Charlie is home!

Well, actually he's been home for a week and a half. Turns out that taking care of a baby without the help of nurses 24 hours a day is a lot of work and doesn't leave a lot of time for blogging. 

I'm happy to report that we have managed to keep our child alive for a full 10 days! We haven't even forgotten to feed him. We have however forgotten to change his diaper quite often which is why his entire wardrobe has been washed several times over now.

We love having our little boy at home and the NICU already feels like a thing of the distant past. Charlie is spending a lot more time awake now and is very alert and expressive when he is. He's still pretty cute when he sleeps too which is the majority of the time. Aaron and I are still getting used to all of his equipment. We did end up coming home with the feeding tube as well as oxygen to help Charlie with his oral feeding. We take turns knocking over an oxygen tank each day and cursing his feeding pump. The good news is that everything comes in portable form so we were able to get out at least once, sometimes even twice a day in the amazing weather we had last week in Seattle. The nice weather also allowed us to be a little more social than we expected to be our first week home. Charlie loves riding in the stroller and getting fresh air and by love, I mean he instantly falls asleep.

We just got back from a marathon of appointments at Seattle Children's Hospital today to meet with Charlie's feeding therapist, pulmonologist and nutritionist. They'll all follow Charlie as long as we need them. They think it will take anywhere between 2-6 months for Charlie's lungs to develop enough for him to be able to eat without the feeding tube so we better learn to love all of Charlie's accessories for now.

Thanks to everyone for all of your love and support. I don't know how we would've made it through the last 3 months of hospital living without you. We have a lot in front of us still. I'll keep posting about all of the adventures ahead. For now, here are some pics of our last days in the NICU and our first week home as a family!

Love,
The Brady Bunch!

Did you know Maggie Simpson is a resident of the University of Washington NICU? 

Modeling his mom's hand-knit goods!

Celebrating 2 months before Grandma Lee & Aunt Grace had to leave. 

Milk does a body good. 

 Last room shot. 

Last view shot. 

 All dressed up and ready to go home! Last pic with Charlie's physical therapist, Danika!

Impossible to drive any slower.

First stroll!

Daddy time on the couch.

First park outing.

First date with Ada Jacob!

Feeling like his first date went really well. 

So happy to be home!!