Two Million Dollar Baby!

As you might guess from the title of this post, Madeline's hospital bill showed up in the mail today. Well, it wasn't technically a bill since it stated in prominent print "THIS IS NOT A BILL" right at the top -- thank God! But it was a full accounting of Madeline's hospital stay. What's the damage? How about over $1.8 million dollars -- really. Of course, that's probably only about 50 Euros due to the incredible shrinking dollar. The good news is that I have good insurance for the babies, and they are unlikely to get repossessed. I suspect that Milo's bill will come nearer to $2 million (or more) due to his higher level of treatment, and remember that he still has to get surgery on his hernia. More than likely, Tricare will pay about 10 to 20% of the total based on the "negotiated" terms between the insurance company and Alta Bates.

The big news this week is that Milo had his nasal gavage ("NG") tube removed and he looks much better without it. Mom was on hand for several hours today, and she and Nurse Janet made sure that Milo got his fill of plenty of milk.

Milo gets ready for a hose-free feeding from Dad today.

Milo recovers from a hose-free feeding with Dad.

Mom with Milo the day before yesterday.

In even bigger news, it looks like Milo may get to come this week. We're shooting for this Friday, which would be great since Aunt Heather is coming for a visit this Saturday. No doubt Heather will be very disappointed if she doesn't get to change both babies repeatedly. Keep your fingers crossed and lets hope it all goes as planned.

Earlier this week Madeline went outside for her first walk. It was a pretty short jaunt with Mom and Dad. Maddy was in a baby carrier attached to Dad. A couple days later, I took her out for her first solo jaunt in her stroller.

Maddy departs for her first stroller walk with Dad.

Maddy has settled in pretty well and seems to like the place. No doubt she misses the 24/7 doting that she received from her nurses. But she seems pretty happy all in all.

Maddy catches a few winks in her swing.