The Post I've been Wanting To Write

I have been waiting to write this post for a long time. I thought about this post back in April. There were several points along the journey when I wasn't even sure Id be able to write it at all. Back in June and July I was convinced that I could write this post but had no idea when. The past 2 weeks we have been itching to write this post but it kept being delayed. So today, in Gods due timing, I am going to write it.

We. Are. Coming. Home!!!!

Tomorrow.

Hadassah has been such a fighter and she has progressed enough that the doctors think she is ready. We have to check about 3 more things off our list today and she should be ready for discharge tomorrow afternoon. Then we will make the 8 hour trip back home and begin the next phase...which is being full time parents of sweet Haddie!

She is coming home with a feeding tube and an apnea monitor. She gets fed 60 mls of breast milk every 3 hours. Currently she is up to 19 mls through her bottle. The rest comes through her feeding tube. We will have to work with her to get better at that. The apnea monitor is just precautionary and we can hook it up when we want to...it doesn't have to be 24/7. Once we are sure she's not holding her breath during feeds and such we can send it back.

Last week Kate and I decided it best that she quit her current job as an accountant. It was a tough decision but we feel its best for our family right now. Haddie will have doctor appointments and we aren't sure of all of her needs just yet. We just know that Kate working 50 hours a week come January  wasn't going to be a good option for us. She is currently looking for other options that could work better for us. Thanks to Dave Ramsey, our savings, and your generous gifts we can do just fine for a while on my salary alone.

Many of you have asked what we need. We aren't really sure since this is our first time doing this! But we have registered at Baby's R Us and at Target. We have most of the basics: car seat, crib, and a swing. The rest is on the registry. We have 3 showers already scheduled: Sept 7th- Woodsfield; Sept 15th - Belpre; Sept 28th- Amherst. Also, the Belpre church and our small group have graciously taken the initiative to stock our fridge, pantry, and freezer with food for when we get home. We love these people!!!!

And so, now we begin the next part of the journey. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate your prayers, cards, and gifts. We have remained positive for the most part due to your stories and the support we have from friends and family. We are truly blessed. Don't worry, we plan to keep this blog up for a while.

Haddie still has a journey in front of her when we get home. We are excited to get started on that. We can't wait for you all to meet her. Just know that we are probably gong to be those crazy overprotective parents that makes you put on hand sanitizer and get a flu shot before you can hold her...just be prepared. It will be a few weeks before we can take her to church. So scheduled visits would probably be good at first.

We love you all and thank you for caring about our Haddie.  God is good. We thank Him for bringing us through the storm. We are pumped to get started on the next part of the journey. We will keep you updated. God bless.

Ps. That felt as good to write if not better than I thought it would!