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Sunday, November 20, 2005
No time for titles
Things here are good. Mr. W is well again. I am fast approaching 100%. Currently, I'm at that final stage of the cold where everything that was causing the stuffy nose drains. Thankfully, I am allowed back in the NICU!
Yesterday I actually got to hold my son for the first time in almost a week. He was wrapped in a gorgeous blanket made by the fabulous Julie as he made his first attempts at breast feeding. Honestly, he's not too bad at it. He doesn't do more than a few little sucks before taking a long break, however he doesn't let go of the nipple. The nurses were all quite impressed -- at 32 weeks ("gestational age") he is doing extremely well.
Two of his neonatologists (our original attending and the woman who covered for him during his two week vacation) were walking through the NICU and stopped to talk to Mr. W. They told him that our lowercase is doing fabulously. And they assured him that our baby is "not as far from discharge as you might think."
They think he could go home as early as the end of 33 weeks. Obviously, he isn't as likely to come home then, but it is possible. More likely he'll be in the range of 35-37 weeks. Regardless, that is all before Christmas! I'm trying to not let my hopes hinge on those date ranges though and am instead still planning on his original due date of January 12.
Things that have to happen in order for him to be released:
- "Graduation" from the isolette to a crib (which is made of steel bars and seriously looks like some sort of prison-esque cage)
- All feedings by mouth
- No episodes of bradys, apnea, or O2 desat for one full week
Both attendings assure us that for most babies all of these issues clear up at exactly the same time. They simply "get it" and everything moves forward. Further, they assure us that weight is not an issue for our hospital. They don't say that a baby has to reach a certain point as they could hit that mark and not be ready yet or they could be healthy and ready before they reach an arbitrarily set weight.
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