12 weeks since rupture

Days with us: 26
Corrected age: 33 weeks, 1 day

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. The past few weeks have been a little hectic!

Here are a couple of pics from the past few weeks:

Snuggling with Mommy. 

So tiny in Daddy's arms. 

Enjoying a little time with Daddy before he had to head home.

I am still struggling to understand Rhys's early arrival. After being told for weeks that 34 weeks was the goal, it's hard to wrap my brain around the fact that God said 29 weeks was best. The other day I had a 'bucket of cold water' experience: I met another mom who wasn't pPROM, but had had low amniotic fluid. She was induced at 34 weeks, just as I would have been. Her son's left lung ruptured with his first breath. The following day, his right lung ruptured.
As we sat there talking, I realized how my little guy could possibly have been spared the same fate. That being said, Rhys does have lung and breathing issues- he is still suffering from Pulmonary Hypertension and they think he will need to go home on oxygen- but, the doctor seems confident he will outgrow these issues.

We have certainly had some ups and downs lately: Rhys 'honeymooned' for a few days and went to breathing room air without any assistance before having to go back on a cannula. He has been back and forth between a high-flow and a low-flow cannula since. He even spent a few days under an oxyhood when he had a sore on his nose and above his lip.

This was especially hard for me since he wasn't able to be held. Just about a day after he got the hood, Rhys came down with an infection. He is still under contact isolation, which means we have to wear a gown and gloves when we go into his room. Because of his isolation, today was the first time since Monday I have been able to hold him. You can see my lovely yellow gown in the picture below.

Doesn't he look like he's dancing?

Recently, Thomas mentioned that he had seen a poem or something about how God chooses preemie moms. I decided to Google it today to see for myself what it said.
The following is from the end of the story/poem (by Erma Bombeck):

"...here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says 'mama' for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see – ignorance, cruelty, prejudice – and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."