Today, the kids have been with us for one month. It doesn’t seem possible.
Our abrupt transition out of pregnancy during the general craziness of the holidays, combined with the melting together of time that happens when you trek out to the hospital every day, has left me feeling like time as a measurable concept has unraveled.
To illustrate how unpredictable NICU life is, I give you the following:
During our morning visit on Monday, the attending doctor congratulated us with the good news that Jayce was looking at a homecoming date of Wednesday. This Wednesday. Jayce. Home. In two days.
<insert Amanda panicking>
15 minutes later, the doctor poked his head back in to say, sorry, false alarm, Jayce has an ultrasound scheduled for Friday so he needs to be here until then.
<parents, who had been panicking but were turning the corner to excited, become sad>
Lesson: There is no such thing as a permanent answer in the NICU.
So as of yesterday afternoon (it may have changed overnight and I don’t know yet), we are looking at an earliest homecoming date of Friday for Justine and possibly Friday for Jayce but more likely Monday or Tuesday.
Other highlights from this week:
- I helped give Justine her first bath. She loved it.
- The nurses are no longer tracking Justine’s temperature. Another step to being a normal baby.
- Jayce was moved to a normal crib! And he’s eating a TON.
- Justine’s IV is back out. Hooray! The antibiotics are done. They took a sample and are waiting to see if the UTI is gone. She has a kidney ultrasound in a few days.
- Jayce gained triple the normal amount of weight overnight. He looks less like a skeleton and more like a real baby.
- Lastly, Jayce is receiving a medicine this week that will act like a highlighter for his liver ultrasound on Friday. It will be processed by his liver and show the doctors how that organ is functioning. The medical team is still investigating his discoloration. This is the latest step towards finding an answer.
As for parents:
We are twiddling our thumbs. Josiah continues to work until someone comes home.
I have not cooked Actual Food since December. I also have not written Actual Words on The Novel since December. I walked towards my computer this weekend to write but got intercepted by something. I consider that progress.
We have done everything I can possibly think of to get the nursery and supplies ready. Today I’m cleaning in case someone does actually come home this weekend. And if they don’t, at least my floors will be shiny.