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| Wilder Photo by Melissa Burman http://www.melissaburmanphotography.com |
18 days after my last post, in which I announced my pregnancy, I had a baby boy, three and a half months early. His daddy and I (and my mom) spent those three and a half months, in which baby Wilder was supposed to be in my belly, up at his bedside at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, in Palo Alto. After 2 months of daily commuting, I moved into the Ronald McDonald House to be near him, while his dad worked full time in Santa Cruz. Wilder’s birth and first 3 months of life were the scariest, most emotionally fraught times of my life. Daily I faced my worst fears for months on end. Wilder’s survival is a miracle - his current thriving health even more miraculous. It took strength and resilience that I didn’t know we had for our family to emerge from the Stanford’s NICU with smiles on our faces.
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| Wilder Photo by Madeline Horn |
Wilder came home on April 4, 2014 - just 3 days after his due date. This baby will never be taken for granted. His “adjusted age” - the age he would be if he had been born full term - is five weeks. I try to wear him in a wrap on my chest as much as possible to make up for all the time we were physically separated in the hospital. We take walks, visit doctors and specialists, go on picnics, go to the farmers market, and visit with family and friends. We’re lucky to live by the beach and a short drive to beautiful redwood hikes. Wilder gets a good amount of fresh air. But most of all, as those of you who have children understand, most of his time is spent eating and sleeping.
I would not wish what we have gone through on anyone. It was brutal. However, having a sick child is complex. It’s everyone’s worst nightmare, yet, even on the worst days, there are daily moments of beauty and joy.
Wilder is not “sick” anymore. He is recovering from his very intense stay in the NICU much faster than any of the doctors expected. Wilder’s M.O. seems to be surprising us - first with his extremely early birth, followed by a string of atypical medical problems and miraculous recoveries.
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| Wilder Photo by Madeline Horn |
Enjoy the photos of our little miracle. I’ll start posting about our adventures soon!
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| Beach Baby Photo by Madeline Horn |
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