Whoa! My daughter turned 1 today! It’s really hard to believe that she was born 365 days ago. She was two and a half months early, and weighed only 2 pounds 14 ounces. She was so strong and made it out of the NICU in 10 days with ZERO complications! She is my beautiful Christmas miracle. This year has truly changed my life! I adore being a mom.
Today marks the one year anniversary of when I was care-flighted to Phoenix, Arizona (4 hours away from home) due to severe preeclampsia. It was a terrifying day. I went into the hospital early in the morning on December 19, 2016 with a mild contractions. Since it was my first pregnancy, I hadn’t experienced contractions, so naturally I was scared. My husband and I left work early and we went into the ER, and once we got there we were sent to the OB triage.
I was immediately hooked up to an IV, and all kinds of monitors to keep an eye on my daughter. They told us that I was just dehydrated and I just needed to rest. They said I should be back to work by lunch. I remember thinking I was disappointed that I would have to go back to work! I had a cold so I wanted to go home and go back to sleep. Having a cold, and being pregnant at the same time is not the greatest feeling.
As time went on, I started to notice the blood pressure cuff was still on my arm and they were continually. I hadn’t thought much of it, but the nurse started asking questions about my blood pressure history. I have never had any issues, and I was starting to get the feeling that something was wrong. However, no one said anything yet, other than just to relax, which, suddenly, was difficult to do.
After nearly an hour of monitoring, the doctor comes in and says he is not happy with the numbers of my blood pressure (204/100something) and he had been on the phone with a doctor in Phoenix, and I was going to be flown out in 15 minutes!! My husband and I were in complete shock! I will always remember my husband, who is normally so brave and composed, crying in the corner of the room as the nursing staff came in and prepped me to be taken to the helicopter. I saw it land right outside the window, and I just felt cold fear. I had no idea what was going on.
I remember telling my husband to grab my journal before he left town so I could write about what was going on with the pregnancy. Even though I didn’t know what was going on, I knew it was all going to be apart of my daughter’s story, and I wanted to remember it.
The next thing I know, I am being stuffed into an incredibly tight helicopter and in the care of two technicians I had never seen before. They were very kind and helped me feel more comfortable. It took an hour and a half to fly to Phoenix, and it felt much longer. I couldn’t see very well out of the windows because the gurney I was on was far below the window. I just remember seeing blue sky, and the revolving shadow of the helicopter blades, which made me nauseous.
I spent the entire flight in prayer. I prayed for safety for my daughter. I prayed for calm nerves. I prayed for peace. I prayed for everything. I didn’t know how long I would be away from home, or even when I would see my husband. The only thing I knew was the God was with me, and He was in control – even though I felt completely out of control. I decided in that moment that I was going to trust Him to take care of me. And, I can happily say, He did.
My preeclampsia was too severe and they were unable to lower my blood pressure to a safe level, and my My daughter was born 4 days after I arrived in Phoenix at 30 weeks. She weighed 2 pounds 14 ounces and was absolutely perfect. I didn’t return back home until February 12, 2017! We spent 54 days in Phoenix in the hospital! It was along journey, but it made my family so much stronger. I thank God everyday for how wonderful my daughter is, and for keeping me safe. I know it could have been so much worse.
Yes, I had good clean, wholesome family fun today in Las Vegas, NV! We live about two hours away from Las Vegas, and our small town doesn’t have many shopping opportunities, so we headed to Sin City to do some Christmas shopping. I love shopping in Malls during the holidays. Everything feels warm and cheery like being wrapped in a warm blanket while sipping hot chocolate. Well, with a more commercialized twist, of course.
This is my daughter’s 1st Christmas outside of the hospital and at home! She was born on Dec 23, 2016, ten weeks early, and she was only a day and a half old on Christmas, and weighed in at 2 pounds, 14 ounces. It was a scary time, even though she was healthy, and we are so thankful that we won’t have to spend our holiday in the NICU.
Naturally, since this is the first Christmas we get to go all out with gifts, we bought SOOOOO MUCH!! I can’t wait for her to open them!
It was such a great day! 
Yesterday we took my daughter to get her developmental follow up exam that she needed after her stay in the NICU.
After our time with the doctor, the doctor said our daughter is on target cognatively and doing really well on her language development. We Also learned that, She is a month delayed on her gross motor skills. At first I was concerned to hear that, because no one wants to hear their child has a delay, however, the doctor said that we will be able to help her catch up by doing more tummy time, and other excersises that help her limber up.
The only major concern the doctor had was our daughter’s weight. Her weight has dropped off the scale, so we are going to begin using mostly formula to help bulk her up. The doctor said that she is hopeful that our daughter will be able to put on the weight she needs.
I have been anxious about the exam over the last few months, because I wasn’t sure what to expect. Although, she needs to gain more weight, and it is a concern at this time, I feel that the overall feel of the exam was positive. The doctor was very happy with how she was coming along overall and said we are a great family.
Please send prayers for her development of her gross motor skills and her weight gain journey. Thank you for all your love and support!
We are taking our first family vacation with our baby girl! Phoenix! Technically she was born here due to her emergency birth and me being flown down here, but it’s our first time back to Phoenix since we left the hospital, and we are here to enjoy ourselves! My parents are coming from Ohio to hang out as well, so we are really looking forward to the time away from home.
On Thursday, Eisley has her follow up Eye Appointment, which will be the first one since we left the hospital. We were given the all good before we left the NICU, so we are thinking we should be good to go. However, it does spike up my anxiety a little bit, because I hate having to take her back to see more doctors. My husband (as well as my parents) are here as support so I am dealing with the anxiety pretty well.
I will keep you updated on how things go, and on what adventures we have while in town!
Have an amazing day! 
Tomorrow I will be going back after being on maternity leave for 4 months. If you are new to my blog, my daughter was born 10 weeks premature, and spent 50 days in the NICU. She is healthy and wonderful! We have been so blessed through the entire experience. It is the best case scenario that came out of a terrible situation.
So now, after four months, I am heading back! I am a middle school gifted teacher and I have really been missing my kiddos and being able to be creative in my classroom. I love being a teacher, and i love my job. It will be nice to be back.
However, I am still expreicing some anxiety and guilt about going back. I didn’t think I would be feeling this way before my daughter was born. But now that she is here, I want to hold her in my arms every moment of the day. She will be staying at her grandmother’s house, who runs a private daycare out of her home, so that is incredible. I know my daughter will be in wonderful hands. It doesn’t take away all of the sting though.
Tomorrow will be hard, but I will be able to get through it with God’s strength. I will not let my anxiety or guilt take over. I know my baby is safe, and she will be happy with her grandma. 🙂 But keep me in your prayers anyway! LOL
I have about two and a half weeks left of my maternity leave, and I am starting to get anxious about going back. Not because I have to work. I love my job. I am getting anxious about leaving my daughter. Granted, she will be staying with my MIL, which is such a blessing, but it won’t be the same. My daughter, Eisley, and I have been together since the day she was born, December 23. She was 10 weeks early, so I have stayed with her for an extra long time. She is healthy and strong, but I despise the idea of not being with her.
The first 50 days of Eisley’s life were spent in the NICU, my husband and I would only get to see her for part of the day. A few hours. We stayed at my sister in law’s house which was 15 minutes from the hospital, and we would go there at night. I think a part of me feels a little bit like I did when we would leave her at the hospital.
I never thought I would have a difficult time going back to work. These emotions are confusing and new for me. I am not sure how to handle them.
For you working moms, how did you handle going back to work after your leave?
Here is Eisley trying to hide from me when I tried to wake her up this morning! How can I leave this little thing?!
Since becoming a parent, I have noticed that my emotions are bigger and deeper than I ever thought possible. I have a difficult time watching shows or movies where children are hurt or seperated from their parents, because I can fully understand how it would feel.
Today I watched an episode of Grey’s Anatomy that was about a pregnant woman who died after a car crash, but her baby was saved. This story felt a lot like my own since I was rushed to the hospital with extreme preeclampsia and my family stayed for a week with me. Clearly, I didn’t die nor did my precious baby, but the story felt too close to home. Since I watched the episode, I have experienced anxiety. Although I got to take my baby home from the hospital almost two months ago, I can still feel every emotion clearly. The fear. The anxiety. The helplessness. I will never forget those feelings.
I praise God every day, every moment, that I hold my daughter in my arms. He is who saved us. He brought us through the desert of pain and heartbreak into a oasis of life and love.
It has been 3 months since my darling daughter entered this world 2 and a half months early; weighing only 2 lbs 14 oz. These last three months have been a wild roller-coaster of constantly shifting emotions, but i know God has been in control the entire time. Eisley is healthy, and beautiful! She weighs 6 lbs 5 oz now and is feisty as ever! I love this girl so much!
When I get anxious, my chest tightens and there are times when I feel like I can’t breathe. I have discovered that when I am feeling anxious and my beautiful baby girl is cuddled on my chest, all my anxiety disappears. She truly makes me happy to the core. It is such an incredible feeling.
The Persistent Platypus 