All is Well

 It feels like we have fallen off the map lately.   We have had such a busy month that I'm not sure where to start for an update!  Plus, my brain is running on empty.  So if this is a little scattered, just pretend to follow. 

The babies had a busy month in the hospital.  They learned to take bottles, and they got fat.  Both babies are pretty anemic which is common for preemies.  They had a few blood transfusions which helped them to eat better and breathe better.  Tripp is the fatty of the two.  He is a pretty eager eater.  He gained a little faster and learned to suck better.  Once he could take all of his feedings by bottle for 48 hours, we could bring him home.  We were really nervous to bring him home.  Something about being responsible for a NICU graduate was a little overwhelming.  We got to bring him home on Dec. 20th.  Just in time for Christmas! 

Here is a picture of his last few minutes in his hospital bed.

 We got him dressed in his Christmas best and got him ready to go!  The nurses all lined up to say goodbye to him and that's when I lost it.  I was excited to take him home.  I was sad to leave Charlie up there all alone and I was so grateful to all of the amazing nurses and doctors that basically saved our babies.  It was a very bittersweet moment.

The nurses warned us that once a baby leaves the hospital for home one of two things would happen.  The changes from hospital to home are so stressful for them that they will either cry constantly or sleep and sleep and sleep to shut all of the stresses out.  Guess which one Tripp did?   He slept for the first hour....and then cried the rest of the night.  Not fun.  But, to make up for it, he has been an angel ever since.

Jack was so happy to finally have Tripp home.  Tripp was the baby he claimed from the beginning.  He dotes on him constantly.  It is pretty precious.  

Through all of the excitement, we remembered to have Christmas.  Jack and Luke were so excited Christmas morning!  I have to say, Christmas is about 100 times more fun with kids. 

Luke loved the chocolate more than the toys.  He just kept shoving his mouth full.  A child after my own heart :) 

Jack's one request for Christmas was a Transformer.  Every present that he opened before the Transformer was a bust.  He opened his Santa presents and I said, "Jack!  What did Santa bring you?"  His reply was, "Well, I'll tell you one thing, it isn't a Transformer."  Good thing Grandma delivered in the Transformer department :)  Ha!

Luke loves Chuck the Dump Truck.  Every day when he wakes up he begs to watch Chuck.  It takes a lot of effort to get him to do anything else first.   He was pretty pleased to get a real dump truck :)

Now for Charlie....

Charlie runs on his own schedule.  There is no pushing him.  We really tried to get him home for Christmas, but he wasn't feeding well and had his own agenda.  He is going to be our child that sets his own pace.  I am going to have to learn to be patient.  Good luck to me :)

We finally got to bring him home December 30th.  Just in time for the new year!   We were so excited to reunite the babies.  I don't think they had a clue.  But, to see all of my boys in one room was one of my favorite moments.  To have my little family all together was magical.

The babies are both over 7 pounds!  They are growing great and they have been such good babies.  We have about a million doctors appointments over the next year.   Both boys have an ASD which is a hole between the atriums in their hearts.  So, we will be followed fairly closely by a Cardiologist.  They also have funny shaped red blood cells so we will see a Hematologist and a Geneticist.  This should be a very educational year :) 

The babies immune systems are still very immature.  We are on lock down in the house until March or April.  So, the bishop came to our house and we were able to bless the babies on New Years Eve.   It has been so wonderful to have them home.  Jack and Luke are fascinated by them.  We are sleep deprived and the house is a disaster, but we are so perfectly content :)