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.