Meet NICU Graduate Baby Rio | Boise NICU Newborn Photography

This baby is the reason the Boise NICU Baby Project was born. My own son, Rio, was born at 41 weeks weighing in at 9 lbs 12 oz. He was a big baby! He was not premature. I did not have any pregnancy complications. So why was he in the NICU?

It was December 12th and I noticed a couple of intermittent trickles of fluid, which I thought was just late pregnancy incontinence, but it turned out to be a high leak in my amniotic sac, or Premature Rupture Of Membrane (PROM). Since it had been about 24 hours before I went to the hospital, labor had to be induced to prevent the risk of infection. My body did not take well to being induced with Pitocin and labor was long and difficult. After about 20 hours, I finally got an epidural. However, the epidural caused my blood pressure to drop, which started to stress the baby out. He wasn’t getting enough oxygen. 10 hours later, Rio was finally born.

But he was not breathing.

They immediately cut the cord, swooped him away, and began resuscitation. He had been born with the cord around his neck. Unsure how long his brain had been deprived of oxygen and blood, and based on blood tests from the umbilical cord, he was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) with unknown severity. They told us he could suffer from cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and other mental or physical disabilities and they took him away to receive therapeutic hypothermia.

Rio was on the cooling blanket for 72 hours and spent 11 days in the NICU. He is currently one week away from turning one and he is doing incredibly well so far. It feels like a miracle. Every milestone is a celebration and a sigh of relief. We are so fortunate to have this strong, sweet, healthy little boy running around our house leaving messes for us to clean up after. Yes, even the messes I’m grateful for!

Gratitude at Thanksgiving

Counting my blessings

I love Thanksgiving. Not because of the feast of food and seasonal treats (although I do love that part!), but I love spending time with family and really thinking about the things I'm grateful for in my life. Due to the fact that there is a global pandemic still going on and my nearest family is 1000+ miles away, Thanksgiving looks different this year than it has in the past. However, I have no shortage of things to be thankful for!

This year has been both the most difficult and also the most rewarding one yet. With the birth of my son, I have been blessed with the most incredible gift of becoming a mother. Our birth was difficult and my son suffered a traumatic brain injury in the process and he had to undergo therapeutic hypothermia and stay in the NICU for 11 days. He was diagnosed with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) and the doctors told us that he could end up with Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, or any array of physical or mental disability. To say that I am grateful that he is here with me, alive and well, would be the understatement of the century! Every day I look at him and I think how lucky I am to be his mother. Every smile, every laugh, every squeak, fills my heart with joy. Every milestone he meets is truly a celebration. I look at him, already walking before 1 year, and can't help but think that he is a little miracle.

I'm so thankful for my wonderful neighbors and friends who helped us out by making meals for us in the early weeks and months of parenthood, especially while our baby was in the NICU. I'm thankful for my mom, and my dad, and my sister, who have all made trips out to visit us. I'm thankful for my mother in law who has been helping tremendously by watching our boy during the day while we work and also cooking for us at the same time. I'm thankful for all my long distance friends who make the effort to keep in touch. This year, my heart is so full and I am more thankful than ever for all the wonderful people in my life.

This year, I took on the responsibility of carrying on the family traditions for the sake of my son. This year, I made a Thanksgiving Turkey for the first time! I also made green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberries, and homemade rolls.

#Thanksgiving #Grateful #Motherhood #NICU #HIE #UnexpectedBirth