the delivery story (part 1)

it's been a wonderful week at home for the 3 of us.  i think that we are all adjusting well.  one good thing about being at the hospital nursery for three weeks was that they already had lydia on a schedule.  they advised us to stick with that until she gains more weight.  speaking of weight, we went to the pediatrician on wednesday and she has gained a whole pound since birth.  she is now a whopping 4lbs. 1oz.

after lydia arrived, i began to write out the story of her delivery.  one day, especially when she is getting ready to have her own child, she will have questions.  i want to be able to share with her exactly what happened.  so, i wrote it in a letter to her.  i know that a lot of people had questions about what happened.  i think this letter will help.  it is pretty lengthy, so i will break it up over a few different posts.
 

Lydia Bailey McDonald

32 week ultrasound

 

Lydia,

From the moment that your dad and I found out about you, we've covered you in prayer. We want you to know the amazing God that we love. We constantly prayed to Him about your salvation and your health the entire time you were growing inside of me.

Most of my pregnancy with you was, as the doctors described it, "boring." Apparently that is their word for healthy and normal. We were pleased with that every time we heard it. The only issue had been a low platelet count. Platelets are the things that help clot your blood. They weren't too concerned with this. Other than that, things were normal up until you were 32 weeks. At my 32 week check up, you were measuring a little smaller than you were scheduled for. They called for an ultrasound, so they could get some measurements. They took pictures of you on a Thursday morning. I had followed up with an email to the doctor on Friday, and received word back that things looked good. A big sigh of relief.

Saturday is a busy day for me at work. You may end up thinking it is lame that your mom is a hairstylist, but I love it! I am able to do my hobby as my job.  I was working away on Saturday, May 12th. Upon taking a short break, I saw I had 3 missed calls. 2 were from the doctor, and 1 was from my insurance company on behalf of the doctor. I struggle daily with the sin of worry. That is why I have the tattoo (you will either love it or hate it that your dad and I have tattoos) on my arm. It says "worship" to remind me to "worship rather than worry."  I hate to admit it, but the worry took over. I freaked out. It took me 30 minutes to get the doctor on the phone. She said that she was reviewing your scans again, and wanted to send me to the specialist first thing Monday morning.

All weekend, your dad and I covered you twice as much with prayer. We rested in that the God we serve is sovereign, and He already knew what would take place with you. Our family and friends kept saying that you would just be petite, because your dad and I were smaller...

(to be continued...)

HOME SWEET HOME!

TODAY IS THE DAY!

incubator -> regular bed -> HOME!!

They are packing up and heading out! Lydia will get one more bottle feeding at 2pm, then she will be on her way!! The only thing they will be taking home is that sweet baby and some vitamin drops. No cords. No monitors. Nothing.

God is good. 

check!

just a quick update.

lydia passed her car seat test yesterday. she had to sit in it for a certain amount of time while keeping all her vitals right where they should be. check!

so, today may be the day she heads home!!

waiting to hear news. i'll update as soon as i hear!

outta the box.

incubator -> regular bed -> HOME.

today was a glorious day. miss lydia was moved outta the incubator and into a regular bed. a huge step in getting home! since she has been a temperature regulating champion, it didn't take the complete 48 hours to wean her from the incubator. (like it normally does.)  good news, folks. good news. 

man, i love that girl.

so. there's that. 

progress!

big news people! the feeding tube is gone! and it was lydia herself who removed it. which is exactly how i think it should've happened. squirmy wormy pulled it out, yet again, late this afternoon. and since they bumped her up to ALL 8 feedings by bottle she no longer needs it. so, they let her little nose be. and oh! is that little nose divine.

if she gains weight nicely tomorrow, they will begin to wean her off the incubator, which is a 48 hour process. here is the text i got from chelsea earlier today:

bumped to 8 feedings and beginning the process of discharge. could be monday or later depending on how she does with bottles, weight, and moving out of the incubator.

so! continue to pray that she keeps her strength and that drinking all 8 feedings won't take so much energy she doesn't gain weight well. i think i see little rays of light sneaking their way in through the end of the tunnel.
:)