On the Home Front

We praise God for bringing our little William home after only 25 days in the hospital! Jack and Ben have really enjoyed cooing over him, even if they're still trying to figure out boundaries. William is a little overwhelmed by the new noises and sensory inputs, but he did very well last night. He has made it clear that he's no longer interested in breastfeeding, but he's taking milk and formula by bottle very well and is already outgrowing some of his preemie clothes.

We wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has provided meals, child care, house cleaning, gifts, and other support. We couldn't have gotten to this point without you and your prayers. God has truly blessed us through our friends and family, and our hearts are filled to overflowing with gratitude for the love we've been shown these past few months. (But please forgive me if it takes a while to write all the thank you notes!) :)

We're Home!!

William did very well with his eating for the past two days and is up to 5 lb. 8 oz., so his docs decided to send him home today with NO monitor! We're exhausted and looking forward to a week of settling in at home with our three boys. Praise God! I will post pics and more information tomorrow.

In the Home Stretch!

It's been more than a week since my last update, so here's the latest news and a week's worth of photos. Check out William's long, fuzzy hair, Jack and Ben playing in the SNOW yesterday morning, and a new shot of William without his feeding tube!

I (Dawn) was sick with some unknown bug and could not visit the hospital on Monday or Tuesday--makes for a very grumpy mommy, but at least I got some chores done around the house. Also had more trouble with my incision, but a quick trip to the doctor helped tremendously.

I think William really missed me while I was gone, because as soon as I returned to the NICU on Wednesday, he finally decided that it was time to eat! He started finishing bottles, then very quickly worked his way up to 8 bottles a day--and today, the nurse removed his feeding tube (praise God!). He's also doing pretty well with breast feeding, so that's encouraging. He regained weight, surpassing his birth weight, and now weighs around 5 lbs. 4 oz.

The best news is that William's pediatrician has started talking about sending us home, saying that Will could leave the hospital as early as Wednesday or Thursday! So that means that the next few days will be full of all the things that "normal" babies go through before heading home--hearing test, circumcision (ouch!), car seat check, etc. Bryant and I have completed our infant CPR refresher course and will be re-trained on how to use the apnea monitor that William will probably need at home. So these are all very positive steps in the right direction. Now we just need to finish getting everything ready at home!

Thanks for your continued prayers. Please pray that our whole family will stay healthy and that nothing will prevent us from bringing Will home this week.