The Dudley Bunch: Home Sweet Home

Aug 21, 2010

Home Sweet Home

Hooray. We are home. After sleeping in plastic hospital beds for 24 nights, I finally got to sleep in my own bed last night, with baby right next to me in her bili box. Okay, it's not ideal, the whole bedroom has a blue glow to it, but I don't even care that we got sent home with a bunch of extra equipment, and instructions to follow...I'm just happy to be home.

We got discharged yesterday afternoon and the kids had a party prepared for us when we got here, complete with balloons and streamers. The kids can't get enough of holding the baby. Cooper tried to push her out of my arms a couple of times, but we kept telling him that she was his baby sister, and we tried to let him get used to her, which he is. In fact, he was yelling "Huggy baby sisser" at me all morning. So I have to put her in front of him while he slobbers all over her face and puts her in a headlock....(she'll learn to love it). We still have quite a bit of upkeep, checking her bilirubin levels, weight, and keeping her on the breathing monitor when she sleeps, but it will only be a short time. She looks even better today than yesterday.

5 comments:

Ashley Dudley said...: glad everyone is home safe and sound. those first couple pictures look like a miracle. cooper smiling with the baby??? good news!; August 21, 2010 at 4:10 PM
Anonymous said...: She's so tiny and cute! Everyone looks so happy to have a new sister!; August 22, 2010 at 7:59 PM
Unknown said...: She is so pretty!!! I'm so glad she's doing so well and that you are finally HOME! Porter was 6 weeks early too. (Of course, he weighed 8 pounds!) His lungs were fine, but he couldn't suck swallow at all and was on a feeding tube for about 5 days (he got to do some tanning too). I'm so glad she's nursing, that'll help her get healthy so much faster! Hope you recover quickly too!!!; August 23, 2010 at 11:18 AM
Kelli said...: Congrats on getting the sweet baby girl home. She's beautiful! Let us know what we can do to help out any time!; August 23, 2010 at 2:14 PM
Unknown said...: sh'es so cute, so's cooper in his pics. love when they love them too much! good luck being home now!; August 23, 2010 at 11:15 PM

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Our Story...the short version

Tim and I met in 1994, after his mission while I was in University in Lethbridge. After breaking and entering the Prince of Wales hotel that was under construction in the middle of February, we started spending a lot of time together. ( If you need more info about our meeting/breaking and entering...call me). Tim left that summer to go to Kansas City to take some science classes for Chiropractic school. While he was gone, he managed to get another girlfriend. Needless to say, we went our separate ways...and I was a little bitter. I guess he liked me best though, because for the next two years, he called me anytime he was home on semester break. Eventually he wormed his way back into my heart, and the rest is history. We married in October of 1996, and have been blissfully happy ever since. He is truly one of the best men I have ever known, and a great husband and father. That isn't to say he never drives me nuts...I am only human after all.

Family Vacations

There is nothing better than a family vacation. We have made it a huge priority to take vacations as a family. Not all of them are extravagant. In fact, some of our favorite memories are our trips to Alberta, or to the mountains a couple hours away. But one of our family's favorite destinations is Cancun, Mexico. What's not to love...the beach, ocean, food, and company is always outstanding. We went again last fall and had a blast. The kids were all at ages where we hope they will remember it. We had so much fun playing in the sand, and just hanging out together. The kids all got to swim with dolphins, and I was happy to be the photographer...in fact I may have gone overboard with my 500+ pictures. Here are a few of our favorites. Happy Memories.

Sisters

I have been blessed with 2 sisters. I didn't always think that was such a treat, but as I have gotten older and hopefully wiser, I have come to realize that sisters make the best friends. There isn't anything...(and I mean anything), I won't talk about with my sisters. A couple of years ago, we started having our "girls weekends", and let me tell you...that is fun. Undoubtedly someone is always nursing or pregnant, but it is still a blast. I was even lucky enough last year to be part of Kami and Tonya's births. I have always wanted to be on the other side of labor, if you will, and just be there as a support. Kami gave birth to Kiyomi in February, and Tonya to Walker in July, and I was there! They were both so amazing, and it was so cool to be part of it, and I am grateful I was in a position to go. Anyway...I love my sisters! Blood and all the others I have adopted to my heart over the years.

Family

Not only are Tim and I lucky to have our sweet kids, but we are blessed with great parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews. It is funny to see how big both families are getting. There are soon to be 24 grandkids on Tim's side, and soon to be 13 on mine. It is so much fun to get together with them whenever we can, and our kids have such fun when they are with Grandparents or cousins. It is a real blessing to have so many people who love you, love your kids, and are involved in helping them become the great people you want them to be. I don't think there is any way we can overestimate the value of such support. I am especially grateful that family is always there in the tough times, even more than when it is all fun. Just want you all to know how much we love and appreciate you all, even if we are too dumb to say it very often. There you go...a full serving of cheese. But I really do mean it all!

The Dudley Bunch