1st day of the rest of our lives

First of all, a disclaimer.  I am fairly certain that the designers of E.T. had some experience with preemies and created the little alien after that image.  But hey, lots of people fell in love with E.T., right?  And boy, have we fallen in love with this little guy.

So, here's a recap of our day yesterday...

We arrived late at night to our apartment so had no idea of the beauty around us.  We opened our door to find this beautiful sight.  What a tangible reminder to start our day, a reminder that the same God who created majestic scenes like this, also created the teeniest, tiniest among us.

And then another breathtaking sight as we arrived at the hospital.  Or should I say, my home away from home for the next few months.

We met the social worker at the hospital who gave us some disappointing news and that was that Victor's birth mother was requesting that she be the only one to hold him until she leaves later in the week.  Our hearts were broken to honor her request, knowing that would mean we would go home in a few days, missing out on something special, but recognizing her pain, we agreed.

He was all covered up, resting and growing, but they uncovered him a little so we could peek.

All of the nurses kept coming to meet us.  Apparently little Victor has been quite popular in the NICU with everyone wanting to keep him.  They had been hoping for a family for him so were overjoyed to finally meet his forever family.  We had a wonderful discussion with the nurse practitioner.  She was so helpful in recapping his first two weeks for us.  So many gaps have now been filled in.  Bottom line, he is doing extremely well and she said that in her opinion, if there's going to be a micro preemie to adopt, this is the one.  While there are no guarantees, this was so good to hear.  Throughout the day we met so many of the wonderful staff who have and who will care for him.  I am impressed with their expertise and loving care.  They are cutting edge with technology and practice.  Victor is in the right place.

We had lunch with his birth mom.  What a sweet time and such a beautiful and strong young woman.  Her love for her son is so evident.  They had just begun kangaroo care last week and she was able to hold him Sunday night.  In her pain and tears, she has given her son such a beautiful gift, life.

Then back to the hospital to sign paperwork.  The first step has been taken and we officially have physical custody of Victor Noah King.  Now the process of post placement and passing ICPC and eventually finalization, can begin.  Some day there will be no more, "He's ours, but..."

By early evening (but late evening PA time), we were feeling the effects of jet lag so decided to pack up and head home.  But then the nurse asked if we could stay just a little while longer as she was going to change the bed and needed someone to hold Victor.  Not wanting to step in after I had promised his birth mother I wouldn't hold him, I explained this to the nurse.  She smiled and said that this wouldn't technically be holding, it would just be transferring.  That sounded good to me.

He smelled so good!  And his little squeaks of protest to all of this moving around were beautiful sounds to my ears.

Prayer needs:
Victor's biggest danger at this point is infection so please join us in praying against that.

Pray that he has no major complications so he can continue to grow and develop, slowly but surely.  Everything in the NICU is slow and quiet so the babies can mature without sensory overload.

Pray that we can have strength for today and can rest well tonight.  Neither one of us is sleeping well, a normal occurrence for me, not so normal for John.

Pray for the kids at home.  HopeAnne had a little missing-Mommy time at bedtime but she was able to tell my mom this morning that she knew I said I would come home.  We just keep reassuring her of this.