Home Sweet Home

Today was our second day home and everything is going lovely.

We were discharged yesterday afternoon and we were sooo anxious to just be under one roof. Maeve slept until about 4 and then she sort of went a little nutso. She was so overwhelmed, I think, by all of the noises and lights and things around her and she just couldn't settle. It was sort of a comical night, something out of Malcolm in the Middle. We put Maeve down to sleep and then went to work on Noah. He wanted the rocker in her room. She started crying and so Paul went in to get her. I had to go to the bathroom and Noah went in with Paul. They literally went back and forth like this for about a half hour which seemed much longer than it was. Finally everyone calmed down and then of course the dog started barking!!!!

The doctor told me not to let her sleep more than 5 hours because she lost so much weight in the NICU. She needs to be eating and gaining. So, she went to sleep at 10 and I had to go in and wake her up at 3:30... pretty cool. She went right back down and slept until 7 this morning. I am definitely not getting my hopes up for that scenario every night but it was certainly a welcome first night home. All day today she has put herself on a very very routine 3 hour eating schedule and just sleeps the whole time in between. She hasn't made a peep all day.

Everything is going wonderfully. We really appreciate all of the wonderful phone calls and visits and food and gifts. We feel sooo blessed and loved!

Our recent pictures are now up on flickr -- click on recent photos.

Maeve, Day 6

Can you believe tomorrow Maeve will be 7 days old? and she hasn't seen home yet! What a whirlwind week.

In any case, today was another GREAT day. Yesterday they put her back on oxygen and she had a few episodes. Today at 7am they took her off again and she did GREAT all day long. Her jaundice levels were down, her heart rate was stable, she is eating well and pooping well (marks of health). She lost a considerable amount of weight in the NICU and was down in the 5 lb range but her weight this morning was up again at 6 lbs so that was another thing to celebrate. When the doctors did rounds today they said that if she could remain stable all day she could go home tomorrow. She did fine today and so I am just praying the night goes well also. They did all the prep to send her home today. She had to have a preemie car seat check which involved her having to sit in her car seat for over an hour hooked up to her oxygen and heart monitors. This is to make sure the car seat doesn't obstruct her ability to breathe or maintain stability. She passed that test with just one small dip in oxygen. She passed her hearing test and got her shots.... so barring anything tonight, she'll get to come home tomorrow!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

Thanks for all of your prayers and love... we are so blessed.

Maeve, day 5

Soooo. This post will be different because my laptop crashed and I have to use only my phone....
Yesterday Maeve did really well. She was taken off oxygen completely and she had some really good feedings. Her jaundice levels were a little high so they did some bloodwork that should come back this morning. She was often very alert and very calm. I had to go home last night because the family room was not free.

When I got back this morning her oxygen was back on. Apparently her pulse oxygen and heart rate kept dipping which means she is struggling to regulate her systems on her own. 2 steps forward 1 step back.

After sitting in this chair for 14 hours yesterday I really started to lose it. I did get a surprise visit from a friend who bought me coffee in the morning which was really nice. I really don't like to leave her side if I don't have to.

I have a bible on my phone with daily readings and yesterdays reading was Hannah praying in Samuel about God's greatness in providing children and then it went on for many many verses proclaiming the greatness of Jehovah. Some of you might know the song with the refrain "there's no God like Jehovah" and I have it lodged in my head. I can't wait to see what God has in store for my little warrior princess.

In the meantime pray for maeve but also for Noah who is struggling with the loss of his normal life. I just want us all to be home!!!!!

Maeve, Day 3

Today was a fantastic day. I woke up and headed down to the NICU. When I got there I nearly jumped out of my skin! Maeve was off of the CPAP valve and out of the warming bed. She had only the oxygen cannula in her nose and her IV in her foot. I just picked her up immediately, hoping it was okay. The nurse came over a little while later and told us that they tried to take off the oxygen as well but she didn't tolerate that. She immediately started breathing rapidly and so they had to at least keep that on. Paul showed up shortly thereafter and he finally got to hold her as well. After a little while the nurse asked if I wanted to try to feed her. We took a shot at it and got her to latch on again which she did, but she was getting all of her food through the IV so she wasn't hungry and primarily slept. They said we could try again later. We headed to get some lunch and coffee and then headed back again. After a little while they invited us to change her diaper again and to take her temperature. They cut her IV nutrients in half to make her a little more hungry and we tried to feed her again. She did okay, but kept falling asleep. We were very pleased with the whole experience.

I was pretty bummed about the whole situation of going home. I was discharged today and I was just so sad to think that I would be an hour away from her all night long. Paul was going to leave and get Noah and bring him back for dinner and to see Maeve and then we were all going to go home. When the nurses heard that we lived so far away they told us about the Family Rooms that they offered. There are only 2 of them and they are generally reserved for families with babies in critical condition. The nurse went to check and neither of them was reserved for the night, so they put my name in. I could get bumped at any time before 8pm if there is someone with greater need.

So, we changed our plans and both headed home to get Noah from preschool. We ate dinner with him and played with him a bit and I gathered some clean clothes and headed back to the hospital.

I raced in to see Maeve and they had just finished feeding her with the bottle which was a bummer. But, the good news is that they took out her IV while I was gone and now she will try to receive all food by mouth which should change her reactions to feeding, since she won't have a constant flow of nutrients. I asked about the oxygen and they said they weren't going to try to take her off again today, maybe tomorrow. So, that's the status as of now.... what an exciting day!!!!!!!

Maeve, Day 2

Today was a great day and a rough day all rolled into one. Paul and I got to sleep a full 10 hours last night which was desperately needed. We ate breakfast and headed down to the NICU. We had an awesome nurse today who spent so much time with us. She let us change Maeve's diaper and take her temperature and be a little more hands on. We were there for rounds and got to talk to the three doctors who are monitoring her. Basically her breathing is still very strained and uneven, even with the CPAP in. So, they have to keep it in until she smooths out her breathing patterns. Once she is off of that (which is the blue tube you see in the pictures) she will move to just Oxygen. She cannot come home until she is off of oxygen for 24 hours. So, he said at least Wednesday, maybe as late as Friday. In addition to the breathing issues, she has not eaten by mouth since her birth so she also has to pass all of the feeding and digesting tests that won't start until she is off CPAP. I asked if I could feed her the breast milk we are pumping when it is time to feed her and they said that I can't feed her right away in case she aspirates or something goes haywire. They'll let me feed her a few hours after they know she can handle food by mouth. She'll only be fed by medicine dropper at first. So, that wasn't the most encouraging outlook. The thought of going home without her tomorrow is devastating... we live quite a hike from Christiana!

So, in the afternoon some of our relatives came to see her which was really nice. Noah got to see her again and he gets so excited, it's adorable to watch. When he's in my room he just wants to be under my arm, snuggling in my bed. We miss each other a lot.... Paul went home with him tonight to play on the swingset and have some Daddy/Son time.

After everyone left I went back to the NICU to be with Maeve again. For the most part she has been very fussy and restless. She hates all of the cords and sometimes even touching her sets her screaming. The nurses say she is a little wild woman. There is a nurse who has always been very compassionate and she saw me coming and asked if wanted to hold her. I nearly jumped out of my skin, I was so excited. She carefully wrapped her up, keeping all of her cords untangled and plugged in and handed her to me. She instantly calmed down... there wasn't an ounce of anxiety in her as there has been since she has been in the NICU. It was absolutely heavenly to hold her. The nurses couldn't believe it was the same baby because she was soooo calm and peaceful. I just held her so tight and sang her all of the songs I sing to Noah every night and held her hands. I rocked her for over an hour but I was starting to fall asleep and they said that was a bit dangerous for me to hold her sleepy so I put her back in her bassinet and prayed for her and came back upstairs.

I have my discharge papers for the morning which stinks. The nurse told me that even though my papers say first thing Monday morning the insurance company will allow me to stay in my room until 11pm tomorrow night if my baby is in the NICU, so I am going to try to hang out here as long as I can.

Just to let you all know.... we LOVE all of the comments, posts, phone calls, etc. They really truly help. But, we cannot have phones in the NICU and unless family has been here we have pretty much been in the NICU. So, please don't take offense if we don't call you back. Text messages are easiest because we can respond quickly. Even if we can't respond, we still really like the calls, messages, and emails.... I am pretty sure that no visitors are allowed in the NICU other than family which means we won't be up for too many guests this week. There will be plenty of time for visits once we are all home and settled....

So, that's the story of the day.

Happy Father's Day to my awesome husband who is so loving and caring and wonderful. Paul's patience and giving spirit are always so inspiring.
Happy Father's Day to my awesome dad who has always loved me and my family with more love than I knew one person could contain.

Maeve, Noah and I are pretty darn lucky, huh?

Some visitors today ...

At this point, only family can visit Maeve. And either Steph or I must be with them to see her. Yesterday, Thr grandparents were here. Today, great grandparents stopped by. Great Grandpop wasn't feeling well, so I could only take Great Grandmom.







I was also able to get a picture of Noah with Maeve.






Steph comes home tomorrow and Maeve will be home some time later this week. Please keep us all in your prayers and thankyou for everyone who has called and wished us well

God bless!

-- Post From Paul's iPhone