Today was much less emotional than I expected. I am going home for the first time today, and the plan is to come back to Birmingham tomorrow night with Canon in tow. I have a full day scheduled tomorrow with doctors' appointments for both myself and Canon and two visits to my school to see my students and help my substitute with whatever she needs. The plan is to leave Dothan during the early evening tomorrow and be back in Birmingham in time to put Canon to bed and go to the hospital for a quick visit with Tera. Now, I just have to get through today.
Barry and I went to a 10:30 service at Mountain Brook Community Church this morning. The thing about a 10:30 service is that it's early enough to prevent a hospital visit before church, but late enough that once the service is over and lunch is partaken, I end up at the hospital later than I like to. Basically, from the perspective of a mother with a child in the hospital, this is the worst possible time for a church service to start. At 11:30, I was watching the seconds tick by as the pastor showed no signs of letting up.
When did life become a game of clock watching for me? I think it started the day that I first came to Birmingham. Everything takes so much longer up here. It takes longer to get from one place to another. Longer to go out to eat. Longer to preach, apparently. I did try desperately to relax, but needless to say, I was eager to get to the hospital as quickly as possible to get as much time as possible with Tera before taking my first long distance trip away from her.
Barry was wonderful and, without me even thinking to ask, he offered to do everything for me - get lunch and a change of clothes - so that I could get to the hospital more quickly. God bless him!
When I finally made it there, the nurse immediately got Tera out for me to hold. I only had two precious hours, and there were other "motherly" things I had to do before leaving. I managed to get a couple of pictures before leaving.
Man, I'm going to miss that!
She's still gaining weight, up 2 more ounces to 1422 grams. 3 pounds 2 ounces.
I finally pried myself away a few minutes after 2:00. I picked up Canon in Prattville then headed home where, almost immediately upon arriving, I considered the possibility of staying an extra night. My friends would be arriving any minute to hang out, and as I said before, tomorrow is completely booked. I realized when I walked in the house what a mess I had left in my rush to get to Birmingham the first time. There were dishes from Barry's birthday party still in a box, clean laundry piled high in the laundry room, and plenty of clutter to sift through.
I called in to the hospital and the nurse surprised me with some wonderful news. Tera's oxygen, at 33% when I left, was now down to 25%! This is the lowest it's been since its initial climb over two weeks ago. The nurse explained that she was about to call me to report the great news, but I beat her to it. Finally, some good oxygen, I mean news. Because things were going so good with Tera, I decided that I could definitely stay one extra night. It was good to be home.
It was amazing to see so many of my friends. I forgot how many and loud we are! A lot has happened in a month. My pregnant friends are now more visibly pregnant - finally! Some friends have moved; others have put their houses on the market in preparation to move. The smaller babies in our group are now enormous, especially when compared to the three pound light-weight I'm so accustomed to viewing these days. So much has changed, but it's all still remarkable. I think I spent a lot of the night in an obvious haze, either staring at people while they talked, trying to catch up, or staring into the distance thinking about my other life in north Alabama. I'm eager for the day when I don't have to fight this balance. After everyone had gone and I climbed into my own bed for the first time in over a month, I longed for that day more than ever.
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