Summer Lovin 2018

   Yesterday we celebrated Emma being home from the NICU for one year!!! And if you don't know, that is a huge deal for us since she stayed in the hospital for almost 11 months after being born. Before I post those anniversary photo shoot pictures, I wanted to post a lot (99!- which will we split into three blogs) of pictures that I never posted from the first ten weeks she was home. I didn't post at all for the first 40 days, which was fine, as we were learning how to be "real parents" instead of just "NICU parents" who got to see their daughter for a couple hours on most days. I was so lucky to be able to have a full 12 weeks off from work, finally being able to enjoy my "maternity leave", which was easier since I had fully healed from my C-section the summer before.
   These photos might not be in exact order, but are all from May 2018:

   For the first month Emma was still weaning off of Methadone, Chlonodine, and Presidex. The NICU pharmacist, Alison, had given us a calendar that we kept on the fridge, letting us know what time and how much of every medicine to give each day. I had so many alarms set on my phone, and it was tiring having to get up every three hours to give medicine at night, hence the sticky notes all over the bottle to make sure I didn't give the wrong medicine or the wrong dose. But we were so happy when they told us in April that Emma did not have to stay in the hospital until she was weaned off all of them. She was finally weaned off all three at home on May 28th!! 

   The first week Emma was home we had nursing, but we immediately didn't care for it. We felt like we weren't getting much sleep and Michael and I would alternate who had to get up at 6am to shower and get dressed in order to let the nurse in the house at 7am. The following Monday we signed a paper saying we did not want to use the nursing services provided. We had been waiting 323 days to finally be able to take care of Emma all by ourselves, so we didn't like having someone else trying to take care of her for us. One of the nurses, Alicia, who we had a few days liked watching The Office with me, so her "job" for the day was to switch out the DVD discs and bring me water when I was thirsty. I did find it funny when she heard an unfamiliar beep and started looking around to see which of Emma's alarms was sounding, when I laughed and told her it was just the stove being done pre-heating.
   The nurses who did do more with her the first few days seemed to be too cautious. One lady (the only time we had a night nurse, the very first night Emma was home) would suction Emma every time she coughed, which is unnecessary, and always woke us up since we still had the baby monitor turned on. That nurse, although nice and friendly, was talking to me for 15 minutes when I came in to give Emma her medicines in the middle of the night. It was hard to keep my eyes open while she chatted.
   Another nurse got very freaked out when Emma was having a hard time breathing while we were on a walk (Michael thinks she just wasn't sitting in the stroller properly) and called her supervisor who said to call one of Emma's NICU doctors. But while she was on the phone, Michael and I had gotten Emma settled down, cooled off, diaper changed, and her levels quickly went back to normal and she fell asleep. It made us worry that if we weren't there, Emma would be taken to the hospital when it wasn't necessary just because the nurses didn't understand how Emma and her little body works.
   Other days it was awkward because we felt like we had to entertain the nurses and talk to them the whole time. One girl was pretty shy and didn't talk much, so she just sat there all day looking super bored since Michael and I were doing everything, and holding Emma a lot on the couch. Sometimes I do wish we had nursing just so Michael and I could work on the same days and make a lot more money like we used to, but ultimately we know we are the best caretakers for Emma, so that is a financial sacrifice we have to make for her. Besides, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches are so good. Haha!

      ^^ Sisters ~ Emma 10 1/2 months & Sasha 10 1/2 years!    

   May was chalked full of appointments. Michael went to the first WIC appointment to get Emma's EleCare formula on the 2nd, but I've been going every month instead of him since July. Emma had her first pediatrician appointment on May 7th (which was also our seven year wedding anniversary). We went to Gastroenterology and Pulmonology on the 15th, ENT on the 17th, she had a Surgical check up on the 23rd, an eye appointment on the 29th where she got her glasses ordered, and we saw the Orthopedist on May 31st. I am super glad she doesn't have that many appointments now!
   Our first non-medical family outing was on May 9th when we took her to the botanical gardens.

   On the way home, after about an hour of being in the Orlando heat, we ran into another snafoo of her not breathing well due to her being overheated and not being positioned in her stroller perfectly. We made it work, got home safely, and bought a portable fan to clip onto the stroller shortly after. A great one that was recommended by my friend, Lindsey. Michael joked that we should get two fans- one to blow on Emma and one to blow on Michael since he hates being out in the heat too!
   Part of her 11 Month old photos below in the fuzzy chair.  It has been fun to watch her grow next to the big bunny, which is now finally smaller than her, but was still very big last year ~ May 12, 2018.