Day 83... it's snowing!

Day 81

If you've heard a rumor that we may be home soon you've heard right. I'm not getting too excited yet but we are working toward a homecoming on Halloween. Preparations have included:

• Tyler and I both learning how to give the DDAVP shot
• Aimee learning how to make the DDAVP with the pharmacists (and it only lasts an hour or two so you have to make it and give it pretty quickly... this could get tricky!)
• Aimee learning how to place an NG tube in case we are ever snowed in and need to do it in an emergency (I actually had to put it in today... Caroline was a good sport and it wasn't as hard as I thought it's be)
• Aimee learning how to crush, mix and give Caroline's synthroid and phenobarbitol
• Getting prescriptions for meds, syringes, needles, NG tube supplies
• Buying a diaper (kitchen) scale, baby vitamins, baby iron, and NeoSure to keep fortifying her breastmilk bottles
• Scheduling follow up appointments with the pediatrician, endocrine, neurology, ophthalmology and the Dartmouth Developmental Clinic
• Giving Caroline all of her 2-month vaccinations and Hep-B (these make me sad... we "double-team" her and give her the DDAVP and one vaccine each night at the same time but in different legs. She doesn't hate the DDAVP too terribly but the vaccines go into her muscle and she screams like a mad woman... so I cry like a baby!)
• Getting the car seat installed and passing a car seat test
• Creating an excel spreadsheet to log how much Caroline has eaten and when, how much and when she pee'd, when she poop'd, when her meds are given
• Making sure she has eaten the exact amounts required at the right time and trying to squeeze in breastfeeding when I can (not working out so well... who wants to breastfeed after they've eaten a 2.5 ounce fortified bottle? Not Caroline. I'll have to keep pumping forever if I want her to get breast milk...)
• Speaking of breastmilk, I have to keep pumping every 2-4 hours depending on the time of day. This gets tricky when a million different doctors and nurses are also trying to talk to you. Oh, and eating and sleeping and doing the occasional load of laundry too...

I'm sure I've missed something... but it's been busy and exciting and scary. It will be strange to have  a non-public bathroom, my own bed, and silence. Will I miss not having doctors and nurses around to ask questions of all the time? Probably, but that's what phones are for... and therapy! And we'll have so many follow-up appointments that maybe I'll be okay. Thankfully my leave of absence was approved from school so that I can stay home with Caroline this school year and make sure we get her safely through this most difficult stage.

Time to switch the laundry and go to bed for a few hours!