Naomi Is ONE Month

This has been the month of all months. Honestly, I can’t even believe our sweet Naomi is one month old. Unfortunately, we’ve had to spend it in the hospital, but on the bright side, she has been growing like crazy and progressing as needed. My only complaint is that she hasn’t quite grasped drinking her ENTIRE bottle, so we are only working on feedings. Once she gets them down, we can go home. So if you aren’t tired of praying for our family yet, we need prayers that Naomi can come home soon! 

In her short little life, Naomi has brought so much joy to our lives. We love having her apart of our family and know that she really does complete us. I love thinking that we are a family of four. That we have worked so hard for her, it’s been a true team effort to get her to where she is.

  

At birth, she weighed 4 lbs. 2 oz. as of last night, she weighs 5 lbs. 10 oz.! She is a little chunker now! We have loved watching her grow and really become a different baby than a month ago. She is starting to cry more, squirm when her diaper is being changed, she has even pulled my hair! It’s exciting to watch! She loves having her hands up by her face, usually touching her face or in little fists of fury. She also grunts a ton and makes cooing noises. Josh and I have become pros at NICU life and I think Josh should make a career change to a NICU nurse. We have had fabulous nurses in Atlanta and Charlotte and we have been so happy with the care Naomi is receiving. Now, baby girl, time to start chugging those bottles!! 

This last month has also been full of a lot of adjustments. With Charlotte, I wasn’t producing any milk, but with Naomi, I am. These days I am a pumping machine. Actually, I don’t want to give myself too much credit. I do forget or don’t wake up in the middle of the night to pump. Like I said, adjustments! But I am still producing milk, much to my surprise. Naomi has been on straight breastmilk since she’s been born. It’s quite the accomplishment for me, since I wasn’t really able to do that with Charlotte. BUT, I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up. I know it’s good for her being in the NICU and being so small. So as long as the milk is flowing, she’ll get it! Another adjustment is having to leave her every day. I cry at least once a day because I’m leaving my baby and, well, the bottle feeding situation has been frustrating. Those two things have really affected me, but I know it’s all part of the process. I don’t necessarily feel guilt, I know a lot of this is out of my control, but it’s just not what I’m used to. Luckily, I know it will get better! One last thing that has been difficult, is finding the balance between Charlotte and Naomi. They both need me, but I can only be with one of them at a time. Josh has been great in switching with me. We swap hospital and house duty. WOW, adding another kid to the mix (and after 5 1/2 years) is no joke! But it is so wonderful at the same time and I wouldn’t trade it for anything! 

Post-Pregnancy Update

Since my last update, so much has happened. First off, we are back home, well, Josh and I are. Naomi was transferred to a NICU about 20 minutes from our house in Charlotte. It’s been so great having her close. Charlotte has been able to see her through the glass a few times and loves it more and more. She cannot wait until Naomi is home though. 

Naomi is such a sweet baby and we are so grateful for her to finally be on earth. I can’t believe I would still be pregnant at this point. I just hit my 36 week mark on Wednesday. I hate to say it, but I’m glad I’m not pregnant anymore. Naomi turned one month today.

Josh’s Mom, Eve, had been here for three weeks watching Charlotte while we were in Atlanta. We cannot say thank you enough to her and all the stress she took off of us. It was wonderful not having to worry about Charlotte and if she was being cared for or if she was getting enough attention or anything like that. She loved being with her Gram!! A couple days after we arrived home, Josh’s Dad arrived and was able to meet Naomi. It was a great few days and then they drove back home to Connecticut. 

On Friday, March 30, I had my follow-up appointment in Atlanta. We drove up and back the same day and took Charlotte. It was a long day but it worked out just fine. My dad was in town, as well, so we picked him before the appointment. He watched Charlotte for us, which was awesome. I had an echocardiogram done and Dr. Book went over the results with me. In a nutshell, I am still in heart failure. My heart has not really improved since having the baby. The pressure on my valve has lessened, but still higher than she’d like it to be. She didn’t give me a number/scale this time. She switched around some medication and is hoping that will by some time. Four months, actually, until my next appointment. Which I’m thrilled. It was getting a little tiring going to and from Atlanta every month. But I love my cardiologist, that I have decided to stay with her permanently. She still is planning on a valve replacement surgery in 6-12 months. In the meantime, they are having a conference with surgeons and other heart specialists and will be discussing my case. Will they go through my leg up an artery? Will they make an incision in the rib cage? They need to figure out the best way to insert the new valve with my complicated situation and failing heart. She said the surgery could possibly take as much time as an open-heart surgery due to the baffles they had to put in during my first open-heart surgery. They will be the hardest part of the surgery to get through. Dr. Book is hoping this can possibly give me another ten years until I would need a heart transplant. I still can’t do any intense exercising, but she said walks with the baby, leisurely bike rides and chasing after the kids are totally fine. Phew! I do feel really good! I can go up the stairs without panting, clean the house without running out of breath and I’m not tired all the time. She was glad I feel well because inside is not looking good. So even though the pregnancy is over, my journey is not. I will continue to keep updates on this as it gets closer to the surgery. 

When we left Atlanta, my dad came home with us for about four days and flew out of Charlotte. He was excited to see Naomi. I have a feeling she will hold a special place in his heart. He also helped us with some projects around the house. Painting a couple rooms, taking down a kitchen cabinet and replacing it with floating shelves and reusing the cabinet in our bathroom. The house is really looking great and coming together beautifully. My dad (and mom) is so good with everything handy, that it’s hard not have them help with things when they come out. Josh and I learn new things and squire new tools each time my parents come out. I will have to get pictures once everything is decorated and completed! 

The day after my dad left, we had Josh’s sister, Rachel, and her family come visit for spring break. It was so fun! Charlotte loves being with her cousins and it went really smoothly. They spent one entire day at Carowinds and loved it. We were even able to show all the kids Naomi behind the glass wall. We are sad they left this morning but hopefully we can see them this summer! 

Josh has been quite the trooper throughout everything. He has taken a month of paternity leave. I’m going to be a wreck when he goes back to work on Monday. I’ve got so used to him being here and helping. I tell him all the time he’s the perfect “girl Dad.” He is obsessed with his daughters. I am so grateful to his employers who have been so supportive toward our family and told Josh to do what he needed. Since we’ve been back at home, we have been able to switch back and forth, one of us at home and one of us at the hospital. I feel like this entire journey has strengthened our marriage and brought us closer together, and for that, I am so grateful. 

Luckily, my mom arrives on Tuesday. I feel like I’m a pretty self-sufficient person, but I am really nervous to be doing two kids by myself. Monday will be interesting.  I know I’ll get into a rhythm and it will be easy peasy, but until Naomi is home and things are our new normal, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. I know she will gladly do whatever I need with either girl and be in heaven. I really hope she’s here while Naomi gets to come home. That will be a special moment that my mom can be apart of. 

Next month we have a bunch of family coming out for Naomi’s baby blessing. We are looking forward to more of our siblings meeting her for the first time. We also can’t thank everyone enough for your thoughts and prayers for our family. We have felt a tremendous outpouring of love and it’s been amazing. As I look back over the last seven months, I can see where Heavenly Father’s hand was and all the many miracles (truly, miracles) that took place. I will do another blog post about this topic, but this has been the most spiritual experience I’ve had. And I feel so fortunate to have been able to have all of this happen and grow from it.