Sunday 8/27

All in all we are having a pretty good run of days. Thursday night was a little long, especially for
Dad. He blames Caitlyn. Griffith refuses to sleep during the hours of 2:30 a.m. to about 4 a.m. This cuts in to Dad's sleep time considerably. He thought he was doing pretty well with it all -- until Cheryl pointed out that he had arrived at the NICU on Friday morning with his shirt inside out. Some days are better than others.
Griffith had a very good weekend despite the fact that my pride and joy and I didn't get started of on the right foot. On Friday morning, Rosa was coming to visit so that Mom could go to the hospital during the day. As I was changing his diaper and trying to get ready to go, he decided for the first time in ever to pee. And not just a little. A veritable geyser that hit me in the face, all down my shirt, all over the changing table. (He also hit himself in the face which served him right, little twerp.) So we both had to have a bath. Oh, well, as a result, he was wide awake and smelling like a rose when Rosa arrived. He seemed glad to see her -- she was pretty glad to see him, too. I'm not entirely certain, but I think she held him the whole time I was gone and kept telling him how handsome he is. Child will have no sense at all.
When I arrived at the hospital, Allan was sitting in his bouncy seat transfixed by the birds on the new mobile Cheryl found for him. He looked a little startled by them (a common reaction for Allan). The little birds were really quite charming -- think Disney bluebirds of happiness -- but he seemed skeptical. It just takes him a while to get used to new things. Allan hasn't been doing so well with the bottle-feeding. He had a couple of good days, but, then, lost interest or energy or something. He wasn't taking in enough by mouth so yesterday they put the NG tube back in. They will let him bottle feed for 30 minutes every 3 hours and what he doesn't take by mouth they will give him through the tube. We aren't quite sure how this is going to impact his coming home. They had been talking about next week, but this could delay it. How long we don't know. He could come home with an NG tube, although that would not be ideal. Even so, he has to be taking a certain amount by mouth before the docs would be comfortable sending him home. And some docs won't send him home with an NG regardless. And, of course, we are at the end of another month so the attending doctor will be changing. Again. No one seems to think that this sluggish eating is anything other than an annoyance that Allan will outgrow with time. What we are all coming to appreciate is that he seems to be content to putter along in first gear.
Yesterday, Cheryl came for a visit so that Mom and Dad could have a little time out. We had a nice leisurely lunch and did a little shopping. Just generally acted like real people. A welcome break. And, as much as I am sure that he missed us, Griffith seemed more than content to catch up with Cheryl.
In other news, we think that we have found someone to come and help take care of the boys. Miss Flora is a retired LPN who worked labor and delivery and in the nursery at a local hospital, had 5 kids of her own and has experience caring for multiples - twins, triplets and even a set of quads. Surely our two little ones will pose no great challenge to her. Anyway, she is going to start tomorrow. Once we are all used to each other, this should make it a lot easier for me to get back and forth to see Allan. And, just maybe, take a nap.