Jake left the hospital with Halle on Sunday night so he had strict orders to get the presents wrapped and bring me some things that I left at home. She came in and we had a Birthday Party for her with cupcakes and presents.
Birthday Girl
Monday, May 27 we had a few visitors in the hospital. My dad, mom, Aunt Sarah, Caleb & Eli came to visit. Then, Uncle Bobby, Aunt Jennifer, Alex, Ashley & Abby. We had a few of our youth stop by (Brittany, Amanda, Kylie & Josh) Last, was Jeremy, Amy, Jozlyn and Stephanie!
Jake and Halle decided to stay the night with me our last night because it was silly to drive home so late and then turn around to come back and pick us up. So, they slept on a very uncomforable couch. I sent Brantley to the nursery in hopes of getting one last chance at a good night's rest. Around 3 a.m. I had a nurse and a doctor in my room. The nurse literally had to shake me to get me awake. I was soooo out of it. They said that B had some irregular breathing and they wanted to send him to the NICU for a couple of days to monitor it. They did a chest x-ray and it showed a little something so they wanted to get him on antibiotics just in case of infection. I was so happy that Jake decided to stay because he was able to hear them explain everything. They were very calm and acted like it wasn't a huge deal. I am pretty sure if Jake hadn't been with me I would have been a basket case!
I got up around 6 and got a shower and headed down to the NICU. I wasn't prepared at all for what I would see. My poor little baby hooked to machines with nothing but a diaper on under a warmer.
I just cried and prayed. I had no idea what was going on and nobody really could give us any answers.
I was discharged on Tuesday and we were able to get a room at the Ronald McDonald House since we lived over 50 miles away. Thank God! My mom offered to stay with me so Jake could go back to work. Remember, he only wanted to take of 1 day of work! LOL! It was better that he go on to work because there really wasn't anything he could do at the hospital. Jake went on home and we made day arrangements for Halle. I was so thankful for Amber, Sarah Mc, Sarah Redecker, Michelle, Grandma and Amy for making Halle's days special. She really didn't understand why Mommy and Brantley couldn't come home so this helped keep her mind off of things.
I have to say that the RMH was absolutely amazing. Each day a group would come in and cook lunch and dinner for the people staying. I spent most of my days in the room with Brantley. I liked the setup because each room was private with a recliner and a couch. The first day was the worst. They didn't have anything to report. Brantley was hungry but they wouldn't give him food because they were afraid he would asperate. They did insert a feeding tube but would only give him .5 oz. In the full term nursery he was taking 1.5 oz. The poor baby was hungry and that is how I had to leave him the first night. I didn't sleep. I was up every couple of hours. I was in lots of pain still...swollen terribly...and I knew my baby was hungry. It was the most helpless feeling in the world. I just cried. My mom said, "Do you want to go on over?" It was 3:00 a.m. I knew there wasn't anything I could do for him shy of hijacking a formula cabinet and taking matters into my own hands. It was best that I didn't go over there until morning.
By morning (Wednesday), they had upped his intake to 1 oz because he was STARVING!! By the afternoon they stopped giving him his formula through the feeding tube and let me feed him through the bottle. I was sooo happy. They left his feeding tube in just in case they needed it and he was still on IV for fluids and antibiotics.
Thursday afternoon I actually spoke with the doctor. He seemed pleased with his progress but still thought we would be there until Saturday. He really encouraged breastfeeding. Up until this point I hadn't been able to nurse because of the issues and my milk hadn't come in. He told me I was making excuses and that Baby would much rather nurse that drink from a bottle. I could tell this doctor was very adament that he nurse so I sucked it up that evening and got him to nurse for 30 minutes. They took his feeding tube out and his IV. I was a very happy momma!
The next morning (Friday) he nursed again for 30 minutes. When the doctor made his rounds that afternoon he asked us when we were ready to go home and we said, "TODAY!" He said, "Okay!"
We never really got any more answers than what we were told on the first day. I really think everything they did for him was all precautionary. He still does the weird breathing thing when he eats but other than that it seems to be getting better. They told us he would grow out of it as his lungs matured.
It was a very emotional week! I was never so excited to get home. We surprised Halle. She thought Jake was bringing her up to spend the night and they were going to bring us home Saturday. She was so excited when she opened the door and we were standing there!
Friday night storms started up in St. Charles/St. Louis area. Jake went to bed around 8 knowing he would probably be getting a call to work the outages. He got the call around 3 a.m. and was gone by 4. We didn't see him until the following Wednesday. There is nothing quite like being thrown into parenting 2 all by yourself on day one.
I can honestly say I've had the LONGEST 11 days of my life and I hope I never have to endure it again! :)
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