A few pictures from our NICU journey

Owen just after he was born. He is holding daddy's hand. 2lbs 2oz - so tiny. He was bruised from the doctors taking him out during hte c-section.

Owen lost weight after he was born. In this picture he was only 1lb 7oz.

This is a picture of Daddy holding Owen for the first time. He was such a happy man.











When Owen was transferred to a children's hospital, he went through a major surgery. After the surgery he was very sick and the doctors were sure he wouldn't make it. This is a picture of him after the surgery. His body was not working the way it should have been. His kidneys were not working at all. All the fluids they were giving him caused him to massively swell. The day before this picture was taken he was only 2lbs. In this picture he looks like an 8lb baby.



This picture of Daddy and Owen was taken after his second surgery. He did much better during this surgery. We were so proud of him.

This is Owen's first crib. He graduated from the incubator on November 9th. We were so excited to see him in a real babies crib!

Owen's first Christmas was spent in the NICU. We dressed him up in his First Christmas onsie and he was sooo cute. I was sad to leave him there and spend time with the family but thats life in the NICU, always having to leave your baby behind.

Shortly after Owen's 3rd surgery he was found to have RSV. He went from a pretty healthy baby that was on his road to recovery to a baby that could die at any moment. I think this was the scariest part of our NICU experience. It was totally unexpected and there was nothing anyone could do for him. His body would have to fight it off. He developed seizures and heart arithmias during this time which made it ten times worse. It was devistating and extremely scary.

Owen recovered from RSV and then got the flu. In between the 2 viruses he turned 5 months old and finally was able to have his first bath! It was so much fun. He loved the water and didn't cry at all.

This was a picture taken during the last of 3 E.E.G.s he had in response to the seizures. The E.E.G.s never showed any signs of a seizure disorder and the doctors decided the seizures were simply a product of the RSV.

Owen was 6months old when this picture was taken. What a cutie :)

This picture is dear to my heart. These were 2 of his primary nurses. They were there for us every step of the way. We could not have gone through any of it without them. They were our rocks. . . we call them our nurse moms. They were all very special people.

Owen came home on April 23, 2010 - just 5 days before he turned 8months old. We were all so happy, and so was he :)