We're home!  We came home on Tuesday, January 31st with much joy, excitement, and nervousness about taking care of Liam.  He had a great last four days in the NICU.  After his last cyanotic episode on Saturday morning he was fine.  He had some high blood pressure readings but the two I was there for were right when he was screeching his head off for some food or out of discomfort... my blood pressure would be pretty high, too!  His high blood pressure readings were why they kept him for the last few days.

There are truly a more positives from Liam being in the NICU than I could list.  Firstly, knowing that he was being watched constantly by people who truly know every little in and out of babies was reassuring.  Then, having those same great nurses show you how to do everything from changing a diaper to giving your baby a bath was so helpful!  I'm sure I would have had a book out or I would have been watching youtube informational videos about giving your newborn a bath while he was naked and upset.   One of the best blessings from the NICU was getting to work with the lactation consultants.  I can't imagine how upsetting the challenge of breast feeding would have been if I didn't have the help of these awesome ladies who wouldn't let me give up.  After figuring out that Liam probably has pretty serious reflux and then positioning him to help him eat without being upset, life has been pretty smooth sailing when he's hungry.  I think the hardest thing the NICU nurses and doctors have to deal with must be the parents.

We really are learning so much about him each day, and I promise we're taking bunches of pictures!  Tim has usurped the camera, so I don't have the memory card to upload them just now.  I can't believe how fast time is going by.  We are trying to "sleep when the baby sleeps" which works out occasionally, but it's hard to neglect everything and rest when there are so many things that need to be done.

I definitely have a huge appreciation for any mother ever!

Monday!?

So, we have a discharge date of Monday! Woohoo! Hopefully his numbers will stay high, but he was perfect today. :-D. It seems like the thing that was stressing me out was not worth stressing about. The monitor that detects his oxygen saturation is hard to keep attached to a baby so it beeps every time he gets to wiggling around a lot. So they showed us how to read it to see if the reading is legit or if its beeping because he's wiggling.
Well, I'll keep everyone posted on Liam! Just seeing our little munchkin makes the world a better place. :)

Okay. So we have good news and some not so good news. Liams initial pneumothorax is healed! Yay!! However, he keeps having oxygen desaturation issues. The thing about a desat is that they're quite common and occur regularly in most infants. Because Liam is hooked up to all sorts of machines each one sends up alert signals. As I now he is only being monitored and he has no supplements. Everyone is just trying to figure out what is causing the desats. It seems to mostly occur as a timing issue when he is eating where he can't quite figure out whether to breath or swallow. It could be a reflux issue, too, or all sorts of things. Today we are spending the day in the NICU in a more private space which is so nice. Bein down in the NICU is incredibly emotional because on either side of Liam's bed there are the tiniest babies I have ever seen. One is two pounds and the other is one pounds. Their little diapers look about the size of a gauze bandage. It is comforting to know that those tiny little babies are fighting their way with the help of the NICU and our big boy is going to be just fine. If anything he is going to be the most spoiled baby ever! Every cry is immediately addressed and he is so loved. :). We're hoping he can keep his numbers up some more so we can get this little guy home with us and really get started on this whole parenting thing! I don't know many first time parents who get to sleep a full night while their little one is waited on hand and foot.

Okay I'm typing this on my phone at the hospital so please excuse any typos!

Little Boy Blue

Yesterday, January 24, 2012, at 5:43 a.m., we welcomed Liam Paul Corradino to our family.   (8lb 7 oz and was 21 inches long)  We love our little guy!!! He is absolutely perfect in every way.

He had a complication that the nurses noticed when they took him to the nursery right out of Labor and Delivery and gave him a pacifier; Liam started to turn "dusky," a.k.a., Blue!  He was taken down to the NICU right away for an x-ray.  Turns out, Liam had a lung condition called pneumothorax, where the lung becomes detached from the pleural lining which keeps it inflated.  Needless to say, it was a very emotional day for this new momma and papa!  It took a LOT of hard work to get him here and we had big plans to do some major snuggling with our little guy.  The best solution for pneumothorax is for baby to be calm and restful so his body can heal.  We could go stare at how perfect he was, but our physical touch was limited so we wouldn't disturb or upset him.

This morning we received great news!  His collapsed lung is almost completely healed and only a sliver of the pneumothorax remained.  We're incredibly thankful to the NICU for all of the amazing care they have given Liam.  We are also grateful to our friends and family who have been praying for his swift recovery.  He's getting better with every moment, so we're looking forward to getting to take him home with us soon.   Today we could snuggle with him and love on him and feed him ourselves.  It is truly amazing how much love we feel for our little guy.

Update:  So, we just got back from Liam's nightly routine in the NICU, and they took him off of the air pump!  WOOHOO!!!!!  All of his stats are where they need to be without the extra lung support, so they'll observe him for the next day and make sure he's keeping those stats nice and high so he can come home with us!  (or shortly thereafter)  He's doing soooooo well!

We love you, Liam!!!