Mariko has now been home with us for two weeks! I can't believe it's already been that long and that she's three weeks old! It seems like just yesterday we were at the hospital (four weeks early) and I was in labor. Wow, that makes me sound old (it seems like just yesterday...)
Things are going quite well. Mom was here with us until Sunday afternoon which was amazing. The first week when Mariko wasn't home she helped get things organized and helped me run errands and make dinner. Although it was really really hard to not have Mariko with us, it was nice to have some time to rest and take care of me. We went to the hospital twice a day and were there for at least two if not three feedings. As the feedings got farther apart - four hours instead of three - we were there for only two as staying at the hospital in between feedings was difficult! Everyone in the NICU was amazing. The nurses there really run the place and they were incredible. They loved Mariko and they were sad to see her go! The attending that was there M-F and then again on Monday was awesome as well and the resident that we saw most of the time was great as well. They came to talk to us about what was going on and how she was doing and would update us.
The Monday that we took Mariko home I was worried that she wasn't going to be able to leave as her biliruben had gone up the day before. However, Dr. Boxer who was the attending on had said that if she came back Monday and Mariko was still there she was sending her home. We walked in on Monday and the first person I saw was Dr. Boxer. She looked at me and said "are you ready?" I looked at her and said "she's going home?" She said "I promised you if she was still here today that I would send her home." I started crying. After 8 days we finally got to take out little girl home. She came and gave me a hug and said "I'm so glad I can make someone this happy."
I called Toshi who had gone to work and said we were taking her home. He told people at work and came to meet us on the third floor. We did all the paperwork and took her home!
Since then there have been some serious ups and downs. Breastfeeding has been an adventure to say the least. We've had two different lactation consultants (the second of whom was much more helpful than the first!) and tried basically everything including me lying in bed with Mariko for half a day just waiting for her to eat, to a bottle before and after nursing her. It was days of me being miserable and trying to make it happen while pumping to make sure that she had enough to eat. On Friday after spending half the day in bed with her I was miserable. She was crying and frustrated and so was I. I could have just fixed it with a bottle. So Toshi and I talked (and mom let me know that she would have quit long ago, she said, you've done everything you can and then some and it's driving you crazy) and he came up with an idea that I really liked. For now we will do all bottles and I will pump. This way she'll still get the breastmilk but the nursing won't drive me crazy. I literally felt like a crazy person - I wasn't sleeping very well even though mom and Toshi were taking all the night feedings and I was only having to get up to pump - and when I was up I was crying all the time. Since we decided on this plan, although it wasn't the plan I was hoping for, I have been so much happier. I know that she's getting plenty to eat, we can track it, I pump and Toshi can help in the middle of the night. It's so much better. Not the plan I thought but having one that works really helps my sanity.
Due to her small size and the concern about her gaining weight and because of the biliruben, we have seen the pediatrician three times in three weeks - each Tuesday afternoon. The first week she had only gained 4 ounces and they wanted to see us back yesterday to make sure that was going better. They like newborns to gain an ounce a day! The funny thing to me about that is no matter what their size. For Mariko, gaining and ounce a day is way different than an 8 pound baby! Anyway, either way. As of yesterday she weighed 6 pounds meaning she had put on 8 ounces in 7 days! I guess this bottle feeding thing is working! It is possible that we will explore the nursing again in a couple of weeks or so, but maybe not. This is going really well. Although we have the breast pump that my dad bought us - Medela In Style - the plan had never been for me to exclusively pump. So, we decided to spend our FSA money on the Medela Symphony - the one that they use in the hospitals. This one I'll use at home and if I ever need to take one with me I'll have the other one. The Symphony is quicker and gentler which is fantastic. It came yesterday and the attachments this afternoon so I'll get to use it this evening and tonight. Looking forward to that! So far I am keeping up with Mariko's needs even though she's started eating nearly 3 ounces every 3 hours or so. Earlier this afternoon she took 100ml! At some point soon we are going to have to go up to 8 ounce bottles from the 4 ounce because the 4 ounces won't be enough - I call her my champion eater! Although we would normally go to the doctor for a one month visit, she said she's doing so well that we will go back in two weeks instead of one. Good stuff. She also told us that we can let Mariko sleep 4 or even 5 hours (if she will) during the night. Last night she didn't do that and I have a feeling it might be a little while before she does, but setting an alarm for 4 or 5 hours instead of 3 is awesome. It's the little things.
Ok, time for me to go finish my dinner before she wakes up and needs to eat again.
Things are going well :-)
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