Being an elementary teacher I have seen first hand the celebration that comes with reaching 100 days.  There are hats, parades, 100 treats, songs, and overall jubilation that the young students have reached 100 days in schools.  In Chinese cultures some families host a 100 day celebration for their infants’.  This is where they introduce the baby to the family and celebrate that the child has survived so long, thus showing its vitality for life.  The boys were 100 days on Monday – so how did we celebrate you ask?  Well, Carter is home and had his first pediatrician appointment.  He cried a lot while being examined.  Griffin, still in the hospital but in preparation for coming home was circumcised.  Man, what celebrations!  Poor boys!  In all honesty though, I didn’t realize Monday was 100 days.  I barely knew it was Monday – I’m so tired and busy working to perfect my multitasking skills!  But had I known I admit the elementary school teacher in me would not have been able to resist a little celebration – there would have been cupcakes and party signs for sure!  I guess I will have to save that celebration for when both boys are home.

Speaking of having them home, we are in heaven having Carter home with us.  We are so grateful to have him with us we hardly complain about getting up throughout the night and poopy diapers!  When I walked into Carter’s room on Thursday and his nurse said we could take him home it didn’t seem real.  All of those months, watching him from his bed.  Helping the nurses take care of my child was coming to a close, making Carter ours to take care of all by ourselves.  A very surreal feeling.  We didn’t tell the girls on purpose since they had been hearing Carter was coming home any day for weeks now, we knew if we told them it would just be lip service and they wouldn’t believe us.  The joy on Kennedy’s face is a joy I will remember forever – her show of excitement makes me wish I was five again and could feel such joy without  the burden of stress along with it.

Carter being home, with all of his oxygen tubing, beeping monitors and medications has been easier than I had expected.  After all, that is all we have known for our boys – wires, alarms and medical needs.  Not to mention, unlike bringing home a “normal” newborn where you may have a few encounters with a nurse to teach you all the tricks of keeping your baby happy, eating, comfy and calm I had three months!  I should write a book with all the tricks the nurses taught me, if I can’t make my boys content then shame on me for not paying attention to their insider tips.

However, the stress of not being able to see Griffin as much as I would like has been hard.  I know that Griffin is being taken care of in the NICU and I know that Carter needs me at home for his home nurse visits, multiple doctors appointments he has already had since coming home, and of course for snuggling time!  Still, I miss Griffin terribly and am counting the minutes until we can have everyone healthy and under one roof.  We hope that will be home some time at the beginning of next week or this weekend.  Griffin still has brady spells in which his heart rate drops dangerously low.  Most of these are when he is eating and are caused by reflux, which is common for preemies.  But some are when he is sleeping and without warning, these are the scary ones and the ones that are keeping him in the NICU.   Like his younger brother, Griffin will come home with a heart and respiratory monitor just to keep us on our toes and as an extra layer of attentiveness for him.  Still, these machines are not always reliable and are forever sending ear-piercing beeps throughout our home.

In the end the bottom line is my boys are 100 days old and they have only one surgery between them, no brain bleeds, no major heart problems, in fact no major problems to speak of  after being born 15 weeks early weighing only 1 pound, 8 ounces each.  So I will take the loud beeps and the long hospital stay if I have to.   A belated happy 100 days to my tiny little fighters!