Congrats to our little girl on being three weeks old today. She's pulling her head up surprisingly well and looking around more than ever. You can see more eyelashes every day. She's also up to 5.5 lbs. Now if she would just sleep through the night like she does during the day, all would be great.
During Bryson's first bath, he screamed the whole time. So we were ready for a screamfest, but she did absolutely great.
She smells so much better now and her hair was quite fluffy afterwards.
No, not that Pooh. I'm talking baby poo, which itself is really harmless. Sure it stinks and isn’t pleasant to look at, but most of the time it’s just found in a diaper in a steady state. If you’re one of the lucky parents to see it actually emerging from the bottom of your son/daughter it looks like soft serve ice cream. (Chocolate, not the vanilla). Nice and slow. OK, so just slow. Today, I took off Finley’s diaper to see a small spattering of the soft serve. The thought of, “Hey, that’s not very much. I wonder if some more might OH MY GOSH!” Before I could finish my original thought, the poo came flying. This is not an exaggeration…it flew 4 feet from the source onto everything. That would be the nearby comforter on our bed, the sheets, the carpet below, my arm, and the once-sanitary wipes. Thankfully the dogs that are our shadow the entire day and won’t leave our feet decided to find something better to do. It was one of those life events that when it happens, you just are in shock. "Now what?" As Bryson says, “Clean up!” Thankfully she was done. Just as I was done with the decontamination, Lindsay called, “Hey. What are you doing?” “You’ll never believe this…” I said.
Yesterday was a relaxing day. We slept in as much as we could and then watched movies and enjoyed each others company. Later yesterday evening we went driving around for a bit and looked at Christmas lights. We wanted to take Bryson to the Trail of Lights this year, but don't think it's a good idea since we've been told to avoid public in general for a bit with Finley. So, we settled on driving around, and he loved seeing the Santas everywhere. Finley slept during the ride and was a good little girl.
When we got home we decided to give both kids a bath, Finley's being a sponge bath since her umbilical cord still hasn't fallen off yet. She did really well, and after washing her hair, it dried quickly, and quite spikey. We took a few pictures, and Bryson tried to have spikey hair like his sister with his lion towel. He gave Finley a sweet kiss goodnight.
....and our life as 4 under the same roof begins. We were told earlier this morning that we'd be able to take Finley home with us, and it was exactly what we wanted to hear. We were ready to get away from the hospital and to stop driving back and forth day after day. We are so glad to be home together, and are excited about our new adventures. Before we left, they had checked her bilirubin level (for the jaundice) and it was still up a bit, but not dangerously, and it had come down a bit from the previous day. They felt it was safe for her to go home. We were given lots of discharge instructions and some preemie education upon leaving the hospital. It will be a little while before Finley is able to venture out much or have many visitors. They want to keep her at a minimal risk for infection since her immune system could be more sensitive with being a preemie. We went by the pediatrician's office on the way home to get a baseline weight on her on their scale, and are to go back on Monday for another weight check and also a check of her bilirubin level to see if the jaundice has decreased any more.
Bryson met his sister for the first time today, and you could tell he was very excited to meet the little baby named Finley that we have told him so much about, but you could also tell that he was a little unsure of things when she was in the car going home with us. Since we got home he has been a little bit smitten over her. He has tried to give her her pacifier back, and tried to assist Mommy with holding a bottle for Finley too. There has also been a few times that she has made noises and he tells her "it's okay baby". I think they'll get along for now, but check back on that one in a few days and we'll see where we're at. :)
We are so happy to have our little girl home, and will keep giving updates as the days go by at home.
She sure is happy that Mommy and Daddy are staying with her tonight. That, or just a little gassy ;)
Today Mommy went to visit and got to talk to the doctor that is working on Finley's case. She says she is doing great, and Finley was up in weight a few ounces to 4 pounds 9 ounces now. She asked if we would be ready for her tomorrow if she came home. She kind of smiled when she said it, and just asked if we were prepared with preemie clothes and other things we might need for her. I happily told her yes! So...she could possibly be coming home tomorrow, but if not will most likely be home by Friday. We are stocked on clothes thanks to Finley's 2 aunts and grandparents, and Mommy made a short shopping trip today too. The outfit I put her in today in this picture was a preemie, and she still is swallowed up in it a bit. We are going to get our last full nights rest for probably the next few years. But that really doesn't matter, because we are just so in love with our new little bundle :)
are minimal wires now to hold her down. We are just waiting for her to eat more and gain weight steadily before she comes home. I have great faith that she will do this quickly. She has proven to be a strong little girl so far. She nursed well today, almost better than taking a bottle, which was so nice of her to make it easy on Mommy. She is holding her temperature well now too. I felt bad because the nurse had to change her pants right before we got there because Finley had pooped all over her. Glad it wasn't me, but glad to hear that she's pooping good! HA! We both got to enjoy holding her for a bit today since Bryson was in preschool this morning having a good time himself. Aunt Courtney came by the hospital on her lunch break since we were there and actually got to hold her for a few minutes too. We can't wait to see her again tomorrow. Best case scenario would be that she would be home before the weekend, but most likely will be home before Christmas for sure. Of course, they still have not said this to us, but I have a good feeling it will happen.
We went to see her this afternoon for a few hours and met Lindsay's mom there for a bit too. They let us hold her for 30 minutes outside of the light, so we had to take turns. When we got there she had been bathed and the IV from her head was no longer in place! We were so happy to see a head free of wires :) They did place one in her hand, but said it probably wouldn't be used after today. We sure do have a fantastic little furball!!!
Today was a good day. A day of many small steps. We went to the NICU around 9AM to see Finley under the bright lights. Her billirubin levels were a bit low and jaundice was going to set in. We heard she was going to stay under this light for a while. Her eyes were protected from the light with her fancy sunglasses. The light was so bright that it played some pretty interesting tricks with the camera.
With the bright lights, we were able to get a good shot of how furry she is. Not only does she have a great head of hair, but she has some nice fuzz on her arms.
The REALLY good news of the morning was that she was totally off the oxygen. She had nothing but real air again. It seems like there are baby steps happening everywhere. Some good, some bad, but there is constantly something new with Finley, and it is all pleasant at the moment.
That was so encouraging, and then they asked if Lindsay would like to hold her with skin to skin contact that they also like to call "kangaroo therapy". It is good for Finley and great for Mommy's milk supply. So, Lindsay and Finley were extremely relaxed and loving every moment of holding each other and feeling each other's heart beats. She is such a little blessing! They also had upped her dosage of feedings from 5 ml to 10 ml per feeding. Hopefully she'll be plumping up and getting stronger at every feeding.
