day nine

I won't lie, day nine was hard on this new momma. Kambree didn't have any more veins in her hands and feet left to get her antibiotics so they had to put one in her head. I was there when they starting doing it, and I just couldn't keep it together anymore, so Alex and I sat in the main room in the NICU. I hated that she had to go through this and it was hard to watch. The NICU nurses gave us their cutest outfit to put Kam in though and I tried to cover it up with a stretchy headband. It all worked out but I hated that IV in her head. 

day eight

We were finally on the home stretch. We knew Kam would get to come home on the night of day ten! Grandma Gates came to visit us, and we loved that! Alex and I decided to sleep at home that night since I had enough milk to get her through the night, and so many people told us to go home and get a good nights sleep before we had a baby at home with us. Alex had gone home a little earlier to get things ready for us to come home. He had this table all set up for me so I could pump in the night and take my medicine without leaving my bed. He is so thoughtful. Not pictured is the "throne" of pillows I had to sleep on. I wasn't able to lay flat, I couldn't breathe if i did, but that's another story for another post! Thanks for taking such good care of me Alex!

K's first bath

day seven

 On day seven they brought Kambree to me! I was sooo happy to not have to walk to the NICU and back. Alex went home to get a few more things for us so it was just baby K and I for a while. She gave a little smile in her sleep so naturally I slipped on a bow and started snapping pictures like the picture taking mom I am. She woke up and was not very happy to be woken up from her nap so the photo shoot came to a complete stop and we snuggled the rest of the night. Except it wasn't a good night at all. You see Kambree got to come stay with us, but she brought a whole slew of wire, cords, and beeping machines with her. We couldn't get one machine to turn off so Alex pressed the button that would turn off the beeping for ten minutes. The only problem was he had to do it every ten minutes for four hours. FOUR HOURS. It was awful. We finally called the NICU nurse to come save us from this awful beeping noise. We were sleep deprived, and I was sick, and the beeping madness was just the cherry on top. It woke Kam up everytime. After she swapped out the machine the night went a little bit smoother, but the machine would still beep every now and then. It was a really long night to say the least.

day six

 Alex was able to be with Kambree a lot more than I could. He would always send me lots of pictures while he was with her. It was the best!

Day six was a pretty great day. On the sixth day I was discharged from the hospital. Kind of. Since I was doing more than 75% of K's feedings we were eligible to "room-in." We got to stay in the hospital for free! We didn't have a nurse or room service or anything like that, but we got a place to stay. Even though we were dying to get home and sleep in our own beds it was so nice to be so close to K and not have to drive back to the hospital every time she was ready to eat or we wanted to visit her. We were just a short walk and elevator ride away. What we didn't know is that since we weren't technically patients we couldn't have visitors either. We had told Ryker that he could come see K since he wasn't allowed in the NICU and he was DYING to see little Kam. We invited both our families over and we were so excited for Ryker and our nephews to finally meet Kam. Once my family arrived we found out that visitors were not allowed!! Luckily they let my family come in for just a minute since they were already there. Ryker was soo excited. He had been a little bit sick so my mom had him wear a mask and all was well. He was such a happy uncle. We had to call Alex's family and tell them they could't come. There were three little boys that were very unhappy. Apparently all three of them threw fits, we felt so bad getting their hopes up. We also had to call my aunt and uncle and tell them they couldn't bring their family. We felt so bad! I love that last picture of sleepy Kam, I love that sweet girl with all my heart.

day five

Day five was a good but rough day in the hospital. They would call me to come up and feed K and I would have to walk up by myself. It was hard on me. I hated getting up, and I was sooo slow. I knew I had the sweetest little bundle waiting for me in the NICU so these walks were surely worth it. I would usually just get there and stay their for at least two feedings sometimes three. Those NICU nurses are the sweetest people on this earth. I have never felt so taken care of. Day five my colostrum starting coming in more than just a few drops. I was soo happy. The lactation specialist didn't think nursing was going to work out for us because we had such a rough start and I was soo sick post-delivery. We did it though and I am so glad we did. Poor Sadie and Alex. They would sit with me while I tried to pump and they would help me because I was just so sick. That isn't something you necessarily want help with, but I was desperate to be able to nurse my baby and it was worth it.  

Happy Fourth!

Our sweet little nephews made a video for me to help brighten my day since we were still in the hospital on one of my very favorite holidays! Oh how I love those little boysies!

I don't think it ever crossed our minds that we may still be in the hospital for the fourth. In fact I know it didn't ever cross our minds. Even though we would have rather spent it been at home with our sweet Kam, it ended up being a pretty okay day. We had a photo shoot with the NICU nurses who were dying over her outfit! The pictures aren't that great but it is so hard to get good pictures with all the cords and tubes! I was so glad we did it though, it made it a much better day. We loved when people would come visit us, and we had lots of visitors that day! We were looking forward to the firework show that night because our room had the most perfect view. We ordered oreo milkshakes and just a few minutes before the fireworks started the NICU nurses called us to see if we wanted to come up and feed Kambree. We decided it was rude of us to celebrate without her so we went up to be with her. There was no view of the fireworks from her room, but they sure were loud and she wasn't necessarily a fan of the loud noise the fireworks made. It was good to be together as a family though. I was really glad we went to be with her. It turned out to be a pretty great day. Happy fourth!!