Friday the 13th

Five years ago today was one of the happiest days of my life. After 6 long, grueling months in the NICU, we FINALLY got to bring our tiny little miracle home. And yes, it was Friday the 13th...now a LUCKY day for us ; ). It was a much happier day than the day of Ryan's birth because on that day, we didn't know if he would live to go home one day. Ryan weighed 1lb. 6oz. when he was born on August 20th at 23 weeks 5 days gestation. His due date was not until December 12th. Due to an ileostomy he got at one month of age because of a bowel obstruction, he struggled to gain sufficient weight and was only up to 6lbs. 4oz. when he came home at 6 months actual/2 months adjusted age. They couldn't send him home with the ileostomy due to him not being able to absorb sufficient nutrition, so we had to wait until he weighed enough for the surgery to reconnect him and that didn't happen until January 22nd. Other obstacles he battled during his NICU stay included numerous infections, on the vent until he was almost full term, heart surgery to close his PDA, and Stage II R.O.P. (eyes) and 2 laser surgeries to help correct it, which then lead to his right retina starting to detach. Surgery to try to repair it was not very successful and he is now most likely legally blind in his right eye (sounds bad, but things could be so much worse for him, vision-wise). His NICU stay was definitely a roller coaster of ups and downs and we thought we were even going to lose him at one point, when he was one month old. But he's here! And he's healthy! And he's thriving! And he's...just amazing :*).

Here's some pictures and highlights (good AND bad) of Ryan's 6 month NICU stay.

August 26th
That's my hand on his back...unbelievable how TINY he was!

September 9th
Kangaroo care with Mommy for the first time!

September 13th
Kangaroo care with Daddy for the first time!

September 13th
His first close up! His poor little ear was somehow banged up during delivery : (.

September 10th
Seeing his eyes open for the first time in person! They were still "fused" shut when he was born.

September 24th
Not long before he went back for his exploratory surgery to try to find out why he wasn't pooping and why he was SO, SO sick : (.

September 25th
The day after his belly surgery where they found a bowel obstruction, which resulted in an ileostomy (similar to a colostomy).

October 25th
Doing a lot better!

November 8th
One of my very favorite pictures of Ryan because I think he looks like an adorable baby monkey. LOL! He was sitting up getting chest PT (to help with any lung secretions) from our favorite nurse, Carmen.

November 16th
Seeing his sweet face for the very first time without any tubes or tape obstructing our view! He had extubated himself from the ventilator and they tried him on CPAP, but he pooped out after 40 minutes.

December 2nd...10 days before his due date!
Wearing clothes for the 1st time!

December 20th
Ryan's 1st Christmas portrait...underneath the tree in the hallway of the NICU!

January 22nd
Smiling at us before his surgery (to reconnect his intestines) to let us know everything would be okay ; ).

January 25th
Three days after his surgery, still sedated and on the ventilator. They took him off the vent and let him wake up the next day (26th) : ).

February 7th
One of the last pics taken of Ryan in the NICU, 6 days before he came home!