Eleanor's Rough Start

Today is Eleanor's due date and yet she is nearly three weeks old. While the delivery was smooth, Eleanor had a rough start. She did not go to the NICU, but into a middle-grade nursery for babies who needed a little extra care. The evening of her birth E got to spend a bit of time in the room with us, but staff wanted to quickly get her into the nursery. I knew she was in the best of care and told nurses to take her away and to give her whatever she needs.  We did get to see E whenever we wanted, but holding time was limited. In short, an infection, low blood sugar, mandatory tanning bed sessions, four IVs, a week of antibiotics, and quick breathing that led to a feeding tube which prevented us from feeding her was all on the list of what E did during her first week of life. Despite all this, E was always breathing on her own and this gave us great comfort.

Friday: E was finally able to visit our room. Only Matt and I were allowed to hold her, no one else. The same went for when Matt and I visited E in the nursery. It felt like we were on vacation. Staff visited us frequently, answered all of our questions, were incredibly accommodating, unbelievably supportive, and polite. Matt and I agreed that it felt like we were on vacation, in a nice hotel.

Saturday: I was released from the hospital. Matt and I soon began a weird week. I was no longer pregnant, but there was no baby at home.

Sunday: Matt was not feeling well and made a decision to return to work and delay his time off.  I spent as much time at the hospital as I could so I could hold and bond with E since our time had been so limited.  My mom joined me so she could see the baby and I appreciated having the company. 

Monday: Matt returned to work.  I returned to the hospital with my mom. E had specific times she needed to eat and only had 30 minutes to eat.  Nursing proved not to be too much of an option since there was such a short and small window.  This left me with the option to pump and bottle feed her.  I felt it was the only thing I could do, so I ran myself ragged running all over the hospital during the day and waking up in the middle of the night so I could give her more milk.Also, Matt and I kept a scheduled meet and greet with a pediatrician. I did what I had to do and pumped in the car, in the waiting room, and in the exam room using a jacket. The doctor was impressed with how positive and calm we were, while we were impressed with her warmth and honesty.  In about a minute we declared her E's doctor.

Tuesday: Another day at the hospital, but this time I was flying solo.  I was delighted that a coworker offered to visit, who I knew was familiar with the situation of not being able to bring your baby home.

Wednesday: Another solo day at the hospital.  This day brought about a visitor from work, who brought E her first summer reading prize.  Yes, I had been reading to her and I was super excited to hear she had been registered for the reading program at work. 

Thursday: Another day at the hospital and another visit from a coworker.  This was the day that threw me into a frenzy.  We were being told each day from the hospital that the earliest E would get to go home was Friday, but no one was giving us additional information or any updates.  This was the day I arrived at the hospital at 11:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m.  I underestimated how taxing it was to spend so much time at the hospital.  When I arrived, the doctor said, "How'd you like to take her home today?"  I immediately burst into tears.  I was prepared to go in that day and be told that E could come home late Friday or that she needed a bit more time and would not be released until the weekend.  I was so incredibly overwhelmed and excited.  My daughter was finally going home and my husband would be seeing her for the first time in five days.

I cannot remember what time I arrived home that afternoon.  I wanted to sit down to dinner with Matt and get ready to bring our girl home, finally.  I asked Matt what we should bring her home in.  With nearly three weeks to go, that was yet another task that we were going to do at a later time.  We decided on a green Hawaiian shirt (Matt loves Hawaiian shirts) that was a size too big, but we didn't care.  Matt put on a shirt that matched E's and I changed into the closest thing I owned to a Hawaiian shirt.

The nurse took pictures for us and we tried hard not to be too happy, knowing that so many other parents and babies would be spending yet another night in the nursery, but we couldn't help ourselves.  I drove our family home and had banished my husband to the back seat of the car for some long overdue bonding time.


We arrived home and my husband parked himself on the floor in the first room he set foot in, the library. 
We arrived home around 9:30 p.m.  In an hour, E would officially be a week old.