Day 24 - In the home stretch!

Good news - they removed Micah's feeding tube yesterday! He has been eating so well by mouth that they even increased his feeds today. (He's up to a whopping 47 mls now. That's just over an ounce.) Chad spent the day here yesterday with the boys, and they told him Micah could be coming home sometime this week!!!! Looks like the little stinker will beat his big brother home after all. Levi is off his IV and back on bottle feedings. He still is not consistently taking his whole bottle by mouth, but he is taking more than he was. He is also still gaining weight and having slightly fewer tummy issues. They still have not figured out what his digestive problem is, but it might be that he just has a sensitive tummy and will be prone to gas and spitting up. Also he seems to get constipated, where his little bowels just decide to stop working. At least it doesn't look like it is anything serious - his blood cultures are all still clear. They said he is about a week or so behind Micah, so they shouldn't be apart for too long. (I hope!!!) Chad had a great time here with his boys. He fed them, bathed Levi and got lots of cuddling in. I took the girls back to our house to see if I still freaked about about going to the house. Fortunately, it went much better the second time, and I was able to get some MUCH needed cleaning done. Okay, cleaning is an understatement. It was more like an archaeological dig unearthing what had once been a home. Sheesh - no wonder I had a panic attack! What a mess!!!! Chad had spent some time cleaning and rearranging furniture (and packing away anything remotely related to my pregnancy), which I think greatly improved my frame of mind about being there this time around. Also, Sarah and Eric stopped by to help out for a while, so I put Eric to work doing the heavy lifting and hauling. There is still a lot of work to be done. The house has been sadly neglected for the better part of a year, not to mention I still need to clean out and organize the girls clothes (they have outgrown what is in their dressers, plus it is the wrong season...) to make room for all the boys' stuff! Argh!! I have a feeling life is about to get really crazy here in a little while. But it's crazy in a good way!