Day 72-112!!! We are home!!

First week of Hayden's life!! About 3 days old!!

Hayden now!! 7 pounds!!

We are so very sorry about not keeping you all very well up to date. Mister Hayden has had quite and adventure in the last few weeks. We finally got to bring our little man home on July 23 and we were soo sooooo excited!! But let me go back a little bit and update you on what has happened in Hayden's life since we posted last.




A few days after our last post, Hayden had his circumcision and they found a little surprise...he had two double hernias on each side that were rather large and would require surgery. We were a little upset about it because we were so close to coming home but we tried to be optimistic. They told us that they were going to send him by ambulance to Roanoke Memorial Hospital and have their surgeon look and him and decide what to do. So we went with him to Roanoke and stayed with my grandparents while he had his short trip to a brand new NICU. Well, long story short, he stayed at Roanoke Memorial for a week and they could never find the hernias again! So we ended up going straight home from that hospital. We were so very very excited to finally have Hayden home!!

Great-grandpa holding Hayden

When we finally took him home he weighed 5 lbs. and 10 ozs!! Such a big boy he was! He was also now up to eating 2 ozs. every three hours. They also found that he was allergic to something in my breast milk that I was eating so they put him on a special (very expensive) kind of hypoallergenic formula and referred him to a pediatric gastroenterologist. The specialist is now in the process of trying to wean him to Similac Alimentum which is much more accessible (because you can buy it in the store instead of having to order through the pharmacy) and much more affordable. He is doing pretty good with it and so far no allergic reaction.

We had him home about 2 days when we had our first pediatricians appointment just to check and see how he was doing. They said in the two days he was home, he had gained up to 6lbs. and 1oz!! We were shocked that he gained 6 ozs. in two days! The pediatrician also had other news for us....he had found Hayden's hernia again. So this time he referred us to a surgeon at University of Virginia to see if they could check him out and see what was going on. He gave us an appointment for the 17th of August and sent us on home.

Well everything went really well for about two weeks and then Tim and I were giving him a bath one morning and noticed a huge lump in his stomach. He was crying and couldn't keep down his food, so once again we took him to the pediatrician to be looked at. They sent us immediately to University of Virginia for emergency hernia surgery. He was admitted and had the surgery the next day. They said that both of the hernias were very large and it was a good thing that he went ahead and had the surgery done. The incisions are so small they said he probably wouldn't even have scars. When they weighed him there before surgery, He weighed 7 lbs and 1 oz!! Our teeny tiny 2 pounder!! They went ahead and sent him back home the next day and we have had no problems since then.

Hayden has been home with us for about a week since his surgery and we are LOVING it! He is a very good baby. He takes long naps and rarely cries unless he is hungry or his stitches hurt. He is loving and smart. We are so blessed to have him and he truly is a miracle. God brought us so far!! Through almost 3 months of NICU here in Lynchburg, 1 week of NICU in Roanoke, and surgery at UVA, he made it through it all with flying colors. No more heart murmurs, no breathing or lung problems, no problems eating, gaining weight, eyes perfect, ears perfect. He is truly a miracle and we are so thankful for him. Thank you everyone for following his journey and ours as well as we went through this tough time in our lives. We love you all and appreciate you so very much!!

Tim, Hilary, and (now home) HAYDEN!!!!

BIG smiles!!