I haven’t had a whole lot of extra time to post and I’ve had some requests for new pictures. So instead of rambling, this is really just some pictures. This last week has been hard with transitioning but today it seems like maybe things are starting to straighten out. I hope so. This mama is worn out. But it’s temporary and we’re just trying to enjoy the ride. :)
Happy weekend!
Monday we got to bring our sweet little boy home at 10 days old! His dr was a little late coming to do his “procedure” so we were actually waiting while it was being done but I was thankful to be there to hold him after.
We were released right around noon and I don’t think we could have had any bigger smiles on our faces!
Dressed to come home and his last time to lay in his little bed!
Ready to bust outta the joint!!!! 
Happy Mommy and Daddy!!!
Ava was SO excited to finally meet her little brother! My heart just melted at how giddy she was to finally get to see him!
Seeing him for the first time!!!
Holding him for the first time!
Reed is doing really well so far at home. We had a bit of trouble with nursing when we got home but thankfully in the last day or so that seems to have improved. Hopefully he’ll get back in a groove and we’ll be ok. He’s been sleeping great (which is a huge blessing after Ava never did (and still doesn’t!) sleep all that great!). Last night he actually slept for two four hour stretches which was wonderful!!!!!
Tuesday Ava came home with a banged up nose. She fell at after school care and she has a nice set of bruises and scrapes to show for it. Lovely that this happened the night before our family photos, but thankfully the photographer was able to take care of it! :) This picture doesn’t quite do it justice.
Speaking of photos, here are a few sneak peeks she posted for us! We used Jessica Meinardus Photography and are so excited to see the rest of what she got!!!
Yesterday Reed had his first check up. He’s doing great and was back up to his birth weight of 8lbs 3oz. Sweet little boy!
Oh so in love!!!
I think that gets us all caught up! We’re all so happy to be together in one place and with our sweet baby boy home with us. Zach and Ava are both out of school today and we are looking forward to 3 days of us just getting to spend some quality time together!!! Have a wonderful weekend!!!
I wish I had more time to post but add in all the stuff going on, there’s just not time. You know the saying when it rains it pours? Yeah…. Tuesday morning I was on my way to the hospital for the 9am feeding and I got a flat tire. I’ve never had a flat tire in my life and I get one when I’m trying to get to my baby in the hospital? Fortunately I was almost to my exit and was able to get to the gas station right off of it. Zach came and aired it up and was (barely) able to get it to where it needed to be to get fixed. After crying, i had to laugh at the absurdity of our life this week. It’s been insane, to say the least.
So… since last time, Ava got to see her little brother through the nursery window. She was SO excited (even though you can’t see it)!!
I cannot even believe that Reed will be a week old tomorrow. This week has been somewhat surreal and kind of a blur. But, as hard as it has been, he is healthy and he is healed. His lungs are clear and we are just waiting for him to complete his antibiotics. He will get discharged Monday morning, barring anything else happening. We’re so grateful he’s healthy. We know we are fortunate in the fact that he was not sicker. He’s such a sweet little guy and he already has us smitten with him!
I’m so ready for the next 3 days to be over and to get our baby home. I know that won’t be easy but I’m thinking it will feel like a breeze compared to what this week has been. Thank you to everyone for the continued prayers and support – we wouldn’t have been able to get through this without all the love and support we’ve been shown.
Our little man is doing well. He got to come off his oxygen hood Saturday afternoon and we got to hold him Saturday evening. I have also gotten to start nursing. One positive I’m taking out of this NICU stay is that they have the babies on a 3 hour eating schedule so I’m planning on continuing that when we get home and look forward to not having to work out our own schedule like we did with Ava.
His little lung is completely healed from the pneumothorax. Yesterday’s x-ray did show improvement in his lungs, but the course of treatment for certain includes a round of antibiotics for 10 days, so our earliest release date is Sunday. :(
Yesterday was a very hard and emotional day as I was discharged from the hospital without my baby. I know we are very fortunate in the fact that Reed is not terribly ill, but it’s still hard. I was also very fortunate to be able to stay in the Ronald McDonald House last night. It’s located right above the NICU and if helpful since I’m trying to nurse. You have to sign up to stay each day, so we just kind of have to take it a day at a time knowing how we are handling it.
After the 6:00 am feeding today, I came home to see Ava before school. She keeps asking to see Reed and we are hopeful she’ll get to look at him through the nursery window today. I showed her a picture of him this morning and she said “my brudder.” Melt my heart.
Feeding Reed is going pretty well. Each time I am attempting to nurse. Some times he’s interested and we don’t have to supplement with formula. Other times I can’t get him interested at all. The most important thing is obviously for him to get the nutrients he needs and hopefully we’ll be able to work out our differences. :) The last feeding the lactation consultant was in there and she was able to give me some tricks to help tease him.
The hardest part right now is just trying to be everywhere I feel like I need to be. Obviously I need to be with Reed, but Ava is feeling the effects of this too and really misses me. I haven’t seen her much in the past 4 days and it makes me sad. Fortunately this situation is only temporary and all we’ll get to be together before we know it.
And now some photos of our little guy:
And just a few from today:
Thank you for ALL of the prayers. We are seriously so grateful for each and every person who has uttered a prayer on our behalf. While this is hard, our little Reed is going to be just fine. There are so many other babies that have greater obstacles to overcome and we are just trying to find the positives to focus on. That being said, I do feel as though Reed would not be where he is without the prayers of so many. So even if we can’t thank each of you personally, please know how deeply touched we are for each and every person praying for us.
Our sweet baby Reed Alexander was born at 10:31 a.m. on 10/7/11, which happened to be my parent’s 33rd wedding anniversary.
I had a FAST delivery and Reed was here faster than anyone expected. He is 8lbs3oz and is 20 3/4 inches long.
When he was born, his cord was around him and he was a little fluid deprived. He did cry and I got to hold him for just a minute when he was first born and then took him to clean him up. While they were cleaning him, they realized he was grunting. Basically he was having a hard time getting breaths and was making a grunting noise. They let me have him again for just a minute and Zach got to hold him too and then they took him to the NICU.
His cord was wrapped around a couple of places on his body, and our first report was that he was fluid deprived, which he was. They started an IV on him to get him fluid and they also went ahead and they started him on a 3 day antibiotic as a precaution. This is done so that if something arises, they aren’t waiting until the problem is discovered, because that can take a while, as we are discovering.
To rule out more serious problems, the NICU doctor ruled bloodwork and x-rays. When the x-ray came back, it showed that he had a pneumothorax, or a collapsed lung. There really isn’t a way to say what caused this. The neonatologist said that an adult could get one by just coughing or sneezing.
As of last night, the course of treatment for his lung was to stay on the oxygen hood. His 2nd x-ray yesterday at 6pm showed a little improvement, which is good, but there was still a ways to go. We did get to spend some time with him last night and he had his sweet little eyes open. Here’s our sweet boy under his oxygen hood.
I KNOW Reed will be ok. I have no doubt about that. We have an amazing NICU and I’m thankful we don’t have to rush off to another city. The REALLY hard part about this is that Ava just doesn’t understand why she can’t see her little brother. We’ve told her that he is sick and is in a special room where they doctors will make him better. Reed can have two visitors at a time and yesterday when Zach took my mom down there, she tried to go along too. She doesn’t get that others can see him and she can’t. The NICU nurse did tell me this morning that if he comes off his hood today we can take him into the regular nursery at some point and hold him up to the window so she can see him. I certainly hope that works out. She is also very concerned about me. She came up here earlier and saw me on the couch instead of in the bed and asked if I was done. Sweet girl.
We are so thankful for everyone who has asked and wondered about Reed. We are so blessed and grateful that so many people are praying for Reed. Because this is a much easier way than trying to put all pertinent info into a text, or whatever, I’ll be making updates here when we know something and then I will post on fb or twitter or text that there is an update. I certainly don’t mind getting texts or calls or anything, it’s just easier to post all the details in one spot! Thank you so much for praying for our family.
Dear Ava,
Your world is about to change in a way you don’t even know and my heart is a little sad for you because I’m not sure you will quite understand. We have spent so much time talking about Baby Reed and while I know you are excited about him coming, I know that your little mind can’t really comprehend what that means.
You have been the center of our lives for the past 3 years and although you will still be so very important to us, the time and attention we have given you is about to change. I hope we will be able to show you that we still love you just as much as we always have and that you don’t feel threatened by Reed. You are our precious first born, sweet baby girl and no one can take that from you.
I can’t wait to see you be a big sister and love on your little brother! I know you will love him very much and I’m excited for you to meet him.
Love you baby girl!
Mommy
Dear Reed,
As I sit here feeling you roll around in my belly for some of the last times, I’m so excited and nervous about your arrival! It took us a long time to get the hang of having one baby and I’m not sure yet how we are going to manage two! We are SO EXCITED about you joining our family. We cannot wait to see what you look like, how you act, and what your little personality is. We feel so fortunate that we have your sister Ava and now we will have you for our son.
I can’t promise that we will be perfect parents. I can promise we will love you with our whole hearts and we will always do our best by you. You are a LOVED little boy by many, many people and so many people are anxiously awaiting your arrival with us. We are so thankful that the Lord has blessed us with another little baby. I could not be more excited to see your sweet little face tomorrow! (And please take it easy on me!)
I love you and can’t wait to meet you!
Mommy
I’m sitting in my house alone for the last time in probably a long time and it’s surreal to me that we are having a baby tomorrow. I’m so excited and anxious and emotional and just all around ready to get the ball rolling. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. I’m excited to get to share Reed with y’all soon!
Tonight we took Ava out for a special last night as a family of 3! We are preparing to welcome Reed on Friday!!!!! Sadly, Zach has to be at a football game tomorrow night for work, so we made plans to spend some special time with Ava tonight! We let her decide what to do and she said she wanted chips and salsa and cheese. We decided we were going to go eat at Chili’s. We got there, and she said she didn’t want to eat there. We asked what she wanted and she chose “meh-a-nan” (Mexican)! So we left and went to a Mexican place nearby.
We tried very unsuccessfully to get a photo of Ava and mommy and had zero luck, but we did get one of Daddy and Ava on the first try!
The night before we’d been on our way home and she asked for ice cream and we decided to save that for tonight. She wanted ice cream in a cone.
Being a goofball!
I hope she enjoyed her special night. She is excited about Reed coming but I know she doesn’t really get it. We are very excited about our little boy joining our family on Friday!!!! We would appreciate prayers for a safe and healthy (and ok, EASY!) delivery as well as a healthy little boy!!!!!!
