After almost three weeks in the NICU, we got to take our little Malachi home in time for Mother's Day weekend. I've had a lot of great mother's days, but this gift topped them all by a landslide. Not only did we get to take him home, but the other kids got to meet their baby brother for the first time! What an event that was. We brought them into Malachi's NICU room where we explained to them that he has been staying since he was born, and where Mommy and Daddy had been staying with him. Pete and I each spent many, many hours in this room with our little Malachi:
We didn't feel it would be right to leave him, so one of us was always there. The couch in the background is where Pete "slept" at nights and where I updated everyone on facebook with my laptop, where I took naps, and where Malachi learned to breastfeed for the first time. The room looked a lot different when he first "moved in." There was a big ventilator machine, a heated bed, etc. In fact, I kept track of all of Malachi's progressions and things he endured during his first weeks of life:
He went from being intubated and being on a ventilator to being on oxygen for two weeks and 12 hours before the oxygen came off and he was breathing safely on his own. He went from having IV's in his head and hands to none; heel pricks every 3 hours to none; caffeine and diuretic prescriptions to keep his heart beating and to clean fluid out of his lungs; from a heated bed and then an incubator to an open bed after he could maintain his own body temp; and from tube feedings to bottle to breast. In order to go home, he had to have a 90-minute car seat tolerance test, a 12-hour sleep study, a hearing screen, a speech therapy evaluation for feedings, and Mom and Dad had to take an infant CPR class.
Finally, all tests were done and our little guy went "wireless." It felt so good to hold him without any wires or tubes attached. Here's the white board in his room where we watched how much weight he gained or lost each day and which nurse was going to be taking care of him for the day/night.
At birth, he weighted 5 pounds, 6 ounces. He got down to 5 pounds 1 ounce during his early NICU days, and was discharged weighing 5 pounds 13 ounces! After less than a week home, our doctor's visit revealed his weight gain of almost half a pound! He's definitely eating enough and nursing very well!
We were very nervous to see how Gabie would handle having a baby in the house that wasn't him. He's been the baby for four years but being the loving little guy that he is, he can't get enough of his new baby brother. He loves holding him, hugging and kissing him, and doesn't mind sharing Mommy with him.
Just like when Gabie was born, Faith has once again resumed taking care of her dolls the way Mommy takes care of the baby. She's feeding them the way Mommy does and making sure they're swaddled up. When I sat down on the couch to feed Malachi, I began to cover up with a blanket. She came closer and asked if she could see how I was doing it under the blanket "since I'm going to be a mommy feeding my babies like that some day anyway." How could I say "no" to that?!
Dylan has been saying the word "cute" almost as much as me. He says, "It's just that everything he does is cute!" 
And of course, the teenager with the new baby. 14 years difference doesn't stop an incredible bond from beginning to form! That is definitely my absolute favorite part of having more kids: seeing the children I love so much begin to love a new child that I started loving before they even met him. My heart is filled with so much joy and thankfulness that God has done this for us. Pete's gotten really sentimental about everything lately and it is very obvious he is enjoying this just as much as me. Strangely enough, I haven't gotten any pictures of him and little Malachi yet. I'll make sure to get some soon. In the meantime, thank you everyone for all of your prayers and encouragement. We love you all!
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