Thanks by the Letters: L

Okay, so I'm late getting this one posted, but we're having a sleepover so and extra kid in the herd has slowed me up a bit...

Lipids:

Love those little plump cheeks my Max has. They're totally courtesy of the lipids. Every day, while he was on IV nutrition, he received a tube of white fat, lipids to help his growth. Lucky for us, those lipids deposit in certain places, including the cheeks. He still has these little balls, almost like a firm collagen implant, which make his smile even more adorable. I'm thankful for those lipids, which helped him grow for all the weeks when he couldn't eat.

Lasix:

While this wonder drug did leach the calcium from his little bones, it also helped shed all that excess fluid which had his body swelled up like an over-ripe tomato! We were grateful to have it for so many weeks.

Laura:

Our wonderful Laura. What would we have done without her. As soon as my water broke, I called Troy, and then I called her. We dropped the kids with her on our way to the hospital and knew it might be awhile before I saw them again. She brought them up, just 2 days later, when their baby brother was born. She was the first person, other than my parents to see Max and see just how tiny he was. She kept the kids for most of the time that Max was in the NICU. She literally kept Alex, every day. She organized meals, and gift cards and more to help us when things were so crazy, and she let me cry. Because you sometimes can't cry with your husband, when he's going through it too... she'd let me vent and tell me how strong we were and how strong he was and how my other two kids were doing okay. They were. The thrived with Laura and her husband and their 4 kids. It's like their second family over there, and we're lucky to have them as our friends. You truly learn who you can count on during times like this.... and we should have known we could always count on our Laura!

Lilli:

She's Max's guardian angel. We felt it from the moment who moved into her room in the NICU, received breast milk that should have been hers, and learned the story of how much she and Max had in common. It still hurts, knowing that Lilli survived so much in those short, then weeks of her life.... but couldn't survive NEC. It's a reminder to me, every day of how lucky we are that Max did make it home.

Her little life may have been brief. But it made a huge impact on us! Lilli helped save Max. She gave us the opportunity to help him when we couldn't do it on our own and we are so blessed that she was born. Someday, Max will know all about Lilli. He'll see her pictures and know how she helped him. Her life was a gift that we will forever be grateful for.