16 days...

Look how far we've come!

We're at 16 days in NICU. She is doing wonderfully. It won't be too much longer for her, I don't think. But then again, I don't like to get my hopes up and I won't ask for a time line. I will be unbearably excited the day they ask for the car seat to do the car seat test. And not before. All she needs to do now, is eat. And she is finally getting that down.

I've discovered a store of patience I didn't know I had.

I can tell you that I will rejoice for so many reasons when she comes home. Make no mistake that some of that rejoicing will center around the fact that I can take care of my baby in my pjs until noon with no one looking over my shoulder or talking to me. I won't have to be pleasant to anyone if I'm frustrated or having a bad morning. I can just be.

Nicholas is having too much fun in WV. Shooting, 4-wheeling, making gobs of friends and generally just being a social normal 8-year-old. He's settled, he has a routine and it makes me all kinds of happy. Even if I do miss him like crazy.

I'll have learned all kinds of lessons from this experience. I've had a good scare. It's hard not to when every single nurse looks at your chart and comments about how you almost DIED! Trust me, I know. These are not lessons I take lightly. I've learned a lot about what happens when push comes to shove and who we can and can not count on. I've learned the true wonderful strength of my marriage and the devotion of my husband. And I've learned that I don't want to miss a single minute of my life. But, yet again, it's a story for another day.

And my 3 hours are up. Time to pump...again. I'll be happy to be out of the NICU to do that in privacy too.