Hailey is Home
I’ve been up since 5:30 a.m. Brianna couldn’t sleep and that meant I also had to wake up early. We went to the NICU for the 7:30 a.m. feeding. We had hoped that this would be the day but we didn’t know for sure. In fact everything depended solely on Hailey.
We had a scare when we first went into Bay 3, Hailey’s home. Hailey’s nurse was changing Hailey’s diaper while wearing latex gloves and there was a new incubator oddly positioned next to Hailey’s current isolette. The gloves are normally only used on the quarantined babies. Our fears were unfounded. The incubator was the new home of the little baby to our right, not Hailey, and Hailey’s nurse just liked wearing gloves as she attended to all the babies in the bay.
During the night Hailey put on 27 grams, more than three times the dismal 7 grams she put on the night before. At the 7:30 feeding we had no new information. The nurses that we normally had suspected that we would not get to take Hailey home before Friday.
Thursday is a discharge round day so the NICU is closed between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. We couldn’t meet Hailey for the 10:30 a.m. feeding so we finished our preparations at home and returned for the 1:30 p.m. feeding still not knowing if today would be the day.
At 1:30 Elan asked Brianna if she slept well last night. Brianna of course said yes even though she awoke way too early in anticipation of the big day. We thought this meant that we wouldn’t sleep well tonight either because the decided to keep Hailey for an extra night. However that wouldn’t be the case, we wouldn’t sleep well tonight because we are attending to Hailey’s needs, not because we are worried about taking her home.
There was much information to be conveyed before we went home. They went over care, feeding, and medical requirements of the baby. While the NICU is very strict about their care patterns, we are assured that Hailey is a normal baby and can be cared for as any newborn infant. We are luckily, unlike a lot of the babies that were at the NICU ours had uncomplicated stay. She was early and required time to feed and grow. She did not have the complications that affected some of the other infants.
The ride home was nervously exciting. I drove quite slowly trying to avoid all the potholes. It is amazing just how rough the roads in Austin really are. You don’t seem to notice until it is time to be smooth in your journey. The Ford Focus is a car ideally suited only for front seat passengers. Once the care seat is placed in the rear seat the passenger seat becomes positioned in an uncomfortably upright position. A new vehicle will be on the shopping list once Brianna gets back to work.
Hailey made little noise on the ride home. Brianna assures me that she did not like my driving. I think Hailey will soon have the opportunity to dislike Brianna’s driving as well. We pulled into the driveway and rushed Hailey up to her crib. Placing Hailey in her crib has been long overdue. We spent the next few hours running up the stairs each time we heard a noise over the baby monitor. We finally got smart and moved Hailey to her bassinet which we moved downstairs. Now we can check on her immediately without running up the stairs.
The dog freaks out every time Hailey makes a sound. I can’t tell if she is jealous or worried. As long as Hailey is still and sleeping she is OK. As soon as Hailey grunts or makes a faint cry she paces. It is so good to be home. Yesterday the NICU gave us a new monthly parking pass. I am glad that we will not have to use it. I have been to Seton every day since December 23rd. I hope not to see it again soon. We will miss our friends Sue, Elan, April, Christina, Shandra, Nicole, Christine, Rhonda, and Sandra.
Oh Boy!, I Mean Girl
Hailey passed her car seat test in the wee hours of the morning. Brianna wanted to know if she like it? Apparently she did.
Here’s a shocker, they want to send Hailey home on Thursday. Now I’m nervous.
Hailey is eating well from the bottle and should have her feeding tube removed tomorrow morning. She hasn’t needed it today.
Return Merchandise Authorization
Brianna mailed off the broken hard drive for warranty repairs, new pictures can’t be posted until it returns.
Bath Day
Hailey got her first real bath today compliments of Sue and Dad. Mom was on hand with the video camera for documentation purposes. Hailey didn’t like having her hair washed but she looks and smells much better.
They told us to bring in our car seat today. One of the last things you do before going home is a car seat study. They place the baby in the car seat for 60 minutes while attached to the monitors and make sure there are no A & B episodes. I think Hailey will do fine. I also think we will be home next weekend.
Number Five is Alive
Hailey has taken five feedings in a row from the bottle. They expect the ‘light’ to click at any time, then Hailey will take all of her feedings from the bottle and they will remove the tube from her nose.
You Say It’s Your Birthday
Happy Birthday Brianna! Love You, Hailey and Dusty.
Hailey got Mom two cards, one Dad helped her with, the other the nurses at the NICU helped her with. The card from Hailey and the NICU nurses had a little poem and her hand prints. I will scan it when my hard drive returns.
Hailey has had four feedings from the bottle
The 35th Gestational Week
What would have been the 35th gestational week starts today.
Hailey passed the hearing screening given to all newborns today. The test is done with a laptop and some probes, the baby’s participation is not required, in-fact, the baby needs to be asleep for the screening to take place.
Hailey’s theophylline level is finally at a nontherapeutic level, the seven day countdown official starts now. This is day one. There have been no major problems since they removed the theophyline dosage. She has had one recorded episode.
Hailey is up to 48 mL every 3 hours
In other news, my hard-drive crashed today. I won’t be able to post any pictures until Western Digital finishes warranty service and I am able to boot Linux again.
Oink, Oink
Hailey is moving on up to 46 mL every 3 hours.
Is This It?
We might go home in 10 days. Hailey’s feedings are up to 44 mL every three hours. She took almost two feedings from the bottle today. This is her 34th gestational week, 35th is starts on Thursday.
Viva L’Open!
Open crib day. Hailey moved from the incubator to an open crib or isolette today.
Theophylline Free Day Zero
After 25 days at the NICU, Hailey is off of the theophylline, the oral drug that makes her remember to breath. One of the requirements for going home is to be theophylline free for seven days. They have stopped giving Hailye the drug today, it will be several days before the drug levels in her blood reach a nontherapeutic level.
I have fed Hailey her second bottle today at 8:30 p.m. That makes three meals in a roll in a bottle for Hailey. When the doctor’s do there rounds they say Miss Jones is learning how to eat. We could almost be there.
Another Friday Night
Day 24 at the NICU and I have finally fed Hailey a bottle. She still eating and she is still growing. The nurse practioner has told us that Hailey could go home in 2-3 weeks. Yeah! Could this be the home stretch?
One Bag of Sugar
During the night Hailey reached and surpased 4 lbs. She now weighs 4 lbs. 1 oz. She is wearing her first outfit, a yellow onesie. She completed a second full bottle at 2:30 a.m. and 28 mL of her scheduled 38 mL at 8:30 a.m. When she doesn’t get a bottle, mostly due to a lack of interest on her part, or when she doesn’t finish a bottle in 30 minutes, they will feed her the rest of the feeding via the tube in her nose.
First Full Bottle
Hailey has finished her first full bottle. This treat came at 11:30 a.m. She had a 28 mL from a second bottle during the 5:30 feeding. During the night she lost 8 grams so she hasn’t made the 4 lbs milestone yet.
Pictures of Day 22 in the gallery.
Twenty-One
Hailey is off the infusion pump now. They try nipplings at different points during the day. At the nurses 11:30 a.m. feeding Hailey didn’t take to the nipple at all. When Brianna tried at the 5:30 p.m. feeding Hailey nippled 8 mL again.
Hailey’s weight is up to 3 lbs. 15.5 oz., one more ounce to 4 lbs!
Today is Tuesday and that means discharge rounds, many of the familiar faces that we have come to know are getting to go home. It is an exciting time for all of the families. One couple that delivered on December 15 went home today after almost one month in the NICU. They passed on much useful information. I hope they do well on their own.
The social security office is remarkably efficient, Hailey’s card and newly assigned government tracking number arrived today.
Twenty
The baby shuffle continues. We are now in Bay 3 with our favorite other NICU mom. Hailey now weighs 3 lbs. 14 oz.
Hailey had her first nippling today. She sucked 8 mL of her 38 mL feeding from a bottle. The last bit was gravity feed through the syringe, they have moved from the 1.5 hour pump feed to 0.5 hours. Though now they may not need the infusion pump at all.
One of the doctor’s was doing his pass on today while we were there. He reported that there was nothing to report to the next shift’s doctor. As he walked over to the next baby he wrote down and said, “And she’s getting cutier.” It made me laugh, that particular doctor has the best sense of humor of the bunch.
Pictures of Day 20 in the gallery.
Eighteen
They have rearranged Bay 1. Our little family of preemies has changed. the NICU needed the room so they moved our favorite grandmother to the isolation room and moved her other twin close by in bay 3. The doctor’s twins moved to Seton-Northwest to be closer to their home. All the faces are new and it just doesn’t seem the same.
Hailey’s weight only went up 0.2 oz. so she is now at 3 lbs. 11.9 oz. They feel she isn’t gaining weight fast enough because she was using all her energy to maintain her body temperature, something she was very good at doing. Now the incubator has been turned back to servo-mode, meaning that a thermocouple on Hailey’s skin will help the heater maintain Hailey’s body temperature. The nurse practitioner has started introducing baby formula to supplant the breast milk. Formula has higher and more controlled calories.
Hailey has started spitting up a lot so they will use a syringe pump to space her feedings over a 1.5 hour period. For the engineer’s in the crowd. That is 38 mL every 3 hours. With a flow rate of 38 mL per 90 minutes.
I wouldn’t normally mention this, because it means I am losing, but Brianna has changed more diapers than me now.