Levi is Finally Home !!!

Levi is Finally Home !!! After 97 days (almost 14 weeks) in the NICU, Levi was released into our care. Justin's grandmother, Betty, was able to come and visit him for the very first time since his birth this past Monday, February 4th, 2008. She and Justin's grandfather, Raymond, were actually at the hospital for his birth but were unable to see him at the time. During her visit, Levi's nurse practicitioner informed us that if we were ready to bring him home, he was free to go. Full of joy and excitement, we gathered an armload of his belongings and took them to our van. I called Daddy to let him know that this time was "for real" (it was almost as though the last time had been a false labor for us). I came home and bathed the kids (they had been playing outside with their wonderful babysitter, Ms. Lisa) and then put them down for nap. I did a few more last minute things around the house while waiting for Justin and my sister, Rebecca, to arrive from work. My sister watched the kids and fed them the pizza we had delivered while we went to the hospital. This time we didn't mention anything to the kids just incase we were once again dissapointed with another set back. Jessica, Levi's nurse helped us to sign our lives away in order to bring him home. They informed us of all the appointments that we would need to schedule with his pediatrician, surgeon, pulmonologist, and optomatrist for his follow ups. We also requested to have a homehealth nurse come and visit him on a regular basis. The ride home was surreal. He was really coming home. I contacted my sister to let her that know we were almost there. She took the kids into Naomi's room to play while we got him settled in. Justin and I went in and told them that we had a surprise. They quietly came to Levi's room with us and waited anxiously for us to open the door. They were so excited to see him for the very first time. A peace came over me as I took that moment in. Perhaps now we can all sleep in peace. Levi is doing so well. They sent us home with monitors that alarm if he is having an apnea spell or if his heart rate is irregular. This gives us peace of mind. It has alarmed a few times for false leads (the sticky things that we stick on him to monitor him had come off). Levi was also sent home with oxygen which he was only requiring during one to two of his eight feedings/day while in the hospital. For now, we are using it with each feeding since we do not have a pulsox that lets us know his O2 saturation. The oxygen is set at 1/8th of a liter which is as low as the regulator allows. Twice a day, we give him two puffs of flowvent on a baby inhaler and also give him .5 cc of a multivitamin with iron once a day in his bottle. We are also adding 1 tsp. of neosure per 120 cc of breastmilk that he receives in order to give him a few added calories. Today, Levi weighs 6 lbs and 7 oz and measures 45 cm in length. It seems like an eternity since my water broke and we were racing off to Lexington Medical Center. Looking back at the past three months has been dream like. We are both so relieved to have him home and at the same time so sad to have to say good-bye to all the wonderful people in the NICU. We look forward to the annual NICU graduate party that they will be holding this May at the Fairgrounds so that we can see them again. While we recognize that God is truly Levi's healer, we will never be able to put into words how grateful we are to everyone at Palmetto Health Richland for helping to save our son. Each of you are Heros! We love you more than you will ever know.