First trip to church

When we were in the demo room in the NICU, I awakened any time Oliver cried. Unless I have the monitor on, Oliver doesn't cry loud enough for me to hear him. We never went through this phase with Nadia and Ian. From the first day they were home from the NICU their cries were loud enough to wake me up. Thankfully Paul's hearing is better than mine, and Oliver's cry wakes Paul up even without a monitor. There was one time last night Paul didn't have to wake me up. It wasn't the first time his cry woke me up. I woke up a minute or two before he did because I was having the nightmare that I had so many times this summer (but haven't been having since August 7) that I was gushing blood. We did have a few firsts today. It was the first time all five of us rode in our new minivan together. It was the first time the van left the garage since we bought it on Monday night. It was also Oliver's first time at church. I hadn't been to church for almost four months. I would never have dreamed I'd ever go that long without attending church, but I never dreamed I'd spend so many weeks in a hospital! It is my prayer that some day Oliver and Ian will long to attend church like Nadia and I do. Many people at church have been praying for Oliver and I since May 30 so they were thrilled to get a little peek at Oliver in person today.

 

 

First Bath

Oliver's semi-weekly baths in the NICU were done with a washcloth. Today was the first time he had a bath in a small basin of water. I used the opportunity to take a few photos of him without any wires or a cannula. I put in my contacts today for the first time in a couple of months. My glasses came in handy this summer, but since my days of shedding many tears are behind me, it's time to get back to wearing contacts! As you can see below, Nadia still wears costumes All The Time! I've purchased her costumes at yard sales and at Walmart after Halloween was over and everything was 50% off. I'm on the lookout for a Belle dress for her for Christmas, as that's her favorite princess, and she doesn't have that yellow dress yet.

 

 

One Month Old

 
If my scale and the NICU scale are in agreement, then Oliver has gained an average of 21 grams a day the past 5 days. On Sunday the doctor said they'd like him to gain 30 grams a day. This morning he weighed 4lb 5.5oz on our scale. I don't think he lost weight over the past 3 days. The weight at the Pediatrician's office included a wet/poopy diaper (today's was with a dry diaper) as well as the belt and plastic sensors for the monitor (just the little sticky sensors today). Hopefully he'll keep gaining at a good pace so the Pediatrician will be pleased 2 weeks from today. In honor of Oliver turning one month, the Post Office delivered his birth certificate to our house. I feel badly that I haven't taken many pictures that past month. I took many today! He's wearing preemie size clothes and Pampers' preemie (size S) diapers. At the first hospital they used size XS, and those fit him better, but he was wearing size S at the second hospital (they don't use the size XS at all) so I bought a case of that size from Amazon. Here's a link to Ian and Nadia's one month old posts.

Oliver is doing well with nursing, and he usually drinks all 20ml by bottle when I offer him that. He seems to be a pretty easy going baby thus far. At home (where he doesn't experience things like having his blood drawn) he doesn't cry very much - just a couple of times a day when he's letting me know he's hungry. He pulls his cannula out of his nose umpteen times a day. He spends from about 6 or 7am until about 10 or 11pm in the family room, and the other hours he spends in his bedroom. Today I got out the gym I bought for him in May. I need to start working on tummy time with him although he does sleep on his belly some (something that will have to stop when he goes off the oxygen and monitor). Nadia and Ian love him very much. They both stop and talk to him throughout the day, and they both ask me to hold him many times a day. He does pretty well with sleeping as long as he's swaddled (with his arms free) although there's always one stretch in the night where he wants to be fed every time I put him in his bed.

He always gives me at least one three hour stretch of uninterrupted sleep a night, and sometimes he gives me two of those. I am handling the sleep deprivation better this time. I think that is partially due to the fact my sleep was interrupted almost every night this summer (by nurses taking my vitals and such). Even though Ian is doing an amazing job with his naps this week (he slept in his bed for 2 hours today!), I have been using that time to get work done rather than take a nap myself, which prove I am handling getting less sleep much better than I did when Nadia and Ian were newborns. Today I took everything out of Oliver's bedroom closet (and it was filled to the gills) and reorganized it (moved some things to other locations). When Paul came home at 7pm, I promptly went outside and mowed most of the lawn. I would have finished the project, but I had to stop when I could no longer see what I was doing. It felt great to be outside. I have spent almost NO time outside over the past 3 months. I can't wait to start going to the park once the Weego arrives in the mail. I have a bit of cabin fever although I vastly prefer being at home with my three blessings to being in the hospital!!!

Advice Appreciated

Oliver does well sleeping during the day in between feedings, and he does well at night from midnight until the morning (he nursed at 3am and 4am last night). In fact this morning I was trying to nurse him at 6:30am, and he was just too sleepy. I then regretted getting myself up at that hour because Ian and Nadia slept until 7:30, and Oliver wasn't doing well with nursing as he was still in sleep mode. The one time of day when Oliver wants to eat nonstop (and not sleep a wink) is between about 9pm and midnight. Last night I woke him up at 9:30pm for what I hoped would be his last feeding before midnight. I hoped to go to sleep after that 9:30 feeding. I didn't get to sleep until midnight because he just kept crying so I alternated between nursing, bottles, and burping him during that time span. This has now happened 3 nights in a row (started on Monday night). I am open to any suggestions as to what I might do differently so he would sleep a bit between 9pm and midnight as midnight is definitely past my bedtime, especially if I'm going to be getting up at 3am to nurse him.

I spoke with a lactation nurse today. My questions included: when to start trying to get him off the shield (38-40 weeks and he hit 36 weeks yesterday which means in about 2-4 weeks), how much do I need to keep pumping each day, and should I try to move him toward more of a 2 hour feeding schedule (in the NICU they had him on a 3, 6, 9, 12 feeding schedule). She said pumping two times a day was sufficient. Prior to talking with her I was thinking I'd pump 3 times a day (at least 6 ounces total). He's drinking less than that by bottle each day so I would be pumping more than enough to supplement without dipping into our supply in the freezer. I don't want to pump around the clock in addition to nursing around the clock. Also, we're almost out of room in the freezer. The milk is already taking up half of the freezer, and since my long term goal is to exclusively nurse without any bottles, there doesn't seem to be a point in building a huge stockpile. I just want to make sure I'm pumping enough to keep my supply where it needs to be especially as the shield can interfere with one's milk production. She said to nurse him on demand and wake him up if it's been three hours since he last nursed. I haven't been supplementing the bottles of my milk with the Enfacare like they did at the hospital because that was done to get the milk to 24 calories per ounce, but my milk has more calories than that by itself. I do add vitamins (with iron) to his bottle once a day, sodium chloride to his bottles 4 times a day, and diurol to his bottles 2 times a day. Paul had to drive to Geisinger yesterday evening to get the NaCl. I think it's crazy that it was so hard to get salt water and also that a little bottle of it cost $32.72. The pediatrician's office went the extra mile in trying to find a pharmacy that would make it for us (one that is closer). At first Walmart agreed to do so yesterday, but then they said they couldn't. Today the pediatrician's office found a local pharmacy (one that's not part of a chain) that will make it for us so we won't have to drive to Geisinger for the refills. Any input anyone has on the shield, pumping, nursing schedule, etc. would be appreciated!

 

Today I had Ian take his nap in his bed because I decided to use nap/quiet time as a chance for me to get caught up on making some phone calls. I had Nadia wake him up after he had slept for 90 minutes. Wow. This is such a big improvement! Maybe I should have let him sleep longer because he cried for the first 20 minutes he was awake after his nap. I found out the MFM clinic wasn't trying to address any of the medical bills from the other hospitals. I am very grateful for the success they had with the $2,500 laboratory bill from their hospital, but I was hoping they'd help with the others also because the OB office hasn't been helpful at all. I called the insurance today and pointed out that they paid for a certain procedure code once (the one the MFM office appealed) and not another time. The other time it was about $1,200 at the local hospital. The woman I spoke with said they'll review it within 10 days. I'd be thrilled if at least that bill was also covered. I'm not sure I'm going to have much success with appealing the other bills without some assistance from a doctor's office. I also scheduled several doctor appointments - a feeding clinic visit for Ian, Nadia's 4 year physical, Oliver's 2 month physical, etc.

We stayed at home all day yesterday. Today I ran to the grocery store after Paul returned from PSU. The only thing on our schedule today was an OT appointment for Ian. That will be winding down soon as he's not eligible for Early Intervention once he turns 3 years old in December. The kids enjoying Skyping with Alexis and Gabby this evening.

Staying at Home

My goals for today were to #1 stay home all day and enjoy my three kids and #2 take a nap. I am happy to say that both goals were achieved. Paul was at PSU today; it was my first day at home alone with the three munchkins. It's definitely more challenging with Oliver's health issues. If I need to go somewhere else in the house, I have to put him in the pack 'n play. I can't just carry him around the house. It was a good day even though I felt like I was reprimanding Ian over and over and over again (ex. don't grab, don't push, don't play with the miniblinds, don't touch Oliver, etc.). He definitely gets into trouble FAR more than Nadia ever has. Meal times are also huge battles. Meals were actually MUCH easier when I was feeding him. Meals now take 1-2 hours when we try to get him to feed himself. I let Ian nap with me because yesterday he only napped for 20 minutes in his bed. I was wanting a longer nap than that, and I knew he'd sleep for at least one hour if he napped on the couch with me. I did get some housework done today - boxed my maternity clothes and put them in the basement, a load of dishes, a load of laundry, put a lamp on Paul's desk as he said he needed more light, etc. I admit the kids watched more tv than usual (while I was pumping or nursing), but we also enjoyed things like playing Hungry Hippos, reading books, etc.

 

I didn't take any pictures yesterday. I was in such a rush when we left for the Pediatrician. I wish I had snapped a quick picture as I thought Oliver's outfit yesterday was really cute and also because Grandma held him for the first time, and I have no record of that. The outfit he's wearing today (see photo above) is also preemie size, but it's a different brand (George) and definitely runs bigger than Carter's preemie clothing. It fits him in terms of length, but you could fit two Olivers inside this outfit in terms of width. I put socks on him, but they never stay on. I don't own any preemie size socks. Yesterday a woman met us in the parking lot at the pediatrician's. I bought some clothing for Oliver from her - $10 total for 3 oufits, 1 PSU hat, and 2 pairs of overalls (the 3 outfits were preemie size). The nurses in the NICU used to remove Oliver's tabs and cannula when they gave him a bath. I've decided I'm giving him a bath on Friday so that I can take a few pictures of him (on the day he turns one month old) without the tabs or cannula. He'll do fine with a brief "room air trial." He gives himself room air trials All The Time because he yanks the cannula out of his nose All Day Long.

4 Weeks Old!

Oliver turned 4 weeks old today. The time he was in the NICU was such a stressful blur that it feels like he's 2 days old rather than 4 weeks old, especially considering his corrected age will be 36 weeks tomorrow. One blessing of being in the NICU (which is a very noisy place with all the alarms going off all the time - the car seat test alarm is by far the most painful to hear) is that Oliver doesn't need to be in a quiet room to be able to sleep. There have been times the kids (particularly Ian) have awakened Oliver, but he can sleep through quite a bit of noise as long as he's swaddled (although he likes to have his arms free). A few times a day he cries because he's hungry, but most of the time his intake of milk is at my initiative rather than his. The one exception would be from 9pm- midnight. He is really hungry then, which doesn't go over too well with me as I'm wanting to get some sleep during that time span! I get more sleep from midnight to 7am (although I do nurse and pump at least twice during that time span).

I spoke with someone at the local social security office, and they said Oliver hasn't been assigned a number yet. We received the social security card and birth certificate much faster with Nadia and Ian. I hope Pinnacle didn't goof up the paperwork! I submitted the health insurance form to HR this morning and explained I didn't have his SS number or birth certificate (both are supposed to be included). Thankfully she said she could add him to our policy without those. I'll submit them as soon as I receive them!

I asked Paul to move the car bed to his car this morning in preparation for Oliver's doctor appointment. Earlier he had put an infant car seat, a booster seat, and a toddler car seat in the back of his car to make sure they fit (yes). Today we discovered that a car bed takes up far more room than a car seat. There was NO way all three kids could be transported in the back of his car. I had planned to drop Nadia and Ian off at Sarah's house en route to the pediatrican, and I had planned to take Nadia to ballet/tap later in the afternoon. Paul called his parents, and they were willing to come up at 1:30 this afternoon to watch Nadia and Ian while we took Oliver to his appointment and also went shopping for a van. They also agreed to take Nadia to her dance class.

We were at the pediatrician for 90 minutes. I wish there wasn't so much waiting involved, but it was very manageable with two adults and one baby, although that one baby was connected to an oxygen tank and apnea monitor. My favorite part of the day was being in the waiting room because of all the sweet comments we got. It was fun to have so much positive attention directed our way. It was his first trip somewhere aside from a hospital. They said he weighed 4lb 6.5 oz, which would put him at the 5th percentile. He was wearing a wet/poopy diaper at the time, and they weighed him with a dry diaper in the NICU (and then subtracted the weight of the diaper). Also, he was wearing the band for the heartrate and respiratory rate leads, which he wasn't wearing in the NICU. So he definitely didn't really gain 4.7 ounces in 2 days, but hopefully it means he did gain SOME weight. I need to start weighing him at home. The doctor said normally a baby wouldn't come back until he was 2 months old, but since he was so premature, his next appointment (primarily a weight check) is scheduled for the 21st of this month. They said he was 17.5 inches (which is quite a bit less than the NICU measurements), which would put him at the 10th percentile, and they said his head circumference was 32cm (10th percentile).

Paul, Nadia, and Ian seem to have some sort of respiratory bug so we made a quick stop at Walmart so I could run in and buy some hand sanitizer. I also tried to buy some storage bags for my milk, but they didn't have any. On our way to the Toyota dealership we also stopped at a Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Paul and Oliver stayed in the car (as they had while I went into Walmart), and I ran in and bought a gift for Paul's cousin's bridal shower, which will be this weekend as I could give the gift to Paul's mom to take to the shower for me. Paul and I took turns test driving a Sienna (while Oliver stayed in the car). We made an offer for a 2012 Sienna that the dealership had used as a loaner vehicle. It had about 10K miles on it. Unfortunately they wouldn't come down very much. We then went to the Honda dealership, but they only had one used Odyssey, and it had 80K miles it (too many in my opinion). The Toyota dealership was offering 0% APR for 48 months on their new vehicles. Honda wasn't offering that, and their vans were about the same price. We went back to the Toyota dealership. My instinct was to buy the "slightly used" 2012 Sienna because it was a bit cheaper and also because I liked the color better, but Paul's instinct was to buy a new 2012 Sienna in light of the 0% financing since his job situation is uncertain starting in January.

We drove home in a dark grey 2012 Sienna. It has a couple of features that I have enjoyed in my Prius - a camera that shows you what's behind you when you're in reverse and keyless entry (which is very handy with young children). Two things I'm guessing won't be my favorite features are #1 how much it will cost to fill the tank at the gas station and #2 it will be a lot harder to park. We traded in Paul's Civic. My Prius is now Paul's car. I wish we didn't have to rush into this major purchase. I would have liked to be able to do more research and have more flexibility as to when we bought a van, but I didn't want to be home alone without a vehicle in which I could transport all three children at the same time. Hopefully this van will last for many years. We bought Paul's 2002 Civic in April 2003 with 10K miles on it, and we traded it in with $182K miles on it. This was my very first time buying a new vehicle. I've always bought used cars in the past. It's the fourth vehicle we've bought over the past 11 years (a Civic, Corolla, Prius, and Sienna). It will be nice when we're doing something with Paul's parents that we'll all fit in one vehicle now. We were gone for a total of 8 hours today. Considering how sleep deprived I am, this was very taxing, but now I have a way of taking all three kids somewhere when necessary. I won't be going out much until the Weego carrier arrives, but it's helpful to know I'm not stranded at home.

Hi, Grandpa!

My parents drove up from Maryland to spend several hours with us. My dad hadn't met Oliver yet. He was the last of Oliver's four grandparents to meet him, and the first grandparent to hold him. My mom was the first one to meet Oliver (she saw him before I did on August 7), and she really, really wanted to hold him today, but she restrained herself because she has a sore throat. Nadia and Ian enjoyed some time at McDonalds's (one with a playland with my parents for lunch).

Emotionally it is wonderful to be home. Physically it's more exhausting. One perk of being home is we have much softer toilet paper than they do in hospitals! When I got home yesterday I felt the need to get into high gear with cleaning since I can't stand clutter and also because of the company I knew we were having (oxygen delivery, home nurse, and my parents). I did a load of dishes, two loads of laundry, swept the kitchen floor, made our bed (I'm sure it hadn't been made in 11 days), went through the mail, put away things that had been piling up here and there such as my recent consignment shop purchases, etc. It was also easier to take a nap at the hospital. I'm probably going to be ready to crash the minute Paul gets home from school this week since I'm up so much during the night. It will be so helpful if by some miracle I can get Ian and Oliver to sleep during Nadia's quiet time. I will definitely nap if that happens! I went to the grocery store with Nadia today. I bought two frozen pizzas to give myself until Wednesday to start cooking dinner again.

 

Yesterday Paul set up the pack 'n play in the family room. I've been using that as the place to change Oliver's diaper and let him sleep during the day. The medical supply company came by yesterday with two large oxygen tanks. We've been keeping the tank downstairs during the day and in his room at night. He slept in his crib in his bedroom last night, and I am happy to say he did MUCH better than Ian with adjusting to sleeping in a crib. I tried a few things, and the one that did the trick was the swaddling blankets. I have had two of those for four years. I put one in his crib and one in the pack 'n play, but then when I was changing his diaper once this evening he peed before I got the new diaper on him, and one of the swaddling blankets was one of the things that got peed on. I'm grateful we have two of them! Any time I have had trouble getting him to sleep, I've just put him under my shirt for a few minutes and that has done the trick. I'm supposed to encourage him to sleep as much as possible in between feedings to conserve his energy (in part so he doesn't burn as many calories).

 

A home health nurse came for a visit today. I declined that service with Nadia and Ian, but I thought it might be helpful this time around since Oliver has more needs. She said he weighed 4lb 5oz today, but that was with a wet/poopy diaper and the NICU weighs babies with a dry diaper and then subtracts the weight of the diaper (15 grams in his case). I would imagine though that he has gained SOME weight, as I doubt his diaper weighs 3 ounces. The only part of her visit that proved helpful was when she showed us how to use a strap (rather than stickies) to attach Oliver's respiration rate and heart rate probes. Paul and I tried to figure it out last night, to no avail.

I didn't realize until recently that so many things have minimum weights (ex. 5 lbs for a car seat). I had planned to "wear" Oliver when we went to the store, church, playground, etc. so that I would have free hands for Nadia and Ian. This seems even more important since Oliver is attached to a monitor and an oxygen tank. It turns out almost every baby carrier has a minimum weight that is much higher than 4 lbs. I have been searching and searching online to find something for preemies, as otherwise I won't be able to leave the house with all three children until he's much bigger. Today I ordered a weego. They have one for preemies (minimum weight of 3 lbs). It wasn't cheap, but I didn't think I really had a choice. One of my aunts gave me $100 as a baby gift so I am considering her gift to be what (mostly) paid for this item. I didn't have any choice in color. I wouldn't have picked light blue seersucker, but if it enables me to wear Oliver so my hands are free for Nadia and Ian, it will be well worth the money spent. I hope it comes asap although it's coming from Germany so I know it will take a few days.



So long, NICU!

As of 3:00am, Oliver weighed 1866 grams (4lb 1.8oz), which represented a weight gain of 14 grams. I thought he would gain more yesterday than he did the day before, but he actually gained less. Even though it was less than the 30 grams the doctors would like to see him gain each day, it was enough for him to be discharged. At birth he was at the 50th percentile for his gestational age, and now he is at the 3rd percentile for his gestational age. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks that will dramatically change.

 

The day became more complicated because I hadn't filled his prescriptions. I assumed one of the hospital's two outpatient pharmacies would be open on Sundays. I was wrong. They also aren't open tomorrow due to the holiday. Paul called quite a few pharmacies today. The soonest any said they could get his diurol or NaCl was Tuesday. The hospital called another CVS that did have the diurol. We can easily get the vitamins anywhere. The in-patient pharmacy sold us an emergency 72 hour supply of the NaCl. I feel badly for the extra hassle, especially as it means someone has to come back here on Tuesday to fill the NaCl prescription. It would have been so much easier if I had filled them here a few days ago.

We rented a car bed that we'll return after he's off the oxygen (presuming by that point he also weighs at least 5 pounds). He has appointments to be examined for ROP next week, another PT/OT appointment in one month, and he needs to be seen by the pediatrican on Tuesday (or Wednesday at the latest). I am so, so grateful that tonight I'll be sleeping in my OWN bed - something I have only done 7 other nights over the past 2 months, and we will ALL be together as a family of five. That has absolutely been the hardest part of this whole ordeal since May 30 - having such little contact with Nadia, Ian, and Paul. Paul has tomorrow off so it will be nice that we can have one day at home together before he resumes going back to school on Tuesday. I am soooooooo grateful I don't need to line up babysitters this week. I will be taking care of my own kids - fancy that!

My parents are coming up to visit for a few hours tomorrow. It will be my dad's first time seeing Oliver. My mom saw Oliver on August 7, but she hasn't held him yet. Tomorrow will be her first time holding him. It's quite an experience holding this small of a baby. I know some of you have held much smaller babies (one pound!), but he's definitely the smallest baby I've ever held. The first time I held him, I kept thinking of a kitten. A kitten is the smallest living being I've held, and Oliver seemed more similar in weight and size to a kitten (not a newborn kitten) than any baby I've ever held before. I thought maybe my frame of reference was off since I haven't held a newborn for awhile, but as I looked around the NICU, I saw that Oliver looked MUCH smaller (head size, etc.) than many of the other babies in the NICU. He is a tiny little guy! Please pray that the lung disease will resolve and that he'll keep gaining weight.

Three NICU Babies

	Nadia	Ian	Oliver
Started nursing	2 days old (36w6d)	5 days old (35w1d)	15 days old (34w0d)
Gestational age at birth	36w4d	34w3d	31w6d
First time held - Paul	Within minutes	Within seconds of birth	11 days old
First time held - Ruth	Within hours	1 day old	6 days old
Got off CPAP	1 day old	4 days old	11 days old (also on ventilator, SiPAP, Vapotherm, and low flow cannula)
Mom’s first diaper change	4 days old	3 days old	6 days old
Bili lights	Started when 1 day old; ended when 6 days old	Started at 3 days old; ended at 9 days old	Started at birth; ended at 6 days old
Moved to a bassinet	From birth	9 days old	16 days old
First time wearing clothes	6 days old	5 days old	6 days old
Age at discharge	7 days old (37w3d)	10 days old (35w6d)	25 days old (35w4d)
Weight at birth	6lb 2 oz	6lb 1 oz	3lb 15.5 oz
Weight at discharge	5lb 12 oz	5lb 9 oz	4lb 2 oz

 

Hopefully tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!

Oliver was weighed early this morning (I think it was 1:30am if I remember correctly), and he showed a weight gain of 26 grams, which puts his weight at 4lbs 1oz now. Nursing didn't go as badly as it did at 6pm yesterday, but he definitely isn't nursing as long as he was prior to introducing the bottle. He did nurse a bit more vigorously at the 7:30am feeding, although he still only nursed for 15 minutes (whereas he had been nursing for 25-30 minutes yesterday). The nurse who came on at midnight said I was supposed to let him sleep for 3 hours in between feedings. In other words he was counting the 3 hours from the end of one feeding to the start of the next whereas all the other nurses count the start of one to the start of the next. His math doesn't make any sense because Oliver would probably only be fed 6 times a day, and I know the doctors want him fed 8 times a day (I was feeding him more than 8 times a day the first time I was in the demo room with him). Thankfully, Oliver woke up and was crying and rooting at what would have been the 3 hour mark (start to start) so I didn't have to wait as long as the nurse wanted me to wait. They won't let me wake Oliver up sooner than every 3 hours, but if he wakes up and is showing signs of hunger, I am allowed to feed him on demand in that scenario. Over the course of the day, he has been nursing more and more. We are supposed to give him a bottle with 20ml. The nurses usually got about 15ml in him. Paul gave him two bottles today, and I gave him one. All three times we only got 10ml in him. I thought giving him a bottle would be really hard for me, but it helped that he has to be held sitting up in order to take his bottle. When I gave Nadia and Ian bottles, it was in a position more similar to nursing than is the case with Oliver right now. This helps me quite a bit. Paul is quite insistent that we cut back (or completely eliminate) the bottles asap. I am sure that as long as Oliver continues to grow at a good pace, the pediatrician will be fine with that. One perk of the bottles is that it makes it much easier to give Oliver his medications, particularly the sodium chloride that isn't exactly very tasty!

Paul and the kids came to visit Oliver and I today. We spent some time in the demo room and then went to a mom and pop type restaurant that has an outdoor playground that is well shaded by large trees. The kids had a lot of fun, and the food (and ice cream!) was tasty as well. We were gone for about 2 hours when it was time to return to Oliver. After the next feeding session, a nurse loaded up the three coolers Paul brought for my milk. They filled them with the milk containers and ice. Hopefully Paul was able to fit them all in our freezer. The nurses had suggested buying a deep freeze because then the milk is good for one year. I'm really sure it wouldn't be worth it to buy that big of an item just for my milk. It's good for 3 months in the freezer. He'll need to bring back one cooler tomorrow. After we loaded up the car with the milk and my suitcase, we headed over to the RMH so the kids could play in the play room there for a bit. When it was time for Paul to take me back to the hospital, we made a quick stop first at Subway for my dinner as I'm weary of hospital food.

We missed the doctors during the rounds today as they arrived at Oliver's bedside when we were at lunch. The nurse told me the doctor said if he gains weight as nicely today as he did yesterday, Oliver will be discharged tomorrow. WOOHOO! We are in the demo room again tonight. I had been having Oliver wear hospital clothes the last couple of days, but the NICU's washing machine broke so they were just left with hospital gowns. Since Oliver spit up on the hospital outfit he was wearing this morning (and had been wearing for more than 24 hours), I got out some of his own clothes from my suitcase this morning. You can't tell from the pictures, but there's a monkey on his bottom. Nadia thought that was hysterical! She cannot wait to hold him. Hopefully tomorrow will be the day her wish comes true! I cannot wait to be home. I miss my bed, and more importantly I miss Paul, Nadia, and Ian. I don't have any babysitters lined up for next week, and I'm hoping none will be necessary aside from maybe 1 hour when I take Oliver to the pediatrician (probably on Tuesday).