3 Weeks Old!!

Autumn is 3 weeks old. 

It's incredible to reflect on the past three weeks - Her birth... our 9 days in the NICU on PGE waiting for surgery and hoping Andre would still be here with us for surgery...the news on Wednesday night that surgery would be the next morning at 7:00 AM... praying with Pastor Karyn then walking Autumn up for her first big surgery... the long day waiting for updates for her 7 hour surgery... the recovery in CVICU with 10 different cords attached to our little baby girl... then the process of removing one cord by one... THEN IT WAS DOWN TO THE 15th FLOOR AND WE WERE IN CHARGE.

Day 1 After Surgery - It's still painful for me to see her with all these cords.

From the very beginning Andre dove in at the NICU... helping swaddle her, feed her, burp her, change her diaper, take her temperature and participate as much as we could in her care. The nurses in the NICU and CVICU were so helpful and willing to let us navigate the cords to hold her and take care of her. They gave us tips for how to best swaddle her - each nurse had a slightly different method and opinion about the best way to soothe her. Andre and I learned so much from them... we even discovered a potential culprit to Andre's sugar addiction... giving newborns sucrose water is a method NICU nurses use to calm down newborns. As Andre spent his first week in the NICU, we think he must have gotten more than his fair share of sugar water... I guess Autumn will share his love of chocolate.

Andre is an expert burper... 

And thanks to Occupational Therapy... Andre learned how to help her pace herself and finish her bottles

Last Monday they transferred us to the step down unit on the 15th floor. It was more or less a hotel room with nurses who came check on Miss Autumn every 3-4 hours. It felt so strange to be taking care of her almost full-time... for 15 days we had nurses staying with her all night. All of a sudden Andre and I were full time parents for a few days (with some great baby-sitters of course - Mom was always willing to give us some respite and do some Nana baby-sitting). Instead of sitting up and watching 'How I Met Your Mother' with Lisa to pump at 3:00 AM, I had to pump then feed Autumn. Andre and I spent the night with Autumn and instead of just waking up to her crying, we also woke up to the nurses checking her vitals during the night - not much sleep during those days...

Nana getting some good Autumn time.

To be released to the apartment, Autumn needed to eat well and gain weight. She relearned how to eat quickly and was soon eating 36 mL, then 50 mL then 55mL and even more because we began to request 70 mL as our baby girl was continuing to cue after she finished her bottle. She still wasn't gaining enough weight - about 90% of cardiac babies struggle to gain weight because of the energy needed to heal. We had to fortify my breast milk with formula (something I would rather not have done... but it's another detour moment...  best to help Autumn gain weight even though I am not a big fan of introducing synthetic formula into her diet). 

We said good-bye to Andre - he has a month long field exercise - and then hello to Christopher - first uncle to visit Autumn. Autumn has been listening to Andre's recorded voice since he's been gone. She loves hearing her dad sing Autumn Leaves, Summertime and Hum to her and looks around for him when she hears his voice. We can't wait to be together again in El Paso. It's definitely been the most difficult time to be apart since we've been married and we miss him every day.

First clothes!

Andre is a natural... he's so calm and gentle with her.

Chris came at a perfect time - his engineer brain was ready to help set up the stroller/car-seat (thank you Abuelo Clayburn) and drive Autumn back to the apartment. We were released on Friday as Autumn was gaining enough weight for the doctors to feel comfortable. It felt so strange pushing Autumn out of the hospital with no cords or monitors. Chris drove us safely to the apartment and we began our next journey with Autumn... about 3 weeks later than most infants... but home to the Houston apartment for the first time. Chris was wonderful - changing diapers, feeding Autumn in the middle of the night, and holding her to keep her warm. 

Getting ready to leave the hospital.

Chris meets Autumn...

And he's already making faces to make fun of her...

All in all - it feels like a rush... there are so many families who stay in the NICU for months and months but we transitioned out in 3 weeks. So many changes in less than 21 days and we are so thankful for the professionalism and compassion of the staff. Our baby girl has a chance that many children do not receive. This is just our first taste of surgery and recovery as Autumn will be needing 3-4 more updates in her life, but we could not feel more blessed and supported in this journey. 

Our tiny baby... only 5 lbs 4 oz... but she's growing!

No cords!!!