The first part of January

We had our hopes up that Asher would be able to be home for New Years but he just wasn't quite ready for it. It was sad not having him with us, but everyday he was getting a little stronger. It was really hard waiting each day wondering if it would be the day they would let him come home. He would have times where he would do well without the oxygen helping him breath and even a couple times we got to the hospital and he didn't have his oxygen on, which was always a good surprise! But he ended up needing it go back on it and wasn't quite ready to be fully off of it yet. We loved visiting him and he was getting so big and sweet and gaining weight and eating well. 

We hoped maybe he'd be home for Luke's birthday on January 10, but they didn't think he was quite ready yet. But then the next day we showed up and they said he was doing so good and they thought he could go home with oxygen! We were so excited! Then it was a whirlwind getting him all ready to go, and before we knew it we were getting ready to leave with him! It seemed like the day would never come and when it finally did we were just so grateful he was better and made so much progress since he was born! I remember feeling so grateful and being so happy to have my family all together again, and the kids to all finally meet him! 

No more oxygen!

He's on room air and doing great with it! They tried a room a trial two days ago and he lasted a couple hours but then was struggling and needed to go back on the oxygen. But then yesterday they decided to try again and he ended up doing really well and was able to last off it. We're grateful he was able to go off it and is doing so well. Now all that's left on his face is the feeding tube through his nose. 

Now if we can just get this eating thing down. He's really close. He takes most feedings by bottle or if I go to nurse him but sometimes about halfway through a feeding he will tire out and they have to tube feed him the rest. It's due to him being so sick and needing to gain the strength back to be able to eat all on his own. We are finding out that eating is skit if work for babies! Especially with his combination of being sick and being a preemie. But he's doing better with it each day and able to eat more and more by mouth. We're hoping he turns the corner and can be eating and home soon!

December in the NICU

We were so sad not to have Asher come home with us when Avery was able to leave the hospital, but he had a bit of a way to go still in getting better and we knew he had great doctors helping him and that he would be home soon. We visited him every day sometimes multiple times a day. He continued getting a little bit better and stronger each day. He went from a feeding tube to starting to bottle feed. He also got to where we could hold him more. It was really hard in the beginning when we couldn't hold him because he wasn't stable enough and touching him could stress out his heart and his breathing. But he kept getting stronger and stronger to where the nurses and doctors really encouraged us to hold him as much as we wanted because that would help him in getting better. And we sure loved our cuddle time with him! It was so hard to leave when it was time to go and put him back in his little crib, but he had so many great nurses there giving him lots of attention when we weren't there, and I could call and get updates on him when we weren't there. We also had grandma and grandpa going to visit him so he was getting lots of love and attention.

We definitely missed not having Asher with us at home, and it was a bit of a stressful time going back and forth from home to the hospital. We couldn't take Avery with us to the hospital, so it was a lot of juggling the kids and Avery and mommy going to see Asher in between feeding times for Avery. It was sad not having him with us on Christmas, but we were able to visit him still at Christmas and the NICU had cute little gifts and decorations for him in his room. Although it was sad to not have him with us, when we would go to the NICU to visit him it was so peaceful and quiet and such a special place. All the babies there were so sweet. The nurses all loved Asher and said he was so handsome! He was one of the biggest babies there, a lot of the babies in there were tiny premies but Asher was big and strong, he just had an infection making him really sick and effecting his lungs, making it hard for him to breath. We were so so grateful for the amazing doctors are nurses there that had such good medical plans for him and got him on the right track. 

By the end of the month he was on a really good path, and you can see from the pictures he was looking much more alert and stronger. He was such a sweet little guy and just melted our hearts! We felt so blessed to have him and that he was doing better after such a stressful and scary first week of life. Such a blessing he was on the way to recovery!

Asher's first week of life

Asher's first week of life was not what we had expected for our sweet, special little guy. First off, when he got rushed to the NICU after he was born we figured he'd just need to be there a few hours. But as time went we were getting word that he was having a harder time breathing than we expected. This was a surprise because the twins weren't born that early and I had had steriod shots to help develop their lungs early in case they were born early since I had pre-term labor issues. So when they did the C-section is surprised everyone, including our Doctor who had been delivering babies for 30 years, that he was struggling. 

It was really hard not having him with us in the hospitcal room I was staying in and not being able to see him that first night, but I knew the doctors were doing what was best for him and I was willing to do whatever it would take to help him get better. Finally the next morning I was able to be wheelchaired down to the NICU to visit him for the first time. It was so sad to see him hooked up to so many cords and to be able to tell that he was visibly struggling. I wasn't able to hold him that first time because they were worried it would destabilize him, but over the next day or two I was able to hold him for the first time, which was so wonderful. He had such a sweet disposition and I loved him so much right away. 

The doctors were telling us some very worrying things like he had an infection they couldn't identify, so they did a panel of bloodwork to try to determine what he had but started him on an antibiotic before the test results came back to try to get ahead of the infection. When the blood panel came back and the infection wasn't bacterial, but we were glad we had started him on the antibiotic in case it could have helped. 

It was discouraging because each day that went by in those early days he seemed to be having to get hooked up to more and more things and needing more support. However we were so grateful for amazing doctors and felt he was in such good hands, and had a lot of hope that he would be able to come home soon. 

They are here! The birth of the twins

 The twins are here! I had to have an emergency C-Section because I was going into labor. I was 35.5 weeks along, so they came 4 and a half weeks early. This was really good considering I had been on bedrest to put off early labor since Mid-October. 

They were born late at night on December 17. We had gone into the hospital not knowing if they would for sure decide to do the C-section but it all happened very fast when they decided it was too risky not to do the C-section since Asher was so low and he was breech. 

The C-section went well, but when Asher came out he was not looking well and needed to be rushed straight to the NICU. Avery was doing better and although she also had to go to the NICU because it's protocol for any baby born that early, she was doing fine, just very small. Asher on the other hand seemed to be getting sicker as time went. We thought he just needed some help breathing and that his lungs may have been a little underdeveloped. 

Even with the stress of what was going on with Asher it was still such a special, joyful time. The babies were so sweet and precious, and we were so glad to have them here. 

Here is newborn Asher, so sweet and darling, but also it was a bit heartbreaking that I couldn't hold and snuggle him because he had to be hooked up to oxygen to help him breath and the doctors didn't think holding him was a good idea because it may have been too stressful on his system and destabilized him. But I was very grateful he was in good hands and was willing to do whatever it would take to keep him safe and healthy and on the path to getting better.