There's No Place Like Home

In my Big Boy Bed!

Well, we've survived the first 5 days at home, and I have to admit that leaving the NICU was tough.  Above you'll see our favorite nurses, Hope and Amy, with Harrison tucked (and I mean TUCKED) in his car seat ready for departure.  The care they gave our son was without measure, and taking him home without them sitting nearby was a scary situation! I got through that initial fear by realizing that if he wasn't ready to come home to novice's like us, they surely wouldn't have discharged him! 

The first night at home was a dream. He woke up twice, and both times went right back to sleep. I think Tony and I got almost 8 hours of sleep. As for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night, well they became increasingly hair-pulling. I was constantly baffled by the fact that every time we visited Harrison in the NICU, he was soundly sleeping. He certainly wasn't without a few occasions of extra alertness during the night, but he usually needed to be awakened for a feeding or diaper change. Well, as I've mentioned before, Harrison is pretty gifted and talented, so I think he knows that Mommy and Daddy now hold full reigns and he takes advantage of the fact that we rush to his side with every grunt we hear! In fact, one evening, Harrison over-salivated on his pacifier and he made such a wet, disturbing noise, Tony and I both rush out of the bed nearly knocking one another on the floor to make sure he wasn't choking. Surely he was choking and we would discover him with blue lips. Nope....as we peered over the bassinet, we see that he is sleeping away, only having lost his Soothie. I'm pretty sure the hospital equivalent of crack is the Soothie. Doctor's and nurses could sell them on the black market. It's like an instant mute button for babies, and we take full advantage. They gave us three of them, two still in the package, and I have them on such lock down, it will take Harrison Ford in the latest sequel of Indiana Jones to get it from me. I mean, even as I type this, every two words I have to bend down and put that thing back in his mouth. 

Parenthood totally sunk in for me after Tony asked me where Harrison was, and I said that I put him back in his crate.  What was I thinking??!! After 8 years of dog ownership, I could see that my life had really started a new chapter. One which doesn't involve keeping my dependents in a metal cage and feeding them biscuits through the wires. The poor dogs have spent more time outside than Smokey the Bear. Georgie, our lab, has taken to the baby very well and has mastered the Army crawl every time she's around him. And it's adorable to see that when baby is distressed, Georgie is distressed. Every time Harrison makes the slightest grunt, Georgie looks at the baby monitor like, "WTF? Why aren't you taking care of this??" Pacey, however, is more confused than ever. When she's inside, she just does laps around the house, racking up points for every object she doesn't hit. (She's blind for those of you who don't know.) So when SHE hears Harrison, she looks blankly up into space wondering what rocket ship just transported her to another planet. It's okay, in their 20 hours outside, Georgie takes good care of her. That is, when she isn't harassing her. 

So there it is folks, our first 5 days at home. Harrison is 37 weeks today, so he should be right up there in newborn status any day now. And when I'm not certain the flash of the camera will make him as blind as our Schnauzer, I'll take more pictures to share with everyone. So, I leave you with the top 5 things I've learned as a parent this week in no particular order.

1.  Going all day without clearing your throat for fear of making noise makes for a pretty phlegmy cough later in the evening. 

2.  Babies R US is the homosapien version of Petsmart. Just because it's for babies doesn't mean you should drag your whole brood there!

3. (Viewer discretion advised) Pumping/breastfeeding has turned my boobs into what looks like Slinky's. Therefore, the theme song for breastfeeding mothers should now be: "It walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkity sound. A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing, everyone knows it's a Slinky. It's Slinky, it's Slinky, for fun it's a wonderful toy. It's Slinky, it's Slinky, it's fun for a girl or a boy."

4. Washing your hair is overrated. 

5. And lastly, there's nothing better than sitting next to the man of your dreams with the miracle you created in your arms. The frustration and sleep deprivation disappears knowing how much you love this tiny person and how in a matter of minutes, you and your husband went from a couple to being a family. Priceless.