A New Year

Needless to say 2008 ended with a lot of excitement for us...with the birth of Lincoln four weeks ago! Looking back to the beginning of 08, we had no idea that we would be so blessed to have a child. We celebrated New Years with Lincoln and his nurses...a toast of martinelli's to everyone in the NICU...and what else? Well, a poopy diaper at the stroke of midnight:-) How fitting.

After our wild late night party at the hospital, April and I came home to get some sleep before starting the routine all over again. When we returned to the hospital this morning we were surprised to find Lincoln in a new bed. No more big giant covered box for our kid. He's graduated to an open air...much smaller bed. April thinks it looks like a Tupperware container. All joking aside, we were happy to see that he'd made the switch because it means that the nurses have confidence in his body's ability to maintain a good temperature. Lincoln's next step seems to be learning how to eat, swallow, and breathe together. In addition to all of the other body functions, this one will probably be an important factor in deciding how long Lincoln will need to stay in the hospital.

No one knows when he will come home because it is still a matter of taking things day by day and watching how he progresses. When he was first born, we were told to expect a stay of 4 to 6 weeks. Tomorrow Lincoln will be four weeks old and the initial estimate was probably a little optimistic. While Lincoln is still doing good, we are guessing that he will need to stay an additional 4 to 6 weeks. We know that God is in control so our guess may be wrong. We would obviously be really happy about that as long as Lincoln is healthy and strong enough to join us at home (and of course put up with our energetic child named Belle)

Another highlight from our day was the fact that my sister and brother-in-law were able to stop by for a quick peek at Lincoln. Jodi and Mark were up from L.A. visiting some relatives in Walnut Creek...so it worked out great to see them for a few minutes. And no, contrary to Mark's wishes, Lincoln said "No" when Mark asked him if he wanted to do some Kangaroo holding:-) Lincoln is partial to his momma.

We're excited to see what is in store for our family in 2009. Best wishes to all of you and thanks for stopping by again!