Yesterday didn't start out too well. Okay, it initially started out fine, but soon became more stressful than previous days.
Maren and I left early to do some shopping. We had only 2 items on the list, a crib and a car seat. We went to USA Baby for both, based on recommendations by Maren's co-workers. The crib selection was more than we were prepared for and because of their inventory and selection, it took longer than expected. The car seat became a travel system (also based on some recommendations), which included a stroller. I have to admit, these things are pretty slick and should make life a little easier once we have Lyra home. Although, it'll probably take some time before either of us is comfortable taking her anywhere with us.
Then we headed back to the hospital to find out that Lyra's transfer to the regular pediatric floor (what they call the "transition" area), was delayed because she had a spike in her heart rate (this was the 4th time it's happened since she was delivered). So, while they dealt with that, she stayed in the PICU for a bit longer. During this time, Maren and I did get a chance to talk to one of the attending cardiologists and he explained that the heart rate spike (they called it SVT, but no one defined it), while not normal, isn't uncommon, not only for babies with heart problems, but even for kids with normal hearts. He also told us that it's not an emergency/panic situation, that if it happens when we're at home, we have time to get her to an emergency room if necessary. Lyra has managed to get her heart rate down on her own on two other occasions.
Finally they moved her to the "transition" floor. This, I have to say, was more of an annoyance than it should have been. I won't go into a lot of detail here, just that it was overly chaotic. Some of that was just due to the change in her level of care, which is something that we have to get used to. Lyra doesn't have the one-on-one care that she had in the PICU, but even so, it was just aggrivating to have a monitor going off constantly and no one really looking at it. This was her pulse oximeter. We know it's something important to monitor, but in my opinion, if it's that important, it should be centrally monitored or at least monitored outside of the room, as it is, we end up having to call a nurse when it alarms, which just seems pretty stupid considering how often it alarms.
Anyway, they finally got things somewhat normalized and after a few hours, the room and floor seemed to quiet down and Maren can now hold Lyra whenever she wants to.