Mar 29, 2012

Amelia's adventure, Part 3

If you missed them, you can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here

As we entered the late evening, Amelia was content to rest in the crib, but we did wake her up every 45 to 60 minutes to eat. The NICU was closed from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., so I went and walked the lobby and administrative office area during that time to put more steps on my pedometer. The hospital was eerily quiet at that time of night, especially those areas.

I was so glad to have my iPhone with me, because I used the HECK out of Twitter and played a lot of games during that time. And I also had a big laugh because I was getting so many sweet Tweets from followers and friends all night:



And in the middle of them, I see one from Grayson.



Since I'd ridden in the ambulance with Amelia and the car wasn't in the garage when he got home, he realized he didn't know where it was. (It was still at the pediatrician's office.)

When the unit reopened at 12:30, I went back in and joined Amelia, who looked like E.T. in the darkness with her single lit toe.



I sat about two feet away from her all night long, feeding her when I wanted to take a turn, but also happy to let Bailey do it. (Bailey was our night-shift nurse, and I loved her.) Amelia had gone to taking about an ounce per feeding at that point, which was a big improvement.

The unit closed again from 6 to 8:30 a.m., so I went down and had breakfast in the cafe, checked email and walked a little more, then went back upstairs. And Amelia was looking refreshed! She was even playing with her favorite toy: her rings.



She was so much more alert than she'd been in days, and although she was a long way from normal, she was seemingly light-years ahead of where she'd been 24 hours before.



I even got really close to a grin out of her at one point.



I went home to get what I thought was going to be just a few hours of sleep around 11:30 on Wednesday morning, but her doctor at the hospital called me around 4:00 and said that he felt like she was doing so well that she could come home if we were comfortable with it. I said that if she was eating at least half an ounce an hour and she was breathing normally on room air, I was okay with it. (Sometimes the risks of staying in the hospital outweigh the potential benefits.)

So once Grayson called me to confirm the plan shortly afterward, I went back to sleep. And with the exception of about 30 minutes, I slept until THURSDAY MORNING. For those who are math-challenged, that's like 17 hours. Hot cow.

We had a follow-up appointment with our pediatrician at 9:30 that morning, during which Amelia was diagnosed with double ear infections, so she got a shot of Rocephin and acted completely indignant that I'd subjected her to even more pricks of a needle. And then they pricked her finger to check her white count. I know.



I was awake with her again a good portion of Thursday night as she struggled with her ears ... she just cried and pulled at them all night, and it was pitiful. The ped had asked us to come back Friday for another Rocephin shot and one more check of her RSV symptoms, so we did that ... and she got a good report. We're still in the middle of the 10 days on Omnicef for her ears, but we have our happy baby back.



She's grinning again and completely stealing our hearts with every glance.



She's hanging out with her brothers ...



And they're ever so grateful that she's home.




As am I. Welcome home, baby ... love you so much.

7 comments:

Carrie said...

Glad she is doing better! I had a similar experience with
my oldest and she also had the ear infection with RSV. I also had a dismissive doctor the first visit, it actually took 3 visits for us before they really took as seriously- that was day 7 of 103 to 104 temps and off and on breathing issues, I was not happy!! But that was 3 years ago and the drs office has redeemed themselves so I guess I need to get over it!

Jami said...

So, so. Sweet! All of you blog/twitter stalkers are very happy to hear the good report.

stollison said...

Love it!

Melissa said...

This little girl could give the Gerber baby a run for its money! How cute is she??? She looks like your boys but there is such a "girly-ness" about her. Adorable!
I am glad that she is feeling better. There is nothing worse than a sick child.

ginmommy said...

Glad your sweet baby has returned to her normal happy self!!! Nothing worse than a sad, pitiful baby!

Sewconsult said...

I'm catching up with your posts. (been checking in, but not reading much). So glad that Amelia is back to her happy self and that the H family is doing well. Praying for good health for the 6 of you FOREVER!
Beckie

Robin said...

Awwww, you can just look at her and tell she felt so much better than before! I am so glad she is feeling better. There is nothing worse than that nasty RSV this time of year!

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