Doctor, Doctor Give Me the News

Here's Bob posing with all 3 boys right before Ryan was discharged to come home. Any more group shots will have to happen at home from this point forward.

Our first days at home with Ryan were pretty eventful. On Friday, we had a homecoming party followed by a fireworks show in the backyard, then on Saturday, we had another festive family evening followed by fireworks. Ryan seemed to be more interested in his bottle than the booming sounds coming from across the street as our neighbors launched a few fireworks from their backyards. It was great having all the company, but I did wish that we had a couple more kids sharing the evening here with us.


Here is Aunt Faith getting a lesson in diaper changes. She was so excited to get to hold one of her nephews, but she still refuses to change a diaper.


The animals were totally disinterested in Ryan. After months of worrying how they would all react, the actual encounter between baby and pet was pretty uneventful.


Ryan's first bath at home.

Those left behind...

James is doing well. After a rough night where he lost weight and was threatened by the doctor with a return trip to the isolette, James got on the ball and began keeping his temperature up, eating all of his bottles, and finally has made it to four pounds! He is 17 3/4 inches long now - amazing how fast you can grow without your brothers sitting on top of you.





Michael is great except for his refusal to eat for himself. Today, he ate his entire bottle for Grandma Newhouse, so that gives his parents a little bit of hope for the future. We need him to start eating all of his bottles, then he can come home. He's also grown, but his brother Ryan has surpassed him as far as weight goes - Michael is 5 lbs 14 oz and Ryan is 6 lbs. Both of the boys are 19 inches long.




Michael has taken to pulling his hat down over his eyes in an homage to Hip Hop/Gangsta style and/or Mush Mouth from Fat Albert.

Since Ryan was allowed to come home, we had to schedule a pediatrician appointment. Yesterday, I had a follow up appointment with Dr. Clark and was cleared to drive. Driving home from the hospital yesterday was FANTASTIC. I hadn't driven a car in over 3 months, so this morning, Ryan and I headed out for the pedi appointment all by ourselves. It was pretty strange driving my child around - at first I was very careful, but by the end of the ride, I realized that the poor child had been subject to my driving since November and he's still alive, so no need to stay in the right hand lane and abide by all the posted speed limits.