Time goes by too quickly for sure!!
Jude was born 4 weeks early and had Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Whenever you have a child born with complications it's scary, but having your first child born with complications is especially scary. You have no clue what to expect, you've never done the "baby thing" before and regardless of how much experience you've had with children/babies before, it's so different when it's your OWN child.
I was able to hold him long enough to have this picture taken before the nurse realized that he was having trouble breathing. He was then taken to the nursery and put on oxygen.
(Sorry for the poor quality pictures they are from his baby book)
He had to stay in the nursery on oxygen for three days, we weren't able to hold or touch him for the first two days. Any stimulation made him breathe harder, we had to wait until he was down to just 30% oxygen. Over the first two days they were able to gradually wean him off of it as his lungs got stronger. When he was three days old I was finally able to hold and nurse him.
Later that day when we were about to be discharged and sent home they ran a few tests and found that Jude was jaundiced. We had to stay in the hospital for another two days while he had light therapy. Thankfully they moved us to the pediatric floor and Stanley and I were able to room in with him. Here he is, getting a tan!
This was such a stressful time for Stanley and I, not only with Jude's medical problems and some labor complications for me as well, but also dealing with some family issues that arose. But God is good and saw us through it! I'm so thankful for our church and their support during this time!
Five days after he was born we were able to take Jude home. Because he had a late start nursing he had latch on problems and I had to pump and bottle feed him every two hours. So exhausting but so worth it!
Our time at home only lasted two weeks when Jude came down with RSV. We treated it as best we could at home (Dr.s orders) but one night he started having trouble breathing and we had to rush him to the hospital. I can't tell you how terrifying it is to see your newborn baby turn blue, it's something that I will never forget.
Three more days in the hospital on oxygen, here he is getting a sponge bath.
When he was doing better we were sent home with oxygen tanks for a week.
My poor baby! Thankfully this was the extent of any medical problems for him and he was such a trooper through all of it!
The morning of his third birthday
Looking at him now you would never think that he was a preemie with all those complications! He's just over four feet tall and weighs almost fifty pounds. For those of you who don't have kids- he is the size of kids 2-3 years older than him!
I am so thankful for my sweet boy and for God's grace through the rough start we had with him, he is such a huge blessing in our lives! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDE WE LOVE YOU!!!!!
2 comments:
That is such a heartbreaking story. I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that but so incredibly happy that Jude is the strong, big happy boy that you show pictures of. Happy birthday to him!
Thank you Kate! It was a really hard time for us but a blessing also. There are children born with much more serious complications and I'm so thankful that wasn't his case!!
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