Home Sweet Home.......

Sleep has been the one thing that has dominated my thoughts since Colin has been home. Either his or mine. But so far, we are both doing a pretty good job of getting some!

About to fall asleep in his bassinet

This is a picture of where Colin spends most of his time (aside from our arms!). His bassinet is right beside my bed, and he really likes hanging out in there. It has a cute little noise machine that plays classical music, has a light so I can see him in the dark, and vibrates his bed! Most evenings after his long afternoon nap, he likes to just chill in there, listening to music, looking around.


Our daily routine has been pretty much been established. After struggling for the first few days with some help, Rich and I decided we would get a nanny/mother's helper. And boy, is it a necessity! However, I am quite sensitive that others may not be able to have this "necessity", but I am grateful that we can. Because I believe it is VERY hard trying to manage a baby like Colin with no outside help.


For one thing, Colin has a daily routine of medicines that have to be added to 3 of his feeds. On top of that, he has to have breathing treatments 2x a day. And on top of all that, he has to be fed through his G-tube, which is kinda like feeding a kid with a bottle, but through their tummy.


So with all those things comes the equipment that goes along with it. Everything needs to be washed and rinsed daily, if not after every single feed. On top of that, I am still pumping since my little guy cannot breastfeed completely yet, so that means all the pumping materials need to be washed & sanitized daily.


Oh, and another thing. Since I am feeding Colin breastmilk, the doctor's still want to make sure that Colin is growing as best as he can. So to make sure, we have to add special preemie formula to the breastmilk. The process of "making" my breastmilk is one that involves measuring, mixing, pouring, and calculating how many "feeds" are produced.


Once I have "made" my special breastmilk for Colin, it has to be used up within 24 hours (for sanitary purposes). Because that breastmilk is soooo special and precious, it takes serious calculations to make sure that I don't thaw too much breastmilk, or else I end up making too much that I can't use.


Have I mentioned the doctor's visits? In the 2 weeks since we have been home, Colin has had 7 visits. Some at Children's Hospital, others at various doctor's offices around the Valley. My poor nanny Courtney looks like "a pack mule" (Rich's words, not mine!). She helps me to carry his portable oxygen tank, his pulse ox machine that measures his oxygen saturation and heartbeat, and of course, Colin in his carseat!


I am terrified that someone will inadvertently try to sneak a peek at Colin and God forbid, touch him, so I keep him in his car seat covered until we are right in front of the doctor. So we lug all this stuff in his stroller, all the while I carry his diaper bag and large binder of medical information. Yes, I said a large binder of medical information!


But, all this hard work has certainly paid off. After a shaky start of only gaining an ounce the first few days he was home, Colin is really starting to take off. He is now 8 pounds! We have also weaned his oxygen down to .25 liters from half a liter, so hopefully we are soon on our way to no oxygen. 

Colin in his second favorite spot, with his "kissing" monkey pacifier!

Aside from venturing out to doctor's visits, I am still working my way up to just trying to "hang out" with Colin at home. Having my little guy with cords and wires makes simple things complicated. We have 2 oxygen machines in our house, one for upstairs and one for downstairs. Each one has a tube that extends 50 ft, so it allows me to roam that floor. However, his pulse ox machine has a very short leash, and must be carried around with Colin. So usually I end up putting Colin in his little bouncy chair and put it next to me while I pump, watch TV or work on the computer.

See the pulse ox machine in the background?

Only recently have I figured out how to use the body wrap's and baby carriers that can allow me to carry Colin hands free, however, that darn pulse ox kinda defeats the purpose of being "hands free". So then I contemplate taking a walk around the neighborhood. But then I realize that means I have to carry his portable oxygen tank AND the pulse ox machine again, so usually the lazy side of me wins out and we just stay at home doing this:

And I guess being snuggled in Mommy's arms is really all that he needs anyways, right?