Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Dear Theo,
Yet again when I showed up just before 11:30 they were in doing rounds so I couldn't see you right away. Eventually a nurse did bring you out to me, but she didn't bring my breastshield so I couldn't nurse you at first. I knew you were hungry though because you started sucking on your thumb with the rest of your fingers pressed against your face - I have to admit, it was a very cute look. After I finally got to nurse you, I weighed you and I was thrilled to see that you had gotten 35 cc's (you now take in a total of 44 cc's).
While I am nursing you I have also started burping you as well, in an effort to get you to take in more. I am so proud of your accomplishments thus far, but at the same time I really want to have you reach the goal of taking your whole feed from me because once you start doing that, you are on your way to coming home!
Already I watched one mother leave with her little one and I know of two other mothers who are bunking in right now who should be leaving by tomorrow. The mother of the twins is also next up for bunking in. Needless to say, the back room of the NICU is looking a lot different. There were only about 6 or 7 babies there this afternoon. It is a lot quieter and more relaxing being there. And to be honest I am really happy for the mothers who got to bring their babies home. I guess I am also a little envious because I want that to be me, but hopefully in just over a week we will be bringing you home too. Until then, I will live pretty much day to day. Some days are good days and some are not so good. Today was a good day.
For your second feed you took in 30 cc's and once again I felt a sense of accomplishment. After your second feed I had a doctor come in and talk to me about the RSV vaccine and she asked me some questions to see if you qualify for getting it. I wasn't sure I wanted you to have the vaccine so I lied on one of the questions. When they asked me if anyone in the family has eczema, I said no - but of course both myself and your Uncle Jim have it. What I wasn't aware of was the fact that my having eczema was a good thing in this case and probably would have exempted you from having the vaccine. However, that not being the case, you did qualify and after listening to the nurse talk about RSV and what it does to babies and after talking to your father, we decided it was best to go ahead and get you vaccinated.
So this afternoon, you got your first shot. They give it to you in your leg muscle and I am told that it really hurts. I opted to hold you while you got your shot, though admittedly it was hard to see you in so much pain and screaming out like that. You were a brave little guy though because you weren't upset for long.
For your final feed of the day, you took in another 30 cc's. I also noticed that when the nurse weighed you last night you had gained about 50 grams and now weighed 4 pounds 14 ounces. Hopefully you will continue to gain weight and do well at feeds and we will be able to take you home sooner rather than later.
Tonight we saw your dad's cousin Kyle. He is going to be your Godfather. We officially asked him tonight and he was totally thrilled and honoured. One day the two of you will get to meet each other. I'm sure you will like him. And I just know he will adore you too!
Love,
mommy
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