Nathan's homecoming

Nathan and I were discharged Sunday and boy does it feel good to be home. Justin seems to be adjusting well so far; when he gets home from Carlene's he walks into our room calling "baby, baby" and loves peeking over the edge of the bassinet and giving Nathan love taps.

Justin's Going to McDonalds on Monday!

That's what the NICU nurses say when a baby is DISCHARGED. Yep, you read it right, my baby is finally coming home. For some reason babies seem to take a few steps back when the term discharged is used so they started using McDonalds, lol. And it's funny because in passing one of the nurses said they heard Justin is going to McDonalds and the representative from the oxygen tank company heard her and said "McDonalds sounds good, what are you getting". I laughed and had to explain to him that it was code for him coming home.

This morning I looked at Justin and said to myself "you look bigger". It took me two minutes to realize that he looked bigger because he no longer had his feeding tube in so I could see more of his face. I was so excited because I wasn't expecting them to remove it. And even though I knew he would more than likely be discharged next week I was not expecting them to say that we could bring him home Monday. But yesterday he passed his car seat test with flying colors. This morning I was finally able to pick up his prescriptions so the nurse was able to go over the medications with Carl and I. And we met with a representative from the company supplying his oxygen tanks and received two tanks for home and two portable tanks.

And now that he's coming home he can finally start receiving breast milk. For now he'll be getting breast milk for 2 out of his 8 feeds but they'll need to be fortified with formula. But the plan is to gradually increase it as he continues to gain weight. So it looks like all my hard work as a milk cow is paying off. Now lets see if I can keep it up.

Discharge Planning

So it looks like it's finally here. They haven't given us an exact date because of course it's all up to Mr. Justin but they're thinking sometime next week. The at home oxygen tank has been ordered and the medications have been sent down to the pharmacy so I can pick up tomorrow and they can teach me how to draw up his meds. Tomorrow I plan on taking in his carrier so they can do his car seat test. In order for him to be discharged he needs to be able to sit in his car seat for an hour without any apneas, bradycardias or desaturations. So it looks like Carl and I need to live up our last weekend alone and childless. And even though I'm scared out of my mind I can't wait to bring Justin home. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for us!

Requirements for Discharge

Since many people are asking when Justin can come home I thought I'd post the requirements for discharge:

• is gaining weight at a rate of 15-30 grams per day
• is able to maintain his body temperature in an open crib
• has had no significant apneas (stops breathing) or bradycardias (heart rate under 60 beats per minute) for at least five to eight days
• is able to take all of his feedings from a bottle or breast

Since they started adding Polycose (sugar supplement) to his feedings Justin's weight gain has been pretty consistent and ranges from 8 grams to 111 grams.

Justin won't be put in an open crib until he reaches approximately 1,500 grams and is taking all of his feedings from a bottle.

Justin has had a few apneas and bradycardias since they stopped the caffeine treatments but nothing too significant.

Justin is being nippled for two out of his eight feedings but he may not always take the entire bottle. I never really thought about it but it takes a lot of work for a baby to eat, trying to coordinate sucking, breathing and swallowing. So sometimes he's too tired or has been overstimulated from eye exams, physical therapy, etc.