Home!

So we finally made it. We were discharged from the hospital and the cab dropped us home around 2:30pm today. Julie had spent the past four or five nights at the hospital, and I joined her for last two (a.k.a. Lou really needs a shower). We're so grateful to finally be at our own  place, out of the hospital, and have Nettie without any wires attached. Despite the caring nurses and better than expected food, Julie still began to feel as if she was in a women's prison.

The women's prison was not without its charms, however. Our first roommate's parent was an extremely friendly fellow-first-time-mom, originally from Puerto Rico, but now New Hampshire via New Orleans. Her kid was four months, so she gave us lots of good new parent tips, plus left us some snacks and a $5 cafeteria food voucher from her social worker when she left on Sunday. The recovering catholic in me felt guilty taking the voucher, but my wife has been teaching me not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Our next roommates were a sweet young family from Venezuela via Panama, and the grandma sang her five-month old recovering granddaughter the most beautiful songs. The nurses all said they loved working with Nettie since her problems were "normal" for a kid recovering from complex heart surgery.

There was a subtle battle between the lactation consultant and the floor nursing staff, mainly because the staff had to quantitatively document Nettie's food intake, which is tricky to do with a boob. Rather than weigh the boob before and after, the compromise was weigh Nettie before and after, which you can imagine was rather inaccurate and cumbersome. Anyway, after not being able to nurse for almost the first two weeks of her life, it took maybe two days for Nettie to figure it out. She has since decided to make up for lost time. It has been reminiscent of the two young girls' decadent gorging after an adolescence of mid-century communist austerity portrayed in Věra Chytilová’s Daisies (http://www.criterion.com/films/27854-daisies). In other words, the girl knows how to eat, and poor mom is hard pressed for a break.

But now we're home, one happy united family with our confused dog Belafonte. If you're in the neighborhood, stop on by, we're now open for visitors. Thank you all for all the support during these most trying past few weeks, and please keep Nettie in your thoughts and prayers as we go for the many follow up visits to keep watch and make sure her recovery continues to go smoothly.