Posted today...this is the most up to date entry:
I'm home now. Got home yesterday afternoon. I'm exhausted and in pain and trying to rest. My brother came home with us to help out around the house. Tito is exhausted and the stress of the past two weeks hit him this morning when he woke up with a stomach bug and was sick all night. He went to the doc and they said they think it's a bug he could have picked up in the hospital. So he's been sleeping all day, poor guy.
My closing of my incision went as well as can be expected yesterday morning. I was in a lot of pain from them removing the tape on the dressing (is there something that says they have to put the tape right at the top of the sensitive part of your skin down there on the hairy part so you end up with a free bikini wax??) and then getting the local put in was a bit rough too. Nothing compared to what I've been through, but still, added onto it all, it wasn't fun. I also ended up with some tape "burns" because my skin is sensitive, so I'm dealing with patching those up now too.
I cried saying goodbye to Santi in the NICU. It was very, very hard knowing we're 20 mins away now rather than a floor. But we went down today so I could breastfeed him and drop off some pumped milk. Then we had to go home since we were both feeling so crappy. We just came home and slept all day while my brother cleaned for us which was so nice.
Santiago is doing awesome. They are slowly weaning him off of his sugar supplement and his IV fluids so that he can be taken off of them successfully next week. They also FINALLY named his infection. It's a strain of bacteria called bacillus cereus, which is super rare in infants. In fact they mostly only see it in adults and it causes diarrhea in adults. But I had nothing symptomatic of that. So they think it was on my skin and somehow made it into my body and then crossed the placenta. The good news about this is that the antibiotics they have been giving him have killed it. And that he doesn't have meningitis. :) We are SO happy about that.
He should still be released on Monday, and then we'll bring him home. We can't wait. Also, he will have his circumcision done on Thursday and we promised him that would be the last little bit of torture for him for awhile. We didn't want to wait too long for fear it would be more painful as he got older.
Pumping is still going well and I've been able to average between 3.5 oz to almost 6 oz per pumping session. And the nurses have said we're keeping up with his demand and he's only had to have one bottle of formula (which we ok'd since there was no way I could get in) since we left. I'm happy with that, and that our little guy is a voracious eater!
Hopefully my next update will be of Santiago coming home! I can't wait to type those words... :)
4 comments:
Hi East Coast Girl,
From one East Coast girl to another (I also moved to the Seattle area- Bellingham), I just wanted to give you a heads up on the circumcision thing.
I don't know where you heard that it will be "more painful for him when he's older", but I just want to clarify: there should be no medical reason this would ever even have to be done in the future. NONE.
I hate to tell you this, but he WILL be in pain- not just at the time of the cutting, but during the entire two weeks or so it is healing. Circumcision creates an open wound, one that burns with every pee and poop.
I know it's not my place to tell you what to do, but I do want to say that MANY people are deciding to leave their son's penises the way they are so that when their son grows up, then he can decide if he wants to cut that part off. If it's not medically necessary, doesn't that make a lot of sense?
If you haven't been fully informed of all the risks and harms of circumcision, then that is purely and squarely your doctor's failure. I am a doula and I make sure to share this information with EVERY one of my clients.
This is the video I like to share and that I sincerely hope you will watch (it's short- 30 min)
"Circumcision: Make the Informed Decision" with Dr. Dean Edell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHVvB1oHAgg
also, "The Circumcision Decision Maker"
http://circumcisiondecisionmaker.com/
For more reassurances on why your son will likely never require a circumcision, these doctors are great:
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/DOC/faq.html
I apologize if this comment is an intrusion in any way. I wish you a speedy recovery from that c-section (those can be a bear!), and best of luck to you guys in your new family.
Caroline Warren
ALACE doula
warren_caroline@hotmail.com
Whew! I just read through all of your entries, and I'm so happy to have the updates! I've been checking your blog like crazy lately, waiting for info on you and baby Santiago.
I'm so glad he's doing better, and I can't wait for the update when he gets to come home!
Oh, and we are planning on definitely having our son circumcized, too, so I will be curious to hear how yours goes. Don't let anyone make you second-guess your decision!
Our choice, as parents is to circumcise. I know that many parents, especially here in the Pacific NW, are anti-circumcision. I understand and respect people's decisions to circumcise or not circumcise. We both discussed it and decided it was what we wanted for our son. I'm not going to go into any further details other than that, and to say that throughout our son's life, I'm sure there will be many decisions that we make regarding our son that someone will disagree with. However, if we feel it's best for our son, it's our choice to make, at least until he turns 18.
I am glad though that Caroline chose to share her views, and I did watch the video and also checked out the websites. But our decision is what it is.
Kate - It's your decision. :-) People feel strongly one way or the other. About lots of parenting-related things. To each their own, you know? Glad you're home, btw...
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