Day 47

It's official--she's really our baby!! We had a busy day getting ready to do the Care By Parent program. My parents got to our house late last night and left early this morning with Riley. Brynn had to have a car seat test today which meant strapping her into a car seat for 90 minutes to see if she could tolerate being upright for that long. Although she passed the test, the administrator is actually recommending that we bring her home in what's called a "car bed" because the car seat did not fit well. So, tomorrow she'll have to be fitted for the car bed and we'll have to make the arrangements to "lease" the apparatus for the time-being. I was really comical to see her strapped into a car seat. We had to roll up blankets to place on either side of her just so she could stay upright. She looked like a baby doll that Riley would put in a car seat while pretending. She also had to have another blood transfusion today which took 4 hours and required yet another IV insertion and removal. Her doctors said they wanted to send her home "tanked up."

Finally, at 6:00 PM, the nurse wheeled her into our room and I officially took over the role of "parent." Blaine had to teach a night class until 8:00 so he didn't get to join me until almost 9:00. When she got here at 6:00, the lactation consultant came in the room with me and observed a breastfeeding session. She brought a special scale that takes a weight prior to nursing and after nursing to determine exactly how much milk the baby consumed. Brynn latched on like a champ and nursed for 5 minutes. Her "pre" weight was 1862 grams...and her "post" weight was 1862 grams....meaning she got absolutely zippo. Not good for my breastfeeding self-esteem, but good information to know! So far, we've given her 2 bottles on our own and she's only taken 25 of 35 ml each time. Blaine is already getting anxious and I'm trying to remain calm, assuming that she'll wake up and eat well the next time. I'd already forgotten how long it takes to feed a newborn. It's taking us an hour to feed her and get her in bed and by that time I will only have 1 1/2 hours before I need to pump for the next feeding. Not bad during the day, but the nights will be tough. So, we're finally feeling like we have a real newborn--the good, the bad, and the ugly!