Andrew is one week old today!

We have come a long way. Andrew celebrates his one week birthday today. He is definitely a strong little man. We have had some ups and downs but I'm happy to report mostly ups this week.  Some of the most positive ups has been that Andrew is still moving his toes/feet and emptying his bladder. Those are two things that spina bifida can effect. The doctors said it is still too soon to tell if that will be permanent but it is still good news.

It is crazy to think of everything that has happened in the three short months since we found out he has spina bifida.  Sitting here watching him in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is such an intense feeling. I really miss being pregnant and having him close to me at all times but I love being able to see him. Being a NICU mom is definitely hard. Not being able to hold and feed your baby or take him home with you when you leave at night doesn't feel natural. I have drawn a lot of strength from the other moms and dads that are here. It is good to be surrounded by people going through the same thing. You also are surrounded by little tiny babies that are fighting to be here and I can feel their strength. I'm so grateful that Andrew is here and he is a week old so I'm not complaining. I'm just adjusting to this new life. I split our journey up in four parts. The spina bifida diagnosis, the surgery, NICU and when he gets to come home so we are over half way there!

With all the excitement last week I didn't get time to blog about the night Andrew was born. On Thursday night (6/2) my husband and I were watching Glee which was part of our nightly routine. I started to feel a little feverish. I asked the nurse to take my temperature because I didn't feel right. My temperature came back normal but in my heart I knew this was probably the night Andrew was coming. I went to the bathroom and there was a lot of blood. They tried to stop the bleeding but then I started to have contractions. As soon as they saw the contractions I was prepped for surgery. It all happened within minutes. I was scared  and crying because  I knew 27 weeks wasn't as far as they wanted me to be. The doctor grabbed my face and looked at me straight in the eyes and said "Your body is no longer safe for Andrew. He will be better off out here." After she said that I was ready. At 11:20 pm I went into surgery and Andrew was born at 12:21 am. When he came out he was crying. It was the greatest sound in the world. He also tried to grab the sheet in between me and my belly. He came out fighting. Unfortunately because there was some damage done from the first surgery my c-section was over four hours long and I didn't get out of surgery until 3:30 am. My husband made sure I was okay and went down to the NICU to be with Andrew. So that is the story of how he got here. He is the most beautiful little bean and everything we went through together was so worth it.

                                            "Our Little Fighter"