100 Days

Suzanne and Emma Claire
Stacy and Emma Claire

Thanks for taking such good care of me while I was in the unit on days. I don't have a picture of my night nurses, but I love them just as much! I cannot wait for you guys to see me grow up big and strong. I promise I will come back for visits, you know how much my mommy loves those Ms. Fields cookies down in the cafeteria! HaHa. I know my mommy and daddy are so grateful for the wonderful care I received while in the NICU from all of the nurses, RT's, doctor's and other staff members. I love that everyone would come by and talk to me during the day and night. I love each and every one of you guys and I will see you later, gotta go get my belly full!

Love,
Emma Claire
We have gone from the above to the below in 100 days! Also on our 100th day, we came HOME!!!! PRAISE GOD! We have been through a journey to say the least and one that GOD has continued to be by our side even before Emma Claire was born. She has come a long way and we give GOD all of the glory, honor and praise! It was hard to leave yesterday knowing we would not be back which is AWESOME, but it was bittersweet to leave some many faces we who we have come to love and cherish over our 100 days in the NICU! I know we will see them again during visits to the unit, but when going to Baptist NICU is your daily routine it is hard to leave. I'm so glad one of our primary nurses was there yesterday to walk us out. I told Suzanne it was not good bye, but a see you later as I know we will see them again soon.

Emma Claire is now up to 5 lbs 4 3/4 ounces but since she does not get weighed everyday, we will have to wait until tomorrow to see what her weight is since leaving the hospital. Tomorrow is our first pediatrician appointment in White House and I know that should go smooth tomorrow. Matt and I are both off this week with her and probably next week, we will just have to wait and see how this week goes. We go to the Vanderbilt BPD Clinic in a couple of weeks (for her mild chronic lung disease = being on O2 more than 30 days in the NICU) for follow up since we came home on oxygen, apnea monitors and a pulse oximeter. I did not want to come home on the oxygen, but it has not been bad at all and we have a tank in her room and one in the living room which makes it much easier to take her between the two areas.

This all started last Tuesday when Dr. Rojas was on his last week of rotation. He ALWAYS says it is his job to get rid of things and his last job was to discharge us. He was not there when we were discharged, but he started the path for us. On Tuesday, he threw out the feeding tube and took away her caffiene and said if she has no spells in 5 days, we are going home. When Stacy told me this, I think my mouth hit the floor. I was shocked to say the least, but in a GOOD way! Matt and I roomed in on Saturday night and Sunday morning and we did all of her care and feedings for almost 24 hours. She did so good and we actually got some rest eventhough she eats every 3 hours like clockwork. You know we, I LOVE an organized baby! HaHa

We ran a few errands on Sunday and got ready to bring her home on Monday. Matt and I got up and went to the hospital on Monday morning and we were out of there about 12:30 PM after saying our see you laters to all of our friends. PRAISE GOD we are no longer the oldest in the unit, we will give that honor to the other babies!

She loves her carseat and did so good on the ride home and for her first day/night at home. We still have to keep her on her feeding schedule of 8-11-2-5, but that is okay and works really well for us right now. I'm sure we will be at the peds office frequently for weight checks and to work with Dr. Kastner on increasing her feeds when needed. Right now she needs to continue to gain weight and stay HEALTHY.

I know Emma Claire would love some visitors, but we need to keep her safe and healthy. If you do want to come see her, please call and let us know before you come. I definitely want everyone to be able to see her, but if you have been sick or not feeling well, we have to keep her healthy, so please let us know and we will see you when you get better. We will not be going out for a while for two reasons, all of her equipment right now and again, our main priority of getting her used to our house and germs and not exposing her to too much right now. I'm am SO THANKFUL we are not in RSV season, but that does not mean she still cannot get sick. Thanks for your understanding!