Settling In

It's a very odd feeling to know that we no longer have to make the twice daily trek to Swedish. It's odd in an "oh my god I'm so happy that's over" kind of way. Leo's doing great at home and Jay and I are happily settling into somewhat of a routine. Leo's been making it fairly easy on us by going 3-4 hrs. in between full feeds and sleeping pretty soundly in between. We have to pester him a couple of times a day outside of that for his "meds only" feeds but we're figuring things out and I think we'll have a reasonable routine in place over the next few weeks.

Leo's also sleeping really well. I dno't know if this is just lingering preemie behavior or if we'll actually be this lucky with him. When he's out, he's out. The kid is so quiet when he sleeps that we're constantly walking back to his crib to be sure he's breathing. One caveat to the quiet thing is when he's working out his poops and/or gas. He's a grunting machine. And as soon as he realizes he's hungry the cries begin in earnest. It's virtually instantaneous...he's silent and one second later - WAAAAAH. But overall he's really mellow...we hope not "too" mellow medically speaking but for now we'll take it.

We've been trying to injest as much food into him as is possible. He's taking 2-3 ounces per feed with some 1 oz feeds in between to wash down the myriad medications he's on. Oh the meds. I had to enlist my brilliant sister to devise a thorough spreadsheet so we could track all of his meds and feeds. It's a little nutty. I'll be much relieved when those are done and all we're doing is mixing up his special blend of milk...which, according to the pediatrician will likely continue for a few more months. So just about the time most women start to ween their baby from nursing and introduce solids is when I can move to all nursing...um, what's wrong with this picture? Sigh. Oh well, I at least get to nurse a couple of times a day as it is and Leo does pretty well with it and beyond that he's getting my milk 50% of the time so I guess I can't complain too much. But I do look at the formula tin as this giant buzz kill. But I know it's giving him the added nutrition he needs to grow - blah, blah, blah.

We had our first trip out of the house since Wednesday today! Off to the doctor's we went and Leo did great in his car seat - sleeping the whole way. And he did very well for the doctor too. It was so surreal to be back at Swedish but not going to the NICU or ISCU to see Leo - we had him with us! And we were going home with him! We get to do that now!

And the dogs are being wonderful. Beans is a nervous wreck but listens to us dilligently and jumps off of the bed or sits/stays on command if he's getting too close to the crib for comfort, etc. Henry is a little more daring around Leo, he wants to sniff him up one side and down the other and would sleep with him in the cosleeper if we let him...both of them would do that actually. But they're being really sweet and listening to us AND so far neither has pooped or peed in the house so I think I'm going to call that a success at this point. Let's hope it lasts.

I think I hear a nap calling my name, will post more pictures in the next couple of days.