Home!

I haven't had much time to update my blog since we've been home...but, that's the important part; We're actually home!!!!
The night that she gained an ounce was Sunday night/Monday morning. The nurses working the night shift on Mira's case were some of my favorite, so I decided that night would be a good time to sleep and let them take care of her. She was weighed at around 2am, where she finally gained weight. Then 3am was her feeding time, and after that I went to bed until around 9am.
I was sleeping on the couch/bed in Mira's room when my favorite nurse practitioner came in and woke me up. She said "trust me, honey, you want to join us on rounds this morning". I got up and followed her into the hall, where her, a neonatal specialist, and a doctor were rounding with their portable computer stands. I leaned up against the wall and let the nurse read down Mira's chart. When the nurse finished, they each, one at a time, said "sign off on discharge". I was so happy, I started crying! We were sure that we weren't getting out of there for another couple of days, so this was a very big and very welcomed way to start my morning!
Joe had been at work that night, so I knew he was asleep by this point, so I just started calling his cell phone and our house phone over and over again until he answered. I couldn't wait to tell him that we were finally coming home after almost two weeks of neonatal intensive care and two surgeries. We were coming home! After I talked to him, I called Tammy. I was bawling, of course, and holding Mira's hand. It kind of felt like a trick... Like the doctor was going to walk in and say "just kidding, quit packing your bags!" but she didn't, because we were really ready to go home!
When I got to hold her, feed her, and change her diaper for the first time, I remember feeling like she was finally mine, like she didn't belong to the hospital, she actually belongs to me. But this was on a whole other level! There would no longer be a nurse to take over the cathing or feeding in the middle of the night. She would no longer have a specialty team trained for her conditions on standby right near her bed. I would no longer have the resources of a hospital at my disposal at any time. I would no longer be sleeping on a couch to stay by her side. And while all of this is scary and overwhelming, I was sooooo ready to have it be on my shoulders!
I have been researching for months, and training since I arrived at children's hospital for this. I have been waiting for weeks to get to the other side of what seemed like an impossibly high and rugged hill. And this was the moment; the moment where you realize you're on the other side, running happily down hill! It just kept hitting me over and over: Shes mine, and we're going home!