Going HOME!

On Saturday, June 4th, 2011, we got the call that Reese could come home! We hurried to the hospital as fast as we could! Once there, we had to go through the paper work and instructions, and also wait for Reese to have a head ultrasound (just to make sure she was truly good to go!) This was one of my favorite days. I couldn't believe we were about to be home as a family all together!

Reese got all dressed up in her pretty white gown that Meme gave her and her tiny bow that Michelle gave her. She just slept in her hospital crib until we were ready to leave.

All secure and ready to go! She was sooo tiny in the car seat.

It was so funny because she kept holding her feet up in the air.

Leaving the Baptist Women's Hospital

James meets Reese at Home!

Time for Kramer to meet our new little addition. Of course, it was love at first site.

Daddy was happy to have everyone home ;)

Yall know how I felt! :) Sigh....

Aunt Michelle came to visit and fed Reese her bottle.

Meme holds Reese while she sleeps (she loves putting her hand over her face to sleep)

I think Papa is in love too!

James just adored her. He is giving Reese a kiss before bed.

Mommy gets a kiss too ;)

Time to rest :)

Last Few Days In The NICU

At this point in time, the nurses kept preparing us that Reese could still have to stay in the NICU for quite a bit longer...even up to a couple more weeks! But she kept making steady progress and it was only a matter of a few more days before she would get to come home!

Reese moved from the feeding tube to a bottle!

Proud Daddy

Sleepy Time

They kept the feeding tube in to make sure she was digesting the milk she took from the bottle.

While Nonie stayed with us, she brought James up again to see Reese!

Nonie's turn to bottle feed Reese

Reese finally was moved to a crib!

My feet and ankles swelled up terribly from just being on them so much after the C Section. It definitely limited the amount of time I went up to the hospital to see Reese. I went from trying to see her 3 times a day to only once a day.

Loving my sweet baby

Aunt Michelle visits and gets some cuddle time in.

Another picture with daddy

No more feeding tube!

Without all the tubes she looked so much more "real" to us.

Isn't she pretty?

We didn't see this much! Eyes OPEN!

Meme's turn to bottle feed

Mommy's turn to bottle feed

Another step in the right direction!

Some more good Kangaroo care!

Oh, I just didn't want to let her go.

Sweet Pea

Moving to the "healthier baby" part of the NICU!

(I think this is Friday)

This meant that any day now she could go home!

Reese's new "room"

NICU: Days 3 and 4

Days 3 and 4 in the NICU were made up of going back and forth to see Reese and catch each milestone that she would hit.

Starting at 12 am on Sunday, we got to witness her first tube feeding. We also changed her diaper. I forgot how little newborn diapers were! Let me just say it is crazy changing a newborn's diaper with a gazillion wires in the way!

Sunday evening, Justin helped with the tube feeding while I did some "kangaroo care" with Reese. That's just a fancy name for some good mommy and baby skin to skin.

Some good daddy time before bed :)

Monday morning we woke up and went to see Reese again:

Reese kept taking her feeding tube out of her mouth, so they finally had to put it through her nose :( But, this morning, she also was in a sweet little outfit that hid many of the wires!

All swaddled up and sound asleep ;)

We just sat and stared a lot.

Noon was the highlight of Monday. It was James' first time to see Reese! She was right next to a window, so Justin held James up to see her. He kept pointing and saying "baby".

Reese's nurse held her up so James could get a better look.

James was in awe.

Sometimes we would come back to the NICU and find Reese like this. She would have red marks all over her. It was sad to see, but was a good thing though, because it meant the nurses took more wires and monitor tabs OFF!

Monday evening, Reese had her first bottle feeding!

Making progress!

Look at that full head of hair in the back!

Poor Reese, she looks like she has a broken leg....but the nurses actually just needed to prevent her IV from coming out of her leg.

8 Days in the NICU: Day 2

As I was recovering from surgery on Friday, Justin came back into my room and told me that Reese was starting to breath too quickly. She was really trying hard to get good breaths. So nurses took her from the nursery to the NICU around 2:40 pm just to do some monitoring. Later, they told us that they would be keeping her overnight. Oh, it just crushed me! I knew there was such a strong possibility of that happening, but to not be able hold your baby the day she is born is soooo sad. Justin was able to go to the NICU and see her, and he also took some family in there to see her too. By 7 or 8 that night, I attempted to see her, but because of my blood loss in surgery and afterward, I wasn't able to leave the hospital bed. I had to wait until morning to visit my sweet little girl :(

By 10:15 on Saturday (Day 2 in the NICU), I was in my wheelchair ready to visit Reese!

It was so good to see her, but so sad at the same time. She was just working so hard to breath. She was hooked up to so many things and wires were everywhere. And she had a little feeding tube in her mouth. Here is a little video of Reese for anyone who did not get to visit her in the NICU.

Reese loved her purple vanilla scented paci ;)

Her nurse put a tiny pink bow in her "hair".

My first time visiting with her. I wanted to hold her so desperately.

Justin was so supportive the entire time :)

He kept me strong.

We mostly just laid our hands at her head and feet.

Family picture with the "Baby Girl Payne" sign in the background.

This is a picture taken that night. She already looked better to me.

Sometimes she liked sleeping with her legs hanging out!

My sister, Michelle, got Reese some cute tiny bows. That night we were able to put one on her!

Oops, Bow Patch! I guess the bow bands were still a little big for her tiny head. She didn't seem to mind though :)