Sunday Update

Hi everyone- thanks again for all of your emails, thoughts, and prayers. They mean a lot to us and we know how lucky we are to have such supportive family and friends. Dave and I are doing pretty well- we are so happy to have Ben home with us, especially since he is doing so well. He is eating great and is actually getting to be a little chow hound- which is great news! At the pediatrician yesterday he was up to 5lbs 13oz- he looks so big now. We will see the pediatrician once or twice a week for a while, as well as have services from visiting nurses to check his weight, etc. This routine is familiar to us since we had the same set-up with Mairead. Ben is eating and sleeping on a very regular schedule, for which we are thankful. He is so incredibly cute and has his eyes open quite a lot lately. I have been remiss about taking pictures, so I will try to do that soon.

Jack is doing pretty well- he is a strong little guy. He is over 5lbs now at 5lbs 3oz, but he still looks so much smaller than Ben. It doesn't help that he is connected to so many wires- they seem to cover his whole body. He is eating through a feeding tube and is tolerating his feeds very well. They tried to feed him from a bottle last night, and he did take about 12ccs, but that made him very tired and then he required more oxygen. So, they will keep trying every once in a while to see if he can eat without having to work so hard to breathe. There is a little less mucous in his lungs and airway now, so that is a positive step. He still is very dependent on the oxygen, though, so he has a long way to go.

We still can't pick him up which is incredibly hard on us. We have not held him since Wednesday. I know it's best for him since he should be resting as much as possible, but it seems unnatural for parents not to hold their newborn. We are doing ok with things- I get upset about it when I visit him- not while I visit, but when I have to leave. And it's hard to put two of our kids to bed at night without the third, but I know we will get there some day. Dave has been incredibly supportive- I couldn't get through all of this without him. My mom is also staying with us this weekend so that we can go back and forth to the hospital as much as we like.

Mairead seems to be handling everything well. Yesterday, her Nana took her to Target to buy a doll and some accessories. Now, she has her own baby, and the baby has a crib, a stroller, and even a little swing. She gives the baby a blankie and tells it 'night night' when she puts the doll in the crib, and this morning she got into the boys' diapers and wanted us to put one on the baby. She is incredibly sweet and will be a great big sister.

Thanks again to all of you for checking in with us- we will keep you posted.