My Amazing Journey part 13

 It took Sawyer several days to recoup from his surgery. He even had to be put back on oxygen because he became so weak. At 37 weeks gestation he now weighed 5lbs and 8 ounces. We are now only 3 weeks from his due date. They now are starting to give him full rein of what he wants to eat where before everything was monitored.

 Sawyer was now eating everything in site. As his date to come home was closing in we were told that we needed to take a cpr class. Yes, pretty scary stuff, but God was there to make us strong.

 We were then given the date of Sawyer to come home. To prepare us for the transition they put us in a room to spend the night with him. So in case anything happened we would have the nurses at our disposal. This is when the worrying started for me. I always had the comfort of the doctors and nurses, now it was going to be on us.

 In order for him to come home he also had to pass the car seat test. Being so weak and wobbley he could be in danger just from riding down the road. He passed his test.

 Sawyers time at the NICU was coming to a closure. The nurses became our family and we miss them so much. He was also part of their great journey. Many pictures were taken throughout his stay. They made up a little box for him that all the nurses signed. In the box was his eye shields, his first nuk, feeding tubes, etc., etc..

Our sleepover did get delayed though as Sawyer had a couple of episodes with his breathing. They had to actually give him oxygen as he stopped breathing altogether.

So his time to come home was delayed for a few days. And the bad part of it was that he had to go back on the caffeine and would have to come home with a heart monitor.

There were some nurses that were not aware that Sawyer's stay was extended. They were sad that he had to stay a bit longer, but were glad that they would have the chance to stay goodbye. We totally understood.

 As the days were getting closer and closer the nurses and doctors were really monitoring Sawyer to make sure he was up to the task. No stone would go unturned.

 Well it was the big night. Our first night with Sawyer!! And guess what, I got sick!! Thinking about it now I wonder if I could have done harm to Sawyer? Me getting the flu and being in the same room with him. So that night I really didn't get any sleep, as neither did Lynn. Sawyer was a loud sleeper when he was little. Lots of grunts going on.

 Finally!! On January 26th 2008 Sawyer gets to come home. He is almost 7 pounds.

 I remember the feeling that was going through me. The last 3 months of all the things that occurred in the NICU were going through my head. It was hard for me to imagine that he was strong enough to be coming home. All i could think about were the peaks and valleys that we constantly witnessed. And now we were going to be on our own to fend for ourselves. I never let on to Lynn that I was scared to death. God gave me the strength to be brave. It was very tough being a first time parent to such a fragile little person. To this day it amazes me what a person can do when they conquer their fears.

 Saying goodbye was so hard. We leaned on these people so much. They not only made our little boy stronger, but comforted us at the same time. We will always treasure the memories and will go to visit from time to time. I get great joy out of seeing their eyes light up with love when we visit. Sawyer always seems to make their day.

 Now a new chapter in our lives was to begin. We were now on our own and God was with us all the way.

 to be continued........