Happy Birthday Peter . . . you are one week old today . . . you've grown so much in this short week . . . and changed our life forever . . . we love you so much . . .
Yesterday was our first day home from the hospital. It was hard to leave Peter there, but we know he is in the absolute best hands. We spent most of the day at the hospital and went back around 9:00 at night to say goodnight to our sweet little boy. It was a long day and we both slept through the night when we got home (for the first time in 10 days).
Peter had a head ultrasound and we were overjoyed to find out that the ultrasound was negative which means there are no "bleeds" in Peter's brain. We also found out that Peter will be off humidity by Tuesday of the coming week. As soon as Peter is off humidity we can start kangaroo care. All preemies of Peter's size have humidity (Starting at 85%) piped into their isolettes for the first ten days. He is down to 50% today and once he is at 30%, the humidity is turned off. We are so excited about this . . . kangaroo care is where the parents hold their little ones skin on skin. This type of interaction is one of the most beneficial things that can be done for a preemie (and I think it might help out mom and dad, too!)
Yesterday, Peter got to meet his Aunt Whitney for the first time. We were certainly happy to have Whitney visit. She held up one of Bennett's diapers to one of Peter's. . . . I'll have to take a picture next time they are here. . . . the difference in size is unreal.I spent several hours with Peter today. His nurses are getting used to me and some of them let me help complete his assessments. I am becoming a pro at temperature taking (under the armpit is the most accurate - who knew) and diaper changes. Peter likes to be cuddled and we spent alot of time today doing just that. His eyes were wide open and we just gazed at each other for the longest time while I "bounced" him. We put one hand on top of Peter's head. We curl up his legs and put the other hand under his bottom. Once we get him situated, we gently bounce his bottom half up and down. This motion simulates the motion he would feel while I was walking when he was in the womb. It always calms him immediately if he is agitated and he just melts otherwise.
Peter is up to 4ml of breastmilk every 3 hours. He is having a little trouble in the elimination area which is causing him to not digest all the milk. His nurse is fairly certain he has a little natural blockage and that once it "passes" everything will go smoothly. He has been eliminating which means there aren't any problems . . . maybe I should start eating more fiber!
