One Week Down!
Just 5 more to go...
It’s been a steep learning curve to get to this point, but I think we’re finding our rhythm. Nathan certainly has. Since he can’t crawl around at the moment, he’s taken up dancing. Sometimes we catch him dancing with there isn’t any music and have to wonder what’s playing in his little head.
We’re also really really tired. Since Nathan can’t move on his own or even sit on his own and doesn’t sleep well in his cast, it’s a lot like living with a newborn again. Except that our newborn came home also three months old and only waking up two or three times during the night. So we’re more tired than when we actually lived with a newborn. Much more tired. And then there’s the fact that Nathan put on 10 pounds (of cast) instantly. Parents carry around 30 pound kids all the time, but that’s usually after carrying around a 29 pound kid and before that 28, 26, you see the point. So we’re tired and sore. But other than not sleeping well for more than 2 hours at a time, Nathan’s adjusting wonderfully.
Nathan came home last Wednesday, May 16th, exactly one year after he came home from the NICU. (We are not making May 16th our yearly hospital D Day...)
While in the hospital, Tim and I showed our true colors as hospital veterans. Apparently when you’ve been waiting 6 hours for your son to come out of surgery and the first question you ask after seeing him in recovery (and meeting his nurse and deciding you like her) is “so would now be a good time to go get lunch?” they know you’ve done this before. Same goes for painstakingly changing his diaper for the first time post surgery and then picking him up like you’ve always had a baby in a cast - apparently the medical gear attached to your baby is supposed to be the hard part.
And now we’re home. Immensely thankful for last week’s good weather since it gave us lots of ways to entertain Nathan as we figured out what we could do to keep him happy and engage and thankful for all the help we’ve received from grandparents and friends to make our first week home easier. Initially I felt silly accepting all the help that was being offered - I mean, I’ve been doing this mom thing for over a year now - but it has been so nice to have an extra set of hands so that laundry and dishes and work can get done.
What gets us through the day? Bubbles. And books and balls and (plastic, egg shaped) chickens and going for walks and Curious George and Sesame Street. And bubbles. Lots of bubbles. AND the super amazing table & chair that Grandpa made for Nathan.
This was Grandpa’s weekend project. Before this chair was dropped off on Monday, Nathan could not sit straight up which meant he could not play independently. He still can’t play unattended (I am 100% certain that he will figure out how to topple this chair over before he is out of the cast - this has nothing to do with the chair - I’m also 100% certainly he’ll figure out how to roll over and scoot around - that’s just who Nathan is) but now he can sit and look at and play with his toys on his own. He’s in heaven.
So that’s our one week update. Three days late. Because, like I said, we’re really tired.