May 13 - 15

My favorite spring picnic spot, beneath the flowering trees.  Times like this with my family mean so much to me, even when our stress levels make them less picture perfect than they ought to be.

Mostly quiet and peaceful. She is nearly two weeks old, and in spite of getting most of her nutrients intravenously plus still being a week shy of her due date, she has already regained her birth weight plus a tenth of an ounce-- if she had been a "normal" baby this would have been a milestone expected by her pediatrician to indicate healthy development, so it makes me smile. Justin comes up for a visit on Friday a.m., and we are both there when the nurse pulls out the Replogle (suction tube) in her nose for the first time since it was moved there the day before from the mouth. When it was in the mouth it was routine to pull it out for clearing blocks in the tube, which happen frequently, but this time when we pull it out of the nose it is SO sad because Audrey cries with pain and there is blood on the tube.... trauma. We start talking with the doctors and staff about ways we can prevent having to pull it out, and the head nurse Theresa says it should not have to be pulled hardly ever; she is shocked and alarmed that it was normal for it to be pulled out every two or three hours-- she says once every month or two. We are all worried about damage to her nasal passages. Word is passed well with continuity between shifts, and there is no further need to pull it over the weekend. Justin's parents swap places with us for the weekend so they can get in their own snuggles with baby, and we have an almost normal weekend with the kids.

My Facebook status Monday reads: Back in SLC after a great visit home. Picnic, chores, kids' homework, more chores, church, changing diapers, sorting kids clothes, sleeping in my own bed, cooking dinner-- who knew this stuff could feel SO PRECIOUS and IMPORTANT to my sanity and happiness? Made a tough day at the hospital so much easier!

Playing around on our first weekend home together.