On a Happier Note...

I'm going home today!!! Granted it will be hard to leave the hospital without my baby, and I'll be spending most of every day up here anyways - but atleast I won't be poked and prodded every 2 hours (and I'll get to be home for my baby shower!). The nurses this morning were so awful, and made it seem like I was inconveniencing them by asking for some water - but luckily the evening shift nurses were ones I had earlier in the week that were SUPER nice. In fact, the nurse's aid that wheeled me out to go home said "No, you can't leave, I like having you here!"

This morning Mike's mom and sister came to visit and we made it up in time for Carter's 9:30 feeding. At first I was worried because Carter's phototherapy/bili lights were still on - but it turns out that they just hadn't gone over his test results yet - Carter no longer needs the lights! This means he gets to open his eyes and look at the world. And he's SO much cuter with his big eyes looking at you!

We waited around all morning/afternoon to hear from a doctor about my discharge, and finally went back upstairs at 2pm for kangaroo care time. 5 minutes after we got to the NICU, the doctor had showed up and they called upstairs for me to come back to my room, but the NICU nurse said they would just have to wait! After kangaroo time we went downstairs and the doctor removed my staples and officially discharged me, but I was allowed to stay til 11:59pm if I wanted. So I stayed, cleaned up the room, rested for awhile, and ate some dinner.

Around 7:30 Edward & Angela came to visit and Mike came back as well. We went upstairs for a night visit. We were going to leave about 9pm, but then the NICU nurse was ready to start prepping Carter for his feeding, so we stayed. She weighed him, then Mike got to hold Carter while she changed his bedding (and put some cute blankets in instead of the boring regular hospital blankets). I then put a shirt on Carter. It was premie sized, but was still HUGE on him (especially the sleeves which I had to roll way up).

I'm home now, but will definitely be going back to the hospital tomorrow morning before my shower for kangaroo time, and then another visit after the party.

What is Pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome

I found this information in another blog that does a great job at explaining Pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome - both of which are what led to Carter's early arrival. If you're interested in knowing more about it - please check out this link!

Little Miss Lily: What is Pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome

Great Progress!

This morning we got to observe Carter's physical therapy - which went very well! EVERYONE keeps saying what a perfect baby we have, and I couldn't agree more! He is doing everything he needs to do, and is a very calm baby...and extra happy when his shades are off! HOPEFULLY they will be off for good tomorrow.

I kangaroo'd again today, then we observed his head ultrasound being performed. The results came back...perfect!

A short bit later Jen & Brian came to visit (and brought us food from Outback!), then Mom & Nanny came up. We watched Carter get weighed (he's back to his birth weight!), cleaned up, I changed his diaper again, then he ate. Tomorrow he takes the next step toward breast/bottle feeding. HOORAY!

On that note, hopefully I am discharged tomorrow so that I will be home Sunday for my baby shower! Of course, even after being discharged I'll still spend MOST of my waking hours here...can't wait to take him home!

Night Update

This evening Mike, mom, and I went up to visit Carter around 8pm. Guess what he was doing? Sleeping and sunbathing of course! His nurse for the night was SO nice and really went out of her way to accommodate us. For a little over an hour we just sat there chatting and watching him sleep. Just before feeding time she did a blood draw to check his sugars, allowed me to change his diaper, and cleaned him up.

Carter had NOTHING left in his stomach before feeding time, which means he is digesting ALL of his food - AWESOME! The IV in his arm is out, and he is finished receivng antibiotics with the IV in his foot - the nurse said she was taking it out tonight - YAY! He is up to a full feed (33ml) and just needs to have the sucking/swallowing down in order to bottle/breastfeed. It seems like he will do VERY well with it, as he starts sucking on his pacifier as soon as his feeding (through a tube) begins, and he spit out the pacifier as SOON as the food was gone.

Tomorrow Carter is having a head ultrasound - routine for preemies to check for any bleeding around the brain. As long as the results are good - we should be able to increase the amount of time we can hold him. On Saturday they will check his bilirubens (cause jaundice when not properly taken care of by the liver) to determine if he still needs to "sunbathe".

I was supposed to be discharged tomorrow (though I asked to stay through Saturday since I'll just be coming back as much as possible anyways) but I was told tonight that my discharge was put on hold for the time being as some of my blood results aren't quite where they want them yet. As long as I'm home by 1pm on Sunday!

PT & OT

Today was a bit of a rough start. Not for Carter or in the Special Care Unit, but with the nurses on my floor. They were SO good earlier in the week, but for the past day or so I've had to call two or three times to get what I need (i.e. medication) or wait over an hour. When someone is in pain and can't help themselves, that's a problem! Mike had an interview this morning, so I called for someone to take me upstairs to see Carter. I called a few minutes before 9, in hopes I would make it upstairs before his 9:30 feeding. At 9:40 I walked to the nurses station in tears (silly horomones) and asked how early I needed to call ahead to get a ride. Gee, it's not MY fault they won't let me go upstairs by myself. Needless to say, they took me up right away.

Anyways - on to Carter. He continues to do VERY well. I was able to speak with the Physical Therapist who started to see him this afternon. She will be working with him on things like using his arm and leg muscles to stay in the "fetal position" rather than allowing gravity to take over. He already likes putting his arms up to his face and over his head, which is exactly what they want him to do! They also want him to be able to use his neck muscles to turn his head if he is placed face down.

After another hour of Kangaroo'ing this afternoon, the Occupational Therapist came to see Carter. She also wants to see him in good alignment in order to help with eating. She will observe how he eats, takes a pacifier, and puts his fingers in his mouth. She will be doing more work with him once he starts bottle/breastfeeding. Overall she said he is doing great! He wasn't too interested in waking up to do anything specific for her though. All of the nurses say he's a great sleeper AND eater....just like his daddy!

Such tiny feet and toes!

Have to get BOTH sides tan!

Kangaroo Care

Today was another great day! We went up to visit Carter in the morning and he was sunbathing under the bili lights (phototherapy to treat jaundice) with his cool purple shades on.

The doctor said that he was actually doing a little TOO well. By that, he means that Carter was doing so well with his feedings that they kept increasing the amount (he has to get to a certain level of eating with the feeding tube before switching to a bottle) - but they don't want to increase it too quickly or it could cause some intestinal problems, so they cut back a bit. He is considered a "Feeder and Grower" - those are the two things that he has to work on, but pretty much everything else is great.

The nurse then talked to me about starting Kangaroo Care. Instead of holding the baby all wrapped up in a blanket (which actually means they have to use their energy to maintain body temperature instead of using it for growing) - Kangaroo Care utilizes skin to skin contact. The baby wears just his diaper, and he is held directly on the chest of mom or dad, thereby keeping warm from the parents' body heat. We returned to the Special Care Unit at 2pm and I "Kangarooed" for an entire hour. He seemed so happy and peaceful (and it sure helped me feel more like mom!).

The nurse then asked if we wanted to change his diaper. I told Mike he could if he wanted to since I just got to hold Carter for an hour, but he let me do it. I know many people think "why would you WANT to change a diaper?", but when baby is in Special Care, it's those little things that make you feel like parents. Carter did NOT like his diaper being changed, but when I was finished he grabbed onto my finger and calmed down immediately.

Thanks to everyone who has visited and/or sent their wishes and prayers. It's so nice to know that we have such wonderful support during this difficult time.

Baby Showers

Just an FYI

**Saturday's baby shower in Rochester is going to be rescheduled to be a "Meet The Baby" party sometime after Carter is home.

**Sunday's baby shower in Lockport IS going to take place as scheduled!