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~

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

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

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.

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.

Mommy's Home!

Gracie and I are happy to report that Tommi was discharged this afternoon and is now home with us. Things will be slow-going for her for a little while, but she has plenty of time to rest! (Uncle Stevie, Aunt Liz & Tommi's cousin Megan even took Gracie to the zoo this afternoon to have some fun and let mom transition home smoothly.)

Little Noah is doing remarkably well. He's been removed from the tanning lights and has had all his tubes removed aside from his NG (feeding) tube & IV. He's breathing great and thus far is tolerating formula from his NG tube well. Best of all, he can now be swaddled in his blankets and is as happy and relaxed as we've seen him. Tommi got a great picture of him this afternoon before we left the hospital...

Grace has been itching to see her baby brother, & she finally got her chance yesterday, albeit through a NICU window. It was something special to see the look in her eyes as she caught the first glimpse of her sibling. She's going to make such a great big sister.

Finally, I don't think TJ will be too enthused with me posting this picture, but I think it really captures the special bond that exists between moms and their kids. This was taken on Thursday evening, Tommi's first opportunity to hold Noah. After being apart from one another for two days, they were both definitely "at home."

May We Introduce...

After much vacillation on my part, we have finally decided on a name for our newborn son ... Noah Russell Hymas. He's doing fantastic & seems to consistently exceed the doctors' expectations. So although he has a bit of a road ahead of him, we are very happy with how well he has progressed and optimistic about the upcoming days and weeks. Noah was upgraded to the nasal cannula today, so I was able to snap a few photos ...

Week 30 -- A Deal's a Deal

Several weeks back, I came home from work and was greeted by my wife, who was waiting to tell me of an agreement she had reached. You see, at the time Tommi was about 24 weeks along and we were biting our nails hoping he could reach the 28-week point or further. Tommi informed me that during the day, she'd been talking to the boy in her womb, and had made him a deal--"If you can just hang on till 30 weeks, you can do whatever you want to do afterwards."

Well, today marks our 30-week point and our little guy stayed true to his word. But he didn't give us much more. Tommi was admitted to the hospital yesterday evening with what turned out to be HELLP Syndrome (very similar, I understand, to preeclampsia), so our baby boy was delivered via C-Section this morning at 7:00 am. He was 3 lbs., 1 0z., and was 15 1/2 inches long. I am happy to report that Tommi is recovering well after a very difficult evening last night, and was amazing as always. Our new son is in the NICU, but has thus far exceeded the doctor's expectations for him given his gestational age & has been able to breathe without having to be intubated.

We have yet to make a final decision on his name, but will post once we decide. And unfortunately, the CPAP machine helping to give him oxygen makes it difficult to see his face, so I don't have a good picture of his face. But, if he continues through the night to breathe as well as he has been this afternoon and evening, they will take the CPAP off in the morning and give him one of those smaller nasal cannula things. When that happens, I will post some pictures of our little guy's headshot. Till then, here's a picture of him holding onto dad's finger...

Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers on our behalf. It is impossible to express the gratitude in our hearts for the miracle we've witnessed over the past several weeks.

Week 28: Hump Day

Awhile back, a good friend of mine left on a mission. His mom was a single mother, was very close to her eldest son, and was having a hard time coping with him leaving. So, I thought I'd pay her a visit the day after he left. I still remember going into their house and seeing one of those posters of a temple made up of 730 circles for each day of his mission. There was one lonely sticker on that poster representing the one day of his mission that had been completed. It was one of the most depressing sights I've ever seen.

I have to admit to having a few days where I've felt like I'm looking at a poster with a few lonely stickers on it. Now... if I'm feeling that way, I can't begin to imagine what it must have felt like for my wife as she lays in bed all day looking at the calendar on the wall of our bedroom (kudos to a woman that's survived nearly two months of bedrest with little complaint). But today we have cause for celebration--it's a "hump day" of sorts for us. Today our little guy officially completes 28 weeks! We're not there yet, but his chances of being born healthy just went way up.

I won't even try to explain how grateful we are to have reached this day and how blessed we feel. But I will say, "Ahhhhhhh." That's the sound of a nice, deep breath. Which reminds me... time to brush my teeth.

Till Week 29...

Week 27: The Milestone Nears...

Less than a week till our big milestone! We have been holding our breath to get the the 28-week mark, and so far the little guy has cooperated. If he can hang on just a little longer, his chances of arriving healthy go way up. TJ's still recovering from an extra long doctor visit on Friday (I guess her body doesn't really like being vertical these days), but otherwise we're doing great.

Meanwhile, Ms. Gracie continues her Summer Tour 2009. We've been fortunate to have her with us for the past two weeks, splitting time between her best friend's house and summer school during the day, and at home in the evenings. Grace remains our comic relief--she has a crazy memory (knows Laman, Lemuel, and the Liahona, and can almost recite "Pinkalicious" verbatim), but for some reason her alphabet continues to have two R's ("A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, R, J, K..."). On Sunday, she was coloring pictures during sacrament meeting, and decided that she would give the pictures to God...then asked, "Daddy, does God have a mailbox?" Didn't quite know how to answer that one.

And unfortunately, she has adopted one of her mother's less-than-desirable childhood habits. Apparently when TJ was little, she insisted on having all her puffalumps, etc. in bed with her--she was terrified of having one of them feel left out. Well, Grace has a similar love for her stuffed animals, and has a very spcific location on her bed for each of them. OCD, anyone? It's actually pretty cute until you can't find one of the 2" beanie babies you got at McDonald's 3 months ago.

Till Week 28...

Week 24/25: Still Incubating…

Sorry that I'm so late in getting out this update--I'm going to try and kill two weeks with one post. The good news is that Tommi (or "Inca," as her dad has nicknamed her--it's short for "Incubator") is doing well, and the baby is still cooking. Every week we can say that is a good week. We are also very happy to have Gracie back from her Aunt Lisa and Uncle Trevor's house. In the week that she was gone, she took swimming lessons, figured out that she likes black beans, adapted to a 8:30 - 9:00 bedtime (woohoo), and grew a couple of inches (or so it seems). Thanks Lisa!! All this while we enjoy the plethora of meals that my mom cooked us before she left. Hmmm…if everyone's willing to parent our child and cook our meals for us, maybe I should go on bedrest after Tommi's done… On second thought, maybe it's best that we stop being mooches as soon as possible.

Tommi has become an Ensign guru over the past few weeks, so I will leave you with a maxim of Elder Holland that she showed me a few days ago: "No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won’t make it worse." How true--whatever happens in life, you can always take a step back and quickly realize how blessed you are (which is usually followed by a feeling of guilt for ever complaining the first place).

God is Love--Rev Run*

Till Week 26…

*Copyright 2006 by Rev Run of Run DMC--Watch an episode of Run's House sometime. Funny stuff.

Week 23: Field Trip!

So, we finally decided to get some fresh air for Tommi and went on a field trip this Friday. We debated between going to the beach and Balboa Park, but ultimately decided to go to Scripps Hospital and see some doctors instead. What fun!

The doctors had good news to report--our little claustrophobe appears to have given up on his escape attempt for the time being and is resting comfortably in his own urine, I mean amniotic fluid (no wonder he wants to get out). Everything remains status quo, which is good news for us. Tommi's OB hesitated to applaud ourselves too much till we get past the 28-week danger zone, but that's only 4 1/2 weeks away. So we are holding our breath till then!

One great thing about this stage of development--you can now see the lens of the eye in the ultrasound pictures. Something about this small development makes him look so much more like a baby and so much less like Skeletor (a HeMan reference from the old days). Here's a picture of the little guy looking at us. It's amazing that through all of this, he sits in the womb unaffected and seeminly unaware of all that is going on around him.

Till Week 24...

Hurry Home

Dear Ms. Grace~

Today has been the longest day as I sit here in bed and wait the arrival of your cute, energetic self tonight. I am physically in the San Diego time zone, but mentally on Salt Lake time--if I do that it seems you are that much closer to getting on a plane to come home!! These rooms have been quiet and lonely during the day, then 6 o'clock rolls around and I hear Daddy's keys in the door and a cheerful, "Hello, my dear." ...The only thing missing is your echoes of "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" and the stories you tell about your adventures from the day. I can't wait to brush your teeth and read books to you or even just to hear cartoons on the tv and you laughing at them.

These words probably won't mean much until later years but I do want to say thank you for bearing the burden of bed rest along side your daddy and me. I am sure you are having fun with your travels, but being uprooted and put in others' time schedules and routines has to be an adjustment. You are by far the most well-adjusted child I have ever met.

I love you baby girl, hurry home to Mommy safely!!

An Itch to camp ...

I have been itching to go camping , these places looked fun enjoy:

http://www.duntonhotsprings.com/about-dunton.html

http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/bb/wall-tents.asp

http://www.theshadydell.com/

http://www.costanoa.com/site.php

Greetings from the Slammer

It's Tommi--I'm back!

I have been charged with a crime! The crime? "Incompetent cervix." The sentence? House arrest (or to be more specific, "bed rest" for 10 weeks possibly a few more weeks after that, gulp). Russ and I are hopeful that with good behavior from the ole' belly, I will get some privileges back--such as walking the grounds for 10 minutes a day or possibly kitchen duty to peel potatoes. I have never thought of myself as a menace to society... clearly, I stand corrected.



This situation has certainly been scary and serious, but I feel some light-heartedness is in order at this point. Of course, this doesn't take away from the importance and seriousness of the situation--there have been difficult choices and scenarios, like having to ship our 4-year-old off for a week at a time to have another mommy watch her. Grace brings so much life to my party, it is far too quiet in my home without her! However, the upside is that she is having a blast and doesn't even know we are not there. We are so grateful for the many people so willing to help us out.

With all that said, I am trying to keep a positive mindset. Thus, I present to you my top 10 list of "The Sunny Side of Bed Rest."

• I only have to shower every other day if I want.


• When my honey comes home and my hair isn't done, I don't have to make excuses.


• I get to catch up on all my books and then some.


• I am rereading all the Ensign conference editions from the past few years.


• House work ... what is that?


• I eat my breakfast in bed every morning. Yes girls, breakfast in bed every morning.


• The laundry fairy does all my laundry for me, thank you sweet heart. I promise when this is done to always have your laundry done and shirts ironed.


• A lot time for self-refelction, which is great for me. I appreciate my regular wifey/ mommy life even more now.


• A nice sabbatical from the world and all its technologies that make me want to go nuts at times.


• Nap time!

Will I be excited to have my privileges back? HECK YES! But while this bed rest thing lasts, instead of moaning and complaining, I think I will try embracing this experience and make the best of it. Any ideas that anyone has of things to do on bed rest are much appreciated!

I know Russ has said this a million times, but thank you to everyone for the prayers, concerns, thoughts, HELP and love through this. We are hopeful that this will turn out wonderfully.