On April 26, sweet Louise decided she was ready to be earthside at just 34 weeks gestation. She was breech and had to be delivered via C-section just two short hours after we arrived at the hospital. Her little lungs were underdeveloped and required a ventilator for several days. She had a few episodes where she forgot to breathe. She had a feeding tube as well. She had to practice eating without her NG tube and had to learn to regulate her temperature, breathe, and eat at the same time.

Meanwhile, after Louise’s birth, I developed a headache that would not let up. I wasn’t able to be with her much for the first 4 days of her life. Eventually, we ended up in the ER where the doctor diagnosed me with a lumbar-puncture headache. I had a procedure called a blood patch and have been able to be with Louise ever since. 
Louise worked hard and was able to come home and complete our family on May 8th, after roughly 12 days in the NICU. Her big brother was over the moon to have her home! 
Our family wasn’t quite prepared for Louise to make her arrival so soon, and we definitely weren’t prepared for an indefinite NICU stay. The medical bills for her stay and mine are significantly more than we anticipated when we planned this pregnancy.
We’re so lucky things turned out the way they did and we are so thankful for the doctors and nurses at Sanford in Bismarck.