She's home!

9-5-2011

We were able to bring Rachel home on Saturday. She just made the 4 lb weight limit of her car seat. She is sitting on a blue foam ring to avoid pressure on her lower back during the drive. The nurses also rolled up two blankets on each side of her for extra support. It was hard to find car seats rated for 4 lbs and up in our area- we had only one to chose from at the Target in Menomonee Falls. (For others with preemies the brands Safety First and Chicco make the 4 lb car seats). She tolerated the ride home with no problems (even with Breanne and Alicia in the back seat with her).

We have a ton of doctors' appointments coming up this month and next month. I believe the first two are with Neurology and Orthopedics. She will be having an ultrasound of her head and her hips again.
All of her head ultrasounds have been normal so we are hoping to have dodged the bullet for a shunt but I know it is still early. Hopefully her hip ultrasound will show some improvement in her dysplasia.

Rachel has been feeding every 3 1/2 hours and has been taking in an average of 45-50 ml at each feeding. She rarely spits up which is a great treat for us as both Breanne and Alicia use to spit up nonstop. (We had stock in the Hoover steam vac carpet cleaner back then-lol) I think she has spit up twice so far- the first time landed on the wooden floor in front of us and had our black lab Dixie (10 yrs old) running for cover. Dixie runs for cover if Rachel cries at all. Dixie also hides under the table while Rachel gets her diaper changed too and sighs deeply like she is missing out on her sleep too. Maybe Dixie is having flashbacks of when Alicia was born??? Lucky on the other hand growls whenever Rachel cries- I am worried he is going to come bite in me in the pants when she does. (He will grab your clothing with his teeth if Breanne or Alicia squeal when you are playing with them or if you try to carry them around- very protective watch dog)

Rachel has adjusted well from her quiet hospital room to a house full of noise from her sisters, dogs and parents. She sleeps right through it all - I am hoping to push the bassinet in by my treadmill and get her use to the noise it makes. I had been running 2.5 miles when I became pregnant and am desperate to get back to running again ( I am sure with the all the bed rest and surgeries it will take me some time to get there).