Welcome Home

August 11th will always be an important date as that is the day we got to bring home our precious baby boy from the hospital. It was a very long 6+ weeks in the hospital and I can't believe I survived. There were definitely days where I wondered how I was ever going to make it to the end. I also had days where I didn't think discharge day would ever come and the hospital was going to keep him forever. 

On Saturday morning during doctor rounds is when I got the best news ever that Max would come home the following day as long as he passed the car seat challenge. Once he passed it I was still worried that something would come up that would prevent the discharge from happening. Then on Sunday morning my phone rang and it was the NICU and I was worried at what they were going to say. Did something happen since last night that is going to prevent him from coming home? Nope, that wasn't it. They wanted to tell me to bring a large cooler for my breast milk they had stored away in their deep Freezer.  They had 11 large bags filled with milk containers. WOW! They also officially announced the Doctor's orders to start discharge and he can go home after 2:30pm. After that very positive phone call we hurried up on cleaning the house and took off to the hospital for our last NICU visit. The last time I would have to enter a secured room via a telephone, sign my name on paper saying I am not sick and the last time I would have a nurse watching over me as I took care of my baby. Don't get me wrong, I did not hate the NICU. In fact it's a great hospital with amazing nurses that I got to know quite well. In fact there are a couple nurses that I will even miss. 

We got to the hospital at 12:30 to start the discharge process. We also took our first family photo before it was time to get wheeled out via the red wagon.

Max is all strapped in and ready to go home.

As exciting as this day was, I was also extremely nervous. Now we are "full-time parents" who are 100% responsible for this little life. No nurses around to help and ask random questions to. Nope, now it's all on Andy and I. 

On the car ride home I sat in the back with Max staring at him to make sure he was breathing and could really truly handle his car seat. Yes, he did a great job on the ride home as he slept the whole way.

We got him home safe and sound and I just sat on the couch staring at him forever as I was in happy land because my whole family is together at home.

Daddy son time.

The first day was great as he just ate, pooped and slept. I did not sleep that night as I was so concerned if he was breathing or not. I did not have a machine to tell me is he has stopped breathing like in the hospital. Instead I just constantly looked in his bassinet as it was next to the bed. Yes, he made it through the first night with us as parents. I call that success!

Passing The Test

During lunch time yesterday Max went through the car seat challenge. They did this while we were out to lunch with good friends and we got back during the last 15 minutes of the test. 

Knowing this hour and a half can make or break him coming home tonight made me a little nervous. In the morning the doctor informed us that if he passes the challenge then he will be discharged Sunday night. It was very exciting news, but also made me anxious too. I was glad we were out to lunch with friends because it took our minds off the test. 

Once we got back and got the good news that he was doing awesome and he slept the whole time I was doing the happy dance, inside of course. Here's to Max's discharge day!

The Feeding Tube Is Out

They took out Maxim's feeding tube on Thursday and now you can see how super cute he is.  Just look at that face!

He is 6lbs 2.5oz and growing. They are watching him to make sure he can continue to eat on his own and gain weight. He was circumcised on Tuesday...poor guy. Andy was there for him during the procedure to hold his hand. He handled it like a champ! Maxim still needs to pass the car seat challenge before he can come home. It looks like that might happen today, so keep your fingers crossed that he passes. Hopefully we will be celebrating his homecoming very soon.

The Dogs are Excited

For the past 6+ weeks our routine has been way off and the poor girls have been confused and I am sure they miss us a lot.  Between work and the hospital I feel like I am never home and when I do get home the girls are overly excited to see me.  They have not been getting their nightly treats from me much because I think it's too late to give to them at 10pm when I am ready for bed.  I really don't want to listen to them smack their lips as they chew on their bones for a half an hour at the end of the bed when all I really want to do is sleep. 

In preparation for Max's homecoming I have been letting them smell me when I get home  I bend down to their level and watch their sniffers go to town.  They get really excited as they try to figure out the smell.  I think Madison has figured out their is a baby somewhere, but just now sure where.  Izzy on the other hand, has no clue what's going on.  She smells me, but is more excited just to see me when I get home. 

Madison is getting ready to go to town with her sniffer.

Another trick we have been doing to get the dogs ready for Max's homecoming is bringing the receiving blankets home that he's wrapped up in all day.  We will lay them on the dogs bed or where they lay on the couch.  Madison goes crazy trying to figure out the smell and wonders where the baby is.  Izzy will sniff, but then she is already on to something else interesting and exciting in the house.  We have quite a few of these blankets laying around the house and they will be great to use when Max does come home. 

I had them pose for the picture, with treats of course!

The girls are ready for Maxim to come home. Let's just hope they can behave themselves.

Bath Time

Andy and I gave Maxim his third swaddle bath in the hospital this weekend and we are pretty sure (or at least we hope) it's his last bath in the hospital.  He likes the swaddle baths as it seems to be really calming to him.  The nurse that day took photos so I will share them.

He doesn't like when we take his limbs out of the blanket.  He prefers just to sit in the water all wrapped up.

I love it when he makes this face.  He does it quite a bit.

 

Family photo during bath time.

 As I was swaddling him in preparation for the bath, poop came shooting out of him and all over the swaddle blanket.  Luckily it did not get on me.  Andy and I both started laughing as it was too funny because we just changed his poopy diaper that he JUST made.  I don't even know how many times he has pooped on me but nearly missed my clothes.  I feel I need to start carrying a spare tank top with me for that day he does not miss and it lands on me.  Yes, a spare tank top is a must for the diaper bag.

Maxim Update

Yesterday marked the 36 week gestational age for Maxim or tomorrow will mark that he is 6 weeks old.  Either way you look at it he is getting older.  Yesterday was a good day as we got good news from the doctor.  He thinks Maxim will be coming home this weekend as long as this week goes as planned.  Yay!  I try not to get too excited as he has to have a great week.  He has to get through the following in order to come home.

• Circumcision 
• Once he reaches 70% of his feeds on his own they will remove his feeding tube and feed him when he wants to be fed. (They are guessing this will happen very soon.)
• Once his feeding tube is out he has to maintain eating on his own and gain weight for a couple days.
• He will have a hearing test once his tube is removed.
• He will have to have his Hep B shot.
• Car seat challenge.  He has to sit in his car seat for 1.5 hours with no "A's and B's."
• Mom and dad have to watch the discharge videos. (There are two and I am sure they are boring)
• Mom and dad are taking the CPR class. (Scheduled for Wednesday night)

I am beyond excited for Max to come home.  I am trying not to get my hopes up too much because the nurse did inform me that it's not uncommon to put the feeding tube back in after a day because he is not gaining the weight and not taking his feedings well.  Ok, I am staying positive and not stressing out and I am trying to be realistic so that if the tube does go back in after it's taken out it's not a complete shock to me and cause me to break down in tears. 

Maxim is currently 5 pounds 15 ounces and we are so close to him coming home.  His room is ready and we are all anxious for discharge day.

Maxim is excited to come home too!

My Baby Showers

One thing you do to celebrate your pregnancy and the upcoming birth of your baby is attend baby showers that are held for you by family and good friends.  As I was growing bigger and bigger, I found myself looking forward to the showers that were supposed to be all about the little guy growing inside of me. I had two showers scheduled: one in WI hosted by my mother and mother-in-law and the other one here in AZ hosted by my two really good girlfriends (Amber and Kim).

As the temperature was rising in Arizona and my body temperature rapidly rising with it, I was looking forward to getting out of the heat and heading to WI for a weekend.  I was also really looking forward to seeing my family and friends. The weekend before my scheduled shower I checked out the weather report and got excited as it was going to be a nice break from this heat.  I started to think about what to pack.  Honestly, I didn't have to think that long because I didn't have many clothes that fit me anymore.  Unfortunately all of this excitement came to a screeching hault as two days before my scheduled flight Max was born and I was no longer pregnant. Of course I was not going to leave AZ and try and attend my shower. Instead all of the planning and preparations that my mother and mother-in-law put into it were now not going to happen. Everything was canceled.  I was super bummed.  I felt gipped out of my own baby shower. The one thing every pregnant woman is supposed to get and experience.  You only get it with your first baby.  These showers don't happen over and over again.  I was bummed.  I was not going to escape the heat, I was not going to see family and friends and I was most certainly not going to be celebrating a pregnancy...instead I am going to be counting my blessings that my baby is healthy.

Lucky for me I did have one more baby shower that was on the calendar here in AZ. I was going to get my one shower after all.  That shower was scheduled a few weeks after Max was born. I was definitely looking forward to the shower to have a nice change from the hospital setting, spend some time with my ladies and have a few laughs. On my very long drive to the shower I was feeling guilty for not being at the hospital. I mean, what kind of mother am I to go and have fun with my ladies while my baby is in the NICU?  I tried really hard to get those thoughts out of my head.  Once I arrived on location and saw all the amazing things my girlfriends did for me to make this day special I realized how silly I was being. I deserved this shower and I am not out "whooping" it up while my baby is in the NICU.  I needed change from the hospital, normalcy and friends...if only for a few hours.

I ended up with a wonderful baby shower here in AZ and I am very thankful to my amazing girlfriends who put on the shower.  They did such a wonderful job and this girl is extremely happy to have them in my life.  I do not have photos from the shower, but you can get all of that from Kim's blog here. 

The latest photo of the big man!