Homecoming

We are finally home! Bethany did great on her overnight trial, nursing with Mommy all night on Wednesday evening. She had not been taking the bottle well at all, any time this week, and most of her every three hour feedings had been given passively through the NG tube (tube going through her nose, directly down into her tummy). BUT, she has been nursing like a champ for the last two days while I have been at the hospital. This overnight trial was her final test and ticket out of the hospital. She passed with flying colors, even waking up on her own every three hours, and nursing at least 10 minutes each time and actually gained an ounce of weight by morning. My milk supply is absolutely insane (5-6 ounces every 3 hours), so 10 minutes is more than enough for her little body to handle, as her requirement for size is a mere 1-1/2ounce!

Grandma C picked us up from the hospital FOR THE LAST TIME Thursday morning, Tubby finally saw his baby sister for the FIRST TIME, and we opted to stay at their house in the cities one more night, as I had two appointments the next morning in the cities (and am still under orders not to drive = my mom would have had to drive out to Waconia the next morning, pick me up, and drive us all BACK to the cities....yuck). We enjoyed a calm afternoon at the house, with several naps(mostly taken by me), and finished our evening with a fantastic array of Indian food from India Palace, compliments of Grandpa. YUM!

Bethany slept well in a makeshift bed I prepared for her out of the same bathtub I had used as a baby. Laura and Tubby slept peacefully on the floor in my room, as they had for so many nights in a row.

I enjoyed the first night almost at home with my baby sleeping quietly beside my bed, waking every few hours to nurse and pump.


Waking up in the morning and NOT going to the hospital was WONDERFUL! So many days of getting up and going at 8am with my dad, being picked up at 2pm by my mom and two little ones, crashing and napping in the afternoons on the couch before inhaling a quick dinner, then back to the hospital at 6:30-8pm, only to do it all over again the following day. Sitting in uncomfortable chairs in the hot nursery trying to recover from abdominal surgery with nowhere to rest, being told how to take care of my own baby, following some ridiculous and unnatural feeding schedule, and actually having a limit on how much I could hold her. Most of the nurses were very nice, but the overall atmosphere was not nearly as welcoming or as family-friendly as the NICU with Laura had been. So very glad to have escaped with my baby and to have that road now behind us.
After our morning appointments were completed, we continued the drive to Waconia......and rolling in at just about noon, we were FINALLY HOME!!!! The rest of the day was spent settling in, setting up Bethany's new deluxe swing, resting comfortably on the couch, greeting a few visitors, welcoming a meal from my MOPS friends, Grandma helping to restock the kitchen with groceries, finding just the right spot for all the baby essentials like diapers, blankets, and pacifiers, and most of all, learning what it is like to be a family of 10! Which today meant LOTS of baby holding!!!

After 17 days away, it's SO GOOD to be HOME!!!!

Oh, and Happy Two Week Birthday, little Girl!