Week 4 in the NICU

Saturday, May 12th:  We had a pretty laid back day today.  Gordon went to the gym and the grocery store while I hung out at the hospital.  Our original plan was to only give William 5 or 6 bottles a day but the little guy had plans of his own today.  I guess you could say today was the day "the light bulb came on".  When it was time for his next feeding I'd take his temperature and change his diaper and notice that he was acting different....he usually acted hungry (crying/acting restless) but now he was shoving his hands in his mouth and moving his head side to side.  The nurse noticed this too so we decided to try a bottle instead of giving him the milk through the tube.  He sucked down all 43 cc in less than 20 minutes!  He was eating faster and not acting so exhausted afterwards.   YAY for progress.  :) 
Dr. Hankins was on service all weekend so Gordon finally got to meet him.  When I told him we planned on doing the car seat test next Friday he told me to move it up because he didn't think we'd still be in the hospital!!!  He also said we could go ahead and do the circumcision on Sunday or Monday. 
 
Weight = 4 lb 9 oz

Sunday, May 13th:  Today was another great day.  William got the tube out of his nose at 3pm and it was Mother's Day!  William also nursed for the first time today and received his Hep B shot.  He cries more when we take his temperature under his arm than when he gets a shot or stuck for labs!  Today was a great day. 

Weight = 4 lb 9.5 oz

Monday, May 14th:  William had a good night.  He has continued to do a wonderful job eating so we haven't had to put in another feeding tube.  Today was the first day he had to actually drink his daily vitamin.  The nurses had been giving it to him through the tube (since it smells and tastes yuck).  I mixed the vitamin in with a little less than half of his 9am bottle.  He drank it all but as soon as I sat him up to burp it all came back up.  He was able to drink the rest of the bottle without a problem (and kept it down).  I'll have to try something different tomorrow morning. 
Dr. Little did his circumcision at 1:00 and baby boy did wonderful.  He didn't even cry (the lidocaine and sucrose probably has something to do with that).  We also rescheduled our car seat test for Tuesday since it looks like William will get to go home on Wednesday.  Occupational Therapy came back by today and put William in his car seat to see if they thought he would fit okay...and he did! 

Weight = 4 lb 9 oz

Loving listening to music!

Tuesday, May 15th:  Today was SO busy!  Dr. Welty said we can go home TOMORROW.  YIPEE!  Occupational Therapy came by at 10:00 for car seat education.  They showed me how to put William in his car seat and then I had to do it myself.  He's so tiny so getting all the straps tight enough can be tricky.  After that the OT girl went to the car with me and showed me how to properly put the base in.  I'm so glad I got the car seat education because I had no clue how to put the base in and after seeing how everything is supposed to be done I'm pretty sure 90% of people do it wrong.  I got back to William's room just in time for his first photo session.  The hospital has a photographer that comes around and takes pictures of the babies before they go home.  She came right before his noon feeding so he wasn't too happy.  It was great to have him unhooked from the heart monitor and Gordon even made it to the room in time to get in a couple of the pictures.  After lunch I ran by the house to grab some things and went to Babies R Us to get some baby essentials.  I am one of the most organized people I know so being on bed rest for a month and then stuck in the hospital for another month has driven me crazy.  I always thought I'd be more prepared before I brought him home.  OH WELL....at least we are getting to bring him home!  That night they did the actual car seat test.  We started at 11pm and ended at 12:30am.  He had a short episode of bradycardia at the very beginning and the nurse said if he did it again we'd have to try again in the morning.  He cried the first 30 minutes and slept the last 30.  I did everything I could think of to keep him calm as I sat there on the hard floor next to the car seat.....I played a lullaby CD, held his pacifier in his mouth.  rubbed his little forehead so he would fall asleep and at one point was praying out loud that he would pass.  It was the longest 90 minutes of my life.  Thankfully he passed and at 2am I finally went to bed for the night.  :)

Weight = 4 lb 12.5 oz

I found my thumb!

Wednesday, May 16th:  Today is the day I've thought about for YEARS.  Bringing my baby home.  Gordon and I will never forget this special day.  At 10:37 Dr. Welty said the words I've waited so long to hear....YOU ARE FREE TO TAKE YOUR BABY HOME!  I cried when he left the room. :)