Day 4 in the NICU

We headed to Atlanta yesterday to visit our little warrior. As soon as we got there the top to the incubator was lifted up. Nurse Vicky said that he was keeping his own body temperature so they didn't need to keep the heat lamps on him anymore. YAY! He was sleeping when we got there, and as soon as he woke up we took his temperature. She said as long as it was above 36.5C then he could be put in a regular nursery crib. We watched the numbers rise on the thermometer and kept cheering him on as the number got higher. At 36.4 I thought my heart would burst if the thermometer beeped before it got to 36.5. It finally went up and even went to 36.6 before beeping! YAY! I'm so proud of my little Deagan!

After that we changed and fed him. I decided to wait until his IVs are out to attempt breastfeeding again. But I've been pumping every 3 hours in the day and every 4 hours at night. His biliruben level went from 9 to 11, which still isn't high enough for the phototherapy. Nurse Vicky doesn't think he'll need it unless his numbers today are above 16. She said at midnight he should be moving to the nursery if the kid that was in that spot would ever go home. Apparently that baby is a fickle one and likes to pop up with a new issue every day keeping him from going home. But she did say that if someone else needed a NICU bed he could be moved right then. So after we held him for about 2 hours we put him in his nursery crib. They just rolled it in the same room. She showed us how to get to the nursery he'd be in today if we walked in the NICU and he was already moved.

Depending on his biliruben levels today we'll see if the IV can come out. I hope they can because that mean we could possibly bring him home today or tomorrow! We have to bring in our carseat and base so they can do a carseat test. Bascically he has to be in the carseat for twice the amount of time it takes to get home. So he's got to sit in there for two hours without any problems to pass. They also will figure out which position the base needs to be that would best suit him when riding.

After we left Bobby and I decided that we needed to do something fun to relieve some built up stress from the past week. We went to eat at our favorite place in Kennesaw and then went to see Fast & Furious. (If you're a fan of these movies then I strongly suggest you go see it!) It was nice to just get lost in something other than my own thoughts and worries for a while. However, this little date night had a price... I made the mistake of not pumping for 2 sessions. I skipped my 4pm and 7pm sessions. NOT A GOOD IDEA!! Never again... but the time we were almost home I was in the passenger seat holding my rock hard boobs and sobbing. I had to get in the shower and let them drain a little before attempting to pump again. I'm sure Bobby enjoyed it just a little bit, even though I was in pain. He said that I had "porn star boobs". Lol. I filled up an entire 80ml container just from one boob. Ouch... I had to keep stopping to massage then go again. I usually do 10 minutes each side, but last night I kept going until the flow slowed. I think I probably did 15-20 minutes each side. All I can say is - never again. You only have to experience that once to kick your butt into gear.