Thursday, January 28, 2010

Naomi-Chan is Home!

On Wednesday, we spent 8 hours with Naomi in a little room at the hospital to practice taking care of her. The hospital staff was available the whole time in case we had any questions or problems, and someone came by to check on us every once in a while. So we finally got to bring her home yesterday. (YEAH!)
She's doing really well, and doesn't have to go see the doctor for a month now. She's still sleeping a lot, but stirs every couple of hours to fuss a bit or eat or have a new diaper. Chihiro (our cat) is terrified of her, and won't go anywhere near her yet. But this is for the better, since we don't want either one of them getting over-excited about anything until they both have a chance to adjust to the new situation. Chi-Chan is "de-tweaking" little by little, and Naomi-Chan hasn't even noticed the cat.
Anyway, we're thrilled to finally have our daughter home! It's also nice to not have to go to the hospital every day - that was getting really exhausting, not to mention expensive. And so it begins...
(^^)v -> Doug

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Naomi continues to change and is more alert than ever. Today was the longest we have seen her awake and looking around. Today we didn't bathe her, but she drank quite a bit of milk! She stayed awake mostly, but nursing makes her sleepy, so she fell asleep towards the end. After a ten minute nap, she woke up and was awake for about forty-five minutes looking around and fussing a bit. It was a great visit. We can't wait to get her home. We'll post more when anything new comes up. Thanks for the comments. Please keep them coming so we know who visits the blog.
Newsflash! As promised, we asked about the umbilical cord thing. It represents the bond between the mother and baby, and we're meant to dry it out and keep it to give to her when she grows up and gets married. It is also supposed to be able to cure anything. Cool, ne? (^^)v

Friday, January 22, 2010

Naomi-Chan's changing every day - it's amazing! The midwives are teaching us basic parenting skills, so we're practicing stuff like bathing her and changing her diapers under the watchful eyes of the nursing staff. She's more alert every time we see her, but she's still tiny, and gets tired easily. So after all the excitement of having a bath, she has a hard time staying awake to nurse. The midwives presented us with the last bit of her umbilical cord, which fell off today, and we promptly forgot it at the hospital. Hopefully someone will eventually explain the significance of keeping it, 'cause we haven't got a clue... More on that story as it breaks! Anyway, it got late unexpectedly, so I'm out of here - I'll post pix tomorrow or the next day. L'Shawn got some great ones today! -> Doug

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

I'm back from the hospital and feeling great! How could I not be - considering the fact that I am the mother of Naomi-Chan (for those of you who don't know Japanese, the suffix "chan" is a diminutive meaning "Little Naomi." It is pronounced with a soft ah sound like "hot").
Have you noticed anything different about our little shining star? That's right! There are no more tubes obstructing her beautiful face. Her nose-tube and her IV were removed today! We were so happy to see her tube free. And that is not all that happened today! We also got to watch the nurse bathe her and clothe her, and the biggest highlight of my day, I got to nurse her for the first time! It was an unforgettable experience. Naomi was much more alert this time, as well. She looked around for a few minutes before the nurse put her in the bath, and after the nurse bathed her, she looked around the room while we put a clean diaper on her and the nurse and Doug clothed her. It was a big day for Naomi-Chan and for her two biggest fans, Doug and me!
Tomorrow, we will do more of the same--practice, practice, practice. We anticipate Naomi's coming home some time next week or the week after that. She is still not quite 2 kilos (4 pounds), and she needs to be at least that before they can release her. We can't wait to bring her home. Keep visiting the blog if you want to see pix of Naomi-Chan, and if you want to know when she is coming home. Doug posted 3 new pix, and we'll post more soon! -> L'Shawn

Sunday, January 17, 2010

L'Shawn's finally coming home tomorrow! The downside is it's a long commute to the hospital and now she'll have to do it every day too. Fortunately it's almost door to door, so there's not a lot of walking involved - mostly sitting around a lot in stations and trains. But Naomi's drinking like a bandit, and getting stronger every day, so we're hoping she'll be able to come home soon. The doctor said 2 to 3 weeks when she was born, which still leaves 9 to 16 days, but who's counting?
(^^)v

Friday, January 15, 2010

Thanx to everyone for your responses! Not much to report today. L'Shawn is still recovering, and Naomi-Chan is still growing. I'll post again if anything new happens. Cheers! -> Doug (^^)v

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Naomi-Chan started drinking milk today, and had her first visitors! She can't leave the NICU yet, but we can go in, and other people can see her through a window. She's gaining weight, sleeping peacefully, and looks healthier almost by the hour.

L'Shawn is getting around more easily today, and is off her I.V. now. She also changed Naomi's diaper a couple of times (what a milestone!). Of course we both think she's the most beautiful thing we ever saw. I can't wait to see her again tomorrow! (^^)v

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

L'Shawn is doing better today. She's still in a lot of pain, but she's able to walk around a bit. Naomi-Chan is already gaining some weight, and she was sleeping a lot more peacefully today when we went to see her. We also got to hold her for the first time, which was a very special experience. She's got a lot of tubes and wires, but the doctor thinks she'll be able to start drinking milk tomorrow. If so, she'll be off her IV in a few days. That's about all for now.
Thanx for your emails and comments! -> Doug (^^)v

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Big Surprise!

Naomi Mae was born today (12 January, 2010) at 11:45am. She's about 5 weeks early, so she's staying in the hospital nursery. Naomi and L'Shawn are both doing very well.

L'Shawn recently developed pregnancy induced hypertension (preeclampsia), so her doctor decided to deliver Naomi early via a c-section to preempt any complications. We expect L'Shawn to be able to come home in about a week, and Naomi should be ready to come home in 2 or 3 weeks.

It's been a very long and stressful day, and now that L'Shawn and Naomi are recovering I'm going to try to get some sleep. I will post again soon. -> Doug