Hugo Comes Home! Day 38-40

After 40 days in the NICU, on September 16, Hugo was prepared to come home! He certainly has a talent for showing us who runs the show. The week Hugo arrived I missed a significant work trip. The weekend Hugo decided to come home was the weekend of Nolan's halftime show with the Hawkeye Marching Band. Any other week or weekend during the third trimester would have been inconsequential. But we certainly have a lot of memorable moments and great stories to tell him when he grows up!

At the end of the first quarter the whole stadium turned to wave to the Children's Hospital and to Hugo for the last time. Nolan held up a sign for Hugo and the band chanted his name! Go Hugo!

I opted to wave down from the top floor of the hospital. Nolan's sign is a little difficult to read but we know what it says!

Nolan was surprisingly able to focus on conducting his halftime show with the Children's Hospital overseeing the action. Hugo was able to head home with a Hawkeye win over North Texas. It was an emotional time saying good-bye to the NICU. We were surprised at all the things we managed to pack into the room in the amount of time we were there. The staff have been so wonderful. We will miss their encouragement and their advice.

While Nolan and his parents left to get the cars out of the garage I stayed with Hugo. As we changed his diaper in the NICU for the last time the nurse pulled the leads off his little chest and feet and I started crying. She asked if they were tears of joy or fear. Both. I wanted Hugo to come home. I hated those machines. I hated how they would happily ding when something was wrong. They mocked me for not knowing what to do. But they were also a source of comfort. "How will I know he's okay?" I cried. As long as the machines remained silent I knew my little boy was all right.

Now that responsibility is ours alone. Everyone must feel this as a first time parent. We constantly check to make sure he's still breathing which is kind of silly because breathing was always one of Hugo's strong points. So far Hugo's chosen to be a rather good-natured baby and his time at home has been a sleepy joy. Feeding time requires a little coaxing but of course we'll keep to it.

After the initial shock of the new arrival, the rest of our little family has quickly started to cuddle up to Hugo. (But not cuddle too closely) The cats are probably most pleased that we are at the house a lot more than we have been the last 40 days. We're grateful to be home too. We have already learned and felt so much during Hugo's short time with us it's hard to believe the adventure is just beginning. The love and support that have been given to us has been so overwhelming and poignant. We are so grateful to all the people in our lives who have watched over us and Hugo during this time.

Day 34-37

Hugo continues to do so well! He's almost six pounds now and they have moved him to Phase 3 of the cue based feeding. In this phase he will receive all of his feedings by bottle or breast at times determined by him but he has to reach a certain number of milliliters in a twelve hour shift. If he doesn't reach it they will feed him the rest by bolus.

And he was moved to a crib! Nolan is one proud Papa. Hugo has been doing a great job keeping his temperature. Once he was in the crib they started him with a onesie, a sleeper, a sleep sack, a hat, and a blanket. As he continued to keep his temperature he was slowly able to shed layers down to the goal of a sleep sack with a onesie or sleeper.

Once Hugo spends a few more days off caffeine without spells and gets though Phase 4 of feeding he'll be cleared to come home. The doctor has told us it could even be at the end of this week! In order to prepare the cats we brought home one of Hugo's hospital blankets. They were supremely interested in the scent but eventually decided the soft texture of the blanket was more captivating.

I cannot believe how far our little boy has come! The end of his hospital stay is so near. He's done a fantastic job. He's caught us unprepared yet again. Probably not for the last time.

Day 31-33

Little changes but big steps are coming for Hugo! He has been nursing longer and drinking most (if not all) of the bottle and is therefore doing well on Phase 2 of the cue based feeding. He has been gaining weight and is now 5 lbs 11oz. His eye exam had good results. His development is in Stage 2 which is exactly where they want it to be and he shows no sign of the Retinopathy disease. Hugo also got off the caffeine this week. Although Hugo hasn't had breathing assistance he was on the standard caffeine routine which is used as a respiratory stimulant. Hugo is very pleased. We are very pleased as well.

Today the nurse popped the top of Hugo's isolette without turning on the warmer! If he can hold his temperature for 24 hours with the top popped he can graduate to a crib! Although he is not ready to come home yet these are all really good steps. Anticipated come home date is still Oct. 16th unless we are told otherwise. Hugo has a list of requirements to be able to come home. He has to go one week without spelling (now that he's off caffeine), hold his temperature, gain weight consistently, and take all of his feedings by bottle or breast. He's getting closer and closer!

We're eager for him to come home but not quite ready! We weren't ready for him when he came and he hasn't given us much time to prepare. The cats are a little impatient as well. They can't wait to try out all their new baby merchandise.

4 Weeks (Day 26-30)

We are celebrating 4 weeks of life with Hugo! On our part, we made cookies for the nurses. For Hugo's part, he slept and ate. He was just approved to move on to Phase 2 of the cue based feeding process. Now he can have bottle or breast 2 times each twelve hour shift.

His first bottle attempt on September 4 was successful. He drank the whole thing. Some have asked, and I don't think I've ever clarified, that Hugo gets my breast milk. I pump and they feed it to him through the bolus. They do need to fortify it a little to supply some of the things his premature body needs. He gets it with the bottle too. Whatever it is seems to work since he is gaining weight! As of today he's 5lbs 4oz.

Unfortunately, my production is ahead of his appetite. In addition to what we already have at home, I used up my allotted space in the hospital and they sent us home with a big bag of frozen breast milk. I've been told to keep it because he'll catch up to me but I have my doubts.

Hugo's first Hawkeye game was last Saturday and he was all geared up and ready to cheer for the Hawkeyes! They started a new tradition in Kinnick Stadium this year. At the end of the first quarter everyone turns to wave at the children's hospital. Children and parents gather on floor twelve or look from their rooms to see everyone sending the love. It's a sweet tradition that I hope will last for a long time. The heartwarming scene even made it to the Today Show!

Days 22-25

Hugo continues to do well. He has steadily gained weight, increased feedings, and hasn't had any spells. He is now up to 4lbs 14oz! I've recently been putting together then and now photos. On the right he is in the same outfit that Grandma Bush bought him. The bottom photo is August 16th. Top photo is August 29th.

On this one the bottom photo is August 10th and the top photo is August 26th. He's so much more alert when he's awake than he was at the start.

This last one is his birthday, August 7th, on the bottom and on the top is August 27th. I'm so proud of how far he's come! Next week he'll receive his standard Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Exam. It seems that eye develops rapidly in the last 12 weeks of pregnancy. The retinal blood vessel growth is mostly complete when a baby is born full term. The retina itself finishes a few weeks to a month after birth. Being born prematurely leaves this development at significant risk. There are no indicators that Hugo will have any considerable problems but it's still another test for me to stress and fret about until it's complete.

The nursing attempts are going pretty well. Hugo get really zonked out from all the work. He'll get a good latch but doesn't exactly know what to do. He'll suck a few times then take a lot of deep breaths. Then he'll kind of suck. Pause. Suck a little more. Breathe heavily. After about 10-15 minutes and maybe 5 minutes of active sucking he's pooped. I'll put him to my chest and the nurses will give him the rest of his feeding through the bolus.