We finally got to go home Monday afternoon. Brian had been out and about several times but it was my first time out of the hospital. He felt this same way and mentioned it before, but to be driving through a world that was just going on as normal was really bizarre. Didn't they know the whole world was changed and life would never be the same? Didn't they know a miracle happened and a new amazing person was among them? Apparently not. :) I sat beside him and held his little hand (or rather, he held my finger) the whole time. As the car seat stress test indicated he did great in the car seat and didn't seem to have any breathing issues or anything.
Because my mother is an angel, we came home to a sparkling house, including extra clothes and burp cloths for the baby, all washed and dried and folded and ready for us. As I figured, Kian was hardly ever out of someone's arms and only in mine to eat for the most part. I was the only one with much time with him those last few days in the hospital so I was happy to share. Not to mention, I did a ton of napping in those first few days. It was fabulous to not have to worry about what we were going to do or eat, let alone needing to entertain people. My family just took care of it all, leaving Brian and I to take care of ourselves and Kian. Thank you again family!
That first night we realized that our receiving blankets were much smaller than the ones at the hospital. While I could swaddle Kian, it wasn't a very tight swaddle and I was worried he would kick out of it and end up suffocating in the loose blanket. He is definitely a swaddling sort of baby and so he couldn't sleep unless he was being held. I was up basically all night. Brian got up with him around 4am and took him out into the living room so I could get some sleep. The next day he went right out and bought both some larger receiving blankets and a few specially made swaddling products. I know how to wrap him up myself, but those special swaddling blankets are fantastic! The velcro keeps it all very secure, and I feel safe with him in it at night.
He was still very much on his 3 hour schedule from the hospital during the day, although as the days went by that started to vary between 2-3.5 hours between feedings. These days he was very quiet for the most part, snuggling and sleeping when he wasn't eating. All out screams were very rare, he is more of a fusser and even then mostly only when he needs something. What a little angel!
Kian had his first (sponge) bath on the 17th. He did so well! He hardly fussed at all and actually seemed to enjoy the shampooing. It seemed to hold true for subsequent baths, though he fussed more, he really likes the shampoo part. Hopefully when we move on to 'real' baths he'll like them even better.
Jaime left the morning of the 18th, after spending the previous afternoon holding Kian and crying. Poor Aunt Jaime. It's so rough being so far from all of our family. It is the one bitter aspect of this otherwise so sweet experience.
On the 18th we also had to go back to the hospital for a check on his bilirubin levels. We were a little worried they weren't going to let us take him back home with us. OK, I was a little worried. We saw the nurse practitioner, and she did a head to toe exam on him. Did I mention, a naked exam? She took off his clothes and laid them in the corner of the little bassinet he was in. While she was looking him over with nary a care in the world, Brian nonchalantly reached out and grabbed the clothes. A few seconds later the inevitable happened, and Kian favored the nurse with a stream of urine that splashed all over the bassinet, and would have drenched the clothes if my dear husband didn't have so much foresight. Who ever heard of a nurse who wouldn't have been prepared for THAT? :) On another somewhat humorous note, she justified my decision about the one thing I was really torn on. In all of our childcare classes and in the instructions from the nursery nurses, we were to use washcloths with water to cleanse him during diaper changes. No wipes for 2 weeks. I went back and forth on this for WEEKS. What do you do with poop covered washcloths, especially in the middle of the night? We bought a 2 gallon bucket with a lid, thinking to put bleach water in it and use that, but I just wasn't very happy with the concept. Ick. And who ever heard of such a thing? Finally I decided that we had alcohol free, hypoallergenic, non scented wipes and he would be just fine. Well, that nurse practitioner used scented toddler wipes! Ha! No washcloths for us. Luckily we had that bucket though - we're still using it as the diaper pail with the Pack and Play in our bedroom. The lid keeps the puppies out.
So he passed his exam with flying colors, and she didn't even draw blood to test his bilirubin. His weight was steady at 5 pounds 11 ounces and he seemed to be doing well. His color was looking so great she just sent us home. Phew.
Also on the 18th we had our first non-family visitor. My good friend Ashleigh came to see us and brought a totally adorable frog hooded towel for Kian and a Sudoku book for me. Oh how I wish I had time to use my part of the gift!
All in all this first week was a whirlwind of emotions, anxiety, love and fear and joy and so much more! Having my family here made the transition as easy as it could be, and we made it through without too much trouble at all. Once we knew he was healthy the worst part was that it went SO FAST. I have a feeling that's going to be a theme for this first year, and maybe even the rest of our lives.
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