Thank you!

This isn't the proper way to thank everyone, and I promise one day I will finally respond to all the emails and messages and get the much deserved thank you notes written, but in the meantime, I just want to thank every single person who has emailed, texted, called, sent us or Stephen a gift or meal, thought about us, left a comment on the blog, spread our story, and most importantly prayed for all three of us. I kept saying I would get all my notes and responses done when Stephen came home during his nap times, but i think I grossly underestimated my free time! I read every single email and comment and usually share them with friends and family because they are so touching. I can't recall how many times your comments and emails have brought tears to my eyes. And they have definitely kept me going over the past two months when I thought things were just to overwhelming to manage. And trust me (you can ask Bill to back me up on this one), there were lots of those times, I just don't usually share those moments with anyone except for Bill (with the exception of the few times I lost it at the hospital). So....thank you from the very bottom of my heart.

The past few days have been a little challenging as Stephen didn't really want to lay down in his crib or spend more than 5 or 10 minutes in his bouncy seat or swing. But luckily we had lots of extra hands around the house so I could prep his bottles with formula or milk, prep his dialysis machine, his meds, and try to find a few minutes to take a shower in between. Although night time is a whole different ball game. It's tough at night and in the morning because he has to be hooked up to dialysis for 12 hours. And babies definitely don't sleep for 12 hours! But we are trying out different schedules and routines and figuring things out as they happen and making adjustments.

I thought today was going to be really stressful and scary being home alone all day with Stephen since Bill is back at work, but so far, so good. It's 2:46pm and I'm pumping while I write this, watching both Stephen and Mabel nap. Mabel on the floor and Stephen in his bouncy seat next to me on the bed. We just had our "lunch" and Stephen ate like a champ! It's the first time I've ever given him a bottle where he ate so much that I don't have to gravity feed the rest via his g-tube or hook him up to the feeding pump. And the nurse came by at noon to check on us and his lungs sound perfect. A huge relief for Mom and Dad!!

I probably just jinxed myself by saying the day has been way better than expected, but I imagine each day will bring new challenges and triumphs just like in the NICU. Just on a slighty smaller scale (ha ha).

And just to finish off the post on an even brighter note, here are some pictures from over the weekend. This was Stephen's first real bath at home and a group shot with me, Mabel, and Stephen (her new best bud).