Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Our Newest Miracle.....


Thanks to JJ who told me a way to load pictures 
around Blogger's present challenges....

I am able to post today....

For those of you that don't know....
the reason I was away to Florida 
was 
because my daughter Kimberly 
was due to have her baby.

We wanted to be there when she went into labor
and to be there for the birth of our newest grandson.

Kim was two days overdue.
We walked and walked the beaches 
to help to get her into labor.

Finally, early in the morning, my daughter telephoned us in our hotel room
to tell us to meet them at the hospital
because it was time!~!!

We were excited to be there and to help soothe her during her labor.
When it was time to push, we left the room for her and Nick 
to welcome our newest grandson into  the world.

All in all, her labor went well.
And she delivered a 7# 9 oz. boy!!!
But....
there were complications.
Scary ones.
Complications that a Grandma and Grandpa don't want to hear.

First, his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck when he was delivered.
They got it off quick...
and
my daughter said that she felt the baby having hiccups while being born.

Unfortunately, it was the worst time for him to get hiccups.
He aspirated meconium and ambiotic fluid in the birth process because of this.
So, he was born in respiratory distress...

Kim could only hold him a moment..and they whisked him away to the Special Nursery.

He needed to have oxygen and Xrays and it was discovered that he had aspiration pnuemonia.

As a first time mom and dad, his parents were scared.
We were scared.
He had to be put on antibiotics through IV's (which continually failed and he had to be poked several times to restart the IV's!)
Kim and Nick could not even touch him, as the extra stimulation caused him to breathe irratically.
For two whole days, all they could do was look through the nursery window.
It killed us.
Then, on the third day, two at a time, we could go and touch him....
but
we weren't allowed to hold him  yet.
It continued to kill us.

Finally, we could hold him for short periods of time...but he was all wired up to heart monitors, blood pressure monitors and IV lines.....
But, 
slowly.....
ever so slowly...
with many prayers from our friends and family....
he
got
better and better.

The Doctor said he was not deprived of oxygen long enough to cause mental or physical problems 
(whew!!) and that he just had to get rid of the pneumonia with the help of the IV antibiotics.

Finally, on day 6 he could come off IV's and eat.
They could finally feed him and have him in their room (Kim was discharged from O.B.but stayed in a room in the hospital to be by the baby)....

and on day 7, all the wires and IV's were gone and 
finally, last Thursday,
he 
got
to
go home!!!! 

We decided to stay in Florida until he was out of the woods
and Kim was a little more rested.....so we stayed for a day or two extra.

So, without any further delay....
here is our little angel:

This is Mama Kim beside Nicholas Ryan when he was still wired up in the Special Nursery.





They say newborns cannot smile and that it is "just gas"....I wonder...because when he heard his Mama's voice? That is what he did....





Alert and adorable....






The statistics...only that is not the complete last name..they don't put it all for confidentiality in the nursery.





I couldn't hold him and cuddle him enough when we were finally allowed to do so!





Look at that grip!





His cutie little foot with curved toes....
and heels that were full of lab draw pokes (poor little sweetheart!)



But, the GOOD NEWS is:
Kim called me today and the baby's check up with the Pediatrician
turned out perfect...
he is one healthy newborn now...growing and happy at home with  his parents...

We are so grateful.

It was the Mother's Day gift I wanted.

A special thanks to some of  you Bloggers out there who knew what was going on and wrote to give us support and encouragement during the ordeal...I really appreciated the prayers and hope  you gave us.

And now...this Michigan Grandma is already trying to plan when the next trip to Florida is going to be...

P.S. I will be working tomorrow on getting the April photos loaded so you can see the gorgeous pictures everyone entered into the contest..I will get them up for all of you to see as soon as I can!

30 comments:

  1. awwww...what an adorable little one! congrats! the complications...i was reliving the ones we had with our oldest there for a scond.

    glad all is well.

    just gotta smile!

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  2. Congratulation to your promotion as a Grandma, again?

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  3. He is so beautiful! How proud and relieved you all must be!

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  4. What a CUTIE!
    So glad that things turned out okay.
    Congratulations!

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  5. You have an adorable grandson, Joan. Really glad Nicholas Ryan is doing so well.
    BTW...I have a grandson named Nicholas Ryan too.
    ♥...Wanda

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  6. What a frightening story with a blessed ending!! What a beautiful little boy he is. I am so glad you were able to stay with your daughter through all of this. I am looking forward to photos as he grows and grows! We are all glad you are safely back. Gail

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  7. He is beautiful..ah..handsome!! I am so glad everything turned out OK, I am sure you felt just helpless. NICU can be a very scary place, hopefully he got some great nurses! Congrats to you all!! :)

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  8. Oh goodie, I'm the first post so CONGRATULATIONS! Scary few days, I know it was horrible to go though... so glad he is all better! He's so BIG and what a sweet face. I'm sure that was a smile! Our very best to your family and let the spoilin' begin!

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  9. I am so sorry for what all of you went through ---but thank God, you had a great ending to all of that. Nicholas is a gorgeous young man!!!!! CONGRATS to all of you...

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  10. Wow! I had no idea. I didn't know this was going on, and I'm really glad I didn't, because I would have worried too much. He is one beautiful and BIG newborn, I must say. He's just absolutely perfect. It was wrenching to see those marks on his heel, but if it did the trick, it was worth it. Thanks for sharing this great story!!!!! Hugs to you, Joan!

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  11. Congratulations!!! Ooooh, I can imagine how proud you are, he is so adorable!!

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  12. I am so glad that everything turned out good in the end. I hate hearing about scares like that. As usual, your pictures are wonderful, but then again, look at the perfect subject that you had to work with!

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  13. Brian: I didn't know you had complications with one of your sons...makes you really appreciate good health in your children,doesn't it?

    Rainfield: Thanks, dear! Yes this is my third grandchild...I have Nathan (who is almost 8) and his sister Miranda (who is almost 3) and now Nicholas. I am very, very blessed.

    Eva; Very, very relieved!

    Pat: Thanks, so much!

    Wanda: Really? The same first and middle name? Ours is a Junior, because his daddy's name is the same, too.

    Mistaya:Thanks so much..yes, we are very, very grateful.

    Far Side: I am glad for modern medicine and for quick action from the Drs. and nurses there.

    Joycee: yes, there will definitely be some spoilin'. ha

    Betsy: Thanks so much!

    DJan:Thanks so much...no, we didn't need extra people being worried too...and now that we are on the "other side" of the tale and all is well, I felt I could share it with the world.

    Jientje: He is adorable and it was so hard to leave him so far away!

    Otin: Awww, a sweet, sweet thing to say! As his Grandma, I have to say he is perfect.ha

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  14. Here I go with the tears again, he is so beautiful and I am so thankful he his home and getting lots of love and snuggles.
    Welcome home my dear friend, life is good for all of you now. Luv ya
    ........:-) hugs

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  15. What a beautiful baby!! I'm sure glad everything is okay now. he sure looks healthy and strong!! Congrats!!

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  16. Sooo glad he came through it all. He is beautiful! Thanks for the pix!

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  17. Congrats to Grandma and Grandpa and the new parents! He is adorable. I'm so happy to hear he's home and doing well.

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  18. Congratulations! He is beautiful!!!!

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  19. What a cutie!

    My man's grandson was born with the cord around his neck and the meconium thing too. He's 4 y.o. now and my man says, "I didn't realize boys were so...wild."

    He had 2 daughters. lol!

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  20. He is absolutely adorable. I have always like looking at baby photos. They look so peaceful, so vulnerable yet so loving. All hearts normally melt at the sight of a baby. Like those photos.

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  21. So glad the little one is doing well. (My son had the same problem during birth but the meconium went in his stomach. He had to stay in hospital for a week and had IVs and tubes and all that but he was fine and now he's 4 and a handful). Congratulations to you and all your family on this happy occasion.

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  22. I'm glad everything turned out alright. I kind of know what you went through. My sister had similar problems when both of her kids were born.

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  23. Congratulations!
    He sure is a handsome little one.

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  24. Blessings to the entire family. I am, along with all your fans and followers, overjoyed at the outcome of this saga. My last son, now 6'4" and best man at his brother's wedding this past Friday - check my blog at:
    http://rnsane.blogspot.com/2010/05/here-comes-bride-mr-mrs-alexander.html#links - for the pictures - spent 24 hours in ICU after aspirating meconium. At
    8'9", he was a giant in that incubator, among all the preemies. He had no residual after effects and graduated from Cal Poly two years ago with high honors!

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  25. Congrats to you!! I am so thrilled to hear he is happy and healthy!! What a scare that was! I was holding my breath just reading about all that happened to the little guy! SO relieved to hear he is good! Hope you make it back down to Florida soon!!

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  26. Bernie: No, no..no tears...all is well and it ended so happy!! Thanks so much for caring so much.

    Ginnymo: He does looks nice and happy and strong now...thanks so much!

    Marianne: Yes! He is so, so wanted and loved!

    Blissed Out: Thanks so much for the lovely compliments on our dear little boy.

    Cher: Yes, he is adorable, even though I am his grandma and prejudiced to totally believe he (and my other two grandkids) are beautiful children. ha

    Bossy: Thanks so much, he sure is beautiful to us!

    JJ: Thanks, honey..yes, I will have to remember that when he is older and running around being crazy. ha

    Aries: ahhh, thanks so much..yes they do look innocent, vulnerable and loving. I could stare at newborns for hours and hours...and they SMELL so yummy too!

    Loree: Good to hear from someone else who went through that and that their child is normal in every way..it is quite a comfort!

    Ratty: Glad to hear that her children came through it and hopefully are healthy too now. Thanks for the encouragement!

    Linda: Thanks so much...we think he is pretty handsome, too! :0}

    RNSANE: It is so encouraging to hear from others who have had children in the same predicament who made it just fine and did so well in life! That makes me very happy, thanks for sharing that!

    Tamara: Thanks so much! It will be a little while before we make that longggg drive again..it is 1750 miles ONE WAY for us..my butt is still sore. ha

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  27. Aw, he is so cute. I am so glad to hear everything turned out alright and he is healthy.

    I knew why you were in FL but we took off for just over a week and most of the time I had no decent internet connection.

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  28. SquirrelQueen: Thanks so much...I was off and on with the internet when we were away, too...and I didn't post about it, just mentioned it back in some comments. But that's okay...it all worked out for the best!

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  29. CONGRATS!!! Your grandson is so adorable and I am so happy to hear that everything is good and he looks so healthy and strong!!

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