Strollin' down memory lane

For those of you who know me really well, you know that I am in a never ending attempt to clean and organize Chad and I's bedroom. I feel like my room has been a mess since I was little, I'll keep the rest of our house clean and somewhat organized but it all stops at our room. So, in yet another effort to clean out the clutter I ventured into a forgotten drawer where I was so excited to find all of Dane's NICU awards...well, they really are not "awards" but little signs that nurses would make and hang all over his tiny space to make it feel more home-like. I have one that says "Congratulations on being extubated...what a brave boy!!!" they would include the date, and are decorated with stickers and stuff too. They would always make them when we were not there and it was a highlight to come in and see a new sign up by his incubator. You could tell how long the little ones had been in the NICU by the amount of "awards" they had. Looking back now, I find it kinda funny...how many Mom's can scrapbook with a sign that reads "Congratulations on being extubated!" or "Congrats to Mommy for the first diaper change!" And yes, I deserved that award...it should have been statue award because changing a barely two pound baby's diaper was like doing surgery! I remember my hands were shaking, as the nurse lovingly said "make sure you lift his legs and hips together so you don't dislocate his hips"...nice huh? So, yeah, I am a little proud of my awards too!

But these are the two that I cherish the most. This one was taken when he was almost one month old. I put my cell phone next to it so that you see how tiny his hands and feet were. You could fit both of his hands and feet inside the perimeter of my cell phone with a ton of room to spare. He was heading towards the 3lb mark and I remember thinking he was getting so big. This one was taken on his two month birthday, I put a quarter on the picture to see the size (I thought of the cell phone after the first picture, then my battery went dead before I could take this one with the phone) This was a week before we had him transferred to a closer hospital.
I am so thankful for the reminders, they keep my heart in check when he is driving me crazy!