6 weeks

HI!
Sorry it's been so long since I have posted an update. I saw Sadie last Monday and enjoyed my time with her. I had to go her direction anyway to have my stents removed. Though the process was not any fun, I feel SO much better! Praise the Lord! I have more energy, don't take pain meds anymore, and I am able to help around the house. I feel like a wife and mom again.
Brandon and I went to see Sadie again this weekend. Friday night was great; I was able to nurse her. She did awesome! Saturday I was hoping to nurse her again, but she was way too sleepy. We snuggled while she was fed via her feeding tube. That 40 minutes went way too fast. I wasn't ready to give her up when it was time. Thankfully Brandon realized that, so we stayed longer. At her next feeding, I was able to give her a bottle. She drank the majority of it, and she was wide awake. Our time together was as sweet as always. I like to pray beforehand that our time together would be a blessed time. The nurses are good about allowing us to be involved as much as we can...taking her temp, changing her diapers, holding her, etc.
Sadie is now in a crib! As one nurse said, she is out of her little house. :) She weighs 4 lb. 10 oz. She's one of the bigger kids on the block. We we able to visit with one of the doctors this weekend. He has good things to say about Sadie; we just need her to be taking all her feedings by bottle before she can come home. He thinks it will be another 3-4 weeks. Her lungs are considered small, or undeveloped. He said she will outgrow this, but it will take time. We don't know how long. They looked at her heart this past week to see if it was under any stress from possibly having to work harder because of the smaller lungs. Thankfully, her heart looks good. We have so much to be thankful for...a healthy heart, eyes that are already maturing, a skull that is coming together nicely, and the list goes on. Though it seems kind of overwhelming to think she will come home with oxygen and a monitor, we know that God will see us through this time as well. He won't ever leave us! We continue to covet and appreciate your prayers for Sadie. We know God could heal her lungs at any time. May you, too, rest in his care.

5 weeks old

Time is moving along. I am hoping we are about half way done with life in the NICU. The nurses expect her to be there a few more weeks. She is growing; she now weighs 4-1 pounds. She doesn't feel much heavier when I hold her. :)
We had a good weekend with her. Brandon was able to snuggle with her some on Friday night. Saturday morning I got quite a bit of time with her, and Brandon got to hold her again. The nurse wasn't sure we should try nursing because Sadie was kind of "dingy"...meaning she kept setting of her oxygen alarm with numbers too low. However, the nurse asked the doctor, and she said we could snuggle and see what Sadie did. I was up for that! Now, I don't want to get too personal, but I also want to give glory where glory is due...to our Heavenly Father! Sadie latched on right away and was actually sucking and swallowing! It was a wonderful thing! PTL!
Sadie has never been a real "sick" baby in the NICU, but her lungs are still a little behind in development. This is pretty much par for the course of living in her parched womb for 9 weeks. The doctors are pretty sure when she comes home, she will be on oxygen. We are so thankful she is doing as well as she is, and we will bring her home however was can. But we also know and serve a God who made her lungs and can heal them at any time. Would you join us in praying for her lungs to develop where she doesn't need the oxygen? We know our God still does miracles! Thanks!

Milestones

Sweet Sadie is one month old! She is also weighing 4 pounds 1 ounce! She seems to be doing really well after the transfusions. Thanks for praying!
I also wanted to let you know again how important your prayers were the night of my surgeries. I talked with a nurse who was with me through it all. I told her so many people were praying, and she said she could tell. All night long things "magically" appeared right when they needed it or people showed up at the perfect time. Isn't that cool? I just imagine angels above doing the work of the Lord making all things work out for the good.
Today is my first day at home flying solo. So far it's going pretty good. I just get tired rather quickly. Maisie is about as busy as one can get. In fact, I need to go find her now. :)

Midweek Update

Thanks for praying for Sadie's transfusion! The first one went well. She received 26 cc over a four hour time period. She got another transfusion yesterday. I think it is common to get them two days in a row. We are praying that her bone marrow will learn to make her own red blood cells soon.
I was able to see her yesterday and snuggle for almost two hours. The nurse said she was already a little more fiesty yesterday. She was crying at 8:30 so the nurse gave her a bottle. She drank the whole thing in 10 minutes. Also yesterday, Sadie had her first eye exam. Though she wasn't a big fan of it, the doctor seemed pleased with what he saw. Her eyes are already showing signs of maturing. (They were checking her retinas.) She will have another exam in 3 weeks.
The nurse also thought I could try nursing Sadie the next time I see her. I don't have high expectaions, but I am excited to try. It's my heart's desire to have a great nursing relationship with her like I did the other girls.
Thanks again for your prayers and words of encouragement!

Quick Request

I always get a little nervous when I get a call from the NICU. I imagine it's close to the same feeling a parent gets when the school calls them. It can't be good. Thankfully, things are usually just fine when the NICU calls. Today the nurse practitioner wanted to let me know that Sadie still needs the oxygen and high flow, though they've been trying to wean her. Her blood work today showed that her red blood cells and hemoglobin were both rather low. This could be why she needs the assistance with breathing. They want to help her by giving her a blood transfusion. They are doing this on Monday afternoon. Please pray everything goes well. I admit, it makes me kind of nervous, but I keep reminding myself I have to trust the Lord. He's been faithful with so much already! And like my dad said, transfusions can be a good thing. I am living proof of that!
Thanks for covering her in prayer!

Tusks

Sweet Sadie is already four weeks old. The time is going fast, and I hope it continues to chug along so she can come home.
I went to visit her with my dad on Saturday. I was able to snuggle with her for an hour and a half. The time is special and goes by quickly. I was able to visit with one of the nurse practitioners, and I am so glad! The day before I was told that Sadie was now in an isolette (a fancy word for an incubator). I was so sad because it seemed like a big step backwards. Anyway, I was talking with the NP and asked her to explain why Sadie was in the isolette. She said she would because even though it seems like a step backwards, it isn't. Comforting words. Even though Sadie was doing a nice job of maintaining a good body temp, she had to use calories to do so. They want Sadie to use all her energy to grow, so a controlled temp will help her concentrate on this. She is still about 3-7, and she will be in the isolette until 4-4.5 pounds. The NP assured me that Sadie is doing really well; she just needs to grow and develop. We are so thankful. They took Sadie off the meds to help her lose fluid. It didn't seem to be helping. The are beginning to think Sadie simply has a poochy tummy. :) Sadie has an eye exam on Monday, so please pray it goes well and everything looks good.
I am still up and down with how I feel. Praise the Lord I will have my stents removed earlier then originally scheduled. This should help with the achy, crummy feeling. Please pray for my energy to come back as well. I saw my OB doc this week, and he told me I had a long road of recovery and to take it easy. It was good for me to hear that.
Now about the tusks...I was reading a bedtime story to Analise the other night about a baby elephant. Analise saw the elephant and his tiny tusks. Our dialogue went something like this:
"Look mommy...tusks...just like Sadie has!
Laughing I replied, "Sadie doesn't have tusks!"
She chuckled, "But what are those things in her nose?"
She makes a good point; they can be oxygen tubes or tusks. You pick. :)

Outstanding

I got to see my baby girl yesterday. Joy of joys! We got some snuggle time in, which is my favorite thing to do with her. She is doing better on the bottle. On Tuesday she drank one complete bottle and then more at other feedings in the same day. The nurse practictioner is amazed. While we were with Sadie yesterday, one of the doctors came in to look her over. I had never been there for an exam before, so that was fun. Her swelling looks like it's gone down some. They are going to cut back on some of the oxygen to see how she does. According to the doctor, Sadie is doing, "Outstanding." All glory goes to God!
I wish I could say that I was doing outstanding, but that wouldn't be the truth. I still feel crummy, and the antibiotics for the bladder infection haven't affected the way I have felt. So, we are trying to figure out what the culprit is. I constantly feel tired and achy across the back and ab area. I don't remember feeling like this after the other c-sections. I have a couple of calls in to two different doctors to get their opinion. My hunch is that my two stents are giving me grief. I am scheduled to have those removed on May 1st, but I am praying I can move that up sooner. Sorry this sounds like such a downer.
There is a song I hear on the radio that I feel like was written for me. Some of the words are, "It's all because of Jesus I am alive." Thanks for all your prayers! Sadie's room just radiates peace, and even the nurses sense that I think. It's because of so many people praying for her!

Quick Update

Me again asking for prayer. :) First, I have a bladder infection, so please pray the antibiotics work so I can feel better. It's no fun feeling crummy!
Also, Sadie is now on a couple of meds. One is to help her lose fluid, since she has been retaining it. Her lungs are kind of "wet." If she gets rid of some of the extra fluid, then her tummy will be smaller and not press up against her lungs...thus requiring less oxygen needed in breathing. I guess this is common in preemies, but I would still appreciate prayers that her body would grow and begin to function as God created it to on its own. Thanks!
I am off to see if Kansas is winning...I have them as the winners in my bracket! :)

Special Times

We had another special time with Sadie this weekend. We arrived Friday evening for her 8:00 feeding. She had been started on some bottle feeding a couple of days ago, so I was able to give her a bottle. For only being 33 weeks gestation, she is doing well of sucking and swallowing. She doesn't drink her entire feeding; she gets too tired. They continue to do rest of the feeding through her feeding tube. Once she is on bottle feedings at all 8 feedings, we will then introduce nursing. We were also involved in changing her diaper and taking her temp.
Saturday morning we had the opportunity to watch her take a bath. However, I was the selfish mom (with complete support from Brandon) and chose to kangaroo care her instead. That is what I miss the most...not being able to snuggle with her everyday like I could with the other girls. I want to make the most of that opportunity when I am with her. So, we snuggled skin to skin for an hour and a half. She was awake when we started and then fell asleep. What I have learned with her is that if she gets restless and we see her heart rate increasing, all I have to do is either sing to her or read scripture to her, and she calms down and her heart rate slows. I love that about God's word! It can calm even the youngest soul.
Sadie weighs about 3 lbs. 7 oz. I suppose she looks bigger, but she is still so tiny! We continue to pray for her to gain weight and get where she doesn't need the oxygen assistance. We are SO thankful that she is doing as well as she is.

Busy Day

Yesterday was a busy day, and while I felt good while out and about, today I can feel it. My sister in law, Sarah, and I left early yesterday for our day in Lincoln. I had two doctor appointments. My first one at the urologist took a long time, but I got the news I wanted. Let's just say, I am a little more free. (I'll spare the details.) My other appointment was with my OB doc. That went well, too, and I was given permission to drive. Watch out - it might be scary seeing me on the road after so many months of not driving. :)
Our time with Sadie was simply delightful. We got there while she was wide awake. The nurse came in then and gave Sadie her first tub bath. She doesn't have her IV anymore, so we graduated from sponge baths. Sadie cried a little but nothing like her two sisters did at their first bath! We then got her dressed and got our snuggle time. She fell asleep while I was holding her, and she kept sleeping while Aunt Sarah held her.
She is growing and now weighs 3-5 pounds. She still needs some oxygen, esp. at her feedings. We are praying she outgrows this. Her tummy is rather large. Though they don't seem too concerned, this mama would feel a little better if it came down to a more normal size.
We continue to appreciate your prayers. We still have a peace that Sadie is where she needs to be, though we miss her lots. I am feeling well most of the time but can tell when I have overdone it. We take it one day at a time and trust in God's faithfulness.