Weeks 32-33...Going home was just a tease...

So, this week began with lots and lots of good news!....Ayden FINALLY came home on Thursday afternoon (and we got to close on our house this week). He was not too enthusiastic about his car seat or all of the bright lights he saw when he got to go outside... (Sorry no pictures…A.J. decided to pack my cameras and even my phone into the trunk of the car before we left the hospital)…The first day home was filled with lots of adjusting and settling in. In addition to the change of scenery Ayden also was able to meet his Great Grandma and a couple aunts and uncles as well as his little cousin Lilly. He didn’t seem too impressed by anyone but sure was trying to figure out Lilly! I know some fun times are sure to be had with their interactions in the future! The first night with him home was pretty difficult for me to say the least. Although he is a good baby who sleeps most of the night, this was the first time for him to be off of monitors and so I was extremely nervous!...I woke up every 15 minutes to check on him and reassure myself that he was still breathing. A.J. had to work through the weekend and slept in the spare bedroom to ensure that he would get enough sleep, and so I was faced with this experience alone. Boy was I nervous! The first night was filled with discovering the ins and outs of the feeding pump and figuring out the perfect schedule and techniques for administering his meds. Overall, things still went pretty smoothly for it being the first night home.

On Friday Ayden had his first appointment with his pediatrician and he seemed to feel more at home there than he had at home with us! He was cooing and sucking on his hand as he was lying on the exam table. When they tried to weigh him he seemed to be wanting to turn around and climb off the scale though…The pediatrician asked if he could roll over even!...I assured him that he couldn’t and he told me that it shouldn’t be too much longer if he keeps doing what he is doing! The rest of the day Friday was pretty relaxed. And, with the help of my and A.J.’s moms I was able to get a little sleep between his feeds. When A.J. got home that evening I let him try to do some of Ayden’s care but nothing seemed to go smoothly. Ayden was a bit fussy and A.J. tried to come up with anything and everything to satisfy him!...Everything from changing his diaper and outfit to giving him his pacifier and venting his belly but even those things didn’t go as planned. When he tried to vent his tube A.J. used a new syringe and forgot to take the cap off of the bottom of it! Finally he asked to just give him a snack after hearing him fuss for nearly 45 minutes & then we remembered he was on a 3 hour feeding schedule now rather than a 4 hour…The funny thing about it is that Ayden was fussing nearly an hour before he was due to eat… Even after all of that he was still fed right on time!... I think he was just testing us!...

Saturday it was just me and Ayden at home all day….He slept an awful lot and when he was awake he only wanted food and cuddle time. I wasn’t complaining because it allowed time for me to take a shower and get some house chores done (which all moms have told me is a big feat when you have an infant at home)… As the day progressed he became much more irritable and took less and less of his bottles. He had been coughing and gagging for several days before he was even released from the hospital and we were told that his stomach just needed to be stretched back out…By Saturday things had not improved in that department and he was acting as though he had a stomach ache and he was having large loose stools that were soaking through his diaper. By the time A.J got home from work and we ate dinner, Ayden was inconsolable and was struggling (and retracting) with his breathing. We immediately drove to Dayton Children’s to the ER. They hooked him up to the monitors, ran some tests, did an x-ray and everything looked fine aside from his respiratory distress. They put him on some oxygen and let me hold him to calm him for a while. His respiratory rate dropped back down to a comfortable rate until I attempted to lay him back on the bed to change his diaper. It seemed as though he was only comfortable when his belly and chest was up against me. Once again, I held him to calm him and waited for them to run more tests or tell us what the plan was. When they returned they said they were just going to send us home with Pedialyte and Tylenol and to just watch him closely but when he was taken off the oxygen and we went to put him in his car seat he desated and they said we would need to stay overnight to be monitored.

He was readmitted into the NICU and remained on a half a liter of flow until today(Monday) at noon. When they would come to his bedside he would be sating good and his cannula would be either between his eyes or in his mouth and so they realized the o2 wasn’t doing much for him. Aside from the o2 the only additional regiment they were giving him that was different from home was a dose of Tylenol here and there to calm him down. Although, they did change him to 26cal formula to see if his diarrhea would clear up things still seem the same. It has now been 2 full days of being back in the NICU and literally nothing has been discovered as to the reason behind his little episode and his is back off of his oxygen. The pulmonologist came to evaluate him today and once again assured us that there was nothing he could do for him. And so, as long as he continues to do well without oxygen overnight tonight he will more than likely be going home with us tomorrow since his follow-up appointment in Cincinnati will be on the 29th. It still makes me nervous to not know what his problem was but being in the hospital is not helping him either! Hopefully his next stay at home is a little less eventful and we are finally able to enjoy every moment with our little man! Wish us luck for his coming home and his next trip to Cincinnati!

p.s: Ill add some pictures of my cutie between my next update!...Maybe this next week will bring some happy times and some more precious pictures of my handsome 'lil’ man!

Ayden's Weekly Growth Update: Length: 22in Weight: 9lb 6.5oz