A Really Good Night

There is an upside to having a kid in the NICU for four months: When she comes home, she sleeps through the night! Of course, the downside is that you have to wake the child up every three hours to feed them. I'm sure there are dumber things than waking a sleeping baby in the middle of the night, I just can't think of an example right now.

Regardless, Madeleine has been an absolute gem since getting her home yesterday afternoon. The dogs haven't quite figured her out yet or her them but we figure they'll all reach an understanding fairly soon. Madeleine is a big fan of her swing-- we'll never let the batteries run down-- and my first dream came true last night-- Madeleine and I hung out in the hammock in the backyard for about an hour.

We're headed to meet with Madeleine's pediatrician this morning. The meeting is designed to introduce the two of them and we hope to discuss with the doctor basic timeframes for addressing each of Madeleine's medical issues. First and foremost, we want to discuss how we can avoid waking Madeleine in the middle of the night. We may continue the practice for the next few weeks but hope that in the not too distant future, we'll let Madeleine sleep until she wakes up hungry. We still have follow-up meetings scheduled with cardiologists, pulmonologists, and surgeons as they'll all be tracking Madeleine for the next few months. The pediatrician is the generalist that should help coordinate with all of the different specialists. Again, we look forward to the day when we're only meeting with the pediatrician with infrequent visits scheduled with her cardiologist.

That's about it. I plan on continuing to blog dails-- if for no other reason than to keep a record of all the challenges and triumphs that we experience as full time parents. I hope the news isn't quite as dramatic as it has been the past four months but I'll be certain to keeping everyone informed if such drama does arise. If you find your interest waning, I completely understand and would actually be somewhat pleased-- I'd like my daughter to be a bit more boring than she is right now. :)

Thanks again for your support. Kirsten and I are flying high right now and couldn't have gotten here without you. Take care,

Brent and Kirsten

PS-- Sorry for the lack of pics. We have a few cord issues that I hope to resolve this afternoon. I'll get new pictures posted ASAP-- the pictures currently up on the web don't do Madeleine justice-- she's much larger/alert and better looking than any of the current pictures.