Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Louise Adele: Homecoming

Our sweet Louise came home Monday August 30 at 5pm. It was a tense day waiting for test results to clear her to come home. Her breathing and eating was great, she just needed a low bilirubin reading. At 4:30 we got the call that while her bilirubin reading was up a little it was low enough for her to come home and follow up with our pediatrician. What a relief!

Ainsley was ready and waiting to meet her new sister (complete in her coordinating outfit). We pulled up alongside the house and her little face was poking up from underneath the window. She ran to the front door to meet us and went immediately to Louise. "Baby, baby. Weez, weez (Louise)". It was love at first sight. My mom got the whole thing on video. It was such a precious moment.

The first evening and night went so well. Louise is very mellow (so far!) She only fusses when she's hungry, has a dirty diaper, or is being changed (she does not like being naked). Ainsley does so well with her. She is fascinated by Louise. She loves to watch her get changed and me pumping milk "milk, baby, Weezy, boobie" she says over and over. She shares all of her favorite things with Louise, skunkers, nankers, fff-fire...it is so cute. She has tried poking her in the eye a few times and can be a bit rough when trying to show affection but for the most part it's gone so well.

The first night I actually had to wake Louise up to feed her. As she's still getting used to breastfeeding I wanted her to eat at least every 3 hours. She is quit the champ sleeper and Ian only had to get up once to help her get back to sleep.

The second day home we had to get up and head to the doctor to check her bilirubin level. Louise looked great and had gained back some weight since discharge from the hospital (up to 7 lbs 4 oz from 6 lbs 14 oz). Unfortunately her level went up which meant we'd have to go back the next day to check again.

The rest of the day was spent just enjoying our new family. We sat outside, listened to music and played. My mom blew up this great new splash pool for Ainsley and Louise and I watched her splash around while Ian ran into work for a little while.

The second night went as well as the first. Louise ate every 2.5-3 hours but never cried, just whimpered and grunted to let me know she was up. She always fell right back asleep and we got up for good at 7 with the rest of the family.

We had to head out even earlier this morning to get another bilirubin reading. We just got word that it went up again :o(. While it's still not dangerously high, it's high enough that we're going to have to get a biliblanket at home for Louise. I cried a little when I got the news. Louise has already been through so much in her short little life and I'm heartbroken that we still have one more obstacle to overcome. I am thankful that she doesn't have to go back to the hospital and am hopeful that this will solve her jaundice so that we can get life back to normal!

2 comments:

  1. Oh Becky! I am so sorry this has been such a struggle. I am so happy that your baby is home with you though. You look so happy in that picture. Sending you happy thoughts.

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  2. Becky, Louise is ADORABLE and looks so much like Ainsley did! It just so happened that the picture of Louise in this post lined up with a picture of Ainsley in your "sidebar." VERY adorable. SO happy that Louise is home!

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