Nice...?

Of course things are going to be different when you get home. Our house couldn't be more different than the NICU. It smells weird all the time. The pets are always barking, meowing, or shedding. The windows are open and the unfamiliar city breeze wafts past our sleeping, confused babe. I can see how moving in here could really mess up a boy's system.

But, I have to admit, I didn't figure Alex would be such a different baby once in our complete possession. Gone are the smooth, efficient 75ml feeds that kept him satisfied for four hours. Now a resident of 1550 E Berks Street, he rarely takes more than 40ml for me and that only with great difficulty and much (much) puking. He wants to snack on these half-meals every three hours, every hour and a half at night. So, yes. Just as he has fallen asleep after a long burping/vomiting, he is awake, ready for more. We started him on Zantac today in an effort to reduce his discomfort and hopefully help him keep more milk in his belly. Then, we have to work on his flipped schedule so we can all sleep at night at the same time.

People keep asking me, or I guess telling me, that it must be so nice to have him home after three months of traveling to the NICU every day to merely visit him. I haven't honestly had time to notice how nice it has been. I suppose on three hours of sleep, not much strikes me as nice. And having to share him with the apnea monitor defies the total freedom I had imagined. But, as the boy sleeps on my lap while I watch the Phillies play from the comfort of my own couch -Yes. It's very, very nice.