Tuesday, April 11th

Weight: 8 pounds, 2 ounces

Simon is home!

After a trying series of potential discharge dates that never materialized, Mom had had enough. The plan was for Judy, the nurse, to tell Dad the night before and then confirm in the morning. Mom wouldn't find out until the morning Simon was going home in case things changed.

On Sunday night, Judy texted Danny saying Monday was the day. She then confirmed it at 6AM on Monday. When Missy woke up, Danny was still home (rather than being at work). After Danny told her and convinced her it wasn't a mean practical joke, the two excitedly dropped Seth at daycare and headed into the hospital to get Simon.

Although it was a happy day, saying goodbye to the staff of the NICU wasn't easy. They have been amazing. Simon's primary nurses, in particular, Judy, Tava, and Liz, were the most wonderful, smart, and loving women. No words can explain...

(If you are still looking to get a gift for Simon, please consider making a donation in his name to the Brigham, a place that means so much to us. Info on the registry page of this blog.)

Since arriving home, Simon has been ignored by the puppies and (for the most part) by his brother. Every now and then Seth will remember he's there and point him out to us. He covered him in a bib to tuck him in at one point. And he was willing to hold him in the rocking chair for approximately half a second. He'll warm up.

So far, so good. It is exhausting to have a newborn again, but we are incredibly happy. Simon's stay at the Brigham was challenging, but we made it through and we are so excited to finally have the whole family under one roof.

Total Days in the NICU:

95

Thanks for following along with his journey!

M + D

Saturday, April 1st

Weight: 7 pounds, 6 ounces

Simon is off oxygen and is eating all meals by bottle. There are no more tubes on his face!

The past week or so has been tricky. Simon is doing great, so the end is in sight. We have been doing all the preparations for him to go home, but he still needs a little more time to mature. We are trying not to get our hopes up too much because it still could be some time before he is home. Fingers crossed everything keeps going smoothly...

Friday, March 17th

Weight: 6 pounds, 9 ounces

Happy St. Patty's Day! Our little Jewish leprechaun dazzled the nurses today in his green outfit (see the photos section).

Simon is doing extraordinarily well! He is huge. On Monday, he switched to low-flow oxygen and has been adjusting perfectly. He took his first bottle on Wednesday morning. He loves eating and paces himself so he can breathe. Most babies struggle with a bottle after being on a feeding tube, but not Simon - we are super proud! His brother was also a stellar eater (see photos of baby Seth for proof of his eating habits).

We are overcoming some of the final obstacles, and although he is still weeks away from being discharged, the end is in sight!

With love,
The Proud Parents

Sunday, March 5th

Weight: 5 pounds, 7 ounces

Happy birthday to Simon, the beautiful baby boy who turned two months today! We arrived at the NICU today to see that he moved into a crib from his little microwave. He has a mobile with rainforest animals on it and he likes watching the animals wiggle above his head. He's been on the lowest level of high-flow since Friday and seems to be doing well. Daddy and Mommy held him today and he was wide-awake - see proof in the photos section. That's all to report for now, but hopefully by the next update he will be using a bottle and crushing it at feedings!

Till next time,
D + M

Monday, February 27th

Weight: 5 pounds, 0 ounces

Yep, that's right... Simon is 5 pounds! He's a giant compared to where we started! He loves smiling and looking around his room. He likes getting himself into weird positions because it gets him a lot of attention from the nurses. He's famous in NICU Neighborhood 1 for his crazy antics.

His breathing is improving. He graduated from CPAP last week and is now on high-flow. He started on 4 liters and was doing great. Today, he moved down to 3 liters. Hopefully he'll keep doing well and will move to low-flow soon. Once on low-flow, he'll start to learn to eat from a bottle. As always, Simon doesn't think he needs all this support and rips out his prongs regularly. He also has to wear a silly little hat that he hates and he wiggles his way out of that every time. We are so in love with this crazy little trouble-maker...

Thursday, February 16th

Weight: 3 pounds, 14 ounces

Simon had a rough patch last week. He was down to level 5 on cpap, but a huge weight gain led to concerns about his chest. A chest x-ray revealed that he was retaining fluids and his lungs we low-volume. After a few days with high levels of pressure to boost his lung volume, and with lasik to get rid of the fluid, he is back on track. We are on a level 6 cpap and hope to return to level 5 soon. His weight gain is back to normal, too. Lastly, he had another eye exam and is right where he should be.

It stunk to take a step backwards, but it seems like we're moving forward again now. We'll keep you posted.

In other news, Simon somehow found the time and skills to make us the most beautiful Valentine's Day card. We're still not entirely sure how, but we love it!

Monday, February 6th

Weight: 3 pounds, 7 ounces

Simon is doing so well! He is super pumped about last night's game - he has never known a world when the Patriots weren't the best and let's hope he never does.

Sy looks noticeably bigger this week. He gained a lot of weight and, after a transfusion last week (which is a common thing at this age) he looks pink and healthy. He is still on a pressure setting of 6 for his breathing. When he is able to tolerate it, he'll move to a 5 and then off the machine altogether. We are excited for this to happen because then we will be able to see his beautiful face again without his mask. This week he also had an eye exam. Apparently, babies born early still need to grow retinas. His is growing at the appropriate rate. Gross.

During the last two visits he had the hiccups and thought they were very funny. We got a photo of him smiling between each hiccup and it might be the favorite photo of all time.

This weekend we celebrated his 1-month birthday. Seth made him a beautiful birthday card, which is now hanging in his room. We also assembled the crib beginning the process of setting up the nursery. With one month already in the books, it won't be too long until he's sleeping in his own crib at our house!

With love,
Melissa and Danny