Just a little over 13 hours after our sweet baby was born, the aerocare team from Lubbock's Covenant Children's Hospital arrived to take her back to Lubbock to spend some time in the NICU in hopes of getting her blood sugar levels stabilized. Since I had just had a C-section, my dr. required that I at least stay overnight in the Roswell hospital, just to be on the safe side. I wanted more than anything to get to Texas and be with my baby, but I was in a lot of pain.
One of the toughest decisions Graham's probably ever had to make was whether or not he should rush to be with Joleigh or wait until I was released the next day so we could make the trip together. I know it was hard for a few family members to understand his decision, but we knew that our baby girl was in good hands with the staff in the NICU, so he stayed until I was released. I was disappointed in how guilty they made him feel for that. He made the best decision he knew to do and all he needed in that moment was support and compassion, not judgement. It's easy to say what you would do in a situation, until you are in it.
That was definitely one of the longest 24 hour periods of our lives - we just couldn't get our minds off of her! Graham spent most of the day catching up on sleep, while I spent my time begging for pain meds and walking around to heal faster.
Graham's mom drove to Lubbock the next morning and was able to spend some time with her until we could get there. My sister, Kelly also visited her and sent us some great pics to hold us over until we could all be together again.
Finally that next afternoon (the 2nd) I was released and we took off to Artesia to pack a few bags so we could get on the road again. Reg & Staci were sweet enough to watch Tig and Annie until we could get back home again. We got to Lubbock late that evening and I was still in a lot of pain, so we went to the room and went to bed so we could be up bright and early to get to the NICU.
I really had no clue what to expect when we got to the hospital. Each time we entered the NICU for a visit, we had to thoroughly wash our hands and put on gowns to minimize the germs we brought in with us. Each baby had it's own section of a huge room that circled around the nurses station. There was a large curtain that could be pulled around each baby for more privacy as needed. Joleigh was fed on a 3 hour basis and we were allowed to come visit for each feeding. We were discouraged from visiting at other times, so that she could get some rest and recuperate.
Joleigh did such an awesome job. She was admitted late Tuesday afternoon and was given the IV in her umbilical cord, to help regulate her blood sugar. Her levels were checked numerous times a day and each time they were able to lower the fluids in her IV, because she was making such dramatic improvements. We were so proud of her!
Our first evening in town we stayed at a Hotel a few blocks from the hospital, but one of our nurses was able to set us up with a room in the 5th floor of the hospital. Apparently they had converted that floor into rooms for the parents to stay that had children admitted there. We were so thankful to be able to stay there while we waited to go home. Not only did it ease our minds about the financial issues of being gone so long (we were only charged $25 a night), but it was a lifesaver to be able to go upstairs and rest after just having a major surgery.
Luckily Joleigh only spent 2 and half days with the IV in her umbilical cord stump, but as she was jumping that hurdle, she developed jaundice. She endured the light treatment therapy for about 24 hours, before her levels were normal enough that she didn't need it.
The nurses gave us a much needed lesson in giving an infant a sponge bath. I didn't think it would be that hard, but we had about 10 seconds to get it done before she was just flat out pissed off. She definitely wasn't a fan of sponge baths!
Saturday afternoon we were told that her jaundice was gone and more importantly, her blood sugar levels were stable and we were one step closer to getting our daughter home with us. The next step was having her 'room in' with us for the evening so they could make sure no other issues would arise and that if we had any questions come up, a nurse would be right down the hall to answer them.
We were asked to watch a couple videos on infant CPR and car seat safety, so we did that as soon as she was brought to us for the evening.
The room was tiny - with only room for the sink, a full size bed, and a little corner for the babies to be wheeled in. There was a bathroom across the hall that was shared with 2 other rooms. After a very stressful week, not being allowed to leave that room made us both feel like we were in a jail cell. We were both extremely anxious. We tried to just focus on the fact that as soon as that night was over, we'd finally be going home. Those thoughts were literally the only thing that got us through it.
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