Baggage 2

The previous post should have been saved as a draft before posting because I left out a couple of things.  In order to feel more at home, I brought a couple of my favorite tea cups/mugs and insulated travel cup.  In my room I have displayed some cards and notes of encouragement received from family and friends.  I keep my favorite treat on hand, Hershey's dark chocolate kisses, and have other favorite food available.  Yesterday I brought back some notecards and stamps so I can write to friends the old-fashioned way.

Randy told me about a friend of a friend who also travels to care for a grandchild each week, from Sacramento to Reno.  She finds it hard to live in someone else's house; I wonder if she is with her daughter or her son.  That might make a difference.  Or maybe she just misses being able to do things her own way.

Baggage

 People asked me what I would take with me on this "move" to Phoenix.  Clothes--both long- and short-sleeved shirts, jeans and shorts, sandals, walking shoes, sweater, sweatshirt (not yet worn), pj's, robe, slippers, undies and socks for about a week.  I have a full set of toiletries that I just leave here, making my flights much simpler.  Supplies of calcium tablets and Tylenol also came.  When I return here after being in Alameda, I've been wearing the same pants but a different shirt.  I brought my knitting (I'm making a pair of socks), fabric scraps to begin a quilt, choir music to practice, my French horn mouthpiece and some music to use with E's horn (not used yet), and my iPad for email, Words with Friends, and such.  I have crossword puzzles and sudoku, my Bible, and a notebook to journal in.  With my Alameda Free Library card I am able to check out e-books, and E has a nice collection of books I haven't read.  In my room is a TV with access to Netflix streaming for TV and movies.  If I need anything, there's a Target a couple of blocks away, as well as a CVS.

So far I haven't missed having anything.  While it might be a nuisance to bring additional big items from home, small things are easy to fit in the messenger bag I travel with, which has numerous pockets.

To nap or not to nap

Yesterday was one of those days when little e didn't want to nap, or at least not for more than 45 minutes at a time.  At one point she was asleep in my arms, and I was praying for her and her parents.  Then the alarm on my phone sounded, reminding me to give her the 2:00 medicine.  K can do this without waking her; I can't.  We'll see how today goes.

Routine

It seems like those days in the hospital haven't made a lot of difference as far as E's routine goes.  She's eating and sleeping about the same as before.  When I went to get her after her last nap, she had managed to turn 90 degrees and was lying across the crib.  Something new almost every day!

I wish I could remember more about my early days as a mother.  I'm sure I talked a lot to our girls and read to them, but I don't recall an emphasis on "tummy time."  So far I am enjoying the challenge of figuring out what e needs and how to soothe her.  We have conversations and play with her toys.  And of course we read and sing.  

Today I got out E's sewing machine and began to make the blocks for Dancing Nine-Patch, a baby quilt.  And I did my laundry (clothes and bedding).

Home!

We just brought little e home from the hospital.  She is taking bottles easily, and soon her mom will try nursing her.  Doctor said cough will probably linger and gave suggestions for the next few days.  It's certainly an answer to prayer.  Thanks to all of you who held her in your thoughts and prayers.

I feel like I'm getting an insider's look at this little family, and I like what I see.

Getting better

Little e is still in the hospital, but she is improving.  It looks like she will stay till Monday or Tuesday.  She must be able to eat and to breathe smoothly without the oxygen feed.  Suctioning continues, and her lungs are clearer as a result.  K uses his phone to play the lullaby music she hears at home when it's nap time, and we all talk to her.  It is difficult to pick her up with the various tubes connecting her to monitors and such.  The care staff at Cardon Children's Hospital are kind and friendly.

I've had a busy day here at home, and tomorrow will also be full before I fly back.  But Randy and I took a nice walk, and he encouraged me to remember we are in a period of transition, learning how this new life will work.  While he did do laundry this week, he didn't get to the grocery store so he's running low on bread and milk.  His meal plan seems to be working fine, fixing a large batch of beans for soup every few days.

Breathing

Today did not go as planned.  Instead of sewing or practicing, I spent the day at the hospital.  K, E and I took little e to the ER before 8 this morning, where she was diagnosed with bronchiolitis and RSV then admitted to the hospital for at least 24 hours observation.  Her parents are staying with her overnight, but I came back to the house to take care of the dog.  It is so hard to hear a baby struggle to breathe.  But it wasn't all tears.  e did smile sometimes, though not so much while the nurse suctioned her nasal passages.  Ironically, when E was 4 months old, she also spent a few days in the hospital with bronchiolitis.

We take breathing for granted sometimes, but it doesn't take much to interrupt it.  A microscopic virus can have serious consequences.