Coming (Almost) Home

January 16, 2012 was the wonderful Monday that we were able to bring our little bundle of joy home from the hospital. The day before, I spoke to the nurse and we were thinking that, even tho he was eating all of his meals on his own, he would still be in the hospital at least until the end of the week. So that Monday morning, I woke up, called the NICU for my morning update, and proceeded to get up and get ready to go to the 9:00am feeding. Around 8:00am, our pediatrician, Dr. Clarke, called me as he usually did to give me my update on Hunter. Well, the first thing he said to me was that they were going to keep him for another week, which of course I replied with "whatever needs to be done" and he continued to tell me that he was just too cute and he didn't think the nurses would let me take him. :) I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, other than I totally agreed that he was adorable. Dr. Clarke then asked me if we were going to leave for Seattle the next day, and I was stunned. I asked him if that meant that we were going to take him home today, and his response was, "Well, if you don't think that being cute is enough reason to make him stay, then yes, he can come home today." I was ecstatic!! He said that if they got everything together and ready, he could possibly be ready to leave around noon. After I got off the phone with Dr. Clarke, I looked at Cody and screamed, I was so happy! I gave him a hug and proceeded to run around my in-laws house finding my mother-in-law screaming excitedly that we were bringing home a baby today. I called my mom and when she answered the phone, I yelled, "We get a baby today! Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!" I then started to panic. A good panic, but still panic. I had to make sure that we really did have everything ready for him to stay at my in-laws for a period of time, and I had to pick out an outfit for him to come home in, and pack the diaper bag, and the list went on and on. So, after Cody told me to breath, we got everything ready and headed to the hospital at 10:30am. It was a long day of talking with social workers, oxygen people, and nurses. He would be coming home with oxygen and a pulse oximeter to track his oxygen saturation and heart rate. Finally, at around 4:00pm, we were ready to leave the hospital.

All his accessories.

All ready to leave the hospital.

I won't lie, the five minutes spent on the drive to Cody's parents house were the most nerve racking minutes of my life. It sure didn't help that this was all new, but add an oxygen tank and a monitor into the mix, and all I can say is OMG! Seriously, I was staring so intently at his little face and listening so hard for that monitor to beep if things dropped, I couldn't concentrate on anything else. Thank goodness that Cody is a great driver, and he got us to my in-laws safe and sound. It took us an extra long time to get him out of the car because of the extra stuff, and we were walking very slowly because of the cords, and as we were walking into the house, the oxygen tank carrier handle broke and fell to the ground. As it fell, Cody and I stopped and just stared at the tank, scared to move. My mother-in-law video taped the whole thing, and I must say, it is really quite funny to see our reaction. It wasn't that big of a deal, but we were both so on edge that it really freaked us out. Anyway, we made it into the house, and we made it downstairs to where he would be staying for the next couple of weeks, and Vega met Hunter.

Our first family photo out of the hospital.

Hunter in his pack 'n play. He looked so TINY to me!

That first night was a very long night. I was so anxious about his oxygen and monitor, that every time it would beep because something dropped, I would jump up all freaked out. So, the thing with those home monitors is that anytime Hunter would move, it would beep. It sucked. But seeing as it was my first night with my baby, I wasn't really surprised that I didn't get much sleep. :)

Look at those cheeks!

What a big binkie on such a little face.

So sleepy.

Handsome little man!

Hunter snuggling with Buppa.

My dad, Grandpa Z, holding Hunter.

Momma and baby.

Vega and Hunter.

When Hunter left the hospital, he weighed 5 pounds 8 ounces and was 18 inches long. One week later, he was 5 pounds 12 ounces and 18.5 inches long. The following week, he was a whopping 6 pounds 2 ounces. He is growing right on up! :)