Home from the Hospital ... again

Well, she had to spend two nights in the hospital, but we are finally home.

Here is what I wrote about it on my blog:

Well, it is a good thing I love my new little nugget because I am going to have to give my vacation fund to the local hospital to pay for the two nights that McKenna just stayed there.

She got a fever on Sunday, and we were off to the ER. Poor thing was moaning and groaning like an old man with a hernia. She didn't want to be touched or moved, and her little face was all scrunched and angry. It broke my heart. Her fever was only 100.0 or so when we took her in, but we felt like it was cruel to let her lay there in plain like that. By the time we got to the ER, her fever was up to 101.5. That is serious yikes territory for a three week old. We were glad we chose to go, but they really put her through the ringer with tests to make sure she did not have a bacterial infection that could be fatal if untreated. Everything was negative. If something small had been positive, we could have come home a long time ago. But with no answers, they just kept looking for infections and treating her for the worst case scenario.

It was a rough few days. I'm very sleepy. And I feel like I need to get to know my baby all over again. I didn't get to hold and cuddle her very much while she was all hooked up to the machines, and she almost never nursed. Cuddling with the breast pump just is not as bonding. I also have a lot of laundry to do because I want to deep clean everything that went to the hospital. Also, the cookies I made before we left on Sunday are gone. Who ate them?

I did have to regulate a little on the hospital staff. There were a few times when McKenna's oxygen levels dropped into dangerous territory, and NO ONE was watching her monitors. Well, I was ... but they don't pay me ... I pay them. She was on oxygen for a few hours last night, and then when her levels dropped again this morning, the nurse didn't even know she'd been on oxygen the night before. Ah, hello? Could someone read my babies chart, please? So, of course, I filed a very kind and well-stated complaint with the hospital. I also made it clear that I will not be paying for any nursing care that I had to ask for more than once. Kill them with kindness, my mom always said. Oh, I plan to.

Quinn has been passed from friend to family and back again since Sunday. I've only seen her for about one hour a day. She's acting all funny again, so it might take a few days for her to go back to normal too. I guess that's life. I was really surprised though because when I was hanging out with her for a few minutes yesterday, she seemed to know exactly what was going on.

"Where's mommy been? " "With Kenna"
"Who is coming over next?" "Paige and Breee dget (Bridget)"
"Why does mommy have to stay with Kenna?" "Ummmmm Sick"

She also told me today in the car that her new baby doll is "pretty."

So, that is what has been happening to us. Tim and I decided that things like this only have to be as dramatic as we want them to be. There is nothing enately dramatic about the hospital. People just make it a big deal. We just did what we had to do to make sure our Kenna was OK. There were a few moments that I was scared. I did start swearing when her oxygen levels dropped this morning, but for the most part we just rolled with it. My favorite nurse, Janice, said I was one of the calmest and most relaxed mom's she'd ever had with a baby patient. Yeah for me and yeah for our family. We'll all be back home together in a few hours.

Post Script: I was also really proud of my husband on Sunday night. After he went home to get some rest, he called to say he was coming back to give McKenna a priesthood blessing. This is a special and important thing we do in our church, and one time to do it is when someone is sick. We don't use Tim's priesthood nearly enough in our house. It is both of our faults. I never ask. So, I was really proud when he took the initiative to come back and bless the baby. And I loved hearing his blessing because it didn't sound like him. It sounded like someone who was being truly inspired. The words were not words he would normally choose. I more thoughts about it, but they are just for me. :)