Thursday, October 20, 2011

how are you doing?

I suppose sometimes I forget that Avery isn't the only one who is going through all of this.  For Bill and I our lives have changed immensely in the last 8 weeks, but especially these past 3 weeks since Avery made her grand debut to the world. Suddenly my day is on a schedule that doesn't involve work, dinner, and watching our favorite tv shows.  Now my day looks like this:
3am: Wake up to pump
6am: Wake up to pump
7am-9am: nap
9am: Wake up to pump
10am: Get ready to go see Avery
11am: Pump
12pm: Leave for hospital
12:30pm: Avery's care
1:00pm: Drive home from hospital
2:00pm: Pump
4:00pm: Leave for hospital
4:30pm: Avery's care
5:00pm: Drive home from hospital
5:30pm: Pump
6:00pm: Make dinner
7:30pm: Pump
8:00pm: Leave for hospital
8:30pm: Avery's care
9:00pm: Drive home from hospital
9:30pm: Pump
10:00pm: In bed
I swear my day is consumed with pumping milk (see below for proof). We even have to buy a separate freezer just to accommodate the storage needs, although it will also be nice to be able to buy more stuff in bulk from Costco too.
The lactation consultants suggested I take one 5 hour sleep break at night to get good sleep as it can be beneficial when you are strictly pumping. I so look forward to those 5 hours. Lately the cats have been sleeping with us at night and usually sleep right at my feet. The past few nights when I feel them move I think it is Avery and it wakes me from a dead sleep. Then I realize it is not her and settle back in to a disappointed sleep. I can't wait for the day when she is waking me out of a dead sleep. I promise to never complain.
I know that in 3 weeks I will have to completely readjust my schedule when I return to work.  Mid-day visits will be more complicated to make and I will more rushed to make the after work visits. It is worth every hectic minute of our days and all the sleepy times that come with it.  After all, no matter where your baby is, sleepiness is just part of parenthood right?
Some days I can't believe it has already been 3 weeks and other days I can't believe it has only been 3 weeks.  I have tried to stop counting the days because as a kid when I counted down the days to Christmas, it only made it seem like it went that much slower. And since the only thing I want for Christmas this year is our sweet little lady at home with us I take it one day at a time.
Other than all of that I feel pretty good. A little sore some days, a little sad others, but mostly just optimistic and hopeful.
As for Avery, she's also a trooper. These past few days have been rough on our little lady. She was having issues with breathing and oxygenating her blood. They aren't exactly sure what is going on but think maybe it has to do with her blood transfusion leaving residual fluid in her body, so today they gave her a diuretic.  Hopefully it works. They have also taken away our holding time with her.  This is really hard because I had gotten used to this being a daily part of our visits.
Today the Development lady gave Avery a new product to pilot in the NICU. It is a sleep sac kind of thing that is meant to mimic the womb. It is cozy and stretchy. Preemies like to feel boundaries when they stretch out their limbs because it is what they are used to in the womb, so this is meant to give her the same sort of comforting feeling. She looks adorably cozy in it and everyone who comes in to check it out says they would take an adult size one, as would I.


Hello world


Avery's new cabana. So cozy

I swear my hand really isn't that chubby looking


Her little fingers are starting to fill out

This goes 3 rows back and stacked 2 to 3 high.

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