now that isabella is 7 weeks old, we've celebrated her one month birthday (and soon she'll be two months!!), i thought i would share some thoughts and reflections i've had on bed rest.
ok, having to lay down for four months certainly isn't my idea of how i want to spend my pregnancy. i was so frustrated after having the surgery that i was put on bed rest sooner in this preganancy than with Emma. but, being on this side of things now, i see that the stitch did help, and i have to say that i much preferred this version of bed rest compared to what i did with emma. anyways, here are some of the positives for home bed rest vs. those for hospital bed rest. yes, i could actually think of a few positives from the hospital!
+'s for home bed rest
* the food
* my own bed
* being with my family
* mcdreamy, jack bauer, vh1's top 20 countdown, & ellen
* theme song ... "chasing cars" by snow patrol ... if i lay here, if i just lay here ... :)
* a beautiful little girl born at 38 weeks ... one day after my birthday (what a wonderful birthday present)
+'s for hospital bed rest
* daily massages from the physical therapists ... as long as your pain level was high enough (mine was always quite high! ;-) )
* seated showers ... i never thought i would say that, but when you are restricted in movement and you're pregnant, a seated shower helps ... especially to shave your legs!! :)
* the ice chips ... love those ice chips at the hospital!!
* ellen, oprah, & the dr. phil family
* a beautiful little girl born at 33 weeks ... which you would never know today! ... two days after Christmas (what an awesome Christmas present)
so, would i do it again? that's the question that everyone has been asking ... funny thing is that when i had emma, i absolutely insisted that there was no way i would ever get pregnant again! and, here we are with our second beautiful child. this time around, i find myself not saying no quite as quickly ... but, i'm not quick to say yes either!! tom says he couldn't bear to watch me lay down like that again (or maybe i just drove him so crazy with my requests and anxieties that he doesn't want to go through it again!! ;-) ) for now, though, i just want to enjoy my sweet girls and leave whatever is meant for the future in the future.
our friend, ms. rachel, took some pictures of me and my big sister. mommy wanted to give some pictures of us to pappa for father's day. i thought it was pretty fun. i don't think my big sis wanted to have her picture taken with me, and then she was really worried about the bugs. i'm not sure what the fuss was ... ms. rachel and mommy kept telling her that the bugs only like adults. hmmm ... anyways, i wanted to share a few of the pictures that ms. rachel took. 
i've been getting some really fun presents for becoming a big sister. i've been loving it! i got a cool present from mommy and pappa the other day for being a big sister ... a backpack and lunch bag for school that i can carry. they are pink and have my name on it. here are some pictures of me with my new bags. 
i had my dance recital over the weekend. ms. sandi taught us a cool dance routine. we were the tinkerbells ... although, i liked calling myself fiona at rehearsal and cinderella the day of the dance. anyways, it was lots of fun and i liked having all the mommies and pappas clap for us. i even got a medal when i was done. 
it's been a fun adventure since i entered this big bright world two weeks ago. just before i left mommy's really cozy tummy, i could hear mommy yelling at pappa and the nurses, "i have to push!" and they all kept telling her "no, wait. you can't." i don't know what exactly was going on, other than i was trying really hard to get here to meet everyone. it's funny because for months everyone was making sure i stayed in mommy's tummy. then all day on my birthday they were wanting me to come out. then just minutes after mommy got some medicine and they layed her down, they were all telling her that i couldn't come now. i could hear all the nurses and the dr running around and then it was finally time. mommy didn't sound very happy. i felt bad and wanted to come and hug her. i was glad that i was able to see her not too long after all that commotion
since then, i've been doing all kinds of things. i went for my first car rides ... i'm not so sure that i like that little seat i have to sit in. but once the car gets moving, i usually fall asleep. i had my first dr visit last week. i really like my dr. she was so nice and called me a princess. the dr told me that i no longer had to be on my light bed anymore. i was happy to be off that hard bed and in a cozier place to sleep. and, mommy and pappa get to hold me more now that i'm off the light bed, which i really like. the nurse told me that i am now over my birthweight. that seemed to be a good thing as everyone cheered that. i've gone to the church and seen where emma goes to school. i've met some of emma's and mommy and pappa's friends. i also got to go shopping for the first time. we went to costco, target, and wal-mart. all the lights and noises made me look around and wonder what was going on. i got to go to my big sister's dance recital, and went out to dinner one night. and, i had my first picnic for mommy's day.
since then, i have been enjoying hanging out with my mommy and pappa. my big sister seems like lots of fun. she taps my bed a lot, and mommy and pappa tell her "no" ... i just keep my eyes closed so no one knows that i'm really trying to see what's going on! i am looking forward to playing with my big sister. well, i have some sleeping to do. but, i will update you all again soon!
emma came to meet her new little sister on friday. she was very excited to meet her. the first things she said, "i want her to talk to me ... make her talk." and, then she wanted her to color with her! it was so cute. 
emma has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of her sister at home, and has been talking all about her. she's also taken a few things that the nurse gave her at the hospital and has been taking very good care of her babies. 
i was discharged late last night, and we spent the night at the marriott across the street. isabella had to stay at the hospital as she was jaundiced with very high levels of bilirubin. it was so hard to leave her as we had so hoped to leave the hospital with our baby this time. 
