Coming Home...

One year ago this Tuesday, November 6th, Liam and Xiomara left the hospital for good and came home to their family.  :)

They were 4 weeks old, and technically only 35 weeks gestation.  We were soooooo ready!  The neonatologist suggested that I do a full 24 hour shift at the hospital before the babes came home.  It was such a good thing, because I was so afraid for the babies to not have their alarms on anymore.  So when I stayed with them overnight and the next day, the nurses actually turned off the visual and audio for the alarms inside their room.  The nurses, of course, could still hear and see the alarms at their stations just in case.  But it gave me the chance to just WATCH my babes, monitor their coloring around their mouths and observe their breathing with my own eyes.  I felt very confident after doing that with them.  I was still very nervous about bringing Xiomara home, however.  She was so fragile, still needing us to "side feed" her.  We needed to cradle her little head and lay her on her side as we gave her a bottle.  She had only gained 0.1 ounce in the two days before she was discharged, and I wasn't sure it was the right thing to bring her home.  But her doctor was confident and told us that we would be surprised just how much she would thrive when she's home with her family.  He was very right, of course.  

But we were still cautious.  Mom, Kevin, and I made sure that the babies were not left alone in a room. EVER.  It was kind of the unspoken rule.  We learned very quickly after coming home that it was not enough just to be in the same room with them.  We needed to WATCH them.  The babes had been home for a few hours and we had them in their bouncy seats in the living room.  I was moving a few things around in the kitchen and just happened to look over at Xio and saw that she was blue around her mouth.  I was over to her in two steps, picked her up, and patted her back to stimulate her.  Up came a huge bubble and her color immediately returned.  If she'd been in the NICU, her alarms would have been singing.  I just looked over at Kevin and Mom and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking back, I remember thinking that I may never sleep very deeply ever again.  I didn't want to take my eyes off of them that first night.  But we didn't get much rest anyway from all the feedings. :)  Maybe it was a blessing until they grew a little stronger.  Liam weighed 5 lbs 6.6 oz at discharge, and Xiomara just BARELY made it to the "5 pound club" before she left, weighing 5 lbs 0.9 oz.  What little munchkins they were!!!!!

Taking pictures at the NICU just before leaving...

Proud moment for us...

Kevin getting them all strapped in for the ride home.  They both passed their "car seat" tests the day before.  The NICU staff put the babies in their car seats and monitored their vitals for about 90 minutes, just to make sure that the sitting position didn't put stress on their heart or lungs.

This is the white board in the NICU room.  It was a lot of fun for us to see the sweet messages left by each nurse as she came on shift.  

Just some of the AMAZING nurses that watched over our darlings while they were in the hospital.  This is Mary, "Original Sarah," and Jennifer.  Mary always seemed to know when I needed a hug.  When Kevin and our friend Mike went to give the babies their first priesthood blessings at 1 week old, Mary was on duty and was so supportive.  I mentioned that Kevin and Mike were going to anoint the babies with consecrated oil, wondering if that would be okay.  She just smiled warmly, pointed to the cross around her neck, and said, "How wonderful."  Sarah is known as "Original Sarah" because she was in the operating room during my c-section and they handed Xiomara to her.  I remember she winked at me when she stopped just long enough for me to blow Xio a kiss before she was whisked away to the waiting NICU team.  And Jennifer is a true angel.  One day while I was in Xiomara's room, I heard Liam start to fuss in his isolette.  Before I could go to check on him, Jennifer was right there next to him, gently patting his back and singing to him.  I don't think she knew I was there, but I had tears in my eyes when I saw it.  These women and all the others that watched over my little ones are the ONLY reason that I had the strength to leave them there at the hospital every night.  I knew they were among angels. :)

Leaving for good!

Look who greeted us at the door... :)

  Gram with her hands full :)

This is quite the familiar scene from the babies' first months of life.  They slept in these WONDERFUL rock n' sleepers, which glided easily over carpet and kept their little heads elevated perfectly.  They were so easy to move from our bedroom to the nursery and back, depending on who was taking the midnight, 2:00am, and 4:30am feedings.  Man, good times, but such a blur...

 This is the sign that our good friends had made for my baby shower, and Mom put it out front for the babies' homecoming.

I'll leave you with a few videos.  This is Noah greeting the babes as they came home, and Kevin and I in the car on the ride home from the hospital.  I think I sound giddy!

Enjoy today.  It is a gift.

Love,
Nicole
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