Meet

Meet the absolutely amazing people that have been helping take care of my boys for the last four months. We are so blessed to know them and don't know what we would do without them.

Meet Susan:

She is Carter's Primary Nurse. She is absolutely amazing! The sweetest person in the whole world. Carter loves her. Anytime he hears her voice he opens his eyes to look for her. We are going to miss her so much! During this whole time she has been such a great support to us. She validates our concerns tells us when to worry and when not too. She doesn't sugar coat things and is very real. She was never afraid to tell us when Carter wasn't doing so well even though I know she hated to deliver bad news. She was just as excited as we were when he was having great days. She and I had our schedule down to a T. She knew my pumping schedule, what I wanted to do with Carter, and always reported cute or funny things that he did when we were not there. The thing I loved most about her is that she knew when to step back and let me take care of Carter. Being in the NICU is hard. You feel like your role as a mother is kinda taken away. In a sense it kinda is, but when she was there I always felt like I was the most important person for Carter's care. I tried to convince her to become our home nurse something about getting paid half as much and the fact that we would only use her for a couple months might have been the reason she couldn't. She will always be special to us and will be a part of Carter's life whether she likes it or not.

Meet Carter's RT Team:

There seriously isn't a person on the RT team that I don't like, but these are my favorite. Linsey is awesome. She always knew what Carter was capable of doing and wasn't afraid to tell the Doctors when she thought he could be pushed a little harder. She is a great teacher and man she loves Carter. She always told us that Carter won the cutest NICU baby award. What parent doesn't want to hear that. David is from Jersey and has a sweet accent. He was so great with Carter. I walked in so many times when he was giving Carter a treatment and he would be chatting away telling him stories and what not. I think Carter might be his favorite patient. If he isn't well David sure did a good job making us believe he was. Even if he wasn't assigned to Carter he was sure to drop by him room everyday to say hi. Andy well he is just awesome. His daughter was a micro preemie and because of that I think he has a special understanding of what this whole experience is like. He could always make me laugh and was great with Carter. The thing I will always remember about Regan is his voice. Pretty sure that's what a lot of people remember about him. It is very deep and I am pretty sure every baby in the NICU loved it at least the ones in Carter's pod. You can hear his laugh anywhere and he is sure to make a funny comment. The RT team really are such amazing people I am amazed at all they can do for these little guys.

Meet Amy:

She was one of Carter's primary nurses in the beginning before Carter and his crib mate decided to get all crazy and both decide to get trachs. She is so dang sweet. She always made Carter the cutest little scrapbook pages when he would hit his month mark. She was so good at making you forget about where you were. When I had conversations with her I would totally forget that I was in the NICU because she made us feel so comfortable. Even though we haven't had her in a while she is still one of our NICU hero's.

Meet Cathy:
Picture Coming

She is hands down the best night nurse the NICU has to offer. I love everything about this lady. She is a fantastic nurse! She loves Carter and he loves her. We have actually only had her for the past month since one of the twins went home, but have been close with her the whole time. She knows her stuff and such a breath of fresh air. She makes those late nights when we are dead tired so much fun. I honestly feel like I could talk to her for hours. She is so sweet with Carter and isn't afraid to pinch his cute cheeks and tell him how cute he is. She LOVES her babies!

Meet Dr. Santiago:

This man is amazing! He is a man of very few/little words. He never says much more than what has too be said. He always would give a basic report of Carter each day and was so great to answer our questions. The thing I love most about him is how much he loves those babies. Seriously when he would look at them his whole appearance would change. His eyes would get all squinty and he would just smile (one of the reasons I love this picture is you can see his love for Carter in his eyes). I am pretty sure he talked more to Carter than he did too us. He is a very patient man. He always always has the babies and parents best interest at heart. Something I will always remember is that when we were trying to decide about the trach he told us that if it were his kid he would give them another shot at CPAP. I know he told us that because he knew that as a parent that is what you would want to hear even though he knew he would eventually have to get a trach anyways. He was always sensitive to what we wanted to do, but was never afraid to say when something had to be done even if we didn't want it too. It takes a special man to do what he does and he does it well.

Meet Rene:

(Boston cuddled right up to her when I asked to take a picture no posing required he just loves her that much!)

If I died and Boston could choose who his mother was I am positive it would be Rene'. We refer to her at our house as a "godsend" really she is that amazing. Boston has spent every Friday with her and some Sundays since this whole thing began. I don't think she ever turned down any favor I asked of her. In fact she always replied by saying absolutely. She is the epitome of service. She cried when I cried on a hard day and she celebrated with me on the good days. She has been the lifeline to people when we weren't totally up to talk when things were shaky which was such a relief. Not only was it hard to hear bad news, but it was hard to deliver and she was great to pass the word on when it needed to be. She might possibly be Carter's #1 fan outside of the family. Boston is sure going to miss his "Rene' days".

Meet Uncle Ed and Aunt Xela:
Boston went to his "cousins house" on Mondays and Thursdays. Boy does he love his cousins! Ed was always so great to stop in and see Carter when he was working around the hospital. Next to Trav, my Mom, and I, Ed is the only other person that saw him consistently. He also brought me milkshakes while on bed rest huge brother in law points earned there. Xela definitely got to see the worst of Boston and she was so very patient with him and always wanted him back. She put up with him during his "I hate that my parents leave me everyday to go to the hospital" stage. It wasn't pretty. Since being at her house he does better I use that word lightly because he still has a long ways to go, but definitely does better staying at the table, and staying in timeout. We feel so blessed to have family that was close to help and they have been awesome.

Meet Uncle B and Aunt Emily:

They made many weekend/day trips up to help us out with Boston or just to give us a change of pace. Boston absolutely loved playing with his cousins and him and Ellie formed a pretty dang cute little bond. It was always so nice to not have to drag Boston somewhere else for a couple days. They were always more than generous and left us with an overflowing pantry and bulging fridge. When they were going through a tough trial of their own the first thing they did was offer to serve us. I still remember when I was on bed rest and Emily got a couple things at the store for me one being a air freshener. I totally broke down in tears because I hated the smell (still do) of the anti-pardom part of the hospital. She is always so great to think of things that I don't.

Meet Grandma D.
I know I have said it a million times, but I will say it again. There is no way we could have survived this without her. She was always at our disposal day and night. She did everything she could to lighten our load which was a lot. She always knew when to tell me things will get better and when to just hug me and say nothing at all. Mom's are the best and mine is no exception. Boston loves his Grandma D. and she is pretty crazy about him. I don't think I will ever be able to repay her for all she has done for us, but I sure hope she knows how much we appreciate it and how much we love her. My Mom is so selfless and so willing to serve us. I store my cleaning supplies under my sink and lets just say that she has been the one opening that cupboard the last four months. She can whip out laundry and ironing like its nobodies business. I don't know how she has survived these last four months working two jobs and helping us, but she did. It takes one amazing women to do all she does.

Meet Grandma:
I am the luckiest in the in law department. Seriously mine are awesome. I have always felt so comfortable with them and felt so loved. My Mother in law has come out four times since Carter was born and is coming again on Saturday. Seriously who does that? When she is here we have laundry done, meals cooked, a happy boy, and a whole lot less stress. I know it absolutely kills her to be so far away, but she definitely makes her time here count for the time she isn't. She would do anything for her kids and grandkids and we are all so lucky to have her as a Mom. I can't wait for her to be able to munch on Carter. No Grandma should have to wait four months to hold their Grandson and she has. Bobo and Carter are so lucky!

I could go on forever and say Meet Amy who always says the things I need to hear, or who is an absolutely amazing cook, or who shows up to give me a hug while I cry and completely understands what we are going through. Meet Jamie one of the best friends you could have. Who doesn't give up on you when your social life is pretty much non existent, or who calls just to say hi and I miss you, or demands that she is bringing you dinner on such and such day. Meet Danielle who has left something on our doorstep what feels like every couple days. Boston seriously thinks anything on our door step flyers for window cleaning included is from "Jack's Mom". I could always count on a text saying wahoo for a good day or praying for us on a bad day. Meet our ward who has been absolutely flawless. Every need we have had has been meet. We have had meals from people a couple times a week brought to our house even if they hadn't signed up to bring one.

I think you get my point. WE ARE SO BLESSED!!! If I have learned one thing from this it is that I will be a better person. I will serve more. I will serve when I see the opportunity not only when I have been asked, because I know that it is Heavenly Fathers way of blessing individuals. It was through all these people that our Heavenly Father gave us the strength and endurance to keep going when we thought we couldn't do it for one more day. Thank you for all you have done for us. We love you all!