August 17, 2007 -- Homecoming

Friday:

And on the 58th day after birth, Michael came home. Our little boy is finally home. It is almost as if he knows and understands, because he has been smiling and sleeping all day. Our fussy, cranky boy has vanished. He woke up in his car seat, inside his crib, saw his new Mickey Mouse Mobile, and smiled. He even puked up a whopper of a stomachful into his crib a little while ago, and once we assured him we noticed and were cleaning it up, he began to smile.

Mom is still getting used to the idea of having a nurse around. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do, and what he (the dayshift nurse is a man) is supposed to do. I'm not sure where I make the decisions and where he does. It will be a learning experience for all concerned. I know Adam shares some of the trepidation, but he and his brother are sleeping over at the zoo tonight, so it is not something he has tried to struggle through directly yet.

In the meantime, friend T is spending some time with us, to help us deal with our torn up kitchen, stuff we can't find, and a baby. K___ (the nurse) is helping us organize the baby's medical stuff. I hate that our pretty nursery has been changed to look like a hospital room, but there is no real help for it. He needs what he needs. I just really hope that he doesn't need it for years and years.

This past week has been really challenging -- we didn't expect that I would move into the hospital for 10 days and that Adam would have to juggle the necessary tasks of the home and the construction work with visiting Michael and me. One thing was an unbelievably big help, though, and that was the wonderful dinners, every night, provided by our new friends from [United Church of Christ]. Honestly, we ate far better then if we had been at home with our brand new kitchen! The nurses and techs at the hospital were always commenting on how well we were eating. Adam and I can hardly believe our good fortune to have found such a wonderful and caring group of people, and we are overwhelmed at how they have reached out to us. We are almost perfect strangers to the congregation, having visited only a handful of times before learning of Michael surgery and calling Pastor J___ to say, "Please help." It didn't matter how new we were, though, and we don't have words enough to express our thanks.

I can't possibly thank all those who deserve our thanks, but our friends and family have moved mountains for us and for Michael . From the warm messages here [on the original Carepage], to the errands on our behalf, to the visits and calls, it has all been a rock to us. Again, words are not enough. Suffice it to say that we have never before been in such need, and we have never before seen such giving spirit, and we are touched beyond description.

The reality-story of Michael will continue as we move toward his cleft palate surgery in 4-7 months.