It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon when we came home as a family. On the Monday before, Eva's feeding tube was removed, so we knew that was a very, very good sign. That evening the nurses told us she was probably going to get to leave on Wednesday. Our reaction, "In two days?!?!" We had been waiting for that day for so long and couldn't believe it was finally here. The doctors were always very cautious about giving us tentative dates and making predictions about when she would get to leave instead saying all along that most preemies go home on their due date.
On Tuesday night we got to "room in" with Eva. That means that we got to have a trial run before they let us bring her home. There is a special area near the NICU where we had a room for the three of us. The nurses got us all set up with feedings and oxygen and gave us the phone numbers to a variety of different nurses stations, "just in case," and then we were on our own. The only one who really got any sleep that night was probably Eva. Before we went to our room Eva's two primary night nurses, Trinity and Jaquie, who had taken extra special care of her while she was in the NICU came to say goodbye. Such special ladies!
our first reservation as a "family"
Jaquie left this note on the whiteboard in our roomOn Wednesday morning we waited for Miss Eva's hearing test and lots of paper
work and then many good wishes later, we were on our way home--elated and nervous, but oh, so ready to be a family in one place.
getting ready to leave the hospital
Miss Eva today
