Madi's Progress

Because Madi was born so early, I was ready to be discharged the next day, but I asked to be discharged later that day. I was anxious to get home to be with Makaela and Mia and to sleep in my own bed; however, I was going to miss the convenience and comfort of having Madi right down the hall from me. After I had my morning visit from nurse and doctor, I headed down to the NICU to see how she was doing. Sometime during the night, the neonatalogist decided Madi was doing well enough to take her completely off the oxygen so when I saw her, her nasal tube was taken off. They moved her stomach tube to her nose but this seemed way more comfortable for her. The neonatalogist came through so I got to hear the progress report from the previous day and night.  She had eaten approx 100 mls of formula on the first day she was born and gained 40 grams (about 1.42 oz) since birth.  She had experienced no apnea (breaks in her breathing) and there were no signs of jaundice at this point.  The doctor was very pleased, but also made sure he mentioned that while preemies make amazing advancements, it is not uncommon for them to then take some steps back and regress.  I had already been warned about that so at this point, while I am ecstatic over her progress, it is more of a cautious optimism. After the doctor's visit, the nurse handed her over to me and the two of us curled up in the recliner in the NICU and took an hour nap together. It was heavenly.

  When Matt came up to pick me up, we took one more visit to the NICU.  At this point, the nurses had taken her off the warmer and put her in clothes and blankets to see if she could regulate her own body heat. She had also had her first bath so she was pretty tuckered out and napped soundly in Matt and my arms.

After I was "sprung" from the hospital, Matt and I went out for a nice dinner at a local Italian restaurant before heading home.