NICU reflections

A year ago Fraser was being discharged from the NICU after an 11 week stay!

Fraser in his car seat heading home Finally!

Today is not the exact one year anniversary of Fraser's discharge, that was on August 8th however one year ago we attended the very same reunion party for the NICU Graduates which happens on the second Thursday each year so this day is very significant to us and brings back so many memories. 

Fraser and Mommy at the NICU party.

Today we went back to the Reunion party for the NICU grads and showed Fraser off! There were so many familiar faces , Nurses who cares for Fraser and us, as well as moms I met during my stay and the NICU baby group moms I spent so many Thursday afternoons with this past year.

Fraser only a few days in the Red room.

As I reflect on our time in the NICU and where we were at this time last year I'm both overjoyed with how far we have come and saddened by my return to work and how soon our life will be changing.

O how I miss how sleepy newborns are.

Last year we were so excited to be bringing Fraser home finally after such a long stay in the NICU. But we were anxious, he was a difficult feeder and his weight gain was a big concern. He left the hospital at exactly 5lbs. 

Fraser and I had a long journey with Pumping to bottle
you can find that story here. 

Well a year has past and a lot has changed. Fraser is about 19lbs, I little chunker! One of the nurses held him for a bit this afternoon and could not believe how heavy he was! Short and chubby that's for sure!! 

A quick photo of my boys playing this afternoon. 

Fraser is crawling and cruising on the furniture. He is a trouble maker, getting into Asher's craft cupboard at every opportunity and pulling out all of the Workout DVDs in my stash. But he is such a happy boy and a squishy loving babe. He says Momma, Dadda, Bubba, Doggy, and Hi/hey. He waves, claps and dances too! He just loves to dance!!

Raspberries!!!

For a baby who had such trouble feeding in the early days he sure loves to eat now! He loves blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, grilled cheese, grapes, carrots, chicken and anything else we give him!

Asher the BIG Brother sure loves his little bro-ey!

Asher is such a good big brother. He was right from the get go and he is so loving.  I'm actually really enjoying this phase right now.  They are starting to play together now; Fraser will crawl to chase Asher and Asher will run away from him.  They also make faces and laugh in the back seat of the car.  I'm really going to miss being off work with both of them but we are moving on to a new phase in our life.

Asher starts Kindergarten in September (pending the teachers strike), and I will return to work.  Fraser has been testing out his new daycare, which happens to be right next door!  It's going to be a lot of changes for us that's for sure.

This past year we spent our days taking Asher to preschool and picking him up, going to the parks, library, books for breakfast program, baby group, in-law gardens, Strong Start at the school, swimming, feeding, changing, Pumping, bathing, and loving each other.  I can't believe it has gone by so so quickly.  As I type this I look over at Fraser sitting in his highchair eating veggie chips and smiling at me while he attempts to feed the dog!  My little goober.

I have about two weeks left until I start work as I'll be heading back a few short weeks, earlier than I had planned due to the unknown start date for kindergarten.  So I'm going to enjoy every moment over the next two weeks before I return to work.  We have a family trip coming up and I'm looking forward to some quality time together :)

The day Fraser came home!