Naomi Escapes!!!

Well, the time finally arrived when we could take little Naomi Belle Robinson home with us. She was obviously ready to go, as evidenced when she was attempting to crawl out of her crib. I don't think she will miss the noise and the fluorescent lighting of the NICU, but we have had great success with her being able to sleep without us having to tiptoe around the house.

Her transition has been easier than we expected, however it has been difficult to maintain the contact with all of our friends like usual, since we are in a fragmented sleeping pattern now (Naomi eats every three hours). We are truly grateful to the staff at the UCSD Infant Special Care Unit for all of their knowledge and teaching over the past 11 weeks. It really made this transition much smoother for us. The remaining challenge is to get Naomi's brother Caldwell home as quickly as possible.

Cal has been doing very well and making progress back at the hospital. He is gaining weight, and looking good! He is scheduled for a final (hopefully) hernia surgery next week (week of March 2) and is expected to have a rapid recovery, although it means putting him back on the ventilation equipment for a short period of time. The hernia has been holding him back from making progress on his growth, as it has been providing him with a level of discomfort every waking hour of his days. Hernias are common for premature infants, and Caldwell is not alone in this situation at the NICU. It was actually difficult to lock in a time for the surgery, as there is a waiting list of preemies that are scheduled for the same thing.

So enjoy this video - we were so grateful for the help and support of our nurses and doctors at the UCSD NICU for their assistance in getting Naomi to break free and smell fresh air for the first time!

No animals were harmed in the making of this film.