Roomed In

We are officially Roomed In! DB and I got to spend the weekend with Samuel... it was wonderful, surreal, and to be honest, a bit overwhelming at first. George and Olivia got to spend the weekend with Omi, which of course they loved! And it was wonderful for us to be able to focus completely on Samuel and know that G and O were in great hands :)

We loved spending time with our guy! When the babies were born we were able to live in Charleston at the Ronald McDonald House and see each of them every day... the way it should be, parents with their babies :) Since bringing G and O home, we've had to switch off nights so someone can visit with Samuel and someone can be home to care for George and Olivia. And of course we have work, coaching, dogs, and other real world stuff that has to be tended to. There have been occasions here and there that required one of us to stay a whole day, or even over night with Samuel, but it was usually because something bad had happened. This time we go to spend the weekend with him for something GOOD!

During the Room In, DB and I spent 48 hours with Samuel. Yep, that means we actually slept in his room, in the ICU, two nights. We are just full of energy today ;) During those two days and two nights, we were able to either do, or take part in, all of his care. The intent of Rooming In is to learn how to take care of, and read, our baby... I'm pretty sure it's required if you are taking a baby home with equipment. We are there quite a bit, so already have taken part in and seen a lot, but we have never been the primary care givers. If Samuel had an issue, we were generally supposed to step back and let the nurses, docs, or RT's handle it. But, if Samuel is going to come home soon, we've got to learn it all! Rooming In was like jumping right in. We did his meds, trache care, g-tube care, trache change, bath (complicated by the g-tube and trache), suctioning, field trips, responded to the monitors and alarms... you name it. We also met with the pharmacist, pulmonologist, and of course attending physician, residents, nurses, and RTs. We learned a lot! I can't even begin to make enough lists and charts :)

The overwhelming parts are, and will continue, getting smaller and smaller. Between the 1st and 2nd nights we were there, I was amazed how much our anxiety decreased. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that we are comfortable with his day-to-day care! As comfortable as you can be without ever caring for him outside a hospital setting. But the thought of an event/episode/attack/whatever you want to call it... is still quite concerning. We've rehearsed scenarios, completed regular CPR and trache CPR, practiced rescue breathing and meds, but it's still very overwhelming to think about something happening at home. Our local EMS will be alerted when Samuel comes home, which is also comforting.

All of that said - it is completely surreal that Samuel may come home soon! Yes, soon! Maybe even this week. Can't believe I just put that in writing... I said I wouldn't... but I'm just too excited! I'm so hopeful that our baby might be home with us soon! We've been here before, but we've never been THIS close. I'm still not willing to write down the day... not sure why, but I just can't do it. Too funny, at the hospital we don't mention the day around Samuel... don't want him to feel the need to attract more attention by acting up :)

Here are some great photos from our weekend, including Samuel's first trip outside! Our boy felt the sunshine! Our hopes are high.

Who decided it was okay to put me in this little pink tub?
Great way to start our stay - dialogue:
"You think it's okay to get this feeding tube thing wet?"
"Not sure, let's just be careful..."
Plop.
"Oops."
Luckily it was okay :)

Sacked out for the night... pretty sure he's comfortable :)

DB's new buddy - trache baby! He helped us learn trache CPR :)

Mom, why am I dressed in all these clothes? What does "outside" mean?

I don't know what this magical "outside" place is, but let's get movin' folks!

Wow - this is outside?!

I love it, dad! Thank you for bringing me here! R2D2 seems to like it too :)

Wait, let me check it out... smells good, looks good... and tastes good too :)

Yep, I love the sunshine!

Samuel finally got to feel the sunshine and see the birds and the trees! We have a drawing by his bed that some friends made, it was of trees and birds so that Samuel would know what they looked like when the time came. He definitely knew! Thank you :)

Dad tells the best stories!