We're approaching the end of our hospital stay (we go home tomorrow), so we just wanted to catch everyone up on the last two days with Evan. We've also posted the pictures from our stay so far in the hospital: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

The last two days have been great, and we've really gotten to just relax and get to know little Evan. He's really been nursing like a champ, and amazed the pediatrician this morning by gaining back some of the initial weight he had lost in the hospital. It's typical for babies to lose 10% of their body weight after birth, and Evan had gone down to 6lbs 11oz the first day, and then 6lbs 8.5oz the second. However, he went back up to 6lbs 11.5oz after a full day of nursing, and just tonight they weighed him again and he's up to 6lbs 14oz. He's also peeing and pooping a LOT, so it seems everything is going well with the feedings.

Evan is a little tongue-tied (just like his brother and his dad), which means that the frenulum that connects the tongue to the bottom of his mouth is a little tighter than in most babies, so he can't stick his tongue out quite as far as normal. However, it doesn't appear to be interfering with the nursing, so the doctors have told us not to worry about it too much right now.

He's doing very well on all of his checkups, and was very brave during the blood draw for state-mandated testing. He passed his hearing test with flying colors. So far, he has a very easy-going temperament (much like his big brother). So long as he's warm, dry, and fed, he stays very happy and content. He loves to snuggle and sleep on us, and we love it just as much as he does.

We've had several more visits over the last few days. Grams, Geema, and Seth have visited both of the last two days, and Seth has continued to be a model older sibling. He wants to "pet" baby Evan softly, and is always eager to give him little kisses on the head. Meanwhile, Grandpa Joe and Grandma Nancy visited again yesterday and got some quality holding time with Evan. Papa finally got some clear weather and was able to visit yesterday and meet Evan for the first time in person (he had Skyped with him earlier). He was very happy to meet the little guy, and Evan looked so tiny in his hands. Finally, Amy's friend Kara and Amy's Uncle Bill and Aunt Michele visited during the last two days as well.

After all the excitement of the past few days, Amy was starting to feel a little worn out, so she spent most of the day resting and nursing Evan. She also took advantage of the services in the hospital so she would be ready to go home tomorrow; she visited with doctors, nurses, and the lactation consultant, all of whom helped her. Unfortunately, there's been a problem with the heat this evening, and our room is very warm (despite it being in the single digits outside), and I'm starting to wish I had packed shorts. They say they're looking into it, so hopefully we'll get cooler around bedtime.

Tomorrow is discharge day, and if all goes smoothly (fingers crossed) we'll be home in time for lunch. It's supposed to be very cold tomorrow, so we're planning to bundle Evan up for the car ride home. It's been wonderful to nest and bond here in the hospital, but we're very excited to be back home with Seth and joined together as our new family.

We'll continue to update the blog and photo gallery when we can, though we can't promise to do it every day. Keep checking back for more updates!