Amy is home but Natalie is not

I came home yesterday.  It was very hard to leave my baby at the hospital.  David and I got to hold her again after the surgery.  She’s holding her body temp fine so was in a crib and swaddled again.  I had bought one preemie outfit before she was born and she was wearing the hat that went with it.  It was barely fitting but they said it was doing the job for her.

She was very alert for David and her eyes kept searching for our faces.  I am bringing my pump to her crib in hopes that it will go better when I can see her while pumping.  The milk has come in so that is a praise.  It was very strange and not without tears to get up in the middle of the night to ‘feed’ a baby that is not here.  I’m home from church this morning to keep recovering.  My feet are swelling so much I can’t be up for long but I did manage to get some laundry done of things we want to take back for Natalie.  She can wear hats and t-shirts that open in the front and socks.  We stopped by Babies R Us on the way home from the hospital to pick up a pump so I rolled around in the store wheel chair and found some pink preemie t-shirts.

David will take me back this afternoon while the kids have a play date, I think.  Zach has been very cuddly but Julia has seemed fine.  This morning, David was having a hard time getting her to wake up and get dressed.  She just seemed that she could not stop crying.  She is not a morning person so it’s not too unusual for her.  I ended up sitting down and rocking her for awhile, though, to try and calm her down.  I think it did us both good.  My lap is getting bigger as the belly shrinks but sill not enough room for both kids with out pain for me so Zach was sad he didn’t get any ‘Mommy time’ before they left for church.

David’s going to take one more day off so he’ll be able to bring Zach to the orthodontist Monday.  He’s going to try and go back Tuesday.  He said he thought he could do it but might have to take some breaks in the car every once in awhile if things get hard.  I think David’s spoken to people at church to help create an on-line signup sheet for rides for me starting Tuesday.  My OBGYN also wants to see me Friday (1/28) to see how I’m emotionally handling everything.

Prayer Requests:

• David’s first day back at work would not be too stressful.
• That David would remain seizure free.  He’s doing great with his medicine but stress and tiredness can also contribute to seizures for him.
• That Zach and Julia will still feel loved by their parents in the midst of all the shuffling around we are having to do with them.
• That Natalie’s stomach pump would turn clear and the repair would work.
• That Natalie would be able to learn to eat quickly so she can come home.
• That I can accept this precious gift God as given us in a form we did not expect.
• That God will sustain both David and I with the many trips to the hospital and having to leave Natalie there as well as in the managing of many details of her upcoming care.