Saturday, April 5, 2008

Nora's 2nd Day in the NICU

April 5, 2006
Weight - 3lb. 8.1 oz.

Today we found out that Nora was able to breathe on her own! She didn't need oxygen through a C-PAP! This was GREAT news, because staying on oxygen can cause other health problems! Praise God!

A few weeks before Nora was born, they gave me injections of steroids to help Nora's lungs develope more quickly. At the time, they thought I was going into pre-term labor (for totally unconnected reasons from why I ACTUALLY went into labor). So after 48 hours, they sent us home saying they were wrong. To say the least, we weren't happy and didn't understand why they gave me steroids if they weren't sure!!!

NOW we understood that God had a bigger plan. He KNEW when Nora was coming, and He provided the means to give her good strong lungs at 32 weeks gestation!!

This was also a great day, because Mommy and Daddy got to finally hold Nora Sabella!!!

Daddy got to hold her at 3:30 PM - which I was absolutely OBLIVIOUS to! So, sadly we don't have any pictures of that momentous occasion, since I was in bed, not in the NICU.

By early evening, I was beginning to come out of my fog. I was very emotional, because I had seen Nora only once since she was born (36 hours had passed). My nurse wheeled me to a shower and helped me as I passed out, IN THE SHOWER. Thankfully I was sitting! I was so nervous that they wouldn't let me see her after that, but thankfully, they understood my need to see my daughter.

I was able to hold her for the first time at 9:00 PM, 36 hours after she was born. It was amazing to hold this teeny, tiny baby in my arms. Amazing that we weren't "ready" for her to be here, yet here she was.

It was already obvious to us that God was at work in Nora's life, as well as our own. There was a baby in the NICU that was born on the same day as Nora, for the same reasons, at the same gestational age. He was more 1 1/2 lbs. SMALLER than Nora. He was on the C-Pap and his parents rarely were in to see him. He had almost no physical touch.

We were (and still are!) so thankful to God that he provided Nora's body with strength and weight. That he caused her lungs to be mature and to work on their own! That we were able to touch her and hold her, to make that connection with her, even if it was once a day. God was already building faith in our hearts for the days to come.

(I'll add pictures when my husband puts our HARD DRIVE back in the computer!!!!)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What a miracle! I remember going to see her for the first time. How tiny Nora was! She already showed a lot of spunk. Remember how she kept kicking the blanket off her foot? Isn't it great to recount God's blessings and remember his faithfulness?!
~ Destiny