Smiles and Family and Puppies, Oh My!!

Home for ten days, and what a ten day's it's been!  (In all the good ways.)

We got home last Wednesday and kinda collapsed. 

Thursday night had his brother and family coming in from Saudi Arabia for a reunion.

Friday night was the big reunion dinner, the only part we were actually able to attend.

And Saturday??

Saturday brought puppies!! 

Yeah, puppies. The ones I was expecting 5-7 days later!

Oh, boy.... (and girl and girl and boy and girl).

But Aaron is doing really well. He's gone to school and is slowing getting his strength back.  We're creeping up on his feeding rate, veeerrrrry sloooowly. No need to rock this boat AT ALL!

I took him to our local hospital for follow-up blood work last weekend and he looks about as good as ever! So that's a relief. When his doctor called me last Saturday, I had momentary panic. Obviously, Aaron comes first, way before a dog. But Sophie was in labor and I was terrified that I was going to have to figure out how to take Aaron back to the hospital and take care of her as well. Nope, just good news!  

He's even smiling and playing a bit again. Sleeping well at night, pooping (yeah, that's important too) and overall on a good trajectory. Even his sats are looking good! For those who might have been following along in the hospital, we had both pre-ductal and post-ductal monitoring going on. At home, it's only post-ductal. I mean, can you imagine trying to keep a pulse/ox probe on this kid's hand when he's feeling good? Me either. So this was this morning, post-ductal. Thank heavens, literally. 

I'm starting to process through our last stay, and it is a process. Things got really ugly there for a while. Towards the end of our visit, I had an opportunity to speak to new residents coming in. These brand-new doctors just barely got their MD. They're fresh, they're excited, and maybe a bit terrified as well. But speaking with them, sharing both the good/funny and hard experiences I think helped me as well. 

And then of course, puppies!! I was just barely starting to get my feet under me when they showed up. The first several days are "supposed" to be light on me. Maybe they were and I just don't realize what's coming. But my sweet mama dog, while very attentive to their cries and worried if they fuss while I'm weighing them, was pretty oblivious to where she was sitting or lying. So multiple times a day (and night) we had to rescue them from being squished. It was like, "oh, there's noise and wiggling under me, but no biggie." Um, yeah, it was. Finally, last night I was able to leave them alone in the room, and wouldn't you know it, she decided 2:30 am was a good time for a bathroom break. 

That's okay. It's all good. We got this, right?

They are really adorable! If you know someone who needs a cute cavapoo in their life, they'll be ready for their furever homes come the last week of August. Let me know!

"Happiness is a warm puppy."

~Charles M. Schulz