Nolan is HOME!!!

It has been a long day so I am going to keep this short.. Nolan is home, and we are so incredibly happy! God is so good! Nolan is doing well and nursing regularly. We have had an enjoyable evening of just letting Myles see him and get used to him, and we have been holding our baby boy and staring at him. (without the watchful eye of the nurses) We go for a follow up check-up at the pediatrician's office tomorrow morning to check his weight and stats, so hopefully he will have a little weight gain. He seems so peaceful and relaxed, I feel like he knows that he is home and loves it here.

I will add more details and pics later but right now it is time to put Mr. Nolan to bed, we are pooped!

Thank-you again to everyone for all of your prayers and support :)

love,
Rachel

Update on Mr. Nolan

(Monday 8/28) Just a little add-on... We went to see Nolan last night and he nursed like a champ! We brought Myles with us and the nurse brought Nolan to the door so that Myles got to meet him in person! He loves his baby brother, he said "Hi Nolan! I'm Myles" and he gave him kisses. It was very sweet. It was so nice to see our baby's little face with nothing on it. No more tubes and tape, just cute soft little cheeks and eyes and teeny baby lips. Oh yeah, and I think he has mama and brother's "cabbage patch kid" nose :)
I just have to add the Myles has been such a good boy through all of this. He had gotten to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa, and Auntie Liz and Keith, and Auntie Christy and Uncle Chris. I don't know what we would have done without all of them! I think Myles has been enjoying getting to go places and get spoiled :)



(Sunday 8/27) First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and kind words. They have helped tremendously through this difficult time.
I am so happy to report that Nolan is doing SO much better. He was taken off the CPAP on Friday and put on a little bit of oxygen. Then yesterday, they decided that he was ready to try and eat a small amount from the bottle and he did GREAT!!
He was sleepy at first, but once he got a few gulps he loved it and sucked it down. He ate really good every three hours after that yesterday. We went in to feed him a bottle this morning at 11:30 and he drank it all (15cc) in about thirty seconds and then looked for more. So the nurse said if I wanted to I could try nursing and of course I jumped at that chance. He latched right on with no problem (Myles didn't even do that) and ate for 10 minutes! He got so full that he just sacked out right there. So we snuggled for a while, which was so nice :)
I called to check in on him this evening at 5:30 pm and his nurse said that she had just taken him off the oxygen altogether!!! We are so excited and can't wait to go see his little face with nothing on it! On top of all that, Myles will get to see his brother for the first time tonight! (through the window, but still better than a picture) All good things today :) We are so happy that he is making such great progress, God is so good! Now we just have to get him nursing regularly and gaining weight, and transition him off the IV. Hopefully he will be home within the week.

Unfortunately mama is not doing so hot. I don't want to bore you with details but I had a blood clot when I left the hospital and have been to the ER for my symptoms since, but things have gotten worse. I am hoping to see my Dr. tomorrow because it is getting hard to sleep. I am having chest pain and some weird head and neck pain, but thank goodness for the pain meds they gave me when I left the hospital :) They at least allow me to sleep a little. Anyway, I would really appreciate your prayers because I just want to be well so I can take care of my babies!

Here are a few pics but if you'd like to see more you can check them out at: http://picasaweb.google.com/DRPCSolutions

Nolan James Anderson

Well, that squirmy little worm just didn't want to be inside any longer. I was having trouble sleeping Sunday night, so I went out to lay on the couch and watch TV at about 11:45 pm. I was sitting there and suddenly heard a POP come from my belly while the baby was moving, which scared me half to death and I went running in to wake Danny up. I told him what I heard, and I was afraid that the baby had hurt himself or something, but two minutes later we knew that my water had broke. We started packing in a frantic rush and called Danny's brother, Lee to come stay with Myles while he slept (thanks uncle Lee!) My contractions started about 10 minutes later and were instantly 5 minutes apart. Danny sped to the hospital (Danny would like me to document that a Toyota Sienna tops out at 110 ;) and we arrived there at about 10 min to 1am. My contractions were 2 minutes apart. They got all of my info and admitted me, took me upstairs and took their sweet time getting me changed and getting my IV started, which was necessary before I had my much desired epidural. well, I went from 4cm to 8cm in about 10 min, and about 2 minutes later he started coming on his own. SO.. no epidural. But God got me through it, and Nolan James Anderson was born at 2:59am. He was 7lbs 11oz and 20 inches long.


Nolan was born at 36 weeks, which is considered premature. He was having trouble breathing, had fluid in his lungs, and had very low blood sugar, so they brought him to the Intensive Care Nursery, where he has been since he was born. After a couple of days of assesment, they have determined that he is suffering from Respiratory Distress Syndrome, which is a result of being a little premature. So he is on a machine called a CPAP which is a kind of respirator, and he has a few different things running through umblilical lines, including his IV and nutrition/vitamins.

I was discharged to go home today as I actually recovered very quickly despite how crazy my delivery was. Nolan is still in the ICN, we will be going to see him in the morning. As soon as he is able to start nursing I will likely be staying overnight at the hospital until he is ready to go home. The staff at the hospital have all been wonderful. It helps us to know that he is getting the best care possible. Most importantly, knowing that he is in God's hands is what gets us through. We are so grateful for our new baby boy, and we can't wait to bring him home. Myles wants to meet his brother! Although he is enjoying getting to spend so much time with Grandma and Grandpa while we are at the hospital :)

Sorry this is so lengthy, but I just wanted to let everyone know what is going on. If you feel so inclined, we would appreciate your prayers for Nolan as we are anxious for him to recover and to be home with his family.