Granddaddy and Uncle Jerry

Hey everybody this is Brooks! My Mommy and Daddy don't know yet but I can already use the computer! They think all I do is eat, sleep and poop. Anyway, I wanted to show you some pictures of two very special people - my Granddaddy Vance and my Uncle Jerry. I LOVE my Granddaddy's shoulder - he can really get me relaxed and make me sleep! My Uncle Jerry is pretty cool, too. He talks so sweet to me and can really make me smile.

Brooks' first road trip

The first out of town trip we took with little Brooks was to Batesville. I don't know if we were adventureous or just stupid, but we also took Minnie the dog. So here we go up the interstate with a baby and a dog. All was well and Boo, my parents dog, was there at the gate to greet all of us.

Since his first trip Brooks has become a seasoned traveller and is even taking his first plane trip in July to see his NeNe and Bubba in New Hampshire! His Aunt Noel, Uncle Greg and all his cousins haven't even met him!

Catching up!

It's been a while since we've posted and we definitely have some catching up to do. Brooks is now 4 months and weighs 15lbs. 3 oz. and is 25 inches long. What a way he's come from 5 lbs.!

Here are some pictures from when he was first home. I had forgotten how tiny he was.

Welcome home, little Brooks!

What a happy day it was when we got to bring Brooks home from the hospital. At first the NICU doctors were saying he could be in there for maybe 2 weeks, so we were almost in disbelief when they said he was being discharged. The Baby Suites where he was born does a neat thing for parents with babies in the NICU. The night before the baby is discharged, the parents can come spend the night in one of the rooms and have the baby in there with you. Darin and I couldn't wait to have our first night with little Brooks. Mama and Daddy were still here in Jackson so Daddy came to the hospital with us while we got settled in for the night. He couldn't wait to get his hands on his grandson!

The next day one of the nurses came and got Brooks because they do a standard discharge exam. Darin and I were told to go have breakfast and they would call us when Brooks was ready. About halfway through our meal we got the call. We looked at each other and just couldn't believe we were going to be taking our son home! Minnie, his big sister dog, met him in the garage. She licked and kissed all over his little face. Yea! The dog approves!

Life in the NICU

Darin here. My wife just put up a very moving post about the first time that she got to see Brooks in person. I am including a few pictures of Brooks in the NICU. Now, I have to be honest -- there were babies in the NICU far worse off than Brooks, including a 1-pound baby that had a panoply of medical equipment surrounding her.

Anyway, life in the NICU is a continuous series of steps -- some forward, some backward. Every time I would visit, there would be some new development with Brooks, either with his oxygen, weight, or something else. One thing we learned very quickly about our son is that he developed the ability to take tubes out of his body. He managed to pull his IV tube out of almost everywhere they put it -- arms, feet, even his head. They finally had to run it through his umbilical cord!! He managed to get the oxygen tubes out several times as well. The NICU is kind of like a casino as well, in that you have all this electronic equipment buzzing, beeping, and making all sorts of noises with multicolored lights -- you just don't have a waitress coming around offering to get you drinks. There's also a lot more chatter than you would expect, at least in the NICU we were in. However, all the doctors and nurses were very nice and helpful any time we went in there.

I have included a picture and video. The other voice you hear is Brooke's Uncle Jerry, who I actually met before I met Brooke (we played poker together at a couple of area casinos). Uncle Jerry is about the most calming person I have ever met -- Brooke cannot remember him ever raising his voice, and he has a great ability to calm Brooks, regardless of the situation.

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

The first time I saw my son's face was two days after he was born. I had gotten so sick it took two days before I was even really coherent. I remember distinctly though looking at all the pictures and videos Darin had taken of Brooks in the NICU on his camera and I just began weeping. The reality of what had happened was starting to sink in. I was sick, my son was sick, and it was time for me to see him. My dear nurse Suzie got me a wheelchair, unhooked me from all my machines and wheeled me thru the nurses station and into the NICU.

Darin was with us and took me right to Brooks' incubator. There he was - so small and tiny. As his Mother I wanted so badly to just take him in my arms and hold him and tell him he was going to be okay. But I had to settle for sticking my hands in his incubator and just rubbing his sweet little face and his hands and feet. As awful and as sick as I look in this picture, I am posting it because it does capture the very moment I first laid eyes on my beautiful boy.

This first meeting started the ritual of being at my child's side as often as I possibly could. Sometimes I would talk softly to him, stroking his face. Other times I would cry and just hold his little hand in mine.

After 9 days Darin and I were able to carry Brooks out of the NICU. When we walked out a family was right outside the door and they began clapping and said "Oh you're graduating!" It did make me feel so proud to be taking my son home after all we had been through. I know that was just the first of many, many proud moments I will have with him.

February 21, 2008

Darin here. Let me tell you a little bit about the day that Brooks was born. Brooke had been put on home rest by her doctor a couple weeks earlier and her mother (Mary Tom) had come into town to help get things ready. I went to work and had a normal day (at least as normal as any day can be as a middle school administrator) up until about 3:20 PM. Brooke called and told me that her OB-GYN had decided to put her in the hospital. After telling my division head about this development, I headed home immediately and put a bag together for my wife and me, arriving at the hospital about 5:00. After kissing my wife and comforting her, two anestheologists walked in to let us know that they were going to perform an emergency c-section to take the baby. I called our church and they sent a minister out to the hospital immediately. After a quick prayer, staff arrived to wheel Brooke into the operating room. After Brooke went into the ER, Mary Tom and her sister (Martha) went to get a quick snack and drink from the vending machine. Very shortly after that, a nurse came out to tell me that at 6:38 PM, Brooks came into this world crying. No more than a minute or two after Mary Tom and Martha came back, the nurses brought Brooks out for me to carry him into the nursery. Since Brooks was five weeks early, the neonatal doctor made the decision to put Brooks into the NICU as a precautionary measure to allow his lungs to develop more fully before allowing him to breathe normal air.

Suffice it to say that when I went to work that morning, I had no idea that I was going to become a father only twelve hours later. The three hours before Brooks was born was just an emotional whirlwind of concern, fear, and ultimately, anticipation and joy. I cannot think of another time in my life where I was prouder of anything than when my son was brought into this world. Carrying him into the nursery felt like I was presenting him to the world (the window nearest his bed looked out into the hall), and I began to think of all the things that I am looking forward to introducing him to in the years to come.

I have included a couple of pictures from when Brooks was first brought out -- at this point he is maybe 10 or 15 minutes old.