Well the time has come...... on Wed 17 March 2010 I finally went home with mummy & daddy.

What good timing because I was really only meant to be born now - my expected due date was 16 March!

My last weigh in before discharge was 3542g (7 pound 8 oz) and 46cm long ..... not bad growing for 99 days old!!

Mummy & Daddy are so looking forward to finally having me home and experiencing all those things they weren't able to do when I was first born.

Thank so much to everyone for following my progress. All of your phone calls, messages, words of encouragement and support has really helped us all get through the last few months.

Now the fun begins.

"THE END"

I'm just about ready for a change of scenery now...... I think I want to go home!

Mummy is rooming in with me the next couple of nights and I can't believe that I will finally be able to go home with them on Wednesday!

Poor mummy has been sick again so daddy has been coming in to give me my milk via bottle instead.

I LOVE spending time with my daddy!

Then just last week I decided that I didn't need my oxygen anymore or my feed tube! I'm a BIG BOY now ...... 39 weeks old!

I'm LOVING my cuddles with mummy!

I've been grazing in a pretty good paddock......
Mummy comes in 4 times a day to feed me - I love my mummy's milk and I'm usually awake and starving when she arrives.

I'm well over 3kg now (7 pound) thanks to mummy's milk!

They give me 'air tests' to see how I cope without oxygen. It would vary how long I could stay off it - sometimes 10 mins, sometimes an hour.

I still need just a sniff of oxygen to help me.

I don't look too happy here but I really LOVE my baths!

I settled in well at GV Health Shepp and have been doing LOTS of sleeping, eating & growing!

Here I am being loaded into the Ambulance ...... express service to Essendon Airport!

Next Stop: SHEPPARTON!

Here's me being wheeled out of NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).........

The 2 guys were from Ambulance Patient Transport - they drove me to Essendon Airport where we then caught the Air Ambulance and the lady - Di - is with NETS (Neonatal Emergency Transport Services) - she came with me on the plane to make sure I was okay.

Here's me all strapped in ready for transfer.......

They put little ear muffs over my ears and a tight hat to hold them in place so my ears wouldn't hurt when we are on the plane!

Guess What???? I'm back in Shepparton!

I arrived back yesterday - 9th February 2010. That's exactly 2 months after I was born!

I got to have another ride in the Air Ambulance.

It was a happy/sad moment leaving all the friends I made at the Mercy Hospital but I will keep in touch.

I'm now at the Goulburn Valley Base Hospital and have settled in to my new environment well - it's a lot smaller here and not as noisy!

Now I need to fatten up some more so I can go home. Mummy & Daddy are very excited to have me a bit closer and they are getting all the things ready that I need.

I can't wait to get home now!

I'm now in a 'normal' nursery cot that full term babies go in. I no longer have the water bed or heated mattress because I'm a big boy now - I can keep myself warm! I'm still on the low flow.

I've been here for 58 days now and if I wasn't born yet I'd be 34 weeks gestation.

My weigh in today (4/2/10) was 2047 grams so I'm getting BIG! I've nearly outgrown my size 6x0 outfits!

I seem to be getting wider rather than longer. My length is now 35.5cm.

Next move will hopefully be to Shepparton!

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE...........................

And then, after 2 days at Bed 19, I still continued to do really, really well and they moved me to Bed 42! So that's where I am now.

They have also put my feeding tube up through my nose so my mouth is all freed up now.

I can't wait to try some of mummy's milk from her. We've been 'introduced' but I got a bit tired! I'm sure we'll get to know each other better real soon.

They then FINALLY took off my santa hat and head gear and put me on what's called "low flow". I'm pretty much breathing on my own now with just the smallest amount of oxygen.

Because I was doing sooooo well and being a good boy, they moved me to Bed 19!

Along with the open cot, I'm now wearing clothes which I wasn't happy about to start with ...... but I'm used to it now!

I moved into an open cot about 2 weeks ago...... mummy got the biggest surprise when she came to see me that morning!

I'm sleeping on a nice cushioned water bed that is also heated so its keeping me warm!

Now I can really hear all the goings on in the nursery - it's great! You should hear those nurses gossip!!

Hi everyone,
You've probably been wondering what I've been up to lately???
Well I've been doing some SERIOUS growing the last 2 weeks!
Let me fill you in on where I'm up to.....................................

Daddy's get 'Kangaroo Cuddles' too!

Here I am lying on my daddy's mohair rug..... well that's what one of the Nurses called it anyway!!

I loved it and can't wait to have more of them!

Kangaroo Cuddles

We had 'Kangaroo Cuddles' with mummy & daddy for the first time on the weekend. Here I am keeping warm inside mummy's top - just like a little joey! It was so nice to have such close contact with them! Daddy is drip feeding me my mummy's milk.

Apparently I have my mummy's toes.... the 2nd toe is bigger than the first!

Muscles!

Look..... I'm getting muscles in my arms like my daddy!

One last mention about my nappy .......
here's a photo of my before & after sizes!
Big isn't it?? Or is it because the small were REALLY tiny!

Enough pictures of me with the BIG nappy on... please!!

Hamish Highpants!

I'm feeling a lot better now and so is mummy - I think we went out in sympathy with each other!

I'm even slowly putting on weight...... I now weigh 1130 grams!

I've outgrown the small size nappies and they currently don't have the med size so they've put me into these big ones. They look like Harry Highpants on me - but I guess it won't be long before I can fit into them properly! I certainly do a good job filling them up!!

I'm not always sleeping.... I like to keep a close eye (or one eye) on what's happening around the nursery!

Cuddles for Christmas

Here's me having a cuddle with daddy on Christmas Day. What a nice present!

Christmas Day

Here's me with Santa (a.k.a "Sylvie" the Ward Clerk!)

She did a wonderful job taking photos with all the babies in the nursery on Christmas morning!