Daddy on Location pt 5 - The Return

Shooting was fun today. Man, I do love being on a set. My pals invited me to participate in a short film they were producing about a Dungeons and Dragons game that goes...awry. Drove up to Santa Barbara last night. Shared a large cabin with 25 other cast and crew, had some dinner, some drinks and were off to bed. With so many peeps, they allocated floor space for sleeping bags and air mattresses. It was like a military slumber party. Except the chorus of snores were not to my liking, so I moved my bedding...outside in the back of my SUV. It was cold...but it was also quiet!
Got up super freakin' early, like 7am, then spent all day atop the beautiful Santa Barbara mountains makin' movies! The views were breathtaking. Panoramic greenery, clouds, nature, blue sky! I think if I jumped up high enough, I could have touched the sun.

Speaking of touching the son...even though a good time was had, I couldn't wait to get back to see Clark. I've allowed myself to continue to work as long as I get to see my boy at least once a day. Luckily, my profession allows that luxury.

I made it back to the NICU just in time to change Clark's little diaper, take his temp...oh, heard he gained some more grams AND he's takin' in 8, count 'em, EIGHT CCs of momma's milk! Yay. It seems that the docs are pretty aggressive with him and I like it! He retains no residuals, but still hasn't pooped. He seems to like to save it up for a nice, big, payout.
And to my surprise, tonight's nurse asked if I wanted to do some skin to skin. The nurses are sooo different, you never know what each one has in store, so I was taken aback! My mind instantly jumped to the whole anti-bacterial precautions plastered about the NICU: "Well, I was out in the Santa Barbara nature all day...I did shower, so I'm clean...hm, I guess...well...YES!" Jeeze Louise, what's my problem? I DID shower, I didn't catch any cooties, and besides, the mass amounts of vitamin D I absorbed atop the mountain will probably do Clark some good.
I stripped, bare chest, and placed the little dude on me. Oh man...it just busts my buttons how amazing that feels. I got to hold him for over an hour! We talked. I told him about my day. Sang some songs to him (a little Tenacious D this time). Dozed here and there, cuz I'm pretty friggin' tired. Then, regretfully, I had to have him placed back in his Giraffe so daddy could blog and catch some ZZZs.
After I finished washing my hands...again...I returned to find that the nurse yanked the feeding tube from Clark's belly (he had already done most of it himself) in anticipation to replace it, this time more comfortably. It was loose and he was gagging on it from time to time...so her wanting to replace it was a good thing.
This was the first time I saw Clark's mouth...empty! Just his mouth. No tube. Nothing! It was so uplifting. I watched as he fussed and stuck his wrist in his mouth, then a couple of fingers...(I took a picture...will post later...too tired.) then I assisted and inserted his binky. He had actually been lifting and turning his head and trying to pull the canula from his nose. The pacifier seemed to, well, pacify.

So here I am, in the NICU Library, alone...and about to go horizontal for a few winks.

Great day!

Great night!

I'm so a daddy! Rock!