Ivan turned one last week. We also spent the week in the hospital. Poor kiddo was pretty sick. After some tests they found it wasn't RSV (yay) but another virus that acts similar.
Our days staying in the hospital made me notice again the good and not good things a hospital (at least this one) has going for it.
I hate the plasticy pillows. Sanitary, yes. And that is nice. But comfort level zero. When Ivan was born and we spent a couple of days in the hospital I wished for my own pillow. This time too.
Same feelings about the plastic mattresses.
And lets not even talk about how you have to browse through EVERY channel on the TV until you get to the 'off' channel because there is not 'off' button.
And there is no one in the world I would want taking care of my little boy when he's sick than myself. But it does humor me a little that when you give birth the hospital staff is offering and offering to take your newborn for an hour or two and you basically have to shoo them away so you can have a quiet first day with your baby (another reason homebirth is the way to go)....but when you are exhausted and haven't slept for more than a day because your baby is sick and you are stressed and worried about him on top of that there is no offer at all from staff to even hold him so you can go to the bathroom without a crying baby. (Just a side note, I finally begged a CNA to hold him while I was in the bathroom, she said she didn't think she was allowed to, went and checked and came back in a full robe and mask and hat and gloves with permission to 'hold him just for a minute')
Also, baby on a monitor, monitor cords not long enough for mama to hold him while she's on the toilet.......NOT a perfect set up. It was a long stay. Can you tell?
And our view, was directly into another room. Very weird. Little narrow yard outside our window then boom, another window. Both day and night we could see right into that room and they into ours I'm sure. A lot of 'blinds closed' time.
Most of the nurses and CNAs fantastically nice and helpful and wise. A few, not so much. And those few made the shifts they were there with us a little like hell. Again, the good ones were GOOD and I so very appreciate them and their willingness and education to take care of my baby so well. By the time we left Ivan had a favorite, he would get oh so happy when Lori came into the room and wave at her when she left. I was very thankful for the nurses who acted like they cared and were nice to Ivan. These are the kind of people I want taking care of him!
I did notice that our local hospital is not at all like being in the hospital on Gray's Anatomy seems. We didn't overhear any staff drama. And that too is great. ha.
Grandpa came to give Ivan a blessing and some of our friends came for that too. It was such a nice thing for them to come do for us, and I appreciate it.
After days and days of being hooked up to a monitor to measure his heart rate and oxygen levels, of breathing treatments and oxygen, of not much sleep and so on, he started to feel better. He lost a couple of pounds, which is a lot when you're one. But he is feeling/breathing better everyday. We're home now with an oxygen tank and a schedule for breathing treatments and other meds. So excited for a full recovery and for life to be back to normal!
The oxygen mask was scary to Ivan, so his toy kitty kitty wore it for him. This helped Ivan get the oxygen he needed in a much less scary way. Good kitty kitty.
They served us lots of goop they said was food. Some of it was good, some of it was, um, not so much.
The hospital gowns for babies were awfully cute. It was worth running out of clean clothes while we were there to be able to borrow some of them.
A day after his first birthday he got one of his first bottles ever. This boy is a breast kid, we were never able to convince him that a bottle was worth considering. But full of Pedialite it was a fun game for a day. It made me laugh that we waited until he was over a year old to try again to introduce a bottle. (He gave it up in favor of a cup before we came home though).
Feeling better, and a little cooped up from being in our tiny hospital room for days and days, we were finally granted 'leave' to go on a walk in the hall. Being free from the monitors was as much fun as running for him at this point.
They gave the thumbs up to let Ivan's older siblings come visit the last night if they wanted. So Grandpa brought Spencer and a pizza and we had a late birthday "party" for baby Ivan. He wasn't very impressed but his big brother was. And his mama was ready for a meal that wasn't hospital food so the timing was so perfect!
I realize now that I didn't get any photos of the horrible sticky tabs the nurse we had on the last night put on his cheeks. To hold the nasal tubes for oxygen in place. (Which he really really really hated and we didn't use). But we found out the next day from the doctor that she didn't use ones for a child. She used adult ones and we were warned not to force them off or they'd remove skin too. So for days they stayed on his face driving him crazy while I tried to work them off with baby oil or lotion. One is still on. But he is breathing better and acting more like himself so we'll deal with the annoying sticky tabs another day or 2.
So thankful to be mama to this little one and so thankful that he's on the mend. Happy Birthday my little love.
