September 17th, 2007

We are home!!! Our first overnight with Megan went very well. We had to wake her up every 3 hours to eat. She just slept in between all the feedings. Dr. Omar said we will probably continue to do the feedings every 3 hours for at least 6-8 weeks. That way she will get enough calories and keep gaining weight! Right now she is 4 lbs 14.8 oz. We already have our appointments scheduled for next week - pediatrician and eye doctor.

She did great on the car ride home - no problems. She has slept pretty much all day which is what she will do for at least another few weeks. We are keeping her on the same schedule as we had at the hospital. At 7pm, we gave her a short bath since she had one yesterday and changed her clothes. We keep taking her temperature at every diaper change just to make sure she is warm enough.

The home monitor is not that bad - only 2 false alarms today. We opted to use the leads instead of the chest strap. The leads work much better because she is a stomach breather, not a chest breather. The bad things is they won't be sticky for as long as we need them to be. I love having it because it has lights that flash every time she breaths and every time her heart beats. It definitely gives us some peace of mind.

Today was one of the best days of my life. Nothing has felt better than finally walking out of that hospital with my husband and our daughter. The nurses all gave us hugs and made us promise to keep in touch with pictures. They are definitely very special people!!

September 15th, 2007

It's official - our discharge day is Monday!! We are rooming in with Megan at the hospital tomorrow night so we can get used to the home monitor and adjust to being with her without the nurses there.

Today we were running around like crazy people getting the house clean, making last minute purchases and getting ready for Megan - while running back and forth from the hospital :) We did get a new camera so we can take millions of beautiful pictures of Megan and send them to everyone.

Megan will be getting her second car seat test done tonight - I am keeping my fingers crossed! If she doesn't pass, they will just send her home in the car bed. However, I really want her to be in her car seat - we'll see! Dr. Omar saw her yesterday and said she is ready to go. I am so glad he will be her pediatrician since he already knows her so well and was even in the delivery room when she was born!

Panic mode is starting to set in for me. I thought I was all ready and prepared, but suddenly I started to freak out. Up to this point, I have been handling almost all her care during the day, but that was with the nurses telling me what to do. Now I am on my own - SCARY! It is a scary thought that Bob and I are now responsible for this little girl's life!

I don't think we'll hit the 5 lb club before we leave. Last night she was 4 lbs 13.6 oz. However, she did have 3 enormous dirty diapers since she has been holding out on us for a few days. She ate very well all day and I expect to see that number go up tomorrow!

September 15th, 2007

Unfortunately, today is my last day on my parking pass...back to the world of the enormously overcharged drivers. That's okay - it's only for a couple days!

Megan had her first car seat test on Thursday night, but failed. I suspected that she wouldn't pass for two reasons: 1) she is VERY particular about how she wants to be held. If she is kinked in any way, she won't take deep breaths. 2) she had a very long day on Thursday because she just had her feeding tube taken out and was also fitted for her home monitor strap. Of course, the home monitor people had to test it on her and it kept beeping off. I'm sure she didn't like that too much. They just need to wait 24 hours and will try the car seat again. If that doesn't work, they are going to try the car seat they have in the gift shop that is supposedly for smaller babies. If that doesn't work, she will be sent home in an infant car bed and retested next week once she gets a little bigger.

Megan continues to get bigger - now a whopping 4 lbs 14 oz! We are SOOO close to the 5 lb club!! If she doesn't reach it before we leave, I'll make her a sign at home :)

We got her crib pictures taken yesterday. I can't view her picture yet, but it is at www.cherished-memories.com : hospital code: B57, ID# 25903. I am assuming it will be up later today. I don't know if we will buy any because we have taken some that I'm sure at a million times cuter. I may get a small package since it is her first professional picture (sort of) and she won't get out for pictures until next Spring.

Today I am going crazy trying to get everything ready for Megan. I want to get the house very clean between my visits and get all laundry and such done so that Bob and I don't have to fuss with it next week. I also need to get a new rug for Megan's tummy time in the living room and a new lamp since everyone complains about the lighting in my house (Carey!) :) Right now it is 6am and I'm hoping to get most of it done this morning before leaving for the hospital. Bob is trying to wrap up all of his work stuff so that he can spend lots of time with Megan next week.

My radio time was fun yesterday. I had just a few minutes on the air, but the radio people were very nice. They came up to see Megan before the show and looked at all her pictures. Naturally, they commented on how cute she is :)

We still don't know exactly what day Megan is coming home - it all depends on that car seat test. That is the last thing she needs to do. It sounds like we will be staying over either tomorrow night or Monday night. Either way - it is very soon! I am not as nervous as I thought I would be. I am just so ready for her to come home! I know I can take care of her and do everything that needs done. It's just a matter of doing that 24 hours a day :) Our first thing will be to put on our pj's, sit on the couch with Megan, watch TV and just relax.

I think I may have to purchase another memory card for the camera. I have a feeling we will be taking an excessive amount of pictures.

September 13th, 2007

Megan has had an eventful week! The doctors are preparing her for discharge by making sure all her evaluations are done.

She passed her hearing test this week. That was great news for me. I was actually worried that she had problems with her hearing since she can sleep through all the noise in the NICU!

She also had her 3rd eye exam which went great! He said we will follow up in about 2 weeks. Since she will be at home, we will have to give her the eye drops at home and take her into the doctor's office. I'm not thrilled about giving her eye drops, but I watched the nurses do it twice.

The occupations therapist came in to see how Megan is progressing and she is still right on track. However, she didn't get to evaluate her eyes to see if she can focus on a red ball because Megan had just gotten her eye drops. Everything else looks great.

Megan is holding her temperature well and still in the open crib. Over the past week or two, she has been more alert when she is awake and it has been so much fun to play with her! She is nursing so well that the doctor has decreased her supplement from 20 cc down to 10 cc. They give her that supplement through her tube after she nurses to make sure she is getting enough food. She is still steadily gaining weight, so we are pretty sure that she is getting plenty of breastmilk. She is now 4 lbs 12.8 oz!!! She has been getting better and better with bottlefeeding. Monday night she took all 4 bottles, Tuesday night she took 3 of the 4 bottles and I have yet to find out how she did last night. Tuesday night they gave her a break on the one because the nurse thought she was just too tired.

I spoke with Dr. Voora yesterday. Dr. Voora and Dr. Omar did accept Megan as a patient, so Bob and I were so happy about that. It's so nice that her pediatrician already knows her so well! Dr. Voora said that he expects to see the feeding tube come out Friday or Saturday and for her to be discharged early next week - still around Monday or Tuesday. He is very pleased with her progress!

We have the home monitor set up and we are scheduled for training tomorrow afternoon. From they way they describe it, it seems pretty easy to operate. On the plus side, Megan has not had any serious apneas or brady's since going off of caffeine (knock on wood!!). Apnea shouldn't be a serious problem; however, she still may have some. She does do periodic breathing which is what I am concerned with because the monitor won't necessarily pick that up. She will take a cluster of breaths and then pause in breathing for a few seconds, take a cluster of breaths, pause, etc. It usually doesn't affect her stats, but sometimes I can see her change color when doing it. We then have to remind her to breathe by tickling her foot or rubbing her neck. Not exactly what a Mother wants to see!!

I have also been asked to talk on the radio tomorrow during a Children's Miracle Network radio-thon. They will just ask questions about Megan and the equipment that she has used. A lot of the equipment that Megan used during her stay was either donated or partially donated by the Children's Miracle Network. I know Bob and I will be more apt to donate to them or the March of Dimes now! Both of them support premature babies.

I took an autograph mat in to the hospital for all of Megan's nurses to sign - exactly like the one that was at the shower. I thought it would be a great momento for Megan to have when she is older so she can remember all the men and women that saved her life. All the nurses comment on how much they love Megan and how much they will miss her. We will definitely keep in touch with pictures and I already look forward to the NICU picnic next year.

These past couple weeks have gone by so fast, probably because they have been soooo busy!! Many people have been telling us to get prepared because soon our days will be so buys and we won't get any sleep. Bob and I are actually really looking forward to her coming home. No more trips to the hospital 4 times a day, no more going off of someone else's schedule, no more leaving our daughter when we just want to sit by her bedside for hours.... We can't wait for Bob to come home from work and we can all sit in our pj's as a family, hanging out. Even Molly is excited for Meg to come home. She can smell her actual sister instead of just her clothes :)

Well, time to get ready to go see my little girl!!

September 9th, 2007

We are now in an open crib! Megan started her open crib test at 10am today. She needs to maintain her body temp for 24 hours to pass. She has been doing well and about 36.8 the past couple times. She needs to stay above 36.5.

Her feedings are really starting to go well. She breastfeeds like an old pro :) The past 3 nights she has taken both bottles overnight. Tonight will be the first night that they will try all 4 overnight feeds as bottle feeds. We will keep our fingers crossed that she doesn't get too tired.

She is still gaining weight very well - is now at 4 lbs 10 oz! She is creeping up on the 5 lb club. She told me today that she really wants to get a 5 lb club sign before she leaves :)

We got the good news that Dr. Omar expects she will be going home next week - probably Monday or Tuesday!! We knew the discharge date was coming up, but it is another thing to hear it for sure from the doctor! Bob and I are very excited and nervous - the countdown starts!!! We do have everything ready for her, so we are set to go! Bob and I watched the required CPR video today, so we now both know how to do infant CPR. All we have left to do on discharge day is some paperwork and learn what to do with the apnea monitor.

I cannot believe that we are nearing the end of the NICU chapter and starting the "homecoming" chapter. It is amazing that nearly 10 weeks have passed since this all began. Time goes faster and faster now that we spend so much time at the hospital - I'm sure discharge day will be here before we can blink!! :)

September 6th, 2007

Discharge Day is rapidly approaching! We estimate that Megan will be able to come home in 2 weeks.

She is still in the process of thermal weaning. Her bed is now at 27 degrees, so only one degree to go. I can't wait to have her in an open crib! Then I will just worry about all the germs in the air.

We are still working on the feeding process. She is breast feeding very well and we have no problem with that (as long as she is awake :) ) She is still having a little struggle with bottle feeding. On Monday, they started her on breast / bottle every feed and gavage tube if needed. If she breast feeds well, they give her 20 cc as a supplement to make sure she is getting enough food. The nurses give her the bottle overnight and she still relies heavily on the tube. Yesterday, the doctors changed it so the nurses only give her a bottle every other feed over night, so she get's 2 bottles and 2 tube feedings overnight. We are hoping that will give her the rest she needs to improve her bottle feeding. Last night she did a little better and took one entire bottle and half of the second. Bottle feeding is a lot of work for her and she gets so tired.

We had her baby shower this past weekend and it was a blast! It was surreal to me to actually be at my own baby shower and not someone else's. I have been waiting to attend my own shower for years! The day after I went on a huge baby shopping trip with my sister (Oh, dear sweet Karen) and it was the most fun I have ever had in my life! Bob and I have had a blast putting everything away and assembling all of her toys and goodies :) We are just amazed at all the cool stuff there is for babies!

I know go to the hospital at about 9am until 8pm, coming home for lunch and dinner. I have started taking my pump in the afternoon so I don't have to take that extra trip home and back. That way I can have a little relax time where I grab a cup of decaf and read my book at the hospital. I have really gotten to know all the nurses well and will miss them when we leave. I will be excited to keep in touch with them and send them pictures of Megan as she gets bigger.

Speaking of bigger, Megan is now at 4 lbs 6.4 oz. She is getting so big!! I am pretty sure she will be at least 5 lbs when she comes home. She has been off the caffeine for over a week and has not had any apneas or bradys. She has had a few almost apneas when she was bottle feeding, but that is expected. She sleeps pretty much all day, but looks adorable!!

We have started giving her bath which has been interesting. She is quite the wiggle worm, so it is difficult to bathe her. It's so fun, though, because she is wide awake after her bath and very alert. That's my favorite time to see her because I feel like she is looking right at us. Plus I get to dress her in a different adorable outfit each day :)

Because she is now 2 months old, she will be getting her immunizations this week. They are just waiting for her to be at least 2000 grams. She is only 5 grams away! Most new mothers dread those first shots, but Meg is an old pro at shots and pricks :) She is such a strong little girl!! Bob and I just beam with pride when the nurses tell us how exceptional she is, even though we already knew that. :)

Well, off to the hospital!!

August 30th, 2007

Well, we have had a busy few days!

Megan's nursing / bottlefeeding is going so much better! We have been nursing for the 10am feeding and the 4pm feeding. The nurses then give her the bottle overnight. She has been doing great with her bottlefeedings and taking the entire bottle (32 cc). Yesterday and today she nursed for 25 minutes each time! The nurse said she is advanced in her nursing! Bob and I go back when he gets home from work for her bath and so Bob can hold her. The nurse said that she holds her numbers very well when he holds her, so she must be a Daddy's girl :)

She just made it to the 4 lb club today at 4 lbs, 1.2 oz!!! She is getting so big! They have started thermal weaning. They dress her in additional clothes and start turning the temp in the bed down. She only has 1.5 degrees to go :) After that, she will be in an open crib.

Tomorrow we are going to start bottle or breastfeeding every other feeding. She is getting so close to coming home! She will definitely be coming home on a monitor. That will just strap around her chest and monitor her breathing and heartrate. She will wear it all the time and it will alarm if she has an apnea.

I have some new pictures that I'm trying to post, but having trouble. I'll try to post them tomorrow.