Ambulance Ride!

At 7:35 I received a call from the NICU that Ian was supposed to leave at 8:30am by ambulance for Geisinger. I quickly gathered my things, stripped the sheets off the bed, and called security for a ride on the shuttle. I am happy to report that today was the first day I was able to get a pair of shoes on my feet albeit they were tight. When I arrived he was wearing a sleeper I had brought in that Ian had worn in December 2009. In order to get him ready for transport they switched him from a vapotherm to a CPAP. He was NOT a happy camper, especially as it took multiple tries before they found the right size prongs for his nose. We didn't actually board the ambulance until 9:20, and arond 9:25 we took off. There were 2 EMTs in the front, and in the back we had Oliver, a nurse, Mommy, a respiratory therapist, and a nurse practioner. At the same time we were gearing up to leave, they were preparing to go to another town where twins had been born at a hospital that doesn't have a NICU, and they needed to get to a NICU asap. The weather conditions didn't permit a helicopter transport. So the NP on our trip said to use lights/sirens because there was only one doctor left at the NICU since she was with Oliver, another went to get the twins, and another called off today. She wanted to get back ASAP since she was leaving one doctor for the whole NICU. It took us about 70 minutes to get there going at high speeds. The social worker in Harrisburg told me that the insurance told her they might pay for his transport. She said I should ask Geisinger to submit the bill to the insurance. That would be awesome if that happens!

After I pumped, I talked with the nurse about his first 8 days of life. They wanted him on the CPAP rather than the Vapotherm. At Harrisburg that would have represented a regression, but in this case it was just a difference in philosophy between the two NICUs. I was disappointed because in my opinion Oliver did seem happier on the Vapotherm, and also it made for nicer pictures as he didn't have so much stuff on his face/ head. Even though they didn't put him back under the lights (not yet anyhow), they didn't put any clothes on him. They also removed his PICC line and put in a regular IV instead. The confusing thing was that when I had to sign consents they had me sign a consent for putting in a PICC line, if necessary. What?!? I discovered two changes at this NICU since the last time we were there (12/09). First, they are truly now open 24 hours a day. They used to be closed during shift changes. Second, they allow siblings of any age to visit.

At noon, a woman from church came to pick me up and take me home. Ian was soooo excited when he saw me at the front door. During the next two hours I pumped twice, ate lunch, and read books to the kids. Two men from church were here for 50 minutes of that time span moving furniture. Tomorrow two people from church are coming to paint Oliver's room. My mom then drove the four of us to the NICU. Ian got to see Oliver for the first time. I signed some paperwork and also held Oliver (Kangaroo care style). We have to wear gowns for 48 hours because he's considered to be in "isolation" since he came from another hospital.

We got back home a little before 5pm, and my mom left right away to return to Maryland. Someone from church brought us dinner. Paul went to Lowe's to buy some yellow paint. It feels strange to not be with Oliver very much, but it feels great to be with Nadia and Ian more. Last night I made Nadia eat chicken, rice, and vegetables at dinner. I also am working on getting her to stop sucking her thumb (she really regressed with this while I was in the hospital), and we are also going back to the usual rule that her special pillow stays in her bedroom (she's been carrying it all over lately). We are trying to get some things back to normal!