Homecoming! (part 2 of 2)

Our hospital saga has drawn to a close. The home adventure has just begun.
The nurses called Mandy to let her know that Oneta Simone had a discharge order. And just like that, our lives felt complete. No longer would we have to do the swap, one of us staying at home while the other dashed off to the hospital. No longer would we feel guilty that our daughter was lying in a sterile environment, the only contact coming from caring nurses who wore rubber gloves and vinyl gowns when they came in contact with her.
Mandy called Rob's mom to ask her to come over and watch Robert while we went to the hospital. Not only was she up last night doing our family's laundry, but we ask her to do this on the day that she watches her grandsons. She hurried over to our apartment and we traveled down the 405 to the Irvine facility. We followed the protocol of scrubbing upon entering the NICU, but couldn't help do it with a smile on our faces, noting that it would be the last time we would have to do it. The nurses all greeted us with excitement, saying how proud they were of our patience and how happy they were for us. We did the final checklist, signed off on her receipt (as if she were a parcel) and loaded her into the car seat.
Once home, we were welcomed by Rob's parents, whose excitement was contagious. After they left and the babies were fed, and mostly asleep we tried to put them in the crib. They immediately woke up, and much to our delight, began to interact with each other. We wept as we stood over the crib, dad snapping pictures, laughing at their antics, and otherwise full of intense satisfaction that we were all together. At last.

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