99 days...............

DYLAN IS HOME!!!!



Over the course of the last 2 days the words "I can't believe he's actually home" have spilled from our mouths numerous times. 99 days really is a very long time. I know it may sound crazy, but although we were beyond excited to come home it was a little bit sad leaving the hospital. Obviously we got over it pretty quick, but it was hard leaving some of the people who have spent so much time, effort, and love into helping our little boy get better and grow. He was a much loved little boy in that hospital and that fact was very evident as we made our last walk through the NICU doors. The entire NICU staff got together as we were leaving to say their final goodbyes to Dylan. We saw a few tears from a couple of his nurses, respiratory therapists, and neo-netalogists. That place will always have a special place in our hearts. We know some of the NICU staff reads this blog so we would like to take this opportunity to say thank you again for all the love you have all shown us.

As you know, Dylan is off oxygen, but still has a feeding tube. During the night for the first couple months he will wear a heart and lung monitor. It's just a pre-cautionary thing they do for the majority of preemies when they come home. The night before we took him home we had to sleep over at the hospital to make sure all the equipment worked properly. It was our first family camp-out in our own room. Dylan was a good boy, but wasn't too interested in sleeping. He didn't cry, but made little grunting and snorting noises. The result was a very sleep deprived Mommy and Daddy as they spent most of the night rocking, singing, and telling him stories.





But I'll tell you what, he sure love to sleep/nap on his Mommy and Daddy's chests.









This whole thing seems so surreal. He has been under such a watchful eye for so long and then all of a sudden they hand him to us and say "well he's all yours, good luck". It feels a little overwhelming, but we're excited to get him home and see him continue to progress. He still is having a few issues with eating. They say he's volume dependent and is too comfortable with smaller amounts of volume. We've been instructed to do stretches everyday to help his tummy. Please pray for Dylan to get better at eating.



We love our little boy with all our hearts and feel so lucky to have him in our lives. We realize that we still have hurdles to clear, but the Lord has blessed us already so much through our trials and we know that everything will work out.