A Little Perspective

Well, we are all having our adjustments. It seems home life is not only wonderful, but also full of fiascos!

First, the pharmacy messed up on the concentrations of one of Brynn's medicines. As such, we were unknowingly giving her five times the dose she got in the hospital and three times the recommended maximum for her weight. Luckily, it wasn't life threatening--and it was really quite a miracle that we discovered the mistake after only two days of being home--but it most certainly was uncomfortable (for all of us). Brynn would wail from a wrenching gut pain every five minutes until eventually, over the course of two days, it weaned to every hour or so. Even still, she will wake from a dead sleep, scream, and writhe in pain for a few minutes before we can coax her back to sleep. Poor girl. My angel mother stayed up with her all night so I could get some sleep.

Second, she's still very irregular in her eating. Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever be rid of the NG tube. Having to shove that wretched thing down her nose and tape it to her face while dad held her head still and she screamed at the top of her lungs was not my idea of the nurturing, loving home that I promised her would be better than hospital.

Third, the company that is supposed to be supplying our NG tubes, syringes, and equipment still hasn't delivered anything. So we're scraping by while rewashing all the "single use" items we got from the hospital at discharge. The syringe plungers are wearing out and becoming impossible to use so we're having to invent other ways of getting the milk into the syringe and down her NG. So far so good, but I'm still hoping for them to drop off a load of supplies.

Even with all this, I don't want to ignore the upsides because there are so many! No driving to and from the hospital. No scrubbing for three minutes several times a day until my skin cracks and bleeds. No hourly proddings for Brynn as nurses, NPs, and doctors check her vitals routinely. No pin pricks. No uncomfortable recliner. No alarms. No crying baby chorus. And no gowns or gloves for grandparents (finally a picture of Grandma Lynda):


I am also excited to wear my wedding ring again (rings are not allowed in the NICU). I also get to dress her in cute things (like pants, socks, and dresses) since she doesn't have to wear a wire on her foot anymore. And, hey, I can't complain about the portable oxygen since it gives us an excuse to get a handicapped tag!

And just as a little perspective, we're generally glad to be where we are from where we used to be:

Wow, she was tiny.

Now we've gone from this: To this:
From this:To this:

From this:To this:
From this:To this:

Whew,
Natalie