We're halfway there!

I have a countdown calendar on the wall at home, counting down the days until Cayden's due date.  From the day he was born until February 28th was 101 days.  Today, we're at 50 days left.  As always seems to be the case, I feel like the time has gone quickly yet so slowly depending on how I think about it.  But it's starting to feel like we can let ourselves look forward to him coming home.  We even went ahead and had his new furniture delivered yesterday, and I've been spending some time putting things in his dresser, organizing his closet, and getting his room ready for his homecoming.

Yesterday's visit to the NICU was a nice one.  Cayden has gained another ounce and is 3 lbs. 7 oz. as of last night.  During kangaroo care, Nurse Valerie had a beautiful CD playing in the pod next door.  It was simply the sound of birds chirping and twittering with a stream running in the background but it set the most peaceful tone.  While holding my little bundle, I closed my eyes and easily imagined being in an alpine meadow.  I could picture Jason and I sitting in camp chairs or on the porch of an old cabin in the mountains while we watched our two boys run and tumble and play in the meadow.  I can't wait to live that day for real.  In the meantime, I need to buy that CD!

After kangarooing, Nurse Valerie took Cayden from me to put him back in his isolette.  When she lifted him off of me, she said, "Oh my gosh, look at that!"  It was an imprint of Cayden's footprint on my belly!  You could see the outline of his whole foot and each of the five wee toes where he had been snuggled up tightly against me.  I wish I would have had a camera to take a picture - it was the coolest thing!  I'm not a tattoo person, but I think that might have been something I would have had tattooed on my body if someone had been standing by with the ink!