Wow, we’re finally home with our girl, and let me tell you, the last 30 hours we’ve had with her have been filled with joy, tears, and monster doses of anxiety for Dad.

Yes, we did get some sleep last night. However, it was not without some drama. We were sent home with a pulse oximeter which shows Ella’s heart rate and oxygen saturation. This is something we really only expect to use while she’s sleeping, to let us know if there’s an issue during the night (and maybe during the day if she is having an “episode”).

Before falling asleep, Tina and I talked about an emergency plan. For example, what happens with the likely possibility of the power going out, which can happen frequently in Florida. If this happens, her oxygen compressor will alarm real loud to let us know that the power is out, but we would need to have a flashlight handy and immediately switch Ella over to a portable oxygen tank. I had a plan in mind and was ready to jump into action when duty called.

Well at about 4:45am this morning, Ella’s saturations started dropping and the alarm goes off. I went into total panic mode, thinking her main oxygen concentrator failed or something. So while Tina is at Ella’s crib calming her down, I’m switching her oxygen supply and I get it done in no time.

Thank God for my calm, collected, rock of a wife. She informed me that the Bun was fine, but just waked up a bit, cried a little, needed a diaper change (yeah…something every baby does). Tina didn’t have her glasses on and had no idea what I was doing, but once she figured it out, she looked at me with a look only a wife could give her husband. Our girl was fine, I just decided to have a spontaneous “fire drill” at 4:45 in the morning. After catching my breath, I chuckled a bit to myself while lying back down, and fell back asleep.

The scenario described above has been the theme of our experience so far. The amazing wife, totally dialed into taking care of our girl, and Dad freaking out over the smallest things.

I have received an insane amount of smiles from the Bun today. It started from the time she woke up at 7:30 this morning, and hasn’t stopped all day. Nothing like rewarding her crazy father with all those smiles. She’s such a sweetheart!

At this moment we’re putting her down for the night. We praise God for this glorious day, and for this precious time we have with her.

Thank you for your steadfast support for all three of us and for all the words of encouragement. Please pray that Ella will grow in her strength, that her Dad will learn to take a breath once and awhile, and for Mom to grow a third arm so she can continue to take care of BOTH her babies.

Good night all.