If you can tell by the time, I haven't gotten a whole heck of a lot of sleep tonight. That is because Patrick did in fact come home! We picked him up around 6 last night, and he's been here ever since. Obviously. So far, so good. I was pretty sure that every little noise he made was going to keep me up, and I was right about that.

The only thing that didn't work out is that I woke up with a migraine yesterday morning, and at about 2am again this morning. So the lack of sleep is even worse than it would have been.

We'll have to work on this whole feeding schedule thing, getting bottles ready for him to eat on time. Also, he's peed all over the crib twice while I was changing him. You would think I'd have learned on that one too.

Chile and Jack are already being protector dogs. While we were having dinner, the dogs were both watching the bassinet and every time he made a sound they would stand up and go see what was going on. Chile is too short, but Jack could look over the side and make sure he was okay. I have a picture of this, but it's 6am and I'll upload pictures after I get a little more sleep.

Other than that, uneventful. The stupid cat thinks that she gets to sleep in the crib though. She will learn about that one.

Okay... time to see how much sleep I can get this time around...

Tonight might be your last chance to come see Patrick at the hospital! The nurses seem pretty certain that he'll be going home tomorrow. I'll talk to the doctor sometime this morning and I'm sure he'll have something to say about it.

He was 5lbs 3oz last night, and he's taking bottles just fine! We're taking the infant CPR class, and getting flu shots ASAP.

If you're planning on being around Patrick at ALL we ask that you get a flu shot too. And if you feel even a little bit sick, please please please stay away. We love you, but stay away :) It's getting to be RSV season and that's the last thing that we want Patrick to pick up at this point.


He's coming home soon!

Sooooo big.

He's finished all his bottles today!

Still at 5 lbs 2oz.

Exhaused parents, going to bed. Okedoke, good night!

5lbs!

18 3/4 inches long!

Kid is getting big! They upped his feeds again today, so he was at 42ccs, now I don't even know for sure what he's getting. Patrick did take an entire bottle for dad tonight!

Aunt Katie held Patrick for just a second before Shannon, the charge nurse, came in and tested out the car seat again. There's been some confusion about the car seat. It DOES have a 5 point harness like they want us to have, and the straps weren't done tight enough to hold Patrick in properly when they tried the first time. Shannon made some adjustments, and he fit! Sort of.

He didn't seem to mind too terribly much. He's so tiny though!

After all the excitement of the bottle and the car seat, I was changing Patrick's diaper and he thought it was a perfect time to pee. So he soaked the bed sheet, his blanket and the floor. Me, instead of covering him with his diaper, I jumped out of the way. Little stinker.

I put all the bedding in Patrick's bed today, and we have a new chair from Grandpa Max. We also have cousin Colin's old basinette ready to be cleaned up for when Patrick comes home! Just a few more days, we hope!

No big changes... Patrick still isn't finishing his bottles, so we're back in that holding pattern. He finished one today, left about 12ccs in another, and the other ones were put down his feeding tube today. He's been sort of a sleepy kid. We gave him a bath tonight, and he was awake after that! If we'd had a bottle ready right away, he probably would have finished it, but we didn't, and by the time we did, he was comfy and sleepy. I was holding him while the bottle was getting ready, and he was lifting his head and arching his back and Jon figured out he would calm down with his pacifier. We need to get this timing for bottles worked out better.

Other than that, he's at 4lbs 15oz. Still too little for the carseat we have, but we just need one with straps that get smaller now. We're back in the range of 7-10 days for him to come home with his current eating patterns. At least we'll have the house ready!

This whole going back to work thing is killing me, so I'll just summarize for now.
Last night he was 4lbs 12oz, but he hasn't been finishing bottles today. Patrick was circumsized this morning (they wait to do that until babies are close to going home) and the combination of the procedure and the Tylenol make little boys sleepy. I was able to be at the hospital when they brought him back to his room, and he was wide eyed and sucking on his pacifier. The nurse told me he actually fell asleep in the middle of it! I'm so glad they use anesthetic for all of that. I didn't know that until after it was done. He's done really well with it all.
He passed his hearing test!
The carseat we have is too big. That makes me really sad. We have to go get one that can carry a 4lb baby... I know he's close to 5, but he's just way too small for a normal carrier.
Sometime I'll get pictures of his double chin! He's got a couple rolls :)

Patrick could be coming home this weekend! Or early next week!!
He was 4 lbs 10oz last night! He gained 3oz total.
He had an eye exam, and it was normal. He'll have a hearing test soon, and another brain ultrasound to check for any changes.
They told us to bring up a carseat to see if he'll fit!
He's up to 5 feedings a day, 42ccs each. He hasn't been finishing all of them, but since he's still gaining weight and finishing most of them, they're feeling pretty good about his progress.
We're getting carpet today too, so the house is ALMOST ready.
I can't even begin to describe how excited and scared I am. I don't know if there are enough exclaimation marks in the world.

I'm updating from work, so I should get back to my desk.