And I'm back online!

Okay, sorry it's been a while, but internet access has been quite scarce, and I've been busy (as per usual).  However, here's the "DL" of how the weekend went:

Saturday:  Had a good sleep in, and went to the hospital to get ready.  Lauren had her car seat test, which needs to be redone before she goes home because she lasted ALMOST the entire half hour before needing attention.  But as that was wrapping up, a hospital alarm sounded and we were told to stay in the NICU.  We had to stay there for about 45 minutes.  To this day, I still don't know why, but we almost had to evacuate the unit!  We had to grab all of Lauren's supplies, bundle her up, and grab our stuff as well.  Fortunately, we didn't have to go outside, or even leave the unit.  But once we got the all clear, off to "Care by Parent" we went.  That night, the three of us sat down and watched a movie, and just relaxed.  It was IN-CRE-DI-BLE! 

    Admittedly, Rita did the majority of the work, as she will when we get home.  I will continue to help out as much as I can and give her breaks, but she will be the primary for Lauren so it was good to have this little test run.  We had one little blip on the first night, but that was just a positioning Lauren issue.  Once that was resolved, it was smooth sailing.

Sunday:  I was woken up to Lauren being placed in my arms, and words can't describe that, so I won't even try.  Just being able to lie down and cuddle with Lauren was, well, awesome (for a lack of a better word).  That lasted for a little while until I had to get up and go to work (boo).  So, Rita and I traded off, I put Lauren in her arms as she laid down, and off I went. 

The weekend went so very well, and it was a real confidence booster.  I knew that Rita and I were going to do well, but this just made it so much more real.  It was a normal feeling having Lauren in our room as we slept.  It was normal to wake up through the night and take a peek to see how she's doing.  But there's nothing normal about our special little angel.  She's an absolute gift, and loved so very much.

We're down to a week until home time.  We have home care nurses getting trained up on Lauren, and all the pieces are falling into place.  Lauren has been such a trooper going through numberous trach changes with not only the home care nurses, but with her grandparents as well so they know what needs to be done in case Lauren's trach needs to be changed.  I didn't think  it was possible, but her support is growing more and more. 

With that, I'm going to post some pics.  The one above is Lauren's primary nurse, Steve.  I know I've had a few people asking me about him, so here he is (with his approval).  The rest will be posted in the picture section.

Thanks again to everyone for your love, support, thoughts and prayers.