We were so happy our new little guy was here before Hurricane Irma hit. I didn’t want to go into labor during the storm (let’s be honest, my luck would have had it that way). I wanted us all to be safe, together, either in our home or wherever we decided to evacuate to. But fate had other plans. Early Saturday morning around 1am (about 12 hours before we were to be discharged), Hudsen was getting his 24hr check up, and he threw up blood. I was woken by the nurses telling me they were rushing him to the NICU. They weren’t comfortable with the amount of blood and didn’t want to take any risks. My heart dropped.
We were not going home.
The hardest decision I’ve ever had to make was whether to leave my 2 year old or leave my newborn in the middle of what was to be a category 5 hurricane. I knew both would be in good hands, no matter my decision. Cam (our two year old) would be more than safe with his dad, Todd. And Hudsen was in probably the safest building in all of SWFL with the most capable nurses. But how do you choose? Ultimately I decided to stay with Hudsen at the hospital, and Cam would be with Todd. Each child had a parent, and I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to get to, or get in touch with the hospital during/after the storm, so staying made sense.
Thankfully Irma died quickly once it hit land and was only a category 2 when it hit us, but she did knock out power and cell service. Being at the hospital, I had power and wifi the entire time, but Todd was not so lucky. The last I heard from him was Sunday night around 6:15. I barely slept. The next morning I heard from my parents and my grandparents fairly quickly, but not from Todd. It was almost 14 hours before I heard from him again. It was the best facebook message I ever received.
After no more issues with Hudsen (other than a drain tube down his throat for half a day), we were set to go home on Monday, but our little boy had other plans. He had a bradycardia. His heart rate dropped 3 times in a row, which meant he was going to have to stay in the NICU for another 72 hours to be monitored. I spent the next 3 days going back and forth from our home in Lehigh (which had no power) to the hospital. Normally a 30-40 minute drive was taking quite a bit longer with most of the street lights being out. But I didn’t want to be too far away since cell service wasn’t working either.
Finally, 72 hours later, Hudsen came home, and that night our power came back on.
Fresh 48 Fort Myers Florida

Fresh 48 Fort Myers Florida
Fresh 48 Fort Myers Florida
Fresh 48 Fort Myers Florida
Fresh 48 Fort Myers Florida