Baby Marek is home!

KMZ1983 · November 2011

After 11 days at the nursery, baby Marek was released last night. It was a pure surprise for DH and I. All week they would tell us he looked good, that he was getting stronger with his feeding, and that we would "probably get to go home in a few days." On Thursday, the doctor said maybe Sunday or Monday. Well, a new doctor came on rotation yesterday. We were setting up to feed Marek in the nursery when he told us that he was pleased with what he has seen with Marek and if he is gaining weight he can go home. He had the nurse weigh him immediately and Marek was 4 lbs 15 oz (one oz higher than his birth weight). He looked us square in the eye and said, "Well it looks like you can go home." I cannot remember what he said after that because I was stunned. The doctor walked away and I actually turned to DH and asked, "Does that mean today?!"

We excitedly completed infant CPR certification, got our discharge instructions, and packed him up. We were in shock still when we left the hospital. DH commented that it was surreal and that he almost felt like we were stealing him!

It felt good to have Marek home last night. I didn't sleep at all...Marek let us know quickly that a nice, quiet, dark room was not to his liking and screamed all night until we brought him downstairs with the lights on, tv on, and a comfy chair to sit in. He also seemed hungrier than usual and woke up before feedings...and only got soothed by a pacifier (but for a short time before he spit it out and cried again). We increased his feedings from 40-45 ml and he has seemed content and we hope for a little more sleep tonight.

We are so blessed to have him home and look forward to watching him thrive.

I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers. He is my little "rockstar" and I am so proud of him. It feels good to be home, but so nerve-wrecking as well as I adjust to taking care of him without a team of nurses. This is my first baby so everything is new and he just seems to tiny.

I look forward to seeing how he does with his feedings and adjusting to home. We know we are blessed that he did not need more time at the hospital, but we still have a few hurdles left. At the end of the month we have two consultations with the Pediatrics unit at the Children's Hospital at UAB. He has a dilated kidney (been an issue since the pregnancy) and they are going to look for obstructions. We pray he does not need a surgery. We also have consultation because he has hypospadias (the opening is on the underside of his penis, not on the tip). We are nervous about the idea of surgery, but we know the Children's Hospital is amazing and will hopefully give us a lot of information when we arrive at the end of the month.

I hope all the other preemie mommies get good news ASAP as well!