Thursday, March 31, 2011

One Small Step to Sleepy Time, One Giant Step to Normalacy

Let me just start by saying I think I may have the loudest child ever.

Hehe, okay maybe not EVER, but wow... how can someone so tiny be SO LOUD!? And when I say loud, I mean she grunts and groans at super-high decibels. Since she is on specialized preemie formula that is packed with iron and fiber, my poor munchkin is constantly constipated. (And yes, we've tried water, prune juice, Karo syrup, gas drops... etc.) Therefore, she is constantly working on her next movement if you catch my drift.

After twenty-four days of alternating night duty with Lain, as we took turns sleeping on the sofa with Lea in her bassinet, swing or bouncy chair in the living room grunting away... we finally decided that last night would be the night that she'd sleep in her big girl crib for the very first time.


 Prior to taking our girl home from the NICU, I vowed that I'd never let her out of my sight once she was home. I had a picture-perfect vision of her sleeping soundly in her bassinet that we had set up in our bedroom. The nurses smirked as I'd tell them that I planned to have her sleeping in our room for at least six months. I lasted twenty-four days. And I guess half of those days don't count, because those were my nights to sleep. (Thanks Lain!)

So back to the crib...

I was very hesitant on letting her sleep in a room alone. She is still on a breathing monitor, and even though I could probably hear this machine's obnoxiously loud alarm all the way from down the street, I am a VERY heavy sleeper, and I worried that if she and her machine were down the hall in another room, I may not hear it. Plus, she looks so tiny in that big ol' crib! For a little peace of mind, we set up our video monitor - which turned out to be so unnecessary. Not only could I hear every grunt, groan and movement coming from down the hall since I left her bedroom door open, the sounds were now magnified as they were reproduced by the monitor. All night long, I could hear her, as well as the 2-second delayed echo courtesy of the video monitor. It may have been the loudest night yet - I was just too exhausted to do anything about it.


Even through all of the noise, I was able to get some much needed rest. Most of all, my mind is now able to rest easy knowing that we are just that much closer to feeling normal again. All in all, Lea's first night in her own room was a success. I even caught her smiling up at her mobile this morning as I peeked in to check on her. I'm so proud of her! As she gets bigger, I hope she grows to love her room. Its a pretty cool room I have to say! It is even equipped with her very own IPod and speaker dock - so far she likes listening to Bob Marley and John Mayer.


Tonight, we'll forgo the monitor completely. Lea's got this...

5 comments:

  1. Preemie grunts are the worst! Sprocket gets formula added to his breast milk...and we call him Grunty McGrunterson. It is actually worse with the monitor on, but I can't quite bring myself to turn it off.

    Added bonus -- recently he started acting like a "real" baby and has about 2 hour chunks of awake time. He chooses 2AM - 4AM for one of them...and its not quiet awake time...it is Grunt Central! :)

    I have been wanting to blog about it, but every time I try to capture it on film...he stops! Sneaky Preemie.

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  2. :) Lea's got this...and that about says it all! I applaud you for lasting 24 (divided by 2!) nights with your small loud thing! Ha ha...yes, even sleeping, the little grunts and loud breathing can keep you awake! What a beautiful room you have for her, though. She is going to just thrive and be happy there...you know it, Lain knows it, and all of your friends and family know it. So, you made it through this transition no problem. The next thing will be to make it through her first few nights without the heart monitor. That was harder for me...checked on my son probably fifteen times that first night, and he was fine of course. Thanks for sharing your excitement and happiness with Lea with all of us. Continued blessings to your family!

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  3. I'm SO glad to see I'm not alone! haha! Smithers, I love the "Grunty McGrunterson" nickname - classic. And if you get those grunts on film, let me know... I'll have to try to do the same!

    Erica, Thanks for your support! Much needed :) Yes, I am dreading the first night without the monitor, but I know its coming soon...

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  4. I am so glad to see she has made it to her room! I cant remember how long we tried to sleep with Conner in our room, like Lea he is a very LOUD baby lol, he is to the stage where all he does is scream at his toys and the TV. My son also went home on a monitor and it was a very scary thing, what our doctors let us do was ween him off it (well ween us off it) we would take it off him for an hour for the first day and then added an hour everyday! it didn't bother him but it definitely made us feel ALOT better! I really hope Lea gets off the monitor not only is it a good thing for her to have but i know it is a pain to have to carry around all the time!

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  5. I lasted maybe 1 week with my little one in the bedroom then he got moved into the hallway just outside my door for another week, then I just realized that it doesn't matter where he sleeps I will always hear the noises I need to hear.
    He has been in his own room since early Dec.

    I find that the monitor makes everything seem worse than it actually is. So it is only used when I am in the basement while he naps in his room upstairs.

    It is my understanding that all preemies are loud (some louder than others!) I also remember being told by the NICU nurses that he will be far from quiet. I thought "how loud can a 4lb baby really be?"

    Good luck, and I absolutely love the blog and look forward to reading more about your little miracle.

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