Hannah's Homecoming!

This is long overdue but better late than never...

Our tiny Hannah is home from the NICU! She's officially been home for a week and 2 days and I've loved every minute of it. She was released last Tuesday weighing in at 5lbs 1 oz. We took her to the Dr. on Friday and their scale calculated her in at 5lbs 8oz. I'd say she's doing a pretty good job of eating!!
I was blessed by the fact that she was already on a schedule from being in the NICU. She eats every 3 hours (yep, even through the night!) and then pretty much goes back to sleep. I've been having to wake her up though and she's not been showing a lot of interest in eating during the night - I'm hoping this is a sign of sleeping through the night in the future! I was already in the 3 hour routine as I've been (and still am) pumping milk every 3 hours for both babies. So, nothing much has changed. Mark takes the 5am feeding so that I can have a longer shift of sleep which has definitely been a blessing. Hannah rarely makes a sound and sometimes I forget that we have another child in the home. She's a real joy. Her smiles, her cute little grunts, and her sheep-like noises that she makes in her sleep all make me smile. She's a precious little girl and we love her to pieces - especially her big sister.

Speaking of big sisters... Madalyn has done exceptionally well with adjusting to having a new baby at home. The first day that Hannah was here, Mady barely left her side. I would find her laying next to Hannah on the floor with her arm wrapped around her, she would constantly ask to hold her, and she loved giving her kisses. The couple of times that we stepped out to go to the hospital together, Mady would insist on helping Mark or I carry the carseat, she would tell everyone "this is my sister," and she was always telling people all about her. We ran to one place in particular and Mady sat next to the carseat when Mark put it down. She said, "this is my little sister Hannah. Sam is still in the hospital because he is too little." She was proudly answering questions about Hannah and making sure that people knew that "you can't touch her." I'm very proud of the way she's handled things and the way she has adjusted. She handles change so well. I know she loves her little sister and I know she will be a great big sister!
The hardest thing about having Hannah home is not having her brother here as well. It's so hard to leave Samuel there and it's even harder being able to visit. I can't take either girl with me to the hospital so I usually have to go when Mark is home and able to watch them both or when we have a sitter. It's trying and tiring but I wouldn't miss a day without seeing my little man. I think we're going on 40 days of me being at the hospital at least once a day! God is definitely using this experience to strengthen me. It's been so hard but I couldn't do it without His strength and His grace.

Sam is doing quite well. He's up to 4lbs 4oz and he's in an open crib now which means he's able to regulate his own body temperature. He's eating 6 bottles a day (8 is goal) and he's doing well with it. Once he gets to eating 8 bottles a day and from those 8 he is taking 80% of the milk from them, then they will take out his feeding tube. They will watch him for a day or 2 and if he does well he'll get to come home! The doctor said probably another 10-14 days so hopefully he can come home soon! I know it will be a trying time when he comes home - trying to balance 2 babies - but I'm so ready for it. I've been surprised at how well I feel I've handled things so far and that gives me some encouragement about tackling 2! I was just telling Mark the other day that I felt more stressed and more anxious about having Madalyn at home when she was a baby than I do now... Maybe it's the 1st time mom thing!

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and words of encouragement! You've definitely been a blessing to us! Hopefully soon I can post a picture of us as a family of FIVE!!!