Our Little Miracle!

Just for starters, this post is extremely long but this is exactly what happened with our baby. A lot of it is indeed copied from my facebook updates, but I wanted everything to be written down so that someday when Greyson asks us exactly what happened with him as a baby, he would have this to look back on. I know from my own experience of being a sick baby myself that I wanted to know exactly what happened to me so I'm sure Greyson will want to know someday too.

 

Greyson Hugh Plott

Saturday December 6, 2014 at 8:28 a.m.

7lbs 13oz and 20" inches long

 

I started having weekly visits with my OB doctor at about 37 weeks of pregnancy. Every week I was told he was head down, which of course was by "feel" from the doctor, no for sure confirmation from an ultrasound. Part of me wishes I would have been more assertive back then and had an ultrasound done to confirm so, but oh well, I can't change the past now. When I went in for my 39 week checkup on December 4th, the doctor said something didn't feel right. We did an ultrasound right then and there and sure enough he was breech. My heart just sank. I probably cried the whole day. I know, not a big deal to some, but for me I have always wanted a natural vaginal delivery. I asked if we could try an external version (try to move baby to be head down) and the doctor said we could try but he wasn't sure it would work by how far down he already was in my pelvis. So the plan was to do a version that very day but because I already eaten breakfast and they wanted me to have an empty stomach. We would have try it on Friday, the very next day, but when I asked, "If the version doesn't work, can you just do the C-section right after instead of sending me home?" He said no because I wasn't 39 weeks yet. So our next plan was to come into the hospital on December 6th and try the external version at 7:30 a.m. and if not successful, a C-section it would be.

 

Saturday came and we showed up at the hospital around 6:30 a.m. to get all prepped for the version. My doctor first showed up in my room before the version to talk to me. He was all dressed up in a suit. I said, "You look all nice for the occasion?" and with a smile he replied, "I went out and sought council this morning." (meaning went to the temple). I thought that was nice of him and it even put my nerves at ease a bit. Anyhow, he instantly started talking to me and Jackson about the plan. He said where the baby was measuring big and was so far into the pelvis that we should start an epidural for the external version so I wouldn't feel it as much. He also thought it would be wise to attempt to do the version in the OR, that way if it didn't work we would be all ready for a C-Section if needed. I honestly think he truly knew it wasn't going to work but he was willing to give the version a try for my sake. We got to the OR and he really did try to move the baby but the baby was too big and was too far into the pelvis as the doctor had thought. I'm just glad I was able to prepare myself mentally for the probability of a C-Section two days before hand so I had my tears all shed and done with by now.

  

Getting all prepped for the version/delivery.





The doctor began the C-Section and within minutes our beautiful baby boy was born. He came out pink and looked great. He did have a lot more vernix on him, more than most 39 week babies, but he weighed over 7 pounds so no other doubt about him not being term was a factor.

Little did we know the next few minutes would be a life changing event for us. The nurse took baby Greyson over to the warmer to be cleaned off, assessed, and weighed. Luckily Jackson went with him and was able to watch everything that happened. As the respiratory therapist (RT) was suctioning out his belly, it kind of shocked Greyson and he instantly stopped breathing.

The tube used to suction him.

CPR was started and they did compressions for less than a minute. Jackson said he will never forget the whole process and how our little Greyson looked. "He was floppy and looked lifeless, it was the most terrifying thing to watch," Jackson said. In fact Jackson hates looking at these pictures because it reminds him of what happened. Luckily Greyson came back to us and started breathing again after a minute.

  Oxygen being blown at his face for a couple of minutes after they brought him back.

Greyson was now okay for the moment to be weighed....

...and measured.

After the nurses did what they needed to do with Greyson in the OR, they came back and showed him to me for a quick second and asked if they could take him to the NICU to monitor him for a little bit. Jackson then said, "Greyson stopped breathing and they had to do compressions for a minute." Jackson followed him to NICU and I of course had to stay on the operating table to get stitched up. I was then brought back to the L&D room to recover for a bit before being transferred to Postpartum. Within minutes the NICU doctor came in to talk to me and said because of him needing compressions and oxygen they wanted to watch Greyson for the night. She said he was having a hard time breathing and was still needing some oxygen. Soon Jackson came back and told me more of what happened with Greyson after the delivery. Jackson then called his friend from work that luckily had the day off and lived close by to come over and help give Greyson a blessing.

While waiting for his friend to arrive our parents were called and told to spread the news about his birth. I told Jackson to go back to NICU to see what was going on while I was in recovery. I kept asking him to take pictures since I really hadn't seen what he looked like yet. Jackson soon came back to me with paperwork for me to sign for our baby Greyson. I asked him what the papers were and he said they asked him to sign them but he wanted me to see them first. I scanned it over real quick and saw they were papers giving permission to do cetain procedures on Greyson. One procedure stood out to me the most and that was the one to intubate. This really got me concerned about what was going on. By this time Jackson's friend had arrived and they went to the NICU to give Greyson a blessing. I kept the papers with me because I wanted to be told what was going on. Jackson soon got back and said that Greyson was very grunty and his breathing had gotten labored and fast. The NICU nurse came in and told me they needed the papers just incase it got to that point. The nurse said he didn't have to be intubated yet but it could lead to that by the way he was struggling to breathe. I of course signed the papers and said to do whatever was needed, just keep me informed.

By this time, it was time for me to go upstairs to our postpartum room. I was anxious to get up and moving so I could see my baby. I just thought if I could just see him and maybe hold him, then I could maybe help his breathing out and slow it down a bit. Little did I know that me holding him wouldn't have helped him either way. A couple hours had passed and I was ready to try standing up and getting myself into a wheelchair. It actually went really well, and lucky for m,e I delivered at the hospital where I worked so the nurses that took care of me were my friends/coworkers. They were so kind and so supportive during all of this. They did what they could to help me get downstairs to the NICU as soon as I possibly could safely.

Pictures taken of Greyson by Jackson while I was upstairs too numb to walk.
Greyson getting a blow of oxygen and all hooked up on monitors.

A tube was put down his throat to stay put for the RT to suction him as needed.

An IV was now started in his left wrist with fluids running into him.

Later on an arterial line was started in his right arm to take blood gases.

When everything started to go south with our son Greyson, we started making posts on facebook to keep our family and friends informed. They were written in great detail as to what exactly was going on with our baby at the time. Because of that great detail, I want to keep that information for my record keeping and put it on this blog as well. Plus as I mentioned earlier, I'm sure one day, Greyson will want to know exactly what happened. I remember asking the same questions about my newborn experience when I got older. So if you see a paragraph titled "Facebook Post" it's a post you might have already read on facebook. I might add a few more pictures and a bit more detail in between posts though.***

 

(I was upstairs in postpartum at this time anxiously waiting for my legs to get un numb)
(Facebook Post)
December 6, 2014 at 12:50 p.m.

Greyson Hugh Plott born 12/6/14 at 8:28 a.m. 7lbs. 13oz, 20 inches long. He was breathing fine at first but while they suctioned him it kind of shocked him and he quit breathing. His heart stopped and they had to do compressions for less than a minute. He's in NICU now breathing with 5L of oxygen and being suctioned every now and than. His x-ray showed a bit of fluid in the lungs and his respirations are too fast to eat so he has an IV giving him fluids since he can't eat. His blood gases were OK but not great. He has labored breathing with every breathe and is very grunty. If he keeps laboring to breathe they'll intubate him so he does not have to work so hard. Any extra prayers would be appreciated. Thank you!

(Facebook Post)
December 6, 2014 at 4:58 p.m.

Well here's an update. I finally got to see baby Greyson for the first time about an hour ago. Still can't hold him yet. He's OK but not great. The NICU doctor said the x-rays showed his lungs getting smaller meaning he's working too hard to breathe on his own. They don't want his lungs to collapse so he's intubated now, probably for just the next 24 hours. They are going to give him a dose of surfactant to help his lungs mature and open up. The doctor said his lungs look like premature lungs and the surfactant will help with that. She also said they are diagnosing all that info I just told you about as Respiratory Distress Syndrome which will go away eventually and is more of a short term type of thing. She thinks surfactant will do the trick. She said his WBC count was a bit elevated along with his IT Ratio which is short term for another lab result that is too elevated, so they are gonna start him on ampicillan and gentamycin to fight the infection. She said to expect him on antibiotics for the next 7 days. And finally, there was one more lab that was a bit elevated that would most likely go up due to everything else he is dealing with so he will most likely be started on bili lights to prevent him from getting jaundice. Other than all that, he looks great! Hopefully I got it all straight. He honestly looks good. The doctor said these things just happen and can be caused by so many different things. The doctor also said to limit him to very few visitors especially any that might be slightly sick at all due to the season we are in. Jackson and I thank you for all your prayers and support, we are both just dying to hold him but even just the slightest touch bothers him right now so we probably won't get to hold him till tomorrow night or whenever he is no longer intubated. He will probably remain in NICU for at least 7 days, it just depends how quickly his body heals. Thanx again for your thoughts and prayers!

Baby Greyson intubated now in the pictures below. I didn't make it down to the NICU before they  had to do this and I felt awful that I had not been able to hold him or to be there for him before they intubated him.

An x-ray showing how his lungs looked. The whiteout isn't good and if I remember correctly the x-ray on the left was taken just an hour later after the first x-ray on the right.

 

My first time seeing Greyson since the Operating Room.

(Facebook Post)

December 7, 2014 at

 

Well I just woke up cause I couldn't sleep anymore and needed more pain meds. So update on baby Greyson. His B/P started dropping so they had to give him a dose of dopamine and a fluid bolus to see if that would help his blood pressures which it didn't so now he's on another medication called hydrocortisone to control his B/P for every 12 hours. They also had to start an IV in his head to start him on a fentanyl drip to keep him more sedated because he's been fighting the sedation. They did a blood gas while we were there around 10pm which ended up being good but since we have left the NICU his blood gases haven't been so good throughout the night that they said they have had to increase his support on the ventilator. Overall they said he's not really progressing forward and that he has more so taken a step back.

 

I'm kind of struggling with all this due to my hormones I'm sure plus I feel like he did better when I was there since his last good blood gas was right before we left. I really hope and pray I heal fast so I can spend more time with him. I think me being with him would help him more. My recovery from the C-section has been much harder this time around, more so than my last. My head feels like it's spinning and I keep feeling nauseous. And I can't stop itching from the drugs they gave me for my C-section. And the pain feels a bit worse this time around as well. either way we are hanging in there. And I better try to fall back asleep to help me heal quickly. Kind of hard to sleep with all the emotion and tears but we'll make it through. My nurses/the people I work with everyday have been so wonderful and has given me great care and I can't thank them enough for that. Thanx again for your thoughts and prayers. I was hoping he'd only be intubated for 24 hours but the nurse downstairs said where he has needed more support on the ventilator that he has taken more of a step back in the night that he might need to be intubated for 48 hours instead of 24. Again not the best news for now, I can only hope starting now that he can start progressing.

When we went to visit him later that day, we found him with a new IV placed in his head.

Jackson saying goodnight to Greyson before going back to our room.

 

(Post below written by Julie Hawkins - Grandma - on my facebook page)
December 6, 2014 at 11:17 p.m.

Up until today I would have said the hardest thing I have ever had to do was stand by my daughter’s bedside watching her being hooked up to so many machines and tubes and praying the doctors would know how to make her better… well now I can honestly say that it is even harder being away from that same daughter as she is sitting by her son’s bedside going through the same thing. How grateful I am for technology, which includes cell phones and computers, for the miracle of modern medicine, and most of all for a loving Heavenly Father who loves us and let’s us know we are never alone. I love you Rachel Hawkins Plott and am so proud of the mother you are! You were such a little fighter and Greyson will be too! I am also grateful for all the wonderful friends and family who are praying for both Greyson and Rachel. The c-section has been hard on Rachel and she really is not feeling well either. I am sure the stress is not helping that situation. Thank you all for your continued prayers.

(Facebook Post)
December 7, 2014 at 3:00 p.m.
 

Another update. Got a call at 8:30am this morning from the NICU doctor and she started off the conversation with, "He's gotten sicker" which I think is the worst way to start the conversation but at least she's honest. His CRP blood level elevated in his labs this morning which definitely means he has an infection somewhere. His IT ratio (another lab) was better though which is good. But as I said CRP is high so he either has pulmonary hypertension (an infection in the blood stream) or pneumonia (an infection in the lungs). An echo needed to be done on the heart to check for pulmonary hypertension. The echo has been completed and the doc has looked at it and doesn't suspect the pulmonary hypertension but won't know for sure till the radiologist looks at it. The fact that it is probably not Pulmonary hypertension is good and means it is probably more along the lines of pneumonia. If it is pulmonary hypertension they'll have to start him on another drug called nitrex or something similar to that name. I can't remember but were hoping it is not that. So as of now we think its pneumonia. His blood pressure did drop quite a bit and so the dopamine dose had to be increased which made it necessary for a different access other than the one in his head due to the increased dose hurting his veins. So they had to start another line in the belly button and if that doesn't work than he will be in need of a Central line. A central line procedure is more sterile and scary but thank heavens as of right now they were able to have success and reopen up his umbilical cord line and start it there. He is still on the fentanyl drip to calm him and keep him sedated. His ventilator setting is pretty high and increased again so they gave him another dose of surfactant to open up the lungs. The x-ray a few hours after the second dose showed improvement but not 100% great yet. We do hope that the second dose of surfactant will be the last dose he will require. He will need help from the ventilator for sure tonight now and maybe through tomorrow night. Blood gases are in normal range now but that is indeed with the help of the ventilator. Jackson and I saw him and he looks good but his settings on the ventilator are pretty high but the doctor and nurse are in high hopes that the getting worse stage is over for now and that its all up hill from now on. We can only continue to pray and hope so. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, we are feeling the love and support through your responses and comments and we know little Greyson, along with ourselves are doing much better now because of it. So thank you! We are hoping the worst is over now with Greyson and that it is more recovery and can keep him stable through tomorrow to maybe start weaning him down off the ventilator.
 

His lungs looking a bit better.

The two lines going into his belly button.



(Not a facebook post)
Jackson and I were pretty much drained after our visit in the NICU that Sunday and with everything that was going on with our baby, we both felt we wanted to be given a blessing of comfort and strength. We called up our bishop and asked if him and his wife would come up to the hospital to see us and to have the bishop give us both a blessing. They came to see us and it was great to visit with them for a bit and to each receive a blessing. It was exactly what we needed to hear at that time. Greyson also received a beautiful blessing from the Bishop. These blessings truly were a gift of great comfort and strength.  Jackson and I both knew our Heavenly Father was watching over us and our little Greyson. We knew we needed to be strong for each other and exercise our faith and trust in the Lord and that all would eventually be well with little Greyson. These blessings truly gave us the strength to keep going!

Our bishop and his wife. We love them both.

(Facebook Post)
December 8, 2014 at 3:54 a.m.

Well, I think we are at the point where no news is good news! (Here's to hoping and having continued faith that it is). Not much change from last update. There is still no result on the echo because the doctor that looks at it won't be in until tomorrow due to the weekend. I was told he'd come in if it looked horrible to the NICU doctor and that if it was emergent looking, but that hasn't been the case. A nurse did just tell me tonight that if it was pulmonary hypertension they would most likely have to fly him out to Primary Children’s, (phew! That's enough to make my heart drop!) But like I said, there was no rush for the specialist to come in and look at his echo and the NICU doctor didn't suspect anything bad so I'm going to just keep the faith that it isn't that.

His dopamine dose that was given to increase his low blood pressures has come down from 13 mcg to 8mcg, whish is great!! That dose had been 13 mcg all day and so it felt so good to see an 8! We eventually want him off dopamine and keeping his blood pressures up by himself but I'm super happy with a decrease number in medication dose! His blood gases have been pretty stable all day and they are weaning him off the ventilator; just doing so really SLOWLY. At least he's tolerating it and staying stable every time they change it. They really don't change it too often though just to give him time. With that being said, the respiratory therapist was honest with me tonight, which is what we needed to hear. I flat out asked her for the scoop and wanted to know what to expect and she said he could maybe be off the ventilator by Tuesday sometime. She said that could always change and it could be sooner but by the way he's weaning off now she really thinks Tuesday. She did say that some babies are quick though. So we are just hoping for Tuesday and would be thrilled if sooner. Lastly, I have worked with her and I wanted her honest opinion about all of this as far as when she thought he would be well enough to go home and she said with everything he has to do as far as breathe on his own, finish up his antibiotics, keep blood sugars up and be able to eat/breastfeed etc, she said to expect all this to take about two weeks. I'll be honest, that was a bit depressing but I am just glad we know and have a goal now. That's an answer I've been trying to get from someone all day, "How long are we looking at?" and everyone has beat around the bush saying it will just take time; no one knew. So I truly thank that respiratory therapist for being straight forward with us, speaking up and telling me what she truly thought with all that's been going on due to her experience. Because until now we kept thinking he was only here just until Saturday but now we can shoot for the 18th/20th. She said it very well could be sooner but she thinks at the most 2 weeks. Jackson and I were sad but do feel better now knowing what to expect and have a new idea of when we can bring our baby home. We will continue to pray and hope for sooner but expect two weeks because she said some babies at his gestational age sometimes just bounce back real quick on what to do once off the ventilator, so we can always hope.

And as always, we thank everyone for the love, support, and prayers. We are feeling more at peace and can see an improvement in little Greyson already. We thought at first our prayers and faith alone would be enough for our baby but soon realized, rather quickly, that our prayers weren't enough due to the constant negative news about his health that we kept receiving. In fact the breaking point for me was when the doctor said to me over the phone early Sunday morning, "Greyson is getting sicker". It just seemed like every time the NICU doctor talked with us that he was just getting worse. But I can honestly say we feel so much stronger and better now for our little Greyson. The constant outpouring of love we have received through your likes, thoughts, and comments in just these past 24-48 hours have been truly amazing and have brought us, especially myself, to tears of joy, relief, and a knowing that our Father in Heaven does love us and that our baby will in the end be OK, no matter how many more little bumps we may have to face together. We just overall feel so loved and can't believe how many prayers we have received by so many. I know that the three of us, especially Greyson, wouldn't be doing as well as he is right now without all of the love and support we have received from all of you!! We truly THANK YOU all!! Braxton too is doing great as usual for not really knowing what is going on. (Sorry for the long post)

 

(Facebook Post)
December 8, 2014 at 2:27 p.m.

Look what brought me to tears!! I've received so many great things from friends and have loved it all and appreciate it so much but it was a great unexpected surprise to get something from my parents and sisters in Idaho who I haven't seen for a few days! Love you guys and can't wait to see you tomorrow! Wish you could come too dad, miss u! Thank you!

(Facebook Post)
December 8, 2014 at 11:36 p.m.

Well just a little update on baby Greyson. He's still on a ventilator and just healing really slowly. Some of his numbers have changed a bit but no dramatic changes and everything is about the same. It was a day of rest and letting the antibiotics do their job. He's for sure on antibiotics until Saturday as mentioned before and probably a day of rest is expected for tomorrow as well.
The respiratory therapist that's working tonight with Greyson is someone that I know very well from working here. As I left Greyson tonight I jokingly said, "He'll be better by morning, right?" He knew I was joking and smiled and said, "Well, there are some things I want to try doing differently tonight with the machine to see if it can really help." Of course nothing to make him worse but maybe help him in the long run get better faster. So there again, its all about the blood gases and it truly is a blessing to know all the nurses, doctors, and respiratory therapists that are working with Greyson everyday to give him the best care possible. I'm sure he won't be off the vent in the morning but it will be interesting to see if the changes he does tonight change the numbers even a bit more for the good.

The first picture in this post will be a picture of the machine that Greyson is on and if interested read about the picture and I'll tell you where we want the numbers to be at before even attempting to take him off the machine.

Thanx again for all the prayers, we love you all! And OH the best news of all from today is, I GOT TO CHANGE ONE OF HIS DIAPERS!! I know, so silly to be excited about it but when you feel so helpless and feel like you’re doing nothing for you baby, even just the smallest things like that can make a mom’s day so much better!

(Facebook Post)
December 10, 2014 at 7:24 a.m.

Well I was working on a little update last night and fell asleep while doing so sitting up in my bed. I must be pretty tired. I'm home now from the hospital. It was hard to leave Greyson at the hospital but not too bad knowing his day to come home will come as well. Yesterday was another day of rest for Greyson, he is just not quite ready to come off machines yet. All his labs are good and in normal limits now, except his total bilirubin was a little bit elevated so they figured they'd put him under bili lights for a day or so just because he's already just laying there so we might as well throw some lights on him. His chest x-ray looked amazing and his dopamine dose is down to 6 from 8. I'm thinking we are on the uphill slope from here and that he'll be off the ventilator by tomorrow, (maybe). My mom and sister made it to Utah with Braxton who I haven't seen since Friday. I missed him terribly but it was so nice to not have to find sitters and worry about him all weekend. Braxton came home to a surprise … a toddler bed! He did pretty well with it because it was dark. Nap time should be very interesting since we have no darkness on our side. Anyhow, everything's going well. Thank you all for your continued prayers! He is getting better rather quickly and I know it’s through the continued prayers on his behalf that is helping him.

The bili lights.

A picture of Braxton was posted on facebook, just trying to see the similarities.

Braxton home now trying out his new toddler bed.

(Facebook Post)
December 11, 2014 at 2:17 a.m.

So Greyson had some bigger changes in his ventilator settings today, at least I think he did. The respiratory therapist (RT) from today really thinks that it’s a 90% chance of him getting off the ventilator tomorrow. His numbers are so close to where they need to be to get off the vent. The only thing that we think might delay him from getting off the vent is the new finding from his daily chest x-ray today which is atelectasis in the right upper lobe of his lung. It is where you get a fluid build up that blocks air to the lung sacs due to a lung infection, which Greyson has technically been fighting a lung infection since birth. They plan to do another chest x-ray in the morning to see if it has improved or gotten worse. The RT said she's been doing different things all day to help fix or resolve the atelectasis. She laid him on his left side to have gravity help with the moving of the mucus out and rhythmic tapping on the back and chest to move the mucus out of the lung as well. So it will be interesting to see what his next x-ray will show as far as the atelectasis goes. I posted another picture of his current vent settings and wrote where we want the numbers to be underneath. I honestly think Greyson is doing really well; it will be interesting to find out if I get a phone call in the morning or not for the removal of the ventilator. I told them I want to be notified of them taking it out before doing so, just so I can be there shortly after just because once its out, he won't be sedated anymore and I'm dying for him to actually see me and put a face to the voice that has been quietly cheering him on these last few days. So here's to hoping I get a phone call and see my baby's eyes for the first time. If it doesn't happen, I'll just focus on the fact that the doctors know what's best and if it means one more day of rest than so be it. As great as it will be for him to be off the vent, I still won't be able to hold him yet because of the umbilical arterial line he has in his belly button. Any major movement while that's still in can cause that line to do more harm than good but once he's been monitored off the vent for 12-24 hours and is doing well, they will pull out the belly button line. Just one step at a time. Thanx again for all your continued prayers; everyday I hear of, or read about someone new that I may or may not know that is now also praying for our baby Greyson. I'm still chugging along and walking around the house slower than a 90 year old woman. My feet and ankles are continuing to swell up and the surgical pain is pretty consistent but I just keep telling myself it will all go away someday. I feel my son is more important than my normal c-section pain I've been having.

 

The tool used to do the rhythmic tapping on his lungs.

(Facebook Post)
December 12, 2014 at 3:17 a.m.

Nothing has really changed, he's still the same. His x-ray looks good now and all his labs are great but he just can't seem to get off the ventilator. My hormones are pretty much a wreck right now and are all over the board. Just because every time they wean him off the ventilator his blood gases will show that they gotta put his numbers back up a bit or that they can't wean him anymore. I honestly don't know how much more of this "waiting game" I can handle. His machine settings look exactly the same from the night before. It’s like he's comfortable where he's at. These pics that were taken below were from two different visits he had today. And really, nothing's changed. It took everything I had in myself not to cry at the NICU. I usually sing to him "I Am a Child of God" and tonight I couldn't get through it. I just don't know how much stronger I can be or how much more of this I can handle. When will I not have to breast pump (every 3-4 hours)? When will I get to see his pretty eyes? When will I get to hold him? When will I be able to bring him home? The only question I have is when ??? We still have such a long road ahead of us even after they take him off the vent. As you can tell, I'm just really struggling right now and honestly don't know how much more of this I can handle. You would think your body would have a maximum limit to how many tears it can shed at a time. I love you baby Greyson. Please get better soon. Mommy misses you and wants to show her love to you.

 

It was cool to see his eyes open up on occasion. He is still pretty sedated in the picture though. I felt bad because anytime I talked to him and he would start to respond it felt like the nurse would up the dose of sedation meds. It was hard to visit him knowing that me talking to him or touching him would maybe make the nurses sedate him more. Very hard scenario to go through.

Look at all the equipment he's using to stay alive.

(Facebook Post)
December 13, 2014 at 12:51 a.m.

Just a quick update, I hope to go to bed before 4am tonight. The last few nights have been some late nights for me. So Greyson is about the same. He is done with antibiotics, continues to show a great x-ray, great labs, no more bili lights. Everything's good, just needs to get off the vent. The doctor has actually decided to take him off all of his sedation meds to hopefully make him start breathing more on his own and make him blow off more of his own PCO2, since the PCO2 is the only part in his blood gas holding him back. So with that being said, because he's been on a ton of sedation meds this last week as well as constant drips of sedation meds, he is still out and sleeping a lot on his own. In fact we were told not to stimulate him too much because we don't want to give him anymore sedation meds the night before us possibly get him off the ventilator. So I'm hoping tonight is a great night for him and that it’s his last night on the vent. The doctor has written an order to take him off the ventilator tonight or in the morning ONLY if his blood gases show a bit more improvement.
Thank you everyone for your nice comments of support and love today and your continued prayers on our behalf. They are just what I need to help me stay strong and I know Greyson wouldn't be doing as well as he is without them.

 

The settings on the vent before I left for home.

(Facebook Post)

December 13, 2013 at 1:52 p.m.

He's off the Ventilator!!! Will update more later today. Thank you for all your continued prayers! One happy mamma today!

(Post below written by Julie Hawkins - Grandma - on my facebook page)
December 13, 2014 at 2:21 p.m.

What a difference a day makes!! I am so happy for my daughter. Next exciting moment will be when she finally gets to hold the little guy! I am sure Greyson is wanting that as much as his mama! Thank you again for all your love, support and most of all … prayers! We continue to be so touched by the outpouring of love!

(Facebook Post)
December 14, 2014 at 2:27 a.m.

It’s been a great day! He's now off the ventilator and his blood gases were a little questionable during the day with his PCO2 levels but his last one at 9:00 tonight was normal and we're hoping or at least expecting them to be normal for the rest of the night. He is now on vapotherm which is the O2 tube you saw in his nose. He's on 4L of oxygen, but with time, we expect him to get off that eventually. The tube in his mouth is there to keep excess air out of his stomach from the high dose of O2 he's receiving. He now has no more IV lines (especially the one in the head) except for the two lines in his belly button. Once the arterial line comes out of his belly button, than I can hold him. They said once he has good blood gases the arterial line can come out, which it is a high possibility of it coming out sometime tomorrow. Once his arterial line has been gone for 12 hours, we than can start to try and feed him breast milk with a bottle. So its just baby steps from here on out. My overall biggest concern was the vent and how long he was on it for. I was told he really did take his sweet time with coming off the vent, but he's off of it now, doing really well, and that's all that matters. As I said before, he's completely off sedation which means he's becoming more awake and alert! Yay! I got to see his pretty eyes tonight and see him actually respond a bit to my voice. It honestly has been a great day! I can't thank everyone enough for your constant prayers for my little Greyson and our family. I have no doubt that we could not have made it this far without them. I know that I personally couldn't have made it this far. It was only a week ago that we kept getting bad news after bad news for our baby and once the word got out that we could use some extra prayers, our son made a turn for the better. So I sincerely THANK ALL OF YOU for those prayers and I thank my Heavenly Father for hearing those prayers, for comforting us, and for healing our son! Our son has a few more things to do before coming home but I have no doubt or at least I hope that he continues to do well from here on out. Thank you!!

 

Emily and I went back later that night to see Greyson.

 

 

(Facebook post)
December 14, 2014 at 3:31 a.m.

Grandma and Grandpa Plott meeting Greyson for the first time! They were also lucky to be here for Greyson's big day of getting off the ventilator!

(Facebook Post)
December 15, 2014 at 12:25 a.m.

For today, Greyson got put back under bili lights to hopefully resolve his elevated bilirubin level. It was resolved once but went up again. I'm sure once he starts eating he won't have an issue with that. Hopefully lights will be just for today. His arterial line in the belly button did stay in for the day due to his fast respirations he was having throughout the night and morning. The doctor figured the arterial line could stay in for another day just to be safe rather than having to repoke him. Plus he can't eat from a bottle with fast respirations. So with that being said, no getting to hold Greyson today … hopefully tomorrow. Blood gases were all normal today which is an improvement from his elevated PCO2 levels the day before. So his day consisted of lots of rest for the day. Greyson sure is a laid back baby that likes to take his time with things and likes to have days of rest a lot. Oh well, its teaching me patience I guess. We'll just see what tomorrow brings. I'm hoping the arterial line will come out tomorrow so I can hold him and also start trying to feed him. Thanx for your continued love and support!

 

 

(Post below written by Julie Hawkins - Grandma - on my facebook page)
December 15, 2014 at 1:03 p.m.

Look who is finally holding her baby!!! Rachel will post a more complete update later. We just wanted to share the wonderful news and again thank everyone for all your love and prayers!

(Facebook Post)
December 16, 2014 at 8:34 a.m.

HOLDING GREYSON for the FIRST time!! As you saw from my mom’s quick post yesterday, I got to hold Greyson, which honestly was a pleasant surprise because when I called the nurse yesterday morning for his daily update and asked about the plan for him for the day, the nurse on the phone made it sound like the umbilical arterial line would stay in for another day due to his fast respirations. So once arriving at the hospital I was quickly asked, "Do you want to hold him"? I was kind of in shock because of the phone call I had earlier but was all for it. So I got to hold him which was the best feeling ever and than the nurse said, “Do you want to feed him?" which again was another surprise for me. So I got to try and feed Greyson from a bottle. He's orders are 6cc every 6 hours. We tried feeding and he wasn't interested in sucking at all, which was depressing, so it ended up going into that tube he has in his mouth. My sister and I went to the feeding at midnight and I was luckily able to pull out the Binky real quick and switch it with the bottle which got him to eat 5cc. 1cc ended up down the tube though because I'm thinking he got too tired. Little Baby steps I guess. I was told the doctor would increase the feedings everyday.

So for my first time holding him I got to hold him for 2 hours which I was told usually isn't allowed but because it was my first time ever, the nurse was a little bending on the rules. After holding him his temperature ended up being in the 100's so the doctor had blood work sent to the lab to check for infection just to be safe. I think I probably just overheated him because the blood work came back fine. Greyson is also in a bili blanket to help lower his bilirubin and the nurse said that can make him get to warm as well.

So the nurse mentioned to me at noon yesterday that the doctor was wanting to start a PICC line. Kind of hard to explain what that is; probably best to just google it. It's basically putting in another IV but it’s a much more sterile procedure because the line is a longer tube that goes straight to the vein in his heart. It’s used more often for long term patients or chemo patients. But anyway, the doctor wants to maybe start one of those because his belly button line is only good for 14 days and we have had that in for 9 days so far. He thinks were his IV feedings are still so high at such a high flow rate that it would burn his veins if they put in just another IV. My thinking was, "we really need to add a PICC line for just a few days??" I wasn't really for it and I'm thinking the nurse kind of told the doctor that. I wasn't against it but my thoughts are a major procedure of putting in a PICC line for just his feedings?? He's not on anything else and his feedings by IV are decreasing everyday. Anyhow, I showed up at midnight and there was an IV in his head and in his foot. As well as the removal of the belly button line already. I was told the IV in his head was a really nice huge vein so I'm thinking the doctor might just stick with those IV's instead. We'll see if the doctor brings up a PICC line again later today when I visit.

Lastly the tube out of his mouth fell out so they just put a new one of those through his nose. I'm hoping his feedings might go better now that he tube is in his nose and not his mouth. Well other than that he's doing well; his oxygen is down to 3 liters instead of 3 1/2. Just more baby steps. I hope he catches onto feedings real quick though. Oh and he's graduated from a level 3 NICU to a level 2 NICU which is great news as well.

These first few pictures are when he was still in NICU level 3.
This is the vapotherm machine he is on now instead of the ventilator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went to a hospital later that night and found him in NICU level 2 room.

He's actually in a baby bassinette now.

The new IV I found in his head when I came back later.

 

 

(Facebook Post)
December 16, 2014 at 11:40 p.m.

Hopefully I can make this quick because I am just so emotionally exhausted and to make matters more chaotic for us, Jackson and I got rear ended by a car yesterday on our way to the hospital for Greyson's 6 p.m. feeding. Needless to say we didn't make it to the hospital for his feeding and so far we both feel OK from the accident. On the other hand we have a car to fix now and insurance companies to deal with but I guess this too shall pass. I honestly can't imagine having a NICU baby for months. I look up to you mommies that have premature babies; what amazing strong women you are! Greyson's only been in the NICU for 11 days and it is just so exhausting. I feel like I can barely handle it and all the emotions that come with it.

Anyhow, onto our baby. He's doing good, just so, so tired. His feedings are increased and will continue to increase by 2cc every other feeding as long as he tolerates it. Luckily his belly tolerates it but he's way too tired to drink that much from a bottle. His feedings are every 3 hours now and are currently at 8cc. At his last feeding, it was all I could do to get him to take 6cc from a bottle. The other 2cc went into his NG (nose) tube. I was talking with the nurse tonight trying to get an idea of what needed to be done to go home. And I honestly don't think he will be home before Christmas now. I can always plan for the worst and hope for the best, and indeed miracles can happen but that's just how it’s looking right now. He's gotta be able to eat 60cc for every feeding, on his own for 48 hours straight before he can come home and I can barely get him to eat 8cc. He's just so tired. Oh well, I need to think positive, he's alive and continues to show progress. I can't ask for much more than that. On another positive note, he is down to 2L of oxygen now. So that's very exciting. He is on a new antibiotic called acyclovier which is given prophylactically just to be safe due to his increased temperature he got yesterday. Labs came back fine but just waiting on a blood culture now and once that comes back fine the doctor will take him off of the antibiotic. Once again, everything is going good, its just slow going. I thought I was a patient person but I guess I need to learn more of it. Thanx again for all the love and support. The prayers honestly do help! I can't imagine facing this trial alone.

Jackson's first time holding Greyson.

Greyson likes to have his hands up by his face.

It's crazy to think that in just this picture below, you can see the NICU level 3 in that lit up room back there behind where Greyson is now in this picture. In fact that monitor you see above that lady's head is where he stayed on the ventilator for 6 days.

 

Greyson's new room/area.

 

 

There he is again, right before we leave for the night, hands up by his face.

 

(Facebook Post)
December 18, 2014 at 1:02 a.m.

Just a quick update. He's up to 20cc a feeding now. The nurse today was great about talking to the doctor about increasing his feedings if he seems to be more hungry so we were able to jump a little higher for his noon feeding. She said the better he feels, the more he'll want to eat. So we'll see. Hopefully he starts feeling better and feeling hungry. He's off of the bili blanket now too which means we can put outfits on him. The NICU provides the outfits and had that one shown below already on him when I showed up at noon. The nurse was also great about moving him closer to a window so Braxton could see him. So that was fun for Braxton to meet his brother for the first time. He watched very carefully and looked at what was going on with baby as far as diaper change etc. Well it’s been a good day, just baby steps towards home everyday.

Greyson's new and last room he will be in before leaving the hospital.

Braxton meeting his brother for the first time.

First family photo!

His first NICU outfit. All of the clothes you see in these pictures are clothes provided by the NICU for the babies.

Grandma and Grandpa Plott holding Greyson for the first time.

 

 

Jackson's parents took us out for dinner that evening. Braxton enjoying dessert.

(Facebook Post)
December 19, 2014 at 12:39 a.m.

Well, it’s amazing how when things start looking good, they can quickly go bad. Today was definitely not a good day for me and Jackson at least.

Today we found out the results of the Newborn screening (NBS) that was done on Greyson. For those that may not know, all babies in the U.S. are screened because the earlier a child is diagnosed and treatment is started, the healthier the child will be. One of the conditions screened for is cystic fibrosis (CF). Well today we found out that Greyson’s NBS showed normal results in all areas except for CF. The NICU doctor said he could have it but we wouldn't know more until the state sent in more blood work and get the results back in 4-6 weeks. Of course you can only imagine how I fell apart when I first heard this. A lot of tears to say the least were shed but I have since found out more so I wanted to share it with you. This is what my mom found on the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation website. “A positive NBS result tells you that your baby might have a health condition. Further testing should be done. But a positive (abnormal) newborn screen does not mean your baby has a condition. Many babies who have a positive (abnormal) NBS do not have the condition. A different test, called a diagnostic test, is needed to find out if your baby has the condition.” So the doctor has ordered a diagnostic test for Greyson and it will take about a week before we know the results; which is faster than waiting for results from the state. Here is a little more about what the website said about the cystic fibrosis part of the newborn screening. “The CF screening test checks for a chemical made by the pancreas, an organ that helps with digestion. This chemical is called immunoreactive trypsinogen, or IRT. It is normally found in small amounts in the body. The IRT tends to be high in people who have CF. When the pancreas is stressed before a baby is born, more IRT is released into the baby’s blood. The IRT can be high if a baby is premature or had a stressful delivery, or for other reasons. Most babies with a high IRT do not have CF. A number of things can cause a high IRT, including prematurity. A positive or abnormal IRT result simply means your baby could have CF, and another test is needed.” We know Greyson wasn't premature but was a week early and we also know his delivery was a little stressful as they unsuccessfully tried to turn him before I ended up having a c-section so his IRT level could have been high for those reasons but we just do not know and we need to find out. Are we still worried … yes, we are his parents, we can’t help but be scared and worried. But for now all we can do is continue to pray that he will get stronger every day and then wait for the results. I have had my moments (many to be in fact) of shedding tears and I probably will until we get the results. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Only god knows what I can handle. I really hope this isn't the case with Greyson but I'll do my best if so.
On a positive note, Greyson's up to 31 cc of breast milk. It’s really hard to get him to eat the full amount but luckily his NG tube takes down what he can't. His O2 is on 1L and they are gonna try and keep it that way for a few hours to see how he tolerates it.

Well, that is all with us. I'm exhausted and my eyes have certainly dried out enough for today. Thank you all again for your prayers.

 

(Facebook Post) 

December 20, 2014 at 12:53 a.m.

Well no news is good news, at least that's my motto around the NICU doctors. I like it when they don't come to talk to me because I than won't have to hear bad news. They only talk to us mothers when it’s bad so today was a better day, for me at least.

Greyson is up to 39cc of breast milk, but I can only get him to eat about 20cc at a feeding. And even than his respirations are too fast for him to eat at other feedings so they just put it down the tube. I just gotta keep hoping he'll get better eventually. Everyone keeps telling me how sick he was and it might take him longer to recover. They say it’s like getting over a bad cold. I just hope it’s not too much longer. He now weighs 7lb 11oz. He was 7lb 13oz at birth so he's starting to gain again. Overall he's doing well, just sleeps a lot. I luckily was able to hold him for awhile today. The days just drag by when you sit there waiting and waiting for this to be all over. 8 hours spent at the hospital today, 6 of it was spent with my baby either just feeding him or holding him. It’s hard to believe he'll be two weeks old tomorrow; his first two weeks are already over and done with. I feel like I've missed it. I technically missed his 1st week of life by him being on the ventilator and so lifeless. Oh well, someday it will all be over. Thanx for your continued love and support!

 

(Facebook Post)
December 21, 2014 at 8:20 a.m.

It's amazing how much a nurse can truly make a difference. Greyson's nurse yesterday was awesome! Jackson and I went to the hospital with Jackson's parents around noon so his parents could say good bye to Greyson and upon arrival his nurse was just on the ball with everything. Greyson is hardly on any oxygen now, NG tube taken out, and she fed him 50cc at 9am. I could barely get him to eat 20cc the day before. She was telling me a plan for him and she just was working hard to get the ball rolling for him. Her plan is to only feed him by mouth if possible because he technically can do it and should be able to; he's a full term baby. Feedings just takes time with him and he just needs to build back up his "suck" reflex, which she showed me the exercise on how to do that. Than she wants to get rid of the IV feeding completely if possible cause that can fill a baby up as well. So if he breast fed and drank from a bottle, he'd get off the IV real quick. Than the nurse asks me if I have ever breast fed him and I said no because another nurse told me he'd probably get home sooner if I didn't nurse because they can better monitor his feedings and the amount that way. So the day nurse put her gloved finger in his mouth and showed me that he wants to latch and he just needs something more to grasp. Nipples from a bottle are long and narrow. The nurse wanted me to try breastfeeding at noon but because I just barely pumped we would try breast feeding at 3, which I was excited to try this to see if this would really help his feedings after all.

He nursed great for about 5 minutes then got too tired. That is really the only issue I have with NICU, in order to go home, he has to drink 68cc (according to his age) every 3 hours. Well what kid does that? Braxton never drank that much that often. In fact it was more like every 4 hours and he slept 6 hours every night without a feeding. Just a bit frustrating because they have to meet this criteria and every time I feed him he just acts like, "You’re feeding me again?" The poor kid is not hungry that often. Oh well. I only hope he'll meet the criteria someday because he sure isn't interested in eating that much that often now. No wonder kids stay in the NICU for months. Luckily his feedings for the day went OK and thank goodness the nurse knew how to make him drink 50cc from a bottle every three hours. And when I say, the nurse makes a difference, it is honestly the truth.

I get there at midnight last night and he has an NG tube again and wasn't even attempted a feeding at 9 pm by mouth cause he was too tired. The full amount went down the tube. The night nurse said he was just too tired and said he's really tired right now as well, do u still want to try and nurse. I'm thinking we did this all day with him so I said yes. I did everything in my power to wake him up. I got him to maybe do 5 minutes on each side and than even with him really awake now because of me I could only get him to drink 20cc from a bottle so the rest ended up in the tube and I'm almost positive that the 3am and 6am feeding went into the tube as well. As I said, its amazing how one nurse can make a difference. My goal is to learn how this day nurse gets him to eat and than maybe just stay at the hospital all night long to feed him myself. Oh well, today is a new day. Better get going to get there for the 9am feeding. Oh and the IV went bad last night and another one had to be started. I asked if we really had to do that because the day nurse said he should be off the fluids by morning. Well needless to say he needed one I guess. We'll see where that one is when I get there today. On a positive note, this was Emily's first time holding Greyson yesterday.

(Facebook Post)
December 21, 2014 at 11:09 p.m.

Look who's off oxygen! Well, at least all day he was on room air but he got really worn out by 6pm that they had to put just a little bit back on him. She said the amount of oxygen they put on him amounts to the size of a puff here and there. No more IV's, he did have a new one in the back of his head that was placed last night as I suspected but the day nurse didn't see any need for it and removed it, so no more IV fluid! So really, all that's holding us back from going home is his feeding and him needing to take all of his feedings by mouth. He only has the NG tube left and that's cause he won't eat as much as the doctor wants as often as the doctor would like. Luckily I talked to the doctor today and told her that my first child ate every 3-4 hours during the day and 4-6 hours at night and did really well with that. I told her I think Greyson is maybe going to be the same way. It was all we could do to get him to eat at his noon feeding. He's just not hungry and I feel like its forcing him to eat. I also said his blood sugars have been great as well and are in the high 80's. She instantly said "So maybe if we feed him more ad lib (as needed)?" And I said, “Yes! That would be great.” So that was the plan but when I showed up 4 hours later the order was written as every 3-4 hours of breastfeeding or bottle. With 3 hours being 66cc bottle or 4 hours having to eat 80cc from bottle which was a bit frustrating because I'm thinking, 80cc? If we give him 80 he won't wake up every 4 hours. Anyway, I'll just do my best with that for now. 4 hours is better than 3. Thinking positive. So at 4pm (4 hours past his last feeding I went to check on him and he was wide awake opening his mouth rooting for a food. So I breast fed him and he did great! 15 min on one side and 5 on the other. That's the most I've gotten him to do in a long time. It wasn't even hard to feed him and he was awake the whole time. Then we topped him off with a bottle of about 40cc. Lucky for us, we can't calculate how much breast milk he gets in hopes its 80cc but as long as he can keep his blood sugars up with breast feeding and topping him off with however much he wants from a bottle, than we don't have to force him to drink a straight 80cc every 4 hours.

So the plan for tonight is to feed every 4 hours and see if the nurse can feed him 80cc. If not, whatever they can’t get him to eat will go through the NG tube which the only nice thing about the NG tube is that he can rest a bit more tonight. Than starting tomorrow, the nurse and I will see how his night went and go with breast feeding him every 4 hours and giving him a bottle afterwards. If that goes well all day every 4 hours and he can keep his blood sugars up, I will just continue to go in every 4 hours throughout the night and keep up the breastfeeding since technically that's what I'd end up doing once going home anyway. And then if we can get him on a routine of doing that for 48 hours than he can hopefully go home, as long as no more road blocks pop up if course. So we'll see how it goes.

The end is in sight! I honestly thank all those who have been praying for us nonstop. He really has recovered faster since being off the vent. Who would have thought I'd even be mentioning the word "home"? It was looking like that day would never come. I also want to thank all those who have helped out with Braxton. He truly has been a great sport about all this; thank goodness he is such a good kid and so laid back. I feel so bad that I hardly have seen him lately, but if me having to be gone at the hospital all day to breast feed Greyson to get him home sooner so I can eventually be home with both my boys, than that's what I have to do. I honestly don't see him doing 80cc from a bottle so I'm thinking breast feeding is going to be our answer. Yay, for actually seeing a light at the end of the tunnel!

This is a picture of the nurse that has been taking care of Greyson that last couple of days. I truly feel like she made a huge difference in Greyson's care and was really the first nurse to come up with a plan and really work with Greyson. I appreciate all the nurses and the work they do, but I'm so grateful for her and all that she did with our baby to constantly work on helping him eat from a bottle and help tell me what I can do as a mother to help be more involved in Greyson's care and to help get him better and home sooner.

On December 22, he got his first bath! :)

(Facebook Post)
December 23, 2014 at 3:17 p.m.

GUESS WHO'S COMING HOME?!?!?! GREYSON! And the lab results came back on the Cystic Fibrosis test they drew last Friday and he does NOT HAVE IT! Just writing this makes me get all teary-eyed! I will update a little bit later on tonight but the plan is for him to come home tomorrow. Thank you all again for your prayers and thoughts. It has been a long 19 days for us but so glad things are looking up. We honestly couldn't have made it this far without all the help we've received. THANK YOU!! :')

Finally getting to wear an outfit I brought from home!

(Facebook Post)
December 25^th at 7:13 a.m.

Merry Christmas! We aren't celebrating till the 26th but we both got what we wanted for Christmas today. We brought our baby home yesterday! I never got the chance to post the night before, but basically everything was going great with him and feedings were better for him as long as I lived at the hospital and exclusively breast fed every 4 hours. So the next phase was the oxygen. You have to be on room air (RA) for 48 hours before returning home without oxygen. The nurses tried often but within hours he needed that tiny puff of oxygen he was getting. So after talking to the doctor, he agreed I could take him home with oxygen. I did not want to stay another night in the hospital sleeping there just waiting for him to get on RA. We than got the approval from the NICU doctor for him to go. I was a little worried with his weight because he wasn't really gaining but the doctor was luckily OK with it.

We left the hospital yesterday at 5:30pm. When Braxton first met him he smiled and tried getting him out of the car seat. I helped Braxton hold him the first time and he just smiled and kept wanting to touch his head and investigate him. When we took Greyson away from him he started to cry. I hope this is a good sign of him liking him.

Anyhow, we are doing good and it is so nice to not have to drive to the hospital as much as I was anymore. It’s great having him home, even with him being on oxygen hasn't been that bad.
I feel like I can't thank everyone enough for your constant prayers, thoughts, and help everyone has been for our family. I'm sure he'd still be in the hospital now if it wasn't for everyone's help. It will be weird not to be updating about our baby on a regular basis but I'd never ask to go back to the day we started our updates, that's for sure. THANK YOU and we hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Greyson at the hospital doing the car seat test ... he passed!

 

 

I took the blankets off him and found him like this. He passed with just one nostril of oxygen.

Headed home!!

Braxton's first time meeting Greyson. He instantly wanted to hold him.

 

(Facebook Post) 

December 28, 2014 at 12:23 a.m.

 

It's sooooo much better being home! Not having to always be on the run in between feedings or not having to stay the night at the hospital is great! Greyson is still on oxygen and could be for a week or a month or longer, don't really know. I of course hope it's not forever, but just so glad I could take him home with the oxygen. He's back up to his birth weight 7lbs 13oz and is doing great. Big brother loves him too! Thanx to all of our family and friends for your love, prayers, and support!

Santa came back for a special visit to see Greyson now!

We are so glad Greyson is home with us. He is getting a bit stronger and better everyday. No one really is sure as to what happened to our little Greyson or what it was that may have caused it. I did find it interesting to see what the doctors actually diagnosed Greyson with in his discharge paperwork. They diagnosed him with "*Low blood sugar in newborn, *Observation and evaluation of newborn for sepsis, *Difficulty feeding newborn, *Congenital pneumonia, *Low blood pressure, *Excessive bile pigments (Bilirubin) in the blood." So with all that being said, they didn't diagnose him with Respiratory Distress Syndrome after all, it sounds like his main diagnosis was Pnuemonia and Sepsis. Either way, I'm just grateful for modern day technology along with medication that helped save my baby's life. We just want to say a quick thank you to all of the doctors and nurses that took care of us and our baby Greyson for the 19 days he spent in NICU. Jackson and I also want to thank all of our family and friends who helped us out in times of need as far as getting sitters for Braxton and for feeding us when we were too busy to worry about food for ourselves. We had countless offers from many that we never even got to use and we thank them as well for their willingness to help us. And most of all we want to thank our Father in Heaven for hearing our prayers and for healing our little Greyson. We also thank Him for giving us the strength to get through this experience and for blessing us with so many wonderful friends and family. Once again, we sincerely thank everyone who kept us in their thoughts and prayers numerous times. We couldn't believe all the comments and likes we got on facebook in support and love for our family. I wanted to post every single comment to remember all of those sweet things that were said but quickly knew that this post would have been ten times longer. I honestly don't think we could have made it through this trial without you or that Greyson could have healed as fast as he did. 19 days sound like forever but I do believe it could have been worse. Thank You all again so much! We hope that we can return the favor to all of you someday. We love you all and hope everyone has a happy new year!

It is so nice to finally have a family picture of the four of us without a window and a wall separating us from each other.