Life At Home

We have been home for more than a week, and we are getting into a little bit of a routine.  By six weeks old, most parents have gotten into a groove with their baby.  Because he was in the NICU, we are getting a late start.  He is six weeks old, but we have just survived our first week at home with five kids!

I will start off by saying that our boys are absolutely amazing with Matthew!  I could not dream of better big brothers for him.  Every morning when A.J. wakes up, one of the first things he says is "Baby Matt!"  He loves to bring him diapers and burp rags and especially loves to stick a Paci in his mouth.  Ben is so sweet with Matthew and says "Matthew is so stinkin' cute!" multiple times a day.  Jack and Luke have both been amazing baby holders and fight over who gets to have tummy time with Matthew. They also are great at keeping A.J. entertained while I tend to Matthew.  He is a lucky little guy to have so many big brothers looking out for him.

Matthew has adjusted to life at home and is exceeding everybody's expectations yet again.  He has been eating full bottles for almost a week now!  He still has his feeding tube in, but we have only used it once in the last five days (thanks to a stuffy nose).  We don't want to jinx ourselves, but we feel like he has this eating thing figured out!  He is a great sleeper, and would maybe sleep all night if we let him.  The doctors have ordered us to feed him every three hours, but we have accidentally slept through our alarm a time or two and Matthew has not been the one to wake us up.  Waking up a baby in the middle of the night is a bit like torture, but hopefully we won't have to do it much longer.

Trying to run a household and take care of a newborn and four other kids is taking a bit of getting used to on my part. I always forget just how much feeding a baby consumes your life!  I spend about half of each day feeding, pumping or preparing bottles.  The fact that Matthew isn't quite as portable as other babies just adds another challenge.  Thankfully, we have had so much help with the boys and meals brought to us almost every night.  I can't imagine trying to cook right now- I barely get the dishes done!  Each day gets easier, and I feel like we are finally getting a tiny bit of a routine around the house.  J.P. has been so wonderful.  He became much more domestic while I was in Kansas City.  He can also help with the middle of the night feedings for the first time ever since Matthew drinks bottles!  I am hoping to get Matthew out of the house a bit next week and try to get back to some of my normal mom duties.

(Matthew's one month picture at home.  A few days late, but worth the wait)

We go back to Kansas City next week for a checkup.  We are hoping to get the feeding tube out for good and start weaning his oxygen.  We are hopeful that we won't have to go back too frequently and that Dr. Daley can take over a bit from here on out.