One Year Ago...

I can hardly believe that Noah turns one today.
Where does the time go?

I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. Even doped up on magnesium, I remember the doctor and anesthesiologist coming and talking to us about delivering Noah. If they could've gotten me stabilized, they would have left him in as long as possible. But my numbers were getting worse. He had to be delivered today. We were hoping for a natural birth but my body was refusing to cooperate. So after having two vaginal births, I was going to get my first c-section. They talked to us about administering a spinal to numb me, but the side effects were too great. Since my blood platelets were extremely low, there was risk of paralysis, stroke and coma. No thanks. We decided to knock me out completely and I would receive a blood platelet transfusion during the surgery or I would have never clotted.

Because of the higher risk, David was not allowed in the operating room. So it went that our baby was born, and we didn't get to see it.

But, they quickly got David as they wheeled Noah into the NICU.

He was a whopping 3 pounds 12 ounces. We've eaten bigger rotisserie chickens for dinner.

He was a fighter from the get go.


He was immediately hooked up to a machine to monitor everything...pulse, blood pressure, temperature, oxygen. He had an IV for fluids, a tube down his nose for formula and nose probes for oxygen. One minute he's inside me enjoying the nourishment from Little Debbie's Swiss Cake rolls, the next minute he is like this.


I didn't see him (other than a picture) for 3 days. Delivering Noah was the cure to all my problems, but the numbers got worse before they got better. Alarmingly worse. I had an IV to put fluids in, an IV to take blood out, I had been poked about 100 times in 5 days, still had a catheter in and those great "socks" that massage your legs to prevent clots, and I was still drugged up on magnesium which makes you feel like you are drunk with a touch of the flu. I wasn't going anywhere.

But, I slowly started to feel better and my numbers slowly started to head towards the normal range. And I finally got to see my son. This is when I held him for the first time.

The pictures really don't give you any idea, but he was so tiny.

I was prepared to do whatever I had to to get him him home. Holding him was virtually impossible, especially when they moved the IV from his arm to his head.


Little by little, wires and tubes started coming off. They had originally told us not to expect him to come home until his due date. 9 weeks in this place and being away from Emily, Ben and David. I prayed all the time for the strength to get through this. I wanted nothing more than for all of us to be home as a family. And our little man did more than his part. By his 34th week, he was ready to try a bottle which was his final hurdle before going home.


And within 3 days, the feeding tube came out and I got my first look at him without a bunch of tape and tubes on his face. He was a handsome little guy. Apparently, he wanted to go home as much as I did.


And after 18 days, we did just that. A part of me was so excited, and the other part of me was so scared. I was an absolute nervous wreck the whole way home. I sat in the back of the van with him and just watched his every move. But, our little bean did just fine.


We call him the $200,000 baby because that's what the hospital bill came to.

And he's worth every penny.
(But thanks to insurance, we only paid $110!)