Getting Bigger!

We went to the Dr. today and Will "Little Buddy" Rooney now weighs 7 lbs! Considering he was down to 5 lbs, 4oz just 2 weeks ago, this is great news!! He's getting to be a little chunker! :-)

A little smile?



Seriously, Mom! Stop with the pics!!




I love my big sister!



Does this outfit make me look like a burrito?

Saturday Fun

Brookey and I spent the day together taking Easter pics at Picture People and chasing butterflies in the park. Little Buddy will join us for pics when he's 3 months old and can do more than sit and drool :-)

Will and Big Sister

Brooke has been an AWESOME, AWESOME big sister! So far, she seems to be adjusting to Will's presence in the house perfectly fine. In fact, yesterday she was staring at him and looked up and me and said, "Mommy? Can we keep him?" Then today in the middle of eating her lunch she said, "Mommy--we're a happy family, huh?" Kids...they say the darndest things. Everyone talked about the older sibling "regressing" with things like potty training, sleeping, etc. SO FAR, that hasn't been the case. I hope it continues!!

First walk...Will was not thrilled sitting in the stroller! He's too small for the carseat!

He Loves Being Home!

As Good As It Gets

Today was our first day with Baby Will in the house. It is amazing to finally have him home!! I prepared myself for a lot of things with this birth--not getting the epidural in time, the possibility of a C-Section, heart defects (even though the Drs. said everything was OK), having the baby come so fast I delivered on the side of the road--the list goes on! But never in a million years did I prepare myself for the possibility that my kid would not leave the hospital with us. Although it was traumatic for us, spending 2 weeks in a Level 3 NICU teaches you to truly appreciate everything you have. We met parents whose little boy was born at 25 weeks. For us, Will needed a little extra help for a few weeks and now he's fine. For them, they are preparing for a lifetime of raising a special needs child. That puts it all into perspective.

At any rate, we are thrilled to have him home!! Day 1 of Mommy-of-Two duty was pretty easy. Brooke is an amazing helper and Will is just a little angel. I'm sure at some point, the newborn bliss will wear off, but right now we're just enjoying everything we've got!!

Brookey meets Baby Will for the first time:



SOOOOO tiny in his carseat!!



Brookey is thrilled to be a big sister (finally!):



Checking out my big sister:



Two Weeks in ICU will wear a kid out:

Baby Will is Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got word late yesterday that Baby Will had graduated from the NICU!! We were all THRILLED to have him home last night--especially Big Sister Brooke! So far, he's an angel baby--he never cries!!! I'll post pics soon!!!

I Love Bathtime!!!

I am all fresh and clean now that I visited Mommy's Spa yesterday. I wasn't too happy when she woke me up from my deep sleep, but I loved the warm water and being under the heat lamps. I fell back asleep 2 minutes after my bath. Ahhhhh....life is good.

I am also eating ALL of my food and gained a whopping 2oz. last night! I am a chunker now!! I'm ready to bust out of the hospital...maybe Friday??! I think the nurses will miss me, though. I have heard them call me a little angel baby :-) I already have these people wrapped around my finger....

Also, see my forehead crinkles in the pic on the right? That is my "concerned/stressed out" look. I got it from Daddy. Mommy tells me I'll need Botox by Age 2!!

No More Feeding Tube!

Little Will got his feeding tube taken out today--woo hoo!! He's been taking all his feedings with a bottle and doing really well! We pray he keeps it up so they don't have to put it back in! He also gained a whopping 2 oz. last night.

If he continues to do well, he'll most likely be home in a couple of days!!!

Two Little Rascals

'Lil Buddy and Brookey still haven't met yet! Here they are both being silly :-)

Still in the NICU

Little Will (aka: "Little Buddy" has seemed to be his nickname in the hospital) is doing great! He's off oxygen, his IV, antibiotics and whatever other crazy things he has had to endure for the past week. All that is left is his feeding tube that he uses to get calories because he's been too sleepy to eat enough to put any meat on his bones! He's getting a lot better with bottle feeding but they won't release him until he's had 24 hour of straight non-tube feedings. Although it's heartbreaking not to have him home, I'd rather him gain his strength and weight in the hospital where they can keep a close eye on him.

Our days have been spent at the hospital--we usually come around 9:30am and go home at 8:00pm. It's a long day, but there are worse things I could be doing than spending my entire day holding and cuddling a precious bundle of joy!!! Already I am beginning to notice MANY differences between Will and Brooke as babies:

Food:
Brooke-Famished
Will-Optional

Sleeping:
Brooke-Optional
Will-he needs his 23 hours

Mood:
Brooke-fiesty
Will-have only heard him cry twice and not at all today after his cicumcision!

Hair:
Brooke: Was born with tangles
Will: Fuzz

Overall:
Brooke & Will: PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are a few pics from the past week:

Me in labor and Big Sister Brooke:



They let me hold him for one minute before whisking him to the NICU:

Still with his oxygen:


Bundle of Joy:

A New Rooney!!

Scott and I welcomed William Riley (we will call him Will) into the world in the wee hours Friday morning, March 6th--3 weeks earlier than his due date and 2 weeks earlier than his scheduled induction. He was 5lbs, 12oz and 19 3/4 inches long.

He's having a little bit of trouble getting adjusted to his crazy new world, so he's having to spend some time here in the NICU at John Muir. He's improved a lot over the last 24 hours and we'll probably be able to bring him home in about 3-4 days if he continues to do well. His lungs are fully developed, he just needs a little help breathing on his own.

Scott got to hold him for the first time today and we're trying to spend some quality time with him in the nursery. Big Sister Brooke has not been able to meet him yet, but of course keeps asking where he is!

I didn't even think I was really in labor--just kept having "Braxton Hicks contractions" every 10 minutes or so :-) My Dr. happened to be on call at the hospital, so we decided at 10pm to just drop in and get checked. He was born at 3:54am!! Even with a semi botched epidural, labor was quick and painless. However, it turned out he was "sunny side up" (face up) so it was almost impossible for me to push him out--he got stuck! His heart rate started to go down, so they sucked him out with the vacuum! Exciting stuff! And here I thought he'd just pop right out since he'd be so small. At any rate, we're all doing fine and can't wait to bring him home as soon as he's well enough. Here are some pics of him in the NICU.