Bryce then...Little preemie~2 mo old almost 4 lbs .
Bryce now... 2 yrs old 30 lbs Doesn't look like a preemie!!
Greetings and Welcome, Family Tree~ Great Grandma Norma Billing 85 (Dale's Mom,Erik's Grandma)
Great Grandpa Joe Billing 84 (Dale's Dad, Erik's Grandpa )
Great Grandpa Jim Brown and Great Grandma Helen Brown (Carolyn's Mom and Dad, Erik's Grandparents) Grandma Carolyn (Erik's Mom 58)
The Four Generations Papa, (Great Grandpa) Erik (Proud Daddy), Bryce, Dale (Grandpa)
Korey Plubell (Mom's Brother)aka Uncle Ko-Ko, Alinda Plubell, P.J. Smith
Great Grandma Helen Brown (Grandma Carolyn's Mom, Erik's Grandma)
Clarence William "Bill" Plubell- Grandpa- Krista's Dad
Kelli Vicini Hunter (Krista's Cousin)
Uncle Dennis (Dale's Brother) Aunt Patti, Grandma Carolyn, Grandpa Dale
Ryan Billing aka Uncle Bucky
Great Grandpa Jim Brown (Grandma Carolyn's Dad)
A glimpse at the past, why Bryce was born premature and misc. details of our lives! Dear Friends, (Christmas Letter for those who haven't seen it-long version)
Much has happened in our lives over the past few years so we felt it was a good idea to catch you all up. 2005/06 and 2007 has been exciting for us. We had hoped to get this letter out a whole lot sooner, (yikes it’s 2008) but… such is life. Grab a cuppa joe (or cola or h20) and share in our adventure.
First: Family Changes~ Our prayers for the blessing of a child were answered when we found out we were pregnant in August of 2005!!!! We decided not to find out the sex of the baby, so we could hardly wait for May 1st to come. And well… we didn’t have to. More on that later… stay tuned!
Second: Travels and activities~ 2005
In Sept. we took our first “big” vacation and went to visit Krista’s cousin (Kelli) and her husband (Jason) in New York (Brooklyn). It was a dream come true for Krista and a wonderful experience! Krista was pretty exhausted as she was in her first trimester but that didn’t stop us from seeing all the sites and sounds of New York. We would take the subway daily from Brooklyn to Manhattan and make our way around the city-making frequent stops for potty breaks and shoe changes! A true New York experience.
The Statue of Liberty is incredible in person and we swear you can really get a sense of the journey to Ellis Island, the spirit of hope and a new beginning. Sadly for some the end due to sickness…amazing. It was incredible to imagine the droves of immigrants coming through and to think, wow our very own ancestors came to America this way.. incredible : ) The architecture is beautiful all thru Manhattan, the Cathedrals, the museums, almost everything has lots of ornate detail. We went through all the burroughs via the waterway, around the island of Manhattan. Then we toured on the big red site seeing bus ( oh yeah we did, woo hoo!) all through Manhattan, the financial district, Harlem, the commons where John Lennon was shot, Central Station, Central Park (not to be confused w/Central perk for you Friends fans), by the Zoo, FAO Schwartz (had to get something for baby), my personal favorite Tiffany’s (we went in and browsed but made no purchases…this time! ) and then finally to the World Trade Centers Site.
We never expected to be so emotional at the site but it just overwhelms you. We don’t think we are racist, but when we saw people who appeared to be from Iraq/Iran they immediately become suspect in your mind and you know at that moment that your heart is not pure. We found ourselves staring at them in wonder “ Are they here celebrating the destruction? They make me sick. How dare they be here this is our county, go home!” or “ Are they like us overwhelmed by such destruction and hatered?” In the end you must choose to be at peace with the fact that you will NEVER know.
Krista’s cousin and her husband (Kelli and Jason) were the most gracious hosts; they gave up their bed for us and were our personal tour guides. Without them this trip would not have been possible and as action packed. We made some great memories. The sights and sound of NY are unforgettable, as was all the five star food, theatre and taxi drivers. (We tell Bryce he too has been to New York… haha : )
Next it’s the holidays~ Krista and her brother Korey had decided at Easter (2005) that they wanted to surprise their mom and dad with a visit to Montana to spend Thanksgiving with them. They had not all been together for a holiday in over 6 years. So in mid July the plans began to solidify, tickets were bought, cars were rented and operation “surprise the parents” was under way! We arrived in Bozeman safely. Kevin and his boys (Krista’s older brother and two nephews, Kevin & Eddie) surprised us by greeting us at the gate. After everybody got their hugs and hello’s in we loaded up the kids & the luggage and we’re off to surprise mom and dad. And surprise them we did. Krista’s mom was upstairs and her dad was (where else) in the garage. Krista called out her mom’s name and her mom was in shock , she could not believe that she was hearing her daughter’s voice. Needless to say there were tears and plenty of joy. Dad was next as Korey called out to father and then we all joined in making noise and Dad came in to see what all the noise was about. SURPRISE! It was great. We spent the next few days sight seeing and the boys all went off doing boy stuff and the girls did some big shopping for the holiday feast. And of course some shopping for the baby. It was a great visit and it was hard to leave the “Big Sky” country.
And Baby Makes- 3!~ Bryce Joseph Billing joins the family~ 2006
In mid January (about 25weeks) Krista developed gestational hypertension (high blood pressure brought on by pregnancy) and was put on medication which brought the blood pressure down immediately and all was well, until the second weekend in February. Krista had gone with some of her lady friends for a night in Napa and was really swollen and felt sick and extremely tired. Having never been pregnant before she thought it was normal and just the pregnancy. She had a Dr’s appt on the 14th and would be discussing her concerns about the swelling and exhaustion with her Dr. On Sunday, February 12th Krista’s mom made a surprise visit to church only to find Krista not there as she was not feeling well. Krista’s mom dropped by the house and they made plans for lunch on Monday. Well, during the wee hours of the morning Krista became very ill, she was having very severe pain in her upper right rib cage, it was very difficult to breathe and she sensed something was wrong. Around 4:00 she woke Erik up and it was off to the Petaluma Valley ER.
We were triaged to OB admitting where her blood pressure was taken and registered a whopping 250/210. Krista was immediately admitted and the room was a buzz with Dr’s., phone consults with UCSF, machines, nurses and talk of transporting via helicopter. There were all kinds of monitors and plenty of beeping (little did we know this was just the beginning of lots of beeping machines) Erik was busy calling family and rallying prayer support. Before long some of the Elders, the Pastor and friends from the church dropped by the hospital to pray w/Krista & Erik, and family members began to show up as the news traveled. Krista’s mom was able to be by our side which was a real blessing. Since she lives in Montana she was sure she would miss the birth of the baby and really wanted to be a part of it. Though this would not have been anyone’s choice, she was able to be here . She was one of the first calls made and was at the hospital p.d.q. Many medications were tried to lower Krista’s blood pressure and finally success, one that worked and did not put the baby in distress. Then came the news that we would probably be having the baby TODAY! (29 Weeks- 6 mo) Yikes, the nursery’s not ready, crap… nothings ready! This baby’s not due for three more months! The nurses at Petaluma Valley Hospital were absolutely wonderful. They did a great job preparing us for the UCSF process- what a blessing. A few hours later Krista was transported to UCSF (via ambulance.. thank the Lord!). Erik was not allowed to ride in the ambulance, so he went home with his dad briefly to pick up a change of clothes, cameras, stuff for mommy, etc. (Ya know all the stuff you get ready AFTER your birthing classes, which we were to be signing up for that week… so we were flying by the seat of our pants)
Erik’s Mom and sister beat Krista & Erik to the hospital and were immediately taken to see Krista when she arrived so she wasn’t alone waiting for Erik. It was a long day. Family and friends gathered and waited while testing was being done constantly to see if Krista’s blood would clot so that they could perform an emergency C-section and get the baby out. This is the only cure for relieving Krista’s condition (HELLP Syndrome) it can be fatal and is extremely dangerous. There was always at least one nurse in the room monitoring Krista’s condition and nurses and Dr’s buzzin in to get status frequently- it was pretty intense.
HELLP involves high blood pressure and protein in the urine and can progress to seizures (eclampsia). Severe cases are life-threatening to both mother and fetus. HELLP syndrome is associated with more serious cases. The main treatment is to deliver the baby as soon as possible, since liver function in the mother rapidly deteriorates in this condition, and this is harmful to both mother and child. The mother's liver may hemorrhage (bleed). Permanent liver damage, which can be fatal, may occur if delivery is delayed.
Finally at 5:30 Krista’s blood tests showed that her blood was showing that it would clot but there was still risk involved but surgery had to be done to save the baby and mom. At 7:30 they wheel Krista off to surgery and give Erik his “scrubs”- they were huge on him and it is still a good chuckle today. USSF staff wastes no time they had 12 people in the room prepping Krista for surgery. It was a whirlwind of activity and Krista was a little overwhelmed by the speed at which they were moving. The nurse assigned to her was yet another blessing, she looked just like one of Krista’s friends who is also a nurse and had the same sweet disposition and was w/Krista til the next day. After they prepped, draped and numbed Krista, Erik was brought into the room and within minutes the baby was out. They announced that the baby was out, we heard a nice big cry and waited for the gender, we had to ask ,what is it? Oh…. It’s a boy! Apparently not finding out the sex of the baby is becoming a rare thing these days. Lucky for us it was a boy cause that was the only gender name we had agreed on .
Bryce weighed a whopping 2 lbs. 5 oz. and was 14.2 inches long. He was immediately rushed off to neonatal intensive care (NICU) but not before being viewed by most of our wonderful family as he passed by. Mommy didn’t get to see him in person until he was two days old she was still pretty sick and in recovery (HELLP and C-Section= NO FUN!!!) and since he was 3mo early he had to remain in NICU in his incubator. In the beginning he had all kinds of monitors and wires and patches attached to him. Although over all Bryce was healthy there were some bumps in the road and everyday was emotional, especially the first night we had to leave him at UCSF and return home to Petaluma…brutal . He was soooo tiny and helpless and fragile. We knew he was in good hands but we could not imagine leaving him, it was the toughest thing we have ever had to do.
We arrived home in Petaluma around 10:30 and got ready for bed, at 11:30 the phone rang, it was UCSF wanting permission to do a spinal tap on Bryce. They needed to do this to rule out some type of condition. Krista approved the procedure and hung up the phone and had a melt down. We felt so helpless our son was undergoing tests and all kinds of other things and we couldn’t be there with him. Krista was pumping every two hours to provide milk for Bryce so she was up most of the night taking one long rest for 3 ½ hours. Then we were up, showered and back to the city to see our baby! Mommy & Daddy are coming son! And that our friends was the beginning of many long days and nights at UCSF.
Each day we would arrive at UCSF, Krista would be dropped off in the front and her driver (her mom, Erik or a friend) would go park the car. Then it’s a walk down the long hall to the elevator to go up to the 15th floor, show our purple NICU wristbands, ( you can not enter without the band or a family member-better security than fort knox ) wait for the doors in this highly secured area to open and march down (yet another long hall) to the NICU wings. Each wing has 8 stations w/monitors etc. (4 on each side) and the incubators are each set up next to the station, it is an open room with sinks at both end. We were SO blessed, Bryce’s station was right next to a window with a awesome view of the bay, the GG Bridge, SF Cathedrals, the Bay Bridge, the old football field- Keyser Park. It was a great stress reliever and an incredible reminder of God’s handiwork This is where the better part of the 37 days would be spent watching, learning and caring for our little man. We did not qualify for many of the assistance programs that UCSF offers for one reason or another so we were forced to commute everyday. If we needed a place to rest we could go to a family room but that was often occupied by another family so we usually just stayed in the NICU taking turns sitting/standing.
Before you can touch or hold your baby you must scrub in, you are not allowed to touch your baby w/o doing so… just like the doctors do- up to the elbows, 5 minutes on each hand/arm. Talk about getting dry skin, man. Then if you want to hold the baby you must first ask, then take his temperature, report to the nurse, change the diaper, report to the nurse (wet, poopy), set the diaper aside to be weighed later, grab some blankets from the warmer. It is essential for the development of upper body strength and overall well being for preemies to be held skin to skin- it is amazing how a tiny little being can flourish from such touch and affection! The real fun begins getting baby out with all the leads (wires) and patches. What a challenge- at first it requires the nurses assistance, but the more often you do it you become familiar with the process. Eventually and with lots of coaching and encouragement from the nurses we are able to take our baby out and hold him without having to ask for permission or help, that was a great feeling. We became very familiar and confident about each beep, bleep and ding his monitors made and what all the lines on the screens meant- it was quite the education. While having him under 24 hr care was a great thing, we were never alone with him , which was at times overwhelming especially for Krista.
At first Bryce was only able to be out for just the very shortest of times, 3-5 minutes and then he would have to be put back in his incubator as it is very stressful for their underdeveloped nervous systems and he was unable to maintain his body temperature. His stats would start to be of concern and we would have to immediately get little man back to his inky (incubator). Little by little the time builds up and that is exciting and you look forward to each new day. His feedings were via a tube (32 mm) that was pushed down his throat to his tummy and ever so slowly dripped in from a syringe as his unable to get nourishment any other way. Initially he is only able to take a miniscule amount, I want to say it was like 1/32 oz. I remember being elated when he got to ½ oz and everything after that was just as encouraging and exciting. These were great milestones for him!
There was a staph infection outbreak in the NICU and Bryce contracted the infection so he was put on high powered antibiotics to kill the infection and it was a struggle for his little body. We were not allowed to hold him during that time which sucked! We would stand by his incubator and talk to him and pray that the medication would kill the infection and save our son as staph can be life threatening esp. for little lives. We were upset by the infection, we knew intellectually that the hospital was not to blame but it was upsetting that he was in an environment that was to be protecting him and he got sick. That was a rough couple of days. He had to have two transfusions, because they had to run so many blood tests daily that his little body could not replenish the blood quick enough. One day we walked in to the NICU ward and found our son out of his incubator laying on an open bed covered in plastic- sheer horror for Krista, he looked like he was in a little body bag- it turns out he was on a heating bed-whew. Krista told the nurses you might want to warn people before performing this procedure it freaks you out to walk in and see your child that way. The list of experiences goes on.
The weekends were packed with visits from our wonderful family and friends. We had constant support and Bryce was the most viewed baby in the NICU! His great grandparents all came to see him and hold him, that was very special.
All told it was 37 days of back and forth to UCSF and then 7 days to Marin General. Krista’s mom stayed and drove Krista to UCSF everyday and Erik would come down after work and spend time with Bryce and mommy and drive mommy home and then we’d do it all over again the next day. That’s 37 (x2 @5.00 ea.) bridge tolls (37 parking garage fees (x2 28.00 a day) and countless tanks of gas. Yikes! We also had quite a few meals at the cafeteria , we were blessed beyond measure where finances were concerned. Many members of our family & church gave us money, checks would come in the mail, and every week one very sweet lady (Meg) gave us that week’s bridge toll until we stopped going. Even then she said felt like she hadn’t done enough! Family and friends would come to visit and treat us to lunch or bring us a hometown delight from our favorite deli. Amazing, incredible generosity and an absolute blessing!
Krista worked closely with the UCSF staff to facilitate a transfer a little closer to home so when Bryce was able there was no delay. (All those years in the Health Care Industry paid off : ) ) UCSF has some specific requirements for when preemies can be transported to a lower level care facility. They have to be able to maintain their body temperature on their own (no more incubator), have no apnea’s (breathing issues) and be eating and growing- Krista called it flip and feed. Typically they don’t release preemies until they are 34 weeks old. UCSF nursing staff was incredible. I do not know how they do what they do on a daily basis, it is amazing. Not all babies survive and they deal with that on a regular basis. They taught us so much and gave us great confidence in handling our little guy. They have a special place in our hearts forever.
The day arrives to transport~ It was a bittersweet day when we were able to get transported to Marin General Hospital (MGH) it was like leaving family. We said our good bye’s the night before his transport and we still were not sure we had made the right decision to transfer him for the last few days. The transition was smooth and ends up being a huge blessing. One of Bryce’s nurses Donna, came in on her day off to assist in the transport. We were so happy as she had bonded with him and us and we were comforted to know he was with his special friend. Bryce was to be transported at 8:00 a.m. so Krista arrived at MGH at 6:30 a.m. and checked in with the nurses. Nurse Kate (from Australia with a beautiful accent) told Krista that she would take her to her room (WHAT?) and let her get all settled and they would call her and let her know when the transport had left UCSF and when it had arrived at MGH. Krista could not believe she was getting a room much less a room to herself- this turned out to be a HUGE blessing.
Nurse Kate explained to Krista that Bryce’s first day they would get to know him, his breathing patterns ,etc and pretty much just monitor him and then probably day 2 they would take him off his monitors and she would be able to take him to her room. ALONE? No way! Krista didn’t sleep much that night the excitement of the next day was too much! Needless to say the next day was overwhelming and incredible for Krista. She was able to bring Bryce to her room, no monitors attached to him ,just baby Bryce and his little bed. Just as it would have been had she gone full term. As she walked from the NICU to her room the emotions built up and she barely made it to the room before tears of absolute joy, relief and all the other emotions from the past 38 days came rushing in. As she held Bryce tightly in her arms words can not describe the joy and anticipation of this moment. The tears lasted quite awhile but it was a very good thing. The nurses at MGH were as wonderful, caring, loving and nurturing as the UCSF staff. Not to mention we are that much closer to home now. Kate ( one of the day nurses from Australia) discovers that Bryce is what she calls “cheeky” and it is a name that has stuck with him to this day. It is a short 7 day stay and then…. Bryce gets cleared to go home!!!
Bryce comes home and life as we knew it ( as most of you know) is FOREVER changed. He is a great baby and our training at UCSF and Marin General serves us well. He pretty much stayed on his schedule and it was smooth sailin’ and a welcome transition. The first week home we just wanted to be alone to bond with Bryce just the three of us. Everyone respected our request and friends & family took turns bringing us dinner for the first week we were home, which was wonderful!!! We are so blessed and absolutely spoiled!
Back to work ~ Since most of Krista’s maternity leave was spent in the hospital when it came time for her to return to work it was extra difficult as Bryce had only been home for 5 weeks . We are blessed to have his grandma Carolyn (Erik’s mom) come and watch him on Mondays (mommy can come home and see’s him @ lunch) then the rest of the week he spends at his great grandparents- Nana & Papa’s ( Erik’s grandparents. Nana has been doing licensed daycare for 30+ years she is 87 and still going strong with Bryce and one other boy a week..whew!) They are a great team and it is amazing that they are in such good health and still able to tend to children~ Kids keep ya young at heart!!
Erik gets a new job~ As if life wasn’t exciting enough with Bryce coming so early, Erik was in the process of changing jobs when everything happened. He took two weeks off and then returned to work to give two weeks notice. He started his new job at DP Pools 2 weeks later. It has been just over a year he has been there and he really likes what he is doing. He does estimating/design/sales and all the customer relations issues! He is in Rohnert Park, 15 minutes from home so that is nice. Anyone need a pool? SPA?
Krista continues to work fulltime at her job with North Bay Construction in project management and is delighted that she only has a one mile commute. She swears some day she’ll walk to work it’s so close..haha.
Bryce is, of course the joy of our lives and we couldn’t be happier with the blessing God has given us. Each day we are in awe as we watch him develop and know that God’s hand is upon him. The doctors are amazed at his progress and delighted with him- they have said he should be in a medical journal he is doing so well. He did everything early, from cutting teeth to crawling & pulling himself up and cruising around to walking. He walked at 9 mo and has not slowed down since. He is non stop on the go… all boy! He is now 19 mos. Old, 24 lbs, 31 inches and full of it, just like his father…haha. He has the sweetest disposition and does all the cute, smart things toddlers do. He has begun talking and definitely let’s you know when he is not happy or getting his way… who knew? It is still amazing to look at pictures of him at 3 lbs and now, it just is unbelievable and a huge answer to prayer!
Well that just about covers it! Like we said at the beginning lots to share. We hope and pray that 2007 brought Love, Peace and plenty of Joy to all of you! And that 2008 is full of more!
We would love to know what you are all up to and look forward to hearing from you soon!
2 comments:
Oh Krista, What a wonderfully entertaining Blog! I love to be able to keep up with the boy and all he's into these days. He looks like a business man hard at work on his phone. You are one adventurous mom. Thank you for this blessing. I read it to dad and he just sat there and chuckled.
I can't wait for the next one. I'll probably revisit this one over and over it's so cute.
Oh my goodness, did you guys watch the races Sunday? Dad and I turned it on for the last 200 laps and when we saw Korey's driver win, we went bolistic. We were able to call him and share in his elation. I just love my kids so much and am so honored that they care about keeping me involved in their lives (because of my daughter). I'm so blessed.
I just read your whole Blog site and all I can say is,"WOW, WOW,WOW,
WOW, Krista what a great read!!!!
I can't wait to get dad upstairs and enjoy the BryceFamilyStoryStage
ByStageByStage. You are amazing. "Thank you Lord for my daughter and her husband, Erik. He will continue to make her a wonderful husband. Of course,Lord we thank you for our Bryce. Your grace is so beyond measure when it comes to our children and grandchildren." Love you Sweety,Mom
Hey I have read your article and that helped me to write my article about how many servings of fruit is an apple you must have a check on my article.
Post a Comment