Meet NICU Graduate Baby Ariel | Boise NICU Baby Photography

Baby Ariel was born at 33 weeks due to Momma Stephanie experiencing severe pre-eclampsia.

Stephanie had experienced pre-eclampsia with her first child, so she knew she was at risk again with her second. She did not expect baby Ariel to come quite so early though. They had just started moving from Boise into their new house in Mountain home when Stephanie started to experience a terrible migraine. They went to the hospital and she was admitted. She was given the shots to speed up lung development and also magnesium for her preeclampsia She said the magnesium made her very loopy, like she was hallucinating. What a strange feeling! However, nothing seemed to help with the migraine. She was given hydromorphone and that did not even touch the migraine pain. When her doctor came in the next morning, she made the call to do an emergency C-section because she was afraid that Stephanie was at too high of a risk for having a stroke.

The commute from Mountain Home to the NICU in Boise was exhausting. Stephanie also had a 3 year old boy at home who had been excited to move into a new house and be a big brother. Fortunately, the grandparents were able to help out with watching the older child, but poor big brother was not enjoying his new house very much because Mommy and Daddy were hardly ever home. They are now enjoying having Ariel at home and finally getting settled in.

Moving is so much work, I just can’t even imagine going through the trauma of the NICU just days after starting that process. Stephanie, you are such a brave, strong Momma!

Meet NICU Graduate Baby Nathaniel | Boise NICU Baby Photography

This sweetie was born at 32 weeks gestation and stayed in the NICU for 30 days. He didn't suffer any major complications, but he did have a feeding tube. He has to wear a helmet for a flat spot on the back of his head, but he took it off just for me.

Mama experienced spontaneous preterm labor, with her water breaking at 30 weeks. At the hospital, they gave her a steroid shot to speed up baby's lung development and more medicine to stop labor. She was able to keep him in for a little over a week before going into labor again and having to have an emergency C-section.

They also have a 4 year old at home and the father had to go back to work right away. So Grandma came out to care for the older sibling while Mama was in the hospital. After Mama was discharged from the hospital, Grandma took the older sibling back to her house in California. So poor Mama not only had to leave her newborn baby in the NICU, but she had to be separated from her 4 year old Luckily, the 4 year old had a fun time with Grandma!

When talking about the hardest part of her NICU journey, she mentioned how difficult it was to leave her baby at the hospital. This is one of the most heart-wrenching parts about being a NICU mom. Not only have you suddenly become two instead of one, but you are deprived of the physical closeness when you have to go home and rest. Balancing your own recovery with the fierce desire to be with and to try to care for your baby is an incredible feat.

She mentioned that one of the things that really helped her out was finding the @dearnicumama podcast and listening to that.

Meet NICU Graduate Baby Callan | Boise NICU Newborn Photography

This handsome fellow was born at 34 weeks and spent 16 days in the NICU. He was such a little sweetie!

His mama had a terrible headache and didn't think much of it, but thankfully she decided to go get checked out anyway. She was diagnosed with #preeclampsia but she was stable enough to be able to get the steroid injection to help speed up lung development. Several days later, she was being induced for a vaginal delivery (after having baby flipped from being in a transverse position). When the doctor broke her water, she felt a prolapsed cord. Mama had to have an emergency C-section. They didn't even have enough time to give her a spinal block, so she had to be put under with general anesthesia and did not get to be conscious for the birth.

When we discussed what some of the biggest challenges were during her NICU journey, she mentioned the challenge to manage everything, especially having a toddler at home. And poor big sis was so sad that her baby brother was in the hospital and she wasn't able to meet him!

Who else has had to navigate a NICU stay with older children at home? Was there anything that helped you cope with and manage this situation?

Meet NICU Graduate Baby Rio | Boise NICU Newborn Photography

This baby is the reason the Boise NICU Baby Project was born. My own son, Rio, was born at 41 weeks weighing in at 9 lbs 12 oz. He was a big baby! He was not premature. I did not have any pregnancy complications. So why was he in the NICU?

It was December 12th and I noticed a couple of intermittent trickles of fluid, which I thought was just late pregnancy incontinence, but it turned out to be a high leak in my amniotic sac, or Premature Rupture Of Membrane (PROM). Since it had been about 24 hours before I went to the hospital, labor had to be induced to prevent the risk of infection. My body did not take well to being induced with Pitocin and labor was long and difficult. After about 20 hours, I finally got an epidural. However, the epidural caused my blood pressure to drop, which started to stress the baby out. He wasn’t getting enough oxygen. 10 hours later, Rio was finally born.

But he was not breathing.

They immediately cut the cord, swooped him away, and began resuscitation. He had been born with the cord around his neck. Unsure how long his brain had been deprived of oxygen and blood, and based on blood tests from the umbilical cord, he was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) with unknown severity. They told us he could suffer from cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and other mental or physical disabilities and they took him away to receive therapeutic hypothermia.

Rio was on the cooling blanket for 72 hours and spent 11 days in the NICU. He is currently one week away from turning one and he is doing incredibly well so far. It feels like a miracle. Every milestone is a celebration and a sigh of relief. We are so fortunate to have this strong, sweet, healthy little boy running around our house leaving messes for us to clean up after. Yes, even the messes I’m grateful for!

Gratitude at Thanksgiving

Counting my blessings

I love Thanksgiving. Not because of the feast of food and seasonal treats (although I do love that part!), but I love spending time with family and really thinking about the things I'm grateful for in my life. Due to the fact that there is a global pandemic still going on and my nearest family is 1000+ miles away, Thanksgiving looks different this year than it has in the past. However, I have no shortage of things to be thankful for!

This year has been both the most difficult and also the most rewarding one yet. With the birth of my son, I have been blessed with the most incredible gift of becoming a mother. Our birth was difficult and my son suffered a traumatic brain injury in the process and he had to undergo therapeutic hypothermia and stay in the NICU for 11 days. He was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) and the doctors told us that he could end up with Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, or any array of physical or mental disability. To say that I am grateful that he is here with me, alive and well, would be the understatement of the century! Every day I look at him and I think how lucky I am to be his mother. Every smile, every laugh, every squeak, fills my heart with joy. Every milestone he meets is truly a celebration. I look at him, already walking before 1 year, and can't help but think that he is a little miracle.

I'm so thankful for my wonderful neighbors and friends who helped us out by making meals for us in the early weeks and months of parenthood, especially while our baby was in the NICU. I'm thankful for my mom, and my dad, and my sister, who have all made trips out to visit us. I'm thankful for my mother in law who has been helping tremendously by watching our boy during the day while we work and also cooking for us at the same time. I'm thankful for all my long distance friends who make the effort to keep in touch. This year, my heart is so full and I am more thankful than ever for all the wonderful people in my life.

This year, I took on the responsibility of carrying on the family traditions for the sake of my son. This year, I made a Thanksgiving Turkey for the first time! I also made green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberries, and homemade rolls.

#Thanksgiving #Grateful #Motherhood #NICU #HIE #UnexpectedBirth