The big day finally arrived — the pediatrician cleared James for discharge first thing this morning. It was with great joy that I took that final hospital shower and at last donned the ONE outfit I’d packed in my labor bag on the assumption that we’d be in and out of the hospital in the span of a day or two. Chris, Nana and Maddi spent the morning readying the house and doing some last-minute baby shopping, and I snuggled with my dear little boy and downed my very last hospital meal.
After a stop by the nursery for a carseat check, we headed down and Chris brought the car around front and snapped the baby in next to Maddi for the first time. His curious sister kept lifting the quilt to sneak delighted peeks at her brand-new brother. I was sitting in back to referee any potential jealous outbursts, but the little ones were perfectly cordial to each other. Maddi tried to hold James’ hand, and James snuffled and gurgled his hellos.
Our first day home was much easier than I’d thought. James spends so much of his time sleeping that I managed to spend lots of quality time with his sister, and Maddi’s been so excited about the baby for so long that the only thing I had to worry about was her smothering him in kisses. While we were in the hospital, Chris scoured the local shops for preemie outfits and James came home to quite the wardrobe. Even the 3-5 pound clothes look big on him, but we’re sure he’ll grow into them soon enough with the way he’s been eating. His release weight was 5 lbs 8 oz, just 4 oz shy of his birth weight, and he’s been eating like a superstar.
To a person, we are delighted to have James home at last. Today was one of the happiest days of my life.