We stayed in the labor and delivery room for around three hours after the birth. Maya got cleaned up. After her bath, her hair in the middle was sticking straight up. The nurse said she tried to do something with it but she still had a mohawk. I got to hold her again and feed her for the first time. Derek got to hold her. We called our parents. I forgot to tell my mom her name. Our nurse brought in all the labor and delivery nurses to show off how beautiful she was. I got disconnected from all my tubes and wires and was finally able to get out of bed. My blood pressure almost immediately returned to normal after delivery. My hip pain also went away surprisingly. When we left labor and delivery, we moved into postpartum room 322. We spent most of the day holding and staring at Maya in a daze. We all napped briefly in the afternoon. My pregnancy insomnia still hadn't gone away so I didn't sleep long. It was really weird to have an outside baby. It was a surprisingly empty feeling to no longer be pregnant and I didn't want her far from me. It was also eerily silent not hearing her heart beat on the monitor after having heard it all afternoon and night. I think I snuggled her most of the day and night. The nurses were in every 4 hours to take Maya and my vitals. That got old pretty fast but beat the every 15 minutes all night in labor and delivery. The little shirts the hospital provided were huge on Maya. She would always seem to work her arms out the neck.
Day 2, February 23
This was a busy day. At midnight, Maya's weight was down to 6 lbs. We had or first visitors J and J in the morning. I then took a nap and D and T and their little one visited in the afternoon. After that H, J, and O stopped by before church. They all said Maya was tiny and beautiful. That evening, Derek and i ordered our celebration meal at the hospital, lobster tail, filet mignon, roasted potatoes, veggies, and cheesecake. Maya slept in her bassinet for about the first time while we ate.
Day 3, February 24
Maya had her weight check and hearing test a little after midnight. Her weight was down to 5 lbs 12 oz. Her hearing was good. This didn't surprise us, given her response to noise in the womb. My doctor came in around 7:30 to check me. I was cleared for discharge. Maya had her heal stuck for the usual blood test and bilirubin test. The pediatrician came in and cleared Maya. But her bilirubin was medium high so she wanted us to come back to the hospital the next morning and then meet with the nurse practitioner at the pediatricians office. (This was somewhat of a surprise because her earlier numbers were ok and everyone commented on how good her color was.) This was all set up. Derek and I got Maya dressed. Like the hospital clothes, the ones we brought were way too big for our little peanut as well. She wore a dress that my mom made. We covered her up with the blanket I came home from the hospital using and a quilt my mom made. We were planning to use a blanket that Derek's mom made, but Maya came before the blanket arrived. Derek started loading our car. Our car seat was inspected and we completed all the discharge paperwork around noon. Our hospital bracelets and security devices were removed. They kept my bracelet and one of Maya's to make sure that we had the right baby. We got to keep her other bracelet and Derek's. While Derek went to get the car, the nurse carried Maya in her seat along with a neon sign that said ok. I carried the diaper bag and few remaining random items. They let me walk out, unlike on the way in. Our first visitors at home, two of my labmates, brought us food that evening around 10. They were afraid to hold Maya because she's so small. We didn't sleep much this night. Maya didn't like her packnplay so one of us held her pretty much all night. Also, our heater broke so it was a little chilly. We were concerned about keeping her warm. Holding her helped with this as well.
Day 4, February 25
This was a crazy day. We had to go to the hospital in the morning for Maya's repeat bilirubin test and then to the doctor for the results. There was a little boy getting his blood drawn ahead of us. The lab lady, said that you can only stick so many babies a day and still feel good about yourself. She also said that Maya's cry with the lip quiver was too cute. Maya's weight went down to 5 lbs 9 oz. They didn't have the results when we were in the office. We came home and called about our heat. The doctor's office called us in the afternoon. Her number had gone up significantly and they wanted her on a biliblanket. The repair guy came and fixed the heater. Then the biliblanket was delivered. We all slept in the living room. Derek and I took turns holding her.
Day 5, February 26
We had to go back to the hospital for a blood draw and back to the doctor. We had the same lab lady sticking her heal. Maya's weight up to 5 lbs 10 oz. Her number went up slightly so they wanted us to keep her on the blanket. The doctor thought with my milk coming in, her weight increasing, and her number stabilizing we were headed in the right direction. Both the lab tech and the doctor commented on how strong Maya is. Derek took a nap during the day and helped a lot with the night time. I was still having trouble sleeping. When I would sleep, I'd wake up in panic. Ah, hormones are great. Also, I was always afraid I wouldn't wake up to a baby, but every little grunt and squeak wakes me up. Maybe this will change when I start sleeping a little better.
Day 6, February 27
We went back to the hospital for another blood draw. It's a bad sign when the hospital receptionist start to recognize you. We didn't have to go to the doctor today. The called us with the results. Her number didn't really change, 16.2 to 16. Maya and I had a rough day with feedings. When we would try she would scream, a horrible high pitched cry and stick her tongue to the roof of her mouth. I couldn't really calm her down or get her to latch on. We would both sit there and cry. This got worse in the evening. Derek called the oncall doctor that evening for help. She suggested trying to feed her more often as she might be too hungry and thus too frustrated. She also suggested we try a bottle at the end of a feed if she didn't eat well. The would help make her less frustrated at the next feed. We tried all of this and it seemed to help a little. My advisor brought over some preemie sleepers, her first clothes that fit. As soon as she is off of the billiblanket she will be able wear them. We again spent the night in the living room.
Day 7, February 28
Again we went to the hospital and doctor's appointment. We finally met our pediatrician. Maya's weight was down to 5 lbs 7 oz. I was upset by the weight loss because of the horrible day of feedings the day before. Her bilirubin number had gone down a little to 14 something. Her doctor wanted us to keep her on the light for the rest of today and then off for a day before redoing the blood work so it is hopefully Maya's last day on the biliblanket. Following the on call doctor's advice, we had better day with feedings. Friends from church started bringing us food this afternoon. We will probably get food from someone almost everyday for a couple of weeks. It's really nice not to have to worry about what to eat. We are thankful for our church here. I'm really going to miss everyone when we move.
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