An Update

Crew is a month old (plus a few days) now. He is now home. He actually came home two weeks ago with a feeding tube in place in his nose. Shawn and I stayed the night at the hospital and got to practice taking care of him . . . feeding him through the tube, operating the machinery to pump the milk into him, checking the placement of the tube in his stomach by using a stethescope to listen while we blow about 2 ccs of air into his stomach to listen for the whoosh sound to make sure everything is where it is supposed to be. We also had to practice inserting a new tube into his nose and down his esophagus. A little scary the first time but not too horrible.
It is wonderful having him home!! We don't sleep much but it's a small price to pay. It was so fun to watch Mia with her new baby brother when we brought him home. We had purchased a new doll and doll stroller, swing, crib, bottles, diaper bag, etc. for her to play with while I was taking care of Crew . . . so she could mimic us and hopefully keep her entertained. She's no fool. As soon as we gave her these new toys with the intent of keeping her occupied for the first time, she threw them to the side, came up to me and held out her arms, wanting the real baby. Unfortunately, not much has changed since then and still wants to hold the real baby instead of her dolls. Fortunately, Mia doesn't seem jealous. She wants to give kisses and hugs. She tried to share her fishies (translated: goldfish crackers) with him yesterday and shoved one almost down his throat. Thankfully Julie caught it in time and got it out. Mia is having a hard time adjusting to mom and dad being less available and is quite the expert at saying "NO!" She'll be two next week so it may have been inevitable regardless.
We'll post some pics, showing him with his button (which has now been removed making him much happier) and photos since then. Stay tuned...