Am I Dreaming?

It is 11:15 p.m. Saturday night. I got Hayden fed and back into his crib and was going to watch Saturday Night Live. However, I figured I would take a few moments and update everybody on our first week at home. As always, I have had great intentions of updating before today, however, as many of you know, it is not the easiest thing to adjust being home with a new addition! I never thought I would say this, but at times, I kind of miss the NICU. I don't think it is the NICU itself, rather the nurses and doctors who were right there by our side the entire time. Even though I didn't always agree with what was being done, we were around some of the top medical personnel in the country and they became a huge part of our life. Even though they were there to do a job, it was so much more personal than just a job. Many of these people became our friends and it is always hard when people who come to mean so much to you all of a sudden disappear.

It has been a wondeful week for the Hoskins and we hope it continues. Kelsea and I finally got the courage to go pick Tucker up Wednesday from Rome and Tiffany. Well, I went...she stayed home with Hayden! We were a little apprehensive because we knew it would be a lot more work added to our load, but we were excited to see him. We can't begin to thank the Frericks enough for their graciousness by "boarding" Tucker for a month. I know they said it was no problem and they were glad to have him, but it was just so wonderful of them to give Tucker a place to stay and a new buddy to play with at all hours of the day!

 

 Tucker definitely did not respond how I thought he would be when I got him home. I figured he would go craxzy when he saw Kelsea and tear through the house checking things out. He was far from it. However, aftet nor seeing Kelsea for 6 weeks and being at his "friends" house for 4 weeks, I am sure he was a little leary of what was going on. He really hasn't left my side (except he is in bed with Kelsea right now) for the past 72 hours. He knows he is not the "top dog" in the house anymore and even though he does "mope" around the house (not sure if that is because mroe attention is being given to Hayden or he misses playing tug-o-war with Buster every day) I think he approves of Hayden. He loves to sniff him and lay near him when Hayden is on the floor.

 

We were also very grateful for the Teels and Hackett's for taking care of the cats while we were gone and all of our other neighbors for keeping an eye on things when mom and dad weren't around. The neighbors have gone above and beyond what I ever could have possibly imagined a group of people would and could do. They have spoiled Kelsea and I beyond belief and have, and will continue to make our lives easier for several weeks. It is one thing to see God working in your life, but it is a completely different thing to see Him working in others' lives. The generosity of those around us (and those not around us) are truly an inspiration and even make me upset with myself when I think back to many different times when my selfishness stood in the way.

I tried to pay it back somewhat when we had the snowstorm the other night. I tried to help out several neighbors by clearing their driveway. I was going to do more, but the snowblower started cutting out on me after about 10 hours of use! I took it in to get serviced yesterday so I didn't get to do as many as I planned. It does look like I will have another opportunity to help others out...as long as I can pick it up on Monday!

 

I have not returned to work yet. I am planning on going back a week from Monday. I wanted to make sure that Kelsea and I have all of Hayden's in home medical "things" taken care of. This past week we had a nurse, PT (Physical Therapist), and OT (Occupational Therapist) all visit and will continue to do so in the future. The biggest reason for OT and PT is because he has to spend most of his time on his back, Hayden will get very limited (and modified) "tummy time." This could potentially have an impact on him reaching different milestones such as sitting up, rolling over, crawling, and walking. However, I know Kelsea will be his biggest advocate and will do everything she can at home to help him reach those milestones. Hayden also had his first appointment with his local doctor. Kathy Asbury, who is a Family Doctor and also goes to our church is going to be Hayden's primary doctor in Quincy. We feel truly blessed to have her as Hayden's "go to" doctor in Quincy.

 

We have also spent some time this past week with a reporter and photographer from the Herald Whig. Not set in stone, but it looks like next Sunday's edition will include a story on Hayden and our journey.

His feeds are going well and for the most part, he is taking his full amounts. We have had several issues the past couple of days with him spitting up after many of his feeds......sometimes it is several hours after he eats. I know this is a common thing and many babies spit up, however it scares me because feeding and eating is always a major concern and possible complication seen in babies who have omphaloceles. We have been charting and tracking our every single move. One more thing to add to our list, but we hope it will help us narrow down what is making him throw up/spit up his milk and that it would even turn out to be just everyday baby stuff!

I am sure there are many things I have left out as well as many people I have forgot to give thanks to. We continue to get cards in the mail and we greatly appreciate every single one. We apologize if there is anyone out there who hasn't received a thank you (whether it be text message, e-mail, personal letter, or form letter) but Kelsea has done such a wondeful job of trying to stay on top of that. As I said earlier in the week, I really enjoy typing these posts and keeping everyone informed. However, I have quickly realized that they are going to get a little thin until we get more in to our routine. Especially with me going back to school in a week, however, I promise to try my best! Since this is my "time" to be sleeping, I should get to bed. I will still cotinue to post links on Facebook when I have an update, but remember, you can sign up for e-mail notification when I have a new post.

 

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