Chest Fat

Atticus is a very lucky boy for many reasons. One is that he inherited a bunch of clothes from his awesome cousins. This little number, however, had Dane and me in stitches. For one thing, the V-neck showed off his chest fat, especially when he was laying down. And don't get me started on the snaps at the bottom.
So here he is, watching us laugh. At first he was laughing with us...
Then it started to dawn on him that we might be laughing at him...

Daddy Time

I love watching these two. Even after a long night at work Dane can't wait to play with the little guy. And Atticus just LOVES time with his dad already.

More of the Little Man

The cuteness of this kid is seriously out of control!  Multiple times a day I find myself stopping and just shaking my head as I stare at him.  He just keeps changing- not only getting bigger (um, somebody want to tell me how you can develop thunder thighs overnight?  Cause this kid did just that!) but his hair, skin, and eye color keep changing.

Here are some of the most recent photos:

 Can't get over his smile.  For now they're still few and far between, but so worth every tear and messy diaper.  I can't begin to express enough thanks to our Heavenly Father for allowing us the privilege of parenthood.  While our road wasn't as long as I was afraid it might be, we prayed and fasted and yearned for this little boy.  I hope I never forget those feelings of longing.

I love the words of Rachel Jankovic, as quoted by Neil L. Andersen in October, 2011,“Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.”

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In case you're wondering, yes.  I do think about teaching.  I really did LOVE it.  And yes- I miss it. But I there isn't a void in my life.  Instead, I am finding my heart and capacity to love and care (and worry, ha ha!) enlarged.  As the song goes, "My cup runneth over with love."

Newborn No More?

Well, folks, this week it became official. This little dude is pretty much done with his newborn clothes! Check out these thunder thighs! We know who he inherited these from...smile emoticon

Even with his increase in stature, Atticus looked like peanut when being held by his "Uncle" Jake, Dane's cousin.  It was fun to have him come and visit.

Bobbie and the Babe

Atticus and I were blessed with a relaxed afternoon with my beautiful sister Bobbie.  She really does have a way with infants. 

Time with Grandma Toni

My mom is so adorable.  Just about every week day she heads up to the ski slope, gets in a couple quality hours, then comes down and checks up on her daughter and grandson.  It is such a pick me up to see her smiling face during this time of virtual hibernation!

Here they are while Atticus was still on oxygen:

 And here are some more since then.

Tullis time!

North, Azure and Monica got to hold the little man

More time with the Maes family...

Atticus doesn't know how good he has it.  He has amaaaazing grandparents on both sides.  Bob and Marti have done far more than I ever dreamed- and we're only two months into this parenting business.

The Gun Show

Corky and Whitney got this adorable onesie for Atticus.  It is just perfect for the son of Dane Maes.
To be honest, I'm pretty sure Atticus has his father's barrel chest, so it's likely that he will, indeed, have some rather powerful firepower in the future...  But I guess only time will tell.

Oxygen free!

Finally, after more than a month of wearing the cannula and being, for the most part, confined to the house, Atticus was able to go without oxygen on January 8.

I won't lie.  Dane and I were ecstatic.  The monitors that Atticus was supposed to wear went off all the time (because they would get displaced- not because anything was actually wrong!) and we were sick and tired of the poor little guy having tape and stickers all over his body.

My heart goes out to all of the families with children who go for months (or longer!) with these devices.  I'm so grateful that we have them, but even more grateful that we no longer need them.

Dad and Terree were some of his first post-oxygen visitors.

A Quiet Christmas

We spent a very quiet day at home for Christmas.  My family had already gotten together previously and Dane's an only child, so we had just a few loved ones over and read from the Gospel of Luke.

 It was so simple, yet beautiful.  I felt like Dane and I were able to get the tiniest glimpse of Mary and Joseph's experience on that first Christmas night.  

There's no place like home!

Finally, on Saturday, December 20, after 17 days in the NICU, and two days before my birthday, Atticus was cleared to come home!  It had required three or four grueling, overnight stays at the hospital, but we sleepy parents couldn't have been happier.

Unfortunately, while Atticus had proven that he could take all of his feedings orally, he had not yet been able to become fully independent when it came to breathing, so he was on oxygen.  This would prove to be our next major battle.  But still, our baby was home!  We tried to enjoy every moment.

Another major obstacle was breastfeeding.  Try as he might, our little boy just didn't have the strength or stamina to get enough nourishment from nursing.  This was incredibly frustrating to me, as a mom, but I have to admit that it was nice for other family members to get a chance to feed and bond with him.  This little guy is pretty darn spoiled when it comes to grandparents!

NICU Visitors

Honestly, the best word to describe Atticus's fortnight in the NICU is found in the  the acronym, itself: "Intensive."  At the time, it felt like the most intense experience of my life!  Making two to four trips to the hospital a day, and, eventually, staying there overnight was all absolutely exhausting.

Due to the flu season, we were only allowed to have four people actually come inside.  We had to "cluster" these visits to match with his feedings, that way he could get quality, REM sleep as much as possible,

We were so humbled and grateful for the outpouring of love we felt from family and friends during this time.   Here you can see Atticus wearing his first soccer cleats, booties made by one of my soccer players and her mom.

There were so many sweet, precious moments.  From feeding him to bathing him for the first time, we were just becoming acquainted with our little angel.