NATHAN IS HOME!!!

We are so pleased to share that we brought Nathan home this afternoon! He actually got released in the morning, but there was quite a bit of paperwork and important information to take care of before we could leave the hospital (that alone is a whole other post)!

At this moment, the little fella' is sound asleep in his crib in his room having just been fed and is doing quite well. I'm enjoying listening to his little baby noises on the monitor while he sleeps!

One of the necessary details we had to do before he could come home was rent an oxygen tank for him. He still has a very minimal need for oxygen - in fact, it's practically turned off and he's using just the little bit of oxygen that is escaping from the tank.

The doctor said that if we lived at sea level (which we don't - we live at 9,300 ft. altitude in the Andes Mts.), he wouldn't need oxygen, but the altitude does make a difference, so he will be on minimal oxygen for a while. We're not sure for how long. We have the equipment rented for 10 days so far.

The doctor said that we can disconnect him from the oxygen when we give him baths, feed him, change him, etc. The main time that he needs oxygen is while he is sleeping, which is easy enough. By now, Nathan is so used to tubes, cables, monitors, etc. That a little oxgyen thing in his noise is not that big of a deal.

We have an appt. with the doctor on Tuesday to see how Nathan is progressing. They will check the saturation of oxygen in his blood among other things. Pray for us as it will probably be the first time we take him out again. The doctor said it'd be best not to take him out for a week or so (which is just fine as things a quite bulky with his infant seat and then wheeling around an oxygen tank at the same time!).

We can't describe to you how fun it was to drive home with him today!!!!! And it's just awesome to have him here in the peace and quietmess of home.

You may have been wondering why we haven't posted in a couple of days. On Weds morning when we met with the doctor and he said that Nathan was progressing wonderfully. So he asked us to plan to spend 24 hours with Nathan in one of the hospital rooms. We were not expecting this at all, but of course, we were glad to do it (we had just taken all our overnight stuff home and unpacked it thinking we wouldn't need it again! HA - little did we know!).

So they installed us in a room (yep - I had just left the hospital the day before so going back wasn't my idea of fun, but that's okay), getting Nathan all hooked up to the oxygen, etc. This would also be the first time that I would be breastfeeding Nathan on a consistent, every 3 hour basis. The nurses from the NICU would be checking on us from time to time.

So we spent our first night with Nathan in a hospital room. It went well all things considering. Santi was a big help - in fact, he's an expert now at burping Nathan.

When the doctor came yesterday around noon to our room, to see how things were going, he told us that all was well, except for the fact that Nathan was losing weight rather than gaining. So he told us that he'd like us to stay another 24 hours and get Nathan's weight up. To do that, I was to breast feed Nathan and then supplement it with formula. So we did that for the next 24 hours!

This morning when we took Nathan down to the NICU for his bath, they informed us that Nathan had gained weight in the past 24 hours and that we were headed home! So after being cooped up in the hospital room for 48 hours, it's so nice to be home now and getting settled in. I feel like I've been gone forever.

And there were a few things to scramble to get once we knew we were going home - things like renting the oxygen tanks (one standard and one portable), getting bottles and sterilizers, etc. Since I had planned on nursing from the beginning we hadn't gotten any before now. As I type this, Santi is out getting a few more things that we realized we needed because of Nathan's condition (not that his condition is bad - just that there are some unexpected things).

Speaking of Santi - I can't say enough nice things about my husband! He has been WONDERFUL during all this time. I can't describe to you how patient, loving and kind he has been and he has always been ready to run errands and take care of all the other stuff going on so that Nathan and I could be in relative peace there at the hospital. He's also been a rock for me during my down moments and whenever I'd just burst into tears . . . . I have post already kind of written out about him to just list all the special things he has done for me and the baby this week. I'll try to do that at some point when I have time!

And speaking of Santi (again) - please pray for him! He has an important exam to take at one of the universities here in Quito tomorrow. He just went to register for the exam (barely making it) and will be taking the exam at 9:00 am tomorrow morning. I can't believe he's still doing it and will have the presence of mind to even take the exam (personally my mind is mush right now), but he's going to go ahead with him. Pray that God will give him clarity of thought and that it will turn out well for him.

Please praise God with us that our little Nathan is now at home with us! And pray for us as we all settle down to being a family.

I will post some photos asap!