A New Kind of Normal

Before leaving the hospital, I confessed to our nurse that I was nervous to take Henry home.  Over the course of his 38 day stay, our new routine, while initially difficult, began to feel normal, even comfortable.  The nurse looked at me and said, "Jen, being in a hospital should never be normal.  You'll take Henry home and create a new kind of normal for you and your family."  Of course, she was right. 

Henry has been home for 10 days now, and so here we are, creating our new kind of normal.  While we have loved having him home, it isn't without its challenges.  Our new normal consists of putting in feeding tubes and checking incisions.  Our new normal means packing a stethoscope in his diaper bag.  Our new normal includes many, many appointments with doctors and specialists - at least one a day, but sometimes more.  But our new normal also includes a lot of love and a great deal of fun as we learn the joys of becoming a family of four.

Yesterday I spoke with a mother who also has a child that was born with an omphalocele.  She said her daughter was 6 months old before she really "rounded the corner" in terms of her healing and feeding.  We talked about the struggles and frustrations, the uphill battle it seems to be at times, but we also talked about how much we love our children and how they are truly miracles.  In fact, as I type this, I look down at Henry and sure enough, he has a great big grin on his face, just for me.  I can't imagine my life without him, and he is, without question, worth all extra effort.

Well, enough jabbering - let's get to some pictures! 

Our happy boy

Free from his feeding tube - on a trial basis

Brother and sister bonding

Fresh from the bathtub

A walk to Riverside Park