Then we got very exciting news that Dr. Randal was releasing Hilton to the Special Care Nursery! This meant that Hilton would have his own room where we could stay with him. Here's a picture of Hilton on our way to our new room. I know we were very blessed to have only stayed a few days, but it felt like Christmas morning when we got to leave the NICU. Special Care nursery was a step down from the NICU and one step closer to getting home!
New room!
Keeping Hilton warm to help regulate his body temperature
The picture above shows how we slept at night. Hunter (who didn't know I took this picture during an early am feeding) slept on the couch and I slept on a twin size air mattress. It was just so nice to be able to stay in the same room with Hilton, especially since I was still doing the crazy feeding/pumping schedule. I was really impressed with how nice the accommodations were in Special Care. There was a kitchen and a play area for kids down the hall that I was excited to show to SK. She still wasn't allowed to come to his room, but at least this was a more fun waiting room. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to show it to Savannah Kate because she came down with a fever and we couldn't risk her getting us sick and passing anything on to Hilton.
Sadly, Hilton had to go back under the lights on Saturday for the entire day and night. It was a long, rough night for him. Oh, and he was circumcised today too, probably didn't help. He had so much trouble getting comfortable and finally slept best on his belly. He was only allowed to sleep like this because he was hooked up to monitors. I just love his little feet!
That night, they talked about possibly bringing in a second light to put under him if his levels got any higher, but thankfully they didn't. By Sunday morning, his levels had remained the same, but he was allowed to come off the lights. I just knew this meant we would be here at least another day. Dr. Randal came by and said that he wanted Hilton to stay until they could check his bilirubin levels again that afternoon and then he would make a decision. He wanted to see if the levels would jump back up without the help of the phototherapy that day.
Sunday was the first time I could put Hilton in clothes. He slept most of the day after his rough night.
Sunday afternoon, they did another blood test to check his bilirubin again. All of the pricks had been in Hilton's heels, so his poor heels were bruised and he did not like getting these tests. An hour or so later we found out that his level was still the same. Not the decrease we had hoped for, but at least it wasn't rising. We were shocked when Dr. Randal said he was going to let us take Hilton home that night! He was pleased that his levels had not jumped back up and Hilton was now feeding like a champ. YAY! We were so excited to finally get to take him home and Savannah Kate could finally meet her new brother!
We look a little tired, but so happy to be leaving the hospital!
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