Yes and no. Yes because we see his progress and it reassures us that he's strong enough to make it through whatever is thrown his way. Yes because we're ready to stop the arduous commute to the hospital back and forth daily to see our own son. Yes because we're ready to start "normal" at home life with Carter. No because we are dependent on these monitors to a degree to tell us whether or not to be ok with things. No because we have been learning so much on a daily basis from the amazing nurses at the Rose NICU. No because he's still a preemie and he still desats and he still bradys (only during feeds, which doesn't count against him) albeit he only does these very rarely and he's made amazing progress in these departments.
Unfortunately I will be out of town on business all of next week. Luckily, my mom is in town and will be stepping in to help Sandy and Carter adjust to homelife. We are very grateful for her help but I would most certainly like to be here too.
On another upside, Carter met his great grandma and his great grandpap today. They both are up here with my parents and can't get enough of Carter. Carter has a way of bringing people to tears when he meets them and today's introduction was no exception. I am still in awe every time I lay eyes on him and I can only imagine how his great grandparents feel having met their only great grandchild today. We are overjoyed that they and my parents are here.
His eye exam came back normal today. On a scale of 0-5, with 5 being the worst and most irregular, Carter scored a 0.5. This is great news because 99.9% of the babies that share Carter's eye stats end up with normal vision. The exam itself however was brutal to listen to. He had some guttural screams during the exam that almost brought his mother and I to tears. It was over quickly however and for that we're thankful.
All he has to do at this point is pass his 90 minute car seat test (more on that when it happens), continue to not Brady, and recover well after his circumcision on Saturday in order to be cleared for discharge. Pray for him and that all goes well. We'll keep you informed.
Nick & Sandy
