It's official!

The boys are BOTH coming home tomorrow!!!!!

I came in this morning and there was literally a line of people waiting to talk to me. (I felt like such a celebrity.) It was just like in the movies, with each person calling out what they wanted and there I am trying to give the right answers to the right people.

"The dietitian wants to go over their diet and feeding schedule."
"Your pediatrician appointment needs to be changed to Saturday. Are they open on Saturday?"
"The car seat fit test went well, it's time for the angle test."
"Do you want them to get vaccinated today or wait for their doctor visit?"
"Micah had a *brady last night, but not severe or long enough to change the discharge. Are you comfortable with that?"
"Are you going to have help when you get home?"
"They are going to be on a special formula. Do you need a prescription for it or do you want a couple cans now?"

Through this all, my cell phone rang at least three times!!! It was so nice to actually feel like we were doing something, as opposed to just hanging out in my recliner. (Which I will miss, by the way. I was one of the only moms with my own recliner, boppy pillow, regular pillow and breast pump right at the bedside. Think they would notice if I took all that stuff with me?! Probably.)

After I was able to talk to all my adoring fans individually (okay, they're not really my fans, but it made me feel important anyway. Har, har.) and work out all the aforementioned questions/issues/instructions, I met with the neonatologist who confirmed that all the docs agreed to let them go home together, even if it meant releasing Levi early. They said it would be the least amount of stress on both the family and the babies if the transition was made at the same time instead of two separate incidences. They also said that since Micah's apnea episode happened after he had nursed and was being forced to try his bottle (not my idea!), it was more than likely a lack of coordination on his part because he was so tuckered out. So although they normally keep them five days from an apnea episode, they are willing to let him go on the third day because of the "extenuating circumstances." Levi also still had about a week and a half to go, but since he removed his own feeding tube he has been eating like crazy and gaining lots of weight. (Some of the wait was that his feeding tube wasn't going to be removed till Monday, then it would be a week after that.) He has jumped from about the 5th percentile to the 22nd in his weight, though! (Micah went from the 3rd to the 8th, and they are shooting for at least the 10th within the next month or two.)

They will be closely monitored now by their pediatrician, and I am kissing any aspect of my life that does not involve feeding or pumping good-bye. Between teaching them to nurse, supplementing with bottles (so they can get their fortifiers), and pumping to keep my milk supply up, I don't know when I'll have time for much of anything else!!!! (Like sleep maybe?) I have begged a couple of my favorite nurses to come home with them. I assured them I was secretly a millionaire and would hire them as private nurses, most notably for the middle of the night feedings that they have been handling for me so well. They didn't believe me about the millions, though. Probably the social worker asking if I had a WIC appointment yet didn't help...

Naturally I don't know how often I will be able to blog after we all go home, but I will try to keep you posted on their progress. There won't be a crew of nurses to watch them while I run and sit on the computer with a cup of coffee!!!! (So I guess I will miss a couple things about the hospital. That and the giant cookies. I'll miss those, too.) I think those days of getting a break whenever I want one are gone for a few months... okay years now!

Now just pray that nothing happens tonight. Babies in the NICU are very prone to last-minute drama when you start planning to go home, but let's hope not. The usual discharge time is between 3:00 and 4:00, so we should be home by dinner time!

P.S. Because this is still considered RSV season, the doctors told me to keep the boys at home/away from large groups of people at least till the end of April. You are more than welcome to visit us, but I won't be able to take them out anywhere where there is a high risk of catching something (stores, church, etc...) for a few more weeks. Just wanted to give you the heads up about that!

*A brady is when their heart rate slows below 100.