There is one celebration that we look forward to every year that holds a special place in our hearts because it's where Seiden got her start in life. This special celebration I'm referring is the annual NICU reunion at Harris Methodist in Fort Worth. The day Seiden graduated from the NICU was one of the happiest days of my life, aside from her being born of course! But, on November 5, 2013, we got to walk out of the NICU doors and take our baby girl home. And that, was something that I could never put into words of the sheer joy, excitement, and amazement, but also the fear that came along with it. See, Seiden had the BEST nurses and doctors that we could ever possibly have asked God for and they took the most amazing care of her around the clock. Cody and I were there pretty much non-stop, but we couldn't take care of her the way they were. For the first 10 days of her life, she couldn't be held and all we could do was sit beside her incubator, lean over and kiss on her, and hold her hand and love on her the best way we could while she was hooked up to all those cords and machines. The only time she was really "held" was when the nurses would change her sheets on her bed. One time, I got to hold her while they did it and it was the BEST day in the NICU up to that point. The day that Seiden got extubated will be a day I will never forget! For one, it was the day that I finally got to hold her. And two, when I rounded the corner to go into her room in the NICU, one of our favorite nurses, our neonatologist, and one of our favorite OT's were standing by Seiden's incubator holding her...cord free! I literally screamed out loud, ran over to them, and started bawling. I was so overjoyed to see my sweet, 10 day old, baby girl completely free of ALL of her cords and tubes. Well, she still had a feeding tube in. But that was just in case she had any struggles with bottle feeding. Keeping that tube in would be easier than taking it out and having to put it back in if an emergency arose. My sweet girl who had been hooked up to a heart monitor, an umbilical IV, had a breathing tube down her throat, a feeding tube, a tube for drainage for congestion, and a closed suction drain tube with a bulb (which she actually came home with to prevent blood clots after surgery), and she was finally free of them and looked like a how a perfect little newborn had looked. Except, she had overcome MUCH more than any newborn should have to. She is my brave little princess and she has overcome every obstacle that's ever been put in front of her and just become the sweetest, smartest, most joyous little girl I have ever met. What the devil tried to destroy, God has show up and given her (and us) grace, upon grace, upon grace. And now, we get to go back to the NICU reunion and celebrate WITH those special people that got Seiden started off in life. They are God's gift to us and exactly what we prayed for if she wasn't healed in my womb. We love our NICU nurses and doctors and this is such a FUN time for us to get to go back and visit, celebrate, and just love on each other!
Pics from when Seiden was in the NICU:
Pics from our trip to the NICU reunion:
I think it's safe to say that we've come a long way and we wouldn't be where we are today if it weren't for the grace of God and for these amazing doctors and nurses that will forever hold a place in our hearts. #seidenstrong
No comments:
Post a Comment