A mischievous little grin

Today ended better than it started. I started out the day by pulling something in my back - WOW, I have never felt pain quite like that. That must be what it feels like to be stabbed. It still hurts to reach for things and to bend forward. When we got to the hospital, we fed Emma right away, and she stayed fussy for the next 2 and a half hours. In the midst of that, Dr. Troup came by and told us Emma's shunt surgery would probably be Thursday, not Tuesday, as he already had 3 surgeries planned for Tuesday. THEN he said that her discharge was probably pushed back a few days because her incision had opened up. So now, we could be looking at a total of 3 weeks in the NICU...which means we're now only about halfway through. Emary's incision scares me - she's got a hole in the middle of her lower back that's just a little smaller than a dime. Yuck. Yikes. It's gradually healing, but my problem with it is that it's healing for a second time - it was better than this last week. They/we have to pour peroxide on it every 4 hours. Not only does peroxide clean it, but it also makes the open portions of her incision harden and heal faster. I didn't know peroxide could do that, but I saw with my own eyes how fast the hole started "filling up" from the morning to the evening. At least it doesn't hurt her, though. Towards the middle of the day, I finally got the peace and quiet I had been looking for. We relaxed for the rest of the day, feeding Emma and changing her diapers, reading and watching TV. I just can't wait for another one of these Sunday afternoons...at our own house, not at the hospital.

We think we've figured out the routine Emma's established for herself...well, at least when she prefers to really be wide awake and entertained. When I told the nurse today that we think we may know what her awake and sleep routines generally are, she said, "Great, Mommy! You're already getting to really know your baby!" It felt really good to hear that when I only feel like a mom part of the time, with Emma being in the hospital and us being so dependent on doctors and nurses. Emma enjoys being entertained and held during the early afternoon - that's her time to really open her eyes and explore the world around her.

Emma was so smiley today! I know people say babies don't smile; maybe they don't smile for reasons we can identify, but they DO smile. She would tease us with this little grin for a split second, and then it would be gone...it almost made us question if we had even seen it at all! I was able to grab this one picture, though - it's blurry because I had to move fast!



And finally, at the end of a long day, at the beginning of a long week, I was able to snag this picture of Daddy longing to bring his baby home, before he knew I was taking it. This is what makes me cry tears of joy and tears of sorrow each and every day.