No proofreading again- read at your own risk!
BIG NEWS- Liam's completely off fluids!!! His IV bag and "tether" are gone! All that's left is his PIC port in his head just in case they needed to start IVs again, he doesn't have to get poked a second time. So he still looks like RoboBaby, just one less line. Another milestone!!
Also- for those DYING to know, left squeezed out a lovely dirty diaper just in time for me to change this morning.:)
So after a great day yesterday, I went beboping on up to NICU thinking Liam and I will have a great breastfeed for breakfast. He had other plans. He was totally not interested. Not with either side. Not after I cuddled him first and then tried again. He was clearly going to make me work for this, the stinker. After a good effort, we went with the bottle which he took just fine. Oh well, at least he was fed. I wondered if the overnight bottle feedings might have confused him so he wasn't ready to go back to breast. I didn't go up to NICU for the night feeds because I have to call for the hospital shuttle (runs complimentary from the House 24 hours a day!) and scrub in all to feed him for maybe 20 minutes. Just not worth the sleep deprivation at this time. I also thought, maybe I smelled too much like my Forever Sunshine soap from the shower and not like myself so maybe that put him off.
I wasn't discouraged though. I knew he could do it, I just had to recreate what I did yesterday that worked so well. I went back to the House so I could pump (since he took a bottle) and waiting for the next visiting session to try again.
Lunchtime still presented problems. He was almost downright fussy, pushing me away. Then I started to worry a bit. I tried to recall everything the lactation consultant said yesterday to be sure I had cuing and positioning correct. I made sure I relaxed so he didn't feel me tense. I made sure to calm him down so he wasn't worked up. Nothing helped. I gave up for the second time and got him a bottle. We had gotten the all clear from his pediatrician to go up to max feeds if he wanted to take that much. So we tried it with the bottle to see how much he would take if given the opportunity. He must have been hungry because it took it all. Then he was happy and ready for a cuddle before visiting was over. I do believe I even saw some smirks when he knew he won by getting the bottle. Bottle feeding is much easier for babies then breastfeeding because they don't have to use as many muscles and as much effort when bottle feeding. So this kid was already learning how to work the system?? I'm in trouble.
His day nurse and I decided it was time to bring in reinforcements and get the lactation consultant back up to see what I can do differently. When I went back up for his mid-afternoon feed at 3pm he was still very sleepy and was even spitting up some of his lunch. We tapped on his lips and held his hand up to his mouth to see if he'd "fist" it (a sign he's ready to eat). We got nothing. He was still snoozing and obviously full from lunch still. So I waited. And waited. An hour later he was still snug as a bug. It was decided that at 4:30p it would be time to get him up and try again. I gave him a bath and we got his vitals just to be sure he was good and awake. After he got a fresh diaper and jammies on we gave breastfeeding another go. I held my breath, so nervous we would fail again.
The boy ate! Hopped right on like it was no big deal and did beautifully. He got a full feed and a nice burp out. Sweet relief!! I was so excited! He wasn't confused by switching, he was just telling us what he wanted (or didn't want as the case were). Steve had arrived about the same time and I claimed that Liam knew his daddy was there and he better shape up. Steve came over earlier than usual because we had to attend our Discharge Class. Our what?? You read that right- our Discharge Class. The past two days we've been hearing Liam might go home sometime next week. Now we're hearing more toward the start of next week, there's so much to do!! The Discharge Class is required for parents of NICU babies before they can be released. It was a great class with a superb instructor (in my professional opinion- grin) that went over the basics of baby care and some extra things we need to be mindful of with NICU babies. It was a great refresher for me since it's been so long since I've done this. And it was great for Steve since this was his first baby verses the toddler I had when we first met. We're going to try to do a CPR class on Monday if we can as well.
Ya- so discharge!! When I first heard people buzzing about it, I kinda blew it off as that would be nice to go home next week, but I'm not going to get my hopes up yet. Then when more of his doctors were saying it, I was thinking- wow, this is a real possibility! Today the pediatrician said once Liam's doing full feeds consistently and gaining weight he should be set to go- Monday or Tuesday if things stay on track. The surgeon (Dr Lewis) came by and looked at his belly and discussed his progress with me. She also threw out the Monday or Tuesday time frame. Oh my gosh, was this really going to happen so soon?? Liam was just 3 weeks old today (today was his due date by the way!). Could we really be out of here in just under a month. It's what I thought might be possible, but I didn't want to get let down. It seems surreal and yet very do-able all at the same time. I need to straighten up his room, buy diapers (had no idea what size he'd be coming home so I had put that off), we need to hook up the monitor and put together the car seat. So much to do!!
And it couldn't come a moment too soon. Riley is officially over all of this mess. He's said a few times this week he didn't want to come to the Ronald McDonald House, but Shez and Mal managed to coax him over Monday. Then we went home Tuesday and Wednesday, but Riley was not at all interested in coming over today. Which is a shame because he had a half day and it would have been fun to get a movie or go find something to do in town. He said he wanted to stay at his house, with his toys and not go anywhere. Can't blame the kid after getting carted back and forth for the past three weeks. He did great, it was a good run, but I think Riley has hit his wall. Shez said she thought Riley wanted to be in control of something so they let him choose whatever he wanted to do after school. It sounds like they had a blast outside in the gorgeous weather. Steve's parents were also glad to get in some good Riley-time where they had him all to themselves. They really hadn't gotten that opportunity since they've been over. They've mainly been Riley's driver!
I was sad I didn't get to see my other "baby" as he lights up my day. I was also sad that he's feeling the strain of the situation, no kid should have to go through this. I hate too that he missed out on saying goodbye to Ms Grace, his most favorite volunteer at the House. Her last day was today (she's going to Officer Training School for the Navy) and they had big plans to make a cake and frost it. I didn't even get back to the house to tell her why he wasn't there and to say goodbye because we had to do the Discharge Class tonight during dinner break. I hope to get her details from the staff here so we can give her a proper goodbye. She was a lifesaver with Riley and one of the biggest reasons he loved coming over. It made the transition easier for us. She'd play with him on the playground, she made Rice Krispie treats with him for the Super Bowl party, and was just always checking up on how his day was. He adored her so that's how I knew Riley was just over everything. Hopefully, he'll want to come stay the weekend and then we'll be home for good in a few short days.
I'm almost too scared to believe it could happen....
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