Mom meets Arabella (for the first time)

I've started organizing all of our photos and I came across these wonderful gems taken on Kiera's phone. They brought back memories, so I thought I would share them with you too. 

This was the first time Kiera got to see and meet Arabella 💗

14 hours post-op, at 5 in the morning, we went up to the NICU floor. It was so incredibly quiet. As we made our way through the hallway, the only sounds we heard were the constant beeps and dings coming from each room. 

Boop...boop...boop...

I had been up a few times already, but this was Kiera's first moment. I was really excited for her.

Walking into Arabella's room felt surreal the first few times. We were in a dream-like state. Looking back at it now, I think it was difficult for us to process everything that just took place, and our new reality going forward.  

We were anxious and scared, but we were also overjoyed. Arabella was reasonably stable, and it felt like all three of us made it through the first major hurdle. 

Step 1 of 1,000,000...check 😄

So many tubes, wires, gadgets and computers. It was overwhelming a little bit at first. Arabella looked like she was in a space ship. 

"What do all these numbers mean? Why is that one flashing red?" 

We had so much to learn.

That first sight. 

"Wow", we thought. "This is incredible. What a miracle."

We were pinching ourselves. We couldn't believe it. We were so proud of her, and we were astonished by her strength and will to fight. She was inspiring.

That first touch. 

We were so hesitant to open the incubator doors for the first few days. We were worried about our germs, worried that we would somehow hurt her. We didn't know what to think or how to act sometimes. We were not prepared for any of it (but then again, who is?)

Arabella would be bound to an incubator for the next three months. 

That first video.

It was hard to explain to other people how small Arabella really was, but once they saw pictures with our hands next to her, they finally started to understand. 

Photos like this one, taken 11 days later...

So as we organize our old photos and start to compile our photo album, we realize that our story has a different kind of start. It won't be your average 'first family photo album', but it will be just as sweet, if not sweeter. 

And we anticipate that one day Arabella will look through it and she'll likely have some questions for us. She'll point to a picture and say, "Mommy, why did I have to live in that box? Is it because I was too little?"

And we'll say, "Yes dear, you know the story. Now off to bed. You have school in the morning...and don't forget to brush your teeth. Dad's going to come up and check your breath in a few minutes!" 😄

Arabella will hurry on upstairs, and Kiera and I will be left with a big grin on our face. We'll look at one anther, but we won't need to say a word. We'll just smile and nod 😊💗