Step-Down is a big Step-Up

First let me say this so as not to sound ridiculously ungrateful for the care Malachi has received; there is a place for the NICU and all the things they do to take care of premature and sickly babies. We are eternally grateful for the care he received before, during, and immediately after his surgery. And now we are elated, absolutely thrilled beyond words, that he is being treated as a normal baby who got his gut fixed up and just needs some time to figure out how to eat to sustain his own life.

Now allow me a moment to CELEBRATE! Yes, that's right we are talking heavenly. I haven't been yet, but Sam is thrilled. The room is huge, with 2 televisions for playing dvds, siblings are welcome for as long as they are quiet (in the NICU there was a strict 30 min policy), there is a place to sleep, a bathroom in the room (ours doesn't have a shower but there are easy options for us to de-stinkify ourselves daily), there is a pone with a direct line, and we can have our cell phones on in the room. Unfortunately, our children were exposed to the stomach flu bug Thursday evening and all day Friday so they won't be able to go until later in the week when we are sure they aren't going to come down with the flu, or that the incubation period is over and they are in the clear. As I am sure you can imagine we are taking extra precautions to make sure little Malachi doesn't come down with a flu bug. That's just not what he needs right now, at all.

Are you ready for the best part? You better brace yourselves because you might fall down dead. Guess what the nurse practitioner said this morning; "How about we see what he does in a 24 hour period as far as eating is concerned instead of being so concerned about each bottle, and how about we let him go more ad-lib and eat as often as he wants to. If your wife can get here more often it would be a good idea for her to breastfeed ad-lib as well." Of course Sam took a moment to explain that this is what we thought was going to happen as of last Tuesday and then the force feeding fiasco began. He also mentioned that the reason I was home with the other children and he was there was because I wasn't allowed to nurse him and that was just plain torture for me as well as completely confusing for Malachi. First he did a little shout and leap for joy though :)

Can we all just take a moment and shout from the roof tops please. Just celebrate something simple and completely grand in your life, like a smile from your spouse, a hug from your child, a kind act from a stranger, a good piece of chocolate, a great day at work, watching a bird be excited beyond measure for a little seed peaking through the melting snow, you know the simple things. Just celebrate something and allow yourself to soak it in, up, and all around!

And, keep praying for our little guy to start eating like a champ so he can avoid feeding tubes and come home soon. Thank you!