We are HOME! 30 long days and we have finally made it home with Evan. Evan did great with his feeds thru the g-tube yesterday and passed his 90 minute car seat test so this morning we were cleared to go! The discharge paperwork was signed at 9:50, but since no one was on the same page this morning, we didn't get to leave until about 2pm! I got to take off all the remaining wires from Evan's chest, it was so great to "free" him! He still has to be on the pulse ox machine 24/7 but thankfully the cord is very long so it's not too bad. There wasn't any traffic so we made it home in about an hour.
I realized today we have unknowingly been adapting to this new "lifestyle". Feeding Evan thru his g-tube feels so normal. It doesn't bother me to see the scar down his chest. Charting every feed and medication is now "normal". My mom brought Elli back shortly after we got home, and I realized how out of touch I am with how other people will feel about Evan. This is all so NORMAL for us now, but seeing a baby with a tube coming out of his stomach and a scar that cuts his chest in half is definitely NOT normal. But this is our life now..
Scott and I definitely need to get into a routine now that we are home. Evan has to be fed an exact amount every 3 hours, and needs meds at 9am and 9pm. I've already measured out all of the medication for the next week; I had to fill 39 syringes and separate them into 7 bags labeled for the days of the week. Since hypoplasts generally have a hard time gaining weight, we have to make Evan's milk high calorie. Normal breastmilk is 20 calories, and Evan's is fortified to 26cals per ounce. I just have to mix in a little bit of formula. Tomorrow I am going to try making 24 hours worth of feeds in the morning and see how that works out for the day... Also since we are participating in the hospital's home monitoring program, I have to weigh Evan every day and record how much weight he gained, record his feeds, record his morning and evening sats, and all other concerns. It's a pain, but I'm sure we will get the hang of things!
=) It is almost midnight and it's new years so I am out of time, but I will update more this weekend!
Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has been praying for my family!! <3
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