Austin was delivered at 29 weeks gestation (11 weeks preterm) and spent 72 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit before we were able to take him home with us. Our "newborn" experience was a little different from that of most first time parents. Here are a few things I remember from that time:
It took many long weeks before Austin would sleep at night (I mean for even part of the night.) In the NICU, day and night were basically the same routine for him. He was a particularly demanding little preemie, and I think the nurses gave him special cuddle time at night. I'm thankful that he was well cared for in the hospital, but it took quite some time for him to acclimate to a normal nighttime schedule once we brought him home.
We had a noisy oxygen machine in our living room with a really long oxygen hose that reached all over the apartment. Austin had to use the oxygen 24/7 for about a month after he came home. He also had a monitor that he had to wear under his clothes to make sure he didn't have any heartrate/breathing issues. He also had a strict medicine schedule. He took vitamins, two medicines for acid reflux and a diuretic to keep him from retaining fluids. We also had to mix formula with his breast milk so he would get more calories per ounce of liquid.
We quarantined ourselves in our home so that Austin wouldn't get sick that winter. RSV was a particularly dangerous threat. We are thankful that he never got so much as a sniffle until he was much older and able to handle the sickness.
My Mom helped us hang some modest Christmas decorations around the apartment. We didn't get out our tree that year, but we had some lights and greenery around the windows. Christmas 2006 was a very simple one. The Beckman family came up and spent the day with us, and we rejoiced that our baby Austin was home. He even went without his oxygen for part of the day.
Austin was 3 months old for Christmas that year, but he was the size of a newborn, around 7 pounds.
Austin was born September 23rd and he wasn't due until December 7th. I never imagined that I would have a preemie. I always thought that prematurity was caused by something the mother did wrong. I have learned otherwise. By God's grace, He sustained us through the trial of prematurity. Looking back now, I see how blessed we are to have a healthy, energetic two year old. The Lord was gracious in allowing Austin to develop normally according to his "corrected age" (using his due date instead of his birthdate). He is a completely normal child now and seems to have "caught up" with the other kids his age. Not all preemies are so fortunate.
I am thankful to God that He has given us strength to persevere through the hardest time of our lives. I know that it was by God's grace alone that we were able to endure this trial. We are on the other side of it now and can see the big picture more clearly. My faith has been tried and has proven weak at times, but God has sustained me. Because of our short season of suffering, we are better able to sympathize with others who are enduring similar trials.
I will leave you with this verse of scripture from James chapter one.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and compete, lacking in nothing.
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