Micah is coming home!

Micah is coming home on Friday after only a 13 day NICU stay! He's eating really good, and is weighing 5 lbs, 2 oz. now so they are sending him home. Let the balancing act begin....it's going to be so hard to have two babies in the NICU and two at home, but it means we're one step closer to all being under the same roof, which is our goal these days!

The other boys continue to do really well, too. Derek is now 6 lbs, and is doing almost as good as Micah. They let him have 6 feedings a day through a bottle, and then they give 2 through his feeding tube. Andrew is 4 lbs 14 oz and is also having 6 feedings a day through a bottle and 2 through the tube. He doesn't get quite as much milk as Derek, and can't take the whole thing through a bottle or he gets too tired. He gets tired quicker than the other boys when it comes to eating, so we just have to work on building his strength and keep focusing on him gaining weight.

We finally got Tyler home on Sunday from grandma's house and we're going to keep him here as much as we can now, which I am so happy about! After he got home on Sunday we noticed that he was just really insecure. Ever since then, every time Evan or I even stand up or leave the room he is in, he says, "where's mommy/daddy going?" On Sunday he wouldn't even go in his bed without crying because he thought we were going to leave him. We feel SO bad about it. I feel like we've shipped him off way too much during the pregnancy and delivery and all of that. I know it was what we had to do, and he won't remember this, and he had fun no matter where he was and got spoiled, but it didn't make it easier to have him gone. I feel like I missed a lot. I guess that was Tyler's sacrifice for getting his brothers here safely.

Evan and I are trying to spend as much time as possible with Tyler before the total chaos begins. On Monday we took him to the Western Mall lights display, and Tuesday my mom and I took him to Toys R Us to show us what he wanted for Christmas. He's had a really fun week! At the light display, Tyler was sitting on my lap, and I think he forgot who was holding him. He turned around and saw me and got a huge smile, patted my face, and said, "that's my mommy." Almost made me cry. He was just so happy his mom and dad were there with him...

Today I had one of those "how are we going to do it?" days. I was home with Tyler in the morning, then went to the hospital to see the babies in the afternoon. I can't drive yet because I'm on pain pills so I always have to find someone to cart me around. At the Dr., I talked to the case worker, the lactation consultant, and got going home directions for Micah's feeding schedule, how to fortify his milk, etc, etc. After that I had to go rent a preemie carseat because Micah isn't big enough for the car seat that we have yet. Then I came home, pumped (again!), and I'm trying to take it easy yet because I really need to heal completely before these babies come home, and I'm still having quite a bit of discomfort. I'm also having to get my blood pressure checked daily because the Dr. thinks I might have developed the start of preeclampsia towards the end of my pregnancy. I've had high readings since a few days before delivery, so they're watching that carefully. I also have to go in and get tested for diabetes in about a month since I had gestational diabetes during pregnancy, and they want to make sure that I don't have it long term. So on top of the babies, I'm thinking/worrying about my own health just b/c I need to be well for them. And I'm trying to balance having Tyler, and now taking some of the responsibility off of Evan around the house now that I can be up a little more, and trying to figure out how I'm going to get to the hospital to see two when I have a baby at home, and it just feels like a ton to deal with some days. So anyway, please continue to pray for peace for all of us, and that we can get through this adjustment period okay. Sorry....kind of venting tonight!!

Here is the little man we've been focusing on this week....He ate my whole banana in the morning, then told my mom he hadn't had one that afternoon and ate another whole one. :)

He looks so huge to us now!

Here is Tyler and Evan "racing." This happens about 10 times a night. Tyler makes Evan line up at the fireplace, and then he says "On your marks" and takes off running around the living room giggling. Then Evan catches him and it turns into more of a tickling/wrestling match more than a race. Imagine this x4 some day! As you can see, Evan is trying to watch football while racing. :)

So sweet and cuddly before bed...

And some of the babies....sweet little Micah...These are from Monday night. He now has that feeding tube out that you see in his nose!

Baby Derek...we think he looks the most like Tyler when he was a baby.

Andrew....so alert...when he's awake his eyes are just penetrating. He has really good control over them, and he's really observant. He looks at whoever is holding him, and responds so well to voices, etc.

Tiny little fingers holding on to daddy's thumb.

I've been reading Ephesians lately, and this verse from a prayer for the Ephesians keeps popping out at me:

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God."

God has been showing me his amazing love through these babies lately. I pray that I can really grasp how deep his love is for me...and He's reminding me of it every day when I look at all of my boys. So while everything is overwhelming sometimes, I have no reason to doubt that God will bring us through this and strengthen us as we go along. We are so incredibly blessed.