Henry's Home!

We just wanted to give everyone the update that Henry came home yesterday. We've had a very busy few days. We'll be posting pictures of his last days in the NICU soon.

We had a rather stressful night yesterday, trying to figure out what our Henry routine (as far as he lets us have a routine) is going to be. Jeff is on vacation from work (starting yesterday through next week). I start teaching on Monday. It's a three hour Monday night methods/stats course for undergrads. I've taught it before (just not as a three hour course).

Bitsy, our kitten, has adapted to Henry well. She settled on Jeff's lap as he held Henry last night. Our dogs are a little concern about the change of events. They were removed from our bedroom area, starting a few weeks ago, so they are feeling a little neglected. I accidentally left the dog gate open yesterday. Roger (our lab) wandered back into the bedroom where Henry's crib is. Henry was crying up a storm, and Jackson (our very sensitive male cat) got territorial and hissed at Roger. We think that Jackson might have been playing up the paternal, protector role; he did that once when we brought kittens home for a couple months when they had been abandoned on a golf course in Philly. For some reason, Jackson really plays up the papa role sometimes and takes it upon himself to protect the young. Jackson was very sad when we had to find a home (Jenny and Jon Stromer-Galley) for the two kittens (a necessity at the time because we already had three cats in a 1-bdrm condo, and 2 additions was pushing the limits). Jackson has been very curious about Henry, and checks him out when he fusses.

My dad brought dinner to us last night and tonight. He's currently feeding Mr. Henry. Jeff thinks that Henry missed Grandpa. Grandpa didn't get a chance to feed him yesterday. As I write this blog entry, Jeff has reported that Henry has just polished off a 50 ml bottle and looks content in Grandpa's arms.

Other than that, the big thing is that Henry is sleeping well. His sleep looks much more peaceful than it ever did in the NICU. Some R&R will do him much good. We have a no TV around Henry policy right now. We don't want to overstimulate him. The new sounds (or lack of sounds) of our household is enough stimulation for now.