It's been one month since this whole thing started!When I walked up to Ben's bed yesterday, I thought I was looking at someone else's baby! It took me a minute to realize why he looked so different. They had removed most of the tape and stuff from his face, and I could finally really see my beautiful boy! Ben was much happier and more relaxed without all of the things pulling on his skin, and I got to know a bit more of his personality. In fact, I think we finally started to "bond" yesterday.
I've been feeling a little under the weather, so my mom was Ben's designated holder. He was so warm and content that he actually smiled several times! Ben's new doctor walked by and commented that it was wonderful to see a grandmother doing "kangaroo care" (holding skin-to-skin). He whipped out a camera and took pictures of Mom and Ben to show how happy kangaroo care makes preemies.
While spending quality time with Jack today, it struck me how very fortunate I am. Most moms don't get one-on-one time with each of their children right after they have a second baby. But I can go to the hospital to snuggle with Ben, then come home to play rockets and trains with Jack. Last night, I listened in awe as Jack gave an entire monologue about how a fireman would come to our house to push the buttons on our TV and fix it so that he could watch Mickey Mouse again. (Our TV isn't broken--I just told him that we needed to quit watching so much TV.) After dinner, we sat on the grass outside to wait for the fire truck. It was a fun parenting moment that I probably wouldn't have experienced had Ben been home with us.
And yet I'm confident that Ben WILL come home--many of the NICU parents can't hold that hope. It's a blessing to have a small, healthy baby, rather than a larger, very sick child. It's like we're watching the miracle of creation right before our eyes! I'm getting to see what normally happens to a baby in utero during the last trimester. Every day Ben changes--his skin thickens, his eye color brightens, his hairline moves, his fingernails grow, and he looks more and more like a "real" baby. I am watching God knit together my sweet son, and I am amazed.
I've been feeling a little under the weather, so my mom was Ben's designated holder. He was so warm and content that he actually smiled several times! Ben's new doctor walked by and commented that it was wonderful to see a grandmother doing "kangaroo care" (holding skin-to-skin). He whipped out a camera and took pictures of Mom and Ben to show how happy kangaroo care makes preemies.
While spending quality time with Jack today, it struck me how very fortunate I am. Most moms don't get one-on-one time with each of their children right after they have a second baby. But I can go to the hospital to snuggle with Ben, then come home to play rockets and trains with Jack. Last night, I listened in awe as Jack gave an entire monologue about how a fireman would come to our house to push the buttons on our TV and fix it so that he could watch Mickey Mouse again. (Our TV isn't broken--I just told him that we needed to quit watching so much TV.) After dinner, we sat on the grass outside to wait for the fire truck. It was a fun parenting moment that I probably wouldn't have experienced had Ben been home with us.
And yet I'm confident that Ben WILL come home--many of the NICU parents can't hold that hope. It's a blessing to have a small, healthy baby, rather than a larger, very sick child. It's like we're watching the miracle of creation right before our eyes! I'm getting to see what normally happens to a baby in utero during the last trimester. Every day Ben changes--his skin thickens, his eye color brightens, his hairline moves, his fingernails grow, and he looks more and more like a "real" baby. I am watching God knit together my sweet son, and I am amazed.
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