Week one: home edition

Hard to believe it has already been a week since Elyse came home.  It has been a big adjustment, but we are slowly figuring it out and finding our groove.  She continues to make her requests known loud and clear -- the most common of which are a clean diaper at all times, perfectly warm bottle, and not being put down.  Ever.  But can you really blame her?  I have slowly started venturing into the world of babywearing (courtesy of the Ottawa Babywearing Group's wonderful "Babies of Peace Project"), and so far she seems to really enjoy it -- much like the kangaroo care we used to do in the NICU.

babywearing selfie

Emmett has done amazingly well -- he is a very doting big brother, and constantly wants to hold/touch/kiss/hug his sister.  In fact, the first night she was home I woke up around 2am to find him in our room, standing beside the bassinet, just staring in at her.  Later that same night when I was up to feed her, he came downstairs, rubbed sanitizer on his hands, and offered to "help Mommy".  Needless to say, it was quite heartwarming but we were all a little extra tired the next day.

brotherly love
 

Elyse has been maintaining a 3 to 4 hour schedule, similar to what she was used to in the hospital.  She had a couple days of mixed up days and nights, but that slowly seems to be getting better the as we try to keep her on a shorter schedule during the day.  She is eating well and, according to our kitchen scale, weighs over 6 pounds now!  It was a difficult transition at first to be without the monitors, but each day brings a bit more confidence.  In fact, she may even go a whole nap now without getting a little nudge to make sure she is still breathing.

Emmett makes sure his baby doll is well fed too

We have been laying low so far, and it has been nice to just be able to enjoy some time together as a family without having to schedule it around hospital visits.  Elyse has been out for a couple of medical appointments and walks to the park, but otherwise we are avoiding busy places (and associated germs) for a little while -- at least until she's a little bigger, and her immune system a little stronger.  Unfortunately, even after they come home, preemies are more susceptible to getting sick and complications from something as simple as a cold can send them back to the hospital.  And that is certainly a place we don't want to see any more of for a very long time!

enjoying the sunshine

So there you have it -- we have survived week one.  And despite the chaos, the sleeplessness, the noise and the mess, it has been amazing.  After everything it has taken to get here, we certainly aren't going to take a moment of it for granted!

happy to be home

 first family photo