Welcome Home Henry!!

As many of you may have already heard, we brought Henry home from the hospital on Friday!! We're all adjusting pretty well, though it's still difficult for me to grasp the notion that we're now fully responsible for him! :) He seems happy and to be adjusting well - though I'm sure he misses his brothers. :) We go to see Dr. Rougeau (pediatrician) tomorrow for his baseline check-up. I honestly can't believe the "fun" is offically starting after 9 weeks. He's already made one trip back to see his brothers in the NICU - and will probably make a few more before any of his brothers make their journey home. The nurses have even set up a small crib for Henry to hang out in - right next to the big crib his 3 brothers are sharing. We're still working out the feedings (who's getting up at what time to feed him) and how Henry's schedule will adapt to work for all the boys once they come home. It was certainly helpful to have my mom here this weekend. Three adults to one baby is a great ratio. Too bad we can't maintain that... :) Here are a few photos of Henry's big weekend:

He slept through his car seat test.


How can Henry and Joey NOT be the identical twins?! (sorry Valisa!)


Henry and his proud parents upon their departure from the NICU. The nurses all said "goodbye and good luck". We said "thanks! we'll see you tomorrow!" :)


(Henry had a great first night home, but we couldn't keep him out of his dad's beer fridge. (I take no responsibility for this photo.)


Here's a quick recap on the other boys and a few photos too...

On Tuesday, Joe and Sam got their circumcisions. Both of them handled it like champs - though Sam was certainly more vocal about it - no surprise there. On Thursday, Joe, Sam and Henry got their 2-month vaccinations. I'm not sure if Tom has gotten his yet...I need to find out. That evening, all 4 had their bi-weekly eye exams. Their eyes are still "immature", but nearing maturity - and the good news is that there are no indications of any eye issues. The bad news is that they'll all need another eye exam in 2 weeks.

Joe came off oxygen this week - except during feedings - and has been doing very well. Just this morning, they removed his oxygen monitor and will not give him oxygen unless he demonstrates a need for it. He's been eating very well and gaining weight: he's finally joined the FIVE POUND club with his brothers! Here's a shot of Joe getting his bath on Thursday evening - after eye exams.


Tom came off CPAP on Thursday - yippee!! He started out on 7 liters of air flow in his cannula, but is now down to 5 liters. Tom has been getting albuterol treatments all week (just stopped them today) and they definitely seem to be helping. When at rest, he is breathing easier and not working quite so hard - which is a step in the right direction. He took his first bottle yesterday with Dad. We're allowed to bottle feed him once a day, as long as he seems up for it. He took 18 cc's, but we're thrilled to have him truly eating again. This is a sleepy Tom after his eye exam on Thursday - with his CPAP-free face!


The nurses have informed us that Sam is a bed hog! He manages to shimmy closer and closer to Joe - eventually crowding out him and Tom. :) Sam had been hanging on to his 25 cc trickle of oxygen for a while now and we've finally been able to take his oxygen off. Like Joe, they've also removed his oxygen monitor. We'll watch his heart rate and color cues to see if he needs oxygen support. When he and Joe make it 2 days without oxygen help, they'll be able to come home. So right now that could mean Wednesday...we'll keep you posted! (Mom - are you on stand-by for an emergency trip down here mid-week?) Sam, the most expressive of the group, let us know his feelings about being bothered after his eye exam on Thursday:


Just a couple more shots from Henry's first visit back to the NICU on Saturday. I took the first photo in the car on the way to the hospital - so sweet. And the second photo is of Henry's 3 brothers in their shared crib with their pacifiers.




Gotta run! We've got babies to feed in the NICU. I'll be posting another update soon with information/rules for visitors and some options for those of you that have offered to help us out. Stay tuned!

Lots of love and hugs,
Kristin, Tim and the boys