Going, going, gone!

I am happy to say that I am posting this from home!! Maycee and I were able to bust out of the NICU a little early and we got home Thursday. It has been such a whirlwind here with our family enjoying Maycee that I haven't gotten time to post, but I couldn't keep you all in suspense any longer! You are all so amazing in the love and support you have shown our family through this trial, and we are eternally grateful to each and every one of you for your efforts on our behalf! There are too many of you to count, but you all know who you are and Aaron and I certainly feel blessed to have each of you in our lives. 

Anyway, on to our superstar. I wanted to post some pics of our last days in the NICU. Maycee really did recover quite quickly once the PPHN was resolved. She only needed one extra dose of morphine in her weaning process and when it came to feeding, she took to it quite naturally. We had a night nurse named Claudia and she reminded me of one of those stern, Norwegian type women that are all business. I was a little hesitant to leave the night Claudia was assigned to our baby, but we came back the next morning and Maycee had taken two full feedings by bottle for this woman. This is a big deal because the more they feed on their own, the quicker the feeding tube can come out. As for breathing support, Maycee had a nasal cannula that gave her a little oxygen and as of Tuesday night at midnight, she was off that completely. It was a little scary watching her breathe on her own, but amazing!

Here is a shot of her with her last 2 tubes, the nasal cannula and a feeding tube.

Once the cannula was pulled, she was down to just the feeding tube (which she ended up taking out herself on 2 occasions).  After she was eating all they wanted her to through the bottle and nursing she...

was on her own. They still kept her on a heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation monitor for another day, but having her thriving on her own was the day we were waiting for.

 

After all she had been through, her nurse, Julie, and I figured Maycee deserved a spa day. This quickly became a bath photo shoot as Julie loved our camera. She was having so much fun posing Maycee and even strategically placing bubbles to make the shot just right. Maycee is still hooked up to her monitors here, but no, she was not in any danger of being electrocuted.

 

Finally, Maycee's last test before we could leave was the car seat test. She had to sit in this thing for an hour and a half while hooked up to her monitors to make sure she could handle it. Doesn't she look so enthused? 

All in all, our time in the NICU was incredible. The nursing and doctor staff is amazing, the little babies are incredible, and it really is a special place where little miracles happen every day. I wouldn't want to go back anytime soon, but I am grateful for our lessons we learned there and pray for the parents and babies still fighting their own battles. 

As a side note, Maycee is doing really well and by all accounts, is a totally normal newborn. Our last test did show that she has a slight to moderate case of reflux in her urinary tract where her urine back flows through the ureters up to the kidneys. This could lead to potential kidney infections which would not be good. At this point, she is on a low dose of daily antibiotics to stave off any UTI's (otherwise known as urinary tract infections). She has to go back for more scans in 6 weeks, but we hope and pray this condition will resolve on its own. The docs are optimistic, but we really hope she will outgrow this. If she doesn't she would require surgery to re implant her ureters properly in her kidneys. So, Maycee is still in need of your prayers, but for now, we are enjoying her more than words can say.