Here we go again...

[Anna_due Dec]

There are so many little things i had forgotten about after having the boys in neonates. I'm sitting up at 11.57pm unable to go to bed even though i was up at 5.30 this morning...why you ask? Because i have to bloody express in half hour..grrr. I hate the inconvenience of expressing. I had to ASK to pick up my baby tonight and then ASK to feed him. It's been 3 days and i'm over it already.
When i had the older boys and they had their light therapy, they had big lights on top of the humidity crib but with Noah they have him wrapped up in this blue glowing rug..he looks like a glow worm

I'm still hoping to get him home at about the 36 week mark which is next wednesday but at the moment they haven't started him on any sucking feeds (though i wish they would) and he has to get his biliruben level down...so he has some serious work to do because i've spent enough time in nicu's and scbu's to last a life time. NOAH COME HOME!!!!!!

 

[AP]

hunny i wish i had the words babe

 

[Laura2919]

 

[Agiboma]

hang in therw he will be home soon enough

 

[Anna_due Dec]

Noah is less than a week old and I've already had to spend my first day away from him. Chloe brought home a stomach bug from school and the whole family has been so sick. I hate this so much and have this feeling like it's been more than a week, as though the nicu experiences have been consecutive rather than years apart. Noah hasn't put any weight on yet and still has his light therapy until at least Sunday. I can't convince the staff to bottle him. They are saying I have to establish breast feeding first which is only going to keep him in longer especially since I can't go in grr I don't see why it matters to be honest as it's all my milk anyway.

 

[Agiboma]

Hope you get better soon and can resume visits

 

[Josephs_Daddy]

Keep your chin up, and a smile on your face. Hugs.

 

[Anna_due Dec]

Just got word that Noah has taken his last 2 feeds from the bottle and drank every bit. Hooray!! I feel like that's a huge step towards coming home I've had such a crap day but this little thing has made me feel so much better.

 

[nineena]

Sending oodles and oodles of hugs that Noah comes home VERY VERY Soon. That's fantastic news about him taking feeds though!!!!!!! xxx

 

[Anna_due Dec]

Noah's having a great day He was weighed and is back up to his birth weight, hopefully it keeps going up now. Also he is going from 3 to 4 hourly feeds to get him demanding more so that he can have more bottles/boob. It feels awesome taking steps towards getting him home...I can't wait to have him to myself!!

 

[vermeil]

sending you loads of positive thoughts! Expressing every few hours was THE toughest thing I ever did. It was driving me bonkers. But with baby home now, I can breastfeed him - it was worth dealing with that evil milk pump oh 500 times or so =p

 

[Anna_due Dec]

sending you loads of positive thoughts! Expressing every few hours was THE toughest thing I ever did. It was driving me bonkers. But with baby home now, I can breastfeed him - it was worth dealing with that evil milk pump oh 500 times or so =p

i know, i think this is something people just don't understand unless they experience it. I'm still getting up 3 hourly to establish supply and sometimes i literally fall asleep sitting up and i hate having to organise my whole day around expressing times- having to be either home or at the hospital for each one while still juggling school and kindy pick up/drop offs etc. People always make comments about catching up on sleep before the baby comes home but it just DOES NOT HAPPEN. This is the third and last time i've been through the expressing nightmare. I'm so glad there is finally an end in sight.

 

[vermeil]

whoah, your third time?? *shakes head* You really are brave. I mean it when I say expressing every 3-4 hours was THE toughest thing I ever did in my life.

Here`s what my schedule was like for 100+ days:

wake up
-express milk
take shower, get ready, grab quick breakfast
-express milk
hop into car and drive 30-45 minutes to hospital to see my little one, find parking
-express milk as soon as I enter his room, already late
spend a precious 90-120 minutes with baby, discuss with doctors and nurses etc
-express milk before drive back
return home, grab quick meal, chores, etc
-express milk
have a whooole hour to myself and hubby - mostly to give news to family, answer emails etc
-express milk
go to bed, sleep 3 hours
-wake up and yep you guessed it, express
sleep another 3 hours
morning! Get up aaaand start all over again

I literally felt like I was going nuts. And I didn`t even have other kids to worry about. I even named my pump the tyrant.

What people just don`t get is preparations, expressing then washing and sterilizing the stupid accessories takes at LEAST 45 minutes. Which leaves you 135 minutes before you have to do it all over AGAIN.

AAAAAAARGGGH!!!!

Aaah I needed to get that out

 

[Anna_due Dec]

So glad to see that it's not just me. At 3am after i've expressed, the idea of having to sterilise makes me what to scream. It's bloody endless. With the first 2 boys because they were so early, i hired the big hospital style expressing machine but with this baby being a 34 weeker i didn't think it would be worth it but gee do my hands ache from using the hand held pump. I can't wait to have him home so i can breast fed and stick the pump in the back of the cupboard somewhere. I keep repeating to myself "this is the last baby, when he gets home i never have to do this again". bring it on!!

 

[Agiboma]

Hang in their Anna he will be home with you soon where he belongs

 

[Anna_due Dec]

omg i'm sitting here at about 2.45am wanting to slap sleeping hubby in the head. "go to bed" he said, "i'll sterilise the pump" he said at 11.30pm when i was sitting here EXHAUSTED. So out i stagger at 2.30 and its floating in the greasy washing up water... because sterilising the pump in the middle of the night before i can use it is exactly what i feel like doing..not grrr. Did i mention i hate expressing?
Noah is doing really well. I gave him a bath this evening and i checked his chart and he's taking almost every feed from a bottle. I was so sure he'd get home by 36 weeks but that was yesterday so i was a little sad but i can see he's progressing well. He's such a clever boy. SURELY he'll be home before 37 weeks. fingers crossed.

 

[25weeker]

Fingers crossed it won't be too long until your lo is home.

Expressing is such a pain! I had a shelf full of milk when Holly was discharged and I told them to bin it. What a mistake because after a few months I realised I needed some in the freezer so I can have a bit of a life so had to start pumping again!

 

[Anna_due Dec]

Noah got his feeding tube out today!!! yay, so nice to see his whole face There is talk of him going home over the weekend but it all depends on his blood test in the morning which will check his jaundice level. If it goes down at all he can come home so cross fingers and toes!!

 

[Agiboma]

i totally understand the feeling of wanting him all to yourself

 

[Anna_due Dec]

i totally understand the feeling of wanting him all to yourself

I bet you're enjoying having your little man home. I'm so pleased for you and i can't wait until its my turn. I'm hoping it will be tomorrow but trying not to get too set on it in case the blood test doesn't come back positive.