Ok...I'm back. Only took me a day! This time I've got 3 hours until she wakes...we'll see how that goes!
As I was saying, we feel so blessed to be in this season of our lives right now. Life since we brought our sweet angel home has been nothing but fantastic. Other than some gassy days, constipation (the baby, not us!) and generally getting used to each other...it's all been fabulous.
Everything seems to be a breeze compared to what we've been used to for the past 3 months.
Even though she's 3 months old, Sayla Grace is acting just like a newborn. In medical terms, her "Actual Age" is 3 months, but her "Adjusted Age" is 1 week. And she looks like a 1 week old. For the most part, we treat her like a 1 week old. She wears Newborn size clothes and diapers, (well, she's grown out of Newborn diapers and is in Size 1's now!) she eats every 4 hours and sleeps between those times. And she pees and poops. And that's about it.
She has learned to sleep at night, and spend a little play time awake during the day. And she has only slept through a meal once which pushed her schedule back by an hour. Other than that, she's an extremely easy going baby.
She rarely ever cries, and if she does, it's because something is not right. She absolutely HATES having a wet/poopy diaper and will SCREAM her little head off until you change it. I'm hoping that eventually this means she'll be easy to potty train!
She has learned to love bath time (she hated it in the NICU), and is obviously learning new things every day. I love catching her staring at something new, and watching the amazement in her eyes. It has given me a completely new outlook on life...learning to be amazed by my surroundings, rather that being complacent in them.
She can sleep through absolutely anything, but we still find ourselves tip-toeing around her. The true test will be when our dog comes back from his girlfriend Rezi's house. If she can sleep through his bark, we're good to go.
Right now she sleeps at night in her Play Yard in our room at the foot of the bed, and naps in her crib during the day. We'd put her in her crib at night, but right now we need her near us at night. We're just not that comfortable having her in the next room when we're sleeping.
She is not allowed out of the house, other than required doctor visits and a stroll around the block. And visitors must be kept to an absolute minimum. So far we're limiting her visits to grandparents and aunts/uncles...but even then, if they or anyone in their house is sick, they cannot visit.
Doctor's orders.
We hate that we can't show her off to the world, but due to her Respiratory Distress Syndrome (immature lungs), she is highly susceptible to germs and infection and can land a stay in the Pediatric ICU at Children's in a heartbeat. And we (mentally) cannot go through that again right now.
So the world will have to wait.
She left the NICU with only a few minor hiccups.
She failed her hearing test in her right ear multiple times. So we're headed to a pediatric audiologist on Monday. They will perform more detailed tests to determine the extent of her ability to hear out of that ear. We're confident she can hear, because she responds to our voices and turns her head to the direction of sounds.
She has Grade 3 Acid Reflux, and must start every meal with a bottle containing rice cereal (which makes her constipated) or she'll lose her lunch. She also requires a few helpful (yet expensive) medications in her dinner bottle for a few months.
She came home on a monitor. She has to wear a band around her upper torso that has an electrode on either side of her rib cage. It's hooked to this little box, and it measures her heart rate and breathing. If her heart rate goes above 220 or below 80, it beeps. And if she stops breathing for 2o seconds, it beeps. It also beeps if there is a loose lead. It beeps the most awful loud annoying beep you've ever heard. Think smoke alarm in your house times about 10. But it's a good thing, because we can hear it anywhere in the house. Though somehow Owen sleeps through it!
The first night we were home, she stopped breathing 4 times. She was in a "Co-Sleeper" next to my side of the bed, and apparently got too comfy. When the monitor went off, I simply shook her a bit and she took a big deep breath. I sat up in bed and watched her like a hawk. But the monitor beeped 3 more times. I picked her up (why I waited until the 4th time is beyond me), and it happened to be feeding time, so I fed her. Then I brought her to the den and put her in her Play Yard, where she had been all day with no problem.
So for the next 2 nights I slept on the couch next to the Play Yard. And then we got our wits about us and rolled the Play Yard into our bedroom and put away the Co-Sleeper. We determined that the Co-Sleeper mattress was too soft for her, and she couldn't breathe well on it because she needs a hard surface to sleep on.
Since that night, the only time her monitor has gone off is because of a loose lead.
We don't leave it on her all the time. In fact, during the day, she is only connected to it when she's sleeping or eating. Otherwise, if we're playing or hanging out watching her, she's unhooked.
We're not sure how long she'll have to wear it, but frankly we like it. Gives us peace of mind when she sleeps, and lets us get some rest as well.
I have learned alot since we brought her home. I've learned that if I don't shower immediately after her 9a breakfast, it's not going to happen. I've learned that I can get a lot done in 3 hours time, and still feel like I've accomplished nothing. I've learned that my life will consist of at least 4 loads of laundry every 3 days, and that if I don't wash, dry, fold and put away the instant it's finished, it will sit for a week. I've learned how to do everything from washing bottles to putting on makeup with one hand, while holding her in the other.
And I've learned to stop and sit. And savor each moment we have as a complete family. We spent 13 long weeks never slowing down, driving to and from the hospital at least 3 times a day. Never seeing an end in sight...until we drove away that Wednesday afternoon.
We are blessed beyond measure, not only to have our daughter in our home and under the same roof, but to have so many wonderful prayer warriors in our lives that helped us get to that point.
It is because of your faithfulness that we are here.
It is because of your constant prayer, and lifting our entire family up to the Lord that we were able to get through.
When we asked you to pray for her, you prayed without ceasing. Your prayer helped her tiny little 1 pound 11 ounce body grow into a chunky 7 pound 2 ounce baby.
You prayed for Owen and I without our even asking. Somehow knowing when we were about to snap. Your prayers got us through those times, so that we could be there and be strong for our daughter.
I am still amazed when I hear stories of people that we have never met (and probably never will) sharing our story with people in their lives. And that those people prayed too.
I've said from the beginning that I had a "peace that transcends all understanding" (Philippians 4:7), and that I knew our baby girl would be ok. I admit there were times in this process that the Devil tempted me. Times when I thought we wouldn't make it another day. But your prayer got me through. Brought me back to that Peace.
And for that, we thank you.
"I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers." ~Ephesians 1:16
