Mercy in Disguise: An Update on Miss Retta!

"Goodbye NICU!"

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

~ Philippians 4:6

Hello All!

Well after 30 days in the NICU we are finally home! (So sorry for the late update...it has been a whirlwind here at the Waclawiak household!)

So, the last week at the hospital was quite labor intensive as Retta's feeds were once again increased (this time to 60cc's.) Retta had to provethat she could take all of her feeds without help from her NG tube...which was very frustrating and exhausting just to watch. This meant even longer hours spent up at the NICU for Szymon & I as we wanted to be present to practice each feed and encourage Retta along the way. Finally, thanks to a miracle working - drill sergeant nurse named "Trish" the NG tube was finally able to be pulled. Just a few days later our neonatologist was talking about discharge! And actually, the word "discharge" completely took us by surprise. We felt unprepared to actually have Retta come home since we had been living at the hospital for over a month.

Before discharge we were seen by the developmental specialist in town whom we will be also following with on an out-patient basis. The specialist spoke highly of Retta's abilities and mentioned that she was "a very social girl," wanting to be involved in all that was going on around her. With help from family we made the celebratory transition with loads of excitement...and maybe a little fear. On Wednesday, 11/02/11 Retta "busted out" of the NICU and was able to breath fresh air for the first time! She waived "goodbye" to all of the NICU staff on her way out (see picture).

The first night home was very long. We were concerned with Retta's ability to breath being disconnected from several monitors for the first time.I think we averaged an hour of sleep each. Thank goodness Grandma Johnson walked through the door the following morning! Once again, she came to our rescue and has been helping us get organized and into (some form) of routine.

Due to several ongoing medical conditions Retta will average 2 to 3 medical appointments a week...the calender is booked! We have already ventured out to see our Pediatrician, an ENT specialist and back to the hospital for a sonogram of Retta's hips. (All appointments went well!) In addition to appointments, keeping up with Retta's medications and feeds has turned into more than a full time job! In order to help Retta gain weight with her heart condition we are having to fortify my breast milk. This means twice the work every three hours...pumping, fortifying the milk, feeding Retta, cleaning the pumping parts and repeat! Full circle the process takes about an hour and a half...and then it is time to start again.

Next week Grandma will be heading back home to Houston and I will be on my own while Szymon is at work (SCARY!!!) However, I'm sure in time the new routine will become our norm.

We appreciate your ongoing prayers!

Much Love,
Ash & Szy