On March 13th, 2024 we were finally able to bring Mary Grace home! After more than 5 months, 154 days to be precise (but who's counting), we finally were able to have both James & Mary Grace at home with us.

There were many doubters, haters, skeptics, pragmatists, fear-mongerers, so-called-realists, and non-Mary Grace-Knowing people out there that said she would likely be at least a few weeks behind James, given where she was at medically when James got discharged. However, per usual, MG was having none of it! Just like countless other examples, whenever MG gets doubted or put into a corner or told what her unlikely odds are, she finds a way to come roaring forward. If we were to analogize James' NICU stay as "slow and steady wins the race" then Mary Grace's NICU stay would be characterized more like racing a sail-boat, captained by someone who's never sailed before - she stayed still for long periods of time, when the winds blew there wasn't much control as to which directions things would go, but just when you think you've lost control entirely, the captain (MG) catches a gust of wind blowing in the right direction, capitalizes on the momentum, and races forward towards the finish line, surprising all the so-called "professionals". As I write this,  it just dawned on me that MG is kind of like Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean, always finding herself in precarious situations, but with a little bit of luck, a little bit of skill, and a whole lot of fight, she's always able to find the one and only way out. I can almost hear her saying on her last day in the NICU, "This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow (aka Mary Grace)!"

Anyway, enough of the non-sense.  We don't have rounds everyday anymore, so I can't provide daily updates on weight, meds, plans, and all the other things we've been keeping JR & MG's fans updated on, but to "close the loop" (horrible corporate jargon) on a few things from the last post in a rapid fire round:

• JR is over 10 lbs and MG is about 9 lbs at her last weigh-in
• They are both home on Oxygen, MG on 1/4 liter and JR on 1/16 - when the prongs are in that is, which is rare. We think he will be ready for "room air" soon.
• They are both on their thickened formula feeds still
• MG's clot treatment officially ended, so no more daily shots!
• They've got all sorts of follow up appointments to continue to monitor progress, including: OT for JR's hand, Eye doctors to follow retinopathy of pre-maturity, Audiology for MG, Bridge clinic to track premature related development goals, all the standard baby pediatrician visits,  and probably some others I am forgetting. 

All in all, they are both doing about as well as we could hope for given the circumstances. We are so incredibly grateful for their relentless fight, each and every member of the NICU team at Children's Masonic Hospital (especially our primary nurses, shout out to those of you reading this), the endless prayers from literally thousands of people, all the continued support, the gifts, the letters, the needed distractions, the kind texts, words of encouragement, the meals, the household chores, and so much more. We could have never made it to this point without every last thing people did for our family of 4 (plus sven), no matter how big or small. We will never be able to fully repay you all for everything you've done, even just following along, so thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. 

Before writing this post, I was scrolling through some of the first entries we posted and some of those updates seem like a lifetime ago.  Looking back, it is almost hard to believe some of those updates are even real when we compare those days to where JR & MG are now. It is very difficult to comprehend the entirety of everything that has taken place over the last 5+ months and I am sure it will take us a long to to try and sort through and truly process the NICU memories. There were a lot of very long, hard days filled with an endless combination of stress, trauma, hope, excitement, love, joy, fear, anger, confusion, helplessness, faith and so much more. However, in one of our earlier posts, we said that we had one goal and that was to bring James and Mary Grace home, no matter what,  and thanks to the help of so many, we can now say that we've accomplished that goal.

Lastly, I want to recall one of my favorite moments from they day James and Mary Grace were born on October 11 - We had just been told that we were not going to be able to stop labor and that it was time to have them delivered. After our stomachs sunk and we wiped away the tears, the medical staff came into wheel Anna to the delivery room, Anna and Ryan hugged, then with a slight smirk (and slightly under the influence of pain meds) she looked at Ryan confidently and said "It's in His hands" and gave Ryan a fist bump. Something about the weight of those words in that moment, mixed with the light-heartedness of a fist bump, provided the perfect sentiment that would come to shape the experiences of the upcoming 5 months. It is a moment, among many others, that we will never forget and even though James and Mary Grace's challenges of prematurity aren't over, we will continue to to trust that everything is "in His hands 👊".

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As always, if you're willing, we ask that you take a moment to once again pray the prayers below to St. Gianna and St. James the Apostle, with the extra intention of continued a smooth transition home for Mary Grace, continued growth, development, and healing for both JR & MG.