Addison Hope Mesa - 9 Days Old
Going Home in the same outfit that her Mommy wore home from Baptist Hospital many years before.
I arrived to the Baptist NICU early on Friday in hopes that I would get to meet the orthopedic doctor on his morning rounds; however, he had already been by at around 5:30 am (that is way too early for me.) The nurses began reviewing some of the "going home" information and told me that they were planning on discharging us on Saturday afternoon. After I performed the 9:00 am feeding and diaper change, I headed home to eat lunch and pickup Phillip for the 1:00 pm feeding (yes - I was able to drive myself after waiting the one-week period after my c-section discharge). The nurse told me to bring my car seat back with me, so we could see if Addison would fit in it with her leg braces. Only about 15 minutes after I arrived home, Addison's nurse called me and said that there had been a change of plans and the Doctor had decided to discharge Addison this afternoon. We had to be back at the hospital in an hour to complete the "rooming in" procedures. This is where they have the parents and the baby stay in a hospital room and perform all of the caregiving for at least two feeding periods. This supposedly gives the parents added confidence with the nurses available if needed.
Regarding Addison's medical instructions, the NICU doctor finally was able to speak to the pediatric neurologist that specializes in neuromuscular disorders and she agreed to see Addison. However she wants to wait until Addison is at least a month old before she sees her and performs any further diagnostic tests on her. This was an answer to prayer as this doctor only practices Part-Time now since she also is a professor at OU Medical School among other things. Also, I had really prayed that Addison wouldn't need the muscle biopsy performed until she was stronger as I feared that she would need the respirator again if put under anesthesia.
Phillip and I scurried around to gather up our belongings and prep the house a little bit for bringing Addison home. We arrived back at the hospital at 1:00 pm. We performed our "rooming in" procedures and reviewed all of the discharge instructions with the doctor and nurses and left the hospital around 6:00 pm. (In the mean time, we determined that Addison could not ride in our car seat and the nurses found a special car seat that is available on loan from Children's Hospital. My sweet sister-in-law went to pick it up for us and bring it to the hospital.) What a whirlwind!
We were welcomed home with a big banner in our front yard (thanks to Melanie Lee - our Children's Minister at church). Megan was so excited when we got home and wanted to hold her "Baby Sissy." We explained to her that she could later when Addison was bigger and stronger, so she was satisfied by patting and kissing her hand and head.
After all of the excitement, we finally sat down to eat our dinner (provided by Julie Crum at church) around 8:00 pm. It tasted so good! Can you tell that Megan enjoyed the chocolate chip cookies?
1 comment:
Julie,
We came home from vacation tonight and Mom told me that Addison was home. I was so excited and surprised. It is hard to believe how far she has come in a week since we have been gone. You all were in my daily prayers and I was so anxious to hear about her when we got home. Still praying for wisdom for your family and comfort for Addison. Love the picture of Megan and I know she will be the best big sister. Love to all!
Audrey
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