This is something that I have been mulling over in my mind for the past few weeks and I feel like I need to write about it. There are so many things that we have taken for granted. When Riley was born she breathed on her own, could nurse and eat, and she was perfect in every medical sense. With Bree, it has opened our eyes to a whole new way of thinking.
When Bree was born, she could not breathe on her own, could not eat at all, and in fact her heart had stopped beating at her birth and she had to have CPR right after she was born. She has had milestones that not many children have. The fact that she is alive right now is the biggest milestone of all. Her milestones as of today are as follows:
- Came off of Oscillating Ventilator (went to a Jet Ventilator)
- Her brain bleeds stopped growing and stayed at Stage Three
- Came off of Jet Ventilator (went to a Conventional Ventilator)
- Started on feeds slowly but surely
- Came off of Conventional Ventilator (went to CPAP) (HUGE MILESTONE!)
- Came off of CPAP (went to humidified high flow oxygen)
- Bree is big enough to be stolen, and she gets her Baby Lo-Jack
- Bree is big enough to have a real bath, instead of a sponge bath
- She gets up to full feeds and is tolerating them well
- Came off of humidified high flow oxygen (went to regular oxygen)
- Started nippling one feed a day
- Bree's brain bleeds have gone down to a stage 2
Look at all of that! It just amazes me when I stop and think about it. It has been a hard road, and one that I never thought that I would take. However, we love Bree more than anything, as we do with Riley as well. We are thankful to God for his goodness, his mercy and his amazing healing power. He does more than we realize...and it is through the power of prayer that Bree is here and doing as well as she is.
We will not ever take one milestone for granted for either of our girls, but especially for Bree. She is already making noises (little grunts and normal newborn noises), but her first giggle will be such a sweet sound. Her first steps will be a huge celebration for her, and we will all dance with joy when those occur. Just the thought of watching her grow up with her older sister through the next few years brings tears to my eyes.
This whole experience has made me more appreciative of what we have. Some people would take this experience as ask "why me?" and feel bitter and angry that their child had to be born so early. I look at it, and I do wonder why, but I know that God had a reason and that it fits perfectly into his plan for our family. Our eyes have been opened to the true miracle that life is, and what it has to hold for our future.
I hope this finds everyone happy, healthy and in love with life!
3 comments:
Tasha-
I'm from Parents.com, and have been, like tons of other mommies-to-be, following your families journey. Today's post has me crying. I read stories of other mothers who are going through hard times with their babies, but they seem to negative. I just want to say you are an inspiration to anyone who has read/heard about your family. My husband and I check your blog everyday to see how Bree is. He always says "how's the little one today?"
You are a fabulous mother, a strong woman, and an amazing writer! Your writing STILL has me sheding tears even after 5 minutes!
Tasha,
That was beautiful! I think everyone that reads this post is going to be in tears....Bree is such a lucky little baby to have you for a mommy. You are a wonderful mother to Riley and Bree! It is wonderful to read about all of Bree's progress and the big milestones that she has accomplished. Great job Mommy and Daddy!
Tasha,
You are so right! These little ones of ours are such a blessing! Right after Nicholas was born I had a sympathetic friend wondering out loud why things like this happen to good people and some not so good people have such an easy time. The first thing I thought of was that God gives challeneges to people to teach them and help them grow and He will never give us more than we can handle. Our babies were brought here early for a reason and although we don't know what that reason is we can rest assured that He has a plan and in the long run we will be stronger, better, more appreciative mothers. Like you said, we will never take another moment forgranted!
((hugs))
Post a Comment