Sunday, April 18, 2010

Preview

Ok, so I know I should be sleeping when the baby sleeps, but easier said than done. Maybe I am not exhausted enough to be able to do that yet :) I know I have be absent from the blogging world for many moons, but now I have something much more cute to post about than my growing belly! Here are a few pictures of our precious Ruby Joy. Looking through the progression of these pictures again makes me quite emotional. She didn't not have an easy entry to this world, but we are so thankful that she has gotten better so quickly and is home with us and doing great. I cannot say enough about the nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, and neonatologists at Memorial North Hospital. They are wonderful!

Ruby had to be on a ventilator for the first few days.

After she had progressed enough to be off the ventilator, but not ready to breath on her own, they put an apparatus on her head called a cpap. The tube on my shoulder is how we fed her. At this point she still had an IV in her umbilical cord, so it was a combo of breast milk and IV fluid.

Our little Ruby was a little jaundiced so she needed a combo of phototherapy and the bilirubin blanket. Those stylish glasses are to protect her eyes. She was such a trooper!

Getting better little by little. We got so excited every time they would take out a tube or IV. It wasn't a fast process, but slow and steady wins the race.

Finally Ruby is home!! And in her OWN bed! She will have the nose cannula for a few weeks. She is on the lowest setting of oxygen since she still isn't quite where she needs to be on her own. She is such a great blessing to our lives already and we are so happy that she is ours!


32 comments:

Shaina said...

I'm so glad you are home. It's nice to see Miss Ruby's face free of breathing tubes and CPAPs. I'm so happy for you guys!

Desiree said...

What a trooper!! And how beautiful is she!!! Cute! So glad she is home now. You and Dan have been troopers to in getting her here and getting her healthy to come home. Kudos to you two! Hope all goes well for you! And I'm jealous Ruby can hold a binky in her mouth...Aliyah still can't!! But she has sucking issues. :( Love ya! Go get some sleep!

Diana said...

I'm so glad she's home with you guys now! She's absolutely precious. Congrats.

Adri said...

So glad Miss Ruby is home! She is beautiful, Katie...nose cannula and all. Can't wait to see her (and you)!

esup said...

Oh Katie! You are so brave. She is a precious little gem, and I am so happy for you. I hope I get to meet her when I come home during summer!

Mrs. Boojwa said...

I know you've kept us updated pretty well, but I'll leave my proof that I was here. I'm glad she's finally home and that all is progressing well :) We'll keep praying that she continues to get better!

runningfan said...

Hooray for home! I'm glad sweet Ruby is in your arms. Don't let the blog keep you from sleeping...but thanks for the updates!

Brooke said...

We love little Ruby Joy and we love you! She gets cuter by the day and I can't wait to be out there in a couple of weeks! xoxo

Colleen said...

Hooray for home and health! She is just BEAUTIFUL! I am so glad you had such a fabulous team to help you and her out during the stressful start. Those tiny babies look so sad with all that medical gear on, poor thing! But it's so good to have it all to keep her healthy and breathing well. Sweet, darling, Ruby, welcome home!

Jeff and Lori said...

Welcome home, sweet Ruby! She is just beautiful, Katie. I'm so happy for you guys!

Rebecca said...

What a little sweetheart! I'm glad to hear she's home with you!! Congrats!

Trinette McCrary said...

Sweet Ruby. I'm so happy to hear she is home and healthy. She is a cutie. Call if you need anything-please!

maynardmoments said...

She is one tough little girl, just like her mommy. I am so glad she is home now. She is absolutely beautiful!

Julie said...

Congrats! She is such a sweetie...it's not easy to have a baby come home with all those tubs and wires..(I can attest to that) Good luck, enjoy every minute of your sweet baby!

Vanessa said...

Yay, you're back! Katie, she is so beautiful! How scary to have all that happen to your precious baby. But I am so glad she is healthy and home with her awesome mother! Good Luck with all the fun new mommy stuff. If you ever have any questions feel free to ask, I always have 2 cents to give :-) Love you!

St. Julien's said...

Oh Katie I am so glad to hear she is doing good!!! The whole thing is just a miracle, isn't it!?! Thank heavens she is a fighter. I Love you and she is just as sweet as can be. I can't wait for more pictures... I hope we can talk soon so I can hear how it all went down. LOVE YOU!!!!

Julz said...

I'm so glad she is home. She is beautiful. I am so happy for you.

megan said...

wow, katie. we are so glad that ruby is home with you now. it must have been scary to have her in the hospital needing so much attention. but how wonderful that she is now home!!! we send our love and congratulations!!!
megan and vinny

Charitons said...

Glad to hear she is finally home and that all of you are doing well. I am so happy for you Katie!

Kinley said...

Congratulations on your baby! She is so pretty! and I love her name! I am sorry to hear that it was such a rough beginning, but I am so happy she is doing so much better! I hope you are well after the glories of child birth! Congrats again!!!

Valerie Housley said...

First of all, congratulations!! She is precious!!! I saw your mom on Sunday and she said you came home with Ruby and I looked at her and said, "Who is Ruby?" And then she told me the story. I had no idea, because I knew your due date wasn't for another month or so. I'm so happy you are home with sweet Ruby! I love the name!

Landon and Alaina said...

She is so sweet! I love her blankie in the last picture. I am so glad she is home with you! I hope everything is well. Its a huge transition into mommyhood and I hope it is going well! Love ya!

Susan said...

So happy things are well now and that you're home! What a sweet, beautiful little face! I hope now you can settle in and just start enjoying your precious little one!

Owner said...

What a beautiful little girl! I don't know what happened, but I'm glad you're all pulling through it and that she's doing so well!

Julie said...

Katie and Dan,
Congratulations on the arrival of your beautiful daughter. You worked hard for her. We are very happy for you and send our love. You have a special place in our hearts.
Julie and Ira Miller

kat reynolds said...

yay! katie she is BEAUTIFUL! i love the name Ruby. congratulations.

Parks Family said...

I know what you mean about not being able to sleep while they sleep. I always felt like I needed that time to feel human again. She is beautiful. Congratulations.

katie said...

xoxoxoxo

Brooke said...

I need more Ruby pictures!!! :)

Liz Taylor said...

Congrats on little Ruby! She is so precious. Enjoy her while she's so little, they really do grow up too fast.

konnie said...

Congratulations!! She is beautiful

COKE FAMILY said...

Didn't get a chance to talk to you at church, but wanted to wish you a very happy mothers day on your first mothers day as a mommy. Little Ruby is so beautiful and watching her little face as she was sleeping was so sweet. What a great blessing little ones are!