To My Sweets~
What can I say other than you are amazing! There is this quote that says "choose thy love, love thy choice." I couldn't be happier and more in love with my choice to be with you. There are no words that can adequately express how wonderful you are to me and our family -- notably, how wonderful you have been over these last months taking care of me and Gracie. Playing mommy/daddy/husband is a busy, tiring task I am sure, that is a lot of hats for one person to wear. Thank you my love, thank you! You continue to amaze me and bless my life. Ours is a sweet life!
I love you babe!
Me~
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
My Dear Noah~
We have come along way together my little survivor. So many times where I thought I lost you and that this would not be possible for us, you my dear child stayed strong and hung on for mommy ... thank you. I promise you will be so happy you picked your daddy and I to be your parents.
This NICU stuff is not the easiest as I would much rather have you here with me; however, I know without a doubt that you are in the most capable hands in the medical profession right now. Those nurses love you and ask to be with you during their work day.
Today, you ate from a bottle for the first time in your three-week life and you ate like a champ, 15 cc's to be exact with no brady episodes, which in Mommy's world equals AWESOME. The therapist that was feeding you kept calling you her "advanced placement" baby and accused you of showing off. Continue to show off baby that is all I have to say. Gracie said today "Mommy, when my baby Noah gets bigger I promise I will teach him to swim." Keep getting bigger -- you have a lot to look forward to in this family.
When I married your dad I didn't think my heart could get any fuller and then along came your sister and you. My cup truly is full. I love you little survivor man.
~Mommy
We have come along way together my little survivor. So many times where I thought I lost you and that this would not be possible for us, you my dear child stayed strong and hung on for mommy ... thank you. I promise you will be so happy you picked your daddy and I to be your parents.
This NICU stuff is not the easiest as I would much rather have you here with me; however, I know without a doubt that you are in the most capable hands in the medical profession right now. Those nurses love you and ask to be with you during their work day.
Today, you ate from a bottle for the first time in your three-week life and you ate like a champ, 15 cc's to be exact with no brady episodes, which in Mommy's world equals AWESOME. The therapist that was feeding you kept calling you her "advanced placement" baby and accused you of showing off. Continue to show off baby that is all I have to say. Gracie said today "Mommy, when my baby Noah gets bigger I promise I will teach him to swim." Keep getting bigger -- you have a lot to look forward to in this family.
When I married your dad I didn't think my heart could get any fuller and then along came your sister and you. My cup truly is full. I love you little survivor man.
~Mommy
My Darling Gracie~
Today was your first day of preschool and I couldn't be more proud of you. Last night as you and I were reading bed time stories you told mommy about how your friend received a blessing from her daddy before she went to school and asked if you could have one from your daddy. Daddy gave you a blessing this morning and I have never seen you sit more still for a blessing than this morning. I am so amazed by your ability to understand things and accept them faithfully. You truly are beyond your years my little one. After school you told me that "you believe Daddy's blessing helped you like your new school." Oh, and that you changed your mind about swimming -- that you would rather go to the park instead. You are such a joy to be around, mommy is so happy that she can once again be able to play with you free of bed restrictions and hospital tubes. I love you baby.
~Mommy
Today was your first day of preschool and I couldn't be more proud of you. Last night as you and I were reading bed time stories you told mommy about how your friend received a blessing from her daddy before she went to school and asked if you could have one from your daddy. Daddy gave you a blessing this morning and I have never seen you sit more still for a blessing than this morning. I am so amazed by your ability to understand things and accept them faithfully. You truly are beyond your years my little one. After school you told me that "you believe Daddy's blessing helped you like your new school." Oh, and that you changed your mind about swimming -- that you would rather go to the park instead. You are such a joy to be around, mommy is so happy that she can once again be able to play with you free of bed restrictions and hospital tubes. I love you baby.
~Mommy
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Lessons Learned
Today my dad and I had the opportunity to give Noah a name and a blessing in the NICU. Doesn't seem appropriate to blog about those types of things, but suffice it to say it was really special. I'm grateful for a father that made a special trip down here just to participate (he hasn't missed a grandchild's blessing yet), and for the priesthood that allows us to bless our children.
I think it's time that I turn blogging duties back to Tommi, who's much more creative than I am anyway. But before leaving the blogosphere, I wanted to mention a few things I've learned (or, in some cases, re-learned) over the past few months:
Miracles happen. We've related how, on several different occasions, we thought we'd lost Noah. But just before Tommi's release from the hospital last week, her doctor came into the room and confessed that, at the time the rescue cerclage was placed, he thought the pregnancy would last--at most--a week longer. He couldn't explain how Noah made it to 30 weeks. "For with God nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37) Truth is, both of our children have arrived in quite miraculous ways. My wife is much stronger than she thought she was. Respect for single parents. Tommi certainly had it worse than I did during the 10-week bed rest ordeal. But during that time, I gained a tremendous amount of respect for single parents. Wake up ... get kid up ... shower ... get kid up again ... force feed breakfast to kid ... get dressed ... get kid dressed ... take kid to school / day care ... go to work ... pick up kid from school / day care ... make dinner ... clean up ... get kid to bed ... go to bed ... then start all over again. Doing it for 10 weeks? Totally manageable. Doing it for 20+ years? Wow. Unconditional Love. Two aspects to this: 1) a realization that you don't have to "share" your love when you have a second child -- your capacity to love just grows; and 2) confirmation that your love is the same for each of your children, regardless of how they came to you. Patience. Accepting help from others. Tommi & I are pretty independent people, and while we are happy to help others, we have a harder time accepting help. But I can't even fathom how we could have done this without friends, family members and ward members who were willing to help us out. There's no way we could repay them, but hopefully we can pay it forward to others who may be in need of our help. Exercising some faith can bring an amazing sense of calm and peace. Difficult situations are much less stressful once you accept that the Lord knows what is best and you are willing to accept His will, even if it doesn't match with your desires. Temple sealers were right! As you and your spouse individually and collectively strive to grow closer to God, you really DO grow closer together as a couple. Modern medicine is incredible. Gratitude. Probably the greatest exclamation point on this whole experience is an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Holding my wife's hand, reading books to my daughter, and holding my little 3-lb boy each night all leave me with an overpowering feeling of thankfulness for my family and a God that knows and loves each of us individually.
I think it's time that I turn blogging duties back to Tommi, who's much more creative than I am anyway. But before leaving the blogosphere, I wanted to mention a few things I've learned (or, in some cases, re-learned) over the past few months:
Update
Just a quick update for you all...
Little Noah has continued to stay ahead of the curve with his progress in the NICU. He is now receiving all of his nutrients from his NG tube (courtesy of a combination of mom and Enfamil), and his IV has been removed. The goods are working their way through his system as they should -- only parents and medical professionals get this excited about "big poops." He is back up to three pounds plus now & the doctor has now increased his calories to pack some meat on this skinny kid's bones. If all continues to go well, they'll attempt to feed him from a bottle in 2-3 weeks & see how he responds. We can't wait to have him home with us!
Tommi's recovery has been equally impressive. She is nearly back to full activity--pretty incredible considering her state of health just over a week ago, coupled with the muscle atrophy that must have taken place with 10 weeks of bedrest. My wife is amazing.
Gracie is enjoying two more weeks of her summer school, & will begin pre-school after that. While she enjoys seeing her little brother through the window, she really wants to hold him, & has asked us to sneak him out of the NICU so she can hold him "just for a minute." She will be very happy to have her little buddy home with her. She has nicknmed him, "Bolt." Appropriate, I guess, considering his impatience in the womb.
As for me, I got back to work on Wednesday to work on some projects that I'd put on the back-burner. Fortunately, I have a boss who's been very understanding and some co-workers that have been very helpful in covering for me. So I'm able to spend a part of each evening at the hospital, and Tommi is able to take advantage of the hours Gracie's in school to spend some quality time with her son.
Hope each of you are doing well! We'll try and post some more pics soon.
Little Noah has continued to stay ahead of the curve with his progress in the NICU. He is now receiving all of his nutrients from his NG tube (courtesy of a combination of mom and Enfamil), and his IV has been removed. The goods are working their way through his system as they should -- only parents and medical professionals get this excited about "big poops." He is back up to three pounds plus now & the doctor has now increased his calories to pack some meat on this skinny kid's bones. If all continues to go well, they'll attempt to feed him from a bottle in 2-3 weeks & see how he responds. We can't wait to have him home with us!
Tommi's recovery has been equally impressive. She is nearly back to full activity--pretty incredible considering her state of health just over a week ago, coupled with the muscle atrophy that must have taken place with 10 weeks of bedrest. My wife is amazing.
Gracie is enjoying two more weeks of her summer school, & will begin pre-school after that. While she enjoys seeing her little brother through the window, she really wants to hold him, & has asked us to sneak him out of the NICU so she can hold him "just for a minute." She will be very happy to have her little buddy home with her. She has nicknmed him, "Bolt." Appropriate, I guess, considering his impatience in the womb.
As for me, I got back to work on Wednesday to work on some projects that I'd put on the back-burner. Fortunately, I have a boss who's been very understanding and some co-workers that have been very helpful in covering for me. So I'm able to spend a part of each evening at the hospital, and Tommi is able to take advantage of the hours Gracie's in school to spend some quality time with her son.
Hope each of you are doing well! We'll try and post some more pics soon.
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