6.09.2007

taking baby home from the hospital

I was just checking out A Little Mommy Talk and they are asking a good question this week. They want to know:

What was it like going home from the hospital for you? Did your baby have any medical issues?
Ugh, going home from the hospital..... It was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do because my baby was not with me. Sadly we had to come home without him. On his second day, my son was not eating. He suddenly started to choke and turned dusky. His heart rate was dropping and he didn't seem to be getting enough oxygen. The nurses whisked him away to the nursery to monitor him and take some tests. Next thing we know he was being admitted to the NICU. You never expect things to go anything but perfect, but that is life and we had to deal with the unexpected. Seeing all the other babies in the NICU assured me that things could have been a lot worse. My husband and I were just thankful that our son was going to be ok. They did numerous tests, ran IV fluids and antibiotics in case of sepsis. Honestly, they never even found out exactly what was wrong with him so thankfully he did not/does not have any medical conditions to date. So, my husband and I went home from the hospital without our son and I was a basket case. I hadn't slept in 3 days. I was so sore and stressed out! I held an 8 x 10 photo of me and my baby in bed with me and his nightie that smelled like him because he wore it the first night, right near my head. We went back and forth to the hospital several times a day. I spent the short amount of time at home pumping and trying to rest so that I could heal and be strong for my son, but I had absolutely no strength. I was completely spent. Now I'll tell you, when my baby was released from the NICU and we got to take him home....that was the best day ever!! I was so relieved and happy. He was doing great. It was just very hard getting him on a schedule after being away from him. He was a fussy eater. He only wanted a little at a time and then would sleep for a very short amount of time, cry, and only calm down when he was held. Not that I minded holding him - I could've held him forever, but I knew soon I was going to want to get some things done. Breast feeding was not going well. It was almost impossible to get him to latch on and my milk supply was very low. We had a baby nurse come that night, which was nice because I got to take a shower and rest a little bit. The nurse stayed for 3 days and by that time I was soooooooo ready for her to get the hell out of my house. Breast feeding ended up going great, btw (we BF'd for a little over a year). And that, my friends, is my coming home from the hospital story. Want to share yours?

4 comments:

Jann said...

Thanks for sharing! I can relate to the horrible feeling of leaving the hospital without a baby. It's a horrible, horrible feeling. I can imagine how amazing it was to bring your baby home.

Sue said...

How scray that must have been. I'm so glad he is ok now. I remember the days of just holding my oldest all day. I miss that. I never got that with my youngest since my oldes wouldn't have stood for it. :)

Jennisa said...

I agree about leaving the hospital without baby. I don't think my heart ever hurt that much before...

Anonymous said...

I have come back home with my child-little little. But I can really imagine how hard it is.