It was so nice staying in our own house last night, not to mention seeing Moxie dog finally! (Thank you, Nana for taking care of her.) She’s happy to be home but sad Terran isn’t with us. Moxie’s roll as Big Sister will have to wait a little longer…
After a year and a half of working from home, I don’t mind the commute. It’s a minimum of 35 min, average of 45 min one-way. The hospital’s social work team gave us parking passes and the application for access to the Spokane Street bridge (for non-Seattlites – this saves 20+ min getting out of West Seattle while the bridge is under construction) which will make future commutes more bearable. The social work team has been amazing – they came to us Day 2 and explained all the financial assistance applications and pointed out what the most useful ones would be. Since we were still in a daze when they first met with us, I’ve since talked to the NICU rep a couple times to go over details I wasn’t able to absorb the first time. We have no idea what Terran is going to need down the road, but knowing there’s people on our team to lighten the load takes some of the worry away.
Showered, in real clothes, and packed with snacks, I settle by Terran’s bedside for the long-haul. Without a room to sneak back and nap, there’s no reason to leave the NICU. Today is rough energy-wise, but since Saturday we’ve been able to hold him so no complaints here! Can you believe it – for the first 3+ days of his life, we weren’t allowed to HOLD our son?! It was heartbreaking. But then imagine how it feels to finally get the go-ahead. BEST DAY EVER. Still no skin-to-skin so the incision can heal and we don’t add pressure, but we’ll take all the swaddled cuddles we can get.
Walker joins in the afternoon/evening (trying to get the house done before Terran comes home). This will be our routine for a while. I get to the hospital early for the morning rounds and stay until late evening. Walker joins in the early evening and stays a couple hours after me. This way, Terran gets at least one of us for the majority of the day and we each get alone time with him.
Transferred from Caring Bridge 8/19:
asiyah fox : Agreed! Terran has super-heroes for parents! He’s a perfect fit for such an incredible family—big sister Moxie included 😊
8/8/21
Kathleen Stambaugh : You two are amazing!!!!
8/7/21
Such good news, I hope you are settling in at Childrens Hospital now. I’m sure you will get to feel secure with your new team. Such huge steps Terran is making, love to you all, going home is so close now.