Kerry
03-28-2008, 01:39 PM
We got home Tuesday afternoon, against the better judgment of the pediatrician (the condition of parole was that he start gaining weight, and he gained 0.6 oz in that last 24-hour period). She let us go home with the agreement that we take him to the clinic to be checked as often as they deem necessary. He had an appointment on Wednesday and I'll be taking him again this afternoon.
The ped on Wednesday (different one, and more laid back than the one in the hospital) said he looked great and probably doesn't need the nasal cannula/O2 anymore, so we're working on weaning him off that, with the plan that we'll discontinue it totally by next weekend. It will be VERY nice to not have it, as we're constantly tethered to an oxygen tank wherever we are, making it a huge hassle to do simple things like get up and get a glass of water or change his diaper. As a result, I've been mostly sitting around on the couch with Leo in the Boppy. That's also why I haven't been on the computer (the tank is on a cart with wheels, and the computer is in the basement, down a flight of stairs - I'm on the portable tank right now but it's only for short-term use and going out and about, as it doesn't have humidified air hooked up to it, which is needed to prevent his nostrils from getting too dry).
At the ped on Wednesday, they weighed him and he showed a weight loss again (from 6 lbs. 1.6 oz to 6 lbs even). It's a different scale, not digital like the one in the hospital, so we're not totally freaking out, but we're going back this afternoon for another weight check. In addition to breastfeeding, I've been supplementing a few of his feedings with EBM through finger feed. I do feel like the last day and a half, we've turned a corner. He's wetting and pooping a lot more, so I'm hoping we'll see a gain. I'm trying not to obsess over the numbers and look at how he appears to be doing, which is well. He will wake on his own to eat every 3ish hours if I don't wake him, he has periods of quiet alertness (up to an hour at a time, and often at 3am :sosorry:), he doesn't cry excessively, and seems satisfied when he goes off the breast (usually with a dribble of milk coming out of his mouth - ah, I had forgotten about that :)).
I'm doing okay. Postpartum hormones are fully raging. I'm often either weepy, melancholy or angry, which sucks for the rest of the family. I've been self-medicating with a glass of wine every evening (7 Deadly Zins is my new favorite wine at the moment). I feel bad for Mac, who knows I'm not feeling well but has no idea how to help me. I'm sad that 20% of my maternity leave is gone, and I don't feel like I've been able to relax and enjoy any of it until just the last couple days. This has just been one freakin' stressful experience and I hope to never have to do it again. I have ENORMOUS respect and empathy for the moms of babies who spend weeks or months in the NICU because I truly would have gone completely insane. I literally would have had to be medicated if I had needed to do it any longer.
Hmmm...what else? Leo is positively beautiful. I'll post photos once he's off the nasal cannula. MacGregor is absolutely in love with him. They spend long periods just looking at each other and Mac carries on conversations with him, or just holds him in the crook of his arm while he reads a book. The kids both think he's pretty cool, especially Camille. She holds him whenever possible, and our new routine in the morning is I change his diaper and she picks out his outfit for the day. Yesterday she picked out a Halloween-themed sleeper, so he was dressed in orange and black jack-o-lanterns. Thankfully he can't yet wear two-piece outfits because of the nasal cannula, or I fear what ensembles she would be picking out.
Our dog Sherman has completely adopted him and appointed himself baby nanny. He doesn't let the other dogs near him, and is literally always either at my feet or on the couch right next to us. Once in a while he'll reach over and give the back of Leo's head a lick. He never used to sleep on our bed at night, but now he sleeps near my feet, in close proximity of Leo. If one of the other dogs makes a move to jump up onto the bed, he wrinkles his lips at them.
It's a new, disconcerting experience to be the mother of a "premature"/sick baby. I've always been very laid back, and now I'm constantly paranoid or worried about something. I'm rethinking certain vaccines (such as pertussis, and any other vaccines for respiratory diseases), which in and of itself is a huge shift in thinking for me. I hate the fact that we're in the cycle of pediatric/well-baby visits, and hope to get out of that soon, as soon as he's off the oxygen and we know he's gaining appropriately.
That's about it for us. Thanks to everyone who was praying/sending positive thoughts for his health. Knowing you were all there and thinking about us was very comforting.
The ped on Wednesday (different one, and more laid back than the one in the hospital) said he looked great and probably doesn't need the nasal cannula/O2 anymore, so we're working on weaning him off that, with the plan that we'll discontinue it totally by next weekend. It will be VERY nice to not have it, as we're constantly tethered to an oxygen tank wherever we are, making it a huge hassle to do simple things like get up and get a glass of water or change his diaper. As a result, I've been mostly sitting around on the couch with Leo in the Boppy. That's also why I haven't been on the computer (the tank is on a cart with wheels, and the computer is in the basement, down a flight of stairs - I'm on the portable tank right now but it's only for short-term use and going out and about, as it doesn't have humidified air hooked up to it, which is needed to prevent his nostrils from getting too dry).
At the ped on Wednesday, they weighed him and he showed a weight loss again (from 6 lbs. 1.6 oz to 6 lbs even). It's a different scale, not digital like the one in the hospital, so we're not totally freaking out, but we're going back this afternoon for another weight check. In addition to breastfeeding, I've been supplementing a few of his feedings with EBM through finger feed. I do feel like the last day and a half, we've turned a corner. He's wetting and pooping a lot more, so I'm hoping we'll see a gain. I'm trying not to obsess over the numbers and look at how he appears to be doing, which is well. He will wake on his own to eat every 3ish hours if I don't wake him, he has periods of quiet alertness (up to an hour at a time, and often at 3am :sosorry:), he doesn't cry excessively, and seems satisfied when he goes off the breast (usually with a dribble of milk coming out of his mouth - ah, I had forgotten about that :)).
I'm doing okay. Postpartum hormones are fully raging. I'm often either weepy, melancholy or angry, which sucks for the rest of the family. I've been self-medicating with a glass of wine every evening (7 Deadly Zins is my new favorite wine at the moment). I feel bad for Mac, who knows I'm not feeling well but has no idea how to help me. I'm sad that 20% of my maternity leave is gone, and I don't feel like I've been able to relax and enjoy any of it until just the last couple days. This has just been one freakin' stressful experience and I hope to never have to do it again. I have ENORMOUS respect and empathy for the moms of babies who spend weeks or months in the NICU because I truly would have gone completely insane. I literally would have had to be medicated if I had needed to do it any longer.
Hmmm...what else? Leo is positively beautiful. I'll post photos once he's off the nasal cannula. MacGregor is absolutely in love with him. They spend long periods just looking at each other and Mac carries on conversations with him, or just holds him in the crook of his arm while he reads a book. The kids both think he's pretty cool, especially Camille. She holds him whenever possible, and our new routine in the morning is I change his diaper and she picks out his outfit for the day. Yesterday she picked out a Halloween-themed sleeper, so he was dressed in orange and black jack-o-lanterns. Thankfully he can't yet wear two-piece outfits because of the nasal cannula, or I fear what ensembles she would be picking out.
Our dog Sherman has completely adopted him and appointed himself baby nanny. He doesn't let the other dogs near him, and is literally always either at my feet or on the couch right next to us. Once in a while he'll reach over and give the back of Leo's head a lick. He never used to sleep on our bed at night, but now he sleeps near my feet, in close proximity of Leo. If one of the other dogs makes a move to jump up onto the bed, he wrinkles his lips at them.
It's a new, disconcerting experience to be the mother of a "premature"/sick baby. I've always been very laid back, and now I'm constantly paranoid or worried about something. I'm rethinking certain vaccines (such as pertussis, and any other vaccines for respiratory diseases), which in and of itself is a huge shift in thinking for me. I hate the fact that we're in the cycle of pediatric/well-baby visits, and hope to get out of that soon, as soon as he's off the oxygen and we know he's gaining appropriately.
That's about it for us. Thanks to everyone who was praying/sending positive thoughts for his health. Knowing you were all there and thinking about us was very comforting.