LakeLynn's 1 week old checkup

Lake had another pediatrician appt on Friday, Sept. 28th. This was her official 1 wk old checkup. Upon examination, Dr. McCain was pleased to inform me that she looked "awesome"! Coco helped me with this appt due to Logan having to work & Stryker tagging along for his flu shot. Stryker wanted to be close to baby Lake as she was examined: measurements, weight, heart sounds, breath sounds, hip joints, vision/pupil reactions, etc. Dr. McCain enjoyed explaining to her buddy what she was doing to his sister. We love Dr. McCain! LakeLynn's bilirubin level had increased slightly from Monday afternoon to 12.2 but we were told that was normal & it would continue to decrease from this point. Stryker was not happy about being tricked into a flu shot at the end of the appt. He did fine & only cried for a few minutes. Sorry buddy. We'll return in a few wks for her 1 month checkup. McCain said we could let her sleep longer as she ate within 4.5 hours. Yay, no more waking our sleeping beauty to eat every 3 hours!

Stats:
5 pounds 13 ounces
18 3/4 inches long
Head circumference 12 3/4 inches

6 years & counting

Happy 6th Anniversary!!! I truly cannot believe it has been 6 years since I was blessed with a husband like you Logan. You have played so many roles in my life: friend, hubs, Christian leader, father...I could go on but you get the idea. In our short time married, we have endure ups & downs just like other marriages. But, we have always come out stronger in our faith as well as our marriage & family. We have definitely made mistakes (who hasn't) but we are determined to learn from each of them. As I look back on our marriage so far, I'm convinced this has been the hardest year due to 2 miscarriages. We only had our faith to rely on during the months of uncertainty & anger. I know our 2 angels are looking down on us each day. God has blessed us with 2 children & I pray we can lead them to Him. Logan, you are more than I deserve. Marriage is never easy but it's completely worth it. May we continue to place God first in our marriage & the rest will fall into place. I love you forever.

"Love is a feeling, marriage is a contract, & a relationship is work."

Stryker's school pictures

Below are Stryker's 2 year old class pictures.

LakeLynn's first 2 days at home

Sunday was spent allowing Coco & grandmomma to finally hold LakeLynn. Monday was her first unofficial pediatrician visit. I met Logan at the office for Lake's measurements & bilirubin level. Her level had increased slightly to 9.4 but of no concern. Dr. McCain said she looked awesome & called her "miss hollywood"! After the appointment, I was able to take LakeLynn for a ride in the stroller while Coco pushed Stryker on his bike.

Stats:
18 1/4 inches long
5 pounds 6 ounces

We'll see the pediatrician again on Friday for her official 1 week visit.

A special thanks

Below are some people that made this whole experience manageable:

Dr. Adcock - I cannot express the overwhelming amount of appreciation for you. Throughout this entire process, you have been with us. Your knowledge, bedside manner, compassion, faith, & so many other characteristics have made us stay focused & positive. You are truly a blessing to our family. God has definitely placed you in the perfect field. I pray God continues to bless you in your job & other areas of life.

Nurses:
Robin (NICU nurse) - You were the first person to quickly realize the special care that my baby girl needed after birth. The majority of the time, postpartum nursery care is given by nurses from the floor but God placed you on our floor for a reason that day. With your expertise from the NICU, our daughter received the extra care she needed. Thank you for that as well as being such a wonderful nurse during our NICU stay.

Maura (postpartum nurse) - You went above & beyond your responsibility to ensure that I was able to spend the most time in the NICU with my daughter. After LakeLynn was rushed off to the NICU, your focus was working with me on eliminating the epidural effects so I could safely see my daughter as soon as they had her stabilized. The remaining days of my hospital stay, you were so personable & kept me laughing. You even took time out of your day to call me at night to check on LakeLynn & come see her in the NICU before we went home.

I will never forget these special people along with many others at Brookwood. You all have truly went above the call of duty yet again. I'm not sure why anyone would want to go to any other hospital.

LakeLynn's NICU stay: part 2

Pictures include:
Bilirubin bed
Coming home
Last minute lap with mom before coming home

LakeLynn's NICU stay: part 1

I was officially discharged from the hospital late Friday afternoon but stayed in LakeLynn's NICU room throughout the rest of her stay. What a blessing to be able to stay with your child while he/she is in the NICU! We were preparing to go home Saturday when her bilirubin levels increased. After collaboration with the neonatologist, we decided it would be best to stay another night under the bilirubin bed in hopes of decreasing her levels. The level had increased from 8.4 to 12.5. Selfishly, I wanted to bring her home but knew this decision was best & if we had brought her home & the levels increased more then she would be re-admitted causing her to get another IV along with multiple other needle sticks. Logan convinced me to go home to get a shower & promised to have me back before her next feeding (she could only be out from under the lights for 30 min at feedings). I was upset most if the way home because I wanted to spend time with Stryker. He was asleep at home when we arrived & I felt it was best for him not to see me for just shirt time to prevent him being confused/upset. Logan was doing anything & everything to rush me back to the hospital. Logan stayed awhile & then returned home to stay with Stryker. The nurses were amazed at how well she stayed under the lights. That's my girl! Levels were drawn again the next morning around 4:30am. Logan arrived around 7am to find out that her levels had successfully decreased to 8!!! The lights worked. It was such a relief knowing that we made the right decision. The rest of the day was spend under the lights until around 2pm when we were getting prepared to leave. The ride home was quite different from when we drove home with Stryker. I sat in the 3rd row to keep an eye on little one & Logan said it was not nervous driving around with a little one since we had previous experience. The neonatologist did advise us to limit the amount of people LakeLynn was around & to wash hands often for at least the next month. Stryker was waiting on us outside with flowers in hand for me! He couldn't wait to give me a hug/kiss & then off to help with "baby ake"! He has been so protective of her & always wanting to help.

LakeLynn Koda Green's debut

Welcome to the world LakeLynn! She made her debut on Wednesday, September 19th at 11:29am.

Stats: 5 pounds 3 ounces, 19 inches long

Details: We saw Dr. Adcock in his office on Tuesday (Sept. 18th) at 9:20am. I had only dilated to 1 cm & thinned 70%. Apparently, all of my painful contractions had not progressed things at all. I received my last progesterone injection & was instructed to stop all medication! Around 12pm, I began experiencing intense contractions. Logan was at work so I kept time of contractions keeping him informed. I was beginning to get very uncomfortable & contemplating pain medicine by 5pm. We arrived at the hospital around 7:30pm with Coco & grandmama caring for Stryker in one of the hospital's playrooms. I was given a terbutaline injection as well as Percocet to help with slowing contractions & pain. The contractions continued to occur but I was only slowly progressing. Thankfully, Dr. Adcock was on call. He finally made the decision around 11pm to admit me due to 2-2.5 cm dilation & signs of true labor. By 3am, I was 3 cm dilated. Pitocin was started around 7:15am on Wednesday, Sept. 19th. I received an epidural around 8am. Dr. Adcock stopped by around 8:30am to break my water. He informed us we were 5cm dilated & predicted her arrival would be by lunch! Lunch? Yes, that's what I thought. This would be a fast labor & delivery. Around 11am, I was fully dilated & she had dropped tremendously. Dr. Adcock came down when the nurse called him about my 2 practice pushes causing her to crown! I pushed for 12 min which was hard to believe because some of that time was spent waiting on contractions to occur so I could push. I was extremely relieved when she was placed on my chest after an emotional day of nervousness, excitement, worry, & prayer that she would be healthy coming 4 weeks 3 days early. I immediately thanked God for our little miracle & for the best doctor being able to deliver her. She was so tiny compared to Stryker. 

"A moment in my tummy, a lifetime in my heart."

After an hour in recovery, we were wheeled upstairs to our more permanent home or so I thought. The next several minutes were a blur. I was being attended to by my postpartum nurse as LakeLynn was being assessed as well. The NICU nurse quickly informed me that LakeLynn's sat was 79% on room air. I had noticed down stairs that she had nostril flaring but I was trying to just relax & reassure myself that just because my respiratory therapy background doesn't mean I needed to be overly concern with worry. Logan immediately looked at me with a slight concerned look. I quickly asked the neonatal nurse whether LakeLynn was retracting. After answering yes, she swiftly took LakeLynn & Logan to the NICU for further examination. Thankfully, my mom was there for comfort because I completely lost it. Trying to talk myself through the situation, I found myself unable to remain as strong as I am normally. After several minutes which seemed like an eternity, they brought LakeLynn back into my room inside an incubator. Her sat had already increased to 100% but on oxygen. We were informed she would be admitted into the NICU until discharge. Logan followed her downstairs in order to know where she would remain throughout her hospital stay. During the next hour, LakeLynn was getting the necessary care & I was trying to exercises to allow the epidural effects to wear off so I could go see our baby girl. Logan wheeled me with Coco following closely behind to check on LakeLynn. She was placed on a CPAP machine at 25% oxygen. The nurse informed us that the oxygen level would be weaned down as tolerated. The next several hours were crucial in determining her length of stay. We were glad to know she was in a private room & we would be able to visit as often as we wanted (no visiting hours). Praying was basically what occupied our minds the rest of the time. Later, grandmama brought Stryker to the hospital for a visit. We remained in the room but allowed him to see her for a very short time. After getting settled, Logan took Stryker home  to prevent a total meltdown from being away from us. Of course, I stayed with LakeLynn the majority of the time not getting much sleep at all. At 2am (Thrusday), the CPAP machine was removed & she successfully kept her sats up! It happened quickly. Logan arrived at the hospital that morning & we were anxious to hold our precious girl. She started breastfeeding like a champ! All day, she continued to amaze us on our tough she was. God kept answering prayers. By 1pm, she was in a regular crib which she needs at least 48 hours of stability before discharged home. The only setback was a drop in her glucose which caused us to be placed on fluids. We are currently still hoping for a Saturday discharge. We've had a few visitors but most people want to wait since Logan & I are the only ones who can touch/hold her. I will be discharged Friday by lunch & will stay in LakeLynn's room until she's released. Stryker melted my heart by being so loving to LakeLynn (pictures & video coming soon). 

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