2 of 52: Bringing Home Bird

Exactly two years ago today, we brought Jay home from the hospital!  We were really lucky he had a relatively short stay in the Neonatal ICU.  He was definitely still tiny - only 3 1/2 pounds when he was released, but he was home and really felt like OURS now!  

leaving Piedmont Hospital WITH Bird!



the Mister getting last minute instructions from Jay's nurse

Unlike the day he was actually born, this was the best day of our lives.  At some point I will tell the birth story - it's still too hard to put into words.  It's not a nice, happy story.  What comes to mind when I think about that day is how I was scared to see what he would look like, what kind of heath he would be in and if there were any of the complications the neonatologists told us we needed to be prepared for.  This is not how I want to remember the day Baby Jay came into this world...

seeing Jay for the first time outside of the operating room

June 8th of 2009 was a much better day!  We were able to hold him for as long as we wanted, see his precious face with no tubes, and not worry about any beeps coming from machines.  We held him non-stop for days after we got home.  We finally got to pull out old baby pictures of the Mister and I to see who Bird favored.  We realized his adorable cleft chin came from his Great Grandaddy, his slightly wavy hair from me, and his greenish grey eyes from his daddy. 

arriving home! 
jay in his coming home day gown and light blue hand crocheted 
baby blanket made by a family friend in Chattanooga while jay was in the hospital

Having a preemie baby is really hard.  The Mister and I have still not completely gotten over the experience, but we are much stronger after all we have been through.  Seeing what Bird has endured in his two short years makes me sick.  If you have spent any time around him, you would not know anything is wrong.  He is as happy, sweet, smart and active as any little boy I have ever seen.  But, you see, something is wrong.  He's still small for his age and his doctors are worried.  This isn't something new - we've been dealing with this for two years, however now the doctors feel it is at a point where they need to find out what is wrong.  They do not have a diagnosis and we are scared to death.  I actually didn't even want to write about it because it makes it seem more real.  But, I guess this is real and this is my life.  He will be admitted into Children's Hospital in a few weeks.  We will have to stay overnight, but it should not be more than two nights.  He will only be under general anethesia for one procedure and the rest of the time we are there he is going to be seen by more specialists than I can count on one hand.  All of which will call for numerus blood tests and such.  Between now and then, we are scheduled to see a pediatric kidney specialist and he is going to have an x-ray and do a barium swallow study.  Over these next few weeks, please keep Bird in your thoughts and I'll keep yall updated. 

xoxo,
Bird's Mama