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Keeping up with the Joneses :.Posted By Daisy on May 16, 2012
We brought Levi home from the NICU on Monday. Since then I keep trying to update my blog, but every time I think I have time to post an update. I get called away…
…this time is no different. We are admitting Levi to get his bilirubin level back under control. So…
Gotta go. Keep praying.
Posted By Daisy on May 13, 2012
While I have such a captive audience on my blog I thought I’d point you to this blog post about Mommy Wars. I have some thoughts on one particular mommy war – the whole breastfeeding vs. formula feeding issue. Which is a big part of my nursing practice and has now become over a third of my time. But you all came to this blog for updates on Levi.
Before I do that, Let me wish Happy Mother’s Day to some mommies who became mothers to the motherless.
Kristen Schlottmann – who filled the hole in her mother’s heart with two awesome little girls.
Jana Hill – who decided that their house and their hearts had plenty of room to pull a little boy out of the foster system.
Rachael Juarez – who had made the choice to pour her love into the wounds of three siblings.
Jennifer Shaffer – who is spending Mother’s Day at an ICU bedside of one of the two kids she opened her heart to.
Summer Conn – who is searching countries in Africa for a child to bring into her home so that her husband can raise a marathon winner.
AND
Becky Fuller – who is a single foster mom and loves unconditionally whichever child God has placed with her.
You girls rock. To say the least.
I on the other hand have been called to birth all of my children.
Levi – is pretty much the cutest baby in the NICU right now, Of course I haven’t actually seen any of the others, I’ve heard rumors. And I believe it.
He was off Phototherapy yesterday, but today he is back in the tanning bed. *sigh* His little liver needs to learn how to clear that yellow stuff on it’s own. He still hasn’t had a real chance to prove that he can hold his temp without artifical heat yet.
He is eating better and better, but the prayer list still includes better feedings. He’s got more work to do. Mom has plenty of milk, the pumped storage is filling up quickly. The trouble is Levi is a typical lazy early guy and he decided that there is just only so much that he will swallow before he’s done. His poop is changing to breast milk poop now. I love that. Diaper changes make me happy. His feedings are better enough though that his iv is not only stopped now but got taken out in the middle of the night! Go Levi.
So geeze, he’s practically just a normal kid now.
Posted By Daisy on May 12, 2012
*Disclaimer* The following is not meant to offend any of the well-meaning people who I know love me.
Please stop asking me if I’ve slept. What in the heck does that mean anyway? Did I go to bed and sleep 8 hours? Did I catch 20 minutes in the recliner? Something in between? No, I have not been awake since Monday morning before this all started, so I suppose that I’ve slept. But really I don’t want to talk about it and I don’t want to recount which moments I was unconcious over the past few days. I have a newborn. Even if we were home with him I wouldn’t be getting a lot of sleep. I, of all people, know how to be sleep deprived and I will manage just fine. Don’t remind me that I need to sleep. I’m a big girl, I really do know how to take care of myself.
Please stop assuming that I am an emotional wreck. Sure this was not the plan I had in mind, but I know quite a bit about how these things go, since it’s part of my job, and I know that this could be so much worse. I’m thankful every minute for how “not that bad” this all is. On top of it, Levi is a rock star. I couldn’t dream of all this going better than it has short of never having had to come to the NICU in the first place.
God and I are on pretty good speaking terms and I don’t really need to be told what his intentions are for our family. He has walked with me through plenty of junk in my life and I don’t need to be reminded that He is here now. I am very thankful for all the prayers, clearly this kid has been getting plenty of prayers. Please be assured that Spiritually I really couldn’t be much better.
So with that said. How am I? I am doing just fine. Don’t fret.
Posted By Daisy on May 12, 2012
Friday…
Since time out of bed has been minimum Mommy has been getting all the snuggle time so that Levi can get good milk. Today we cheated a little and let him have some extra time to snuggle with Daddy. This was only the second time Daddy got to hold him and really the first chance they had to snuggle in together.
Levi continues to have no trouble breathing on his own. His job now to to start eating enough that he doesn’t need the iv anymore. Although they still check to see what’s in his tummy before he eats, we don’t worry about that number and he just gets to eat.
My schedule now is diaper change, weigh the baby, breastfeed the baby, weigh the baby again, (to see how much he ate) pump and then I get a 2 hour window before the next feed. He has a progressing goal each feed for what he eats. If his breastfeeding intake is less than his goal he gets some of the fridge milk in his feeding tube. So far we’ve only done that once. I’m almost happy to report that there is a lot of milk in the fridge that is going to get wasted.
Tomorrow should be more of the same. Maybe he’ll get to get out of the lights. I know the rest of the family would love the chance to hold him.
In my 2 hour window what do I do? Sleep? Well not today. I prioritzed feeding myself, showering and a precious few moments with three of the other kids. Maybe even a minute to just talk with my husband. I think all those things were important enough to put above sleep. Today. Tomorrow I promise to take a nap.
Saturday Morning….
Great night, better morning.
Levi is breastfeeding much better. Levi’s phototherapy is off. Next goal, no more iv fluids! That will happen if he can keep his blood sugars up as the fluid rate goes down. He also needs to keep his temp up as the temp in his isolette goes down. Yeah Clothes!!
So do I have an awesome baby or what? He’s a tough guy.
Posted By Daisy on May 10, 2012
Conversation between Daddy and Mommy:
Mommy: Levi was born Monday?
Daddy: Levi Was born Tuesday.
Mommy: Levi was born Tuesday?
Daddy: Yes
Mommy: And today is Thursday?
Daddy: Yes
Mommy: He’s 2 days old.
Daddy: Yes
Repeat, multiple times throughout the day.
Okay, so maybe I’m a little tired. Maybe when old people get senile, they are just really, really tired.
I did go home and sleep some last night. The first night I went home and slept restlessly for just a couple hours and then made Matt drive me back to the hospital. Last night I managed to stay home all night and then try to sort through some of the not-ready-for-baby-to-come house before driving back to the NICU.
Tonight I’m staying at the hospital. I can’t miss a moment of snuggle time.
I miss Roo. I want to talk to my big kids and hear how their days are.
So that’s how Mommy is doing. As for the littlest one, he’s had a great day. The cpap is off and he is yet to need any supplemental oxygen. He breathes just like any other ordinary baby now. He’s extra cute without his elephant trunk.
He’s under phototherapy lights because he is jaundiced. No big surprise and not really a big deal. Just means he has to stay in his little bed so he can get lots of his magic blue light. I’m wearing my sunglasses because the lights give me a headache. But I deal with these in my job often so I’m used to them. I wear sunglasses at work when I have a patient under lights also.
As for eating. He is still not really digesting the milk that we put in his tummy. So he still gets iv nutrition and he still doesn’t get any more milk down his tube. Mommy’s milk is piling up in the fridge. He does get to try to breastfeed. But he’s not hungry and the jaundice is making him sleepy.
I have pictures of him in his new digs on the camera, but I will wait to upload them for now. Watch Flickr for pictures soon I promise. Until then I gotta go love on my baby now.
