excited/nervous/anxious/scared/happy

25 weeks today! 

each day i become more and more excited/nervous/anxious/scared/happy about little david's arrival. at my last appointment, it was so nice to hear that he was doing so well that we wouldn't have to go back for another month. the waiting is killing me now! i wish i could have a constant update on everything he's doing in there :P i have sooooo many questions/concerns, and just random thoughts going through my mind 24/7 so i thought i would post a few of them here. PLEASE comment if you have any suggestions, thoughts, or ideas for us :) 

hospital stay needs.

• snap-up outfits. he will need to wear these so they can access tubes, wires, etc. easily. 
• blankets. remember that when they change the bedding they could end up in the hospital laundry and you might not see them again. same with clothes. 
• socks, hats, mittens. these will keep him warm, and also help prevent him from pulling on tubes and lines.
• journals. to help document everything that is happening with surgeries, appointments, etc. 

my hospital bag.

• have packed by 30 weeks, just in case. 
• stuff to keep me busy. laptop, books, journal, etc. 
• extra digital camera? maybe the staff could take pictures for us when we can't be around him.
• a picture of daddy and mama to put in NICU with david.  

bonding with baby.

• kangaroo care. direct skin-to-skin contact with parent. 
• hold him as much as possible. possibly restrict visitors from holding him? only let the medical staff, and daddy and mama hold him since he will be in a fragile state and since we won't be able to start bonding right from birth. 
• get involved with everything. find out what each tube means to which pacifier he likes best. 
• teddy bears. start sleeping with a few stuffed animals before he's born and take them to the NICU with us. david can sleep with them and smell his daddy and mama. 

unanswered questions/would love more answers and opinions.

• what extras should i pack in our hospital bag? especially since it could be a potentially long stay.
• when will he be able to drink breast milk? 
• where can i find cute snap-ups? i'm having a hard time finding any. 
• did you stay at a ronald mcdonald house? 
• when will he be able to wear clothes? 
• did you have a hard time leaving your pets? my cats are my kids. i know i will love baby david so much more, but it still pains me to think about leaving them for a long time.
• how did you bond with your baby? did you let visitors hold him/her? 
• will we be doing his laundry? or does the hospital wash clothes/blankets for us? 
• are there more gastro complications the longer you wait in your pregnancy? 

i've just started volunteering with avery's angels, and i look forward to helping others and also learning as much as possible.

so i guess that's it for now! hopefully we can learn from this post, and also help someone else going through the gastroschisis journey. for a smile, here's a little note from my unborn baby, it was waiting for me on the computer screen. apparently he is already very tech-savvy. have a happy day!