The Sitras

And it's gonna be a long one...

I hadn't realized how long it has been since I last posted, until I saw how short Morgan's hair was. (We have since cut off about 10 inches and it is still much longer!)

So, a lot has happened since my last post. But most imporant, we had another baby girl, Harper. Harper decided to join this world 8 weeks early, and the day after we moved back into Lake Traivs. (We hadn't exactly planned it that way!) We knew we wanted to be closer to family and the hospital, but didnt think we were going to be needing those two things so quickly. The morning after the movers left, I had asked Sandy Casey Staleski to come over and help me unpack my kitchen. Not only did she show up, but she brought her troops. John, Lindsey, Sean, Hailey and Kenley joined her in operation unpack the sitras! After being uncomfortable for a little while, Sandy started timing my "uncomfortableness" (if that is even a word). They were exactly 5 miutes apart. After 3 of them, Matt loaded me in the car and off to the hospital we went. Matt stopped at every yellow light and argued with me about where to even enter the hospital. I KNEW where I was going! When we arrived, the "uncomfortableness" was about every 2 minutes.

As soon as I was checked out, I overheard the nurse on her phone saying, "we are complete in triage three, heading to LD 2. Call the on call doctor stat." At this point, both Matt and I hit a state of shock and proceeded to turn ghost white and began speaking a foreign language. Actually, Matt turned white when Sandy told him to call the doctor before we even left the house. I was encouraged not to push until the on call doctor arrived.

Within 5 minutes of my water being broken, sweet baby girl Sitra was born. 4 lbs 4.5 oz and 17 1/2 inches long. Did I mentioned I didnt have time for the epidural? She came out screaming and her apgar scores were 9 & 9. Absolutely amazing for a 32 weeker!! We were able to snap a quick picture before she was escorted to the NICU. We were both still white and speechless.

About 2 hours later once she was stabilized, Matt and I made our first of very many trips into the NICU. This is where my first actual breakdown occurred and Rylee (Baby Girl Sitra's neighbor for a few weeks) and her parents were there to witness it. There is nothing more painful than watching one of your own struggle for their life. There were so many tubes and wires. The feedings and apnea is what ended up keeping her there for so long.

I was released 36 hours after having BG Sitra, and finally naming her. We had several names we liked, but hadn't picked one yet - we still had 8 weeks to decide on that name! Matt and I both liked it, so it was Harper Teague Sitra.

After almost 6 weeks in the NICU, Harper was able to come home. She was still under 6 lbs and it freaked us out. Matt wouldnt let me leave Harpers side, and he wouldnt let her out of the house. She had a bit of a choking issue and scared everyone to death. Once we were realesed from the NICU, I was the only one to feed her for over a month. Every 3 hours, I was up feeding for almost an hour! HELLO sleep deprivation! Did I mention that Morgan was 2 1/2 at the time???

Speaking of Morgan, she has been great through the whole process. Not only moving into a new home, but also not having the attention she was used to. Morgan wasn't able to enter the NICU due to her age, so they were able to meet through the exterior windows in the NICU. Have no clue if she could even see in! But, she loves "baby Harper". She makes her smile all the time. Morgan has even spoiled Harper - Harper will only sleep in the car of her hand is being held. Harper screams bloody murder until her hand is held and then she is out. Harper just adores her big sister Morgan.

Needless to say, my hands are full. We are blessed with two precious babies and I think we are done! I am not sure we could go through what we went through again. I am going to post a few pictures to get caught up. Harper is starting to look just like Morgan as a baby. Morgan
occasionally comes across pictures of herself as a baby and says, "baby harper and boo boo on head!" But it is really Morgan with her hemangemioa. At Harper's 6 month check up, she is in the 25-30 percentile on the growth charts for head size, weight and height. She is growing faster than most babies. I literally boxed up the newborn clothes yesterday.

It is my goal to be better about posting on the blog. Not making any guarantees though. The one night I decided to update the blog, Morgan has been throwing up and I managed to flood the laundry room. Never ever turn the sink on and walk out for a second! And today was a GOOD day! ha