Do you think he's getting enough love???
Bubble baths, movies, toys, cookies, treats and more treats...hugs and kisses from Momo and BG! They loved it.
THANK YOU Mom and Dad for helping us so much during this time. We had loving babysitters, 3 meals a day, laundry service and a cozy home to stay in while we went through this emotional ride in the NICU. We have felt and continue to feel such an outpouring of love from all of our family and friends. Thank you for all of your prayers, support and service!!!
Kate's first time holding Luke. She hates to let him go. She's attached to his hip if that's possible!
Jake's first time really seeing Luke. He came once into the NICU while I was there. He looked at Luke and said, "Does he walk? Does he talk?" Then I handed Luke back to the nurse and Jake got a quiver in his voice and said, "Why is she taking him away from us?" It broke my heart. He has been protective ever since and doesn't like people he doesn't recognize to hold Luke.
Luke is better than any baby doll you can buy at the store...Kate is in love. So are we :)
I never knew how hard it would be to change a baby in an isolet or feed one with so many wires and iv's attached to him...we got pretty good at it...after I was released from the hospital, we were back 3x a day to hold and feed and check on Little Luke.
We celebrated the day he was able to regulate his temperature well enough to be in an open air crib!
We absolutely loved the nurses in the NICU and knew each of them by name. They made it the most pleasant experience possible. Julie (what a coincidence) was one our favorites. She loved Luke and took such good care of him. We were so grateful for all of the nurses and doctors who helped him gain enough strength to come home.
Sunday night, December 12th, we got a surprise call from one of the nurses. We could take Luke home. They gave us special permission to bring in the kids (the rule is 2 at a time) so we could take our first family photo.
I couldn't have been happier to get the little guy into his carseat and take him home ot my parents house where we would stay for a few more days, just to make sure he was stable.
Apparently the baby's tracing was no good. His heartbeat was strong, but he was not moving inside of me. The hospital is about 40 minutes away from us. I love it there. I delivered Kate and Jake there and really wanted to stick with them even though we had moved to Pleasanton. My mom happened to call while I was in the hospital getting checked and I told her where I was, but she didn't need to come down, because I was doing fine. I really was calm, and there was a part of me that really believed they would check me and send me home. Then my doctor arrived and a Stanford perinatologist. When they said this was serious, I began to shake and I wished I had told her to come down (they are only 10 minutes from El Camino Hospital). I didn't want to be alone. I was terrified. I called Joe and told him he needed to get the kids to my sisters house because I wasn't leaving. The next thing I knew, they were wheeling me into another room to do more tests...as the nurse and I turned the corner, there sat my mom, dad, and Chris--I wasn't alone. I cried as my mom explained that she had a feeling they needed to get in the car and come down to the hospital immediately. I cried even more when Joe arrived. I could face whatever was coming with my family by my side.
After plenty of tests, the doctors looked at me and said, "Do you have any questions about C-sections?" What?!!! Yes! I wasn't planning on a C-section, let alone having my baby 6 weeks early! From there, it was really a whirlwind. Before I knew it, we were in the operating room and I was having an emergency C-section. 
My sweet little baby boy was apparently trying to help me when he was in utero. My placenta wasn't the healthiest and Luke was doing his best to try and clot the bleeding that was going on inside of me. He was using up all of his energy, platelets, WBC, and bone marrow to try and fix me. As a result he was barely getting the oxygen he needed to survive and didn't have any reserves to rely on.
So he spent 2 1/2 weeks here. I don't think I've ever been on an emotional roller coaster ride quite like this one. It's one I hope we never have to experience again. 
Joe's youngest brother, David, returned home a week before Thanksgiving. He had been serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for 2 years up in Washington. He could email and write letters once a week, but we weren't aloud to visit him or talk to him on the phone, except for Christmas and Mother's Day. You can tell that Mom was overjoyed to embrace her baby!
We Love You David!!!
Of course, we had to celebrate after such an exciting moment in the Sacramento Airport! We hit a yogurt shop that happened to be open late on a Tuesday night and briefly caught up before everyone headed back to their homes. What a great night!
I snuggled him in, sang him a song and even when he looked up and said, "Rock me, Mommy," I rocked him for a little bit. He was set. This was going to be great!
Ten minutes later, I hear sobbing about how he doesn't like his big boy bed and he wants to sleep in his "wittle bed." 
It only seemed to get worse. Naps were a complete joke. This is what I found one day after peaking in to check on him. His room was completely destroyed. A broken lamp, all of his clothes pulled out of the drawers...wipes and diapers scattered everywhere... and Jakers is sacked out on his beanbag. 
