The wheels are in motion

Little man weighed in at a hefty 2130 grams this morning and enjoyed his morning bath before a feed and sleep. He has moved on to six sucks today and seems to be enjoying feeding for himself. I feel like the whole feeding thing has just clicked with him now. He wakes up sucking, so I believe he will do well when his feeding tube is removed in the coming days.

We had our discharge meeting this afternoon. Mummy turned on her 'teacher' and entered the meeting with a clipboard containing a two page table document full of questions and comments on every facet of Jensen's being. I'm not sure what other parents do in these meetings, but we had many comments on the quality of our questions. We covered everything from his lungs, oxygen requirements and expectations, his thyroid, his burn, his bowel, and his hernia, to feeding, eye tests, physio, OT, and colds and sniffles. Dr Mary says it is likely we will present ourselves to the hospital 6-8 times in Jensen's first 12 months home ('no we won't' mummy says to herself). This is mainly because of the condition of his lungs (Chronic Lung Disease), meaning should he get a little cold or sniffle, it would likely escalate into Bronchiolitis, or other respiratory issues quite rapidly. In this instance we need to go to Emergency. As it is coming in to winter, we will be in lockdown for sometime, only allowing minimal visitors, and only those with a clean bill of health. He's not to have any contact with small children, particularly those in day care or school. He's also not allowed to be put in any form of childcare for at least 2 years, which is most definitely not in our plan anyhow. There are also lots of rules and procedures that have to be adhered to regarding the oxygen tanks. It is likely he will be on oxygen for 2-3 months after coming home. We have to notify the local fire brigade and strata of the building. For the first month after discharge Jensen will still belong to the NICU, so we can call anytime with any queries, have weekly home visits and many doctor follow ups. Jensen will be part of the hospital's follow up program for all babies born under 29 weeks. They will see him until he is 5, and ready for school, alongside regular appointments with the Paediatrician, Physiotherapist, and various other specialists.

The plan is for us to be home in the next week and a half to two weeks. We do have a discharge date, but we want to make sure closer to the time that this will indeed be the time we depart the NICU, as of course the whole process is Jensen led.

Today, after 17 weeks, I finally worked up the courage to ask the question I'd been wanting to ask all along, but was too fearful of the answer........Is he going to be alright?

The answer we got today was a definite 'yes'...

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