home sweet home

i cannot even begin to tell you how nice it is to be home.

Ben worked Thursday morning and then he drove the 4 hours up to Milwaukee. He rented a car one way from the Moline airport to the Milwaukee airport (that was the only way to do a one way rental) and then took a cab to the hospital. We basically turned around and headed for home. Natalie did great and slept for most of the drive. She did cry for a bit when we were in the middle of no where looking for an exit to stop and feed her but it wasn't too bad. We had to stop and get the other car at the airport which is on the road home so it wasn't much of a delay. We got home at 11:30 p.m. dead tired and soooooo happy to be here.

We had originally planned that I would drive home with Natalie by myself but I was so deleriously tired that I didn't think it was a good idea. And I wanted to be able to keep an eye on Natalie in her carseat and pop back there if need be which I did several times. The carseat does not look very comfortable but she didn't seem to mind too much. It's pretty much a pain to get her situated in it properly so I will be very selective in our outings.

I've gotten much more comfortable feeding and holding Natalie in her cast. The exciting news is that she only needs it for 4 weeks total. We have a return appointment to have it taken off 2 weeks from Tuesday--wahoo!!!! They told us that they younger they are the faster their bodies regenerate and heal. That totally makes sense. I was prepared for 6 weeks at home with it but this is much more manageable. Still, we will be counting the days till it comes off.

I don't know if it's because of the cast or what but Natalie has gotten out of her great sleeping routine. She did great at the hospital until she came off the narcotics. I don't think she was still in pain but I think the drugs had kept her very relaxed and she always drifted off easily. The last two nights I was up with her all night. It was back to the newborn routine where she would drift off in my arms but wake up after I laid her in her crib. Last night I didn't even realize it but Ben got up to comfort her several times in addition to me feeding her. He was nice enough to let me sleep and let me tell you, I was out cold. It was so nice to be in a normal bed again.

Just to put things into perspective for how much we have digressed in Natalie's sleep routine I will tell you that the night before we left for Milwaukee she slept 10:30-7:30 straight through (with no pacifier). She's gone that long only once before but we could always count on at least a 5-6 hours stretch and sometimes 7-8 hours. Even then she would eat and go right back to sleep. Yes, I know...awesome. So it is a bummer to be back to the around the clock dealio but hopefully we'll get that straightened out soon. Even if it's the cast that is bothering her it's only 2 1/2 more weeks and then I'm sure we'll be able to get back in a good routine.
(Note on Saturday: She's doing a little better in the sleep department although not back to normal.)

It has been so good to be together as a family again. I was away from Ben for a week and Katie and Annabelle for 10 days. too long, much too long. They seem to have managed this separation much better than last time. For one thing it was shorter but also last time I kept coming and going so I think Annabelle never knew what was going on. At least this time I was just gone and then back for good. Between family, friends, awesome babysitters, and Ben they had so much fun while I was gone I'm not sure they had time to miss me.

Now that I've been home for a couple of days it's hard to even imagine hospital life. It all seems like a dream just like normal life seemed when I was in the hospital. Very strange. I've looked back over some of my blogging entries from the past couple of weeks and as I wrap up this final update I just want to be very clear on a few things that may not have come through as I went on and on about how hard it all was:

* Natalie's surgery so far seems to be a great success!
* We are very excited, happy, and grateful for that!
* It has been worth every challenge to make this huge step forward for her.
* I would do it all again and anything else she needed. (let's hope for her sake we don't have to)
* We are so grateful for all your love and prayers and are very mindful of the support we've been given.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

I plan on posting pictures tomorrow. Just wanted to get this up before another day went by.