I'll write more later, but I couldn't wait to tell you that . . . Tera's in a crib!
She doesn't look quite as tiny as I was expecting her to, but she's still a little peanut!
When the doctors came around this morning, her Neonatologist gave me a very enthusiastic "I told you so!" greeting. Tera had held her temperature very well through the night. She had choked on her first feed but had done very well on the other three. The doctors said that we just need to make sure she can continue to hold her temperature in the crib and get her feeding under control, then she'll be ready to go home. This could take a couple of days or a couple of weeks. As usual, there is no telling.
In other news, Tera made great gains last night and now weighs 6 pounds 3 ounces (2815 grams). She's still allowed to take as much milk as she wants, but she's doing good with 60cc (2 ounces) right now, so we're sticking with that. Check back in later for more news from the Crib!
Later Today
The majority of the excitement of The Crib is that the mom (me) can pick up the baby (Tera) without first getting permission from a nurse. I can just walk in, wash my hands, and sweep her into my arms without any glass boxes or porthole doors to barge through. The other part of the crib excitement is getting to play dress-up. Now that she's out in the open, she's got to stay warm. This means a dress, a hat, and a tightly wrapped blanket. If she can't stay warm, then she's got to go back into the Isolette until she can prove herself again. I've been looking forward to both of these things for weeks, and now the day is finally here!
Not to take away from the excitement of the crib, because it is still oh! so exciting. But, in truth, it did turn out to be slightly anti-climatic. One of my most and least favorite characteristics is that I try to think long-term as often as possible. This can be a good thing in some situations, like when I'm arguing with Barry and choose not to say what's really on my mind because it will surely lead to discussions much worse than than the one we might find ourselves in at that particular moment. It can also be not to so good, like when I have a new baby and I choose not to rock her to sleep because then she'll depend on me to rock her to sleep forever. This was my situation today. Should I hold her just because I can? Or should I go ahead and start practicing the parenting strategies that I will use to help mold her baby behavior.
I know, at this point, many of you are screaming at your computer - JUST PICK UP THE BABY ALREADY! And don't worry, I did. I just wanted to share that, even after all this time of watching my daughter through a sheet of glass - wanting to hold her whenever I wanted to - there is still that old neurotic part of me that has a hard time neglecting the thought that every little action effects some future outcome. Stupid Psychology degree!
What was actually disappointing about Tera's first day in the crib was that she had her follow-up eye exam again today, and you know I don't like to be around for those. I thought that she only had to have one follow-up, but I was mistaken. She has to have one every two weeks until the vessels around her retina mature. She was actually scheduled to have it last week, but because of her bloody diaper/IV incident, we decided to hold off so as not to cause her any more excitement for that day. So, I spent most of this afternoon away from the hospital. I found out when I returned that her vessels are "maturing" so that is a good sign.
The second slight disappointment about today is that even though I can dress Tera up in as many outfits as I want, it's really best to keep her wrapped up as much as possible. This is one of those situations where my long-term planning is going to pay off. If I can hold off on pretending that she's my childhood baby doll, she'll stay warm enough to be able to play later. I'm just interested to see if she can still wear a lot of her preemie clothes. Most preemie clothes seem to say "Up to 5 lbs," and she passed that mark awhile ago. This one still fits!
I know I'm making it sound like this day was really a disappointment, but I assure you, it wasn't. Tera going to a crib means so much more than holding her or dressing her up. It means that her doctors think she is strong enough to maintain her same level of health out in the open. I like to call it "exposing her to the elements." We've been sheltering her as much and as long as we can. Now, once again, we're going to see what she's made of.
What About Barry and Canon?
Canon stayed home again today with Brittney. After a late night last night, Barry didn't want to get him up early for school. One thing about Canon is that he is fairly dependent on sleep. He always has been. He sleeps ten or eleven hours at night and can take up to a three hour afternoon nap on a good day. It makes our lives much easier this way! Barry tried to get Canon to bed at a reasonable hour tonight. He's going back to school tomorrow for the first time since his nasty diapers earlier this week. They'll both come up for their usual weekend visit tomorrow. I really thought last weekend was going to be the last one. Maybe this one will be it . . .
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