We made it home!

We made it out of the NICU!! Happy Day! So Hudson is 3 weeks old tomorrow. Those three weeks have flown by so fast, it’s crazy. We have had quiet the time trying to adjust. It is a blessing in disguise having a baby in the NICU, it does give your body time to heal and get some rest.

So Hudson had an pneumonia and was really sick (they actually didn’t tell us how sick he was until later). For the first few days he had a ventilator that went down into his lungs so he could breath. He also had a breathing tube. They had a little suction thing that went down the tube to get out all the mucous, he was very wheezy and you could feel it when you put your hand on his chest. Once that was all gone they put a c pap machine on him, which is just a constant flow of oxygen to make sure he’s getting what he needs. That wasn’t on long before they put the ventilator back in. A few short days later he was starting to look yellow. He was getting Jaundice. They had him under the lights for only a day in a half. They said it usually takes about 3. I was thrilled. He was then back on the c pap for a few and they had moved the feeding tube from his mouth, down to his belly button. Once everything was cleared up and he could regulate
body temperature and no more infections or Jaundice, they moved him to a different crib (a smaller clear box that didn’t have a ton of cords). He then just needed to gain weight to leave.

They then put the feeding tube in his nose because it was a lot more comfortable then hanging out his mouth. We thought we were on the home stretch, come to find out feedings are what can keep a baby there the longest. At that point we had already been there about a week. It was so hard watching him eat. He would take a few sucks, then stop, few sucks, stop. The doctors told us that he needed to eat 40 ml every feeding for 48 hrs in order for him to get discharged. They took out the feeding tube because he was doing so well, but then he had three low feedings in a row and they put it back in. We were then bottle feeding what he would eat and then put the rest through the tube. Then we hit our one week mark and our amount went up to 55 ml. I thought, that is impossible. My poor boy is just barely eating 40 and you want him to jump up to 55?! Feeding him took a lot of effort and coaching with techniques. The doctor than gave us a little
leeway, he could now eat 55 ml give or take 10 ml. We were thrilled. At that point, the bare minimum was enough. We wanted him home so bad. It was so hard knowing that he was still in the NICU, not because he was sick, but because he wouldn’t eat. He would get too tired. We were about to hit our two week mark, and Jake and I were thinking we were probably going to be there another week. Sunday morning on the 12th Jake got a text from Hudson’s doctor asking us if we wanted to take a baby home today. We were thrilled!!!

We couldn’t get to the hospital soon enough. We got there around 11 and hung out for a while. The nurse read us all our discharge papers and we met with the doctor. We left around four. It was so nice to have him in OUR car, in OUR care, and under OUR supervision. The best way I know how to describe that whole visit was that I was going to somebody else’s house to visit somebody else’s baby. I went there everyday and sat in his room for about 8 hrs. Jake would go there on his lunch and I would stay until he got off work and we would still hang out for a little while.

This first week home has sure been challenging. I always thought having a baby would be fun and exciting. Honestly, it is very demanding and exhausting. I have never been so tired in my life. Although, he is the cutest little turd and I love him with all my heart. When he gives me that little smirk, I can’t help but smile. He brings so much joy to our lives and I love watching Jake be a father. He will get up in the middle of the night to care for him when he has to go to work the next day. Jake is such an amazing dad and Hudson is so lucky to have him. This little journey of ours has definatly been a test. I hope we passed! It sure has made mine and Jakes relationship stronger. You know how they say how once you’re a mom you never find time for yourself. Well, that is true. Today my son got a bath and I didn’t. I barely got the dishes done, I never got dressed for the day and I almost forgot to eat. All in all, I am so very
grateful that he is in our lives. I still look at him somedays wondering how I got so lucky. How I got so lucky to have such an amazing husband and such a sweet little boy. Life can be tricky sometimes, but we always figure it out.