Blessings From a NICU Stay

Yep, you read that right.  While Everett was only in the NICU for a short time (even if it felt like forever while he was there), there were several good things about being there.  I've always been a find-the-silver-lining type of person and I really had a lot to be thankful for while Everett was stuck in the NICU.  Here's a few things that we had to be thankful for:

One nurse was tired of him having plain bedding so she pulled out some jungle-themed blankets.  Isn't he cute all snuggled in there??

1. Ronald McDonald House Charities.  In the hospital Everett was at in Austin, they have a room that is just for NICU parents.  The Ronald McDonald House runs this room, keeps it stocked, and has volunteers in there most of the day to help in any way possible.  There were 4 bedrooms in there. They also had a tiny kitchen that had snacks and small frozen meals for us to use.  This helped to save us from having to pay for yet another meal in the hospital's cafeteria.  All of this was free of charge for us and was SUCH a huge, helpful blessing!!  We were only an elevator's ride away from our son and I was able to go to each feeding I wanted to in order to try to nurse him.  That was helpful to make my milk come in and one thing I attribute to being successful once home.  
2. Getting Everett on a schedule.  In the NICU, everything is done at a specific time.  This made for Everett to be on a set schedule for a week and when we got home, he did great.  I didn't have the typical problem of his days and nights switched.  He slept well at night from the beginning.  I didn't stick to a feeding schedule but I believe the schedule in the NICU made him know that food was coming soon after he was hungry.  With that, he doesn't typically cry when he's hungry.  He usually just starts grunting and moving around.  This is especially helpful at night as I wake to movement over the monitor, not a screaming child.  Helps Sophie to stay asleep as well since she's a super light sleeper.
3. Ability to spend time alone for a week with my second child.  That is not something that most get.  I was able to be with him, learning him and with a lot of help around 24/7.  I wasn't being pulled in opposite directions worrying about Sophie or the house or anything.  I was able to be there, really THERE physically and mentally, with my newborn son for a week.  I missed Sophie like crazy, but feel blessed to be able to spend time with Everett as we were able to. 
4. Lots of help from the lactation consultants.   Since Everett was being supplemented with formula since his first feeding, I was really worried about being able to exclusively breastfeed once we were home.  Since we were in the NICU, I was able to meet 3 times with a lactation consultant and discuss how to go about completely weaning him off of formula once we were home.  The last one I met with was so helpful in making me know I could do it and it wouldn't take long.  Because of their help, I never had to give Everett a drop of formula once we left the hospital.  Huge blessing there!  If I had not been living in the hospital for a week, I would not have sought out help in that area.  Being there and readily accessible to help made all the difference in the world. 
5. Everett having his own room in the NICU.  The main part of the NICU is open and all the babies are lined up in rows.  There are curtains you can pull around them at this hospital, but it still was not very private.  Because Everett was born in a different hospital and moved to the Austin hospital, he was put in isolation until tests showed he wasn't carrying any type of illness the other, mostly preemie babies could catch.   He was never moved from this room until the day we left.  This meant that we had our own room with him.  We could talk in private, I could nurse in private, and we could make noise without worrying about disturbing someone else nearby.  It was really nice having his own little room! 
6. Time with Brandon.  We were so busy the few months before Everett was born with finding a house, then moving into it, that I feel like I was missing precious time with my husband.  Brandon and I do not take dates and have only been out without Sophie 3 times since she was born (that's 2.5 years if anyone is wondering).  Being in the hospital during this tough time allowed us to spend more time together and talk like we hadn't been able to in a while for very long spans of time.  
7. Sophie spending a lot of time with her Mimi.  Since we were in the hospital for a week, my mom was home with Sophie for a week by herself.  While this may have been quite an adjustment for her, especially since she was in someone else's house and adhering to different eating "rules", we were so thankful and blessed that we had someone to take good care of Sophie and we didn't have that possible decision to make of how to care for her as well as worrying about Everett.  For a couple of days, Sophie was able to spend time with both of her grandmothers.  I know Sophie loved it!  

Some of that precious time we were able to get with E.

While it was not something I'd really care to repeat or wish on anyone, having my newborn in the NICU was not all horrible.  There were many ways we could see the Lord working in our lives and leading us along.  He took care of our little boy and us.  I couldn't imagine anything being better while we were dealing with Everett in the NICU.  We had a bed to stay in as close as possible to him, he was doing really well, and Sophie was taken care of without any worries.  I even was able to see her almost every day we were there because of my mom graciously bringing her to see me and a couple of times coming home to clean up and wash clothes.  I do wish I could have done more to repay my mom for staying so willingly with Sophie because saying thank you doesn't seem like enough, but how do you repay someone for something priceless?  Time with my son allowing him to get passed whatever he was going through without worrying about my daughter was just that: priceless.

See, there are good things about the NICU!  I just had to try to stay focused on them and the things above were things that helped me through that trying, exhausting, stressful time.  That and a lot of prayers from us and from friends all over the world.  So thank YOU to everyone that prayed for us and Everett.  That is also something we cannot repay and will remain priceless.