This post covers from Saturday morning, October 13th, through Sunday morning, October 14th. Today Jude's feedings went really well. He was nursing between 15-30 minutes every 3 hours which is great! He had a ton of dirty (with meconium which takes about an hour to get off his behind) and peed in diapers today as well which is another good thing. That should help his bilirubin levels to come down. They decided to hold off on checking Jude's bilirubin levels until Sunday morning since they didn't think they would have came down enough by Saturday morning and they thought they would save him a stick. So, for most of Saturday, things were pretty constant.
The NIMCU is a peaceful environment, there is a lot less going on and therefore there is more privacy for nursing. The nurses let me change his diapers and feed him every three hours and I don't have to worry about being in anyone's way or anything. It is really nice.
Today was the first day I actually did some studying. I didn't do much but it felt good to get atleast a little bit done even though I don't really want to have to think about it. I was also able to get about 5 or 6 hours of sleep Saturday night and Sunday morning so I feel a little more rested. Every time I go sit with Jude in the rocking chair, I manage to fall asleep though. Jeremy also falls asleep every time he comes in there with me.
Our nurse, Ashley, gave us a pamphlet on car seats and on the car seat safety test that they do for premies. She said that we can do it anytime now since you just have to do it within 7 days of Jude being discharged. They keep him in the car seat for an hour and monitor his oxygen saturation and respiratory rate to make sure that his oxygen level is not being compromised. That got me excited because it made me think we might be close to Jude being released.
When we went in to feed Jude for his 10:30 p.m. feeding, the nurse had just finished putting an IV in his arm. She said his UVC (IV in his umbilical vein) was leaking. It was sad to know that he had to have yet another thing done to him but she said he didn't even cry! I can't stand getting IV's put in and I am 24 years old! He is a little trooper. He fed really well at that feeding too...he fed for 30 minutes!
Jeremy went back home to sleep after the 10:30 p.m. feeding. The poor guy keeps falling asleep every time I am feeding Jude. I told him to not set an alarm tomorrow morning and just to come when he gets up. I doubt he will do that though because he doesn't like missing feedings and he wants to be here for me. But, I would rather him be rested and miss a feeding than be exhausted.
The crib and the blankets and everything that go with it arrived Saturday. I can't wait to set it all up!
When I went in for Jude's 4:30 a.m. feeding Sunday morning, they had his bilirubin levels back. They were at 11.8 which is not low enough to stop the lights. So, he will be on them for atleast another day. I was discouraged but then I realized that they did atleast come done and that when the timing is right, it will happen. So, I am just pushing along.
When I went in for Jude's 7:30 a.m. feeding, there was a new nice and she was really sweet. She was doing an assessment on Jude and she said he was such a good baby. He pretty much never cries at all which is amazing. She also said that all of the nurses said we were doing such a great job breastfeeding and that it was so nice that they never had to call me to come down and feed him. I was thinking, doesn't every parent do that? It doesn't seem like anything special to me. But, it was nice to hear her encouragement.
Jude's next feeding is at 10:30 a.m. so I am going to eat some breakfast and then head in there. Jeremy decided to sleep in a little bit so he is still home. He is giving Eli a bath today to get him ready for Jude. I think we are going to bring one of Jude's hats home so that he can get used to his smell. Jeremy said he's been sleeping right next to him the past two nights which is very unusual for him so he must need some loving. ;) I can't wait until we can bring Jude home and introduce him to Eli.
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