Titus is two weeks old

Happy two week birthday, Titus!

He's doing really well, still, for which we are incredibly thankful. He's up to 2030 grams (4 lbs 7 ounces!), and is really looking more filled out. His legs aren't as wrinkly and loose-skin looking, but more plump-ish. Not fat, yet, but I'm sure he'll get there at this rate! He's doing really well with starting to learn how to nurse, which is really encouraging. He's got to get stronger and bigger before we'll really be able to switch to complete breast feeding, but we're on the way for sure. They upped his feeding amount to 40 mL, and will continue to raise it at increments until he's breast feeding well, at which point they will begin to cut back on his gavage (feeding tube) amounts.

The NICU was very busy today, as there are now 6 babies there. Two are bigger, and most likely won't be staying too long. It was very different having so many people in there, as it's only been the two or three babies this whole two weeks. Personally, I like it a little quieter!

As for me, I'm doing well and feeling well. I can walk more comfortably now, though I'm definitely not ready to stop taking the little pain medication I'm still on. It gets a bit uncomfortable when I forget to take it, but thankfully not really bad at all, which is a good sign of healing.

We had some friends (former exchange student who Nick's parents hosted for a year) visit yesterday and today, which was great fun to have them come see us and our place and meet our newest addition. Hopefully we'll be able to go visit his family one more time before we leave. His mom makes the BEST spaetzle noodles I've ever had and I need to learn how to make them before we leave! The kids had a lot of fun with our visitors, and Stella got to have someone new walk her down to kindergarten. They played all sorts of games and puzzles, too, which is always fun for them.

Sue and I had a CRAZY morning, which was the only downfall of the day. When I woke up this morning, I didn't look out the window for about 30-40 minutes after I woke up, and was surprised to see 3-4 inches of fresh snow! I was excited, as it looked absolutely beautiful, but a little concerned with 1. getting to the hospital on time and 2. getting to the hospital at all, with the hills I knew would be an obstacle. The driveway got cleared just fine, and we got most of the way down our crazy hill just fine, until we hit one of the last sharp curves and the brakes were not doing anything at ALL. Sue handled the car as best as possible, and thankfully we banked off a wall that was covered thickly with bushes, so no damage to the wall and just scratching on our already scratched up bumper. We did just fine from there on the main roads, and then we turned off the road onto the one that takes us up to the hospital. See, our van does not have good traction, and I knew the tires were starting to get to the point where we need to replace them. We were going along well for a few blocks until someone pulled out from a side street and started spinning out in front of us. We had to come to a full stop, and I knew it was hopeless from there. (Oh, by the way, I'm not allowed to drive for 5 more days which is why Sue was driving our van and not me.) As there was no place for us to back into and turn around, we decided to just back down the hill, but there were three cars behind us a few blocks back. Since we still couldn't get traction or turn around, we went backwards around them in the other lane. See, the problem is one of them was a polizei (police car). They turned around and followed us down to the bottom of the hill. My thought : Oh, CRAP. and: all I want to do is get up the hill to the stupid hospital so I can see my baby! (Ya know, never get in between a mother and her baby. It's DANGEROUS.) They got out and asked if we had summer tires or what, and thankfully we have all-season, even if they're seasoned out at this point. If we had summer tires, we would have been facing a hefty fine. They talked to us for a few minutes, saying how BAD our tires are (see, I've been in the hospital for the past 4 weeks. I have NO IDEA what our tires look like, nor do I really care, as I have bigger problems on my mind), and telling us we cannot drive on them. Thankfully, as I was explaining how my baby is at the hospital, I was trying to go to see him, we are planning on replacing the tires anyway, etc., they were sympathetic. Hallelujah! They instructed us to go straight home (making sure it was on the main roads and not icy/slippery side streets), and get new tires immediately. Funny thing, too, is they asked about a scratch on our bumper and if it was from today. See, they asked about the scratch on the passenger side, and we scratched it today on the driver's side. I told them no, and was telling the truth. :) I was about ready to lose it, but as they were allowing us to leave with no fine, etc., I held it together. See, in Germany, if your tires are bad, and you get in an accident, even if you're not at fault (say someone pulls out right in front of you and you hit them), you can be responsible because your tires were bad. They could have fined us anyway, but had mercy and chose not to. I was thankful, because I would have shed a river of tears if they would have made us leave the car there, and I would have had to figure out how to get to the hospital some other way, or maybe not get there at all until way later. They would have been completely genuine tears, too, not manipulative at all. So we decided we'd go switch cars with Nick so I could get to the hospital and he could get tires ordered or what have you. They will be replaced Thursday. It definitely could have been worse, but as it was, it was still not a good way to start out the day. It's good to know our car will probably be able to handle much better once the tires are better, though, and were something to happen, we won't be inadvertently liable. *deep breath* Now I think it's time for me to go to bed!