Flashback Friday| Then & Now

Happy Friday!

Sharing photos from Easter past and present of my little lady. 

PROGRESS IS EVERYTHING!!

2016 to 2017

Little-miss-ma'am is a busy body and will probably be walking alongside us in the March for Babies walk next Saturday.

Want to know more about her story and how you can help families and premature little ones?

♡CLICK HERE♡

#WalkForButton 

May Photo A Day Challenge| Ready...Set...Go!

Hey hey!

Blogger friend Ms Naturally Random and I decided to celebrate the month of May with Photo A Day challenge. Throughout the month we'll post on social media our pic of the day.

Want to join in?

Post your photo of the day using #CreativelyRandom and don't forget to follow us on social media.

See you there!

Ms Naturally Random
Twitter● @shanrandom
Instagram ● @msnaturallyrandom
Snapchat ● @shanrandom
Facebook● @msnaturallyrandom

Creatively Coiled  

Twitter ● @creativecoils
Instagram ● @creatively_coiled
Snapchat ● coilykita

Flashback Friday| No more leads #NICUGRAD

After 91 days of hospitalization, I was more than excited to find out that Button would finally be coming home. We cleaned and prepped her room (for the most part) in preparation however, my excitement immediately turn into anxiety on the day of her discharge as the nurse removed the last cardiac monitoring lead from our little girls body...

...No more beeps... Or monitor watching her heart rate... No more hospital alarms...

I was so use to these noises that it became the norm. So those 1st few moments of just silence in our little corner of TCN were joyous yet scarey. "How do I know if she's OK without the monitors to watch?".

This was a reoccurring feeling when we were home as well: skin to skin time was usually quiet with TVs off So I could hear her breathing.

I am happy to say the Button is thriving thankfully without medications or machines and brings us so much joy and laugter (literally, she laughs now and it's contagious). 

Flashback Friday| Life In NICU

Being the mommy of a child in the NICU brings on a lot of anxiety that in my opinion, cannot be avoided. Things that helped to set my mind at ease and made me feel like I was helping:

Checking in| Reminding myself that if I EVER wanted to know how she was doing... even in the wee horse of the night/morning, I could call her nurse and get information.

Keep Pumping| in the earlier weeks we weren't able to nurse so keeping my pumping schedule was a must to ensure her supply was plenty at the hospital. 

Kangaroo Care| Once the green light was given, I held her every chance I got. Skin to skin not only benefited her but made me feel more like a mom.

Being hands on| it took me a while but eventually assisted in every way possibly when visiting with Button: diaper changes, hand hugs to keep her calm for her assessments, feedings, etc. I was always asking to help once I got past the "I don't want to hurt her" phase.

Journaling| I not only had a journal, but a calendar that helped me document Button's progress and count the days; from assessments to small messages to her, I wrote whenever I felt moved to do so.

CLICK HERE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR STORY

Mommy of a Super Hero| Strength of a Preemie

Around this time last year there were so many thoughts running through my mind about #NewMomLife: hoping that I'd do a good job recognizing different cries and being able to take care of my little one was just some of what went through my head as I felt Button kick around in the early morning hours.

Needles to say when Button made her debut at 24 weeks and 6 days, I was floored and had no clue of what was in store:

• Respitory assistance

• Constant observation

• PICC lines

• Blood transfusions

• Therapy

• Eye surgery

...Just to name a few.

Not to mention the fact that my little one could not come home.

The 1st few weeks of Button being in the NICU were by far the toughest days of my life. I honestly felt like I had let her down and there was nothing I could do to help during such a crucial time.

However, this little lady of ours was a tough cookie and even though there were ups and downs for those 91 days, she's fought like a champ and her fighting made me want to be stronger for her because she was not worrying, so why was I?

Want to know more about infant prematurity and how you can help?

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION 

Flashback Friday| "I'm going to be a mom!"

Happy April to all! As usual lately, I'm up early feeding Button... Oh, who is Button? She is my pint-size super hero.

Around this time last year hubby and I discovered that we were going to be parents. What a discovering right?! So excited and intrigued with the unknown:

• Girl or Boy?
• Hubby's smile?
• My personality?
• Will we be good parents?

Minds were racing wondering what was in store for our to-be party of 3. We kept Button a secret from many for as long as she would allow us (24 weeks and 4 days to be exact)...

With our due not being until November 30th, we were thrown for a loop when Button made her entrance on August 13th. 

Want to know more about our story? 

●●●CLICK HER●●●