Finally HOME!

We are finally home now after having our sweet baby boy. Nicholas Alma was born on Jan. 21. 2011. His initials are NAC and since his name is Nick we've already started calling him our little Nic-Nac (knick-knack) Hee,hee! Unfortunately, during the C-section he inhaled WAAAAAY too much amniotic fluid which made his lungs sticky and got him a ticket straight to the new NICU at the hospital. They had to intubate him and put a drug called "surfactant" into his lungs to help them clear it all out. This worked beautifully but now that he was in the NICU he had to "graduate" out. Which meant he had to practically behave a hundred times healthier than a normal baby before they'd let him come home! It seemed to take forever, and I HATED coming home without a baby! This was the first time that had happened to us, even with Gabe being a month early, he got to come home with us. Anyway, he got to come home on Thursday and we are SOOOO happy to have him home. I don't think there is a baby in the world more adored by his siblings than this one is. They talk to him in sweet sing-song voices, and beg to hold him. Gabe just stares at him for forever at a time, and then says things like "mom, every time I say 'Baby Nick it's your big brother Gabe', he smiles at me!" Will just laughs at everything he does, and every movement he makes. I think he's told me about 500 hundred times that baby "Nik-kiss" doesn't have any "teef" - which he remembers every time he sees him yawn or open his mouth. :) The big boys were INCREDIBLE while we were going back and forth to the hospital a billion times. I'm so thankful that they are off-track right now and were able to help so much and also to enjoy some time with their baby brother before going back to school! Now that he's home he is doing great, and adjusting to the noise and environment here perfectly. I told Mark that once I got this baby away from all his NICU nurses and home that I didn't plan on putting him down for weeks. I think Nicholas understood that because when we DO put him down, as in once or twice a day, he fusses and squirms like we've just laid him in a cactus tree, then we pick him up and cradle him and he is out like a light and will sleep for HOURS! A little spoiled? Yes. Do I plan on un-spoiling him anytime soon? NO WAY! This is my last baby, and I feel like it's already going too fast. He's 11 days old today!! He's only going to be "fold-in-half" tiny for another week or so. Pretty soon he'll be smiling, laughing, crawling! I really don't want to rush it - so I'm just as happy to sit and hold him as he is to sit and be held.

Mark was absolutely AMAZING as always with this baby. He took a week off and had this house running like a well-oiled machine. He had a laundry day, a vacuuming day, a toilet scrubbing day, floor scrubbing day, etc. The boys were cleaner (maybe not as cutely dressed?) than they've ever been, and so happy and content. He was so patient and loving with them and let them all trade off on sleeping in the big bed while I was gone. I told him they were going to be mad at me when I came home and messed everything up for them! When we brought Nicholas home he waited on the two of us hand and foot until yesterday when he had to go back to work. *sniff* We miss him SO much already!

My mom came in on Sunday, and has been filling the job of new servant very well! She keeps telling me to lay down or take a nap, and has been doing laundry, making beds and fixing lunches. We've also been so blessed with people bringing in meals. My amazing Aunt Ellen even cooked us an entire TURKEY DINNER, and it wasn't even her Sunday to cook dinner for her family! I'm not going to remember how to do anything when all my help goes away! :)

I am feeling great. I think my body was totally prepared for C-section #4. I have been able to take it really easy, and haven't needed anything for pain since the 2nd day at the hospital. I'm so relieved as it would have been even harder to try to take care of a baby in the NICU and feel horrible at the same time. I definitely think it is a tender mercy and am so thankful.

.......And the baby is awake! I will leave you with some pictures of this precious little boy. We love him SO much!