We are settling in at home with our new party of five!
Luke and Paige are in love with their little brother!
Luke has been so fantastic. Before Ty was born and even in the hospital, he was very unsure about wanting to hold the baby. But now, he loves holding him and talking to him. He is very helpful and thinks the faces and sounds (mostly the gas!) Ty makes are just hilarious! I know he is going to be the best big brother a little guy could have!
Paige...well...let's just say we are pretty sure she loves her brother and just has a hard time showing that love gently! She is kind of a crazy girl to begin with so trying to teach her to not squeeze his hand so hard or not to yell in his face has been difficult. She has started calling him "Babes" - which is adorable! She will say, "Awe, babes, it's ok!". But then proceeds to want to poke his cheeks. She will coming running out of nowhere and get right in his face. Ty's not a fan of her hair - ha! She still is giving him LOTS of kisses (but aren't we all?!?!). As soon as he cries, she instantly believes he's hungry (which is probably the case) or she will run to get his paci. We are working on being gentle and calm with him! It's a work in progress!
Ty is a pretty chill baby so far! Our first night home he gave us a 4-hour stretch of sleep and has continued to do so for the most part. We even got one 5 and 6-hour stretch a couple of nights. He's been going to sleep around 9:30/10 and then waking up around 2 and 6 to eat. We have been swaddling him at night and that instantly calms him down. He's sleeping in the pack-n-play bassinet next to our bed and will start fussing and trying to work those arms out when he wakes in the middle of the night. Thankfully, after nursing, we swaddle him right back up and he goes right back to sleep!
His awake periods are usually first thing in the morning and just before bedtime. He usually sleeps most of the day away, but we get to see those eyes every few hours when it's time to eat!
We had our follow-up appointment with the pediatrician last Friday when Ty was a week old. He's doing great! The doctor said his color was fantastic and his weight gain was impressive. He was up to 8 lbs 10 oz - up 3 oz from his birth & discharge weight! We have no issues in the eating department!
I'm doing great too! I recovered pretty quickly after both Paige & Ty's births. I have to remind myself to still take it easy a bit. I have been pretty lucky that I've been able to do that since Wally is still home for the summer!
Let's talk about Daddy - he's the best! He has kept the big kids busy during the days and is the professional diaper changer in the house - just like he was with the other two. He's making sure we are fed and rested. We have just over a week left with him at home before school starts so I'm taking full advantage of that time with us all home together!
We've enjoyed first baths (well, maybe Ty didn't enjoy it!),
first walks,
first trips to the zoo,
first trips to Target,
and first time at church!
We've had visitors too!
But mostly we've just been cuddling and enjoying our newest little bundle of joy!
Once the nurse had taken Ty for his newborn screening, I actually got the best hour or so of sleep. Both Wally and I were so sound asleep we didn't even hear the nurse knock at the door. I was awoken to, "Mrs. Zukowski...here is your baby. We need you to feed him and then give us a call because we need to bring him back to the nursery. He had a cyanotic episode where his lips were blue. We need to monitor him until the doctor comes to check on him." I was so confused and so completely out of it and didn't even know what questions to ask. Wally was just starting to wake up and didn't really hear any of it. All I knew was that they were taking Ty back to the nursery for who knows how long.
We got ourselves up, I nursed Ty and then we called the nurse to take him back to the nursery as they requested. She asked if we had noticed any duskiness around his lips at any time - which we hadn't. She explained a bit about his rapid breathing and that they just needed to wait until the doctor came to evaluate him. The doctor had been by on Friday afternoon and all appeared to be good at that time. We were planning on going home Saturday.
Wally decided to head back to the house to visit with the kids (my parents were with them) for a bit. My OB came in and gave me the green light to be discharged that day, but I told her what I knew about Ty and she said I was able to stay until Sunday if we needed to. After she left, I was alone in the hospital room. I was really upset - I couldn't have my baby in my arms and I couldn't be home with my other babies. Obviously, I was very hormonal, but I just couldn't stop crying. I called my mom and Wally and asked him to come back to the hospital.
When Wally got back, we headed down to the nursery to see if we could see Ty and I figured he was due to eat as well. The doctor was in there and came to explain to us what was going on. They did a chest x-ray and saw fluid in Ty's lungs. This was causing him to have a rapid respiratory rate so they had him hooked up to a monitor to watch this. They had done a blood culture and the results wouldn't be back for 48 hours. The blood culture would tell us if there was an infection. 48 hours meant that Ty wouldn't be going home until at least Monday. He also had a hematoma on his head - which is basically a lump. It is a pool of blood that usually clears up on its own in a few weeks.
I fed Ty and we were able to hold him for as long as we wanted. The nursery nurses were some of the kindest people you will ever meet and were so helpful in explaining everything to us. They would be starting him on an antibiotic right away to help clear the fluid in his lungs regardless of whether or not there was an infection.
Wally and I tried to get some rest before the next feeding time. The next time we went down to the nursery, Ty was in an isolate (no billi lights needed for him though), but this time he had an IV in his tiny little hand in addition to the other wires that were monitoring his pulse, heart and respiratory rate. We both had tears streaming down our face. No one wants to see their tiny 1 day old little baby hooked up to anything.
After that feeding, my parents came by with the kids. I needed to see them, they needed to see me, but it was also hard because Ty wasn't there with us. Luckily, they were easily distracted playing in the room.
We met with a lactation consultant so she could get us set up with a pump that afternoon so that I would have bottles for Ty if needed since I was going to be discharged on Sunday. Wally and I also had our "celebration dinner" brought to us from the cafeteria. We tried our best to celebrate, but we were missing the one little guy that caused this celebration.
We went down to the nursery every few hours throughout the rest of the night and morning to feed Ty and just spend some time snuggling. Again, the nurses were so awesome. We definitely felt in their way in the middle of the nursery, but they didn't mind one bit.
Sunday morning we got the news that after 24 hours his blood culture was negative so that was good, but we still had 24 hours to go. His respiratory rate was still spiking pretty high every so often but the antibiotics were going to hopefully help with that. I made sure to bring my phone into the nursery on Sunday too. I didn't want to go another day without any pictures of Tyler.
And a little video we took to send to the kids.
Wally went home to take Luke to his t-ball team's end of year swim party and my mom and Carly came to visit with me and help pass the time. I made sure my discharge wasn't going to happen until as late in the day as possible on Sunday. Both Carly and my mom were able to take turns coming into the nursery with me to see Ty.
At this feeding, we were told that his potassium level was a little high so they were going to test that again because that can be a sign of an issue with the kidneys. Thankfully the second test came back in the normal range.
Wally came back for the last afternoon feeding and then we headed home together around 5:30. I wasn't able to stay long because I wanted to be back at the hospital for the 7 o'clock feeding, but at least the kids got to see me at home for a bit. So back I went to the hospital. This time though they were able to set Ty and I up in a private room off the nursery so that we could just be together for as long as I wanted. He was still hooked up to the monitor and had his IV, but I was able to feed him, pump, and snuggle for over 3 hours, which was awesome. His respiratory rate was much more consistent and the nurse was very hopeful that he would be heading home the next day. I fed him one last time around 10 and headed home around 11.
Then it was Wally's turn, he headed to the hospital for the 1 and 4 o'clock feedings. We just couldn't imagine Tyler not having one of us there to feed him. Wally had the same set up in the private room as me, but this time they had disconnected all of his wires and removed his IV. Apparently, he was pretty upset for awhile after I left. He took the bottle from Wally pretty well, but just still wasn't calming down much. Wally had a long few hours with him.
Wally got back around 6 and then it was my turn to go again for the 7 o'clock feeding. When I got there, the nurse said he had a rough night (meaning very little sleep) and he was finally sleeping. She thought it was best to just let him sleep for a bit. I was able to hang out in the private room and watch tv/sleep until he woke up. The nurse woke him around 9 and brought him to me. It was so nice to hold him without any wires. Around 10:30, the nurse brought him back to the nursery so the doctor could evaluate him. The doctor came in and told me his blood culture was negative (yay!) and that his breathing was much better BUT now his sodium level seemed low, which again can be a sign of a kidney issue, so they were drawing blood one last time. Ugh! We were so close to going home. They said the results would be back in an hour so I headed out to get a sandwich and pray that this little guy would be going home today!
As soon as I walked back into the nursery, the nurse was there and told me he was going home! (His sodium level came back fine!) I started crying - I was SO HAPPY!!! Finally! I know there were a lot of other babies in the nursery that have been there for weeks and I can't even imagine. Those 3 days in the hospital were the longest days of my life! I immediately called Wally and said bring the kids, we are bringing Tyler home!
Looking so handsome for his trip home!
Aunt Carly came along to drive a car home and to take a picture for us :)
The kids were so happy to be bringing their brother home! And we would all be together!
Checking out their baby brother on the way home!
He made it home! And he was discharged at his birth weight 8lbs 7 oz - Ty and I did good!!!
A picture with Aunt Car Car before she headed back to Madison!
Home sweet home where he will never leave my arms :)
Thank you to both of our families for helping out those few days! We don't know what we would do without you! Love you all!
Tyler made his appearance on Friday, July 18th at 4:17 am. He weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and was 19.5 inches long. (Congrats to my mom for choosing the right date in the baby pool and oddly enough, I chose the exact time - kind of creepy right?!?!)
He came out screaming and didn't stop for nearly 3 hours - LOL! That is not an exaggeration either. The nurses were laughing because he definitely had a good set of lungs on him - you could hear him all the way down the hall!
They put him on my chest right away and the only time he would stop crying for a brief moment was when he would latch on.
Daddy couldn't have been happier!
We changed rooms and they brought Ty in once he was all cleaned up.
Isn't he just precious?!?!
Wally and I tried to get some rest and then our visitors arrived!
First up was Grammy and Papa!
And then the kids arrived!!!
Paige was soooo excited to meet her baby brother. Luke was too but he didn't quite show it as much at first. The hospital setting seems to make him very nervous.
Paige couldn't stop kissing Ty!
My 3 kids :)
Our first family of 5 pic!
LOVE!
Then it was Grandma & Grandpa's turn to come up! Unfortunately we can only have 3 visitors (not including Wally & the kids) at a time.
After our visitors left, Wally and I just enjoyed our new little bundle.
He had a pretty good night in the room with us. The nurse came in around 4 a.m. to take Ty for his 24-hour newborn screening and that is when our pure baby bliss turned into some baby worry.
