12 Weeks: Day 5

Got a visit from the physical therapist today. I'm so grateful that she could show me some things to do so I won't be too weak when I'm finally released!

Lots and lots of visitors. I guess that makes sense on a Saturday. :) Children ARE allowed to come right now so it's easier for my momma friends to come out. I was talking to a nurse and she said that when they weren't allowing kids in they were so strict that moms in my position wouldn't be able to see their own babies! Seriously? That would kill me. Here's a prayer request: let's pray that flu numbers stay down low enough that the hospital will continue to allow children in. Thanks!

12 Weeks: Day 4

Black Friday! Don't mind missing this madness. Today a dietician came out because so far I've lost two pounds every day since I've been here. Weird, huh? That's not sustainable. :) They're urging me to have a snack at night to add some calories. You'd think that you'd want to snack all day when there's nothing else to do, but it's really not so appetizing when you're not burning any calories! Not much else going on . . .

12 Weeks In the Hospital: Day 3

Well, Day 3 was yesterday and yesterday was Thanksgiving. What an experience! My parents deserve an award for cooking an entire dinner, bringing it from an hour away, and hauling it from the car to the third floor of the hospital. I feel so blessed! The hospital makes a special meal for the staff but it was the same ol', same ol' for the patients. Not that I'm complaining. The hospital food here is actually pretty good.

A nurse asked me last night if I was remembering to take deep breaths every hour or so. They had never asked that so I didn't know what she was talking about. Apparently when you're on bed rest like this you're at a higher risk for developing pnuemonia from fluid collecting in your lungs. Crazy, huh?

Hope everyone else had a blessed day with their families!

12 Weeks In the Hospital: Day 2

I'm starting to realize just how long this is going to be. I thought of things today like how I really wish I had a pair of slippers. I've never owned slippers but they would be nice in here. There's something gross about walking around in the hospital room in bare feet. :) I told Ethan earlier that it really feels like it has been a week so far -- how has it only been two and a half days?

Today Emmie pulled the emergency cord in the bathroom and a bunch of nurses came rushing in. Poor Em was so embarrassed.

This day actually went by quickly because there were four groups of visitors. One creative friend brought me a little pedicure kit she put together. I never take the time to use anything like that so it will be a treat!

12 Weeks in the Hospital: Day 1

As many of you have probably heard by now, I started bleeding Monday afternoon and came to the maternity ward to get checked out. What I didn't expect was that I would actually be getting checked in! My dr. shocked me yesterday morning when she told me I had to stay here until the baby was full-term, or for the next 12 WEEKS. I am really hoping at some point to be able to go home and be on bedrest there but it doesn't look likely. Apparently the risk of hemmorhage is way too high, and it can happen in minutes. So . . . for my own records I thought I'd keep a daily account of what it's like to live in the hospital.

Yesterday was the first full day. It was also the day my precious Emmie turned five. She seems so old! She, Allie, and Ethan came by last night and we had a little party in my room. (Ryan stayed the night with Ethan's folks.) Emmie got to pick out her own birthday present; she chose art supplies and silly putty. They had such fun bouncing the silly putty around the room and coloring pictures to put on my walls. Emmie declared it to be her "best birthday ever!"

Allie lost a tooth at breakfast yesterday. I had been keeping an eye on it for quite a while. I already feel like I'm missing important life details. I watched something like seven episodes of "House Hunters" on HGTV. Took a bath, which was a pure luxury after laying in bed all day. Tried to figure out childcare for my kiddos. I miss them and Ethan so much!

He's Moving Out!

The day has finally come; my hubby is moving out of our home office and relocating to a commercial building. He has been home for over a year and it has been WONDERFUL! (for the most part) I think God really provided this last year with Ethan at home to help us both recover from losing Isaac.

So what shall we do with the empty room? BABY NURSERY! I am so happy to have a project to look forward to; it makes it easier to ignore that we won't be seeing Daddy quite so often anymore. Poor Ethan probably thinks I'm thrilled that he's leaving by the way I've hauled all the newborn stuff out of the garage. :) Once the room gets done I'll have to post pictures, but I'm not making any promises of that happening quickly!

More News and Research

In the last post I mentioned that we had some more news last week. The day before the ultrasound appointment we had a long-awaited appointment with a developmental specialist. Our pediatrician had recommended a while back that we take Ryan in because of his language delay and some other things she had noticed. SO . . . the dr. kind of turned our world upside-down last Tuesday when he told us Ryan is autistic.



I debated whether to even blog about this because it is something so personal, but I feel that even if it's just for myself I need to get the feelings out there. I've had an experience with a friend already that wasn't easy. This friend, when told of the diagnosis, quoted to me from a book written by Micheal Savage, the radio commentator. His view of autism is extremely harsh. He basically said that autistic kids are little brats whose parents haven't disciplined them and who probably don't have a daddy around. WOW! Needless to say, I am very grateful for the friends who have been supportive and understanding.



Ryan has been more difficult than his sisters, but the main indicators of this have been other things. For one, his language is almost non-existent. He will say words occasionally but he has lost some of his language. I cried the day I realized he wasn't saying "I love you" anymore. He used to say "Grandma" and his full name and all of that has been lost. It's so strange. There are MANY other things that he does differently from other kids that we didn't even realize. For instance, he has never pointed at anything. That doesn't sound significant but it's an indicator. He will laugh and cry and scream at inappropriate times. (The laughing has often happened in the middle of the night.) He'll walk and run on his tiptoes and go in circles over and over. He doesn't make eye contact as well as he should, but thankfully he does make some eye contact. He also has a really difficult time processing sensory input.

I guess we have our work cut out for us as far as figuring out how to help him. I'm glad we found out now when he's only three years old. I love my baby boy!