Bennet is Home!!

He's home! Bennet finally came home on Dec. 5 at 5:10pm and is doing well! He spent a total of 31 days in the hospital during which he went through and over came a lot! The last week was probably one of the most stressful as each day we worked through each feeding. He was originally expected to come home on the 3rd but after 36 hours of taking all of his feedings by bottle he was too tired and needed to be gavaged (feed by tube) 3 times. If he could have made it for 48 hours without being gavaged he could have gone home. The clock started over. By Thursday night he had taken them all, he just had to make it through the night and the 8 am feeding. Thankfully, we had understanding nurses and they forgave him 11mls out of 54mls that he didn't finish during the night and caught him up on the other feedings rather than gavaging it.

He also gave us a scare on Wednesday night when his Apnea alarm went off. He had been Apnea free for nearly two weeks and when it went off I nearly broke out in tears because I knew that if it was a real alarm he would be in the hospital even longer. It ended up going off a total of 5 times on Wednesday and Thursday and we didn't know until Friday morning (the new day he was scheduled to come home) if the alarms were true alarms or false readings. (Sometimes if he breathes too shallow it can't pick it up properly). I didn't sleep much on Thursday night as I kept wondering if he was finishing his bottles or not. I prayed so hard that he would! I also prayed that he wouldn't have any more alarms.

Friday dawned with a horrible snow storm and the news that they would be analyzing the Apnea monitor read out that morning, if the alarms were true alarms then he would be staying at least another week, if they were false readings he would be coming home with us. As we prepared to go to the hospital I was on pins and needles waiting for the news. It took us twice as long to get to the hospital because of the bad weather. Bennet was sleeping peacefully when we arrived, he had taken all of his bottles and according to the nurse the report looked good but she couldn't give the official word. The doctor came in with good news, the alarms were false readings...Bennet could come home and since he had been true alarm free for nearly 2 weeks he would not need a monitor at home either. The discharge it's self didn't take long since thankfully, overall Bennet is in very good health! He has a special milk supplement to help him gain weight and a multivitamin that he is on but no medications.

He is at some risk for possible partial hearing loss in the future (still googling exactly what all the terms surrounding this mean in plain English!) and will need to be checked a few times a year until he is at least 3. Also, one of the holes in the heart (there are 2 a PDA & PFO) that normaly close at birth is still open but not causing any problems at this point. The PDA took a couple days to close and there was originally a concern surrounding this because the blood was flowing back and forth between the 2 sides of the heart and normally it is only supposed to flow one way until closed. Praise God it didn't turn into any type of complication and is now fine. The PFO is still open and will be monitored at visits with our pediatrician. Apparently, these can take up to a year to close if they don't shut at birth.

We are still working on his feedings, mainly just coaxing him through each one and if he gets too tired to finish everything to insure he makes up for it in the following feedings. The first night home he did OK but the second night he didn't do so well and I ended up having to feed him the last 10mls with an eye dropper because he would swallow but was too tired to suck. I'm carefully monitoring his fluid input and output and looking for any signs of dehydration or weight loss. So far so good!

Parenting a preemie certainly has it's special challenges. I am super paranoid about germs as the common cold or flu can land him back in NICU, there are certain disorders and illnesses that can pop up in preemies unexpectedly that are related to the prematurity but don't show up until weeks to months later, they breathe so shallow at times that you just can't tell whether or not they really are breathing except by the fact that they are not turning blue, and they are so small and cute you just can't get anything done because you spend the whole day looking at them! The advice is to keep them home except for doctor's appointments at least until their due date and then sparingly until after the cold and flu season is over. (I think Netflix is going to be my new best friend!)

So anyway, we are praising God that he is doing so well and is home safe and sound! Don't expect me on here much this month as we are still working with him so much on the feedings as well as adjusting to being a family of 5. Looking forward to catching up with everyone when I can or in January

Thanks again everyone for all of the support and prayers! It was the longest month of my life and certainly the most stressful but knowing so many people were pulling for him made a world of difference!

PS: I always have a really hard time getting pictures to post on here from my computer so will send a few pictures of Bennet "unwired" to Tina for posting.

Great news, maybe some weight will be lifted from your shoulders. (at least some) Very stressful times for you and your family. Good to hear it's looking up. Hang in there, thanks for the update! We think about you everyday!

Welcome home Nina and Bennet!

Nina,

What a fantastic early Christmas present. Welcome home Bennet.

I'm sorry if this offends anyone but, I just have to say Praise God and his goodness, our prayers for Bennet have been answered positively!

Nina, wonderful news! And, I have to agree with Nick's statement of Praise God. God bless, Bennet, you and your family this Christmas Season.

Nina I am so happy that I received the news that Bennet is home before I leave on Queen Victoria this Thursday!! God bless all of you.

Great News! Welcome home Bennet!

Welcome home Bennet!!

Nina and James, I can only imagine the relief you are feeling and, what better Christmas present to receive than having Bennet come home. God bless.

Nina,

I'm so happy for you!! Welcome home Bennet!!!!

What a wonderful first Christmas present. Welcome home baby Bennet!

Bless you & Bennet!!

Linda

Awesome news Nina.....God is GREAT! Welcome home Bennet.....

You're sooo right to keep him home.....The twins born the same day as Bennet have done the same....there are wayyyy tooo many germs out there and everyone that sees a newborn seems to want to touch them....Netflix and computer will keep ya busy....but most of all...SPOIL him for now....surely there can't be too much cuddling with him can there?!?!??!!

Enjoy and I'm sooo glad he's home for the holidays.....

jul

Welcome Home Bennet

Wonderful news! Welcome home Bennet!

Welcome Home Bennet!

Great news! Welcome home, Bennet!!

Keeping you in our prayers..

Hi Nina, I'm so glad you are safe and sound home with Bennet. I bet you can't take your eyes off of him. He is so precious looking. I hope you can start to get some rest and that you have some help at home and that you are not up every night with the feedings. Take care of yourself too.

I'm so happy to read that Bennet is home & doing well!! I will continue to pray that all remain good!

Towanda

I'm so glad Bennet is home with his family!!!

Wow, you've been through so much, but years from now it will seem like a blurr. We'll keep saying prayers for him and your family.

Nina, I just read all the posts of your ordeal. What a relief to find out little Bennet is now home Congratulations to you and your husband, and, welcome home (just in time for Christmas) Bennet!!

So nice to be home in time for the holidays!