Excitement! Boo.

I had a little excitement yesterday - just enough to remind me of why I'm in here. Some bleeding, some subsequent contractions and cramping, and the alarming experience of signing admission paperwork for my baby and permission forms for the surgery "just in case."

Thankfully, it was not that serious. The bleeding was light compared to the previous incidents, and the contractions weren't strong or very regular, and went away completely after several hours. So it was just a little blip, and I'm back to normal today. It made yesterday kinda suck, though, because I'm not allowed out of bed while any contractions are going on, so I was stuck on my back all day. Ed came up to the hospital, though, and took such sweet care of me all afternoon and evening. Love.

I guess if anything the experience made me grateful I'm here. I feel fine, and there's nothing visibly wrong with me, so some days I feel cranky and resentful about having to be cooped up in here for what feels like no reason. But yesterday I was impressed by how quickly the nurses reacted when I buzzed the desk to let them know I was bleeding. Within the first couple of minutes I was out of my clothes and in a hospital gown, hooked up to the monitor listening to baby's heartbeat, ready with an IV, and they had my doctor on the phone for further instructions. It was scary, but it reassured me that I'm in the right place in case there is a true emergency.

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In other news, my mom has settled in and is taking care of things, and I feel like there's a lot less stress on everyone in the family this week. I know the guys are appreciating that she's been grocery shopping and is cooking dinner every evening. (I'm jealous! I want to eat my mom's cooking every night! Way better than hospital food.) She brings Nick up to the hospital during the day and they hang out with me, so I get to see more of him and keep a finger on his schoolwork. And she does little things for me like wash my laundry and bring it back, and pick up stuff I need from the store, so Eddie doesn't have to do those things. That means when he comes to visit me after work I can enjoy his company and not worry about giving him a list of errands to run. I am so thankful for my mom, and glad she was willing to drop everything and come here to take care of us.

And while I'm counting my blessings, here's another one - I had to have my saline lock moved again, and this time I managed to NOT pass out. I am such a big baby when it comes to getting an IV put in - I HATE it. I'm used to having blood drawn all the time (although I still don't like it), but the IV really hurts going in, and it's sore for hours afterward, and I dread it more than anything else that I have to deal with in the hospital. My nurse put the new one in at bedtime last night after Ed had already left, and he video-called me so he could distract me while I had it done. He said it was so he could watch if I fainted again. Ha. Funny guy.

More blessings:

• My nurses. They are all so sweet and helpful, and I really like them. It makes it nicer to be in here when the people taking care of me are friendly. One of my nurses in particular is exceptionally patient and knowledgeable, and goes out of her way to explain things and answer all my questions really well. The other night she sat in my room for an hour and talked to me about different things I could expect to happen in an emergency as well as a scheduled surgery, and answered all kinds of questions for me. Then she put in requests for the neonatologist and the anesthesiologist and the lactation consultant to come and talk to me about other questions I had.
• My friends. I've mentioned it before, but Ed and I have some amazing people in our lives, and I am overwhelmed sometimes by how kind people are. My friend Patti spent days with me in the hospital when I arrived here, pampering me and giving Ed breaks when he needed it. Beth and Grace and Kim have been wonderful sounding boards and let me vent my frustration in total support and love and nonjudginess. My friend and neighbor Katherine painted my baby's room last weekend. Robin has been instrumental in getting Nick to and from the homeschool co-op and events he is involved in, and rode to the rescue yesterday when I called her. All the co-op mamas have been amazing at keeping me in the loop and making sure Nick has what he needs. And our church family has been faithful in making sure all of our needs are met - for food, for transportation and overnight accommodation for the boys, and for loving care and support for Ed and me. There are so many more wonderful people who have blessed us, but I am writing a blog and not accepting an award, so I don't want to go on and on. I just love you guys.
• I got this picture of my girl with her feet up by her face at my weekly ultrasound on Monday: