Home Sweet Home.

I think I'll be perfectly content never stepping foot in Centennial Women's Hospital again. Don't get me wrong. The staff is awesome. But now that 8 weeks of my life has been given to that place... 8 weeks that felt like 8 years... I am content to never go back.

We are finally home with Zoey. On April 18, we finally got to bring her home. None of it seemed real until we were being walked out to our car by the discharge nurse. She is finally ours. After 3.5 weeks in NICU, she is ours.

She is doing well. She still has some issues with feeding. Being a preemie, her suck/swallow coordination is a little off and she forgets to breathe in between sucks, so we have to help her with that and burp her very frequently. The pediatrician says it's a reflux thing she'll grow out of as well. I look forward to her growing out of it.

I'm back to breastfeeding a little more. We figured out why she kept choking... well, we knew it was because I couldn't control my flow, but we found a solution. Pump first, then feed using a nipple shield. Works like a charm. Sometimes I just go ahead and feed without pumping and she's improving. We can't give up the shield yet, but we're getting closer. Sometimes we bottle feed my milk and that is going okay... she had a horrible choking spell in the hospital on April 6 using the Dr. Browns, and we were afraid to try them again, but she's taking them just fine now...

Home life is great. I love having her. She's a good baby! She sleeps good between feedings. She only gets fussy when she can't get a burp out or when she has hiccups, which she does have all the time, but she doesn't fuss the whole time. The dogs have kissed all over her, the cats have been sniffy, but not once have I heard a hiss or growl from any of the furbabies. So far everyone gets along just fine.

I'm glad the hospital nightmare is over. People ask me how I feel about a second child. My feeling is... I want one. But don't expect it for at least 3 years. I don't even want to discuss pregnancy until then. I love my daughter and am so thankful for her after the journey we've been on together. The hospital was a small chapter in my life that I am pleased to end. Motherhood post-hospital is a brand new chapter that I look forward to continuing.

Let's hope the rest of 2010 is much better...

Sweet moment between father and daughter in the hospital