Ethan came home!

There aren't many fancy words or prose that can be used to share our good news.  It's pretty simple and yet one of the most joyous occasions of our lives.

Ethan came home!

We were thrilled last Monday to talk to our doctor and find out that the countdown was on.  She told us that if Ethan continued to eat all of his food from a bottle and didn't have any breathing problems, he was on track to be dismissed on Friday, Oct. 15.  She also warned us that many times one little problem can set back dismissal by a week, and that those little problems are fairly common.  So we waited each day, each feeding, each phone call to find out if he was still progressing with success, and he was.  

So Thursday afternoon Landon and I loaded up our van with all of the essential baby stuff, including the car seat, blankets, bottles, baby bag, clothes, and our own suitcases and headed north for one last time.  We completed several required classes and went out for dinner to celebrate.  That Friday morning when we arrived at the NICU, everybody knew what was about to happen because of the ear-to-ear grins we couldn't keep off our faces.  Ethan got a quick bath, was changed into clothes of his own, and was finally removed from the monitors and cords that held him in that NICU.

The staff came out to wish us well and tell Ethan goodbye, after all he had been a special guest for over 8 weeks!  And we left the hospital to drive home with our baby boy in tow.  

Now we feel complete.  Now our family of four turns of the TV, spreads a blanket on the floor, and stares at this little bundle of wonderment.  Now we play soft music and rock him to sleep.  And now, even with the middle of the night feedings, we all sleep.  

It's hard to explain our state of mind since Aug. 11 when I was rushed to the Topeka hospital.  We've had our highs and lows in life before.  This experience had those highs and lows, but it was almost as if we were in an alternate universe for that period of time.  And when we drove home on Friday, it felt like we were driving back into a normal life…comfort and stability.

To be sure, the first thing I did was unpack our luggage after numerous nights staying at different places in Topeka.  I emptied my cosmetics into the drawer in our bathroom, threw away the remnants of the travel soaps, washed every stitch of clothing in hot water, sprayed down the suitcases with Lysol, and tucked it all away to be used for a fun vacation someday in the future.

But for now we're leaving the suitcases in the closet and staying home.  For the time being, we'd rather lay on the floor, talk softly, and enjoy life as a family of four.