ex machina
the eric update - day 96: welcome home, odin!
psssst. i've updated the post - please scroll down.
he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home!
he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home!
he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home!
he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home!
he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home!
he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home!
he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home!
he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home!
he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home!
he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home!
he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home! he's home!
( more later, lots to do )
time passes.
we're home. after 96 days in the nicu i still can't quite believe that we're actually home. and despite my slight anxiety that i'd be paralyzed by fear at not having a nicu nurse at close hand, i think we're doing pretty well. actually, little odin is making things quite easy for us. he's mostly just been sleeping the day away in the arms of family members that have come to visit. his monitor has gone off a few times, but they've all been false alarms. and while there was some concern that moving home might wipe out his "reserve capacity" and bring on another round of refluxing and alarms, he has only spit up a very little bit of food since getting home. so he seems to be handling the transition very well!
regular readers might wonder how we were released so quickly without having any of the various surgeries that he may or may not need. in an amusing last minute twist the doctors changed the original plan that we discussed with them which involved eric coming home early next week after having surgery for his inguinal hernia. but it appears that scheduling for surgery is quite complicated and they couldn't get a slot for him in a timely manner and they decided that they didn't want to have him hanging out in the nicu waiting for surgery; they came back to us a couple of hours later and told us that we could bring him home today. as you can imagine we were, er, quite surprised. in a good way. mostly. so, due to the vagaries of surgical scheduling, we got to bring him home and wait for october 19th to arrive which is when he'll have his inguinal hernia repaired. with each passing day that his reflux continues to remain under control they are increasingly confident that he won't need any of the more invasive measure to stop the spitting ( woohoo! no gut tube! ).
a large number of people have asked if i'm going to continue the postings now that we're out of the nicu. i think the short answer is that i probably won't stop posting any time soon. so if you've been following along, keep following along.
as a taste of what's to come, some of you may remember that we bought a house for the snowdeal show ® with our sister-in-law and her partner and they are expecting their second child very soon. diane's due date was within days of little odin's original due day, october 16th, so things should even more exciting than ever, all the more so because she's having a home birth, which long time readers might remember is what we originally planned as well.
it's odd to think that within the next couple of days, odin - who just celebrated his third gregorian monthly birthday - will meet a cousin who is the same age, but not. or something like that.
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10/08/2004 05:08:00 PM
20 comments
20 Comments:
WWWWOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!! That's fantastic news!!! We've been watching from day one and couldn't be more excited for your family. Congratulations!
By 
, at
5:43 PM
Wonderful news! Welcome home, Odin!
NordicMamma
By , at
6:13 PM
I've been lurking for months and this was such exciting news I finally felt compelled to post! Little eric is an inspiration to us all. Congratulations to all of you for this wonderful gift from God.
I'll be interested in watching his progress and growth continue, though now that his parents are solely responsible for his day to day care I suspect the updates will dwindle. Take care of your entire family (that includes you!)
By , at
7:05 PM
Squee.
Congratulations Eric. Well done.
Here's to a healthy, happy life.
By , at
7:48 PM
This is the greatest news!!!! I have been reading your web site each day and it has been very heart warming. I am so happy that Odin is home and I am sure that for some time there will be lots of family time. God Bless all of you.
Renee
By , at
10:00 PM
truly wonderful!
enjoy!
johanna & adam
By , at
11:22 PM
YAY!!! So excited to see this tonight...I hope you are all doing well and enjoy every second. You guys SOO deserve it!
There is no place like home.
Welcome home. Congratulations.
By , at
1:58 AM
YAY
--Melody and everyone at UPenn.
By , at
2:28 AM
Hooray from all of us!!
C, J E & A
Can't wait to meet him!
By , at
8:50 AM
It's about 6:30am in Seattle and I'm currently printing everything you've written in the past few months....inspiring reading material while I sit in the NICU, waiting for my daughter to recover from ROP surgery. Claren, a truly stunning slip of a girl, was born on July 24th, 2004 at 24 weeks, 3 days. After doing a search on ROP recovery a few hours ago (after getting off the phone with the hospital...again) I stumbled on your site. I can't thank you enough for keeping this diary. As you well know, information on micropreemies is limited. Frankly, I've been reading so much that I have yet to get to the info on ROP...going there now.....
Brandelyn Bergstedt
p.s. Expect a postcard from Seattle in a few days...
By , at
9:28 AM
Yippee!!!!!!! This is fantastic news indeed! My jaw hit the floor when I read your wonderful news. I knew it was coming but I didn't expect it to be this quick. I know it must seem very sureal to have him home but I also know it is just wonderful and great. I know you guys will be so busy over the next few months, but I hope that you will have time to periodically update your website. I don't even know your family, but I have become very attached to you after reading your site every day. I would love to see pictures of Baby Eric as he grows and changes. Yippee!!! Yahoo!!!! I'm truly rejoicing with you guys and praising God for answering prayers.
Tina
By , at
9:43 AM
Welcome home Odin- to the full time care of loving and devoted parents, family, and friends. You're truly a miracle- amazing what a combination of modern medicine and a world full of prayers can do. You have already taught all of us watching on in cyberspace so much- starting with not taking anything for granted. You are surely destined for great things- here's to a healthy and happy life.
By , at
2:12 PM
hey, thanks everyone! obviously i don't have time to respond to all the comments and emails, but thanks for all the support and congratulations and well wishes.
and yes, you can still send a postcard, just be sure to use the new address. that address will be good for as long as i feel like paying for the post office box, which for now is at least 6 months ( prepaid ) :-)
gotta go, still lots of loose ends to take care of since we didn't really expect him to come home for another week...more later...
oh. and happy birthday, kati!
Welcome home, grandson! I will not be able to hold you yet since I am a long way away in Maine and I am taking care of your Great-grandma Rier. I am waiting for the day when I can visit you. To celebrate your homecoming, I have posted some keen pictures of your Pops when he came home from the hospital and broke out of the NICU. You will see me and Pops, Aunt Monica, Grandpa Snowdeal and Great-grandma Snowdeal. Boy, were we excited. I think that you and Pops look a lot alike. And look at all that hair on Grandpa Snowdeal! Give your Mom and Pops a hug and kiss for me. I will be thinking of you all every day. Love, Gwanmanman (Grandma in Creole) Sherry
By , at
7:14 PM
HOLEE CANOLEE!!!!!!
You did it! You all did it! He's home! He made there!CONGRATULATIONS!
I know you realize how truly amazing little Odin is, but I hafta say it again : HE'S AMAZING! There really aren't any words that are big enough to describe what a miracle he is. I guess 'Home' and 'Son' will ahve to do :)
Peace and love and stay-at-home-vibes-and-prayers are being sent your way, folks!
Emily in Nova Scotia
By , at
8:05 PM
Well darn...I guess I can't send a postcard with one of my pictures anymore. Oh well, it's much better that he's home. I guess that's what I get for procrastinating!!!
Congrats. :)
How wonderful that your little guy is home at last.
May God Bless you and your family.
Rebecca
By , at
1:09 AM
Well darn...I guess I can't send a postcard with one of my pictures anymore. Oh well, it's much better that he's home. I guess that's what I get for procrastinating!!! |
ahhhh, but you can still send him a postcard - just make sure you send it to the new address! the new address is a postoffice box that i rent and therefore you'll be able to send stuff to it for as long as i decide to keep paying the fees to rent the box.
Ack! I'm late commenting, but I'm really happy for you and Chris (and the little guy, of course)! Love the new photos ...
~ laura
By , at
10:18 PM
[ rhetoric ]
“"it is hard to be brave," said piglet, sniffing slightly, "when you're only a Very Small Animal." rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said: "it is because you are a very small animal that you will be Useful in the adventure before us."”
the complete tales & poems of winnie the pooh[ about ]
this site chronicles the continuing adventures of my son, odin, who was unexpectedly born on the fourth of july at 25 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound 7 ounces.
he's quite a fighter and you can always send him a postcard to the most current address listed here if you're inspired by his adventures. see the postcard project/google maps mashup to see a map of the postcards.
if you're new, you can browse the archives to catch up. and don't forget to watch a few movies that i made while we were in the neonatal intensive care unit. or if you want the abridged version and you can find a copy, you can read about his adventures in the november 2005 issue of parents magazine.
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