hjl - 1 month

weight : 9 lbs, 5 oz

height: 22"

diaper size: 1

clothes size: in between nb & 0-3 months

eating: every 2 to 3 hours

sleeping: every 2 to 3 hours

schedule: not much of a schedule yet but starting a pattern of being awake in the morning and late afternoon for a couple hours

likes: love his soothie paci, being held, snuggling

mom and dad: call me pumpkin or punkin, can't stop kissing my sweet face and adorable lips and have a hard time putting me down (mom loves to scoop me in bed in the early morning hours and Hagen loves it)

Our hearts are filled with some deep deep love for this baby boy!

We had a rough start with sweet Hagen, because of my pre-eclampsia he was born premature at 37 weeks via emergency c section due to his heart rate after being in labor for 9 hours and was admitted directly to the NICU. Originally it was just RDS (respiratory distress) and fluid in his lungs (pneumonia) but as x-rays later showed he had blown a pneumothorax (small air pocket that accumulates outside of the lungs as a result from a hole in the lungs). Because of the effects of the c-section on me and him being in the NICU I didn't get to really meet Hagen until Saturday morning, which now looking back it makes me so sad but fortunately Kyle was able to spend the majority of the evening with him. Our meeting was a memory I will NEVER forget. That Saturday we thought all was going to be good, he was in a normal crib in the NICU and his vitals were great but as the day progressed he was working to hard to breath, his vitals dipped and that's when they knew something was wrong. Sunday morning the Dr called to let us know that xrays showed the pneumothorax was larger than previous x-rays showed so they were going to try and poke a small hole in his chest to see if that would release the air and it didn't work so the next step was to insert a chest tube into his chest to suck the air out constantly. This was the hardest news I've ever heard, you feel like you have no control you just want to know that your baby is going to be ok but instead you don't have any reassurance and are filled with so much guilt and what if''s... it was such a horrible day and not how you want to send your brand new baby boy with tubes and wires all over him. The chest tube stayed in for 3 days and during this time Kyle an I had to leave the hospital, couldn't hold him and I was completely an emotional wreck! Couldn't talk, text or see anyone without completely losing it and had never felt this kind of emptiness in my life. I relied on God and knew this was all in his control and as the longest week of our life went on things did indeed get better. Wednesday they clamped the chest tube (still remained in his chest) and it was a waiting game to see if the hole closed up Thursday the x-ray came back and the hole was barely there! It worked and we were on the road to recovery! Friday the x-ray showed an improvement from Thursday and the chest tube was finally removed and on Saturday we brought our baby boy home! It's crazy to think that all of this happened in just a span of 8 days and how we went from horribly sad and scared to the happiest 2 people in the world. Babies are so resilient and strong and Hagen is the biggest blessing we could have ever hoped and prayed for.

So Hagen, after our tough first week the past 3 have been absolute bliss and a bit of a blur too!

You have...

-met so many of mommy and daddy's friends

-met your Lovie, Mimi, Papa Bull, Grandpa Mike, Uncle Austin, Uncle Jackson, Aunt Lo & Aunt Nicole

-lost your umbilical stump and have the cutest belly button ever

-really started enjoying your bath's

-gone from sleeping every hour of the day to being so alert

-gotten the hiccups multiple times a day

-visited your pediatrician, Dr. Jacobson who we absolutely love, she calls you punkin as well

-started cooing and grunting

Hagen, you've grown and changed so much in just the past month and we can't wait to see you through the years. You've completed our family and made us better because of it! We love you so much!

Love,

Mom & Dad