair these at the same time, and we will not have to return for a separate surgery in a few months.

We will continue to update as we learn more tomorrow.  In the meantime, we are encouraged with our little girl's progress and are thankful that she continues to excel.  If she has surgery, it will set her back in a few things; so we're grateful for every step she can take now, making it much easier for her to return to her "baseline" after she comes through all of the necessary procedures.

~Trial Run in the Crib~

Tonight she graduated to an open crib!!  She has been maintaining her body temperature quite well over the past few days, and so she is on a trial run tonight.  It is common for babies to go back and forth for a few days between their isolette and the crib, but the fact that she is trying it out tonight is another great step and just shows how she is "growing up."  She weighed in at 1,530 grams / 3 lbs. 6 oz. tonight, and she is eating and growing like a weed!!

~This takes up much less space in the room!~

These pictures make her look much bigger than she actually is.  She is still a tiny little thing, but we're so grateful to God for her stellar progress these last several weeks {and no, she is not as long as the snugly, but she does like being wrapped in it!}.  Thank you so much for your continued prayers.  I know we would grow weary without them, and we appreciate your love and support more than we could ever express in words.

~Snuggled in for the Night~

NICU Day 111 ~ (March 27th)

Noelle had another good and "boring" day today and just continues to cruise along in her progress.  Her contrast x-ray was scheduled, and it actually worked best with the doctor to do it Wednesday evening at 5:15.  I'm not certain how fast we will have the results, but we will certainly keep everyone posted.  In the meantime, thank you for your continued prayers.  We are still learning to trust and wait only upon God, for our expectation is from Him.

We love how Noelle's nurses spend time with her at night when we are not able to be there.  Some of them even come visit her and play with her when they take a break from the babies for which they are responsible that night.  She is going to miss all of them!!

~Taking a bottle from Kayla~

~Talking to Oneicesa~

~You might remember some "Rodeo Giraffe" pictures from several weeks ago which a couple of Noelle's nurses took one night as they took care of Noelle and played with her (Post can be viewed here).  Well, last night was somewhat of a repeat, and we were presented with new Rodeo pictures today from the adventures of last night.  Here are a few of them alongside some of the pictures from a couple of months ago.  We love seeing the changes!~

...and the comparison: