Thanks by the Letters: U and V

Ultrasound:

I can't even count how many of these I had while I was pregnant. Every time, they showed me Max was alive and well and growing made me so happy. When my water broke, the ultrasound showing that Max was still in a little pool of fluid and doing okay, was my list sense of calm with him inside me. Then everything changed...

Max had ultrasounds of his brain many times during his NICU stay. They detected a small brain bleed when he was born. Likely because his blood vessels were not strong enough yet, so they burst. Lucky for us, his was a level 1, small bleed which resolved itself before we left the hospital.

Ventilator:

Hated hated hated it!!! But it kept Max alive and breathing for more than 3 months, while his body healed and grew and he learned to breathe on his own. Hated going back on it for his surgeries... but so grateful to have him with us.

Visitors:

To those of you who were brave enough to visit the NICU and meet Max during his not so pretty times... from Laura and my parents (his first guests) to Nicole (his final guest as we were taking him home) we were thrilled to have you at the bedside, where you could see what life was really like on a daily basis for us, and for Max. Sometimes is was pretty ugly, with the wires, tubes, poop and blood... but you never wavered in your support. You lifted us, you cheered us, you encouraged us and you loved us. We are blessed to have had you there by our sides.