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Olivia's Homecoming

After three months in the NICU, we were told last Monday that going home was just around the corner.  We were so excited we couldn't stand it! The doctor told us that he would send her home on a little bit of oxygen and a monitor, but there were still things that needed to happen - the biggest one being that she needed to start eating all of her feedings by mouth and gain weight while doing so. We really buckled down all week and I was diligent about being at the hospital for as many feedings as possible. By Wednesday the doctor was really pleased with the strides Olivia was making and with her weight gain. (To give you an idea of how well she did, on Monday, July 9 she weighed 5 lb 10.6 oz and one week later on the day we were discharged she weighed 6 lbs.) Her doctor told us to plan to room-in (stay in a room at the hospital with her for a night) Sunday night and that if all went well we'd get to take her home with us on Monday. Obviously, everything went perfectly! She's HOME!

Leaving the hospital was much more emotional than I had ever imagined. There were so many "full circle" moments during those last couple of days. When we roomed-in we stayed in the same room they took us to when Mary Grace and Madelyn passed away. Many of the weekend nurses who were there the night the girls were born were also working on Olivia's last night there. The doctor who discharged Olivia was the same doctor who visited me in Labor and Delivery just days before the girls were born. He was the same doctor who told us how sick Madelyn and Mary Grace were. The elevator we left in was the same one I rode to be admitted into antepartum nearly four months prior. I think the Lord knew I needed closure and that's just what those moments brought. 

We were also able to say "goodbye" to many of our incredible nurses. Women who cared for our children. These nurses ministered to our family in such a tangible way. They gave our girls, what we, as their parents, weren't able to. When someone cares for your child like that, you automatically feel a special bond. Our whole story was in Olivia's file, and not once did any of them ever bring up what had happened. Reid and I have often talked about how special it would be for Olivia to want to be a nurse when she grows up. Our experience taught me that nurses are truly the heartbeat of medicine.

On Monday, when it was finally time to go home, Reid and I decided we needed to make a stop along the way. Olivia needed to visit her sisters. It hit me when we pulled up that it was the first time they'd all been together since March 28. And then, I couldn't think of a more perfect way for their little sister to be welcomed home.




"...The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
(Job 1:21 ESV)

Comments

  1. So beautiful. I'm very happy to hear that you are home and that Olivia had such a short NICU stay! I have rarely heard of a micropreemie going home so quickly! My son Samuel spent a full 125 days (nearly 5 months)in the NICU before coming home. Your little girl is obviously a rockstar! Way to go Olivia. Way to go mom and dad...you did it!

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  2. This is absolutely beautiful. Welcome home, Olivia!

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  3. Beautiful Postt! What a perfectly appropriate thing to do. Prayers for you, my dear. You are a special lady - to so very many people who love and pray for you and many whom you have never even met! But I am certain you can feel the prayers of your friends!

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  4. That is a heartbreakingly sweet picture. One Olivia will treasure always. Congrats to you on getting your sweet girl home - welcome home, Olivia!

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  5. The picture is just too precious for words. I could not hold back the tears. God will continue to bless you with strength.

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  6. my heart is full to overflowing, the tears come, you and reid are rich with wisdom, mercy and love.
    i love you sweet girl.

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  7. I think i cry every time i read your blog. I know i don't know you, but i have become good friends with Linds through the blog world & i eventually found your blog through her. I can't imagine going through what you've gone through & i am SO THANKFUL to see that Olivia got stronger & stronger & that she has come home!!! :)

    Love what you said about nurses too. I have several friends that are nurses & though i have never seen them "in action", they are some of the most caring people i know.

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  8. You are such and amazing family! May God continue to Bless you all! Congratulations on bringing little Olivia home!

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  9. I've come here via The Fountain Family. What a beautiful story your life is and your attitude is a testament to faith and trust in God despite heartache and trials. So glad that you took your little girl home today. I hope you are having lots of fun with her as you adjust to life at home with a baby!

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  10. I cant even tell you how I came about your blog, but what I can tell you is I am so happy for you and your family. Olivia is such a little blessing and when I read that she was able to come home it brought tears to my eyes. I have a 3 month old little guy and a three year old little girl and can not imagine what it was like for you to go through this. Your strength in the lord is amazing. Enjoy every second! Oh and the last photo on this post with Olivia and her sisters in one of the most beautiful photos I have ever seen!

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  11. The tears are streaming down my face- and how grateful I am for the life of Olivia and the answered prayers for her to have survivied such an early arrival! I can NOT even imagine the heartache you bare of the loss's of your other daughters- may HIS hand hold you tightly, and gently, while you walk through the toughest times and lean on His wisdom. His mercy IS sufficient for the day.... my love to each of you- you have touched SO many lives!

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  12. It is wonderful Olivia is home, many wishes for continued blessings.

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  13. So happy Olivia is home. Enjoy waching the Olympics with her.

    Kathy

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  14. I somehow missed this post. And now I'm crying as I read it. I'm so glad that the Lord was able to bring closure for you in those little things, and yet, at the same time, I wish that you didn't even have to have reason to have closure. I love you so much and am praying for you guys to continue to adjust well as she is home.

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Past Posts

Mary Grace

At 2:00 am this morning, our sweet Mary Grace was welcomed to Heaven. We found out this afternoon that she had a large brain hemorrhage. Reid and I spent three precious hours holding our daughter tonight. The nurses wrapped a pink bow around her little head and we swaddled her in a soft pink elephant blanket. During those hours, we told Mary Grace how proud we were of her fight, how she fulfilled our dreams of one day having a daughter to call "Gracie," and we even took a little nap, snuggled together as a family. If we told her we loved her once, we told her a thousand times. We prayed over her and gave her back to the Lord. We miss her more than words can say. I feel like we were punched in the stomach today and left with the wind knocked out of our lungs. Its so hard to understand "why?" in all of this. Tonight when we left the hospital, Reid turned on this song by David Crowder Band and we listened to it on repeat the whole way home. Its the exact state of our

One day at a time

For the first time in my life I feel like I'm truly living one day at a time. Reid and I had a pretty good day yesterday. We were able to sleep in which was wonderful. Reid made us lunch and we sat outside in the backyard. It was a beautiful day and being outside did a lot of good for my mental health. :) There were still a lot of hard moments as memories from the night before would come rushing back to mind. We miss our sweet babies so much. Olivia had a good day yesterday. It was uneventful (which is a very good thing in the NICU) and they were able to turn down some of her medicine. We call every morning to check on our sweet girl and her nurse was quick to tell us how feisty our daughter is. We picked up on that in her first day of life, but it was funny to hear that someone else had observed the same. We are so in love with our feisty little Olivia. After we left the hospital, Reid and I went on a dinner date. It was so good for us to get out and feel like we

Madelyn Barrett

I really don't even know where to begin or how to write this post. I've put it off for several days hoping that maybe if I let things sink in a little more it would be easy. This will never be easy. As you know, we welcomed three beautiful little girls into the world on Friday afternoon. We had hoped to continue to "buy time" and hold off on delivery for several more weeks. God has always had a plan much bigger than either Reid or I could ever imagine. I have to chose to believe, everyday, that somehow this all fits perfectly into that plan. We knew from the time of her delivery that Madelyn was struggling the most. The circumstances surrounding her birth caused a lot of trauma to her tiny body. After a day of fighting for a positive outcome, the neonatologist came to visit with us and told us it was time to let her go. Late Saturday night we went to the NICU to hold our precious baby for the first and last time. She was absolutely perfect and looked just like h

Surprise!

God has blessed our family with quite a surprise! Olivia is getting a little brother or sister in early December. We are thrilled! As of today I am nine weeks along. We went to the doctor several weeks ago and were able to see the tiny bundle and hear the heartbeat. Everything looks great and we are so thankful! I'll share more details in the next few weeks. :)

The babies are here!

Friends and Family, Late this afternoon we became the proud parents of three little girls. Madelyn Barrett: 1 pound Olivia Bain: 1 pound, 5 ounces Mary Grace: 1 pound, 10 ounces The babies are stable in the NICU  tonight and we are hopeful that God is going to move mountains as they grow and thrive. Madelyn's (Baby B) amniotic sac ruptured on Sunday night. We had a sonogram done each day this week to check her heart beat, fluid level, and position. The doctors told us Friday morning that she was not likely to make it and that delivering her was not an option as it put too much risk on Mary Grace and Olivia. Once again, we were told to wait and see. Around 4:30 Friday afternoon I delivered Madelyn. The NICU team was here immediately to begin working on her. When the doctor checked on the status of the other girls, he saw signs of infection and he immediately performed an emergency c-section to deliver Mary Grace and Olivia. We have seen the Lord's mercy through each to