The rest of our hospital stay was pretty uneventful. We had lots of visitors who were anxious to come and see the newest member of the family. I tried to take it easy as much as I could but it felt good to be up and about. Elliott didn't give us anymore scares with the NICU the rest of the time. He passed his hearing test, all his blood work tests and a car seat test. They were going to keep me until Tuesday but I pushed for a Monday release. We would have been out of there sooner but (according to the nurses) we HAD to wait for the 'special lunch' the hospital offers to new parents. I wish we hadn't taken their word for it because it wasn't that great. By early afternoon though on Monday we were all free and ready to go out into the world. Miranda was with us too and it was really neat to go home as a family.
(Speaking of Miranda, she absolutely adores her little brother but she is still in adjustment mode. Adam and I both take time out of our days to spend some one on one with her though and she knows we love her. We'll get there though. It's a hard adjustment for a 4 year old to make when she's been an only child for this long.)
His coming home outfit consisted of a 0-3 month onesie which was ridiculously huge on him and a pair of newborn pants that were even a bit to big. Adam helped pick out the Superman shirt and even wore one of his own to match. The car ride home was uneventful. He slept the whole way which was good. We haven't adjusted the mirror so that we can see him yet but Miranda was our eyes for us.
When we got home the first thing we had to do was introduce the dog to his newest family member. He was extremely intrigued and pretty hyper about the whole deal but was fairly easy to control, especially with Adam there. Luckily, Adam had been keeping up with the household chores and everything so I could just sit and relax with my two kiddos. It felt really good to be home.
Looking at all the clothes we had at home, everything was way to big! I had to send Auntie out to the store to buy him some preemie clothes so that he would actually have outfits that fit! I know they won't fit him long but I couldn't put him in clothes that are just way to big!
The next day we had a pediatrician appointment at 11:00. That was supposed to be a quick in and out visit, but of course nothing ever goes as planned. He had maintained his discharge weight of 5lbs 9oz and since he still looked really yellow we had to go to a different hospital and get his blood drawn for a bilirubin level check. That turned into quite the ordeal. First of all the parking lot is huge in size but with teeny-tiny parking spaces. The hospital was large and irritating as well. Then we had to get his blood drawn which is always a sad affair. On the way back he needed to be fed, so right before we left the parking lot I sat in the car and fed him but apparently he wasn't finished and cried bloody murder the whole way home which made me burst out into tears as well. I just hated the whole ordeal. A couple hours later the pediatrician called to say that his level had gone down but only slightly and that we needed to go back again before the end of the week.
The rest of Tuesday was pretty uneventful. Wednesday was heavenly. We stayed in all day and just relaxed and enjoyed each other. It was a perfect bonding day for us as a family of four. Peace, quiet, stress-free and lots of relaxation. Just perfection.
Thursday we got an early morning text asking if we'd like to bring Elliott up to visit with Great-Grammy and Great-Grampy. I thought that was a great idea as they hadn't seen Elliott yet. It was very nice to see them and visit with them. (We also got to spend some time with their dog Buck who was sadly put to sleep on Saturday.) They loved meeting their newest great-grandson. It must be so awesome to have their family continue to grow right before their eyes. I can't imagine what it's like to be a Great-Grandparent! I hope I get to experience that someday. For dinner that night we went home and had a delicious lasagna with my mom and brother. This is so different from when Miranda was a newborn. We had no one around us for the most part. Here we are surrounded by friends and family who are so supportive and loving. I feel so blessed to have every one of them.
Friday he turned a week old and we had to go back to the pediatrician. The appointment went pretty similar to Tuesdays. We went in, they weighed him (5lbs 11oz) and the doctor looked at his coloring. Since he was still pretty yellow they wanted us to go back to the lab for another bilirubin test. (Grr!) So back to the hospital we went. The process went smoother than last time which was nice.
When the doctor called us later that day he said his bilirubin level had gone up (a whole half a point *eye roll*) so that we need to give him formula for 24 hours. Yeah right! I immediately went home and looked up breast milk jaundice and posted my outrage on Facebook. I got so much support, advice and information from all around. I found out that I do not have to give formula, that this is normal and it will go away on its own. Things I can do to help speed up the process are to breastfeed more frequently, in more quantities and to put him in the sun for short times stripped down to his diaper. So that's what I've been doing and while he is still slightly jaundiced, he's not near the danger level at all and he looks like he's getting better. Breast milk jaundice can last for a couple weeks and sometimes a couple months. I am confident that my son will overcome this on his own without me having to introduce formula into his tummy.
And that sums up his first week at home. Miranda loves her brother so much and loves having him here. I haven't seen a bit of jealousy or ill feelings toward him at all which is nice. She was having some behavior problems because of the big change but I think we're getting the hang of them as well. Slowly but surely we will find a routine and get back to a state of normal.
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