Week Eight: Nov 11th - Nov 17th

Nov 11^th

It was a busy day for Bennett and Mumma.  Nana came over and we all went for a walk on the bike path near the house since the weather was nice.  When we got back you had a visit from Donna from Early Intervention.  Then it was off to the opening of Daddy’s store.  Mumma’s friend Leslie stopped by and she remarked on how cute you are.

Nov 12^th

You went for a walk again today with Mumma, although it was much chillier than yesterday.  In the spring we’ll have to take more advantage of the bike path.  When Daddy came home we went out and bought you some 3-6 month clothes since Mumma had a coupon.  We also picked up some books which Daddy read to you at bedtime- and it even put Mumma to sleep.  :)

Nov 13^th

The weather was lovely today (low 60s) so the three of us went for a walk on the bike path.  In the evening, Daddy stayed at home with you while Mumma went out to do some Christmas shopping.

Nov 14^th

You spent the morning with Daddy while Mumma slept in, but then you went with Mumma to visit Mimi while Daddy stayed home to work on making puzzles.  Mimi loves it when we visit her- she definitely loves her grandson.

Nov 15^th

Although they don’t seem to happen that often, today was a day spent at home with nothing else to do.  Days like this can either be relaxing or stressful, depending on your temperament for the day.  This was a day where you had to be held.

Nov 16^th

Mumma had to go to Unica so you came along for a visit.  Then Daddy came to get you while Mumma had her meeting.

Nov 17^th

What?  You’re 8 weeks old already?  Today Mumma’s disability ran out at work, so now she’s using vacation and sick time to stay home with you.  If you hadn’t been born by c-section, it would have only been 6 weeks.  I can’t imagine going back to work already.  Today you went with Mumma while she had a doctor’s appointment and then we had a quick stop at Target.

Week Seven: Nov 4th - 10th

Nov 4^th

Today was a lazy day at home.  Sometimes those are really nice.  In fact, we were still in our pajamas when Daddy came home from work.  After dinner Daddy had to go out again so that he could take his wooden puzzles to a store in the Chestnut Hill Mall.

Nov 5^th

Remember, remember the 5^th of November…

In honour of Guy Fawkes Day/ Bonfire Night Mumma made you this Union Jack onesie.  Unfortunately we didn’t have a chance to show it off anywhere, but we had a photo shoot at home.  Next year, a bonfire and fireworks?

Nov 6^th

Yesterday Nurse Lora came and you weighed 7lbs, 5oz.  You also went with Mumma to Diaper Lab, the mall, and Babies r Us.  Today you went with Mumma and Daddy to Ikea for a bookcase for your room as well as the lumber yard for Daddy.  We came home for a bit and then out again to Target, Stop & Shop, Best Buy and Bob’s.

Nov 7^th

What a busy day!  Daddy is selling his wooden puzzles in a store this year.  You went with Mumma to help him get set up.  Many of the other people there oohed and aahed over you.  When that was done you went with Mumma to Mimi’s to help her pay bills.  I guess you were tired, because that evening you tried to nurse on Daddy’s nose.  Silly boy.  :)

Nov 8^th

Today was a day spent mostly at home, although you did go out for a little while to run a couple of errands.

Nov 9^th

You started off the day with a visit to the pediatrician.  You weigh 7lbs, 12 oz which puts you on the growth curve in the 1.91%.  We then went off to drop some more puzzles off at the store.  Some of the people there must not be fans of babies because I heard someone mutter, “that stroller doesn’t belong in a store like this.”  If the stroller doesn’t fit, will a wheelchair?  On the way home we did some shopping for 0-3 month clothes.

Nov 10^th

Happy 7 weeks!  You had a follow-up appointment today with Dr. B, your cardiologist.  Even just seeing you wrapped up in a blanket he was impressed with how you look.  “He looks great.  Keep doing what you’re doing.”  You now weigh 7lbs, 14oz.

Week Six: Oct 28th - Nov 3rd

Oct 28^th

Because you were a preemie and also because of your cardiac issues you are eligible for Early Intervention services.  Today was their first visit.  Three women came.  Two of them assessed you while another sat with Mumma to fill out paperwork.  They will be coming every other week to help you meet your milestones.

Oct 29^th

You went out to lunch today with Mumma and some of her co-workers from Unica.  Like every time you go out, you were the star attraction.  After lunch you went home for a nap and then spent the evening with Daddy while Mumma ran some errands.

Oct 30^th and 31^st

Happy Halloween!

On the 30^th you went with Mumma to her hair appointment.  After her hairdresser got to meet you, Daddy took you on some errands.  Then it was off to Lydia and DJ Bryant’s Halloween/Birthday party. 

Grandma knit you a pumpkin in honour of your first Halloween.  In the evening we went to Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry’s to pass out candy.

Nov 1^st

Wow, it’s November already.  Saturday had been one of your original due dates, yet here you are, five and a half weeks old.  Crazy!  Not much of anything happened today.  Just a quiet day at home with Mumma- no errands and no appointments.

Nov 2^nd

This morning you went back to the pediatrician.  You’re up to 6lbs, 15oz- almost in the 1^st percentile.  Mumma left one of your prescriptions on the counter overnight (it’s supposed to be refrigerated) so we went to Hopkinton Drug to have it refilled.  We also went to vote since it was election day.  In the evening Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry came over to see you.

Nov 3^rd

You’re six weeks old already?  Time flies so quickly!  Mumma had a doctor’s appointment in the morning.  They said her cesarean scar is looking good.  Granpa and Nana came over in the evening so that Mumma and Daddy could get some work done in the basement.  This is the same reason Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry were over last night.

Catching up

It has come to my attention that there needs to be an update.  When I wrote the last post we were hopeful that we would be going home on Tuesday.  I didn't want to come right out and say that we were in case things changed, but we knew that was the goal.

Tuesday morning I made sure to convey that goal to the nurse.  It's a good thing that I did, because she thought we would be leaving on Wednesday.  But everything started to get going, and we got to go home!

Needless to say, Tuesday was a busy day at the hospital.  So many people came in and out of the room before we could be discharged- nutritionist to give us the recipe for the high calorie breast milk, someone to let us know about visiting nurses and early intervention, we had to finally pick a pediatrician (one of the nurse practicioners actually came in and referred us to the practice that we were thinking about using, so it was nice to be able to hear her opinion and get some user info on how the practice works), get the car bed installed, learn how to draw Bennett's medications, doctor for a final physical, we gave him a bath with a clinical assistant to explain to us what to do, two visits from lactation (I think I'm going to miss Kim stopping by to help- she was great!),  phlebotomy to do a blood draw to check his creatinine levels again (much better than Monday's levels)... I'm sure there were more people, but this is all I remember.  And that's not counting the regular activity from nurses, CAs, and the nurse practitioner.

We also got another roommate on Tuesday morning.  Their baby was just a little younger than Bennett and they had just gotten transferred from the Cardiac ICU.  They seemed like nice people.  Shortly after they got in I told them that we were going to be discharged and that they should ask to be moved to the other space in the room as the window side is much nicer than the one by the door- it's slightly larger and also more private.  Having been in both locations, we liked the window side much more!  We were talking with them later and they mentioned that they had already asked twice if they could be moved.  :)

So we finally were ready to go; Bennett was unhooked from the monitors, the leads were removed from him, and all we were  waiting on was some paperwork.  And in comes the CA wanting to check his vitals.  Are you kidding me?  Luckily that went pretty quickly.  We piled all of our stuff onto a cart (wow we had a lot of stuff!) and headed off to the elevator.  Chris got on the elevator, I'm holding Bennett, and all of a sudden I remembered we'd forgotten to get all of my expressed breast milk from the freezer.  It was too late for Chris to get off, so he went down to the lobby and I went with a CA to the room where they keep the milk.  There was quite a bit.

We went downstairs, met Chris, and he went off to get the car while I waited with our stuff.  Proof that we had too much stuff?  The back of my car was full and we had some stuff in the passenger seat.  I was riding in the back seat to keep an eye on Bennett.  Of course by this time it's rush hour.  We didn't care.  We were on our way home!!!

However, before we got home we had to make a stop at the pharmacy to pick up Bennett's medications.  Of course it's not the most convenient pharmacy as one of his meds had to be compounded, so we had to go to Hopkinton.  We finally got home, but then Chris had to run out to get diapers and formula.  We would have gotten them at the pharmacy, but they didn't have the right size diapers nor the right kind of formula.  It was very weird being at home alone with Bennett.  I definitely had a feeling of, "now what?"  I'd definitely gotten used to how things were at the hospital.  Not to mention we weren't quite ready at home so I didn't really have a place ready to put him.

Other than feeling really odd, our first night at home went well.  Except for the screaming fit that Bennett had from about midnight to 2am.  He had to be held.  As soon as we got him to sleep and put him back in the bassinet, he'd wake of screaming again.  Was it because it was too dark?  Too quiet?  He certainly hadn't been this way at the hospital.

Week Five: Oct 21st - Oct 27th

Oct 21^st

Today was pretty quiet except for a visit to Brandeis.  We went to a staff meeting and passed you around.

Oct 22^nd

This pumpkin hat was knit for you by Mumma.  I actually had to make two for you because the first one was too big.  Today we went to Unica to visit Mumma’s co-workers.  We’ll have to go back though because many people were out of the office.

Oct 23^rd

You ran errands for a while with Mumma and Daddy and in the evening we had a visit from Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry.  Uncle Andrew asked, “Can I hold him?  I haven’t held him yet today.”  There’s no doubt- he’s smitten.  Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry also brought our cats (Brit and Tony) back home.  The cats were a little unsure of you but well behaved.

Oct 24^th

Tonight we gathered at West Street (Nana and Granpa’s house) to celebrate all of the fall birthdays.  Everyone must enjoy spending time with you because there were many gifts of babysitting that were given.

Oct 25^th

Mumma’s Aunt Cathrine and Uncle Bob were on their way to NJ from their house in Maine and they were stopping to visit Mimi.  Mimi called to see if we could stop by so that they could meet you.  We were happy to oblige!  This was also Mumma’s first day alone with you because Daddy had to go back to work.

Oct 26^th

Nurse Lora came by today and you’re now up to 5lbs, 15oz.  Other than that it was a pretty quiet day at home.  You really are a very good baby.  In the evening you went with Mumma to a wake for Nana’s Aunty Anne who had recently passed away.  All of the Rosseels who were there loved getting to meet you.

Oct 27^th

Today was a long day of doctor’s visits.  We started with a  visit to the pediatrician in the morning.  You weighed 5lbs, 15oz by their scale.  Then we went off to Children’s.  By their scale you were 6lbs and either 1 or 2 ounces- I don’t remember which.  Mumma met with lactation to work on your breastfeeding.  You also had an EKG and an ECHO.  Your cardiologist says everything looks normal for you.

Week Four: Oct 14th - Oct 20th

Oct 14^th

We tried putting you in cloth diapers today.  They were way too big.  Guess I’ll have to get you smaller ones.  Daddy watched you in the afternoon so that Mumma could take a much needed nap.  We’ve had a little bit better luck at breastfeeding, but you get sleepy quickly.  When I pump I get about twice what you eat.

Oct 15^th

Back at Children’s today for follow-up appointments.  You had an x-ray, EKG, blood work, and you met with Dr. B, your cardiologist.  Your weight is now 4lbs, 11oz.  After a long time at the hospital we headed home with a stop at the yarn store so that Mumma could get supplies to make you a present.

Oct 16^th

This morning we bought Daddy a display for the store he’ll be in this holiday season.  After bringing it home we headed out again- this time to Mimi’s.  She always loves to see you.  On the way home we stopped at Target.  You sure do get around a lot!

Oct 17^th

On Sunday we went to church to show you off to everyone who has been praying for you.  You were a hit.  In the afternoon Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry came for a visit.  Unfortunately you only wore this outfit once before outgrowing it.

Oct 18^th

Monday was a low-key day at home.  After running around so much lately, I guess we all needed a day to do nothing.

Oct 19^th

Nurse Lora (the visiting nurse) came today.  You weigh 5lbs, 1 oz.  We decided to wait until tomorrow’s pediatrician visit to make sure you’re over 5lbs before moving you into your car seat.  Nurse Lora also suggested you start having tummy time.  You hated it.

Oct 20^th

You now weigh over 5 lbs (5lbs, 4 oz)!  This means that you no longer need the car bed.  We celebrated by going for a walk.

 

 

Week Three: Oct 7th - Oct 13th

Oct 7^th

Mimi was able to visit you again today and we surprised her by asking her if she wanted to hold you.  We piled some pillows in her lap to help support you and placed you in her arms.  She was very excited.  You also wore clothes for the first time today.  Previously you had just been swaddled in a blanket.

Since we hadn’t known you would be allowed clothes, we didn’t have anything for you to wear.  Luckily the hospital has some donated clothes.  Apparently this was the only preemie outfit to be found, but it’s perfect.  Another big milestone today was the removal of your nasal cannula.  You’re now breathing room air.

Oct 8^th
 Today was a big day for you!

• You had your PICC line removed
• You had your pacing wires removed
• You took a bottle at multiple feedings.  (Pretty soon no more feeding tube!)
• You nursed from the breast for about 20 minutes.
• We also spent the night at the hospital.

Oct 9^th

Bright and early this morning Granpa and Nana came to visit.  Today was also our first full day with you, although we did go out for a while for lunch.  You are now doing so well drinking from a bottle that your feeding tube was removed.  You’re very happy about that- many times you tried to pull it out yourself.

Oct 10^th

As far as we can tell, you’re meeting all of your requirements to be able to go home.  Unfortunately, since it’s the weekend things move a bit more slowly.  We’ll have to speak with your cardiologist regarding next steps.  Daddy went home tonight, but Mumma stayed with you at Children’s.

Oct 11^th

These cute booties arrived for you from Chris & Carolyn Pratt.  Daddy brought them in for you to wear.  Today we spent most of the day waiting and wondering if we would be able to speak to your doctor.  Finally around 8pm he came to your room.  Things look promising!  You took your car seat test today (and passed) although you didn’t like it.

Oct 12^th

You’re going home!  October 12^th (Uncle Andrew’s birthday) was an exciting day because we got to take you home.  Mumma also got a quick lesson at the hospital in how to give you a bath.  When we got home Mumma and Daddy were both a little unsure of what to do with you.

Oct 13^th

Your first full day at home was a busy one!  You had your first visit from Lora, the visiting nurse, and also your first visit to Dr. D, your pediatrician.  You now weigh 4lbs, 9oz.  In the afternoon we went to the mall to run some errands.  We went to lunch and Daddy held you since you’re too little for your car seat.  After errands we went to West Street and Aunty Hanna met you.