Nicu letter 2 future super nicu moms

These are a few of the websites and Facebook pages that helped me along on

our NICU journey. I found that I had to do a lot of researching on my

own because having a preemie was so different than my first experience

in having a term baby. Everything was different from his size to breastfeeding, vaccines,

milk supply issues and energy levels.

I hope these websites/blogs will be a help to you and give you a sense

of things when things seem very confusing and out of sorts. Day by day

they get stronger, and that goes for you as well.

Love,

Elizabeth Strysko

NICU Mom, 2013

A great blog that advocates breastfeeding: http://theleakyboob.com/blog/

Domperidone info: http://www.inhousepharmacy.biz/

Post-Partum Doula: https://www.facebook.com/HealingTouchDoula

Getting in touch with milk donors: http://www.eatsonfeets.org/

A great blog and they have a great Facebook page where lots of other

mothers with preemies helped me out.: http://birthwithoutfearblog.com/

Website about donor milk http://www.hm4hb.net/

Breastfeeding site http://kellymom.com/

Milk supply questions and issues http://www.lowmilksupply.org/

Website to buy yummy treats to help milk supply http://www.mrsmilk.com/

Le Leche League http://www.llli.org/

A fun facebook page with lots of fun ideas

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Milk-Friendly/209509835727764

Lact Aid system http://www.lact-aid.com/

SNS System http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/51/supplemental-nursing-system-sns

Doctor Sears Website http://www.askdrsears.com/

Belly to Breast facebook site

https://www.facebook.com/#!/FairhavenHealth.BellyToBreast?fref=ts

A little bit of everything.....

March 20th

My husband always keeps me in check. I'm so thankful for him. I called him today practically in tears because of the whole bottle/breastfeeding/vaccine dilemma. Everything is just easier when he is here. We are a team, and during the week I feel alone on the team. I see other husbands all the time here and it's very hard not to get sad or even mad at times. I keep asking God, "What are you trying to teach us?"  I know He has His reasons, but it just seems like it's a never ending test.

March 23rd

Alexander is doing really well. He is eating well, gaining some weight, but still needs to gain more. Today we found out that he has a hernia. They were watching it, but today the head surgeon came to look at it. He will need surgery before we are discharged. Poor baby, he has gone through a lot. I just can't wait until this is all over. 

March 26th

Alexander had hernia surgery yesterday morning, March 25th. I really thought we would be home for Easter, but now we're thinking it'll be another week. Alexander is doing really great, we just need him to start eating everything at each feed for 48 hours. The surgery set him back a few days I think, just because he was a little sleepy. This is Dave's last weekend home, then he goes on some training for a few weeks. I was hoping he could be home for when we get out of here but now I'm not sure if that will happen. :(  I thought Alexander would weigh 5 pounds today but not yet....I can't believe it's Easter already. Home is so close to us! Keep praying!

My manny rocks!!

Today is Alexander's 53rd day. He will be 36 weeks gestational and he weighs 4pounds, 5 ounces. I will try to catch you all up since I haven't posted in a week or so. Sometimes in the NICU, your days just morph together. The days go by super fast as well because every three hours you're changing diapers, taking temps., changing clothes (Bruin makes me do tons of laundry), talking to nurses, talking to doctors, and trying to grab some food before you have to pump. It's like a rat race… My life has been crazy since January 1st! I actually got a little sick a few days ago, but feel much better now. I caught a head cold or something after spending the night with Bruin. Our sleepovers went really well. The best sleepover was when Daddy was there; he helped me out a lot.

Bruin is doing well.  I get a bit discouraged on sleepover nights because I want him to just eat everything so we can go home. We are so close… He will take about 15-20mls. while nursing (using the SNS). The SNS is a great little tool for all you breastfeeding mamas who are having trouble for some reason. Email me if you have any questions. They are still working with us and this week I will come in and feed him without them giving him any supplement afterwards (his feeding tube). They want to see him taking all his milk for 48 hrs before we can go home. Right now he takes about half from me then he gets really tired and falls asleep. He is still a little one. He needs a few more days to grow and mature and he will be golden. I am getting excited and can't wait until our little family is back home, and I can have my home-birth discharge party, lol! 

On Saturday we took Davidson to a spring carnival; it was so much fun. Davidson is loving school and already has "crushes" on his teachers. His vocabulary is increasingleaps and bounds. He is going to be a great big brother, and we cannot wait for theday he gets to meet Bruin. 

Shout out to my wonderful Manny!!! Ethan Ray, my brother, has been with us since the start of this journey. He came out when I had my appendix out and just happened to be here when baby Bruin came into the world. He has been such a blessing and Davidson has been so grounded throughout this whole ordeal because of you, Ethan. I know you have seen and learned things you probably never thought you would, but your wife will thank me one day. You deserve the best, so hold on and God will bless you so much. Thank you, Ethan, so much. You help me see the joys in the storms and you take care of us here. :) Thank you for making me feel better about my white hair as well! Thank you for loving Davidson and teaching him his Bible verses and learning that girls are trouble. :) 

Letting go and letting God.............

Easier said than done I must admit. We are all plugging away....still here at the Ronald McDonald house. Doctors keep saying maybe only 2 weeks left. We are praying we are all home for my birthday and for Easter. He is on day 4 of having no apnea or Brady's (he has to go eight days), then he is in the clear. He is now 1875 grams and 16 in long! 1875 grams = approx. 4.2 pounds. We started the SNS (supplemental nursing system) and he is doing very well. I will be staying overnight Monday to Wednesday to nurse and see how he does. He is still so young that he gets really tired after 15-20 minuets of nursing, but he is a "champ" (as everyone has taken to calling him). I am still pumping away and on my second week of domperidone. I'm letting go and letting God have His way with that situation. I have the best friends, though. A few have had their own babies recently and have saved milk up for Alexander. It means so much to me that another mommy would do that for my baby. I actually saw a doctor yesterday for my 6 week postpartum visit and she was saying in a village if a mother was sick and couldn't nurse her baby another mother would nurse that baby. Makes total sense to me.  So, I thank you Martha for providing for my baby. It's an act that I will never forget, and I feel so blessed to have you as my friend and sister in Christ. You will always be a special part of this journey, our family and a big part in helping Alexander grow. I hope one day to have an over abundance of milk and will donate, donate, donate! …and go to Africa and nurse babies there.

Proverbs 18:24,27:9

Test of faith...A+ or F?

Since January 1st I have felt like everyday has been a test of my faith & our family's faith.  As I look back on my life, a few things stand out that have "tested" my faith.  A few examples of this would be my year in Thailand taking care of 3-5 babies (ages 0-2), traveling to Africa, being married to a military man, or becoming a parent for the first time. While in each of these seasons of my life, I felt the tests could never get harder, but they do. Having a baby in the NICU definitely trumps them all though. I feel like I am getting tested in ALL areas of my life while going through this journey. There were, and still are, times when I really get frustrated and just want us all at home together. But, in that quiet place I go by myself with God, I am reminded that God has us right where we are needed. Yes, it stinks living in one room with everyone, not being able to see my husband during the week, and I could go on but I won't. I'm trying hard to count our blessings because it could be worse.

Alexander is 1775 grams! Very shy of 4 pounds. He is doing really well.  I feel like the next hurdle before we go home is eating and getting that down. My medicine camein that will help my milk supply so we are still praying that increases. He was moved to a crib today!! 

Grandpa Strysko is here and is having fun spending time with Blue and visiting Bruin. Thank goodness for Grandpas! Uncle E and Grandpa took Blue to a UNC game, andBlue enjoyed the basketball players and the "girls" (the cheerleaders). My little boy is going to be trouble...

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” —Matthew 11:28–29”

Growing outside of the womb

January 24th 2013, I gave birth to another beautiful baby boy, Alexander Ray "Bruin" Strysko. He was 27.6 weeks (gestational age) and weighed 2 pounds, 8 ounces. He was a fighter in my belly and is still a little fighter. His big brother "Blue" hasn't been able to meet him yet, but the first time he saw a picture of him he said, "Oh..look at that cute baby tiny dinosaur!" Blue's birth was totally different from Bruin's. I had a very smooth, natural water birth, and nursing went great. It was a beautiful story. With this second birth, boy, did I have plans! I actually planned to have a homebirth with Alexander. I wanted to labor how I wanted, to be at home, to have Blue there, etc. About a week or so after I delivered Alexander I realized I was grieving a bit. I should have still been pregnant. Actually, as I write this (and as you read this) I should be almost 34 weeks along. I should still be pregnant. I loved being pregnant with Blue and with Alexander, it just was shortened a bit this time. I had to come to the conclusion in my mind and heart that having him a bit earlier was, and is, a privilege. I get to see my baby grow outside the womb! I get to see him develop and learn things that if he was still in my tummy I couldn't see. It actually is truly such a miracle and is amazing to witness. It was on the third day that I actually got to hold him skin to skin. It was love at first sight, but the day I got to finally hold him, I felt God so near us. In that moment, there was a peace that came over me that I can't really explain.

 

“In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul. —Psalm 94:19 NKJV

“Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” —John 16:22 NKJV

Happy New Year Strysko's, ready for this ride? Love,GOD

January  1st, 2013 for our family started off with a BANG! Literally. I was 25 weeks pregnant with our second baby boy and I was doing great. One afternoon, I started feeling very sick to my stomach, and had lots of pain along with a fever. I thought I was in early labor because of the pain and how I was feeling. My husband took me to the hospital where they discharged me with dehydration. On "day 2" the pain kept getting worse so we went back to the hospital.  This time they discharged me with round ligament pain. The OB said to go home, take tylenol, rest and put heat on the pain. The whole next day I stayed home with my first baby, Davidson, but I stayed in bed while he made a mess in the kitchen and watched way too many movies and cartoons. My husband came home from work and that night around 3 am the pain in my tummy was so bad that I had to get up and get in the tub.

I knew something was not right. So, on "day 4", we arranged for our neighbor to watch Davidson and My hubby and I were off very quickly to the hospital. That day, they finally gave me an ultrasound and a MRI to check my appendix (which we had been asking them to check the whole time). I was in need of emergency surgery to remove my appendix!  The only time that I have ever been in the hospital was when I gave birth to Davidson. My natural, water-birth only lasted 2 hours and I pushed for 20 minutes. The pain I was experiencing with my appendix was worse for me than unmedicated labor! I kept telling the doctors, " I would rather push a baby out than have this pain!" The surgeons came in and decided to do the surgery the "old-fashioned way" and give me a 4-inch-long incision on my right side. I was so scared. I remember telling My husband, "I don't want to die, I don't want my baby to die." He prayed for me and they wheeled me into the operating room. In the OR, I even asked if anyone prayed and a nurse said that he did and I asked him to pray for me. He did, and the next thing I remember is trying to wake up, and asking how my baby was. I was so thirsty and D wasn't back yet. I tried to to yell out, "Help!" and a lady came over.  I asked her to get me some ice chips and to call my husband. Finally, a nurse came down to check my baby's heartbeat. He had a good, strong beat!

I ended up staying in the hospital for about a week. During the surgery they discovered that my appendix had burst. The baby actually pushed my intestines over and cupped all that ruptured appendix poison so that it didn't go all throughout my body. I was finally able to go home, but didn't realize how much recovery time was in store. In my head I was thinking surgery=no more pain. I WAS WRONG! Since I had an "old-fashioned" incision, it was open and every 3 days I had to go get it unpacked and packed again. My brother and mom came to help me with Davidson because D had to go back to work. My brother actually stayed after my mom went home, she had to get back to her kindergarteners. I was ordered to take viral antibiotics for about 2 weeks or so. The day I finished my pills was on a Sunday and I was excited and happy to be on the road to recovery. The very next day I started noticing how much I would sweat at night, and on Tuesday the nausea and fever returned. Wednesday, the 23rd my brother took me back to the hospital and we stayed there until 1:30am. They discharged me with "something viral".  At home, four hours later, my water broke and we were once again on our way to the hospital.  I ended up catching a sample of amniotic fluid in a cup and took it with us, just so there wasn't any confusion. They started me right away with magnesium and gave me a shot to help his lungs out. I thought they would stop my contractions and I would just be on bed rest until April (he was due April 17). That did NOT happen. They were about to put me in an ambulance to be transported to UNC, but I told them they had better check me before I get on the ambulance. I was 6cm. dilated and definitely feeling pressure. They rushed me to a delivery room and I think I had 2 contractions. 

Everything from then on moved so quickly. Doctor Meter sat on the side of the bed and looked into my eyes and said, "Elizabeth, you need to get your baby out." The mama bear came out in me and I said, "OK let's do this!" I pushed and he just flopped out. He was so tiny. I was so thirsty, I asked for a popsicle. I remember hearing him cry a little and D said his eyes were open. They brought him over, I kissed his head and then they took him away. After that I went into shock. I couldn't believe I had just had my baby. I went to see him in the NICU and I didnt want to touch him. It was so hard to see my baby like that. I thought I was going to hurt him if I touched him. Alexander was quickly flown by helicopter to UNC NICU in Chapel Hill.I stayed where I was for two nights, but then I was transported by ambulance to UNC for two more nights to recover. I didn't get to hold my baby until the third day after his birth. That third day will always be ingrained into my heart.