Motherhood

Finley’s NICU stay

January 4, 2018

The hardest part of being in the hospital was not being able to see Finley for 24 hours after I gave birth. I got to hold her for about 5 minutes before they took her to the NICU. I was on magnesium (as I previously stated in my last blog post) so I could not leave my bed or room for 24 hours. When the time came for me to get out of bed, it was extremely hard. I underwent a c-section just 24 hours earlier and had not been out of bed since. Sitting up and rolling over was so painful. It was a pain like I have never felt before. I was to the point of tears. But I wanted more than anything to get out of bed and go see my daughter.

When I finally made it to the NICU, I was just so excited to hold my baby girl. I did not want to leave. I could have just held her for hours. The nurses were amazing! They took such great care of our Finley so I knew she was in great hands. Each time we walked in there it was so positive and uplifting. Ryan and I were so thankful for all of the help they provided. They taught us how to feed her the right way and how to pace her with the bottle. They gave us so many tips on breastfeeding. Honestly, if it wasn’t for them, I would not know how to properly breastfeed. They informed us on small things like taking her temperate before each feeding and how to hold her while bottle feeding and breastfeeding. They also showed us some tips and tricks. We are truly grateful.

I was discharged on December 24 and even though I was thrilled to be leaving the hospital after 18 days of being a patient, it was so hard leaving my baby there. It was the weirdest feeling. We had only been a family of 3 for 4 days so it was all so new. On one hand, it felt normal riding in the car with just Ryan heading to get lunch and then heading home. On the other hand, I felt like I had left half of my heart at the hospital. I remember waking up the next day on Christmas Day wanting more than anything for my baby to be there with us. All I wanted was to spend the whole day with her, even if that meant sitting in the NICU all day. And that’s exactly what we did.

After 6 days and many shed tears later, Finley was discharged on December 27. My favorite thing was walking out of that hospital with my sweet little family of three. We had quite the adventure this past month. 18 days in the hospital, an unexpected C-Section delivering our baby 6 weeks early, and a 6 day NICU stay.  This was not how we thought our delivery would go at all. But through it all, we trusted The Lord. We knew He had a plan and that it was good. Everything was completely out of our control so we had to lean on The Lord more than ever. Our God is a good God and our God is a faithful God. We thank Him every day for our sweet baby girl!

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

xoxo,

Alyssa Littlefield

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