Date Afternoon

Day of Life: 66

We woke up to a house lit only by the sunlight and cooled only by the wind blowing through the open windows. Still no power. Sae and Leslie were very generous and let us come to their house to get ready for our day. I haven't had a hot shower since Tuesday morning, so it felt good to finally have even the very quick one I took this morning. (I have had a shower since then, just not a hot one!).

After finally being refreshed, Barry and I took Canon to OLS for the last time. There really is no telling when Tera will be discharged, but I have a feeling that when it happens, it's going to be faster than what I have been anticipating. I want to know that when that day comes, Canon is at least somewhat adjusted back to our old routine in Dothan. It's going to be hard enough adjusting to a two-baby household, and I'm hoping that sending him home a little ahead of time will help make that transition easier. I know Canon being there might put an added strain on Barry's day, but I've promised to either come home for a few days or bring Canon back up here if things get too difficult for him to do alone. He's taken off from work a lot more than he's used to, and he's been working hard to make up for it. But I know that he'll love having Canon there, and Canon will love being with him. Whereas I am the Caregiver, Barry is definitely the Fun Parent, always coming up with exciting things to do. We make a good team. I'm really going to miss Canon when they leave on Sunday. Though he has his Terrible Two moments, he also has a way of making everyday so much better. He's kept my life as normal as it could possibly be over these last five weeks.

When Barry and I left OLS, we decided to spend our morning at the hospital. We've been wanting to go to the movies, and we wanted to get plenty of time in with Tera before it started. She had a pretty uneventful day today, thank goodness. She gained 9 grams (2380 grams total), still at 5 pounds 4 ounces. I spent the morning holding her. She's still taking her bottles fairly well, not finishing very many but at least trying to take a few cc's before giving in to the tube.

Barry is not quite ready to hold her. I hope I haven't given the wrong impression of him through all of this (I have been known to do that in my writing). Barry is a seriously practical person when it comes to most things. He doesn't let his own needs or emotions get in the way of what makes logical sense. What makes logical sense to him is that Tera be exposed to as few germs as possible, and that means him keeping his hands off of her. He likes to look at her, and he talks to her from time to time. It's pretty much how he behaved around Canon in his first few weeks of life so I'm really not that surprised. He loves Tera , and he has his own special way of showing it.

We left in the early afternoon to go see Fast Five. Barry and I have never been much for the "date night" movies. Those are the ones that I go see by myself at the matinee showing. We usually see the action/blood and guts or the ridiculously-dumb-comedy type together. The things I do for him . . .

We picked up Canon after the movie and said good-bye to our new friends at OLS. I hope I have conveyed to everyone what a true blessing OLS has been to our family. They have not only allowed Canon to walk right in to their facilities but have also taken special measures to help him adjust to his new surroundings. The people there have made me want to be more helpful to others with no returns expected or accepted.

Barry hung out with Canon while I went back to the hospital for about an hour. While I was there, one of Tera's nurses came by to visit. She wasn't assigned to Tera today, but she came by on her break just to hold her for a few minutes. Tera was already wrapped up and in my lap, so I handed her over easily for a few minutes with this member of her Fan Club. It made me wonder how often this happens, and it made me hope that it happens a lot. Tera thrives off of being held. I even asked the Speech Therapist, somewhat jokingly, if I could put something on her bed that said "Please hold me while I eat!" so that her nurses would hold her instead of bottle-feeding her in the Isolette. Of course, they aren't always able to get her out to feed her, either because of time or because of other babies' needs, and I completely understand that. It's nice to hear that they hold her when they do have the time.

We met Sam and Alicia at Maffiaoza's for dinner. It's my new favorite restaurant in Mountain Brook. Canon went to sleep easily when we got home, and Barry and I watched Netflix on his iPhone. I know it's horrible to want the electricity to come on so badly when there are hundreds of people across the state who lost much more than power. Still, I can't help but hope that they make it around to our neighborhood soon.