The rest of our hospital stay was semi-uneventful. Since I seem to keep everything "complicated and interesting" baby girl decided to follow in my foot steps. Our first night with baby girl went pretty well. We didn't get to sleep until after 1am, but luckily she was a good baby and we all got some sleep. I learned early on that baby girl loves to be touched. When she's upset you can just lay your hand on her chest or touch her forehead and she calms down. #sosweet Poor little baby did keep spitting up/gagging on clear fluid that the nurse said was amniotic fluid. Being the nurse I am, I of course worried about her choking/aspirating. Luckily, I would hear her making funny noises in time to get it suctioned out of her mouth. {I say we got sleep....haha....I should say Gordon got some sleep and I closed my eyes. Life of a mommy.}
The first thing I did Saturday morning was order breakfast!!! I hadn't eaten since Thursday night, and this mama was hungry! Around 9am the nurse came in to do Anna Grace's 24 hour bili check, her hearing test was done around this time and I finally got to take a shower. She failed the hearing test in her right ear but the next day eventually passed. Unfortunately, her bili level came back critically high. They came in and told us the bad news around noon. Soon after she was placed under the bili lights and on a bili blanket. We weren't able to have the in hospital pictures done since she had to stay under the lights as much as possible. :( I had put so much thought into the outfits I picked for her hospital stay....instead baby girl could only wear a diaper while she was under the lights. *Again, that's what I get for planning.* I could still hold Anna Grace to feed her as long as I kept the blanket under her.
As you can imagine, no newborn wants to be uncovered, unswaddled and not held. This made the next 20 hours hard. William had to be under the bili light as well. The difference is, he was hooked to monitors that told us his heart rate etc so he could be placed on his belly. Whatever made him happy we did (and he was negative two months old). This was obviously not the case with Anna Grace. I was able to keep baby girl calm most of the day but the night time was a different story. Her stylish sunglasses were bugging her and her little arms were just flailing all around. There wasn't much sleeping going on in our room that night. Gordon and I did have a nice evening watching the Texas Tech game and eating our "celebratory dinner" from the hospital. After some tears that night and lots of prayers that her bili level would be low enough to stop the lights, my prayers were answered. At 48 hours old her bili level was actually the same but since she was older it wasn't in the critically high range {more on why Anna Grace's bilirubin was high in my next post}. She also passed the oxygen test that they now do (to test for possible heart problems). Once Anna Grace and I were each seen by our doctors we were given the okay to go home!!!!
William and I had a hard time saying goodbye to each other on Anna Grace's birthday. So, we decided to not have him visit on Saturday. Instead, he had a super fun day with my mom! As soon as we got the okay to go home my mom and William headed to the hospital. Seeing my little William made a great day even happier!
{A bili blanket is better than the NICU} {Our sweet baby girl} {Getting some sun}
{Baby girl in her first dress} {Proud big brother is ready to bring her home.} {Day 1: meeting sister}
{Packing up to head home} {My little helper pushing us to the car}
The drive home went great. I think Gordon and I were in shock to be driving her home only 50 hours after having her! Such a blessing. My mom picked some lunch up for us and then we all laid down for a much needed nap. It was one of the happiest Sundays I've ever had.
On our drive home Blake Shelton's song Mine Would Be You came on the radio. I love, love, love this song.
Baby, if I had to choose
My best day ever
My finest hour, my wildest dream come true
Mine would be you
What's the greatest chapter in your book?
I asked Gordon what his greatest chapter was....as we drove down the road with our two little lovies he told me he was living it right now. I couldn't agree more! I know it's weird that I refer to songs so often....for whatever reason they help me remember special moments, and this day folks will always be one close to my heart.
You forget how tiny they are | My whole world in one car | Nothing sweeter than this!
Holding baby sister | Can you tell he's happy?!? | Night #1, night night angel
To say that William loves this little girl is a drastic understatement. I knew he'd like her but I had no idea just how much. He was instantly in love with her. It gives the saying love at first sight a whole new meaning. Nothing has ever made my heart happier than seeing him kiss her and whisper, "I love you, Anna Grace." Life is good. God has been good to us. The stressful pregnancy and scary delivery were so worth this precious little gift!!!
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