First Month Home Sweet Home

We were discharged from the hospital one month ago today and it has been an amazing month. There really is something to being home that helps a child heal and grow. Ethan has done so well here and so has mom and dad. Ethan and I had fun taking pictures today of all our favorite places and things. Enjoy!

Family room: it's our favorite room to grow and play!

Crib and bi-pap machine: Ethan takes naps during the day without bi-pap but at night he sleeps with bi-pap. Ethan has a pretty good schedule. Morning nap is from 10-11, afternoon nap is 1-3, evening nap 6-7. He goes to bed at 8:30 with bi-pap and wakes up around 4am needing a wet diaper change. Then he's up at 6am crying because he wants bi-pap off. After the bi-pap is off he screams as he does his morning #2 and then after a half hour of getting his morning #2 out, he gets a diaper change and a g-tube venting and he usually goes back to sleep until morning meds at 8am. He's an awesome sleeper! We are sooooo blessed and grateful for that!

Changing table: this is where we change his clothes and diapers. Recently he's been lifting his legs before diaper changes - so cute! The picture also includes his diaper pail, SHARPS collector for Lovenox shots, some evening blankets, diapers, and laundry hamper. The home set-up is much nicer than the hospital.

Portable swing: this little swing hangs out in mommy's room and is used when mommy needs to get ready for the day. It's lots of fun to swing in.

Bouncer: this bouncer floats between the dining room and the family room when mom and dad want to eat together at the table - but who does that?!?

Swing: Ethan loves this swing! He gets to swing in it when mommy has to pump. It also comes in handy if Ethan can't calm down but let's be honest, he never gets mad, especially when he drinks his bottle... ... ...

Activity gym: here is where Ethan practices reaching for toys. He likes to watch toys rotate and the lights light up to music. It's lots of fun.

Family room necessities: Ethan's medical binder, wubbanubs, burp rags, changing items, toys and books, and blankets on the side. It's a great set-up. We love being able to sit on the floor here at home compared to the yucky hospital ICU floors...

Family room set up: when there is a diaper change in the front room this is what it looks like. We have our diapers and wipes, some Desitin, a large syringe to vent the g-tube if needed, his feeding pump and a handy burp cloth. Ethan sure doesn't like a wet or dirty diaper. He's a pretty normal kid doing normal things - it's great to see him at home.

 

Hand washing station: at the front door we have our hand washing station complete with some Purell, masks, and tissues. Though, if you have any cold like symptoms you probably wont even make it this far... give me a call instead.

Fridge: here's our lineup of breast milk and Ethan's refrigerated meds are in the drawer below. It's nice having access to my milk, the nurses had to take it to the fridge and back at the hospital - I always felt bad.

Washer and dryer: It is so nice having a washer and dryer in the house!! WOW - what a difference it is from the hospital where we had to lug laundry all the way home and back. This is also the entrance to the house from the garage so we have some hand sanitizer there to instantly wash your hands. You'll constantly hear the phrase: "Did you wash your hands?"

Mom's "medicine cabinet": from top left to right and then down we have alcohol wipes for lovenox shots, lovenox/insulin syringes, syringe caps, discontinued meds, 3x a day meds, 2x a day meds, 1x a day meds, and as needed meds, 0.5mL syringes, 3 mL syringes, 5 mL syringes, other sized syringes, medicine bags, hair brushes, bulb syringe, tape, g-tube foam dressing, gauze, adhesive remover wipes, and various sized Mepilex lite.

Washing station:  for bottles and pumping supplies. It's great to have kitchen to ourselves instead of trying to share a community fridge, microwave, and table.

Medicine syringe washing station: we have a lot of washing stations and a lot of Purell bottles throughout the house. Here we wash all his syringes. We go through at least 12 a day not including the lovenox shots we put in the SHARPS collector. It's not too bad but if you wait a day, they start to build up fast.

It's good to be home! I love our new house. It is one-story with 3 bedrooms and is so perfect for our family of 3. I didn't realize how nice a one-story home would be for Ethan's medical needs. We are so blessed to have a wonderful home and set up to meet his needs. Though we've owned our home since July, mommy and baby (finally) moved in on 10/23/2015 when we were discharged from the hospital after almost 4 months. I can't believe it's now been a full month that we've been home! HOORAY!!! We love it here! I especially love having my own bed and shower again - sure makes a difference. HOME SWEET HOME <3