Our Little Guy Landon : Settling in at Home!

I can't believe it has been so long since our last post... I guess time has gotten away from us since Landon has been home! Between all the snuggle sessions, bottle feeding, pumping, diaper changes, sleeping, etc., I guess the last thing on our mind is updating the blog. We have definitely been taking advantage of all of the snuggle sessions now that he is in our home away from the tiny hospital crib, wires and monitors! Landon is now spoiled because of it and when he cries 9 out of 10 times its because he just wants to be held so let's just say we are catching up for all the snuggling we lost out on while he was in the NICU. :)

I guess I will pick up where Lance left off... I'll try to be quick!

The night before Landon was discharged I decided to stay the night in the NICU's mothers room so I can have a night of "practice" with his care throughout the night. The room was nothing special, but it was incredibly special to me that I was able to care for my son through the night for the first time of his life. Just knowing that I was there under the same roof was an amazing feeling. That night Landon had his last bath and final weigh in at the hospital... he tipped the scale at 6 pounds, which was another huge milestone!

The next morning I headed home in order to make our final trek to the hospital together to bring home our little guy. I think Lance would agree with me that our discharge day certainly ranks up there to be one, if not the best day of our lives, even above our wedding day and the day he was born! We were so anxious and excited, but were filled with nerves. It was also such a bittersweet feeling as the NICU became our second home and the nurses and other mommies became our second family. To leave all of their support and what grew to be the comforting sounds of the monitors was somewhat scary... "this is it", "can we do this", "will he be okay" were phrases on repeat in our heads all day long. Lance was also trying to stay calm to get ready for our first drive with Landon on the Schuylkill for our final drive from the hospital. I have to admit that I still to this day have not been the driver with Landon in the car just yet! Nonetheless, we made it and we are thriving here at home!

I have to mention this as it is so fitting that we ended our NICU journey being discharged by another Dr. Dennis! Things like this really make be believe that the world works in mysterious ways. To make it even better, they looked very similar to one another and even sounded alike too!

We've had a few doctor's appointments since being home too. We had our "newborn" checkup at the pediatrician two days after discharge and had to return a week later for a weight check to ensure that he was steadily gaining weight with the transition at home. We also needed to get a blood test for Landon to check on his hemoglobin and reticulocyte counts again... we STILL need to get this done as we've been to Quest twice now and the results have come back with an insufficient amount. The poor little thing has gotten his heel pricked and had the technicians squeeze blood out of his heel twice without any luck. We are heading to Phoenixville Hospital's NICU this week in order to get this taken care of as we think they will be more equipped to handle an infants blood-draw. Landon also had another eye exam as his retinas are still forming. They are still not quite where they need to be yet, but it is typical due to his prematurity so we have another appointment later this month and we are hoping that his retinas and blood vessels will be fully formed by then.

We've also been enjoying many strolls in the neighborhood, especially with the incredible weather we had last week! The first few days it was a bit too bright for Landon, but unfortunately these shades were still too big! I think Landon can double as Carlos from the Hangover...

Hunter-boy is adjusting very well to being the older brother. He absolutely adores Landon and would do anything for another chance to lick Landon's little feet. He is so well behaved with Landon and we couldn't be more proud of him either!

Since we've been home, we've had a few more milestones take place too... Landon celebrated his two month birthday, he began to lift his head on his own and drove right passed the 7 pound mark!