Sunday, May 30, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
May 22nd Tyler meets his cousin, Brandon
Tyler's cousin, Brandon, was born on March 24th (almost exactly one month before Tyler). The boys were finally able to meet each other at my niece Jayla's birthday party.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
May 15th Settling in at HOME
We finally felt like a family. It was so nice for all of us to be home. Tyler instantly became much more relaxed and we could really see a little personality emerging. He needed a bottle every three hours which meant we were up at 11pm, 2am, and 5am. Tim was a trooper and got up with us even though he had to be into the office by 6am.
Friday, May 14, 2010
David's House
While we were up there we were given a room at David's House. Each room has a theme and we stayed in the Circus Room. Tim and I were so grateful to be able to stay here. David's House is just a few minutes down the road from the hospital and it allowed us to be with Tyler during his whole stay. The people are amazing there --they make you feel very much at home. The refrigerator (which we would raid each night close to midnight after returning from the hospital) was always stocked with delicious home cooked food that was donated and prepared by volunteers. We met some pretty amazing people who had been staying there a heck of a lot longer than we did --some are probably still there right now. If you ever find yourself looking for a good cause to donate to, please keep David's House in mind.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
May 13th GOING HOME!!!!!
After 18 nights in the hospital, Tyler was discharged on May 13th. We said our goodbyes to the doctors and nurses that had become almost part of the family and packed all of our stuff AND our little boy into the car and headed home. No words can describe the feeling as we pushed his stroller out of the elevator and towards the exit doors into the parking lot. Tim and I were excited but it didn't seem to phase Tyler -- he was asleep before we closed the Jeep door to start our ride home.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
May 11th Cleaned up and ready to go home.... almost.
The last few days of our stay at Dartmouth, we were transferred to the 'Koala Suite'. It's a private room where families can spend time alone with their babies before being discharged from the hospital. He was disconnected from all of the heart/lung/blood pressure monitors and it finally felt like holding a normal baby. Tim had to return to work so I spent my first night 'alone' with Tyler. I was nervous at first but realized the nurses were still just a phone call away so I was able to relax and enjoy just being a Mom to my new 'wireless' little baby. The next day we learned how to give Ty a bath (with the assistance of our wonderful nurse, Angela). All cleaned up.... just waiting for the doctors to give us the thumbs up to go home.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
May 9th Our first Mother's Day
Well I had hoped to be home in time to celebrate our first Mother's Day and earlier on in the week it seemed like it was going to happen. Tyler was still taking his bottles with no trouble and was doing really well. I think it was Thursday before Mother's Day when the doctors discovered his sodium levels were a bit high. Basically it meant he was passing too much water in his urine which meant his kidneys weren't doing what they should be doing. They believed it was a temporary issue and that the kidneys would heal but wanted to keep him a few more days just to be safe. I was so looking forward to finally getting Tyler home; our stay up at Dartmouth was now over two weeks. I didn't want to take any chances and it was still looking like we would be home within the next week. SO we celebrated Mother's Day in the NicU. Mom, Gram, and Tim all brought gifts for me but I have to say the sweetest gift that day was watching Tyler gaze up at 'Nana'. He had been becoming more and more alert but had not really stared anybody down yet. She sat with him in the rocking chair and he looked up at her ... like really REALLY looked up at her. It doesn't get any better than that :)
Thursday, May 6, 2010
May 6th Tyler drinks a bottle
After several days of trying to breastfeed we made the decision to try and bottlefeed. Amy, the nurse on the overnight shift, was able to give Tyler 3 bottles during her shift. She called us at almost midnight to give us the exciting news that Tyler finished his first bottle (THANK YOU Amy ). Ordinarily this may not seem that amazing but we were starting to think he may not have the 'suck/swallow/breathe' coordination necessary to feed himself. The idea of him going home with a feeding tube surgically placed in his stomach was starting to sound more and more likely. To hear that he drank a whole bottle was the best news we had heard in days. After several successful bottle feedings overnight, the tube up his nose was removed. After almost 12 days, he was finally eating on his own!!!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
May 1st - 5th Tyler is starting to open his eyes
It would only last for literally a few seconds but we were quick enough with the camera to catch him with his eyes open now and then. We were told that they weren't sure if he was 'sleeping' so much because of the anti-seizure meds he was on or if it was a result of his brain injury... more 'time will tell'. Each time we saw his eyes flicker open was cause for celebration.
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