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.