Shana spent 5 weeks in the NICU. She was on the ventilator for 5 weeks and we were not able to hold her during that time. We still came to the hospital at least 2-3 times a day. I had to work around my pumping schedule to provide milk for Shana. Once I was able to hold her I quickly took over as much of her cares as possible. I changed her, weighed her, fed her and rocked her for hours. We couldn't wait to take her home. One morning I walked into the NICU and the nurse said they were thinking of sending her home the next day and asked if I would like to stay in the family room to prepare for her coming home. I was thrilled. Then the doctor came up and checked Shana and asked if we would like to take her home that day! We had to arrange for an oxygen tank to be delivered to our house and at around 6pm on June 19th we brought her home.
The next several months were wonderful for our family. Shana got off the oxygen at about 2 1/2 months and then things seemed like they should be. Playing with and watching Shana grow was so amazing. She progressed right on track, only a couple of months behind. She rolled, and scooted and babbled and all the other typical baby things you watch for. Some things were a little slower, but not concerning. She showed little or now sign of wanting to try regular food, and did not start baby food till almost 8 months. She did fine with all the puree foods but could not seem to eat anything solid. She was also very dainty and didn't like to touch the food at all.
At 12 months we talked to the doctor and she said to wait and see if she starting eating more before 15 months. Which she did not. We went back to the doctor and she referred us to a feeding clinic. This began our journey of therapists, learning about disorders we'd never heard of and starting to find some answers to things we never expected.
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