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Sorry no update for a few days. Life has been hectic.

Getting discharged from the hospital was a total nightmare. We had so many people in and out it was total chaos. We had the usual nurse and techs and doctors, plus 2 student nurses and their teacher. Then there was a patient coordinator in and out about a half dozen times, and supply company reps.

In the end, I learned to do the NG tube. It was easier and harder than I expected. The actual putting it in is easy. Making your baby SCREAM isn't. Just as I finished up, the patient coordinator (a social worker) came in and was a little too nice to me and I broke down and bawled. (Seriously. When someone is on the verge of tears, the WORST thing you can do is be nice.) She was super nice and listened to me for what must have been a half hour. I just poured it all out. She was very kind.

They had told us we should be discharged by 5, so I packed away my pump supplies. Of course, we didn't get out of there until almost 7. So my boobs hurt and I was frustrated. Then it was storming and I was out of gas. I got lost looking for a gas station and drove around.

Then about 5 minutes from home, Robbie pulled his NG out. You just KNEW it was going to happen.

Got home and got the supplies to put a new one in. Turns out they sent a different kind home than what I learned on. I learned on one with a stylette. This was just a floppy rubber tube.

After several panicked calls back and forth between the hospital and our supply company, the charge nurse finally gave me some tips and I attempted it. It was REALLY hard. Since the tube was so flimsy it was really hard to get to curve around. But I did it.

And then I cried. And considered throwing up.

Really, there's no way I could be a baby nurse. No way in hell.

Then all night that night, Robbie's apnea machine went off because his resting heart rate is so low now. I'm talking probably 20-25 times. Suffice it to say I was VERY tired in the morning.

Yesterday was good and bad. His eating was quite good (taking at least 55 at every feeding) but I had so much to do.

I won't even get into the phone games I had to play to get everything done, but we also had OT, a home nurse visit and the medical supply company came to adjust the monitor.

Robbie's is sitting at 10lb 1.5oz. That's not too bad considering he had dropped back down to 9lb 15oz last week and that he was only taking full feeds for a couple of days.

In big news, Robbie is getting TEETH. I can't believe it. I made a person who is going to have TEETH.

I really didn't know when to expect them. He's acted like he was teething for a while, but we never saw anything. Preemies tend to teeth later than full term babies, and of course even full term babies have such a wide range of when they start getting teeth.

But he has two white spots on top. One of them looks even clearer today than yesterday. They're coming through in the front so it probably will be a while before they're through, but he sure has all the symptoms. He's warm (haven't taken his temp, but he does feel warm) and drooly and OH SO cranky.

He really likes this vibrating teether than a friend brought a few weeks ago. But a momma has a few other things to do besides sit and hold a button down and rub gums. Robbie doesn't think that's the case, though.

We're managing okay for now, though. I'm getting used to the food pump and have retaped his tube a number of times to keep his fingers out of it. So far so good.

His eating is less good today, but still not as bad as it was. I have a feeling it's going to be a back and forth thing for a while. I just hope that it ends up good enough to not need a G tube.

Pray with me!

Trish