I'm Home!!!!!

My mommy and daddy finally broke me out of jail (NICU) yesterday! I was beginning to question their love for me then they surprised me with an Election Day escape. Jail really wasn't that bad but I wanted to see a bit of the outside world and I realized quickly that I was too cool for that place :). My first obstacle to the escape was getting my first ever mugshot. I tried to act like the lady wasn't talking to me and that I wasn't nosy when she tapped on the side of the photo table to get my attention. Somehow she tricked me and mommy was pleased with my photo. Next obstacle of the day was getting home in my carseat without my head slumping too much or losing my oxygen. Of course I survived with flying colors while mom kept one eye on me at all times. She is so crazy!!! My final obstacle once I got home was meeting my brother Petey. I could tell that mommy and daddy were really nervous about our first meeting but I wasn't. He was eager to meet me but mommy and daddy kept shouting things at him in a loud voice. He must get in trouble alot but he does not mind. I have a thing or 2 to learn from him. I think I am going to like this place. I get fed often, it's warm, people hold me and rub my back, and I always end up smelling good even when I am pretty sure I should be smelling bad. Life is good and I am happy!

Disappointment yet Understanding

I woke up this morning to find out that Kate's release from the hospital would be postponed. Kate had a braiding (sudden drop in heart rate over the night) and once that happens the NICU won't release her for another 7 days. The last time she had one of those was on 10/20, last Monday, then she went 7 days without one. As you can imagine, I was terribly disappointed. Don was there to put things in perspective. He commented "well if she needs to be there, I am glad she is there". She is 5lbs 7.7 ounces now. What a chunk! :) The doctor came by when I was up there a few hours ago and said that she is not doing anything that is not common for preemies to do. She also said that her drops were very short and she pulled herself out of them. Some of the nurses said that reflux could cause some of those. I think she might have some. I will just have to be more patient and wait until the time is right for little Kate to come home.

Baby Steps...

This week's updates include Kate being on full bottle feedings, me getting to feed her for the first time and she no longer has any stickers of any sort on her face. Because she is on full bottle feedings, she no longer needs her feeding tube. Yay! I would say Kate is making the necessary baby steps to come home as am I. I started driving again today which was liberating. I got highlights, then went and bottle fed Kate, then picked up Petey some more medicine for his skin condition, etopical dermatitis. Now I am trying to fight off a cold with vitamin C drops and O.J. I am getting so excited about Kate coming home which I would guess would be in the next week or so. I am also scared to death as today she coughed a little when I was feeding her and I thought she was choking! The CPR class of course is full but I am not bringing her home until I know something about CPR on infants. I might have to go to the library or something. Today when I was bottle feeding her, she smiled a few times. It makes my heart melt. She is a daddy's girl too. Don had been sick so he went about 5 days without seeing her. Last night he insisted on holding her...what a twosome! I love my family (Petey included)! The holidays are going to be SO much fun this year. Here is a pic I snapped Sunday afternoon of Kate. She had her head rested on her hands. I thought it was the cutest thing I had ever seen...

Update on Kate

Last night (10/15) I called the nurse to check on Kate and they said that she was going to be introduced to a bottle that night and that she had been moved to a crib. Both of these things are huge because they are the final obstacle to Kate being able to come home....the Final step! I was elated! It was so funny watching the nurse give her that bottle. She wasn't quite sure what to do with it. So she would do a few sucks then look around. Then a few more and then close her eyes. The nurse had to rub her head a few times and keep moving the bottle around in her mouth to keep her awake and interested. After 20 minutes, they put the remaining amount in her feeding tube which was 1/2 to 3/4 of the formula. I was so proud of her. :) Here is a picture...

Learning when to raise your hand - Kate's Arrival

Okay, I have learned many things over the last 2 weeks, mostly dealing with when to raise your hand and bring attention to yourself. As I wrote in a previous post, I originally told myself no to my water breaking....which I was wrong about. Then on Wednesday night, October 8th, I told myself that I was not having contractions but rather stomach pains. The nurse came into the room several times beginning at about 7:30pm. She put the contraction monitor on my stomach and it didn't show anything. She left and came back later when I requested and gave me some hot packs because I was having some pain in my back. They felt good for a brief second, then the pain was back. After about hour of pain coming and going, I told Don that the nurse had to do something this time. The nurse came in and said before she did something for my stomach pain, she wanted to check my cervix to make sure what I was experiencing wasn't labor pains. She did and then reported that I was 8cm dilated! So I went from nothing to alot in like 1 hours time. I was moaning some during this time but Don kept reading his book thinking I was just crying wolf! So then, like 3 nurses come running in my room. The nurse taking care of me was shouting commands to the others. They were sticking IVs and catheters in. 2 Doctors in my doctors practice were already coming in to do a C-section on another lady, thank goodness. They wheeled me to the Op Room between 9:30 and 9:45 and by 10:22, I became a parent. They quickly showed me little Kate and then Don and a few nurses took off to take Kate to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). She was so tiny and so precious! I started crying as soon as I felt her being pulled out of me and then again when I heard her cry. That little cry was the best feeling in the world! When I got back to my room, my parents were waiting and then it wasn't long before Don's parents showed up. I think the Farmers must have broken record speeds that night to make it from Albertville that quickly. They all were allowed to go see her in the NICU at 11:30pm. I didn't see her until the next day around 5pm. She was a squirmy little thing! Here is my take so far, she looks like Don but maybe acts like me. :) She is the cutest little thing I have ever seen and I can't wait until she gets to come home. They told us between 3 and 5 weeks with a best case of 2 weeks. She is doing really good in there, just sleeping alot and growing. I am SO proud of her! So the next few weeks we will be hanging out in the NICU at St. Vincent's Hospital. I hope to have her home around Halloween. Oh, and the last thing to raise my hand about was an incident that took place the last night of my hospital stay. It was about midnight and I encountered another situation that dealt with lots of pain medications and being on bedrest. I will not go into the details, but have truly learned my lesson of when to raise your hand. I will leave you with some pics of my sweet little Kate...
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Hospital Shower with Family

My sweet mom and me (and the pink is not a coincident...girl baby!)

Little Marco McBride (future Alabama lineman)

Aunt Julie and Aunt Stephanie

Mawmaw Moore, Mom, and Aunt Stephanie

Mom, me, and Mawmaw (3 generations, bout to be 4)
Mawmaw, Aunt Melanie, and 3rd Cousin Alli
Marco trying so hard to give me a kiss before he left but he couldn't reach me nor me him...he was determined (SO CUTE)!
The dress I came home in that Kate will also come home in
Cousin Rachel with her daughter Alli
Aunt Rebecca, Monica, Marshall and Marco McBride (2.5 yr old twins)

Getting Very Excited

33 weeks today! Yay! Hoping to make it to 35 or 36 with little Kate in my tummy. The first week of bedrest was not bad due to my many sweet visitors (some multiple times, thanks Keri!). The doctor commented to me yesterday that I was pleasant. He said most people in here in your situation get depressed. I said, "Doc, I am very excited. I just want my little girl to hold in there until she can come out and not have to stay in the NICU". I really like my doctor. We have bonded. His name is John Foster and he is with OB/GYN associates of Alabama. I would recommend him to anyone. The highlights of my day are the visitors (of course), the food, and the shower. Who said hospital food was bad? My sweet husband has been coming up here almost every night. I keep telling him he doesn't have to and he continually shows up. I know he is exhausted but he wants to be here for me and Kate and I think that is the sweetest thing. So I am thinking I got 2-3 weeks of this with little Kate still cooking in the belly. I might read a few books or I guess I could do all my Christmas shopping online. Thank goodness for laptops! Okay, big things happening this week is Kate's furniture coming...woohooo! Her bedding is suppose to be ready Wednesday, October 8th. Don and mom are going to get both of those things set up (well the furniture will be set up by the people we bought it from). My family is having a "shower" for me at the hospital Tuesday afternoon at 4pm. :) Presents have been trickling in which is so much fun! Don has taken them all back and put them in her room. I better get started on Thank You cards.