Bye-bye Centennial Hospital!!

Finally we have our sweet little babies...
And off we go!! Bye-bye Centennial Hospital!!
Parker
Parker

Parker's Homecoming...

"I'm ready to go home!!"~Parker
Making their pictures together has been quite the challenge!!
Parker is pooped and Mitchell is ticked!! He is over this photo shoot!!
"Opps, Mommy already added this picture and she doesn't know how to delete it, so here I am again in my car seat."~Parker

Parker, Parker!!

Well, Parker was finally discharged on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 after 44 days of being in the hospital and boy have our lives changed!! We are thrilled that we finally have everyone home and don't have to practically live at Centennial Hospital anymore!! The first night home was so tiring b/c they were not on the same schedule, so I was up a lot!! Luckily, my precious mom came to the rescue on Thursday morning and I went back to sleep for 5 1/2 hours!! Ahhhhh, that was nice!! Last night was so much better!! We have finally gotten them on the same schedule, so I am only up once during the night!! I have decided to forget trying to keep up with their spreadsheets of feedings, poops, pees, and temps. as it is impossible and takes up too much time!! I was so tired when I woke up with them last night so I decided that we would cut to the chase and make it quick!!! I got them in their bouncy seats with bottles while I pumped (yes, I am getting very good at multi-tasking!!) I normally try to work with them to finish their bottles, but once they acted like they weren't interested that was it. Then, my next goal was to change their diapers without them pooping, peeing, or spitting up on their clothes (as changing their clothes is such a long process!!). We achieved that goal for once~hooray!! So, we were only up for an hour!! This is such a HUGE accomplishment that probably won't ever happen again~ha!!

Anyways, we went to the pediatrician for the first time yesterday and that went good!! Mitchell weighs 5 lbs. 3 oz. and Parker weighs 4 lbs. 9 oz. They have to come back in 3 weeks for their shots~sad!! Also, they think Parker has a hernia so we are going to follow up with a urologist at Vanderbilt in February and they think that they will probably have to do surgery, so that's a little nerve wracking thinking about putting a tiny baby under!! But, I'm sure it will be okay!!

Also, I thought I would mention how funny it is that they each have their own little personalities!! Mitchell is our sweet, calm child who is pretty much always content and Parker is our feisty, wild child who demands a lot of attention!! It is entertaining to watch them interact with eachother!! So, we are all doing great and they can't wait to meet everyone!!

Life with Mitchell...

Well, having Mitchell at home has been such a blessing!! He is such a good little baby!! We got off to a rough start, though. Mitchell can only breast feed twice per day so that he doesn't burn too many calories. So, I decided that I would reserve those feedings for the middle of the night to avoid having to pump and feed him a bottle. Unfortunately, that was a disaster!! He ended up not getting enough to eat!! He woke up an hour later, fussy and I had to get up and make him a bottle (3 oz. breast milk with 1/2 tsp. Similac NeoSure formula for preemies to add extra calories). Then, I put him back in bed and he woke up an hour later fussy!! I leaned over his crib to see if I could smell a poopie diaper and I didn't, so I thought he was just upset b/c his pacifier fell out of his mouth. So, for the next hour I laid in my bed leaning over his crib holding his pacifier in his mouth. I was thinking, "oh my gosh!! What have I gotten myself into!!" then, finally, I got up and uncovered him to check his diaper and he had tee teed out the top of his diaper and had been laying in wet clothes and that is why he was so upset!! So, this was definitely not a shinning moment for my mothering skills~ha!! I felt terrible that I let him lay there wet for so long!! So, Sunday ended up being a long day!! In fact, I didn't get out of my PJs or brush my teeth until 4 p.m. Then, after all that, the NICU called to tell us that Parker was doing so well that they thought he would be discharged on Wednesday. We hung up the phone and felt completely overwhelmed!! I really thought there would be no way that we could do this!! But, for the last 2 nights he has been a little angel!! I decided that when he woke up in the night, I would have to take him out of our room because Kyle HAS to get sleep as he has to work and not be a zombie!! So, I put a pack~n~play in the living room and this is my new routine that seems to be working great!! I prepare all his bottles and put them in the fridge before bed. Then, when he wakes up to eat, I take him out to the living room and put him in the pack~n~play while I get his bottle and put it in warm water and get all my pumping stuff together. Then, I go back and change his diaper and take his temperature. By that time, his bottle is ready, so I feed him while I pump. (I have definitely learned to multi-task~ha!!) Anyways, after that I burp him and lay him on his tummy(even though they say not to, it helps him digest better) in the crib while I clean my pump parts and label and freeze the pumped milk. Then I fill out the spread sheets that I have for my pumping and Mitchell's chart (documenting his feedings, poops, pees, and temps). Then, finally we go back to bed!! This process takes about an hour and a half. But, thankgoodness he only gets up once during the night. So, now that I've been broken into parenthood, I guess we're ready to add another one!!

Mitchell's Homecoming!!

Mommy can't believe what a good photographer she is!! Aren't these pictures absolutely precious??

Well, Mitchell was officially discharged yesterday (Saturday January 12, 2008) after being at Centennial Hospital for 40 days!! Mommy and Daddy are thrilled to have him home and can't wait for little Parker to come too!!