Born @ 27 weeks
2lbs 7oz

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Happy First Birthday, Baby Shaw!


And so the day came...

After weeks in the hospital and living in fear, our PBR "Precious Baby Richter" arrived - all 2 lbs. 7oz of him. On February 7th, 2011 at 5am, we had a chance to meet this wee one. And his story began...

I think back to that day - those moments of not knowing if he made it or when we could meet him, since he was wheeled off at birth, in a frantic fury surrounded by doctors and nurses. Michael and I were stuck for hours in the recovery room, from a messy procedure. I remember Michael begging to let us meet our baby. 

Finally, there he was - our sweet baby boy. Nameless, skin bright red, alarms sounding, attached to a million tubes and wires - I could no longer protect. We couldn't touch him, only stare in awe at him through a plate of glass. 

And then the miracles began... The prayer shawl arrived, the fighting started. The hope, the prayers, watching this little one overcome obstacle after obstacle. We had the unique privilege of watching our son develop and the talented team that helped him along. Michael and I spent 122 days in the hospital (actually 365 days so far) marveling over what this child can accomplish. He truly is extraordinary.

One year later, there is so much to celebrate. Michael and I wrestled with how best to spend such an ‘epic’ milestone. We have had so much support from friends and family this year, we tossed around the idea of having a huge party. But after further consideration, we thought about how significant this day was one year ago. All of a sudden, we knew exactly how we wanted to celebrate Shaw’s first birthday – surrounded by his NICU nurses.

Trying to wrangle nurses away from their twelve-hour work schedules is challenging, not to mention coordinating having such talent off work all on the same day is next to impossible. But we were so touched and moved to tears to learn that these extremely special ladies would take their day (or in some cases, take a day off work) to be able to share Shaw’s birthday. These women were Shaw's mother(s), when I could not be. While we feel so comfortable with them - like family - we also are so honored that they cared for our child, nursing him with love and compassion. How can you possibly thank someone for that?


Shaw's birthday celebration was perfect (minus Meredith, Deb & Annie)! Julie, Lisa, Lenore and their families joined us as we oohed and ahhed about how far Shaw has come (and his signature single tuft of hair). We know that each of these spectacular women were placed in our lives for specific reasons. Julie, a mother to three boys, spent hours in the middle of the nights telling us stories about what it feels like to be a Momma to boys. For her to bring her beautiful boys to meet Shaw was a true testament to the respect we have for her. 


We look at our son today and are reminded of the support we received this last year. We are indebted to so many. Thank you for carrying us through this journey. 


PS - Do you know what Shaw gave me for HIS birthday? Today, he said, "MaMa". :)


Happy Birthday, Baby Shaw! 


Avery Shaw Richter - 2lbs 7oz


Birthday Boy unsure of his first hand full of icing 
(and sporting the homemade crown from his brother)


SuperMoms: Julie, Lenore & Lisa

 
Nash with his new (and tolerant) buddies: Scotty, Grant & Connor

1 comment:

n.mowery said...

This is a beautiful tribute to Shaw on his 1st Birthday. It has been a rough year for all of you. He is a little fighter!! He is our little Miracle Baby!!