Bringing Home Baby

I stayed in the hospital for two nights. Leaving the hospital the night I was discharged was probably the most difficult experience Nathan and I have ever been through. We did not want to leave our newborn at the opposite end of the city. We didn't really have any other options though. We said goodnight to our sweet baby and headed down to the car, tears running down both our faces.

Sleeping in our bed was amazing though. It did wonders for our tired bodies, even though I had to get up twice to pump (Nathan had to get up too, to help me). We developed a routine the next 8 nights: 8:30ish- come home, eat some cereal, look at the pictures we took that day, pump, go to bed. Sleep 5 hours, pump again. Sleep two or three hours, pump, get ready, go to hospital (with pumped milk).

4/5/08


4/6/08


4/7/08




4/9/08- The car seat test


4/10/08




4/11/08




We learned a lot from the NICU nurses, and liked almost all of them. But when it came down to it, we just wanted to take Amelia home. I had dreamed of having my baby and then having two weeks at home with my little family, adjusting and getting to know each other. Instead, we spent most of those two weeks at the hospital or sleeping at home. I'm sure it helped me heal quickly, but I would have loved to have had some time to relax (physically), even if I didn't get any sleep. Finally, 10 days after her birth, we were able to leave the hospital with our daughter.

During her stay, Amelia was on oxygen, had IV fluids for the first couple days (and had the IV in all four limbs at different times), went through two lumbar punctures (that weren't even successful), and racked up a bill for over $32,000. I was scared to get an epidural (so I didn't), yet my little girl was poked and prodded in so many places during her first few days of life. My baby became my hero.

April 12th rolled around, and we were finally able to get Amelia out of the hospital! We brought the going-home outfit we had originally packed in our hospital bag, hoping it would still fit (it did). The NICU pediatrician had to check her over to make sure she could still be discharged, and paperwork had to be filled out. Amelia also had to get her 10 day PKU test. This was the first time Nathan and I were with her when she got poked with a needle, and she actually slept right through it. Poor thing, she had gotten used to being poked. Finally, we had the all-clear and our nurse was ready to walk us out. We got Amelia switched over to our travel oxygen tank, put her in her car seat (NICU requirement) and we were on our way!









Nathan's parents drove us home. This way, both Nathan and I could ride in the back with Amelia, and they could help us ensure we were using the oxygen correctly. Amelia slept the whole way.