A Long Hospital Stay

Hello Madison,

When we last talked I had just finished telling the tale of your birth.  Having already been in the hospital since Wednesday we were ready to go back home but since you were delivered by c section that meant we had to stay THREE nights afterwards to make sure you and your mom were healthy and ok.  We moved to the postpartum wing though which meant I got a hospital bed like your mom rather than that terrible fold out chair bed thing.

The day after you were born, Saturday, my parents and my sister Erin arrived in the suburbs from the city to meet you for the first time.  My mom just couldn't stop taking pictures of you.  Unfortunately for her she's not very good with digital cameras and I had to spend a little time instructing her how to use them.  She had just gotten an new smartphone so she was trying to figure out how to take pictures with that as well.  She took so many pictures that she stopped taking pictures of you as a whole and started taking pictures of individual body parts - feet, hands, ect.

That Saturday also happened to be the season opener for my Georgia Bulldogs.  We played a cream puff team, Buffalo, which made it ok that I had to watch the game intermittently on my phone rather than on the big screen at home like I had originally planned (since you were supposed to have been born 6 days ago...).  It gave me an excuse to put on your Georgia baby hat.  We had plenty of other Georgia clothes for you but unfortunately they didn't fit a newborn so all you had was the hat. It wasn't a pretty game but Georgia won.

Midday Saturday I was able to head home with my parents to get them set up in the guest bedroom and also to steal a nap.  While I was at home your Grandparents Reining and Uncle Chris and Kathleen came to meet you.  They left before I got back though.  Really I don't remember much about that day outside of the family visiting.  When nobody was visiting us your mother and I tried our best to sleep.  Between you and the hospital staff waking us up every hour it was pretty difficult to get rested.  That night was probably the toughest your mother and I have had with you thus far.  You just would not stop crying.  We were both tired and frustrated and once your mom started crying I started crying.  Thankfully we got a nurse to swaddle you up and you seemed to calm down.

Sunday my parents and Aunt Erin (Aunt E as I called her.  Hopefully that name stuck and you call her that to this day...) came back over for more holding of the baby and picture taking.  I had to take Erin back to the METRA station around 430 and my parents went back to the house.  After that I remember going down to the hospital cafeteria and getting a fairly good sloppy joe, like a pound of green beans, and a free chocolate milk the cashier forgot to ring up.  That night we sent you to the nursery for a couple hours so we could get some precious sleep.  It wasn't alot but it was better than what we had gotten the past two nights.

Monday morning we were cleared to take you home!  After spending five nights in that darn hospital we finally got to take you to your real home.  I loaded up all our stuff (of which there was a ton) into the Honda Pilot (I wonder if we still have that car in the time you are reading this...) and made sure the baby car seat base was securely fastened to the seat while they wheeled your mom and you down in a wheelchair.  That drive home I must have driven like an old man - 10 miles below the speed limit.  I was nervous with such a precious cargo in the car!  Its not like it was a dangerous drive though - probably saw like 2 other cars the entire ride.

Finally after so long we were home!  With our beloved Madison.