More of the story...

After visting the NICU, Joe and I tried to get as much sleep as we could. We hadn't slept much that day [I wonder why :) ]I had to keep waking up every time the nurses wanted to check my vitals, but got some good sleep for the most part. The next morning (Thursday) I woke up and immediately wanted to go upstairs to visit Kylie. After waiting over 24 hours after she was born, I finally got to hold my new baby! I was so happy! We were told by the doctors that they would decide by Saturday, July 4th, if she would be able to come home or if she would have to stay. Thursday and Friday we spent time in the NICU and in our room with all of the visitors that came. Saturday morning I was told by the doctor that I would be discharged sometime later in the day. After talking to my doctor, we went upstairs to see what the NICU doctor had to say. After she made her rounds of all the babies, the doctor came back to us and informed us that Kylie would be staying in the NICU for a while longer. We were told the earliest she would come home would be Tuesday and the latest would be Saturday. She still needed some antibiotics and was also a little jaundiced. Joe and I were both very upset at the thought of having to leave the hospital without Kylie. My mom came up and helped us get everything ready to go home. We came home and ate lunch (Bush's chicken...YUM!...since the thought of chicken made me sick throughout my entire pregnancy). We took a nap and relaxed for a little bit before heading back up to the hospital. When we left the hospital that night we both were very upset. It is hard to see your baby in the NICU and then have to leave her there. On our way home we saw the fireworks from the Brazos. We got some food and headed home to try and get some sleep. We slept as much as we could. We got up Sunday morning and again headed up to the hospital to see what the doctor had to say. We finally got some good news. The doctor said it looked like Kylie would be coming home on Tuesday, but she wouldn't know for sure until Monday morning. We were so excited! We spent the day on Sunday visiting Kylie (like we would do anything else).
Monday morning we got up and like the days before, we headed up to the hospital. When we got there, we got even better news. The doctor said Kylie would get to go home on Tuesday and we could stay with her Monday night in a room at the hospital. It is called "Care by Parent". It is a room that is close to the NICU that parents can stay in the day before their baby goes home. We were told we would be fully responsible for feeding and changing her, but the nurses would be right around the corner if we needed anything. After speaking with the doctor we headed home to get our bags packed to stay overnight. We called everyone on the way home and gave them the good news! We got to the hospital about 4:30pm and were taken to the room. We finally got to hold Kylie without the hospital gown and rubber gloves on. It was great! The night at the hospital went well. I had to get up every three hours to feed her, but I didn't mind :)
Tuesday morning the nurses came in and took Kylie to get her vitals checked. While she was being checked, the hospital photographer came by and told us she would be back to take Kylie's pictures. The nurses brought Kylie back to the room and said everything looked great. After waiting for a while, the photographer came in and took her pictures (which can be found at www.hillcrest.net under the virtual nursery...select July 1st and click on Lindsey R).
After the pictures we done and we signed all of the discharge papers, we finally were able to leave. The nurse carried Kylie out to the car, we put her in her carseat, and off we went. It was so nice to be leaving the hospital knowing that Kylie was in the backseat of the car and not in the NICU. We got home and tried to settle down as a family of three.
Since then we have had quite a few visitors (thankfully not everyone came on the same day). Everything is going good. I love being a mom! Kylie is the sweetest baby! I also love watching Joe with her. He is wrapped around her little finger :) I told him that he has gotten soft. He said that he is "soft" at home, but when he puts on his uniform he goes back to his old self at work. He is a mean and rough police officer, but the sweetest daddy when he gets home :):):) It was a little tough on him to go back to work, but knew that day would come sometime. Luckily I still have until September 1st before I have to go back. I already know I don't want to go back. It is going to be very very very tough to leave her at home, but I won't think about that now. I still have alot of time left.
Kylie will be one month old this coming Wednesday. This month has flown by. She had really grown in just one month. She already tries to hold up her head and is pretty good at it. She sleeps most of the time, but when she is awake she loves to just look around at everything. I love her big blue eyes. I have even seen quite a few smiles. I will have to post some pictures when I have more time.
Kylie had her first babysitter this past week. My mom watched her while Joe and I went to a baseball game in Arlington. We went to cheer on the Boston Red Sox while they played the Texas Rangers. Sadly the Red Sox lost, but we still had a good time. The game was fun, but I couldn't wait to get home.
Did I mention I love being a mom! :):):):):):)