The past week has been a bit of a whirlwind. Bennett was progressing well in the NICU. He started bottle feeding once per day on December 15th and increased from there. By Christmas Eve, he was taking all of his feedings by mouth and the tube was removed. He was put in a crib very recently also and was keeping his temperature up (with 2 sets of clothes and three blankets). He remained on the lowest amount of oxygen possible and failed a room air test twice this week. This did not matter because he could come home on the oxygen without a problem.
Last Thursday, his nurse told us she thought he would be there another four weeks. Monday, the MD said another two weeks would be all he needed. Then he turned on a switch. By Wednesday plans were for discharge this weekend. Yesterday, they told us we could take him home today. It is a little overwhelming to have everything happen so fast. I had to get up extra early this morning to get him an appointment with a pediatrician, buy all the stuff we still needed, and get the car seat installed. We left the hospital at about 3:00 this afternoon. There are a couple of pictures of his departure on the picture page.
He is still on the oxygen and may need that for up to another month. His body does not have enough mature red blood cells to stay properly oxygenated. However, a recent blood test showed that he has plenty of them maturing. So hopefully it won't be for long.
Now we are super alert and have a hard time leaving his room for long. I'm sure that will fade over time. It feels amazing and scary at the same time to have him home. He will be 36 weeks gestation tomorrow. He's up to 4lbs. 13oz.
He's eating about 2oz, 6-8 times per day. He gets breast milk for all but two feedings when he has to have a special preemie formula. I don't like it, but it is what is best for his development at this point. We hope to switch to full breast feeding around the time he is full term. It will depend on how well he gains weight. So think positive thoughts.
Bernie is taking the next 2-3 weeks off, so we have some time to adjust to being parents together. We will be spending most of our time at home because Bennett is not supposed to go out much until he is a bit older. Too many germy nasty people out there.
Lastly, Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope to get birth announcements out as soon as possible...so keep your eye out.
1 comment:
Wow, now I can get an idea of his size seeing him in the car seat! He is so tiny and adorable! I am so happy he got to go home already, I didn't know he would be able to on oxygen, but that makes sense. No need to stay there if that's all he needs and he is eating. It seems that as long as he is not refusing the breast and feeding both on that and the formula, it should not interfere with eventually ruling it out. All good news!
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