And...we're home.

We got home today around 12:30pm. It was the nicest time I've had in months.

I got a call yesterday afternoon stating that R was being moved to Family Care. This meant that one of us had to be at the hospital 24/7 until he was released. Despite him having to pass a carseat test and us having to take an infant CPR course, he was going to be moving as soon as we could get those two things done. Did I mention they are overstuffed in the NICU and Special Care?

Being moved to Family Care is used to get the parents/caregivers prepared for life after the baby goes home.

You'd think I'd be prepared seeing as I already have had one kid right? Well, you have to keep in mind that some parents have their children very early gestationally, like 24+ weeks so their little ones have been in the NICU for a few months. Some might be going home on monitors or medications that require a far amount of forethought and practice than just feeding, diapering and cuddling

Thankfully for now, that does not include us. We just need to focus on feeding, diapering and cuddling.

There was some talk of a heart monitor but the doctor read over the charts and felt that while some nurses considered R's pauses apnea or a Brady, in her medical view, they weren't. It was the same with how one nurse kept saying R was nowhere near ready to go home 3 days ago but then the next nurse said that they felt he was.

Everyone has an opinion but when R started drinking nearly 2oz at a seating (and has decided he now likes on demand eating rather than feeding tube), there has been no stopping him.

He has been home less than 7 hours and he is supposed to have eaten 12 mL per hour...so 84 mLs minimum. He has guzzled back nearly 60z (about 180mLs) with some additional time nursing...yeah, I think he's hitting a growth spurt or is just celebrating in a newborn kind of way.

I'm sure you all want to know how big sister T is handling things...Well, she's not so into sharing HER stroller with R. She rode (something she has just starting doing again since she was informed that R would be using her stroller) from the car upstairs to pick up our stuff from the Family Care room and escort R down to the car. S had to carry her to the car, where she cried like a banshee for about 10 minutes.

She threw a temper tantrum before, during and after we were released from the hospital. She threw a fit when we got home and when I was attempting to feed R his 4pm feeding. Anything to get Mom's attention away from the baby.

But that being said, she is trying to be just like Mom and feed her baby Bart with a small makeshift bottle. Bart is also using one of T's old baby blankets that are not quite big enough to wrap R, despite his demure size.

As of last night, he was above his birth weight, so we will see how he grows in the next few days as we are due for our first trip to the GP's office Monday.

Both S and I are still struggling with the idea that he is home and that he is here. While the last two weeks have felt like a lifetime, it has only been two weeks.

Two weeks is a fortnight. I think that sounds more appropriate as it has been a bit of a battle at times for dear old Mom to hold down the fort at home, at the hospital and keep a hold of those pesky post partum hormones. Despite getting some sleep, what sleep I've gotten has been far from restful.

S commented that at least I didn't have to go through those rough last few weeks of pregnancy. They were a challenge with T's pregnancy and I was hopeful that they would be better with R's pregnancy. There are many things I didn't get done before he got here and likely will never get done in preparation for his arrival.

One of those things was to get a belly shot. While I'm not a huge fan of seeing pictures of myself, especially during those chubbier days, it was something I kinda like having as a keepsake from T's pregnancy. I took shots the night before her delivery but this time, I was a little too tied up with wet pants and worry to tell S to get a shot of my quickly deflating belly.

Right up until the minute before the big gush, I just kept saying, I've got a month left, I've only got one more month left and so much left to do....

A couple of nights ago, T was showing me her snapshots on her digital camera. There buried among the blurred shots of her feet and bedsheets (she likes to take her camera to bed with her) was a lone shot side shot of my pregnant belly with R, while I was sitting on the couch. Its just the top of my leg and a profile shot of my abdomen about maybe 7 months along, but its something.

Now all I have to do is separate her from her camera to get a copy before she deletes it...