Ayden 2 Weeks old!

Can't believe another week has gone by! Baby boy has been growing and gaining weight everyday! He has achieved his milestone of reaching 5lbs 3 oz! :) The minimum weight requirement to be in a car seat! However, even though he looks ready to go home, he still needs to keep growing and working on eating! 

Some Updates

-So this week they took the IV off his hand! yay! No more needles! :)  

-He is finally 5 lbs! 

-He's progressing with the breastfeeding! He sucks on and off and sometimes falls alseep !

-He attacked one of the nurses with his pee! lol 

-Zach and I completed a CPR class which is one of the requirements before they discharge him. 

-He loved when Grandma Julie and Aunt Kita came to visit him! 

-They increased his feedings to 45 ML's 

-He's doing great and tolerating his feedings really well

Goals

 He needs to continue working on breastfeeding. 

How's Mom Feeling? 

This week has been a good one. It was the first week Zach had to go back to work so I was with Ayden most during the day. Zach sure was missing him! 

Physically I feel great, I feel back to my normal self now! Emotionally I've been up and down. I swear, if I hear another "When does he get to come home?" from someone I am going to lose it! It's not that I get annoyed when someone asks me that, I just get overly emotional because I don't know. I don't want to be reminded that he is STILL in the NICU and could be there longer than I want him to be! It's not up to me to decide. It's really up to Ayden and how he is progressing. Some may think that eating is not that hard to do but for a preemie it is. A lot of people need to understand that he is not a full term baby. He's not mature yet and he's got a lot of catching up to do. He still needs to learn how to breathe, suck and swallow at the same time. He's so little and it's just too much to ask of him and I don't want to rush him because he is doing the best he can. I want breastfeeding to be a positive experience to him. Not something I'm forcing upon him. The only way he can come home sooner is if I am there at least 3 times a day to practice breastfeeding with him. Once he has established breastfeeding, they will introduce a bottle to him. It's also kind of hard to do that when we have visitors because in between his feedings he needs his rest. When preemies are in deep sleep that's when they develop and grow. Zach and I really want him to come home soon because it really is hard on us. All we can do is pray for him! 

Ayden's Nursery!

Even though Ayden came into this world early, I am so thankful we have the nursery finished and ready! And we pretty much have everything we need except for a few minor things...all we need now is for him to come home! :)

Before

Took us FOREVER to clean this room out!

Measuring wall to do stripes! He just LOVED doing this part! :)

Getting ready to paint!

Painting is done!

Setting up Ayden's crib :)

Seeing that crib being put up made everything feel so real while I was pregos!

The end result!

I am so happy with the end result! You probably can't tell, but I was having major difficulties with how I wanted to decorate the room or what theme I wanted! Originally I wanted grey, white, and blue as the color scheme but realize there are just soooo many shades of blue. And I became picky and upset because things were not turning out the way I wanted them to...but towards the end, I pretty much gave up on the whole color matching dilemna! So I don't really have a color scheme and I am perfectly fine with it! I loved the colors in the room and I think Zach and I did a pretty good job and I hope Ayden will love it! :)

Baby Ayden 1 Week Old!

I can't believe Ayden is now 1 week old! I am so proud of him already! He is such a fighter. He is getting stronger and growing every day. This also marks week 1 of his stay in the NICU. I can't believe how fast this week has gone. Each day that goes by, he is closer and closer to coming home with us. 

He's making progress...

On the first day he was in an incubator with an oxygen mask on. He was also getting fluids through an IV that they put in his hand.

The second day he was out of the incubator and into a crib! Yay! And he no longer had the oxygen mask on which meant he could breathe on his own! They still have to monitor his breathing and heart rate though.

The third day they found that he had jaundice so they started him on phototherapy lights. They put him under a bright light which he did not like! He would fuss and cry all the time because he had to wear these uncomfortable eye glasses.

Day four and five they added an extra light because his jaundice level stayed the same. We attempted breast feeding but he is still learning how to suck so we weren't able to get him to latch on. They also started him on feeds. They gave him small doses of my breast milk and the next day they up the dose. They are feeding him through a nose tube.

Day 6 they tested him and his jaundice levels went down which meant no more lights! By this point he was a happy baby! We came in his room and he was wrapped up like an Ayden burrito and was happily sleeping away. :) We tried breastfeeding again. He latched on for a little while and then fell asleep! lol They increased his feedings as well!

Day 7 They increased his feedings again! yay! We are going to fatten him up!! :) We tried breast feeding and he latched on and started sucking and then stopped! :) He's making progress but still learning! At this point Zach and I are more comfortable with changing his diaper and taking his temperature.

Premature babie must complete three milestones before going home. 

One: graduation to a crib

Two: consistent breathing and heart rate

Three: feeding and gaining weight

The anticipated going home date is usually the "due date". So for Ayden it would be September 29th. But I am hopeful we can get him home sooner because he has already completed 2 of the discharge criteria. We just need to get him to gain weight!

It's Not Easy...

Lets just say this week has not been the easiest for Zach and I. I try so hard not to cry every time we have to leave him. The drive home is always a depressing one. And it doesn't help when we see other parents taking their newborn home and we can't even take our baby boy home.  I'm not gonna lie - I get envious. :( I miss him every time I am not with him. I am getting teary eyed just thinking about him.

But we are happy with all the accomplishments he has made and thankful for this health despite coming early. We know God is good and he is taking care of our baby boy. He is definitely teaching me patience!

We are also lucky to have supportive friends and family who are there for us bringing us dinners and even taking the time to visit! 

Grandma and Grandpa also came to visit him this week! Pictures of them holding baby Ayden for the first time! :) 

We are praying and praying he can come home soon! 

32 Weeks - Baby Ayden's Birth Story

August 4, 2013

Surprise! He's Here!

Lets see where do I start...I guess this week was the last week of my pregnancy! Didn't think I would stop so soon at 32 weeks and 5 days! :) This week has just been a roller coaster ride! Of course we did not expect to have baby Ayden this month. But everything happens for a reason and I thank God for bringing him into my life. I never thought I could love somebody this much! So since it is fresh on my mind...here is my birth story! 

Birth Story: 

It was August 7th (Wednesday), when I woke up with low back pain. I didn't think anything of it, I thought it was probably because I didn't sleep too well that night because of my huge belly. So I went to work and still the back pain did not go away. It became this dull constant aching in my back! So I asked my manager if I could go home early to rest. She was really understanding about it and let me go.  Before heading home, I stopped at Target because something told me to get a few things for baby's room. In my head I just thought, "Oh I am probably just nesting!" But now I realize God was telling me, "Your about to have a baby soon!!" So when I got home, I started cleaning and reorganizing Ayden's room (yes yes I know I probably should have rested but I couldn't help it!). 

The next day (Thursday) the back pain still persisted. I called my manager and told her I probably wouldn't be coming in that day. So I stayed home and rested until 12 PM the back pain finally went away! I took the advantage of using my time to get a few things at the store and run some errands (okay I admit I went shopping for baby stuff!). I also got a cute outfit for my baby shower I was having on Friday! I got back home and made dinner. Zach came home and everything was pretty fine and dandy! :) 

Until later...around 10 PM, as I was ready to go to sleep I felt my first real contraction. At first I wasn't quite sure if it was a contraction because I've been having "Braxton Hicks" on and off lately. I told Zach something did not seem right and that's when we started timing them.  It was 15 minutes apart...and two hours later it was 5 minutes apart. So by the time we called our Midwife it was probably 1 AM. We told her what was happening and she said to go to the hospital because she thinks I may be going into preterm labor. 

So I took a shower and we quickly threw together our hospital bag last minute! By this point, it was hard to talk during my contractions. The drive to the hospital felt long but wasn't bad because there was no traffic! Zach and I were a little scared at this point because we did not know what was going to happen if we were gonna have a baby that day or not. We wanted to wait to call our parents because we weren't sure if it was false labor or not. 

We got to the hospital at 2 AM and they immediately checked me into the triage room. 
They connected a bunch of stuff to me to keep an eye on my contractions and baby's heart beat. I swear, this was the worst part of my whole birthing experience! I hated getting poked when they needed my blood sample...when they had to put an IV in my hand...when they needed my urine sample...when they gave me shots...and all the tests they have to do to find out why I was going into preterm labor! I hated not being able to move or walk around. They gave me some pills that were suppose to help "slow" my contractions but it wasn't really working.  My contractions were coming more frequent and regularly! At this point I was very emotional...this was NOT how I had planned my birthing experience to be! Originally my birth plan was to have a water birth and to be able to labor how I wanted. I wanted it to be a natural atmosphere one where doctors and nurses aren't coming in every 10 minutes! That's why we had chosen a Midwife. But I believe this was what God wanted for me and Ayden. And I now realize that everything doesn't happen according to my own plan. I realize God was testing me. So Zach and I prayed as we waited and waited to see what was going to happen next.
The doctor came in to check me at 3 AM and I was 1+ cm dilated.  She had asked me if I wanted the epidural and I told her no. If I wasn't going to have my planned water birth I was determined to go all the way natural! By 7 AM they checked me again and I was 3+ cm dilated! Things were moving really fast and we still weren't sure if we were going to have a baby that day. The doctor finally told us we were probably going to have the baby that day (Friday). The tests and the urine sample all came back normal. There was no bladder infection. They still didn't know why I was going into preterm labor. So we finally called our parents to let them know we were probably going to have a baby that day. We had to let Zach's mom, Julie, know that the baby shower would have to be cancelled that day because baby Ayden was ready to come :) Of all days, he had to come on the day of my baby shower haha :) But Julie was very understanding and she called everyone up letting them know it was cancelled.

Later they moved me into a different room and by the time they checked me again it was probably 12 PM. I was now 7 cm dilated! Contractions were much more intense. At one point I thought to myself "I can't do this!" But I kept praying and praying for the Lord to give me strength. Zach told me he wasn't sure when I was having a contraction because I was so quiet and calm. I am SO glad Zach and I took a Lamaze class because I was able to use breathing techniques to cope with the pain. I thought of everything my Lamaze instructor had taught...just to relax your body and submit to the pain. The nurses kept saying if I needed the epidural I would let them know. I smiled and told her no thank you. She said I must have a high pain tolerance because I was handling it much better than most patients. Zach was so supportive and encouraging this entire time and I think if it wasn't for him I would give up completely. I am so blessed to have him as my husband! 

The NICU director came in to talk to me and informed me of what I was going to expect after the delivery. They said that since he is 32 weeks early his lungs were not quite mature yet. So he was going to need help breathing as well as eating. They said he would be admitted into the NICU right after birth so I wouldn't be able to hold him. This part was very emotional to me. I started crying because I didn't want my baby to be in pain. And I started blaming myself because he was early. :(  I know now that it wasn't my fault and the doctor and nurses did everything they could to keep him in me longer. It was just his time to come! 

By 1 PM the contractions seemed longer but the same intensity. I felt a lot of pressure so we called the nurse in and she checked me one last time...I was fully dilated! Everything was happening so fast and I was getting really excited at this point! I was finally going to meet my baby boy! By 1:20 PM I was in the OR room. Zach and I prayed one last time together. I was immediately comforted and ready to have this baby! They got everything ready and one of the people in the room asked me if I wanted music and what I wanted to listen to. I said sure but couldn't think of what song I wanted, I was trying to focus on the getting through my next contraction. So Zach had them put coldplay on. lol I am so glad they had music on. Somehow it made everything so much better.

Finally I was ready to push! :) This was probably the best moment of my whole birthing experience. Zach was there by my side encouraging me. Everyone in the room was so supportive and cheering me on! The music was there. I'm not gonna lie, the pushing part was definitely hard work! I was sweating bullets! lol Finally after two pushes, I heard them say "he's got a lot of hair!" I was getting so excited!!

Finally, one last push and a scream, and he was finally out! :) Zach cut the cord and I heard his little baby cry. I immediately felt no pain just the amazing adrenaline rush! They showed him to me and I immediately fell in love and called him Ayden. As they rushed him into the NICU, Zach became teary eyed and I will always remember the look on his face! He told me how proud he was of me and that he loves me.

They showed me the new room where I would be resting and staying for the night. Afterwards they took me to the NICU to let me see and hold my baby boy. We did skin to skin and it was the best feeling ever! That's when I knew that all the pain that I had endured was worth it for him. And I probably sound crazy, but I would do it again in a heartbeat! 

Born August 9, 2013 at 1:43 PM
4 lbs 15 oz 19" long!