One of the hardest parts of Haley's stay was Christmas Day. We brought in all her stuffed animals that we and other members of the family had gotten her and put them into the isolette with her. It was so funny to see Haley in her isolette surrounded by these little animals that looked huge compared to how tiny she was! Here is a picture of her with all her little "friends" that day. We went to the hospital after a quick morning at home of my husband and I swapping gifts. We spent the whole day with Haley after that. One small gift was that Haley had one of our favorite nurses that day, in fact, it was the nurse she had the day she was born, which made the visit a lot easier! One of the nurses also made really sweet cards for all the parents that were "made by the babies" with their footprints and a very special massage in it! It was very sweet, and much needed on such a difficult day.

But some of the best times in the Nicu were the times when we got to do Kangaroo Care, which is skin-to-skin contact where you place the baby dressed only in her diaper on your bare chest. I firmly believe that this helps them to grow and to thrive, and highly recommend it to preemie moms and dads alike. When I would do Kangaroo Care with Haley, I would keep her warmer than the isolette, and her oxygen sats would stay at 100%! (She would let us know when she was ready to go back though!) I feel it is the best thing for these little preemies and we did it every chance we got. She would usually sleep when I held her and then be wide-eyed when daddy held her! I always felt like she felt very comforted by me and was curious about her daddy. They were very special times indeed.

Life in a NICU is never easy, and it is the full of ups and downs. I can say now that Haley has been home for 3 years now, I find that when I think back to that time, the good times come to my mind more than anything else. Of course there are times when I get reminded of the rough times, but they are behind us now. I just thank God that I have her here with me today, and try not to dwell on yesterday too much. When I would take her back to visit the Nicu, and see those little tiny babies, and even looking at her old teenie weenie pictures now, I almost can't believe she was ever that small! Please know that it does get better with time, even though you will be forever changed by the experience. Having a preemie has made every moment with my daughter more special, and I would not have chosen this path, but it has made me a stronger person, made me more spiritual, and brought me closer than I could ever have imagined to my sweet little Haley Bug. I wouldn't trade any of it after seeing the impact it has made on my life.

There is no way to thank everyone for the support we received after Haley's birth. Everyone was, and continues to be, wonderful! There are people who prayed for Haley all across America, some of whom did not even know us, and may never meet her. The power of prayer is phenomenal, and I know that without the many prayers Haley received from all of you, she may not be here and thriving as she is.

There is a special thanks I would like to express to my father. The day my water broke and I went into the hospital, he dropped everything at work and home and hopped on the first plane out of Indianapolis to San Diego to be with me. He prayed with me, and sat with me in the hospital for a week. He talked to me about everything that could happen, and he asked the neonatologists tons of questions and got me so much information. It means the world to me even now that he came to be with me in the most devastating time of my life. I can never express the importance of what you did for me, Dad.

I know that there are a lot of people who would have done exactly what my father did if they could have, and that is not to take anything away from them, I just wanted to let my father know how very much it meant to me for him to be there with me. Thank you ALL so much, and most of all, we give our thanks to God, for by Him are ALL things made possible!

Going through the premature birth of my daughter has without a doubt been the toughest thing I have ever gone through. Without the Lord in my life, I don't know how I would have made it. If you would like to learn more about getting to know Him and accepting Him as your personal saviour, please click here to go to a site that can tell you all about it. It has brought me peace of mind so many times to know He is by my side!

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