Happy Birthday to our darling baby girl! It seems hard to believe you are turning one! What a special girl you are to us! We love you and can hardly wait for many more years! :)
I decided to share with you all the letter I wrote this week to the staff at the NICU in Fargo, where Rebekah was treated for the first 3 weeks of her life! I am ever so grateful to everyone there, and for the gift of our healthy baby girl as a result! What a special gift from God our Rebekah is!
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Dear Friends at the NICU,
It has been one year since our Rebekah’s birth at 32 ½ weeks old.
March 11, 2008 was such a miraculous day! Imagine my surprise coming in to my Doctor’s office at my home in Bemidji, for a checkup and being told I am 5 cm dialated, and then when I am wheeled up to Labor/Delivery am told I am at 8 cm!!! This baby is coming early!
We had so much information to process in such a short time! A special team from Fargo came to take Rebekah back to their NICU for the best care! What a relief that they arrived before she was born, enabling them to give her the best care immediately after delivery! We are so thankful for all you did! (Thank you Candi & team!)
After recovering for a few hours after the birth, Josh & I left for Fargo immediately to see our baby girl. I remember this being the longest car ride of my life. The thoughts of if she is OK and if she is able to breath on her own, if her little body will hold out long enough for me to see her one more time, all these thoughts were racing through my head. As we arrived, I raced in to see her. She was receiving the BEST care! Teams of staff had helped to stabilize her and make sure she was warm, comfortable and breathing perfectly. It was so reassuring to see. (Although somewhat scary as she was so small attached to so many machines!) J
As the Rebekah’s days in the NICU progressed into weeks, the staff at the NICU proved to be my best friends over Rebekah’s growth and wellness. They were so helpful, friendly, supportive and made sure I had any information I needed to know. They went above and beyond in everything! For that I personally, was so thankful for everyone helping in our 3 week NICU stay! Especially Rebekah’s nurses! These ladies became some of my best friends during this stay, and were amazing! Thank you for all you did!
Finally the fateful day arrived. The day we got to take our baby home. I was so worried that the Doctor(s) would change their minds and decide to keep her longer! J But they were so glad to see us all together and helped us prepare for the task of taking care of our small miracle girl. As we left I couldn’t help feeling like I was leaving a part of my family behind, such was the love for the staff at the NICU during our stay.
And at home, our family was together for the first time! Our oldest daughter, Leah was so excited to meet her baby sister. And the rejoicing began!
Time passed and Rebekah proved to be a strong baby! Immediately doubling her weight and becoming a healthy, happy baby rivaling other babies her age in weight and height! Our doctor couldn’t have been more pleased!
She continued to grow and develop right on schedule for her age. She is such a happy baby, always making us laugh! She also has kept her red hair & blue eyes she has had since birth, which made me so excited! We are so thankful for the blessing of our Rebekah Grace!
As she turns ONE this week, my thoughts are still you all, the team of people who helped us so much in her early days. The helicopter team, the doctors attending her, the nurses who helped with every detail, the variety of specialists and the discharge nurse. Without their help and love, our Rebekah’s story could have ended very differently.
My heart goes out to all of you who have helped us in any way during our stay at the NICU! We love you and are grateful every day for what you have done for us! Thank you for the blessing of our healthy little girl! We love you all!
With much grateful thanks,
The Helwegs
Josh, Laura, Leah & Rebekah
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It has been one year since our Rebekah’s birth at 32 ½ weeks old.
March 11, 2008 was such a miraculous day! Imagine my surprise coming in to my Doctor’s office at my home in Bemidji, for a checkup and being told I am 5 cm dialated, and then when I am wheeled up to Labor/Delivery am told I am at 8 cm!!! This baby is coming early!
We had so much information to process in such a short time! A special team from Fargo came to take Rebekah back to their NICU for the best care! What a relief that they arrived before she was born, enabling them to give her the best care immediately after delivery! We are so thankful for all you did! (Thank you Candi & team!)
After recovering for a few hours after the birth, Josh & I left for Fargo immediately to see our baby girl. I remember this being the longest car ride of my life. The thoughts of if she is OK and if she is able to breath on her own, if her little body will hold out long enough for me to see her one more time, all these thoughts were racing through my head. As we arrived, I raced in to see her. She was receiving the BEST care! Teams of staff had helped to stabilize her and make sure she was warm, comfortable and breathing perfectly. It was so reassuring to see. (Although somewhat scary as she was so small attached to so many machines!) J
As the Rebekah’s days in the NICU progressed into weeks, the staff at the NICU proved to be my best friends over Rebekah’s growth and wellness. They were so helpful, friendly, supportive and made sure I had any information I needed to know. They went above and beyond in everything! For that I personally, was so thankful for everyone helping in our 3 week NICU stay! Especially Rebekah’s nurses! These ladies became some of my best friends during this stay, and were amazing! Thank you for all you did!
Finally the fateful day arrived. The day we got to take our baby home. I was so worried that the Doctor(s) would change their minds and decide to keep her longer! J But they were so glad to see us all together and helped us prepare for the task of taking care of our small miracle girl. As we left I couldn’t help feeling like I was leaving a part of my family behind, such was the love for the staff at the NICU during our stay.
And at home, our family was together for the first time! Our oldest daughter, Leah was so excited to meet her baby sister. And the rejoicing began!
Time passed and Rebekah proved to be a strong baby! Immediately doubling her weight and becoming a healthy, happy baby rivaling other babies her age in weight and height! Our doctor couldn’t have been more pleased!
She continued to grow and develop right on schedule for her age. She is such a happy baby, always making us laugh! She also has kept her red hair & blue eyes she has had since birth, which made me so excited! We are so thankful for the blessing of our Rebekah Grace!
As she turns ONE this week, my thoughts are still you all, the team of people who helped us so much in her early days. The helicopter team, the doctors attending her, the nurses who helped with every detail, the variety of specialists and the discharge nurse. Without their help and love, our Rebekah’s story could have ended very differently.
My heart goes out to all of you who have helped us in any way during our stay at the NICU! We love you and are grateful every day for what you have done for us! Thank you for the blessing of our healthy little girl! We love you all!
With much grateful thanks,
The Helwegs
Josh, Laura, Leah & Rebekah
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Celebrating Rebekah's first year of life in Pictures! Enjoy!
1 comment:
So special! Thanks for sharing! I wish we had a Sears here! Those photos are so nice!
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