Home At Last

We are home. The combination of these three words allows me to close my eyes and breathe a sigh of relief. It took us ten days (the morning of the last day seemed to take forever), but we are so happy to have all four of us officially un-hospitalized.

Not only are we home, but we have survived our first night. Determined to do things a little differently than we (I) did with Aurelia, I have endeavored not to co-sleep. Putting her down for naps or bedtime was a chore until she was six months old. Thad spent his first night at home in his bassinet, and the monsters that live under our bed did not eat him. Matthew is able to stay at home with us for another week. Today was great; the ratio of one adult to one child seems to work extraordinarily well. Matt had seventeen days saved up and planned to use ten (two total weeks including weekends) of them in order to be at home with us and help everyone acclimate to the new program. The ten days in the hospital threw a wrench in that awesome plan. Nine days are already spoken for due to T.J.'s extended stay. He will be home for five more, and hopefully by then, I will have been able to pull my head out of the sand.

So far, this boy is a great sleeper. Every three hours like clockwork during the night and even longer during the day when he is being held. Matthew already has a favorite past-time with his son: letting T.J. lay on his chest while Matt plays video games on his computer. Nursing is proving to be our greatest challenge yet again, and (don't you judge me) we may be switching to formula much sooner than we did with Aurelia... with her, it was conceivable for us to hang out on the couch and feed every hour; this is not the case with an extra toddler slipping around the kitchen floor and bonking her head against the wall (often on purpose). We have also noticed an endearing, albeit unnecessary trend: Aurelia cries when the baby cries. She loves him; she wants to hold him. She kisses him, often violently. And she thinks her parents are mean for the sounds he makes when his diaper is being changed. She is not jealous (yet) as we had feared she would be.

Case and point: we are home. I have significantly more energy than after the girl's birth. And we are home. And let's get this party started right.

"Kangaroo Care", or skin-to-skin therapy, with Daddy in order to boost his oxygen levels and get him off that pesky thing.

Grandpa, Aurelia and Uncle Thomas coming to see Thaddeus at the hospital.


Aurelia meeting her brother, sans wires, for the first time.