Feels Like Home
Wow! It's been such a whirlwind start to our weekend! We are so beyond THRILLED to say our sweet baby Sarah is home with us. We no longer have to make multiple daily trips to the hospital nor do we have to handle her through holes in a plastic box. We can cuddle and hold and feed and burp to our hearts content.
Friday morning, we saw the nurse practitioner around 9 am or so. She said that she looked great! She did make an appointment for us to go visit a specialist to check her eye development. Since she was born so early, she has a higher risk of eyesight issues. We're praying and believing that there are no major issues found! She has such beautiful and expressive eyes - I find it hard to believe that anything could be wrong with them. I guess we'll find out on Tuesday.
After our final session with the Lactation Consultant and working out a feeding plan for our little one, we waited until about 11:30-12ish until we were released. The hospital has a policy that they have to wheel you out in a wheel chair - even for us who didn't just give birth. The volunteer came, and we loaded up and headed to the car. On the way out, we stopped and checked out at the nurses station. It was so exciting to tell all these nurses who had gotten to see us checking in daily that we were finally going home! We also went past one of our favorite NICU nurses on her way to lunch, and she was congratulating us and telling us how happy she was for us. It was impossible to contain the tears of joy as we rolled onto the elevator together. The moment that I never thought we'd reach was here.
The drive home was uneventful and Sarah did well in the car. She was a little fussy getting into the car seat so I was worried that the whole ride home was going to be so. Once she was settled and buckled in though, she did great.
Our first afternoon was spent figuring out how we were going to start doing some things. I placed her in her crib and about had a panic attack that I couldn't see her - even with the monitors going. Being at higher risk for apnea I was afraid she'd stop breathing and I wouldn't know it. Between that and the fact that she sleeps better with noise, I set up the Pack-N-Play in the living room so she can sleep out there while we're up and moving around. The crib is only reserved for when we're all asleep currently.
She's done great sleeping and feeding at home. I found a handy journal at Target a few weeks back, a "New Mom" journal. It helps us keep track of her feedings and her diapers and anything else significant that goes on. It's my lifeline right now as we try and figure out what works and what doesn't. It also helps communicate between Jim and I while we're getting up at different times through the night. That way we don't have to wake each other up to report what she did last. I absolutely love it.
Our first night was excellent. Jim took the first shift and just stayed up until her 1 am feeding, while I went to bed around 10. I then had the 4 am responsibility. She ended up waking up an hour early for the 4 am, but she was ravenous and gulped down a sizable bottle. I went to bed and reset my alarm to be ready for the 6 am feeding. Next thing I know, I rolled over and the clock said 7 am! Oh no! It had been 4 hours since our last feeding and we'd been going every 3 hours. I quickly asked Jim if he had gotten up with her at 6 to let me sleep, but he hadn't. Neither one of us had heard the alarm. I ran in to make sure she was still breathing and she was just laying there - blankets kicked off, wiggling and looking around content as can be. So we got a little more sleep than I had thought we would!
Saturday was great as well. Jim's parents had been planning on coming down to bring us a rocking chair. It belonged to Sarah's great-great grandmother - used to rock her Great-Grandmama Nally to sleep in as a baby. What a special furniture addition to her room. It's already been well loved in the last 18 hours it's been here!
I should probably head back to bed. I got up to give Sarah her 3 am feeding and wanted to get all these thoughts out of my head before I forgot.
Thank you all for your constant prayers, love and support.
Friday morning, we saw the nurse practitioner around 9 am or so. She said that she looked great! She did make an appointment for us to go visit a specialist to check her eye development. Since she was born so early, she has a higher risk of eyesight issues. We're praying and believing that there are no major issues found! She has such beautiful and expressive eyes - I find it hard to believe that anything could be wrong with them. I guess we'll find out on Tuesday.
After our final session with the Lactation Consultant and working out a feeding plan for our little one, we waited until about 11:30-12ish until we were released. The hospital has a policy that they have to wheel you out in a wheel chair - even for us who didn't just give birth. The volunteer came, and we loaded up and headed to the car. On the way out, we stopped and checked out at the nurses station. It was so exciting to tell all these nurses who had gotten to see us checking in daily that we were finally going home! We also went past one of our favorite NICU nurses on her way to lunch, and she was congratulating us and telling us how happy she was for us. It was impossible to contain the tears of joy as we rolled onto the elevator together. The moment that I never thought we'd reach was here.
The drive home was uneventful and Sarah did well in the car. She was a little fussy getting into the car seat so I was worried that the whole ride home was going to be so. Once she was settled and buckled in though, she did great.
Our first afternoon was spent figuring out how we were going to start doing some things. I placed her in her crib and about had a panic attack that I couldn't see her - even with the monitors going. Being at higher risk for apnea I was afraid she'd stop breathing and I wouldn't know it. Between that and the fact that she sleeps better with noise, I set up the Pack-N-Play in the living room so she can sleep out there while we're up and moving around. The crib is only reserved for when we're all asleep currently.
She's done great sleeping and feeding at home. I found a handy journal at Target a few weeks back, a "New Mom" journal. It helps us keep track of her feedings and her diapers and anything else significant that goes on. It's my lifeline right now as we try and figure out what works and what doesn't. It also helps communicate between Jim and I while we're getting up at different times through the night. That way we don't have to wake each other up to report what she did last. I absolutely love it.
Our first night was excellent. Jim took the first shift and just stayed up until her 1 am feeding, while I went to bed around 10. I then had the 4 am responsibility. She ended up waking up an hour early for the 4 am, but she was ravenous and gulped down a sizable bottle. I went to bed and reset my alarm to be ready for the 6 am feeding. Next thing I know, I rolled over and the clock said 7 am! Oh no! It had been 4 hours since our last feeding and we'd been going every 3 hours. I quickly asked Jim if he had gotten up with her at 6 to let me sleep, but he hadn't. Neither one of us had heard the alarm. I ran in to make sure she was still breathing and she was just laying there - blankets kicked off, wiggling and looking around content as can be. So we got a little more sleep than I had thought we would!
Saturday was great as well. Jim's parents had been planning on coming down to bring us a rocking chair. It belonged to Sarah's great-great grandmother - used to rock her Great-Grandmama Nally to sleep in as a baby. What a special furniture addition to her room. It's already been well loved in the last 18 hours it's been here!
I should probably head back to bed. I got up to give Sarah her 3 am feeding and wanted to get all these thoughts out of my head before I forgot.
Thank you all for your constant prayers, love and support.
Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you.
-Jeremiah 1:5
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| Sleeping peacefully in her bed! A special thanks to Christine and Eddie for handing down the swaddler. It's been awesome! Makes her stay bundled up while she sleeps. |
Congrats! It is so wonderful to hear that you are all home now and everyone is doing well. I found your blog through CafeMom and will continue to follow your wonderful story!
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