Seven Pounds

As you may have guessed by the abrupt drop-off in activity here at the exact moment the MVP was discharged from the ICU, our free time more or less vanished instantaneously.  The best way to describe it is that we are simultaneously much busier and much less stressed out.   So let me update some important stuff and then we can move on to the photos, which I suspect is the main reason people stop by this site.

- The MVP came home on Friday, Dec 25.  Later that evening, he met all four of his grandparents for the first time.  Viet Grandma made us all a celebratory dinner of  Pho Ga.  w00t!
- The MVP turned three weeks on Wednesday.  He celebrated by desecrating my hand in a most vile way.
- He's progressing more or less exactly as hoped.  At a doctor's visit this morning, he had just edged past the critical "Will Smith line" at seven pounds and half of one ounce.  Since he's now nursing almost exclusively (we give him one bottle a day to keep up his skillz), it's difficult to know how much food he's getting so this is a big relief.
- He takes about an hour to nurse, every time.  The doctor told us this is too slow - a sentiment that was completely devoid of useful information. So we should stop him before he's done?  "No, no.  It's just too slow."  Thanks, doc.
- Nursing is like several times harder than bottle feeding - I seriously had no idea before.  Not to mention that it takes that several-times-harder burden and shifts it all to one person.  V-Train is an absolute champ for sticking with it.
- As soon as the nursing ramped up, The MVP became a total beast on the bottle.  For him, nursing is like swinging two bats in the on-deck circle.
- He continues to do new things.  Sometimes he's alert for an hour or so after a feeding, though usually he goes right back to sleep.  He's even flipped over from his stomach to his back several times (always in the same direction on our bed, which makes me think our apartment may just be uneven).  I wouldn't expect this to be a consistent skill for him for a couple more months, but it underscores the importance of not leaving him alone for a couple minutes in an unusual location because we don't think he can do something that would get him into trouble.
- Our good friends and neighbors the Chiams, who were due two days before us, had their baby today.  It's a boy!  We don't have this confirmed, but we have reason to believe the baby may be named Oliver.   Oliver Chiam is a totally awesome name and would pretty much guarantee the kid a future job as a news correspondent.
- Our friends (including the aforementioned Chiams) and family continue to be totally awesome, filling our fridge with food, installing our blinds, running our errands, etc.  Uncle Abba J even made us a totally rad New Years prime rib dinner to go, which I strongly feel should become an annual tradition.

Ok, onto the photos.

Pre-discharge - good view of the dimple, which he gets from his mom.

Pre-discharge, the MVP got his first hat.  Between the hat and the salute, doesn't he kind of look like a swabbie?

On the day of discharge - wearing real actual clothes.

Ready to go home.  Every other photo of us has been in yellow hospital gowns, making it difficult to identify which photo was from which day and driving Joan Rivers insane.

Celebration dinner - Viet style!

First time meeting Viet Grandpa (Ong), who wore a festive Christmas tie for the occasion.

Saying hello to Viet Grandma (Ba)

Abue gets a turn.

And Grandad.  Look familiar?

First extended family portrait.  As Pastor Kranti would say, it's like a Benneton ad.

It's all too much for the MVP, who can be a bit of a diva.

 

Out for our first ever walk as a family.

All the fellas in the house throw your hands up.

One more benefit of coming home: tackling the babies is strictly forbidden in the ICU.

One more thing -  I'd like to say thank you to everyone for the kind thoughts, e-mails, comments,  etc.  V-Train and I would read them to each other in our quiet moments, and they really warmed the cockles of our hearts.  And even though "warmed the cockles of our hearts" is a term that sounds like it should be used exclusively in ironic situations, in this case we really sincerely mean it.  Thank you.