Clint's Story

It all began when our precious little baby wanted to enter our world three months before he was due. I remember that morning I woke having some contractions. They weren't painful, but I thought I should go get checked out because I had gone into labor early with Taylor @ 32 weeks. So I was going to catch it early this time. I had gone to the hospital alone hoping that they would just give me some medicine to stop the contractions. Needless to say when I got there my contractions got harder and more painful. The nurse checked me and said I was dilated to a seven and that we were having a baby. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I was alone and my doctor wasn't even there because it was too early. They tried everything they could to keep clint from coming but he was on his way. Mason and the doctor got there just in time for the delivery. When Clint arrived I heard him cry, that was the best sound I have ever heard. They rushed him out of the room to start working on him. He weighed 2 lbs 6 oz and was 14 inches long.

The doctor came in and said he was doing very well for how little he was. And for him to cry like he did was a good sign. He said a lot of babies that are that small usually have to have CPR. And clint was trying to breath on his own.

He had also said that they would have to life flight him to another hospital because he was so small and would require a lot of attention.

This was the first time I saw him. They had put him in this plastic bag to help protect him because his skin was still so fragile. I put my finger in to touch him and he grabbed it. From that moment on I knew he was going to be a fighter.

I got released from the hospital a few hours later and was able to go hold my baby for the first time.

This was the first time Taylor had seen her brother. She was a little scared at first and really didn't know what to think.

The next three months were like a roller coaster ride. He would be doing so well and than he would have set backs.He got an infection when he was a week old and dropped below 2 lbs. He was so skinny and he didn't look very well. He also had heart surgery to close his PDA. So needless to say those first few weeks of life were very stressful for both clint and us.

There were days I couldn't hold him because it would stress him out too much. And when they would poke him with needles (which happen frequently) and make him cry the only thing I could do was put my hand on his head and and talk to him. This always seemed to calm him down. But it was so hard to watch your little baby cry and not be able to pick him up to comfort him. But knowing by just touching his head he knew I was there and would settle right down was one of the things that would keep me going.

I was the only one who could hold him because he was so little he couldn't hold his temperature up by himself. And they say that mothers, if they hold the baby skin on skin can help maintain the babies temperature. I thought that was pretty interesting.

This is a picture of him in a head box. He had to use this for awhile because his nose was getting dried up from the oxygen tubes. ...."Greeting Earthlings, take me to your leader.".....

This is Mason and I giving him his sponge bath.

Clint had a lot of visitors, some came as far away as Florida and Texas. He also had regular visitors that came almost every day like his grandma Stevens. There were also those who couldn't visit but helped us out by watching Taylor, which was a huge help.

I love this picture. Clint isn't sure who is holding him.

Mason was clint for halloween and Taylor was his nurse. This has to be one of the best costumes he has done.

This is us getting ready to go home after 3 months of being in the hospital. We were nervous that we wouldn't be able to find a car seat small enough to fit little Clint. Luckily we were able to stuff some rags on the sides of his head to help us be able to go home. There is no way to put into words the Joy that filled our hearts when we were finally able to take our baby home! To be together again as a family at home. It was the greatest Christmas Gift we have ever received.

Being at the hospital for that long was really hard on our family. It has absolutely been the greatest trial in our lives. But we feel we have been blessed so much throughout this whole thing. We have had so much love and support from family and friends, and have felt many prayers in our behalf. We know we couldn't have gone through this experience without them, words can't express how grateful we are for all they have done for us. We will be forever in their debt.

Clint is doing so well now, we can barely believe where he started. He has truly made our family grow closer together and put our faith to the test. We thank Heavenly Father everyday for sending us such a special spirit. The greatest gifts and blessings in this world is our families and our health.