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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

1 week checkup

Today was William’s last day of being home, so I ran Miles to his one week checkup appointment by himself.  This is how he feels about his car seat:photo 2 (2)We couldn’t get into Dr. Melvin, so we saw Dr. Tripathy.  She was the pediatrician we switched from.  The appointment confirmed my first thoughts on her – very thorough and knowledgeable, but all business.photo 4-001He’s above his birth weight at 9lbs, 15oz!  She said his everything looked great, even his circumcision.  While checking his cleft palate, she could barely see it without pushing his tongue way down.  We’re going to check in with Dr. Melvin at his one month and possibly get a referral to a specialist so we can know what the future possibly holds on that front.  It has had ZERO impact on his eating/breathing right now.  Thank you God!photo 2 (1)blog-signature-1

Monday, May 26, 2014

First Outing with 3!

We decided to keep with the tradition of seeing some animals just a day or two after we get home with a baby.  Saturday was opening day of one of local favorites, Prairie Farms.  Who can say no to free adorable farm animals?  It took a little longer and a few more trips back inside for forgotten items, but we made it out the door with 3!IMG_2136 IMG_2138 We ran into Jeff, Holly, Keira, Caden, and their new sister Zoey!  It was fun to quickly catch up on birth stories.  Ellie and Owen were quite independent as we walked around the farm.IMG_2143 IMG_2145 These 3 kiddos are mine.  Whoa.IMG_2150 IMG_2151 IMG_2156 There was a snow cone truck parked close to the entrance and I’m a sucker for nostalgic thing like ice cream trucks, even when cups of ice are $3 a piece.  Ellie was SO excited to get her cup.  IMG_2161IMG_2164We had fun just sitting and letting these two be goofy!  All in all, a great first family outing!Picture 1966IMG_2182 IMG_2198 blog-signature-1

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Miles’ Going Home Day!

Friday, May 23rd was a good day!  When the doctors did morning rounds, I asked begged that we be allowed to go home.  Dr. Stratton agreed!  The last thing on this little guy’s list was his circumcision.  Save the worst pain for last, right?IMG_2075Around 11, a very nice doctor came and explained the procedure and I signed consent papers.  The nurse gave me a meal ticket .  I ran downstairs to the cafeteria and grabbed a quick bite and got back upstairs just as Miles was getting back.  Now all we had to do was wait until he peed.  Wouldn’t you know…my child would take 4 HOURS to simply pee.  We nursed and nursed and checked his diaper again and again, nothing.  The second he peed, the nurse swung into action and we were ready to leave in about 5 minutes!
Since William had the kids, it was easier for me to just drive him home myself.  They don’t let you carry the car seat out, so he got his first wagon ride down while I went and pulled up the van.IMG_2082 IMG_2083 IMG_2085We got loaded up and I thanked God as we drove away from our home away from home.IMG_2087When I got home, Anne D was just leaving after dropping off a delicious meal and diapers!  Owen and Ellie attacked the car seat the second we walked in the door.IMG_2093 Owen wasn’t too interested in holding him.IMG_2100Daddy sure was though!IMG_2117IMG_2124He finally got a little wash down and I tried my best to get all the little tape off him left from all his wires.Picture 1958 Picture 1961William had a hard time letting him go as he had barely seen the little man all week.IMG_2130We are so thankful for the amazing care he received in the NICU.  But we are even more thankful to be home!
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Saturday, May 24, 2014

Miles’ NICU week – Wednesday & Thursday

Wednesday morning when the doctor’s did their rounds we got some more news about what would keep Miles here for at least another day.  On top of the meconium, cleft palate, and jaundice he was also dealing with ABO incompatibility.  His blood type and mine were fighting each other and combined with his high bilirubin count, he was having a hard time flushing my blood out of his system.  This would just take time, breastfeeding, and lots of peeing and pooping to resolve itself.  If it got worse, there were 1 or 2 meds he would have to have.

This is a picture of our little world for the week.  We actually had one of the best little spots there.  We were tucked in the back away from lots of other babies and had a window.  It was easy to pump and nurse and not feel like we were in the middle of everything.
IMG_2059IMG_2060Our view out the window. IMG_2077 Wednesday was mostly spent looking at my sweet boy like this.  They let me demand feed him whenever he got restless.  We would nurse and snuggle and then he’d get furious as we put the mask back on and he went back under the lights.IMG_2061 IMG_2058One thing that I actually thanked God a lot for was this little week of time with just Miles and me.  I got to snuggle and sit and stare at him for almost a whole week with no other children asking for my attention.  When does that ever happen with kid #3?!Picture 1933 This day, I proudly wore the necklace I bought for myself got for Mother’s Day.  Picture 1934 I was discharged Wednesday at 4:12.  They had let me stay the extra day just to try and help with me not having to figure out how to get to and from the NICU.  Wednesday night (and Thursday), I ran home for dinner, see Owen and Ellie, and help with bath and bedtimes.  Then I ran back to the NICU until a feeding around 11:30.  Then I headed home to sleep/pump.  I’m not quite sure how mom’s do it when their babies are in the NICU for a long period of time.  So much respect for them!
I arrived back at the NICU around 8 on Thursday morning.  I was so excited when his nurse told me that this was his last session under the lights!Picture 1935YAY for being one step closer to breaking free.  We were praying it would be the day we got to go home.  The doctors came around once in the morning around 10 and once in the evening around 9 to do rounds.  It was neat to see several doctors, nurses, dieticians, and specialists work together and make decisions on each baby everyday.  Dr. Stratton said he still needed to see his bili numbers be stable for 24 hours and see his ABO incompatibility numbers come down some more.  Disappointing but getting closer!Picture 1939 Picture 1942Thursday was just a quiet day of nursing and cuddling.  That afternoon, Miles was finally transferred to a crib!  A volunteer made tons of little “name plates” and the nurses add the names and attach one to each baby’s area.  When she attached his, I had to share with her how much Owen loves cows and how perfect it was that she had picked that one.IMG_2066 IMG_2070That night I went home a bit earlier (around 10) because I had finally started pumping enough milk to get him through 3 feedings.  And he finally got to wear some real jammies to bed!Picture 1945   blog-signature-1

Miles’ NICU week - Tuesday

Throughout our first night stay at Carle, I was that mom who called up to the NICU every time I got up to pump.  His nurse, Amber ,was so kind and thorough in telling me what was happening and how he was doing.  At about 5am, I just couldn’t handle it anymore and asked to go upstairs while William snored slept on.  I got some great skin to skin time and it was wonderful to see him without a tube in his nose (he still had one in his mouth and about 4 attached other places).Picture 1901Picture 1904After our snuggles, the nurse said she needed to change his IV line (can’t quite remember the reason why).  She attempted 2 times to find a new vein.  Then she called another nurse who tried twice.  At this point I was pretty much in tears.  Policy is if they try 4 times, they have to call the charge nurse (the lady in the middle in this picture).  She warned me that if she couldn’t get it in they would likely have to put an IV in his head where babies have great veins the tubes don’t get in the way as much.  I prayed and prayed and she was able to get a vein on her first attempt.  Thank you Jesus!Picture 1902By the time I got back after eating breakfast, my little guy was starting to look quite yellow.  After talking with the nurse, his bilirubin was continuing to climb so it looked like some phototherapy was going to be in order for later in the day.IMG_2038At about 10am, while William and I were both up there I FINALLY got my first chance to breastfeed him.  Even with his little tub in his mouth, he latched on and nursed like a champ.  Tears.  (see a recurring theme?)Picture 1909 Picture 1916My mom came up around 1:30 to get some much deserved first-time Grandma snuggles.IMG_2043 Later in the day, William and my parents brought the kiddos to the hospital.  Because it’s not flu season, they allowed children older than 3 into the NICU so I was able to see my sweet Owen!  He was pretty overwhelmed with everything going on the NICU so he didn’t really want anything to do with Miles.IMG_2046 IMG_2049He just acted goofy and very clingy.  So I took him back down to my room and got some good Ellie cuddles.  It’s amazing how much I missed them through all of this!  William stayed through dinner time and we enjoyed our special “new moms and dad” dinner which actually wasn’t too terrible for hospital steak.  He headed back home since my parents needed to get on the road and I went back upstairs.

Because Miles proved that he could latch and drink and his cleft wasn’t going to prove a problem, after lunch his feeding tube was removed!Picture 1920At 10:20pm, they got him prepped for his first time under the phototherapy lights.  He HATED the mask but calmed down thankfully before I left him for the night.  Picture 1923Picture 1927Probably one of my biggest frustrations on Tuesday was seeing how little colostrum I was pumping.  THIS IS TOTALLY NORMAL!  But never had I seen it being pumped out.  With Owen and Ellie I just nursed and trusted they were getting enough.

In the ounce-driven world of the NICU, I knew that he would be getting a little formula that night.  Thankfully, the “seasoned” momma bear in me was able to be ok with this.  My motto became – whatever gets him out of here the fastest!
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