12.11.2013

Home. Part 20

Friday, June 21

Mike texted me and said that E took 65 & 75 throughout the night! He also got more sleep this time around.

The best part of his night.. happened when she pooped, so he changed her. She pooped again, he changed her. She pooped again. Ha… made me giggle!

But really, what happened next was what I had been waiting to hear for 5 weeks…

“babe, bring the car seat in with you when you get here.”
“wait! what? you mean, today, really”"?”
“Yes! The nurse just popped in & said Emma is going home today!”

I immediately called Mike & wanted details. He didn’t have many, just that the nurse came in after Emma drank 70 ml to take her back to the nursery & said we have a few more things to check off the list & then you’re taking your baby home today!

Oh how my heart was pounding. So hard. I could not contain my excitement!

It felt so good carrying her car seat in that morning. The security guards that had grown to know me & give me a good morning with an approving nod as I bypassed the check in, gave me a huge smile & said is today the day?

Why yes, yes it is!

Mike had tried getting a few more hours of sleep after the nurse took E. She got her hip & leg ultrasound during this time!

As we are making our way back to her room, Dr. Nair stops us in the hall & congratulates us! She says, I can’t think of any more reasons to keep Emma her besides her being so darn cute.

Ha. not reason enough for us to stick around the NICU any longer!

Angelica starts doing blood work and discharge exam. The fellow comes in & says they want to take Emma to see the orthopedic dr because her ultrasound showed something minor.

We head to the 2nd floor & the ortho doc does an exam. Says she feels fine and moves fine but because of the slight issue on the ultrasound he wants us to double diaper her and come back in 2 months. Says her hip is shallow and sometimes kids grow out of the problem and others don't. We are trusting God that Emma will be in the first group. She'll get an x ray at 7 months to check again…

*side note-there is so much more to this part of Emma’s story then what we first thought after this conversation with the dr. Just another point along this journey that God used my sweet little girl to completely grow my faith…

Claudia is there when we get back & takes over the discharge papers. E drinks about 75 ml and we buckle her into her car seat for the 90 minute test. She has to sit in it with no issues for that long before they feel comfortable sending her home.  We aren’t worried. She also does E’s hearing test during this time too.

M & I head to lunch and are basically skipping around. We stop at target to get some last minute things since I don’t plan on being in the city for a long, long time after driving away.

When we get back to the hospital, Claudia says that Emma passed both tests & she is READY TO GO HOME!!!!!!!

Mike feeds her while I finish signing a million papers.

Oh friends, I don’t think a hurricane could have knocked the grin off my face. Even if I kept feeling like someone was going to walk in and say oooops, sorry mom but she can’t go home. we found …

We get E dressed & buckled into her seat!! Mike leaves to go get the car and drive it to the er drop off to pick us up.

Lauren (adoptive mom) is in the hall to cheer us on & wish us well. The nurses & dr’s all share big smiles & congratulations as we wheel E out of the NICU. For the final time.

Meet M at the ER & put E in the car. Squeeze Claudia’s neck nice & tight. Oh this woman played a huge role in sending E home!

(and yes, we joked the whole day that Lynn wasn’t going to be happy to come in on Saturday to see Emma gone, or should I say Mike gone :) We all knew how much she would miss his sarcasm! Love you Lynn!)

And away we go… the hospital in our rearview mirror. The longest, hardest thing we had ever done  becoming a smaller dot in a big city skyline.

Emma sleeps the whole time. We stop at Marshalls & Walmart to get some essentials.

Mike & I have a pretty intense worship session during the drive. O the blood brings me to tears…but this time a very different type of tears. Ones that hold hope & excitement & a dream of what was to come.

And then, just like that, Mike is carrying our girl into our home…

I’m crying as I type this. I’m not sure words could ever truly explain how I felt in those first moments home…

Moments that I had expected to happen 5 weeks earlier, moments that I had expected to be filled with smiles & no drama, moments that I had begun to think would never come.

I was home! With my daughter! In our home! OUR HOME!

And it was perfect… completely perfect.

The pain & anger & frustration & anxiety were all a faint memory , if only for that night. But yes they weren’t there. After 5 long weeks, I had a peace. A comfort that only God could have given me. A joy that could not be put out…

We serve a faithful God, one who never..not for a second…left me. Even through the times I felt I was alone & empty, He was there. I could see His hand throughout every piece of this story…

His love leading us through the night...

Our Emma Joy, our girl of all consuming jubilation, was finally home…

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to be continued... No. 
This part of Emma’s story is done. 
Her NICU stay over. 
Her life at home just beginning...

7 comments:

Alli said...

Oh this made me cry happy tears! Such a beautiful story of God's faith and goodness. Thank you so much for sharing. I know you've been enjoying that beautiful girl of yours!

Ashley said...

So amazing sweet friend. Thank you for sharing your journey! So much love to you!!

Lynn Fox said...

Beautiful family story 💑 loved every word! Merry Christmas guys🎄🎁🎅

Liz Edwards said...

Thank you! I most certainly have been :) xoxo

Liz Edwards said...

xoxo you're the sweetest!

Liz Edwards said...

We love you :)

Linda Bloom Geise said...

I have enjoyed every part of Behind the Scenes. GOD IS GOOD !!! Bless the Edwards Family !!!!