CJ

Collin J VanBibber

            Robert and Stacey are proud parents of a cute, sweet 1 lb 4 oz, 12 in long baby boy.  Collin J VanBibber was born September 25^th, 2011 at 9:59pm.  He was born very unexpectedly after mom, Stacey, followed her feelings and went to the hospital because ‘things just didn’t seem right’.  Even the doctor wanted to know what made her come.  The spirit speaks in many different ways.  We attribute the healthiness of our young son to that spirit and to our Heavenly Father for bringing us to the hospital where there were many doctors and nurses that could help Collin in his earliest minutes, and days.

            Mom got to change Collin’s diaper on the 26^th of September.  Can you believe it, so tiny; his diaper is the size of a cell phone.  Mom and Dad have great hope and faith for their little prince. Collin is doing very well for where he is at.  Collin has a PDA in his heart.  That is the artery that bypasses the lungs while babies are in the womb but closes at birth.  Collin is so small that his didn’t close.  They are going to try medicine to see if this helps.  We hope.

            On September 27^th, Collin was having a little problem with his blood pressure but with the doctors and nurses help he is doing well, and they are keeping it under control.  This is what they are concentrating on today. They made a name tag for Collin today.  He is no longer Baby boy VanBibber.  He is Collin.  What a proud moment, kidding.  But it really is exciting.  An ultrasound was done today on Collin’s brain to check for fluids.  He has a small grade 1 brain bleed.  Doctors not too concerned.  Robert gave Collin a name and a blessing tonight before we left the hospital.  It was wonderful. It calmed me even more because of what Robert said in the blessing. He started the blessing with ‘If it be Thy will, please bless…’.  I think it also calmed the two of us for his surgery even though we didn't know that Collin was going to have surgery at the time. I love both my husband and my little guy Collin, and I am very proud of both of them.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011, Collin is three days old now. Seems like forever….not really but…really.  Dad got to hold Collin up for a minute while they weighed him and changed his diaper and then he grabbed mom’s finger.   Awesome! The hospital said that he is stable and doing well, they are weaning him off the blood pressure medicine to see what happens.  The doctor is very pleased with how he is doing.  Thank you everyone for all your support and prayers.  Keep them up please.  We love you.

            Collin is still stable and doing good today, September 29^th.  Today we find out about his heart, to see if the medicine help close the PDA.  The medication didn’t work.  The PDA is still open. What a letdown….but he is still a fighter and doing very well. 

            September 30^th, Collin is our big fighter and will continue to fight and we know he will come home with us.  We love him very much and are so proud of his progress.  They found a small grade 4 brain bleed today.  They doctor says it might cause brain damage, or it may not. There is no sign of anything like that.  Collin is very responsive.  I got a calm feeling as the doctor was explaining things to us. The doctors are keeping a close eye on it, but they are very pleased with how he is doing.  It is hard on mom because even though I know everything will be alright.  I just can’t hold him or even touch him right now because I might have a cold or something.  I am being very cautious. 

            October 1^st, Collin is doing great.  He is looking a lot better.  They have lowered his oxygen and he is not on any antibiotics and there is no sign of infections.  He has been on and off blood pressure medicine, but he is doing a lot better than before, which is good.  Thank you everyone…..Thanks, thanks, thanks.  Another first, they started to feed him today.  Just a little, but go Collin.

            October 2^nd, Collin is still doing good today.  He is very stable.  We had a scare tonight.  At about 11pm Collin’s blood pressure started dropping into the teens.  It’s supposed to be between 25 and 30.  They turned up his blood pressure medicine and gave him another one and were finally able to stabilize him.  Wow, real scary, awful.  We and some of our family fasted today for Collin, that his heart might repair itself, that his brain bleeds will decrease.  Thank you Heavenly Father for all we have received already.  We have a very long road ahead of us, but we will make it through with the Lords help.  Collin, mommy and daddy love you so very much. 

            October 3^rd, Collin has been stable since last night, this is good.  They did another ultra sound on his brain today.  The doctor thinks maybe the bleeds are shrinking.  Wouldn’t that be a miracle.  Of course this whole week, everything, has been one continual miracle.  The Lord really is in control.  Collin has a 2.5 brain bleed, but the grade 4 is gone.  They don’t think it was ever there.  Right…but his PDA is still there.  Collin is scheduled for surgery tomorrow midmorning.   It’s amazing how Collin seems more calm and stable whenever I and/or Robert are with him.  He really knows we are here.

            October 4^th, Collin’s heart operation didn’t happen until around 2 o’clock.  He did very well.  The clamp that they used was so very tiny.  They gave me one to put in his baby book.  They had him off one of his blood pressure medicines before we were even allowed back to see him and the 2^nd one they took off when we went in.  His heart is working…..yea.  He will be sleeping mostly for the next 24 to 48 hours but he is doing awesome.

October 6^th, they put Collin on his tummy today. He is doing very well.  He is stable and down on his oxygen.  They only have one light on him, and his incision looks good.  Can you believe the blessings… They put him on his tummy and he seems to love it. The doctor says there is no change, Collin seems to be doing really well.

            October 7, Collin is doing good, just got a call from the doctor, Collin is doing well off the lights, they may have to him back on but he is off them for now, he is down a little on the ventilator also.  His oxygen is down.  They may start feeding him today,  and Collin is very active. Collin looks so good today. He is less swollen and his skin looks so good. He looks tinier. Collin's nurse said that his swelling went down a little today. With the fluids Collin gets, he kind of ballooned up but he is only a swollen around his neck and it went down a lot!  I think Collin is looking more and more like a baby and not so fragile. Every time I see him I think he looks great, his skin looks good, he is looking more like a baby. He has always looked like a baby, but not real somehow.  More like a doll or something.  Collin is getting so smart.  When Robert and I got to the hospital last night Collin didn’t have his hat on.  We asked the nurse and she promised that it was just on him.  She rushed over and fixed it.  While Robert and I were sitting there watching him and talking, Collin lifted up his hand and pushed his hat off again, it was really cute. We are so proud of you Collin…. keep up the great work. We love you so much!  Wow, we received Collins social security card in the mail today…talk about fast work.

            October 9^th, Collin is 2 weeks old today.  I just called Vicki, Collins nurse.  She said Collin is doing well, and looks really good, not so puffy anymore from all the fluids. We are so proud of Collin, in just 2 weeks our little boy has come so far. He is starting to look like a little baby and not so fragile. He is so cute and tiny. He is still off the lights that were for jaundice.  He has been off them for 3 days now.

    October 9^th, I am more grateful than ever for my little family and the gospel. I know the church is true, and that President Monson is a true prophet. I am very close to our Heavenly Father and look forward to getting closer. I know how powerful priesthood blessings are and I know that blessings really work. The day Collin was born, Robert gave me a blessing telling me I would give birth to a healthy baby boy, and I believed what he said.  It was true and is coming true. Robert also got a blessing. Our blessing helped us out so much.  They calmed us both. When Collin was 3 days old Robert was able to give him a name and a blessing and it was so powerful that it also calmed me down and after both mine and Collin's blessings I knew everything was/is going to be fine. I love my husband very much and am very grateful for him. I am so grateful that we have our little son Collin and am grateful that he is a part of our lives; I wouldn't have it any other way. I am grateful for Collin and how far he has come in just 2 weeks. I love him very much. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.  Stacey Dawn VanBibber

      October 10^th, Collin is getting so smart, and you can see his little personality coming. He is smart because he pushes his hat off all the time, he loves pushing he's hat off.  He has pulled one of his probes off his tummy. Collin's personality is so cute, he was on his tummy and I was changing his diaper and (he had his first poop) anyway while I was changing him, he kept going onto his knees, then stretching them out. He is getting cuter and cuter. He is getting smarter and smarter. We are still very proud of him and love Collin very much.
We talked with Dr. Cheatham and he showed me the head ultrasound and it is looking a lot better than last weeks, the brain bleed looks like it’s a smaller, it’s still there, but it kind of looks like it may be getting smaller. It looks way good. Keep up the good work sweetie. Love you!