Thursday, April 18, 2013

Our Rainbow Has Arrived!

After a long 9 months and much anticipation, Collin James Hoofnagle has finally arrived!  He was born on Saturday April 6th, 2013 at 8:48 AM.  He was 7lbs 8oz and 19.5 inches long.  When we heard him cry as the doctors pulled him from me, Chad and I could not help but cry as well.   Collin's scream was music to our ears!

I can't say however, that everything went as planned.  We were originally scheduled to have our c-section on 4-4-13.  When we went in with hospital bag in hand ready to have a baby, the maternal fetal medicine doctors were unable to extract amniotic fluid.  We were sent home extremely disappointed and even more anxious.  I was given 2 steroid shots to promote lung development over the next 48 hours.  

We then got the c-section rescheduled for 4-6-13.  We arrived at 6 AM for an 8:00 AM surgery.  The doctors and nurses were so nice and took us right on time.  It wasn't long before we were able to see our little miracle.  Unfortunately, Collin had to be taken to the NCIU before we could hold him.  The doctors had prepared us for the possibility that Collin's lungs may be under developed or that they might contain fluid.

Once I was out of recovery, they wheeled my whole bed to the NICU where I was able to hold our sweet, sweet bundle of joy.  He was absolutely perfect minus all the tubes attached to him.   He stayed in the NICU for 2 days until his blood oxygen level was stable.  Chad and I went to visit him every 3 hours.

Collin was able to come home with us when we were discharged on Tuesday.  He is such a good baby!    Brady cannot wait to play with his baby brother.  He is adjusting well to his role as big brother, asking to hold Collin often.  He has been a big help most of the time.  His new job is throwing the dirty diapers away.

I cannot thank everyone enough for ALL the prayers and kind thoughts leading up to the birth of this child.  We feel so completely blessed to have Collin in our lives!