All Under One Roof!

Yesterday was a little busy so I didn't get to update....but...

Nathanael came home!! We headed up to the hospital around 9am. All four of us, for the first time, were symptom free and able to enter the NICU together. Nathanael's nurse ran through some of the regular baby discharge stuff such as this is how you wash a baby, this is how you dress a baby, lol. I think they have to make sure they tell you everything before you leave so you can't come back.
We then had about an hour training with the apnea, heart monitor. It was a little overwhelming and I could feel the anxiety starting. I was trying to feed Nathanael when the verbal part of the training was going on so I wasn't quite engaged in what the trainer was saying. Thankfully, the trainer was very thorough and took his time going over things, several times, with Todd. There is a lot more to the monitor then I originally thought. It's not a complicated thing, just a lot of little things to remember about it. Anyway....
After the monitor training, the nurse told us to go grab some lunch while they drew up the discharge papers. I guess the nurse practitioner was very busy with some sick babies and was a little behind on the paperwork. So, we grabbed a snack. It gave Todd and I some time to talk about the monitor and take a moment to breathe :).
Soon, we were all ready to go. We popped Nathanael into the wagon. Todd pulled and the kids pushed. I followed closely behind, thanking God for this day. I hope I don't have to see the inside of a hospital for a very long time. We made one quick pit stop then headed home.
So far we have only had one alarm with the monitor that concerned us. While sleeping, the heart rate monitor went off, indicating that his heart rate was less than 80. Indeed, he was not breathing when Todd walked over to him. With a little stimulation he resumed breathing and the alarmed silenced on it's own. His dr reassured us that these A and B (apnic and bradycardia) episodes with probably resolve themselves in about two weeks. He is doing well with his feedings. He is waking about every three hours, wanting to eat. He is taking 50ish ccs at a time. I think he had a belly ache last night. He had a hard time settling after his late night feeding and groaned for a while. He is on pepcid for reflux. I remember Lily...oh, she has such bad belly aches. She cried a lot! I'm hoping he is just adjusting to the formula and environment change.
Today was beautiful. After running some errands with the older two, we headed outside. Nathanael slept peacefully in the stroller while Lily and Alex played with some of the new b-day toys. Then the four of us went for a walk to the end of the street and back. No one was interested in napping (except me), so we settled for some quiet time instead.
Jessie stopped by for a quick visit. The kids love her! I think they heard her voice and came downstairs. Todd ordered chinese for dinner. After Jessie left, Lily and I headed outside to try out her new bike. After a couple mini-wipeouts, so quit. I think she got scared, poor thing! Alex, eventually joined us. We played in the yard with one of the new neighbours kids.
Lily and Alex went to bed early. Too many late nights with no naps. As I type, all is quiet. Todd is working on the couch and all three kids are asleep :). I am hoping for a quiet night.
Tomorrow Alex has his three year check-up and Nathanael has a follow-up appt. I think the days are going to be busy for a while but at least it's all happening under one roof!!!

Kelly